christmas!

I get really excited about the holidays.:) Even though I work in retail, I still love the Christmas season and all that it entails. This year I'm ahead of schedule with my shopping and I even have most things wrapped.:) We put up our tree last Friday and it makes things feel quite festive.:) We got a real tree for the first time since we've been married. Previous years we've had 3 and a half foot fake tree, so the 6+ foot tree in the living room seems pretty awesome.:) Now I need to see about getting Christmas cards out... may end up being more like New Years...:)

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable holiday season!

Merry Christmas!!

The Gift of Gifts

O Source of all good,

What shall I render to thee for the gift of gifts,

thine own dear Son, begotten, not created,

my Redeemer, proxy, surety, substitute,

his self-emptying incomprehensible,

his infinity of love beyond the heart's grasp.

Herein is wonder of wonders:

he came below to raise me above,

was born like me that I might become like him.

Herein is love;

when I cannot rise to him he draws near on wings of grace,

to raise me to himself.

Herein is power;

when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart

he united them in indissoluble unity,

the uncreated and the created.

Herein is wisdom;

when I was undone, with no will to return to him,

and no intellect to devise recovery,

he came, God-incarnate, to save me

to the uttermost,

as man to die my death,

to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,

to work out a perfect righteousness for me.

O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds,

and enlarge my mind;

let me hear good tidings of great joy,

and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore,

my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,

my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father;

place me with ox, ass, camel, goat,

to look with them upon my Redeemer's face,

and in him account myself delivered from sin;

let me with Simeon clasp the new-born child

to my heart,

embrace him with undying faith,

exulting that he is mine and I am his.

In him thou hast given me so much

that heaven can give no more.

~ from "The Valley of Vision" (a Puritan prayer book)

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Today started with a late breakfast with one of our good friends, followed by a trip to the theater to see "a Christmas Carol" (which we really enjoyed) and then home for the rest of the day.:) We got things tidied up around here and made chex mix, cheese ball and cookies as well as put together an egg casserole and coffee cake to pop in the oven when we get up tomorrow morning. Now we're relaxing in our PJ's watching a movie. I don't usually have Christmas Eve off and I must say that I've really enjoyed my day.:) I hope you all have had an equally enjoyable Christmas Eve and that you will have a great Christmas! I'm still like a kid when it comes to Christmas, so I'm definitely looking forward to tomorrow!:)

getting pumped for christmas!

I just work today and tomorrow before enjoying a four day weekend. I can't wait! We have a pretty relaxed Christmas planned that will include some time to ourselves as well as time spent with both of our families. Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year!

giving thanks and looking forward

I love Thanksgiving. Not only is it a great holiday for reflecting on God's goodness, but it also ushers in the holiday season (of which I am a fan:). We enjoyed spending Thursday with my family, all of whom were able to be there. It's great to have a day to relax, eat amazing food, play board games late into the night and hang out with your favorite people in the world.:) It's also great to be part of a family that recognizes the importance of giving thanks to our God. While this has been an incredibly challenging and somewhat frustrating year for Luke and me, it was good to step back and to reflect on the many ways that God has provided for us and for His care in our lives. We were also able spend Saturday with Luke's immediate and extended family. We got in some good euchre games and enjoyed the day. I did venture out on black Friday to score a few deals. I didn't go until about 9:30, in order to avoid being trampled to death.:) I missed out on a couple things I wanted to get, but later found one of them online for the same price and the other at a different store. As for everything else I went for, I found all of it and more...:) No surprises there. I have a pretty good leg up on my Christmas shopping now. I love that now it's ok to listen to Christmas music and to start getting excited about the upcoming holiday celebrations. I'm a big fan of the Christmas season.:)

everyone should be relieved to know that...

as of yesterday, our Christmas stuff has finally been taken down and put away.:) I was very pleased yesterday to receive a phone call in the early morning hours that Half Price Books would not be opening until 1 p.m. I was even more pleased to receive a later phone call telling me that we would not be opening at all! I had heard of these inclement weather induced closing days, but had never been the beneficiary of one.:)
Luke and I slept in a bit and then got up and lazed around for awhile before deciding to get some stuff down around our apartment. We had some growing stacks of DVDs and Cds that needed gone through and put away, so we put on Kill Bill Vol. 1 (and later Vol. 2) and got down to business. I like having a movie on that I am very familiar with while I work. That way I'm not too distracted, but if I need a momentary diversion I can just concentrate on it for a bit and quote along with it.:) Marge dropped over after work and watched some of the movie and then napped on our couch for a couple hours while we took down Christmas decorations and vacuumed the living room (and yes, she slept right through the vacuuming process:).
In the evening, Elliot and Ashley came over for dinner and for me to cut Elliot's hair.:) I made Alaina's cream of broccoli soup from her recipe blog. It's good stuff.:) Plus I had broccoli, green onions and celery that all needed used and this is one of the few ways that Luke actually enjoys eating broccoli.:) After supper, I cut Elliot's hair while Luke and Ashley played bananagram. It was an enjoyable evening and a great day to get a few things knocked out. I had today off as well, which made it extra great since I rarely to never get 2 days off in a row.
Today was a good day too. Maybe I'll tell you more about it tomorrow...