Christmas thoughts to ponder

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house,

not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

in the hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of ...;

not in this house, since both of the kids are teenagers and don't know the meaning of going to bed early. But the gifts are bought, wrapped and under the tree.
I just came home from the 7:00 candle light service at church and am enjoying a cup of hot cocoa. All the while thinking about the songs that we sang and the services that we have attended in the past two days. I love singing Christmas Carols and thinking about what it must have been like for Mary and Joseph that first Christmas so many years ago.
Pastor Dennis shared a story about surprising his wife Gwen, one year for her birthday, with a special visit from their son, which brought tears to my eyes (thinking how I would have felt if my son would not have been able to make it home for Christmas). What a surprise it must have been for Mary to learn that she was to carry the Son of God?
We sang 'Silent Night' at both services and I can't imagine that it was a very quiet night; Holy, yes! but not by any means quiet. Ever hear a woman giving birth or a barn full of animals? Some years (I don't remember singing it this year) we sing 'Away in a Manger'; a manger is a place where cows, donkeys, camels, etc. eat from and to think this is where Mary put her baby, would we have done the same?
We heard how the angels came to the shepherds while they were watching their flocks, at night, and how terrified (pee in your pants-nice visual from Sunday's service) they were at the sight of this bright light in the sky-wouldn't we be just as terrified today if that were to happen?
And we sing about the wise men, of the Orient, following a star. That must have been one gigantic star, to see it all the way from the Orient while it shone over the stable in Bethlehem. And then these wise men traveled this great distance, over all kinds of terrain, on camel back no less, just to visit this special baby. How far would we travel over difficult terrain, bearing gifts, to visit a special someone?
Christmas is a wonderful time of year and so much is taken for granted that we don't often stop to think about the very first Christmas. I know that for me Christmas never looks the same as I think about what God did through Mary and Joseph, over 2000 years ago, to give us the BEST.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all God bless.

Thanksgiving Weekend

This entry comes after reading something posted on LiveJournal by a friend of mine. It was sort of presented as a challenge but this is really how my weekend went. It was a great time of family and friends.

Tuesday: Helped make pies for our Zambia Mission Trip fund raiser until about 6:00 and then went home cuz the husband had to go to work. Sitting at home watching some boring show on TV when in walks my daughter, home from college whom I haven't seen since like august when we dropped her off. We talked like forever just catching up with life. It was just great to have her home for a couple of days.

Wednesday: Volunteered at the receptionist desk all day and then went and helped finish the pie thing. Towards the end of the pie thing and while we were waiting for the customers to pick up their pies in walked two guys who I thought was our last customers and boy was I surprised because it was my son, also home for the weekend from college. That's two for two!

Thursday: Went to two different Thanksgiving day meals. The first was at Clark Memorial home to eat with Jim's mom. Then to my parents in the evening for fellowship and fun. Worked on a really confusing puzzle but a load of fun because I like challenges, The puzzle was a picture of a stalk of wheat in a massive pile of needles (reverse of needle in a haystack) :). So that is three for three.

Friday: My daughter and I hit the mall for a day of shopping. Found lots of bargains and long lines but a great time to chat with her and find out what she is doing at school. Then when we got home we had our families Thanksgiving meal cooked by my fabulous son, an up and coming chef. Very delicious! So that was a great day, and that makes it four for four.

Saturday: Got to actually sleep in and the it was more shopping and errand running. After that I helped a friend of my daughter make a pair of pajama pants for a Christmas gift. That was fun teaching her how to sew, a hobby/side job of mine. Then I helped my daughter make truffles that she wanted to give as a 'Secret Santa' gift back at school. Finished all of this with a visit from an adopted daughter, Nicole, also home from college. The best is yet to come- five for five.

Sunday: A busy day-1st I taught Route 5/6, then went to worship. enjoyed the message and the songs especially the new one they were teaching the congregation. It was one I learned a youth camp. Then afterwards hugs and more hugs as we all visited with Nate and Lindsey Kingsbury. Wow it was so good to see them. Then it was home to pack the kids and get them on their way back to school. Marissa was being picked up at 3:30 and I was bringing Levi to the train in Michigan City. Ended up driving all the way into Chicago and made it back without getting lost, much to the surprise of my son who didn't think I would be able to do it. And that is six for six!!!!

A wonderfully great and long weekend!

Thanksgiving

So I read another persons blog this morning and they mentioned things that they were thankful for. That made me wonder what others were thankful for. This is my list:

• A house that keeps me warm
• My salvation
• Family, especially my kids
• Health-nothing major wrong with me
  
• My parents and siblings
  
• Friends who care about who I am
• A somewhat dependable car to get me around
• Food
• A Bible believing church
• Job
• Teenagers - they keep me young
• Music-it means that my ears still work
• Snow - I know not everyone likes this but I do
• Seasons - life would be so boring without them
• Babies - they are so innocent
• Stores - shopping is fun
• Clothes - includes shoes, coats, etc.
  
• This small conservative town, large cities too
• Bubbles of any kind
• Water - it is good for you
• Laughter

And I am sure that I could add more if I really thought about it but this is what I could think of just now.

Decades of Daydreams

Last night I was sitting in my family room staring blankly at the TV and thinking about the decades of my life and what I might have or am daydreaming about. This all came about because of a book that my mom had given me, as a birthday gift that is later this month, earlier in the day. The title of the book is "Celebrating you and the 1950's" and is full of an amazing amount of words about that era. Well, I was born during that time and have many memories, some good and some not so good.

My first decade on earth was a long time ago and I lived on a farm in Iowa. We didn't have a TV or an indoor bathroom. Playing outside was what we did to entertain ourselves. School was a two room building that was shared with six grades and two teachers. I don't remember any big exciting events about this decade except hearing about JFK being killed. I was only in the second grade when this happened so for me the world was still a big place. As for what I daydreamed about, it was that I wanted to be either a teacher or a doctor because those were the only two interesting sounding occupations that I knew anything about. It was also something that my siblings and I would play when it was to icky to play outside.

The second decade saw big advances in my world. I was now a teenager and my family had moved to the city. By this time we had a color TV and my favorite show to watch was 'Lassie' . Being a teen was an adventure into the unknown as far as where my interest lied. I went to a boarding school for my high school years and met many students from around the world. This decade also saw me venturing out on my own as I left the house and family at the young age of 18. At this time I loved sewing and I daydreamed of designing clothes and becoming a fashion designer.

Decade number three was probably the hardest of my life personally. It saw me trying to live in the world and not of the world. Sadly; booze, drugs and sex was what kept me going for the first half of this decade. I lived far from God and really didn't care about church and all of its trappings. I was single and enjoying the freedom, but I also struggled with that whole concept of being single. It was during the latter part of the decade that I found the LORD as my Saviour. I daydreamed about being married and having a family.

In decade four I became a wife and mother. I had a task ahead of me and I tackled it with a gusto that amazed me. I loved being a mom and raised two wonderful kids. This decade saw many changes in how I looked at the world. God was more important and I wanted to instill Him in the lives of those around me. This is when I went on my first missionary trip overseas and saw Him at work, and I also became a youth leader. I wanted to stay connected with my kids and saw this as a way to do so. Daydreaming was about raising my kids, and having a newer house - one that didn't always need to be repaired.

Education became the buzz word at my house during the fifth decade of my life. The kids were both in school and I also went back to school to get a degree. It took me most of the decade to obtain what most students receive in 4 years, but I finally have a four year degree . So what I daydreamed about from my first decade has partially come to fruition. This period also saw struggles within my marriage and sadness at a dream broken. Then I daydreamed about what being a teacher would be like and how I would make my teaching exciting for the students.

I have just entered the sixth decade of my life and have finished college for now. I finally have my teaching certificate. Becoming a fashion designer, as I wanted to in the second decade, is no longer a dream of mine. I still enjoy sewing but the styles have changed so drastically I can't keep up with it all. Life is a bit less hectic but that hasn't stopped the daydreams. For now the daydreams consist of what my classroom might look like, what retirement means, and someday having grandkids.

I'm glad daydreams will always be a part of life. Some don't come into being, others become real but in ways that we might not have imagined, but that is what daydreaming is all about. So happy daydreaming and enjoy the escape.

Empty Nesting

In my last post I mentioned that I was bored and lonely without my kids. It does give me something to write about though. And so now I am considered an empty nester, whatever that might mean. According to Webster's Dictionary the term empty nester implies that the children have grown and left home. In my case that is true but with all the new forms of communication out there it doesn't seem like they have really left. Sure they aren't physically in the home but they might as well be for all the phone calls, text messages, e-mails, etc. that I have gotten. Sometimes I hear from one or the other of the kids more than once a day and then I won't hear from them for several days in a row. It's those in between days that I don't like.

"So what do I do with my time since the kids have gone?" you ask. That's a hard question to answer. I could complain that I don't have anything to do (there is always something to do), or that I am overwhelmed by the quietness, or even that I have to much to do (and I don't want to do it). All of which is true at some point. There is always something to clean, repair, cook, etc. (if you enjoy doing any of that). Even though the kids had their own lives I still heard them coming and going and now it is just my husband or me who do the coming and going.

It's the quietness I am having the hardest time dealing with. Give me noise, kids, anything to fill the void. But until then I am learning to enjoy the quiet.

Beginning a new season in life

Here it is the beginning of October and the sun is shining. That makes for a beautiful day, even with the fog this morning. Life is going good but without the kids around life is a bit boring. So I am looking for an outlet to write about life, emotions, feelings, and whatever comes up. I would love to hear (see) your comments and have something else to write about. Maybe your comments will inspire me in a new endeavor. So here goes ...