Christmas Eve Service, Dec. 24, 2012

May Christ our infant savior give you the joy of the Bethlehem shepherds, the awe of the worshiping sages and the humility and love of the holy family. May you become as little children and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be with you always.

Amen

Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night! (Yes, I know I'm mixing a Santa story with Christianity, but we just read The Night Before Christmas, so it's just in me!)

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Dec. 23, 2012

At the end of communion, we sang "Let There Be Peace on Earth," a song I adore.

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me;
Let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be,
With God as creator, brothers and sisters are we,
Let us walk with each other in perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now.
With ev'ry step I take, let this be my solemn vow;
To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth and it begin with me.

Amen to that.

And, now, our closing blessing:

As we await the Child of Peace, may we have the prophetic courage to turn our culture upside down. May we turn our swords into plowshares, not just as an act of poetry but of prophetic imagination and action; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, Mother of us all, be upon you now and forever.

Amen and Merry Christmas to all.

Photo Project 2012 - Days 300 to 304

Day 300

I thought Zelda looked too cute in this flamingo shirt. Too bad she's growing out of it.

Day 301

Zelda was on the schedule to help with ushering at church on Oct. 28. Before the adult ushers arrived, she grabbed bulletins and was in position to greet people as they entered the nave. Nearly made me cry.

Day 302

The kittens really liked the fleece I was working with to make Annalee's Halloween costume.

Day 303

On days like this, when I see the sun burning through the trees and bushes, I relish the opportunity to get Annalee to school at 7:15 a.m.

Day 304

Fleece flames on Annalee's cape. I think this is the best costume I've made so far.

Here she is as the girl on fire, aka. Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games.

Zelda turned into a black cat for Halloween.

My nephew Wyatt was a scary clown. Yuck!

Do you know the name of this fairy? It's Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty. Way to go, Gerri!

Though I didn't take this picture (obviously), I include it here, 'cause it was a fun picture and you can see the excitement building as we prepare to go trick 'r treating.

And, now, I'm caught up through October. Only two more months to go!

First Sunday of Advent, Dec. 2, 2012

May Christ the sun of righteousness shine upon you and scatter the darkness from before your path, and the blessing of God almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, Mother of us all, be with you and remain with you for ever.

Amen

Photo Project 2012 - Days 290 to 299

Day 290

The view through our kitchen blind each morning is a clear indicator of how the sun is moving further south as it rises in the east.

Day 291

As Annalee gets ready to leave for school I made her pose with her volcano poster. It was part of a partner project on natural disasters for Discovery class. Her teacher loved it.

Later that day, we made s'mores candy apples. Once again (Day 200), our apples did not come out looking nearly like the picture in the magazine. While I swore during the making of them that this would be a one-time deal (the cooking of the marshmallows was time-consuming and hard on my wrists), they were so good that I have saved the recipe. As in, they were awesomely delicious!

Day 292

I love the look of this birch tree in contrast with the yellow and green leaves.

Day 293

Doesn't it seem odd that vegetables now come with instructions?

Day 294

If you can believe it, this was the best of the pictures I took of the girls and my niece and nephew. And, that's not saying much.

Day 295

Portia likes Zelda's backpack.

Day 296

Zelda and I loved the rich color of these Chinese eggplants at our local market.

Day 297

Zelda and I donned our rubber boots to clear out the garden one afternoon.

Day 298

One of the blessings of Annalee taking band is that on those Thursday mornings when I take her to school (very) early, I get to see the sunrise. What a beautiful way to start the day!

Day 299

I can't believe that Ron can still lift both girls at the same time.

And with this post, we are down to the last 66 days of the year! Of course, that was back on Oct. 26, when I took Day 299's picture. I'm sure we're in the 40s now and counting down. More pictures to come soon!