Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Prayer

By Robert Louis Stevenson

Loving Father,
help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate
and open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift
and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing
which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning
make us happy to be thy children,
and Christmas evening bring us to our beds
with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven,
for Jesus’ sake.

Amen.

This is the life size Nativity at the back of our church.

The angel said to them,“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”  Luke 2:10-11

Dennis and I wish all of you the most blessed and happy Christmas!

Blessings and love,

Betsy

Five More Days!

Are we ready? Five days left to get all of our ducks in a row for Christmas. Dennis’s brother and his girlfriend are flying up from Florida tomorrow. We just found out this afternoon that we will be hosting Christmas dinner for them and Mom. The original plan was we were going to join Mom at her facility for Christmas lunch. I have just sent Dennis to the grocery store with a list so I don’t have to go closer to Monday when everyone is shopping. He doesn’t mind grocery shopping and it’s one of the things I dislike most of chores that need to be done on a regular basis. He has called a couple of times asking where things are in the store, but I don’t mind that at all. It’s still better than going myself!

I finished the most recent prayer shawl yesterday. I used Big Twist yarn from JoAnn’s. It’s very soft yarn to work with and is machine wash and dry so I think it will work well for shawls. I used the modern granny stitch. It hasn’t been washed or blocked, so it looks a little strange laying there.

After I finished the shawl, I started another sweater for Piper. This time I’m using the “portage” pattern that I used for sweaters for Mandy and I. She has asked for this white one and also an orangey color. I found the rusty orange yarn at JoAnns yesterday, as they were having a big sale on yarn. I like my cute little snowmen stitch marker, and progress keeper. Aren’t they happy and festive?

Piper saw Santa last weekend. I love the deer peeking out from behind Santa’s chair. 🤣 No, she doesn’t believe in Santa anymore. Someone told her the truth last year, but she still enjoys all the fun things that go along with it.

Of course, she had to have a photo taken at home with Lizzie and the tree. That puppy sure does love her Piper.

And just one more. I think their tree is beautiful. She’s wearing the dress she wore for the wedding in London, along with the sweater that I made for her and the other two little girls in the wedding. I think this is the last time she will wear it, as the arms are too short already. I adapted the pattern to make them all waist length for the girls to go with their dresses.

Mom got a package in the mail a couple of days ago and Dennis took it over to her. His cousin in Denver had sent her this beautiful blanket and a box of cookies and said to have her open it as soon as it arrived. Since Mom is always cold, this was a good gift for her to send.

I saw this on Facebook the other day and immediately thought of a fellow blogger Debbie, (Araignee). Isn’t it hilarious? I enjoy seeing all of the little escapades these elves get up to in December.

It is supposed to be around 50°F tomorrow, so I think we’re going to take Miss Piper to the zoo. Today is her last day of school before winter break. Last time I didn’t make it all the way to the baby elephants and I would really like to see them. It’s nice to finally be close enough to a grandchild to be able to things with them.

I hope you are all doing well and joining the festivities that this time of year brings. But I hope that you always remember the reason that we’re celebrating is Jesus. He was born and died just for you. And He would have still done it, even if you were the only person on this earth. He loves you.

I love this picture shared on FB by a sweet friend of mine! 

From the cradle to the Cross it was and will always be Jesus! Amen!

Blessings and love,

Betsy

More Christmas!

Hello, life has slowed down a little bit for us this week. I had crocheting on Tuesday and Bible study with a potluck luncheon on Wednesday. Today Dennis took me out to lunch and we had a new reclining sofa delivered to us this afternoon. I think we’re going to love it, but Zoey is terrified of it. She hasn’t left our bedroom since they delivered it at 2:00! It’s now 6:30. Well, she’ll have to eventually adapt won’t she?

I thought I would show you some of our Christmas decorations. Please forgive me if I’ve shown them to you before. I’m sure you’ve seen them in one of our houses or the apartment but now we’re at the condo so they’re in a new place for this year.

In the photo below, you will see the candle holder that Curt made and gave to each couple at the dinner party last week. They’re made out of old wine bottles. You can change the candle inside the bottle by loosening the wire. He also gave us a prepared, clear bottle too. It’s an ingenious way of lifting the glass bottle up and down off of the wooden base that he also made. We have a small nativity set that I’ve had for years and years next to it and my snowflake garland hanging under the island.

This is the nativity set that I made the first year we were married. It’s been the centerpiece of our home every Christmas for the last 45 years. Unbelievably, none of the pieces have ever gotten broken.

This photo shows you a close up where you can see the faces that I painted on. The wire that you see is actually a small string of battery operated fairy lights that light the stable up at night.

This is a quilted picture that a friend in Spokane sent me two Christmases ago. She is an avid quilter and used to go to craft fairs all of the time. I don’t know how she gets everything she does done, because she also works full-time at the family business.

Next is my basket full of snowmen ☃️ that make me smile. I usually leave a lot of the snowman out after Christmas is over to brighten up the house in January.

Even more snowman! I wish you could tell how sparkly the Merry Christmas picture is. It’s a diamond painting that I did earlier in the year. I’m very fond of the little red trucks that are so popular right now too.

And look at these guys! I found them for a total of $4.99 at Goodwill earlier this week. To give you an idea of how big they are, the shelf is about 3 feet long. I Love how happy they look as they’re out and about playing in the snow.

I’m still working on the prayer shawl that I was working on last week. It’s taking f.o.r.e.v.e.r. It’s about 4 feet long now and I think I want to make it at least one more foot. It is very soft and squishy though. I’m using Hobby lobby‘s Baby Bee Darling Dear. The color is “pretty in purple.”

Last night I decided to start another prayer shawl just for a little bit of a change of pace from the knitted one. This is the Pando Aspen Shawl. I’m doing alternate rows of the pink and cream. I’m going to have a lot of ends to weave in, but I think it’s going to be pretty. Now it’s harder than ever to go and go back and knit on my plain garter stitch shawl. 😍

I hope you are all having a wonderful December day. We had a beautiful day in the mid 50s. Tomorrow is supposed to cool back into the 40s for the next several days, but you will hear no complaints from me. That’s very warm for December here. Remember to take time and think about the Reason we’re celebrating this season of happiness and togetherness. It’s Jesus!

Blessings and love,

Betsy