Merry Christmas!

......"And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them! And they were so afraid ... And the angel said unto them, "Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord."

"And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men."

"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."
~Linus Van Pelt from A Charlie Brown Christmas

I hope you have a very, very Merry Christmas. See you in the new year!

Christmas ribbons.....

I remember my Dad always HAD to have a box of ribbon candy around the house every Christmas when I was a kid. Yet none of it ever got eaten! I think it was just a tradition thing with him. My Dad passed away 7 years ago. I'm missing him a lot this Christmas.

Faith...big, beautiful faith

I read the paper the other day, about a father and husband in San Diego who lost his entire family Monday when that F-18 crashed into his home. He spoke for the first time yesterday. His first words were “I’ve seen that the pilot is ok….Pray for him that he doesn’t suffer because of this”.

WOW,WOW,WOW. I don’t know Mr. Dong Yoon and have no idea of his religious leanings or if he has any, but that is a Christian statement if I’ve heard one. Mr. Yoon lost his wife, mother-in-law and his 2 children and his first thought is to offer peace and compassion to the pilot. I hope and pray to God I never, ever have to suffer the loss that Mr. Yoon is going through right now. But if I ever do, I hope and pray that I have the same grace, compassion, love and faith to immediately go where Mr. Yoon did. You are a good, good man, Mr. Yoon. Bless you and may YOU have peace and healing, too.

Here's a cool website for you to check out, too. Celebrities who have been saved share their testimonies...... http://iamsecond.com/

A So-Cal Christmas....

The weather was so gorgeous in San Diego this weekend after the rainstorms last week, wasn’t it? Cassie and I went out driving this past weekend because it was soooooo warm. We got the biggest kick out of driving around Thanksgiving weekend, with the top down, listening to Christmas music on the radio. It was beautiful! But it made me giggle more than once. We enjoyed watching people outside putting up their Christmas lights on their houses. One man in our neighborhood was wearing his Santa hat while decorating. So cute….I noticed that most of the neighborhoods have their subdivision signs all decorated. It was just nice driving around getting in the mood. I love Christmas and everything about it. I love the shopping for gifts, the wrapping paper and bows, the hiding of gifts around the house, the food, the parties, the sparkles of all the lights and tinsel…..*sigh*…….

I do have one thing that I collect, in regards to Christmas and that is nutcrackers. A few years ago, Tanner gave me a nutcracker for Christmas. At the time, it was not anything I collected, but he was beautiful and I loved it because it came from my friend. A few days later at a relatives house, they had their very big mantel lined with nutcrackers, big and small. And I just couldn't stop staring at them. That was the start. I now have 38 nutcrackers…..uhhh......make that 40, because I bought 2 more over the weekend. I don’t spend a lot on them and they are not antiques or rare, but I just love finding one that is different than the others I have. There is such a variety of them out there, too. The ones I found this weekend, one was a typical nutcracker soldier with 3 little nutcracker soldiers standing around his feet and the other one had the nutcracker 'king' sitting on a rocking horse. THIS has become my thing--and I offically blame Tanner. (just kidding!) Every Christmas I love pulling all of them out of storage and rediscovering them all over again.
Do you have something Christmas-ey that you collect??