Merry Christmas

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

What a lovely day to celebrate, The Birthday of Jesus.

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

praying for a miracle

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

¹⁹ The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights. -Habakkuk 3:16-19

In an ICU room full of (paper) angels taped to the walls and amazing women wearing yellow paper robes the nurse suggested Patrick was surrounded by his earthly angles dressed in yellow. I was blessed to be in the presence of those mighty women who rallied around their husband/son/brother. In the midst of receiving bad news yesterday, these women held onto their faith, and claimed His goodness; they Rejoice in the Lord.

Patrick is a friend from a while back whose life story has touched my life story in many ways. He has also touched so many others. People are praying from near and far for a Christmas miracle of Healing. Join me in praying for him.

"Heal Patrick now O God, this Christmas, we beseech you. Do not let him be taken from us, for that would break our hearts. Please help his doctors to find how to heal him, or heal him directly. Have mercy O God, and allow Patrick to know the joy of loving his wife and raising his daughter for many many years to come."

Getting ready for Christmas

Thankfully, P has had lots of time with her grandparents between Thanksgiving and Christmas! She was able to experience many traditions that might not have gotten done without the help of her grandparents.

At Oma and Opa's she got to experience the cutting of a tree (from the front yard) and all the men-folk hauling it in to the living room. This was done in true Griswold fashion. Surely, something she will never forget and probably something she will never see again.

Then with Gigi and Papa, P got to make sugar cookies and a gingerbread house. Both things I planned to do, but didn't know if I would get around to it. The cookies are LONG gone by now, but the gingerbread house sits on the mantle tempting all little ones who come to visit.

We are feeling ready for Christmas around here. And we are looking forward to our quaint little Christmas with our family of 3 before we grow to a family of 4.

Highlighting {handmade}

Today is P's last day of school before Christmas so they are having a bit of a party. The teacher instructed us to send them in red. I was going through her closet looking for red and found the perfect dress, a little on the fancy side, but perfect for Christmas!

This dress was made by my grandmother (probably about 50 years ago) for her daughter, my Aunt Ann. My parents salvaged it a few years ago as they cleaned out some of the closets at my grandparent's old house. It is a beautiful dress that apparently lost its buttons over the years. I didn't notice that detail until I had P completely excited to wear it so we safety pinned the back, tied the sash, and kept her hair down. Perfect!

aack, 10 Days

It's beginning to feel like Christmas, you know that rushed, frantic, how am I going to get everything done feeling? Yup, that is what I am feeling. And it is working double time, since just a month after Christmas we should be welcoming another baby; Baby Brother.

Luckily, we have already had 2 Christmas celebrations so most of the shopping is done. But what to get our special 3.5 year old daughter? And what to get the Mister? All I have space in my brain for is all the cute little gifts I want to buy baby brother. Somehow that is easier, especially since he doesn't really get Christmas gifts and he isn't here yet.

I try to slow down a bit when I think of all that needs to be done and remember really none of it NEEDS to be done. I try to rest in the season of Advent; of waiting. How do you wait in the rush?

Here is one way to take a few minutes each day to meditate on art and music.

Baking this Season

This morning while drinking my eggnog fueled coffee and eating eggs with arugula and feta (yum!) I drooled over the front page of the Washington Post Food Section....EXTRA YUM!

Image via the Washington Post

The pictures are tantalizing and the ingredients sound oh, so, delicious! Salty Chocolate Nutella Thumbprints, yes! Cheesecake Pecan Bars, uh-huh! Lime Thai Basil Shortbread with Passion Fruit Glaze; sure, I will try one!

And a nod to the upstart bakers; Whisked. I look forward to tracking these ladies through the city (they sell at Farmers Markets and this month at the Downtown Holiday Market) to try some of their creations!

Thank you, Food Section, for getting the creative baking juices flowing!