I have much to share about our day trip across the line yesterday but there’s lots of recuperating going on before my brain kicks in to do that…
For now I leave you with the most interesting and unique white elephant gift I’ve ever seen at an exchange.
Fresh eggs straight from someone’s egg farm and there are more than a dozen expertly packaged so they wouldn’t break.
My week is going to start slow but I’m sure things will speed up soon. Blessings…
Lo, how a rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.
Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright, she bore to men a Savior,
When half spent was the night.
The shepherds heard the story proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of glory was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped and in the manger found Him,
As angel heralds said.
This flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.
O Savior, child of Mary, who felt our human woe,
O Savior, King of glory, who dost our weakness know;
Bring us at length we pray, to the bright courts of Heaven,
And to the endless day!
Words: 15th Century carol (Es ist ein Ros entsprungen).
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
How steadfast are your branches!
Your boughs are green in summer’s clime
And through the snows of wintertime.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
How steadfast are your branches!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!
Du grünst nicht nur
zur Sommerzeit,
Nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your boughs can teach a lesson
That constant faith and hope sublime
Lend strength and comfort through all time.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your boughs can teach a lesson.
We had a very nice evening with our small group and it was fun to get 10 people crammed around the tree for a very friendly White Elephant Exchange. No fights erupted for any particular gift that was opened. The party was casual with lots of tasty food items to share. I was very surprised when I finally woke up this morning at 8:30! That doesn’t happen very often. We are looking forward to this weekend and the weeks to come. First off Dear will finally be relieved of being on-call. He’s been running solo for a couple weeks now. We have a fun event on Sunday to attend. It involves driving to another country.
What’s on your calendar for the weekend?
You’ll find the recipe for this soup at Mennonite Girls Can Cook today! Enjoy…
I wanted to warn some of you out there that the Farro grain is not a good choice for everyone, especially not me. Remember that lovely dish of Farro and beets I enjoyed at the restaurant on Sunday night? It totally did me in for 3 days. So beware… just because something is called healthy doesn’t mean it’s good for everyone. I’m a little weird that way. Another thing that does not agree with my system is green tea. So now you know way more than you need to know about me.
Now for the good news. My back is all better. I mailed off my Christmas cards and letter yesterday. Today I get to go visit my hairdresser and tonight we are having our first Christmas event at our house with our small group. We are going to share finger food together and exchange some from my house to your house gifts. Enjoy your Thursday!
We’ve been enjoying Christmas Casual in our Kitchen/Dining area. I bought those fun button up napkin rings at Crate and Barrel and I think they go perfectly with the napkins Judy from My Front Porch gifted me with last Christmas. I have 2 of each napkin design.
Our meal out for our anniversary was nice but it’s one of those places that we won’t rush back to. I did try a couple things I’ve never had before and was not disappointed. I had never had Farro grains before and they were prepared nicely with salted beets and lemon. The dishes were small enough that we decided to also have dessert which was a panna cotta with hazelnuts.
I’m happy to report I got our Christmas letter done. Now to address and mail the cards…
We’ve gotten a few Christmas cards already. Since I took this photo there are a few more hanging. One new addition this year that we are enjoying are our remote controlled battery operated candles that I bought at Costco. It’s fun to light them all with one push of the button and knowing they don’t need to be watched as carefully as traditional candles.
Hope you are already experiencing Christmas blessings…
I bought this flag at the Evergreen Fair a couple years ago and realized that flying it wouldn’t allow anyone to really see the scene.
We decided to try it attached to the window below the star. We liked how it looked during the day and we waited to see what it would look like at night.
We were happy with the result.
I went with decorating light with the tree this year. I pulled out very few of our collected ornaments. Since the majority of our kids aren’t arriving to celebrate till after Christmas I think light is good.
Now to the mundane…something is going on with my back which is slowing things down around here. Another good reason to go “light”. I haven’t uploaded photos from our anniversary dinner out yet so I’ll share on another day. I’ll also take some photos of our tree to show. No baking in my kitchen yet. How are your festivities and decorating shaping up.
Mystery tree rules…
Go to nearest most convenient place that sells lots of trees. We went to Home Depot.
Pick a bundled tree, throw it on the cart and pay for it. Do not unwrap it!
Bring it home as is and saw off a little of the bottom of the trunk and bring it into the house to the desired tree location.
Cut off the string.
Voila! See what you got! Not bad. Pour water in the Christmas tree stand.
See if the angel fits on top…
Put the lights on the tree. Vacuum excess dry needles off floor. I’ll be waiting a day to let the branches settle a bit before I put on the rest of the decorations and the tree skirt.
This is the best stress free Christmas tree purchasing method that we have enjoyed for the last few years. We had the years of going to Christmas tree lots trying to find the perfect tree at the best price. I would make Dear pull out tree after tree and turn it this way and that. You get the picture. Oye! A few years when the kids were little we trekked out to a Christmas tree farm and cut down the tree we chose. That was fun when the kids were little. Now in our empty nest years I find this method to be very relaxing…
Tonight we are going out to a new to us restaurant called Cantinetta for our Anniversary Dinner. Another mystery that I’m sure will end up as good as our tree! Hope you have a good week…
Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity.
Refrain
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.
Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
And in great humility.
Refrain
The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.
Refrain
Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word,
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary.
Refrain
When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing,
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home,
Saying Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee.
My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
When Thou comest and callest for me.
Words: Emily E. Elliott, 1864.
This hymn was first used at St. Mark’s Church in Brighton, England, where Elliott’s father was rector. In 1870, it was published in the Church Missionary Juvenile Instructor, which Elliott edited.
Ht: Cyberhymnal
Star of Bethlehem, shining bright,
Long ago by thy holy light
Sages met in praise to bring
Eastern gifts to their newborn King.
Star of Bethlehem, thou didst show
Wond’ring shepherds the way to go,
Thus revealing by thy ray
Where the infant Redeemer lay.
Star of Bethlehem, heav’nly guide,
Take us all to our Savior’s side,
There to kneel and there to bring
Loving hearts as our offering.
Words: Edna R. Worrell, 1914.
We got our star up on our shop/garage. I like having a star shining at Christmas time.
I was inspired to get a lit star on our shop/garage by Gumbo Lily’s Star on her barn here.
It’s hard to tell from this photo but the star is 2-1/2 stories up from the ground. I now have a plan for the window under the star and time will tell if it works.
Thank you all for your nice comments on Dear and my anniversary post. We both appreciate them. We had our small group over last night for our regular meeting. Tonight we’ll enjoy dinner out. Do you have a busy weekend coming up?
Today is Dear and my 38th wedding anniversary. We will be celebrating this weekend. I’m thankful to God for a faithful husband. We decided early on that with God’s help we’d stay together no matter what. We’ve had our ups and downs over the years but giving up was never an option. We like most couples have our “discussions” now and again but we always come back together and press forward. We are thankful that God’s faithfulness to us and our relationship keeps us strong. I have never wanted to spend my life with anyone else but Dear.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 