Merry Christmas

Dennis and I both wish you a very Merry Christmas!  We woke up to another unpredicted snowfall so we have a white Christmas after all!

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. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,  “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those one who his favor rests.” Luke to 10-14

Blessings,

Betsy

It’s Almost Here!

The weeks, and especially the days leading up to Christmas are always so exciting for me. Although it has changed over the years, from the excitement I felt as a small child, to the joy of watching our own children, to the quieter joy now deep in my heart as I anticipate the celebration of the birth of the Christ Child.  I know that not all celebrate Christmas for this reason, but really, that is the true reason for the Christmas season.  And so, my heart is filled with joy at the thought of the Creator of the universe, the Lord himself, to being a humble baby born in a stable and He did it all for you and for me.

Our children’s Christmas program was yesterday and it was beautiful and sweet as they always are.

Last night Dennis and I drove around for about an hour and looked at Christmas lights. Apparently the man at this house constructs an entirely new display every year. It was a sight to behold!  This picture shows his garage doors and an angel above them.

This is the entire house. The picture doesn’t even begin to do it justice. The entire neighborhood was lit up by this one house!

I finished another pair of socks. These are made with Patons Kroy Socks yarn in the Blue Striped Rag colorway.  I think they are actually the most perfect color match I’ve ever done.  It took some work splicing the yarn in spots to get the stripes even. I used one of my favorite patterns, the Hermione pattern which is free on (Ravelry).

I finished the 24th nine-patch square for my cozy memories blanket.  Whew!  These are a lot of work using size 2 needles!  I’m not sure how many more squares I will make. When I get time, I will lay them out and see if it’s big enough before I join the squares together. I also made another hat for the ladies at the retirement home.

Saturday I began a sweater for one of Dennis‘s sisters granddaughters. Karen has asked me to make each of them a long sleeved white sweater and also a short-sleeved pink one for Aria and a short sleeve purple sweater for Maddie.  Tiny needles and baby weight yarn makes it a time-consuming project. What you see in this first picture below is about 22 hours of knitting time!

A few hours before I went to bed last night, I started the smocking on the upper back.

Karen has been very sick for a couple of years now and the doctors couldn’t seem to find what the problem was. She has just been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer that has spread to her bones and possibly other organs. May I ask that you pray for her and the rest of the family?  This has been a difficult year for the family. Mom has lost both a brother and a sister in recent months and several of Dennis’s cousins have passed away this year. Her daughter being diagnosed with cancer is very hard for Mom, as it is for all of us. Dennis is flying back to Omaha on New Year’s Eve and will spend several days with the family. He has to be back here that weekend because he’s having an endoscopy on Monday, January 6.  This news is devastating to all of us. Karen is the baby of the family and is four years younger than me.

I’m sorry to end this post on a sad note, but many of you have become like family to me and life isn’t always full of happiness and cheer is it? I know that just as I have prayed for many of you in the past, you will be thinking of our family now. That’s what friendship is all about isn’t it? We’re here to help support each other whenever we need it.

I am wishing for each of you a wonderful and joyous Christmas.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But 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 2:8-11

Blessings and love,

Betsy

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Last night Dennis and I decided to have a date night. I picked him up after work and we drove about 20 minutes to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. We had dinner at the Cracker Barrel there. Woo hoo! I know, big spenders aren’t we? But we do love the Cracker Barrel. After a wonderful dinner and some browsing in their little country store, we drove to the Coeur d’Alene resort and took a walk on the floating boardwalk.  It was really cold and the wind was blowing, so the boardwalk we were on was moving in the water. Hence the blurry photos. But at least you get the idea.

The Resort itself was all lit up with a sign that said 2019.

Now these next few are really blurry and I apologize for that. First was the nativity scene on the top of some of the boat shelters. You can see the reflection in the water underneath.

Then there were lots of toys soldiers and other things from the nutcracker, also reflected in the water.

Of course Santa and his sleigh were there.  There were a LOT of other decorations, but I just gave up trying to get pictures because they were so blurry.

This one was of four party boats. These boats take groups of people out to an island in the middle of the lake where Santa is waiting with his elves.  He reads off the names of the children that are on the boat and tells them he has their list. They serve hot chocolate and cookies on the boats and it’s a highlight for many children in our area each Christmas

This one was taken while standing on dry ground so it’s much less blurry. Doesn’t that look elegant?  There is something about pure white lights that I just love.

Inside the resort itself are some beautifully decorated trees.

I think this one was my favorite. We sat by the fire in the lobby and warmed up for a little while before venturing back out and heading home.

We did make one last stop at the last exit before leaving Idaho and going back into Washington. We filled our tank with gas!  It is $.34 a gallon cheaper in Idaho than in Washington. Our taxes are so high! Whenever we go to Idaho we make sure to top off our tanks. 

The next photo is to me, one of our most precious decorations.  I hand painted this nativity scene for the first Christmas Dennis and I were married in 1978. It has been through raising our children and and an in-home daycare that I had for years, along with many pets. Nothing has ever been broken and I think that is a miracle in itself. Especially having had several cats in the house!  Each year when I set this nativity scene up, it reminds me of why we’re actually celebrating Christmas and it calms my spirit.  Someday this will go to Mandy and I know she will treasure it just like I do.

One more week from today and we celebrate Christmas! I hope you are able to slow down and take some deep breath’s and enjoy the season.

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  John 1:14

Blessings,

Betsy