Christmas Trip 2012: Day 1

This year Steve and I decided it was time for us to go and visit our family from the Midwest. Our trip was short, but we sure did pack a lot into the few days that we did have.

Since we got in so late, we opted to stay at the Double Tree Hotel for the night. This is the foyer of the hotel. Before we headed up to our room the desk clerk gave each of us a warm chocolate chip cookie (not pictured)...yummy!

This room was plenty big for three, as Steve's dad joined us for our Christmas adventure. Dad got the sofa bed and we took the king.

Friday morning we knew our day would be busy as we planned on picking up my sister, visiting two high school friends, and then heading to Indiana to spend the holiday with Steve's brother and family. With dad in tow, we left the rental car place and headed for the burbs.

We picked up my sister and drove into Hampshire to meet Steve's old high school friend, Valerie and family. I met Valerie back in 1980 for a brief time, in the mall parking lot with Steve. Valerie is very energetic and her children are sweet and talented too! The boys were gracious and played the violin and piano for us. They did a great job!

Our next stop was in Hebron where we met up with Kim and her family. I've known Kim since the 8th grade and the last time I had seen her was during our 20th high school reunion, nearly a decade ago. She has an absolutely adorable family,a beautiful home and knows how to bake some delicious cookies!

We finally dropped Teri off at her house and while there we got to see our nephew Chuck. It had been quite sometime since we had seen him and he is looking pretty good as well.

Our final destination for the evening was Lowell, Indiana where we planned to spend the holiday with Steve's brother Dave and his family.

To be continued...

LBF 2012

Tonight was our Ladies Bible Fellowship, and as always, December is full of fun! This evening we got to hear from the Word of God, do a fun craft and have our annual cookie/candy exchange.

The Fellowship Hall was decked out in snow and snowflakes, and go figure, the devotion tonight was on snow! Did you know that snow is actually mentioned in God's Word many times over? Definitely worth the time to do a more in depth word study!

After the devotion and sharing praises and prayer request the ladies began to diligenty work on the craft at hand - making a snowman or in my case, a snow-woman. This craft was done many, many years back. I was so glad to get to the opportunity to do the craft again because my first snowman has been without a helpmeet for way to long!

So, I set my mind to making him a mate. As you can see below, the two have successfully been united. Let me just mention, that this snow-woman was way more difficult to work with than the snowman...just saying! :)

Taking a break from my ever growing stressful project, I managed to get over to the kitchen and fill a plate full of many yummy treats. All the cookies and candy looked wonderful, but it was these Christmas mice that caught my attention. Aren't they just the cutest things? I can't wait to try one!

The ladies in charge of the decorating, the crafting and bringing items to snack on did a SUPER-FANTASTIC-MARVELOUS job. Thanks for all the hard work. The evening was a lot of fun!

Christmas Time is in the Air

Over the last couple of years, my get up and go - got up an went when it came to Christmas. It seemed to be such a hassle and drag to pull out all of our Christmas decorations; especially, since it would just be the two of us.

But this year, seems different.

I didn't have to go to work the day after Thanksgiving, and since I had no desire to be anywhere near a shopping mall or store, I began to think about the month of December and a discussion I had with a dear friend. It wasn't much longer after that, that I asked Steve to haul in the Christmas decorations.

It took most of the day, but we managed to set up six Christmas trees, decorations to boot and some outdoor lights. Even at this moment, as I pen this post, I still wonder where all my desire, motivation and energy came from.

Out of the six trees we have, one still needs to be decorated with its lights and ornaments. It is the biggest tree of all, and since I will need Steve's assistance putting on the lights, it will have to wait until Saturday.

Here are a few photos of what has been completed. The photos may be a little dark, but that is because I didn't want to turn on any additional lights.

This tree is in the entry way. If you look past the tree and out the side windows you will see our outdoor blue lights. I love the blue hue that comes from these bulbs.

These evergreen tree surround the fireplace.

This little evergreen tree is nestled in one of the corners in the livingroom.

This is my most favorite spot so far. The dining room houses two evergreen trees lit with white lights. I think it is my favorite area because it feels so warm.

I will post a few more pictures afte we get the big tree decorated downstairs.

AND....I will also post a couple of pics I took at my workplace. I had such a bug to decorate I didn't stop with just my house. :)

Basket Full of Blessings

Well we are only five days into November and God has already filled my basket full of blessings:

1) I got to vote! To vote is an honour and priveledge that every American should recognize and DO! So make sure you make it to the polls tomorrow! Don't miss out on the opportunity to let your voice be heard.

2) My car has been making some strange, unidentifiable noises lately. So when I took it in for its regular oil change, I asked the service department to give the car a look over. PTL! They couldn't find anything amiss. So whatever noises I've been hearing... are either in my mind, or I'll just have to wait for whatever it is, to break. :)

3) After a month of R&R, Pastor Sargent is back in the pulpit! PTL!! God gave him two wonderful messages yesterday that were such a blessing to my soul.

In the morning he taught on the feeding of the 5,000, out of the Gospel of John. Briefly, he mentioned 3 types of people in this miracle: the multitude, the twelve disciples and the lad. Jesus saw the multitude as sheep without a shephard, the twelve saw them as a problem and the lad was willing to give his all to the Lord.

Our church just came out of a Missions Conference and Pastor challenged us using this miracle. There are roughly 7 billion people in the world today, with 42% that have yet been reached for Christ. What is our attitude towards them? Will we give of ourselves? Of our wealth so they can hear the good news?

The evening message was on How to Take a Stand for Christ. Pastor preached from Daniel 1:1-21. He clearly showed what Daniel and his three friends went through as they were deported from Jerusalem to Babylon and then to be mentally and spiritually manipulated/brainwashed. Thankfully, Daniel had purposed in his heart to take a stand for Christ, he had prepared his heart diligently while in Jerusalem, by praying and reading God's Word. So when the trials came later, he was prepared to take a stand without being demanding or obnoxious.

His results can work for us too: God will honour our life in this world if we purpose to take a stand for him. God will use us in this world; especially, if we are in his Word, seeking his face daily, praying and memorizing scriptures. We will impact others and people will know who to turn to in time of need.

As the month goes on I am sure there will be many more blessings to report. What praises or blessings can you share that God has bestowed upon you recently?