Thinking Christmas

Don't worry, I'm not beginning to decorate, or trying to hurry the Thanksgiving season away. In fact, I'm slightly annoyed with some my neighbors for ALREADY having a Christmas tree up inside their house or their Christmas garland and lights outside their house. It's far too early for that. But, it's not too early to be thinking about MAKING Christmas presents.


When we were little, we made just about ALL of our Christmas presents. I can remember making my Mom a necklace out of a single crochet chain and being so excited to give it to her that I couldn't wait until Christmas and let her have it early. :)

I also remember the year that I turned 11. That year I made little gifts for every member in our extended family, down to my Dad's five cousins, their spouses, and their children. The gifts were simple -- little wooden puzzles for the fathers, pincushions or painted hearts for the mothers, and sewn toys for the children. I spent months getting ready and emptied out the bottom drawer of my dresser to stash all these presents. I even remember enlisting my best friends to help me wrap! I have no idea how my mother managed to post everything away, but I remember being thanked by several members of the family, so they must have made it.

One year my Dad brought home a huge bag and wouldn't let us look in it. He explained it all to Mom who then locked herself in our schoolroom for many nights. All we could hear was the faint whirr of the sewing machine, and we could only try to guess what was going on. Christmas morning greeted us each with a beautiful, large, rag doll, complete with an adorable outfit. We loved those dolls!

Other years we kids made cards, potholders, tea cozies; once we made a look-alike American Girl Doll complete with a whole wardrobe of clothes, a wooden bed and accessories for my sister who was longing to own Samantha.

Being confined pretty much to home this year, and without the pressure of outside engagements, my thoughts have turned again to making presents. I suggested to Rachel the other day that she might want to make some stacks of cards for presents. She immediately set to work, and before the day was done, she had at least 3 piles, neatly tied with satin ribbon. I can't say what my mind has been brainstorming, lest I spoil some surprises, but I'm having fun dreaming. We'll see what turns into reality.

The picture at the top shows the stockings I sewed the first Christmas we lived in Scotland. I boldly asked for scraps at the local tailor's and pieced together three stockings from the results. They are not stunning, but they were creative for what I had.

And so I am looking forward to extending the Thanksgiving season just a bit longer, and am not planning to decorate for Christmas until sometime in the first week of December, but in the mean time I'll enjoy my little secret thoughts about Christmas and what I might be able to make.

Pictures from the Week

I am now "officially" taking visitors, and these beautiful flowers came in the arms of one such person. They are so pretty, and I'm enjoying them so much.

Decorations on the table

I've been starting to make dinner again! And this week I helped with Sunday lunch. Most of the cooking was done by Emily (my sister who lives with us), but I got the pork roast into the crockpot. It was a lovely meal -- we dumped apples and onions and some peach/ginger jam and a few green chilies and some salsa onto the meat and let it cook away.

Our little secret is putting a frozen roast in the crockpot and letting it cook on low overnight. It's worked everytime and there is no more fussing about getting something thawed at the right time.

These mums came from a friend in memory of Michael's Grandmother. They look perfect in our living room, and make it feel more like Fall.

A gaggle of turkeys appeared on the kitchen table the other day when Grandma was here. She and the kids made about 25 of these cute little birds which will serve as place markers for our Thanksgiving feast. I thought they were extremely clever!

Squanto

I was reading a storybook to the children the other evening about Squanto and was moved nearly to tears by the suffering and struggles this man went through during his life. He is the Indian who came to the aid of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts and taught them what they needed to know in order to survive. I guess what touched me was that all those years of hardship and sadness were not useless -- they were equipping Squanto and situating him so that he would be prepared to save the lives of the English settlers.

For those of you, who, like me, may have forgotten Squanto's story, here is a brief rundown:

• Squanto was born and raised in Massachusetts
• He was captured by explorers and taken to England where he worked for 9 years and learned English. Eventually he made it back to his own people in America
• He was captured a second time by other explorers and taken to the slave market in Malaga, Spain
• He was rescued from the slave market by friars who showed kindness to Squanto and eventually helped him get to England and look for a way home
• When Squanto finally returned home he found every last member of his tribe had been wiped out by disease; he was forced to find refuge in a neighboring tribe
• He then discovered the Pilgrims, living on the very land where he had grown up. He decided to befriend them and taught them all they needed to know in order to survive.

The Pilgrims must have been astounded to find an Indian who spoke English, understood their ways, and was willing to be their friend. I suppose our nation owes much to this man whose suffering brought life to so many.

The kids and I are enjoying reading about Columbus, Jamestown, and the Pilgrims. We're following a history textbook, but making use of all the books we can order from the library. And, it just so happens that Thanksgiving is around the corner. The children will be well-educated just in time to participate in a day where history meets the present. We, too, have much to be thankful for this year.

Photo courtesy of Karen Reyburn

Re-Entry

I went to Walmart today, for the first time in over three months! Michael took me to look into getting my eye glasses changed. I must say, it felt like a very monumental event.

As I walked through the front doors, it was almost as if I was moving in slow motion, walking onto center stage in an epic film. I felt as if everything around me should stop, the background music reach a great crescendo, and I should burst into song: "I'm back!"

In reality, no one noticed anything out of the ordinary. In fact, no one really noticed my existence except for a cheerful man in a wheelchair with whom I exchanged a big smile. But I was noticing everything -- I didn't care if it was only Walmart, I was re-entering the WORLD!

I can remember feeling this unique set of emotions once before -- when we moved back from Scotland to the United States. Flying home on that last flight I was once again "re-entering" and I felt then, too, that everyone should realize: "I'm an American and I'm moving HOME!" But, once again, it was a private moment that no one knew of.

However, my kids are beginning to feel Mommy's presence again. Hopefully, it is mostly to their happiness, but I'm sure it is not exactly fun to be having a more scheduled "clean up" time, or a mother that is more present to sort out disagreements. :)

Here's a picture of Rachel and Andrew playing dentist the other day.

Baby Cakes

I had a long play time with Baby Cakes the other day and decided to take some pictures:

"Mom, do you really have to take pictures?"

"How about we play with the stool?"

"I'm not really into this"

"Let's talk on the phone"

"Here's my chubby tummy"

"I'm just going to try to hide my smile"

"Hmmmm.... what should I do next?"

"Oh!"

"I'm going to stay right here"

"Okay, I can't not smile any longer"

Grandma Eleanor

Michael's grandmother, Eleanor Florence, passed away early this morning. Grandma was a dear lady and I am grateful that I was able to get to know her in the last 9 years.

Grandma had a great sense of humor and a very generous heart. She was always thinking of practical ways to be of help. I loved the fact that she would frequently change her entire apartment around (the furniture) all by herself (as a child I was always moving my bedroom furniture around by myself).

Most important, Grandma had placed her trust in Christ for her salvation and she longed for each member of her family to do the same. It is a precious thing to have a grandparent praying for you. Our daughter, Rachel Eleanor, is named after Grandma.

"All the days ordained for me were written in Your book, before one of them came to be."
Psalm 139:16

The Word From Bed

Now that we have completed the current round of doctor's appointments, I thought I would put in a little update on my health, for those of you who are wondering.

The doctors have all confirmed that what happened to me this summer was a thyroxine overdose which led to me developing hyperthyroidism and caused the nasty crash that has landed me in bed. I am back to my normal thyroid level, and am beginning to move beyond my bedroom as strength allows.

I am to plan on gradually increasing my household activity over the next three months, hopefully getting back to my normal level of responsbility by the end of that time. From there we just continue to deal with the underlying chronic fatigue and allergies that have been a problem all along.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers over the past months of what has been the most difficult trial of my life. God has provided grace one hour, one day at a time. He is to be praised for His faithfulness to us. Please do continue to pray for me, as you think of it, that I would continue to trust and obey, and that God might see fit to restore a measure of strength to me.