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New Year's Centerpiece- A How To of sorts

We have a special breakfast on New Years Day and I decided that a special breakfast calls for a beautifully set table. Isn’t that a wonderful way to welcome the New Year? I want my family to know how very special I think they are.
Here’s what I did—my Mama gave me this lovely table cloth (from Goodwill, of course) to use for Christmas but when I saw it I just knew I wanted to save it for New Years. I wanted a simple centerpiece that would draw from the colors in the cloth- the colors that say New Year to me- white, blue, green and silver. I don’t know why it has to be these colors- I just know they are the colors that speak to me! Crisp and clean and New!
I rounded up a few glass candle holders, 2 glass candle sticks, some cute little tins, 5 Fresh Linen votives, the greens we tucked in here and there around the house for Christmas and some silver ribbon I got on clearance for 47 cents.

I started by arranging the candles- I put all the votives in the glass holders then turned the candle sticks upside down and fit a glass votive holder in each one. I placed the other 3 votives in the little tins like so:

Next I cut a length of ribbon and just wound it around, twisted and tucked it in here and there. The final step was to tuck the greenery in . . . .

I like the simplicity of it. Everything was found here at home- no purchases necessary. I would have liked to put a bit more silver in- like some silver beads or berry picks or even some little sticks painted silver. I have some silver spray paint somewhere around here . . . . but I’m thinking this is good for this year. No need to go overboard. I’ll keep the other ideas for next year. Maybe I’ll be looking for a short length of mirror at yard sales/Goodwill . . . . I’ve seen it where short candle centerpieces are placed on lengths of mirror and it looks oh, so lovely.

A wonderful FULL weekend

Random thoughts

What is Happening- reclaiming Holy Days

I’m disgusted with myself- I had been doing so well focusing on simplicity and wrapping myself in the wonder of the season and then came Monday. I don’t know why it had to be Monday- it just was. I’ve spent the past 3 weeks enjoying and relaxing and such and then Monday--
On Monday I completely got lost in the shuffle, the hustle and the bustle . . . . more like sinking in it, really. While my heart is shouting out for a need of peace and quiet, simplicity and most of all a need to dwell, simply dwell in the waiting, the hoping, the preparing and the welcoming of Christ . . . . I’ve just sunk faster into the quicksand that is the holiday season.
A decision must be made- I am not liking all this whirring activity, to do lists that don’t end and pressures from here, there and everywhere. Does it matter that I trimmed our commitments and as well as the gift list this year? Nope- its amazing the stuff and fluff that’s crowding in and shutting out that still small voice. Ugh. And it happened quite simply in a matter of a day or two- all that I was holding to and enjoying was swept away . . . . . and chaos came in, making himself quite comfortable.
I must reclaim the quiet and peace- I must get back on track preparing for CHRIST not Christmas.
Doesn’t the word holiday come from Holy Day? And if it doesn’t . . . .well, it most definitely should! And so- going with that thought- if these are the holidays Holy Days then shouldn’t I be acting different? What exactly got me off track? Simply put- others expectations of me which I allowed to influence and change my own expectations.
Truly the only thing I should be expecting is Christ. It is time to kick other expectations to the curb and get back to the holy pieces of the days.
How do I reclaim the Holy Days?
I started this post on Wednesday- determined to overcome this bah-humming and yet it did not happen. It is amazing all that is coming up against us right now that is trying to grab and steal my CHRISTmas joy. We were to go caroling with some of our church family yesterday evening. We show up and my father is the only other one there- and he is desperately scrubbing and cleaning the church bus (that we were taking caroling) because a cat had taken up residence inside and left what amounted to a 2/3 of a 5 gallon bucket of “deposits”- oh and the odor- it was noxious! He cleaned as best he could- using the claw part of a hammer to break apart the frozen-to-the-floor deposits. Only a handful of people showed up- but we went caroling anyway and we took the bus. It was wonderful to carol shut ins and such but I have to admit that my heart just wasn’t in it as it has been in the past.
And today- a letter in the mail that about sent me reeling- except for the simple fact that I would not let go of the desperate hold I had on the Lord’s goodness and mercy. No matter, no matter WHAT- I will praise Him. Even if this financial crisis increases I will praise His Incredible Wonderful All Powerful Name. And that has brought me here . . . .
To the reclaiming.
A letter that Satan expected to use to deal another blow against me and my CHRISTmas joy—and God heard me- He heard me cry out- He heard me pour out my heart in pain and sorrow—He helped me stand firm and my heart shouted “No matter what I WILL PRAISE HIM.”
I walked away from the envelope and the computer and the to-do list and decided to clean the kitchen because, as my mama taught me, some good brisk scrubbing and cleaning does the heart good- both physically and spiritually. I prayed and prayed and prayed as I washed the table and scrubbed the stove. And God met me in my kitchen and I was able to let it all go . . . .
I have no one’s expectations to live up to but His and what does He expect? My love and devotion- my whole heart- my heart preparing for His coming nothing more, nothing less.
And it brought me to worship. My home is my haven, my safe harbor in the midst of so many storms- God has blessed us here and here is where I can find solace, rest and renewal in sweet worship. I have been able to reclaim that worship in the tasks of my ministry- the ministry of my family.
And so- I worshiped as I ironed the napkins for Christmas day dinner- spritzing with my favorite ironing spray- praying and reflecting on how this was once a disliked chore. I prayed and hummed praises as I did the dishes- a once despised chore! My heart became light as I praised His glorious name will beginning dinner prep and getting out the ingredients for our Christmas trail mix and the makings for Oreo truffles.

I cried out and God not only heard my cry but He reached down and pulled me up. He nurtured that spot inside me that longed to experience CHRISTmas and Holy Days. He and He alone made this day Holy.
The following are the words to the song Emmanuel written by Michael W Smith:
You are the Rock that will not fall
You are the God above us all
O Lord You are Emmanuel
You are the Messiah Who has come
You are the long awaited One
O Lord You are Emmanuel . . . .
. . . . . You are the Healer of our Hearts . . .
O Emmanuel We Praise Your Name

Amen

Baking and Making and deoo-rating!

Yesterday evening was our night to decorate our CHRISTmas tree. It is a long standing tradition in my family to eat certain cookies and guzzle eggnog as part of the festivities. Never in the past have I deviated from this tradition- until this year.
Why? Well, I didn’t purchase those special cookies while on my last shopping trip (the traditional cookies have always been a certain ritzy store bought brand)—I didn’t want to make a special trip just for the cookies and I really truly didn’t want to pay the horrid price of said cookies. So, I- me the traditionalist to the extreme when it comes to Christmas, bucked the system.
BUT- one cannot decorate a tree ‘til its branches scream for mercy unless one has proper sustenance.
So, what’s a girl to do? Go to the pantry. I found an Amish store gingerbread cake mix (just add water- marked $.88) and a container of cream cheese frosting. Mr. Conductor heard me scrounging around in the pantry and came to investigate. He then agreed to be my chef.

One cannot be a good cook unless one taste tests. A-okay! It passes the test.

The boy and I decided to be totally fancy and make it a two layer cake on a pretty Christmas plate. I let him dig out the Christmas sprinkles . . . .  He wanted his Nutcrackers in the photo too.
Made with Love.
Perhaps we’ve also made a new tradition?
Hmmm.

Making Christmas Cards

I am making my Christmas cards this year. No not stamping or scrapbooking. I’m making them on the computer and I’m making postcards.
Simple.
Ta Da.

The back says, “May God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy and peace. 1 Timothy 1:2”

Ah, the simplicity.

Getting away from it all

Meredith has been discussing (and linking) to some great thoughts on Christmas.
Go on and check them out.
For our little family the holiday is even more crammed because of Maiden’s birthday on the 13^th. It seems that no matter how open we try to keep our schedule it gets overloaded that week before Christmas (thanks in part to my job in youth ministry) and I am always left wishing we could just sneak away to a remote cabin in the wild wilderness for the entire month.
So- since I’m always wishing for this cabin in the wilderness- I’ve been trying to bring that idea into my home this year. How?
Well, one of the reasons we want to sneak away is because the month just seems to get crammed full of this and that with us running here and there and everywhere. Most of the extra activities are all church related- which for me is job-related and therefore can’t be shirked. So how can we make it feel like we’ve snuck away? Well, we can’t do much but we can do a little bit . . . . we’ve made our regular Friday nights (which is usually family movie nite) mandatory. We aren’t going out anywhere and we aren’t answering the phone—we’ve lined up some great Christmas DVDs and family games and planned low key comfort food dinners. We’ll put on our flannel jammies and pile the floor with pillows and blankets. We may even roast some marshmallows on the gas stove (just like I did growing up) and make smores. Mr. Steady and I have also vowed not to add one more event to our calendar. Two nights of caroling, a Christmas cantata, Christmas band concert, church program practice & youth skit practice plus the program AND Maiden’s birthday is enough. Thankyouverymuch.
I let the kids in my youth group know that if they had an event they wanted me to attend- I needed to know by Dec. 2^nd and I put Xs on the youth calendar marking “Amy’s black-out dates”.
As for that cozy cabin feeling here at home . . . . . I’ve pulled out every fleecy warm blanket we own and placed the folded stack in a corner of the living room for easy access. We’ve got Christmas music piping very softly through the house for most of the day and evening. Spruce candles are lit and adding that oh, so Christmas-y smell to the air as well as that cozy twinkle. The wonderful little electric fireplace (my belated anniversary gift from Mr. Steady) is moved from room to room where we can bask in its glow. I pull my knitting out each night as we read our advent devotional and have family time. It just adds to that cozy feeling for me.
So while I can’t actually sneak off to a cozy little cabin in the wilds- I can bring a bit of it right here- where I’m at.
Which is better than not at all.
Yeah- that's my house in the picture . . . . not a cabin but its home.

Its got me to thinking

Christmas and Finances

My very favoritest decoration

We continue to drag up a box or two a day of Christmas decorations. I believe I have about a dozen boxes (not all the same size) . . . . every year I say to myself, “you really need to go thru those boxes and get rid of the stuff you don’t need, use or want.” And every year, I find myself too rushed or too tired to do it. Not this year. I set aside a large empty box and every time I open a box I put up what I want, cull through the rest and place the unnecessary in the box.
The decorations, including the tree, should be up by the end of the week, so next week I will be taking the big box (and perhaps another?) to our local free store to hopefully brighten up someone else’s Christmas.

Here is a picture of one of my very favoritest Christmas decorations- this nativity set (with crèche handmade with love by Mr. Steady) is the first thing I set up and last I take down. AND I put it up in order, The Holy family first, followed by the shepherds and then the Wise Men. It is one of my most favorite, relaxing traditions. I love to pray as I handle the pieces and carefully arrange the set.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.  ~~~ Luke 2:11-12

A favorite Christmas Box

We have begun our bit by bit decorating for Christmas—I try not to pull out more than 2 boxes as day. One of the first boxes I pull out is our box of Christmas books. Oh, how I love these books- a few books from my own childhood interspersed with books we’ve collected and been given over the years.
In years past, I would carefully wrap each book individually and each nite of December, leading up to Christmas, our littles would choose and open one of the packages and we would read that particular book after dinner. Our own Advent countdown. The first few years found me rewrapping a couple of favorites as we didn’t have enough books to make it all the way to Christmas.
And now? Our Christmas book collection cannot all fit into one basket any longer. The children love to pour over the stories again and again so I’ve done away with wrapping them . . . I doubt they’d stay wrapped anyway- what with Mr. Conductor around. It was wonderful to sit together on the floor yesterday as we got out the books. Each of us saying, “Oh, I love this one. Remember this one? Oh, Mama, this is my favorite.” And so on. And of course, we had to read a few right then and there.
Today, I’ve already picked up a couple from Mr. C’s bed, one on the floor in the bathroom (???) and two on the table. It will be like this- books here and there, throughout the season.
It is one of my simple and favorite ways to enjoy the season.
Read so far today:
If You Take A Mouse To The Movies
The Christmas Snowman
Snowmen At Night

Someone's got 50 frugal Christmas ideas

Just in case you may be interested
50 Frugal Christmas Ideas

Which ones do you do already?

Reading over the list--- I find we already do most of these things (I'd say about 30 out of the 50- I'm not in the mood to count them right now . . . .)

Which ones would you add to the list?

Three Gifts with meaning

We have a wonderful gift giving ritual in our home. It is so simple and lovely that I must pass it on. Our children get 3 gifts from us. We give Wise Men Gifts- Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.
Gold gift- In honor of the gold given to Baby Jesus this is an expensive gift that they have really been wanting- the most desired gift on their Christmas list.
Frankincense Gift- In honor of the Frankincense given to Baby Jesus- which was an incense used extensively in the Jewish temples at the time- this gift is something that will help you in your Christian walk- such as a Bible, devotional, Adventures in Odyssey CDs, Veggie Tales DVDs, and Jonathan Park CDs etc.
Myrrh Gift- In honor of the Myrrh presented to Baby Jesus- a spice used to cover the body in preparation for burial- this gift is something that will cover or perfume the body- such as clothing or bath/beauty products (lotion, body wash, bubble bath).
A friend of mine gave me some real frankincense and myrrh which I divided into beautiful little bags for each child. I then made beautiful fancy tags that explained the meaning of each (note: we wrap the gold gift in gold paper) that top each present every year.
In this way we have not only paired down and simplified our gift giving but we have brought Christ back into focus for our children. Each year we discuss the meaning behind each gift before we opened them. Mr. Steady and I also do the 3 Wise Men gifts for each other.
Besides their 3 gifts, our children receive a special pair of Christmas jammies to be opened right before bed on Christmas Eve and each child also gets a special bag filled with new books.

Making notes and thinking on

New Coat- New Joy

God sure does work in strange ways sometimes. I have been in need of a new winter coat for a few years. I have a black leather jacket that I just love that I have been “making do with” for 3 years past it’s prime and because of how it’s fitted I cannot wear it with a bulky sweater or sweatshirt (that’s when I drag out my 11 year old Tigger coat- which isn’t in great shape either- toggle on the zipper broke in half). Anyway- all that to say that I’ve needed a coat since the beginning of last winter but was too stingy to purchase one.
Okay- back to this year- Mr. Steady wanted to purchase me a new winter coat as my Myrrh gift for Christmas. I have been wanting a wool pea coat with hood since I had a wonderful maternity one while prego with Mr. Conductor. I found one thru Chadwicks that was on sale and I had a coupon yada yada- placed the order only to find out it was back ordered until the end of January. No good. I kept looking. Finally about 8 days before Christmas I decided it was better than anything else I was finding so I went online to order it- no longer backordered- it is now sold out. Only pea coats they have left are carnation pink without a hood. Hello- mother of crazy young boy and at least one daughter who is never ever totally clean and always hugging me. I was seeing dry cleaning bills and me not wanting to wear it for fear of someone touching me and really I am so not a pink coat woman.
When I told Mr. Steady the news I think he was more bummed out than me. He was flummoxed about what to get me for my gift and I said not to worry about it until after Christmas.

And then I saw IT while shopping Friday. THE COAT. On a clearance rack at my local retail/grocery giant store. $50. With hood. Black. My size. I tried it on- perfect fit. And God did even one better- Mr. Steady got a gift card (with a very nice amount of $$) from work as a Christmas bonus for said retail chain.
God is so good. He makes me laugh with joy.

Good for a chuckle

Oh Goodness!
It took 4 takes for us to get a decent shot!
Wrangling Mr. Conductor took some doing as the party cut into the little man's nap and the powers of goodness he possesses were slowly fading from lack of time to regenerate.
Here is shot no. 2:

I have to say this is much more realistic of our family than any nicely posed smily shot. Mr. Steady is trying to corral Maiden as she picks on Sassafras and I'm just trying to hold on to some part of Mr. Conductor while trying to smile and look happy. Yippee.

Here's Take 3- Mr. Steady has now taken Mr. Conductor from me and given me Maiden to hold on to (doesn't she look thrilled!). The only one not having problems seems to be Sassafras, my day dreamer. And now for the final take- final because I said, "No more. Please, no more."

Mr. Steady was trying to get the now crying and flailing Mr. Conductor to smile yet the girls were doing fine. I figured this was as good as it was gonna get. Please notice Mr. Conductor's bare tootsies. I had to hunt down his socks after the photo shoot and his shoes. Upon seeing me loading in the photo he exclaimed, "Hey, I gots nakey feeties. That's me! I'm cute!"
Yep, he's all that alright.
Oh and I just noticed Sassafras's grass stain on her right knee. Which hasn't come out of the jeans yet. One of the bad things about it not being a white Christmas and about 50 degrees outside. You should have seen the seat of her pants. Sigh.

Simply Lovely

We had a lovely CHRISTmas and hope everyone else did as well. It was a hectic weekend but also quiet and reverent at times. Our church services were beautiful (Pastor’s message was “spot on”!) and visiting with family was wonderful (yet quite chaotic at times).
Christmas Eve afternoon was spent with Mr. Steady’s family (40+ people) and Christmas Day was spent with my extended clan (only 24 people) at our house.

So last night was spent cleaning up and putting away and today, with Mr. Steady home it is a lazy restful day after all the excitement.
Plenty of leftovers to keep us full and lots of books and games and puzzles and whatnot to keep us occupied.
I love our tradition of giving our children 3 gifts- they loved each one and were not overwhelmed by it all. My brother mentioned to me that they went a bit overboard with the gifts and my nephew still had a few presents he hadn’t even opened yet due to present overload. In fact, my nephew wouldn’t even open his gifts from us last night- too busy wanting to play and play and play with Mr. Conductor’s new train set.

Mr. Conductor is just so enjoying his train set and Maiden loves her new sewing machine so much. Sassafras was thrilled to get exactly what she asked for (Adventures in Odyssey and Jonathan Park CDs) and was enthralled with the special nativity set we gave her. Not once did they ask us if there was any more or where the rest of the presents were.
It was a very content morning. After the turmoil of feelings for me last week it was exactly what I had prayed for. Speaking of me- Mr. Steady’s gold gift to me is a treasure indeed. He built me a crèche for my Willow Tree Nativity set. It is incredibly beautiful and my heart is full. He sweated and fretted over it and made it with his own two hands and ingenuity and I love it more because of it all. Mr. Steady got what he wanted too- a fancy extension ladder. He was very touched by the homemade gifts from the children and laughed and laughed over the car air freshener packet they also gave him.

Merry CHRISTmas

Thanks be to God

for His indescribable gift!

2 Corinthians 9:15

Three Keys Ornaments

I have many favorite ornaments- each one has special memory or such attached to it and so each one is a treasure. I purchased these keys from Christian Book Distributors a few years ago and thankfully I have 3 children so each puts up one of the keys.

The first key is the shepherd’s key- it is hung on a low tree branch because Jesus was born among the lowly- the sheep and the shepherds.
The second key is the Magi’s Key and is hung high on the tree- on a very top branch near the star because the Magi followed the star to find the Christ Child- the Light come into a dark world.

The third key is the Christ key and is hung on a branch in the center of the tree- because Christ was hung in the center (between you and me).

You could do something quite similar yourself without purchasing the set- just find some old skeleton keys or purchase some lovely reproductions at a craft store. Print out a little tag explaining each key’s meaning and tie them to the keys.
Pretty neat, eh?!

I wonder

No matter what great intentions I have starting out the holiday season the last week is always [no matter how I plan] stressful. And this year is no exception. I started out so well and we had a few lovely weeks of bliss and contentment. And now . . . .
And so I go to the one source that always comforts me- God’s Word and I read the Christmas story from Luke each day this week- trying to bring back the hush and push out the rush. And I pray- I pray for peace and grace and mercy (for me and those that push at me!) and I pray for patience and God to reveal a bit more to me each day.
And here is what popped in my head today- How did Mary feel really? Was she all grace and beauty? Was she really as serene as she is in all the pictures and paintings and nativity sets? Really?
God chose her and therefore was with her and guided her but did she ever have her moments of doubt? Did she worry or wonder about the pain of childbirth? She knew Jesus would live but did she wonder about herself? Did she ever question if she was really fit to be the mother of the Son of God? Did she wonder about the challenges she was going to face? And my word- how did she manage to ride a donkey approx. 100 miles while hugely pregnant? Which leads me to wonder if she didn’t get sick on that donkey ride?! The conception was immaculate but I bet the pregnancy was as is any pregnancy- with all the changes and mood swings etc. etc.
So today as I prayed and studied, I wondered if that last week leading up to Christ’s birth wasn’t a teeny tiny bit stressful for Mary also. I wondered if she didn’t have her moments when she was hurting and tired and pushed to her limit.
And so I felt gently reminded that though stress is common right now I do not have to give into it repeatedly but instead continue to moment by moment turn it over to God. I am trusting that He will lead me back to the hush.