Christmas Spirit

I’m not a Scrooge, I promise. And I know that in my circle of journal friends there are some (one in particular) that truly love the snow. But Friday after work and then again yesterday I felt my mood improve as the snow disappeared under the warmth of a December thaw. In fact yesterday it was so nice out that I just wore a jacket while I went out to finish shopping.

I was going to clean house and wrap presents, but instead I shopped, decorated the tree and watched football. The way things went was much more fun!

In the morning I went to the upscale grocery (that we had gotten a very generous gift card to) to buy fixings for dinner tonight. Ann, Travis, Penelope and Caden are coming today; as are my sis and her two boys. So with Nelson, Beth, and I we’ll have a small army to feed. We were given a spiral cut ham from work so we decided to have ham sandwiches and a bunch of yummy things to go with.

After lunch, I went back out again because I had forgotten a few things—big surprise there. While I was out I also stopped at Goodwill and found a pair of Carhartt bib overalls—for $5! I was pretty excited about that since they’re normally $50. These are practically new. They’re a bit baggy on me so that should make them way comfortable. I also got my haircut while I was out and stopped at Walmart one last time to buy a gift for a friend at work.

When I came home I started watching football with Nelson. He made a comment that I should probably take down the tree or get ready to face the ribbing of family since it was still undecorated. So descended once again into the bowels of this old house to retrieve decorations for the tree. I now am quite pleased with my “theme” tree.

I have no where to hang stockings here so the tree became a stocking tree. There are two strands of colorful lights, some garland and one ornament representing Nelson, Beth, and me—and the rest are stockings. Over the archway between our living and dining rooms I hung other ornaments, and the final decoration I put up was a sleigh bell wreath on the front door.

There are so many wrapped presents that there is barely room for people in the living room right now. It feels quite festive and really makes me smile. I just have a few more things to wrap for Nelson and then we’ll be ready!

Last night was also very special as Nelson, Beth, and I attended the early Christmas Eve service together at church. We opened the service by singing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. That felt really good! I went back for the 10 o’clock service to again sing with the choir. Standing in the glow of candlelight singing Silent Night is such a special moment. For a brief spanse of time there truly feels like peace. It’s as if God throws that cashmere blanket over us and shares the depth of his love for us and His deep desire to bring us peace—individual as well as worldwide. Maybe someday we’ll trust Him enough to receive those gifts for more than just the moment.

Well, there are presents to wrap, dishes to finish up, and a yummy Christmas morning breakfast to make…so I better scoot. Merriest of merry Christmases. Make sure you hug someone…and smile!!! Look for the blessings and tell me what you find.

Warm hugs and Hershey kisses for you all!