Good Wishes

(Graphic courtesy of Vintage Holiday Crafts)

As the clock ticks toward the end of 2008, I want to thank each of you, dear friends, for your visits and comments this year, my first year of blogging.

A special thank you to those who prayed for me and my family when my mom passed away. It meant so much to know that even though we have never meant in person, you kept us in your prayers.

I'm looking forward to more visits with each of you in 2009. And I wish you and your loved ones a blessed New Year.

Blessings,
Wanita

An Incredible Day

One of the Christmas gifts our grandchildren received was The Incredibles DVD. Their Auntie gave it to them. Here they are, Auntie, granddaughter, grandson, and Papa, all lined up on the sofa watching the movie.

We truly did have an incredible day.

We are so blessed!

Blessings,
Wanita

Joyful Christmas Greetings

Wishing you and your loved ones a Christmas

filled with the joy and peace of Jesus!

I'll see you next week, dear friends.

Christmas blessings,

Wanita

May Your Days Be Merry and Bright

Can you believe Christmas is almost here? My snowman trio is dreaming of a white Christmas. I don't think they will be disappointed since they live in Minnesota ~ or Minnesnowta, as my friend Kathi from Lavender, Lace and Thyme says!

Christmas Blessings,
Wanita

Winter Wonderland

Snow fell all day, so it was a perfect day to stay in and bake cookies, listen to Christmas music, and take pictures of our Minnesota winter wonderland to show to you, my bloggy friends.

The lights on our Christmas angel will be glowing through snow tonight.

The city has declared a snow emergency, which means whoever owns this vehicle should move it or it will be towed so the street can be plowed.

The sedum stalks are standing strong under the blanket of snow, and the moose statue to the right has snow-covered antlers. Do you see him?

This little guy is finding bird seed in the snow. I believe he's a junco. Looks like he's saying, "Thanks for lunch."

I read in my Minnesota bird book that juncos seem to appear at feeders as soon as the snow starts. And it must be true, because this is the first time I've seen this little fellow.

For now, the snow has stopped. But the wind is picking up, so there will be lots of blowing and drifting. And the temperature is -2 degrees. I'm thankful I don't have anywhere to go tonight. I think I'll curl up by the fireplace with a book and a cup of tea. It'll be the perfect way to relax after a busy day of baking.

Sweet snowflake blessings,
Wanita

The Best Things

"The best things in life are not things."

This little saying is on a magnet that a friend gave me. And how true it is. It makes me think of the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. Jesus has come to visit their home. Mary sits at Jesus' feet, and Martha is busy working and is "distracted by all the preparations." So much so that she says to Jesus, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

But Jesus explained to her that Mary had chosen what was better: "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

I must admit, I have issues with that verse. I tend to be a "Martha," wanting to have things just so when company comes and often forgetting that the best things are really my relationships with Jesus, my family, and my friends. It's very easy for me to get caught up in the preparations and not spend time with the Lord, or to be busy with preparations when my family and friends are visiting and not take time to just sit and visit with them.

Especially at this time of year, it's easy to get caught up in the preparations ~ the house needs to be decorated, presents must be bought, cards should be sent, cookies baked, menus planned and groceries bought. The real reason for the season ~ the birth of our Savior ~ can easily get lost in the shuffle.

As women, I think we not only get caught up in the preparations, but we look around us ~ in magazines, on TV, and even in blogland ~ and feel like we aren't measuring up, our preparations are not quite good enough, not perfect.

Kimba at A Soft Place to Land has a great post today about being real. She talks about being "Monster Mommy" and "Witchy Wife." Although I no longer have little children at home, I do have four and five-year-old grandchildren who come to visit. And just yesterday when they were visiting, I felt like Not-So-Nice Nana and Witchy Wife.

Be sure to read Kimba's post. And when the preparations of the season start taking over, may we each step back and take time to remember that "the best things in life are not things."

Sweet Christmas Blessings,
Wanita

Christmas Memories

Yesterday I posted a picture of the Nativity that my dad always put under our Christmas tree. Today I'm sharing some photos from my childhood Christmases. I hope you enjoy them.

This is one of my favorite photos and one of the few I have of the four of us kids together. That's me in the poodle skirt, with my eyes closed. As you can see, we were not close in age except for my older brother and sister. My brother and sister obviously liked cowboys and cowgirls. And when I got older, so did I. In fact, cowboy boots were my shoe of choice when I was young.

Yep! That's me standing by the tree with my jammies on, ready for bed. It would have been Christmas Eve because we never put the tree up before Christmas Eve. I was probably about four or five.

And here is a picture of one of our trees. Notice the "icicles." They were put on one at a time, no kidding. My dad was a fanatic about those icicles! They had to hang perfectly. And he placed the Nativity and cardboard houses just as carefully. They sat on a cotton tree skirt with cuttings from the tree placed around the edges.

In my eyes, our tree was always the most beautiful tree ever!

Have a wonderful day!

Christmas Blessings,

Wanita

Infant Holy, Infant Lowly

Savior of the nations come,
Virgin's son, make here thy home!
Marvel now, O heaven and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.
(Johann Sebastian Bach)

Every Christmas Eve, my Dad carefully arranged a village of cardboard houses under our Christmas tree. The Nativity pictured above was placed in the center of the village.

Blessings,

Wanita

Welcome Holy Child

"...the angel said to them...'today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'" Luke 2:11~12

~~~~~
Welcome to Our World by Chris Rice

I pray that each of you will experience the peace of God that comes through believing in the little baby born in a manger, who grew up and died on the cross that we might have forgiveness of our sins.

Blessings,
Wanita

Oh Christmas Tree!

There's just something about a Christmas tree, isn't there? Ever since I can remember, I have loved sitting by the tree, especially in the evening. It always makes me feel peaceful.

Sweet Christmas blessings,

Wanita

Christmas Preparations

What have I been up to? Decorating the tree...

...and making cookies with the grandchildren, of course. Don't you love that blue? Before I could stop him, grandson put lots of blue food coloring in the frosting!

The grands were here last Friday, and in addition to making cookies, we

~ decorated a small tree in the family room.
~ watched A Charlie Brown Christmas.
~ had a tea party with pretty china cups and above-mentioned cookies.
~ Elmocized, all of us, including Nana and Papa.
~ drew Christmas pictures.
~ made a snowflake ornament from pipecleaners for Auntie D.
~ enjoyed outdoor decorations as we drove the kids home.

We had a most enjoyable day!

Of course, I've done more decorating, and I will share those pictures with you later. But for now, I must get cards ready to mail.

Blessings,
Wanita

Sing-a-Long Sunday

In the Bleak Midwinter is one of my favorite Christmas songs. I hope you're blessed as you listen and read the words to this beautiful song.

Blessings,
Wanita