we all have heard christmas is about giving. no, no, no. it is about receiving.
receiving the best gift of all.

a merry christmas to you.

all my love,
bethy :)

if you sat on santa's lap, what would you tell him you wanted for christmas? come on, the line is short, and santa looks nice enough. what would you tell him?

tell me and i will make a post about it. i think it will make a fun read. i will start...

bethy: i want a wall canvas from curly girl designs. i just smile whenever i see her work. my favorite is the one with the girl riding on the vespa.

suburban mom: I'll have to think about what I want...I'll be back. Oh, the gift I am most excited about is a very cool Anatomy book. I know, I know, I'll just put the big D on my forehead right now.... :)

lizziefitz: Santa, I will take Pine Cone Hill PJ's.

chriskauf: I would like a round mirror with nail heads all around the edge, and a White Kitchen Aid mixer. Oh and the round black table I already bought myself, its been in my house for two weeks and my hub hasn't noticed it yet. Hehe.

katie: On the top of my "Dear Santa" list was a Martha Stewart enameled cast iron dutch oven. And, out of the blue, my husband surprised me with it just yesterday as an early Christmas gift! So next on my list is...a pair of tap shoes!! (No, I do not know how to tap...but tap shoes would greatly improve my dance routines on the kitchen tile floor...Who doesn't want a pair of clacky shoes?) ....a-clacky-clack, a-clacky-clack, a clack-clack-clack...

jerusalem: I really want the "Feed Bag" from the World Food Programme. Not only is it for a good cause, but it is made out of burlap (my favorite textile) and would hold all my junk!!

ashley: i want more time. time alone. time to organize. time to plan. time for people to put things back where they belong so mommy doesn't feel like she needs to. time to sleep in. time to go have coffee with my girlfriends. time for dates with my husband. time alone. that is serioiusly what i want. just more time. it seems to be slipping away so fast.

libby: Cello lessons. Then maybe someday I could jam with Yo-Yo Ma. :)

jen@the cottage nest: i think if I could have anything it would be the chance to have the entire holiday season to do over again. It's gone much too quickly. Otherwise I would settle for a shopping spree at Anthropologie!

sugar bear: I want my husband to finish the half finished home projects! I would also like some Garnet Hill sheets.

bethany hissong: I love the curly girl calendar but they're sold out!!! If I could have anything for Christmas, I would ask for new red siding for my house!! I've always wanted to live in a red house :)

liz: I'd like more time alone in the mornings in my office. Time to write little happy stories and sip from my coffee mug and watch the sun shine through my red and white curtains. I'd like some more of that.

trish: I'd like skeins and skeins of beautiful wool and someone to teach me how to knit. And a year of personal chef services.

kellie: Can I stop time so my little one doesn't grow up? She's so sweet and cute and funny. But alas, I know that's not possible! So instead, I really want a set of Martha Stewart flannet sheets from Macy's with a village scene on them. And a few good books.

emily: for my husband, who was deployed several months ago, to come home. i know i can't have that, so all i can do is wish for peace on earth! that saying truly hits home this year!

remember fantasy island? that little guy, what was his name? tattoo? i liked him. :) he used to yell, da plane! da plane! at the beginning of every episode.

so here is my tree, boss. (that is what tattoo called mr. rork.)
i really wasn't going to show it, but everyone else is, so well, i guess it is just something you are supposed to do. maybe you can see i kind of settled on gold, cream, and greens/blues. so much for brown this year. i'm really not a gold person. but i guess i like it.

and thank you all for your comments yesterday. i know i don't always comment back, but if you leave me a little note, i do remember you, and i appreciate you, and i count you as friends. please know that.

as for fantasy island, now that i have it on my mind, i am going to have to find out how to watch an old episode of that. if i remember correctly, it was a little freaky wasn't it?

dear tim,

i saw a funny thing yesterday. i was driving through a neighborhood near elisabeth's school and i saw a house decorated for christmas. it had one of those old plastic manger scenes that i just love on the front porch. mary and baby jesus were to the left of the front door and joseph was to the right. i thought it was funny that the homeowner had split up the special couple. but that wasn't the funniest part. the thing that made me laugh out loud was right there in the midst of the holy family was a big tower of boxes from amazon.com. so maybe that is why they split them up, to make room for the deliveries? i wish i had gotten a picture, because doesn't that say it all about how things are these days?

and as i thought about that, i was reminded of you. and i wanted to tell you that actually, you are always on my mind right now. i know this is a really hard time for you. for anyone who has lost a loved one, christmas can be such a sad season. i keep thinking i am not in the mood for any of it. but maybe that is because i have had it all wrong for so long. when i think about santa, family traditions, old carols and holiday gatherings, the absence of jake is so evident and painful. but when i can think beyond this earth, if i can just try to keep in the forefront of my mind that the whole reason we celebrate this holiday is because christ came to save jake, to bring him to heaven because he loves him so much and because of christmas we will see him again because he loves us too. if i can just keep that perspective and try not to focus on the fluff, then i really do want to celebrate. joy to the world, i get it...joy! because we will live forever. joy. because we will see jake again. thank God. and merry christmas. the real one.

love,
your sister


since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. colossians 3:1,2

can you tell what this is?

ten years ago, on december 6th, i carried one just like it.
i told my husband on that day, that every year the only thing i ever want for our anniversary is an exact replica of it. i loved that bouqet and all that it represented. so now, for ten years straight, he has complied with my wishes.


another reason i love him dearly.

eyes that sparkle with christmas. who needs decorations?
:)

i was in a grumpy mood this morning. i have had a yucky cold all weekend and i guess i was just sick of being couped up. because after i decided to run a few errands, my spirits lifted. which is kind of the opposite of the normal me. as the often shy, introverted type, i usually enjoy being couped up. but not today. i spent a few hours hitting some spots around town and ended up at the grocery store. i chatted with everyone who came into three feet of me, which is also very abnormal of me, and i got more groceries than i usually get. i was having a high time, whistling in the aisles and buying new items even if they were not on sale, including this new detergent. i was so tickled that the colors on the bottle match my laundry room decor! as soon as i got home, i plopped it on top of our washer. it looked so great! and it says it smells lemon fresh - bonus! but not three minutes passed...

husband: do you have the receipt from the grocery store?
bethy: yes. why?
husband: because the detergent you just bought doesn't work with our machine.
bethy: are you sure?
husband: yes. it has to be h/e. so it has to go back.
bethy: but look how good the bottle looks in our laundry room.
husband: (raises eyebrow)
bethy: i know, i will pour the stuff in the ugly bright orange bottle into the pretty new bottle, then we can donate the detergent from the bottle we can't use to someone in need.
husband: no, that's weird.
bethy: come on!
husband: no.

that is when i got the old dj jazzy jeff song in my head.
husbands just don't understand.

so i said: yo homes, smell ya later.

aren't these two just so precious? i think they look like the nicest snow people you could know. i bet they are on their way to church or a charity event. i bet, even though they have been together for over thirty years, he still opens the car door for her. and i can just tell she makes a great pie. i am inviting them to all of my holiday events.

we got our tree and greenery last night. today we shall "trim." isn't that a funny way to say decorate?

oh, and please don't think just because i was teasing mr. snoopy that you are not wanted here! snoopy was being sneaky - and even he is welcomed here :)