Happier New Year!

2011 2012

How can it be the cusp of New Year when 2011 barely arrived? In some ways, the year zipped by. In other ways, every month lasted a decade. The Bible says a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are but a day to God. LOL. I *did* say I wanted to become more like the Father this past year; but that wasn't exactly what I had in mind!

2011 seemed like a modern-day book of Job for almost everyone I know. Was it that way for you, too?

Friends watched their children strike out on the Prodigal route.

The Angel of Death visited with staggering frequency. My daddy and two of my dear friends went home to Jesus, so I hesitated to make that observation until I paused and thought of how many others around me have said final good-bys to dear ones this year, too.

Illness struck, too. Our own Tracie Peterson shared about being diagnosed with MS. Robin fought cancer. I'm still fighting the fight.

The nightly news reminds us that the economy is horrible. Wars, earthquakes, famine, and floods abound.

It's all enough to make us all cry, "MARANATHA!" Even so, Lord, quickly come!
But only He knows the day and hour.

So 2012 is going to be my hear of Counting Blessings. I'm going to jump the gun by a few says.

Kelly is getting married January 14th, and in the midst of getting myriad tasks done for that, it's a joy to see how happy she and Shannan are.

Tracie gave me permission to share with you all that her neurologist felt weight loss would be wise due to her MS, so she underwent lap band surgery this week. Praise Jesus, she's recovering beautifully. Here's a picture of her with Grinder, the Teddy Bear Jim gave her.

My pain specialist did an epidural ablation yesterday--burning pain nerves in right side of my lower back. Next month, he'll do the other side. I'm so thankful God has given us the medical ability to treat some of the pain.

Amongst my scrapbooking stuff is a quote by Mother Theresa. There's no doubt in my mind that the Holy Spirit set it before me today as I straightened up a pile of craft junk.

Isn't that wonderful? So this year, I'm going to try to do everything with all the love God pours into me. And I'm going to count blessings.

I'd like to share blessings, too. I have LOADS of scrapbooking stuff by Sizzix and Cuttlebug. Share something you're closing the door on from 2011 or something you anticipate in 2012 and let me know if you'd like to be in a drawing for a goody bag of embossing folders and dies.

HAPPIER NEW YEAR!
Cathy

Guest Blogger: Stephanie Grace Whitson

Whether you are a “Scrooge” or an angel, I hope your Christmas celebration included JOY. We hosted three gatherings with various family members, including post-Christmas Eve service chili & potato soup feast, Grandpa’s 87^th birthday party on Christmas Day, and a family gathering the day after to exchange gifts and feast. Again. With two of the five grand-children attaining the ripe old age of three, there were little people among us who knew exactly what those pretty boxes under the tree meant … and who were ready to have at them! (Note: Open the Playskool Nativity Scene in advance. Assembly IS required!) Indulge my sharing this photo of the “personalities” in attendance.

In the “in-between” week between Christmas and New Years, I’m putting the finishing touches on my Christmas novella A Patchwork Love for next year so that I can meet my January 1 deadline, and then will turn my attention to writing book 2 in The Quilt Chronicles series … ever mindful of what a blessing it is to have work in tough times. And of course there are proposals to write and ideas to ponder.

This morning I asked a group of online writing friends, “If you could only recommend ONE book on craft, what would it be?” My intention is to read a craft book a month in 2012 … challenging myself to keep learning. My only “formal” training in writing is a university minor in English, a correspondence class in journalism, and a community college course in creative writing. Since all of that occurred decades ago, I’ve been convicted to do something methodical to improve my craft. So here is my 2012 Reading List thus far:

                  Story by Robert McKee

                  The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler

                  The Moral Premise by Dr. Stanley Williams

                  Fiction Writing Demystified by Tom Sawyer

                  Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain

                  Characters Make Your Story by Maren Elwood

                  Fiction is Folks by Robert Peck

                  Stein on Writing by Sol Stein

                  Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maas

                  How to Write Best-Selling Fiction by Dean Koontz

2012 brings us all one year closer to eternity … may we live it well!

Stephanie Grace Whitson

www.stephaniewhitson.com

www.footnotesfromshistory.blogspot.com

What a difference a decade makes

Around Thanksgiving, when all of the Sawyer siblings were gathered, Dad-in-love had us meet at the house and sort through things in anticipation of selling the house and any "unnecessary" belongings. Such a bittersweet task, combing through 57 years of accumulated items. We missed Mom-in-love soooo much during those hours, but we also found joy in looking through what she'd left behind.

Mom was a dedicated photo-album maker. All were carefully labeled, so one could glance at the cover and know exactly what was inside. Oh, such a trip down Memory Lane to put those albums in order and page through them! Christmas 2001, she had each of her sons and their families pose in front of the Christmas tree for a quick family picture. Ours is below...

Of course, Mom wasn't here this year to take an updated photo of each family. If she had, she probably would have commented on how we no longer fit in front of the tree! Here is our 2011 family photo, taken on Christmas day at my mom and dad's house.

Can you believe what a change ten years brought? From five members to sixteen. In 2001, I wouldn't have been able to imagine such a crowd; now I can't imagine it any other way. Each of the people in this photo are so precious to me. The picture wouldn't be complete without any one of those faces.

While sifting through Mom S's things, it became evident what was important to her: family, friends, and retaining memories. I couldn't help but wonder what people will discover about me when they sort through what I leave behind. Will the things my girls and grandchildren find in boxes and dresser drawers paint a set of footsteps worthy of following? I pray so.

Funny what a difference a decade makes... It just occurred to me that this was my 50th Christmas. Wow, how many faces will be crowded into the frame on my 100th Christmas? Hm...

May God bless you muchly as you journey with Him! ~Kim

New Traditions

Our family decided we would try a few different things this year and if we liked them, we’d repeat them in the future. All three of us thought we should try some things that wouldn’t be constant reminders of the fact that Jim wasn’t with us. I wasn’t prepared to face a lot of changes in our celebration last year, but this Christmas I agreed we should create some new memories.

On December 17, we attended the Christmas Festival performed by the Kansas City Symphony. The concert was performed at Helzberg Hall in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, a gorgeous structure that was designed for both optimum sound and seating. We were entertained by the unbelievably beautiful music of the symphony as well as musical numbers by the Kansas City Symphony Chorus, Rezound Bell Ringers, the Allegro Children’s Choir, Kansas City Brass, and there was even a sing-along with Santa Claus. We enjoyed a delicious dinner afterward and I even took a picture of my plate. However, the picture didn’t turn out—so not food picture!

On Christmas Eve we attended the candlelight service at church and although that’s not a new tradition, we followed the church service with a drive through the Winter Wonderland lights at Lake Shawnee. We have gone to see the lights before, but never on Christmas Eve. Afterward, we enjoyed snacks and watched a movie—a nice end to the evening.

I don’t have a lot of pictures from Christmas Day as I only took a few. My camera wasn’t behaving and Justin took over with his. Unfortunately, he hasn’t emailed them to me just yet. So, I have one of him opening a gift. He wore his “Christmas hat” and Jenna had on her reindeer ears and the elf socks that were in her stocking this year. And the Aflac duck is a new addition to the fireplace and deserving of a picture. I thought with that hat and scarf he should be holding a rifle to scare off the hunters that might be out trying to “take him down” for Christmas dinner. And although he looks like he's sitting under a palm tree, that's really a small fern that is overpowering the small statured duck.

My big surprise this Christmas was a joint gift from my two kids—an IPad. You won’t see a picture of me opening that gift because I was so overwhelmed that I went into the “ugly cry.” After dinner, we did some time with the Wii Fit—much needed after all the Christmas eating!!

Although there were times when melancholy and sadness crept in, there were many more happy moments. We made some sweet memories that I will cherish throughout the coming year.

May you find joy as you cherish time with your loved ones throughout the coming year. ~Judy

P.S. I know Tracie would appreciate your prayers--particularly today, but also over the next few weeks.

A favorite 2011 Christmas memory

I hope you all had warm and lovely Christmases with family and friends, and that you made some wonderful memories too. One of my favorite memories from this Christmas actually started last year, and it involves something Kelsey got for Joe last Christmas...

This is Joe last year, opening up his Toy Story 3 DVD from Kelsey, and then realizing that it's a Blu-ray DVD version, meaning he can't watch it because we don't have a Blu-ray DVD player. : (

And just to be clear...we love, love, LOVE Toy Story 3 so that wasn't the issue. (BTW, I cried and cried at the end of the movie, which qualifies it as a great movie for me. Because if I don't laugh and cry I don't feel as if I've gotten my money's worth.) Anyway, it was the "not being able to actually watch the movie" that Joe found (amusingly) annoying above!

Well…bless her heart, Kelsey made the same mistake this year!

Here's a very smug Joe from this past weekend, holding up his True Grit Blue-ray DVD that he has no way to play. 

Only this year, Kelsey bought the Blu-ray version on purpose because her gift to her dad was...

You guessed it...

A Blu-ray DVD Player! : )

So we watched True Grit again this weekend and really enjoyed it. And the joke on Joe made it even more special.

Here's a pic of our family wearing our "family gift" with the tags still on...

And me below with a fun gift from Joe that Jack kept trying to attack: New Isotoner "office shoes." Woohoo!

We made many more wonderful memories this weekend, some of which I may not recall until years from now. Funny how some memories become clearer––and even more precious––with time's passing.

So tell me, what's a favorite memory for you from this Christmas? Funny or touching, either one. I'd love to hear it!

Tammy

P.S. More Alexander Christmas pics here (with the ever important desserts!), along with a hysterical dog video.  And check out a Cozy Christmas Scent, a wonderful stovetop simmering spice.

You Need to Read this Book: The Wednesday Wars

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. I'm sending this post with the very best wishes for a wonderful New Year.

Earlier this month, a friend on a writer's email group asked if anyone else had read The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (released in 2007 for the YA market). My friend didn't have to say much to make me want to give the book a try. I bought it right away but was in the middle of another book so didn't get to start it until a couple of weeks later.

The Wednesday Wars is set during the school year of 1967-1968. The protagonist is 7th grader Holling Hoodhood, the only Presbyterian in his class. Every Wednesday, half the class goes off for Hebrew instruction and the other half goes off for Catholic instruction. Holling is left in his teacher's care. If not for him, Mrs. Baker would have Wednesday afternoons off. Therefore he is sure she hates him as only a teacher can and is out to kill him in devious ways, including by making him read Shakespeare plays.

I don't want to give away too much of the story. But I will say this: I laughed and laughed and laughed. I related to all the angst of a 12 year old. I remembered those atomic bomb drills where we got under our desks. I also ached over parts of the story. The writer is truly gifted at saying much with a few words. He also reminded me why I'm glad I'm not a 7th grade boy dealing with the 8th grade boys on the cross-country team. Read the book to know what I mean. LOL! And it is a rare writer who can bring me to tears while I'm walking on the treadmill, but that's what happened to me when he so wonderfully described the sound Mrs. Baker made when–– (Nope! Not gonna say more.)

If you were ever a kid, if you were ever in the 7th grade, and especially if you were a 7th grade kid during the turbulent '60s, you need to read this book.

~robin

Christmas Bright

Merry Christmas!

My blissfully beautiful Celtic Christmas Carols CD is playing on my computer. Candles line the mantel, their soft flickering reflecting in the antique mirror built into the old oak piece. Ribbons tangle merrily all over the place, and the cool taste of peppermint candycane is on my tongue.

Most of the absolute essentials on my To-Do List are done--but there are dozens of other things on the list that aren't going to win in the battle against time.

Awe, admiration, and astonishment fill me when I see what others have done. Hosting cookie exchanges, sewing costumes for the school play, singing in the church's Christmas cantata, needlepointing Christmas stockings, planning elaborate menus, and sticking to their diets--those people amaze me. (Remember I'm sucking on a candycane.) I appreciate you. You all make the season glitter.

Someone tricked out their house this year. They go all-out each year by stringing a bazillion strands of lights all over their house and yard, computerize it so the lights flash in jaw-dropping rhythm and complex patters--all in tune with a song which they broadcast to car radios. People come from far and wide to enjoy the amazing light show.

What did the neighbor do? Instead of trying to keep up or compete, he put up only one thing: An arrow pointing at the grand show next door. Above that arrow is only one word: DITTO. So Christmas 2011 managed to produce a wise man. He realized life is not a competition. It's appreciating what is all around us and doing our best.

So this Christmas, along with humming carols, I'm laughingly changing, "DITTO!" To all you who managed your time, energy, resources, and family so well, THANK YOU. I feel just the same way. Unfortunately, my superwoman cape is swirling through the spin cycle in the washer.

God sent His Son. The Magi brought royal gifts. But the Lord sent angels to serenade the lowly shepherds with the great tidings of Christmas. Joy filled the hearts of everyone.

So whether you've given Christmas the royal treatment or are still in the dark, gathering wool, may your days be merry and your Christmas be blessed!

Cathy

A Cup of Coffee and Thou

This week was a bad one and amidst all the frustrations and sorrows and negative vibes being sent out from a variety of sources, I thought I might well give up and stay in bed for the rest of the week.

Then lo and behold, a gift came in the mail.

A present from a dear friend who wanted to cheer me up.

I won't name names, but this dear woman is not without problems and sorrows of her own and yet she took out the time to think of me. And boy - did she think of me!!!

What was in the box?

My very own Keurig Coffeemaker. Wahoo!! I've wanted one for a long, long time and if you have one you'll know what I mean.


Now I have a reason to get up. :D Just kidding, although making coffee with my new machine is great fun.

Oh and since I love to share information with you - let me share this little gem of knowledge.

Most Americans pronounce the company name as “cure-ig” However, Keurig is a Dutch word which means "neat" or "arranged". The Keurig coffee company was founded in 1992 by Olaf Keurig, a Dutchman. The proper Dutch pronunciation actually sounds more like “keer-ech”.

Isn't that neat?

Now I'm off to make a cup of coffee and to think of how blessed I am to have good friends like you and like the elf who sent my Keurig.

Merriest of Christmases to all of you and may God bless you in the year to come. Next week and for about 3 weeks total - Steph Whitson will be filling in for me - while I am busy...making coffee. :)


Tracie
PS - the painting above is from Victor Gabriel Gilbert and titled A Cup of Coffee Painting

Social Networking

Can I say I've grown to love Facebook? I've made "friends" all over the place thanks to social networking. Honestly, as untechie as I am, the enjoyment I find surprises me. But it's great to be able to chat and share prayer requests and celebrate happy moments with people far away thanks to a few clicks on a keyboard.

What if social networking were alive and well back in Jesus' day? His birth might have been announced in a similar manner as this...

I don't know about you, but when the name JESUS appeared across the screen, I discovered the letters were blurry. Blurry from the tears flooding my eyes. HE CAME into this world for YOU and for ME and for anyone else who chooses to BELIEVE.

In the eleventh chapter of John, Jesus tells Martha, "Didn't I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" What a precious gift...and all we have to do is receive it. Believe, and everything changes. We experience a peace, a joy so deep nothing of the world can remove it from us. And then...one day...we will see the Glory of God with our own eyes. All because JESUS came into this world as a tiny Baby destined to set us free from bondage and secure our relationship with the Father.

JESUS...Emmanuel...God with us.

I trust you are celebrating the true meaning of CHRISTmas this season. May God bless you muchly as you journey with HIM!

~Kim

Long Ago Christmas Memories

I thought I’d share an old Christmas picture and a few Christmas memories from my younger years—and I’d love to hear some of yours.

This is a picture of my sister and me on a rare visit to see Santa Claus. It’s one of my favorite pictures from my childhood. Please note those fashionista headscarves we’re wearing. I’m the one standing closest to Santa. My sister and I were probably around five and six when that picture was taken and Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig were the rage, so we were very proud of those headscarves. The coats we're wearing are ones our mother cut down from adult size coats and remade on her treadle Singer sewing machine. I’m still amazed at the things she did in order to make ends meet and provide for us.

A few years later, I received my Porky Pig watch. That’s a picture of it on the right. And yes, it still works. All I need to do is wind it up and it ticks and keeps time perfectly and even the red plastic band is the original. It was one of my favorite Christmas gifts.

One of the things I remember doing with my sister and brother was making Christmas decorations for our tree. My uncle worked for Sealtest milk back when milk came in bottles and had aluminum caps of different colors—whole milk had one color, skim milk, another, buttermilk, another. Those caps were stamped out on a huge machine and around Christmastime, my uncle would bring us some of the surrounding foil that was left over. My mom cut it apart and we would roll the strips around a pencil, slip them off and tie them together to make “stars” that would reflect in the tree lights. I wish I still had one, but they all disappeared over time.

So what are a few of your favorite Christmas memories of a gift, a picture, an ornament or special treat? It’s the time of year for sharing, so do share with us.

Merry Christmas to each one of you, and may you find joy as you celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour? ~Judy

Groanin' Spanx and Swan Lake

Doesn't this cake look absolutely scrumptious!? Well, it was! It was part of Catherine's cake that she made last week. She shared some of it with me and though I had to walk an extra 20 miles in the course of the past few days, it was worth it!

It's my mom's recipe (Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake) with a white chocolate glaze added. Fabulous. Thanks, Catherine, for making it and then for sharing. But honey, my Spanx are groanin'!

To those who won a CD of Fellowship Songs two weeks ago, I just got those mailed so they're coming your way, promise! With Christmas mail, it might take a while, but they're on their way. (Marti, Rosie, Jackie, and Judy, hope you enjoy!)

I'm excited about Christmas, about being with family and friends, about the Christmas Evening service, and even about cooking the Christmas meal. Joe's smoking our traditional Christmas Brisket on the Green Egg again this year, along with two Turkey Breasts (one traditional, one Cajun), and I'm in charge of the rest of the fixings, as they say. Which will be: Cornbread Dressing, Sweet Potato Souffle, Green Bean Casserole, Gulliver's Corn, Frozen Strawberry Salad, Delicious Biscuits, and then Coconut Cake and Pumpkin Pie for dessert. I think I have every family member's favorites in there, but it feels like I'm still missing one. Hopefully I'll think of it.

So, what is YOUR menu going to include this year? Something wild and different? A wonderful twist on a traditional recipe? Do share! I'd love to know.

Before I go, I want to share something that a friend shared with me yesterday––a video of a Chinese ballet company performing Swan Lake. In a word, it's simply remarkable! As I'm watching, I find myself holding my breath in awe. The beauty. The grace. The balance! I had to clap at the end just because. Hope you enjoy...

Click HERE to view (as the embed code wouldn't work for some reason)

And don't forget to share your menu with me. When I think of you on Sunday, I'd love to know what you're eating!

Tammy

P.S. Take a peek at Christmas around the Alexander home, and then tell me, do you think the lions are happy? Or hacked?

Merry Christmas, Passage Friends

Yes, I'm still writing and so close I can taste "The End." But before my next post, Christmas will have come and gone. So I want to wish all of our faithful readers and every occasional visitor a very merry Christmas. You so enrich my life, and I love knowing that we'll get to spend eternity together, worshiping the Lord Jesus.

Maybe we'll sing the Hallelujah Chorus together in heaven. But perhaps not like these "Silent Monks." Yes, you have probably seen this before, but it sure makes me smile when I view it.




~robin

Flannel Dreams

Brrrr! It's cold. Shivering, I pulled open the dresser drawer in search of the ultimate comort: flannel. Webster's ought to glue a swatch of flannel next to the word, "cozy."

Every year at Thanksgiving, my Grandma Peggy had each of us stand by her. She'd make a big deal about how much we'd grown and "measure" us by how we came up to her waist, to her heart, to her shoulder, her chin... and topped her. (On tiptoe, she probably never reached 4'10".) We'd go home, and she'd lie on the floor so Grandpa Jimmy could mark our height--and from that one simple measurement, Grandma made us all flannel pajamas for Christmas.

Sometimes, my sister and I received matching pjs or gowns. More than once, my doll got a gown, too. Ours were fun prints, a rainbow of colors, and bore eyelet lace or rickrack. My brother's pjs were always plaid. Without a pattern, Grandma unfailingly made us pajamas that fit perfectly.

Mom always gave Daddy flannel shirts for Christmas. (Again, plaid. Is there an unwritten rule somewhere that men's flannel is supposed to be plaid?) Shhhhh. My hubby is getting a couple under the tree this year, and you guessed it--they're plaid.



To my way of thinking, flannel holds all the love and comfort of the giver. Nothing beats it for warmth or softness. Baby's first blankets are flannel. More than a few of my family's quilts are backed with squares of flannel recycled from pajamas. A marketing genius grabbed that idea, and now you can buy flannel sheets.

Whoever said money can't buy happiness never bought flannel.
May you be warm and wrapped in love this Holy Season!
Cathy

Ice Harvesting

I've been doing research again for a new book. This time the setting is Minnesota and ice harvesting is a part of my storyline. I love when God sends me wonderful gems from the past, and I just have to share this one with you.


If you have time, I want to encourage you to watch this wonderful movie that was made in 1919 and shows ice harvesting. It's wonderful - not only the actual work on the ice, but they show the men taking the ice for storage and how they utilized horsepower to create an elevator to lift the ice into the icehouse. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.




If nothing else, this video makes me very happy that it's much easier to get ice today.

God Bless You!

A Rerun...Hope You Don't Mind

This isn't a new post--I posted it in December 2008--but as is everyone else this time of year, I'm pressed for time. So I decided to unearth it and share it again. After all, the little purse is as precious (or maybe more so) to me today as it was 35 years ago.

MY FAVORITE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT

Hanging on my Christmas tree is a little beaded purse. Nothing elaborate--just a simple coin purse suspended on a length of red ribbon. But every time I look at that little purse, memories wash over me...

Christmas 1976. I was not-quite-16 and chafing a bit at the changes taking place as I moved from girlhood to womanhood. It seemed so much of life was unfair, and most especially the way we celebrated Christmas that year. Instead of going to Grandma's house, where the air was always scented by homemade goodies, we visited the rest home where Grandma and Grandpa had recently taken up residence because of Grandma's failing health. Instead of Grandma bustling around, laughing as she offered cookies and cocoa, she lay in a tall, institutional bed, her lined face tired and sad. Instead of a fragrant tree overflowing with time-worn ornaments, a tiny plastic tree with unlit bulbs sat on a little table in the corner of the dismal room. This was Christmas? My heart ached at all that had changed.

While my parents visited with Grandpa, I sat on the edge of Grandma's bed and held her hand--the hand that always been so busy but now seemed like a stranger's hand with its blue veins and parchment skin. We talked quietly about school and my future plans. Minutes slipped by, and I felt so grown up sitting there holding her hand and sharing my hopes for the years ahead.

Midway through our conversation, she instructed me to remove my gift from the drawer in the stand beside her bed. I unwrapped a tiny beaded purse from wrinkled tissue paper. As I opened it, Grandma explained that she had trusted a nurse aide to purchase my gift. She apologized, saying it was too childish for the young woman I was becoming, but it was all she had to give me.

I remember sitting there, holding that little purse, with a dozen thoughts rushing through my mind: All you have to give me? You've given me unconditional love and acceptance for as long as I can remember. You taught me to sing "Jesus Loves Me" and to recite the Lord's Prayer. You've prayed with me and for me and have been an example of unselfish love every day of my life! Grandma, you've given me so, so much... But my teenage tongue only managed to tell her thank you for the gift. She smiled, and we continued to visit until tiredness overtook her and she fell asleep.

That was my last Christmas with Grandma. Less than a month later, on my 16th birthday, she slipped away to heaven. Although more than three decades have passed, I still miss her. Especially at Christmas, that time of year when families gather. But I have my little purse and the memory of how she helped me understand, in a very simple way, that Christmas isn't about elaborate gifts or decorated trees or plates of goodies. It's about love--pure, unselfish love shared with those who are important to us. Grandma believed in the precious Gift offered by God at Christmastime, so I know one day I'll see her again in heaven. I look forward to that time, to telling her how many of the dreams I shared on Christmas day in 1976 have come true. But, somehow, I think she already knows, and I'm pretty sure she's smiling and thinking, "I knew you could do it, my Kim."

May God bless you muchly as you journey with Him! ~Kim

Joy, Joy, Joy

I was invited to a Ladies' Ministry Christmas Dinner at a local church last evening. The program, dinner, and decorations were wonderful and I had a delightful time visiting with some friends I hadn’t seen in quite some time. After the program, we were told to check beneath the tablecloth for a little green dot. If it was in front of our chair, we could choose one of the two decorations on our table as a gift. Well, guess who got a little green dot? And guess what I received as my door prize? That’s a picture on the left. Now how fun is it that I end my blogs saying we need to find joy, and I receive a Christmas tree with jingle bells and sparkling cutouts of the word ‘joy?’ It was one of those moments when I had to smile because I was sure God was telling me to keep on choosing to have that inner joy that only He can give.

This was my week for Christmas gatherings. I also attended another church party where we were supposed to take snacks to share. A number of years ago I made white chocolate popcorn, but hadn’t made it for some time. After checking some online sources, I discovered that plain old white chocolate popcorn is pretty passé. Nowadays you have to do more than give folks popcorn and white chocolate. So I printed off one of the new-fangled recipes and gave it a go.

First I popped two bags of buttered popcorn and spread them on my jelly roll pans that I lined with foil. Then I spread pretzels, minature marshmallows, and M& M candies over the popcorn. That's not exactly what the recipe said to do, but I didn't like their idea of how to handle this conglomeration.

Anyway, I melted the white chocolate chips (a 16 oz bag if you want to try this) and drizzled it over the two sheet pans of that mixed-up concoction. I wanted to show you what it looked like while I was ‘fluffing’ it all together, but my hands were sticky and the chocolate was setting up, so no pictures of the fluffing procedure.

After that, I kind of patted it back out on the pan, and then melted some chocolate and drizzled that over the whole mess.
Once it cooled, I put it into my thirty year old Tupperware bowl, it might be forty years old, but who’s counting, and I called it done.
However, I have to tell you the truth: I prefer the old-style white chocolate popcorn. All those other fixings mixed in there just confused my taste buds!

May you find joy as you seek the Lord during this Christmas season. ~Judy

P.S. Patti Jo, thank you for sharing wedding pictures on Facebook. You were a lovely mother of the bride!

Room with a view

Morning all! Hope your week started off well. Loved Robin's post yesterday with that video. Oh so funny. If you haven't seen it yet, run have a quick look. It'll get your day started right! (And I promise you I spotted Kim Sawyer at the very first of the video, in the store, in the black pants and jacket, tossin' that pretty hair of hers. She just walked right by this cute dancin' guy and never said a thing. Imagine!)

Last week Joe and I managed to get away to lovely Hilton Head, SC for a week of intense writing for me and intense relaxing for him. It was a very productive week and it was actually really nice to be back in Hilton Head.

I say "actually really nice to be back" there because Hilton Head was a place where Mom and Dad went for years. Mom loved, loved, loved the beach and we walked these shores many times together. The last time we were back there was in December of 2009, just four months after she passed away in August, and it was rough being there then. We'd planned on staying for a week but packed up and headed out after three days. It was just too hard.

But when the opportunity came this time, I prayed about it (and considered the time I really needed closeted away to write), and we decided to try it again. And we're so glad we did. It was a wonderful trip.

So many memories linger there. I shed some tears during the week but they were far more hopeful, less sad. And it was actually comforting to walk those shores again, knowing that Mom is watching and waiting for us on another distant (and not so distant) shore.

We had some delicious seafood, as you can imagine...

LOVE fish tacos!
This is from a new place called Skull Creek Boathouse and oh...it was fabulous! We went back there a second time later in the week. Here's a pic of the view as you eat. So pretty.

And this will come as a shock, but I managed to enjoy a couple of desserts during the week but apparently was so eager to dive in, I didn't get pics of them. Oh well, suffice it to say, they were good. We had a couple of raining, stormy mornings...

But even those were lovely and then it cleared off, got into the 70s, and we went walking and riding bikes on the beach again.

Kurt stayed here and kept the home fires burnin' and took care of Jack. Here's a pic that Kurt sent us one evening at dinner time...

It's a familiar scene to us come 5:00 in the afternoon around the Alexander home. Jack heads to the fridge and just stands there, anticipating that food will soon come.

As wonderful as it was to get away, it was equally wonderful to get back home. I wasted no time diving back into writing, and actually wrote all the way home as Joe drove (bless him!).

One last thing before I head back to 1866 Nashville again... Look at the beautiful surprise I got yesterday from a snarky, ornery, cantankerous but oh so thoughtful and sweet friend. Absolutely brightened my week like nothing else. And I'm drinking from one of them even now.  : )

Love you all, praying blessings on your day, and tell me, when's the last time you've been totally blown away by a gift (and the thoughtfulness of a friend)?

Tammy

P.S. Want a glimpse into historical forgeries (that I learned about while researching A Lasting Impression)? I posted about them on Write Perspectives yesterday. Interesting!