Christmas Evening On The Hill

What a marvelous time we had at the DECC last night! There was a Christmas lights display that our friends invited us to come see with them. There were all the scenes of the season arranged along a rope lined path so that we could see them all on our walking through. The lights were pretty and fun; but the real pleasure, of course, was the evening out with friends and family.

The city on the hill behind the scenes was a fascinating backdrop.
Here we all are. A kind lady walking by agreed to take this picture of us. See all the smiles? After all this fun we gathered in the dining room at McDonalds for ice cream. There we found Sound of Music was airing for us and the children pulled games out of their pockets and settled in.
May all of you be as blest this Christmas as we have been.

A Christmas Storm?

We have storm warnings for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day from Nebraska to Northern Minnesota. This blizzard is forecast to happen directly over the route a couple of our children are to take to come home the day after Christmas.
Will we really be snowed in? How many people will stay safely at home and enjoy this storm? Or will our firemen and the other rescue workers be called to go out to usher hapless and silly folk back to their front doors.
The best things to do during a blizzard:
* Make doughnuts
* Have hot chocolate and cookies together
* Play board games with the family by the fire
* Look out the windows and enjoy the cozy indoors
Anything else?

Cookies

Our annual Christmas cookie baking day was this week.
* Double Chocolate Cookies (white chocolate chips)
* Spritz (Frances kept playing with the flavors and colors thereof, and Charlotte decorated the trees)
* Cream Jelly Crescents (One of Charlotte's experiments...they look really neat.)
* Gingerbread Cookies (wonderful flavor and texture)
* Sour Cream Sugar Cookies (Kay's recipe...very good)
* Linzer ( but not truly since I was too far into the project to look back when I discovered that we had no ground almond! Very disappointing.)
* Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls (Serious Yum!)
* Chocolate Covered Coconut Balls (Elv and I like these better than the children do so when we've helped them to eat up the peanut butter balls; we start in on the coconut balls in peace with no competition!) :)
* Chocolate Chip and Cherry Cookies

* Wreaths (Frances insisted on using cornflakes, marsh mallows, and green food coloring to make wreaths, decorating them with red hots. They were weird looking but the men liked them)










We got a text from the man of the house at three saying they were coming home and wanted supper at quarter to five! Ummm, so we were caught red-handed so to speak and they came home before we had our 22 plates of cookies tucked safely out of tasting.

Oh well, it was kind of fun having them come in and ooh and ah, tasting this and that. Elv insists I shouldn't give so many away! As usual I packed a box of them for his boss, who opens them on the spot and munches his way half way through it before pausing, much to Elv's awe and delight.


If we had caroled this Sunday instead of last, some of these would have been passed in the hands of our neighbors. A few of them will anyway. Otherwise, we will get them out of the freezer one plate at a time during the evening game playing when the family is home for Christmas.

Blessings

Things I am thankful for this Christmas:

* A Poinsettia On My Table
My aunt Eva used to bring me one every year. She has been gone for over 15 years and I still think of it and miss her. This year I bought one and I am cheered just as much as if Eva had brought it to me.
* A Jar of Peppermint Candy
It's just a simple thing of beauty giving us plenty of Christmas pleasure.
* The Carols
We're listening to them each day. There's a wealth of promise and praise of Glory To God.
* Grandchildren
We're grandparents for the first time this year! And we're thrilled.
* One Woolrich Pull-Over Sweater
Found in the used clothing we were sorting for CAM.
* The Sidekick
That rusty, old four-wheel drive puddle jumper will get us from here to there and back all winter, especially since my little red Buick needs a new transmission.

Tell us what you're thankful for this year.

More Christmas

I quite agree with this essay on the subject of Christmas.

Another Christmas Story

My sister commented on my last post: I like the Christmas story about the guy who stepped on a pin and broke it and couldn't find the other end of it....he thought he was going to die....his wife found the other end but never told him because he was doing a wonderful job turning his life around....12 months later when things were good between them and such she gave him the other half of the pin....what's the name of it? I think it might be a Charles Dickens too but I'm not sure.
So I looked it up. I believe, Amy, that your story is Precious Jeopardy by Lloyd C. Douglas.

Cozy Christmas Fireside Stories

We read them every Christmas. There are whole collections of quaint and pithy tales of woe turned to joy just in time for Christmas. These stories warm the soul just as surely as the fire in the living room fireplace warms the toes.
Charles Dickens wrote his famous Christmas Carol just before Yuletide one year to raise money because his own poor family was facing the prospect of a hungry Christmas, literally. The story was a hit and we're still enjoying it.
My Grandpa wrote a story from his own experience of the winter they didn't have any cash to buy the customary little gifts for the children. On Christmas Eve Day there was a check in the mail for just the amount they needed sent by a man who realized that God wanted him to send money to the Skrivseths.
I wonder how many folks this year are in the making of just the same kind of Christmas telling someday....stories that are not yet in the books and are real events of today!
Frankly, I think that the best fireside Christmas stories are the true happenings of real people. May our stories be full of the stuff of kindness, peace and goodwill toward all.
God bless us, everyone!