1. Speaking of Christmas cards. I purchased a beautiful box of Christmas cards at T.J. Maxx last month for 5.99. They had a glittery Victorian Angel on the front and something about Christmas blessings and a scripture verse. They are really pretty. And still sitting in the box on my dining room table.
2. Josiah and I watched the Ballet together last night. Actually it was a documentary about the Kirov Ballet in Russia. Obviously there was a lot of Russian spoken and dancing going on. He finally told me, “Mom! All of this dancing and Spanish speaking is driving me crazy!” He thinks every foreign language he hears spoken is Spanish. We did do a introductory Spanish course this past year. I let him pick out what we watched after the Ballet. He picked Scooby Doo. Sigh.
3. So. Show of hands. How many of you have been out doing your last minute Christmas shopping. ‘Cause you’re all crazy! I went to Aldi’s the other day. Along with half of the Senior Citizen population of the Ozarks… and the Amish. You don’t mess with the Seniors when they are doing serious shopping. I thought I was going to lose a limb. The Amish, however, were exemplary shoppers. They seemed pretty delighted by the whole chaotic scene. I couldn't even drive my buggy down the aisle...it was like the 76 Strip at Branson during the tourist season. Crazy crowds make me nervous. I break out in hives. The Seniors eat so much better than we do. They had all sorts of fruit in their carts. I covered up the box of Frosted Flakes with my coat in shame. In my defense, the Frosted Flakes were for The Studly Muffin.
4. I have another confession. I have not wrapped a single gift. Except for the empty boxes we used for a memory verse game in Children’s Church on Sunday. Normally, I am all about the present wrapping. I get all of my paper and bags ready (matching, of course). Bows, gift tags, tape. I make myself a cup of something hot (this year I have a box of Holiday Chai Tea I am enjoying) and put on White Christmas. I am a little obsessive about the whole thing. I blame it on my mother. She is the quintessential last-minute present wrapper. One year, she waited so long that our little town in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas ran out of scotch tape. Our presents were brought down Christmas morning in laundry baskets. Not that we complained. But it did kind of take the whole “Santa came down the chimney and left these for you” magic out of the morning. There have been years I have gone to her house and wrapped her presents for her. Last night she called me from road (she and Dad are spending Christmas with Baby Sister in OHH-Klahoma) and she had yet to wrap any presents.
5. It happens. Every once in a while. I find myself in what appears to be a episode of "Hoarders." You know it's bad when you call your son and if he doesn't answer right away, your first instinct is that he has been buried underneath the avalanche of coats, wal-mart bags and scrapbook paper spilling out of the hall closet. It's time for an intervention. It doesn't help that we live in a 600+ square foot apartment. Maybe people in urban cities can do it, but I was raised in the country, ya'll! I have to spread out a little. Plus, there are things (like books, dishes and my son) that I can't live without. But not to fear! The Studly Muffin leant a hand over the weekend and the clutter has been conquered (at least this week)!
6. We are doing a bit of Holiday traveling tonight. The Studly Muffin gets off work at 1:30am. We are piling in the little Ford Contour (Sadly, Bertha the Buick…my car has no heat and bad tires) and heading up to St. Louis. The Studly Muffin likes to travel at night. Except that he likes me to stay awake to keep him awake. What’s up with that! One of the great things about traveling at night is the sleeping!
7. Have you ever been so discouraged that you couldn't even prayer for yourself? I've been there. And there have been times in my life when I am convinced that the prayers of those around me made the difference. I love this quote by Abraham Lincoln "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go.”Of course, the flip side to this is that we need to be on our knees in the good times, too. Right now I know of some pretty serious needs. Crisis doesn’t take a Christmas Holiday. My heart has been so burdened for many friends and family. As we celebrate with our loved ones, let’s all remember those around us who need a miracle. No matter how big the problem, God is still in control. And what better time for a miracle!
Merry Christmas!
Rebekah
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