Ring the Bells

I'm happy I joined in the December photo challenge over at Susan's blog. My brain is swimming these days and the photo prompt gives me a jumping off place for a blog post. Today's prompt is 'silver bells' and instead of a photograph I'm sharing a video. If you've never heard Casting Crowns version of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day then you've missed something beautiful.

The words to this old hymn were originally a poem written by Longfellow following a serious injury to his son and the tragic death of his wife. As the story goes, the Civil War had started and that, combined with his personal tragedies, made him wonder if he'd ever know peace again. On Christmas Eve, 1863 he sat down to write a poem. As he listened to the bells ringing over and over again he recognized that God isn't dead, that as long as there is Christmas there is the promise of new life. You can read more about the history of the carol here.

I love the old hymns and in general don't like them messed with but this is one I think has been made better by a haunting melody and Casting Crowns beautiful clear sound.

Dashing thru the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Volume 57

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge...so glad you took the time to play along today. Be sure to add your link at the bottom of my post and in the spirit of Christmas go visit your neighbors and leave some comment love. Here are my answers-

1. Do you put Christmas decorations in every room of your house? If not, what rooms do you decorate?

We have some sort of decoration in most rooms of our house but I keep things pretty simple. The family room, dining room, kitchen, and sunroom are the main rooms decorated, and since I have a lot of house guests in December I usually add small touches to the bedrooms and bathrooms too.

2. If you could visit one of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) which one would you choose and why?

All of the above. Okay, I know that's not a choice but these are all countries I want to visit. Hubs has been to all of them but Iceland and even went ice diving inside the Arctic circle on a trip to Finland. I stayed at home and prayed he didn't have a heart attack because someone had to.

You sit in a steamy sauna then walk out to the ice in your birthday suit and then drop down into frigid water through a hole cut into the ice.

I guess if I must choose I'm going with Sweden because we have friends who live there. Or Norway for its stunning scenery.

3. What does the word faith mean to you?

I think all of us exercise faith in a multitude of ways on a daily basis and have been doing so pretty much since the day we were born. I could insert examples such as air travel, the brakes on my car, or the surgeon preparing to operate. For me though, the heart of faith is best summed up by one verse in the book of Hebrews (1:11)

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

It's been a tough few months around here as we have watched my niece battle cancer. I cannot imagine walking that road without faith. Faith is what allows us to find joy amid life's trials. To know peace when there is suffering. To feel hope for tomorrow.

4. You can go back to your childhood for one day...what day and age would you choose?

I'm going to pick a day that my siblings and I all remember. I was in the fourth grade and my dad had come home that fall after spending a year+ in Vietnam. Sometime later in that school year my sisters and brother and I were picked up early from class (which never happened) and my parents took us to Philadelphia to see the Ringling Brothers circus.

I guess in today's world that doesn't sound like such a big deal but in 1969 it was huge. My dad didn't throw money around and one of the things that stands out to all of us about that day is the way my dad seemed to love buying us anything we wanted. Snow cones, popcorn, cotton candy...these were all big treats to us and he just kept them coming. I think we all remember this day though, not for what we got, but for how we felt. My dad was a Marine and kept his emotions close to the vest most of the time. On this day he wore his heart on his sleeve.

5. When did you last have 'punch'? If its not too much trouble share your favorite punch recipe.

Probably last Christmas although there was a punch served at the party we attended on Friday. I'm not sure what was in it but it had cranberries floating as a garnish and they were so pretty. We always have punch on Christmas afternoon while we're snacking on appetizers. It's so simple and delicious:

one large can of pineapple juice

one jar of cranberry juice

one 2-liter bottle of 7-up

Combine and serve. I usually make an ice ring to keep it cold but regular ole ice cubes work too.

I saw a recipe on Pinterest for something called Grinch punch that I want to try on Christmas Eve...it looks so pretty and is the color of the Grinch. Click here to find the recipe.

6. Do you fill stockings at your house? Are stockings opened before or after the bigger gifts?

Everyone in my family would agree that stockings are our favorite part of Christmas morning. We fill them to overflowing and a few gifts always spill over into your chair too. There is always a tangerine (clementine) in the toe because there just is. Up until about 15 years ago my mom still filled stockings for her four grown married children and their spouses but in more recent years we each buy a stocking stuffer for our siblings and then the four siblings fill my mom's stocking.

As far as when they are opened, in our house it's definitely before the bigger gifts. We have our Christmas morning routine down pat and we do not deviate from that routine. Ever. I hope my future sons in law are reading this.

7. What takes your breath away?

When my daughters say something deep and wise, when they see a need and act on that need. I feel a rush of pride and amazement, not that they are smart and compassionate, but just that they are so grown up and thoughtful and see the world in a way that I admire.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm using this space today to post my picture for the December photo challenge. Today's prompt is 'decked hall'...

Fa la la la la.

Dasher and Dancer and Hodgepodge Questions-Vol 57

I'm going to be clever and incorporate my picture for today's photo challenge into this week's Hodgepodge questions. Today's prompt is 'reindeer' and I had to search high and low to find one around here.

This pretty little Villeroy and Boch ceramic box was a hostess gift from a friend in the UK. At Christmas time I set it beside the sink in Daughter2's bathroom because its proportions fit there and its coloring matches my paint.

What does that have to do with this week's Hodgepodge? See question #1. And then answer question # 1 and all the rest of them too and don't forget to come back tomorrow so we can all link up for a holiday Hodgepodge party.

1. Do you put Christmas decorations in every room of your house? If not every room, what rooms do you decorate?

2. If you could visit one of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) which one would you choose and why?

3. What does the word faith mean to you?

4. You can go back to your childhood for one day...what day and age would you choose?

5. When did you last have 'punch'? If it's not too much trouble share your favorite punch recipe.

6. Do you fill stockings at your house? Are stockings opened before or after the bigger gifts?

7. What takes your breath away?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

That Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's Monday so let's talk about Christmas, shall we? Who has a to-do list as long as their arm this week? Who thinks blogging is a good use of their time anyway? I knew I wasn't alone.

Our weekend kicked off with a Friday night Christmas party at the home of one of hubs co-workers. Four of the party go-ers spent the night here afterwards which was fun...we had a leisurely breakfast before they all went on their merry way Saturday morning. After they left hubs and I may have accidentally on purpose indulged in big lazy naps and movie watching for a large chunk of the afternoon.

There I go again, making good use of my time.

Actually I could make the case for a good nap any day of the year, but especially in December. I felt like a new woman on Sunday and I'm pretty sure that's due to my Saturday afternoon siesta. We did manage to squeeze in a little wrapping and card writing too, and by we I mean me because hubs only wraps under duress. Plus he had places to go and people to see which is really code for work, so on Sunday he headed to his home away from home-aka the airport. Don't feel too sorry for him though because he's in the fairy tale village of Heidelberg.

Without me.

Which might make me sad except one of us has to be home to collect this little cutie pie from the airport in a couple of days-

Okay, so that's a picture from a long ago Christmas past but seriously, is she the cutest thing ever or what? Daughters coming home from university for the holidays makes me supremely happy. Especially daughters who love to bake and have worked in retail where they learned to tie beautiful bows.

I truly do have loads to tick off my list today so I will leave you with a picture of 'something sticky' which is our prompt for today's photo challenge....

Isn't that mitten bowl cute? I make several batches of this Christmas Chex Mix throughout the month of December. It's easy and delicious and completely addicting. We usually take a bottle of wine to our party hosts but I also like to package this up in a festive container tied with ribbon and a Christmas ornament and voila...a fun little hostess gift.

You can find the recipe online but it's Christmas so I'm saving you the trouble-

8 cups cereal (I use 3 cups each of rice and corn chex and 2 cups cheerios)

2 cups salted peanuts

2 cups pretzel sticks

1-12 oz. bag of red and green m & m's

1 lb. white chocolate

Combine the cereal, peanuts, pretzels and m & m's in a large bowl. Melt the chocolate and pour over cereal mix to coat. Dump it all out on some waxed paper to harden. Enjoy!

Away in a Manger

For the past several Decembers I've traveled with a group of friends to Christmas markets in one charming German city after another.

The market stalls are loaded with vendors selling amazing food, jewelry, scarves and, my personal favorite, beautiful handcrafted Christmas decorations. There are so many choices it's hard to know what to buy. Occasionally our decisions were based on luggage space which is sad but true.

I have brightly colored nutcrackers, delicate glass ornaments, a small hand carved nativity and, one of my very favorite souvenirs, a German pyramid. The pyramids come in several different sizes but mine is four-tiered with six candles around the bottom tier. When you light the candles the paddles on top of the pyramid slowly turn.

I chose this pyramid because it held all the pieces of the nativity story. In the center of the bottom tier you'll find Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus in the manger. All around this scene are the intricately carved camels and kings.

The two middle tiers feature shepherds and their teeny tiny sheep...

And on top of it all is where you'll see the sweet choir of angels...

I can almost hear them singing.

"And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them." Luke 2:7 (NIV)

This post is linked to the December photo challenge hosted by Susan...today's prompt-Away in a Manger.

Santa Claus is (still) comin' to town

Has Santa always been controversial? When I was a kid I didn't know anyone whose family didn't include Santa as part of their December celebrations. Well, other than my Jewish friends but they got presents for eight days straight which always made us just a little bit envious.

My own parents didn't go overboard. I mean my dad never donned a red suit or climbed out on the roof to ring sleigh bells but he did love the excitement of Christmas morning. And my mother stayed up til ridunculous hours getting our stockings filled and making sure everything would be just so when her family descended the stairs at o'dark thirty. I think most mothers would agree that Santa would be nothing were it not for Mrs. Claus.

In recent years it seems there is much discussion about the influence of Santa...the commercial side of Christmas has definitely been amped up a hundred fold since I was a kid. I do know that as a child I never confused Santa with Jesus. We heard the real Christmas story at Christmas time (and throughout the year) and were taught the importance and real meaning of the day. Santa Claus was something else and we understood this.

We knew we'd go to church at Christmas time. We went to church every Sunday and Christmas would be no exception. Besides I loved church, especially in December. As an adult the Christmas Eve service has become my favorite part of the holiday. Even so, the excitement that built as Christmas day rolled around, that sense of anticipation my siblings and I felt, is something I will never forget.

I remember going to bed on Christmas Eve feeling like my heart might burst. It was full. I felt a special measure of love on Christmas Eve for the sister with whom I shared a room. Oh we may have argued on other days but never ever on Christmas Eve. We were giddy with excitement and whispered across the space between our twin beds long after the lights went out. We'd tell each other that the sooner we went to sleep the sooner it would be morning. And somehow, in spite of ourselves, we would sleep.

I remember waking while it was still dark. My older sister would come into our room and the three of us would creep not so quietly into our brother's room to wait for the street lights to go out. It felt like hours and it may have been. We weren't allowed to wake our parents if the street lights were still on.

My mother took such care in wrapping our gifts and she still ties beautiful bows. We each had our special places in the living room and knew right where to look for our stockings which were, and still are, our favorite part of the day. Once those were finished we'd have a big breakfast before opening other gifts. The morning seemed to stretch on forever.

I don't remember my parents using Santa as a means of keeping us in line. He was more the jolly character who came quietly in the night and left happy childhood memories in his wake. While there are one or two gifts that stand out, the thing that bubbles to the surface of my heart when Christmas comes round is the sense of belonging to a family who loved me unconditionally.

I'm fairly certain a metaphor could be inserted here.

We've carried on similar traditions with our own girls at Christmas. One year hubs had taken the girls to the mall for some last minute shopping. We knew Daughter1 no longer believed in Santa (these thoughts are never said aloud) but Daughter2 had nary a doubt. A reporter from the local newspaper was there and he stopped them for an interview. He asked Daughter2, 'How does Santa get all those presents down your chimney and into your house?" Hubs could not believe his ears. Was this reporter going to ruin Santa for Daughter2 just days before Christmas? She was considering his question for a moment when out of nowhere Daughter1 piped up and said, 'Well, he climbs up on the rooftop and....and...he just does...it's really kind of magical." Problem solved. By a ten year old.

I found a few pictures from that long ago December day. I'm linking them for today's photo challenge since the prompt is 'Santa Claus'. Daughter2 needed to talk to Santa and Daughter1 went along with it in the name of sisterhood and make believe.

Christmas, 1998

Daughter1 is perfecting that thing tweens do with their eyes that parents dislike. She is sitting quietly but inside she is shouting-Do NOT take my picture with Santa! I'm too grown up for this.

Santa doesn't think so...

He asks Daughter1 what she wants for Christmas while Daughter2 tries to calm her nerves and remember her list. (Daughter2 always always has a list.)

She succeeds.

I love this Santa...he takes his job seriously.

And I love these big little girls, who at ages 8 and 10, loved Christmas and Santa and each other. They had imaginations as big as the sky and it was there they tucked Santa once Christmas Day had passed. These big little girls loved Jesus too. Still do. He lives not in their imaginations, but deep in their hearts...on Christmas and everyday after.

"While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them." Luke 2:6-7

A Mery Christmas Tale

Once upon a time there lived a family, a mom and dad and their two darling daughters, who grew up and lived in their own apartments in two different states far away from their parents home and hearth. I know that's sad but don't worry, the story has a happy ending.

As with most of life's small details mama was in charge of the family's Christmas card each year. In spite of her babies growing up when she had her back turned for a minute, Mama still wanted to include them in the annual family photo card. She knew it would be silly to have a family Christmas card photo without all family members present and accounted for so way, way, way back in late August she had a brilliant idea.

Her whole little family would be together for a fun filled weekend celebration of baby girls 21st birthday in early September. Mama knew this was her window of opportunity and she seized it. She also knew this Christmas picture would be taken in warm weather under sunny skies so in a fit of creativity Mama decided to add just a splash of the meaning of the season to the photo. She purchased wooden letters from the craft store and painted them a cheerful Christmas green. She even remembered to haul those painted letters through three states to the birthday celebration. Sometimes that whole 'remembering to follow through' part of a great idea is where Mama drops the ball but not this time. No sirree, she was on top of her game.

Let's recap-it was September. Christmas was still more than three months away yet Mama had her whole family together, dressed in non-clashing clothing, smiling for a photographer (okay, brother in law) under sunny blue skies, holding holiday letters she had painted herself. Mama rocks!

The seasons they go round and round and now it's early December. Mama spends hours perusing various and sundry websites to find the perfect template for her photo. She discards all those that are too busy, too wordy, and too tacky until she finally lands on one that is just right. The color scheme matches her family photo to a T and the wording is simple. The photo is the star which is how she likes it.

She ever so carefully enters her text onto the backside of the card template, checking each and every letter as she goes. She reads it back over and over again to be certain there are no errors because a spelling error in the Christmas card might just send mama right over the edge. She hits enter and she smiles.

A week or so later her cards arrive in the mail. She tears open the box, anxious to see how it all came together. She has company in the house though, so she only has a minute to glance at the package and she is happy. It looks beautiful and her carefully thought out plan has come together.

The hubs comes home. She cannot wait to show him the card and as soon as he has greeted their guests she calls him into the other room to see her handiwork. He takes one quick glance and pronounces, 'The word Merry is spelled wrong."

Wait, what?

What did he say? A spelling mistake? That can't be. No no no. Mama had checked and rechecked and triple checked her spelling before hitting enter. She looks at her pretty card again. Mery Christmas.

Mery? Really?

AAAAGGH!!!!

The only teeny tiny bright spot here is that the mistake is not hers. The mistake is on the front of the card in their template. Mama thinks she might cry but instead she sits with her company who are family, and they talk about big serious things going on with people they love and Mama regains her perspective once more.

She calls the printer the very next day and they are apologetic and kind and they give her a full refund and tell her they will give her free expedited shipping and 50% off a new order which makes Mama mostly happy. Since the error was in their template she can't just reorder the same card. She has to choose a new card. Under pressure. So she does. Actually Mama does some of her best work under pressure.

And so a new card will come and it won't be her first choice but the wishes it holds will still be the same. And Mama won't have a picture for todays photo challenge whose prompt was 'stamped and addressed cards' but she will have joy in her heart anyway. Because Christmas is coming, and when she thinks about a baby born in a manger over 2000 years ago she knows that a less than perfect card is not such a big deal.

"So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child." Luke 2:4-5 (NIV)