"The First Noel" is "The Heart of Christmas"

After a late dinner on Christmas night, some of the kids shared a re-telling of the Christmas story with us. (Grandma got a front row seat.)

We first met a shepherd

who was visited by an angel; the angel greatly surprised, and frightened, the shepherd. The angel told the shepherd not to be afraid, because there was good news of great joy!

The shepherd hurried on his way to see about what he had been told. Michaela sang "The First Noel," reminding us of the very good news the shepherds received on that first Christmas night long ago.

Mary and Joseph could find no place to stay, except for a stable in town. This would have to do, and in this lowly, humble place, Mary had her first child, a baby boy. (Catherine sang a song..."Breath of Heaven," and it was lovely.)

Joseph and Mary joyfully greeted the shepherd, who came to see this baby that the angel had told him about! He was the Savior!

A little boy with a drum came and played for the newborn king who had been laid in a feeding trough to sleep. 

"Our finest gifts we bring...pa rum pa pum pum."

The girls sang a duet.

Then they were joined by the other kids for one more song, "The Heart of Christmas."

The girls put a lot of time and thought into organizing this production, and it was wonderful! My prayer is that the truths that they were sharing with the rest of us were all the time sinking deeper and deeper into their hearts (amid, and in spite of, all the production drama!), and that the story of "The First Noel" will be one of long lasting and great joy for each one of them.

There Were Two Cavities. No One Told Us There Were Two.

It was Women versus Turkey.

One of us had to take pictures. The turkey was not up for that job. I volunteered. 

Diana had to go out for the afternoon. A crowd was gathering later for Christmas dinner. They would be hungry. Diana was not available. I was taking photos.

It was up to Wendy. She was going to have to take on the turkey.

A daunting task...

but she was up for it. 

She grabbed the bull by the horns!

Or the turkey by the...cavity? By the giblets?

We discovered there are two cavities (I use the term "we" loosely.) (Cavities. Disgusting.)

There was twisting.

And patting.

And more patting. 

The turkey was listing.

We learned that to keep the bird straight, and to keep the wings from sticking out, they were to be tucked under the breast. And it totally worked. 

Because I'm awesome, I don't have a picture of the tuck, or the finished roasted turkey. Wendy did a great job, though. When her brother carved the turkey, he came across the neck. Oops. While half of us were gagging, the other half were laughing, and he threw it in the garbage can. The rest of the carving was uneventful, and he was nibbling as he went along, so the turkey roasting was deemed successful. 

Wendy and I are one step closer to being vegetarians...but we conquered the turkey! (Again, using "we" very loosely.) (I did baste the turkey toward the end of its cooking!)

Here Is My King

A chill night
A babe born
A brilliant light
A mighty horn
A young girl
A young man
A lost world
A love plan
A baby boy
A humble birth
A true joy
A waiting earth

The angels sing
And I with them
Here is my king
From Bethlehem
Reigning now
And evermore
My knee shall bow
My heart adore

Joy Joy Joy

Wrapping presents is a pleasantly mindless task. I might think about matching sides, or making sure the lines of the paper are straight (if they can be) (Have you ever wrapped a pentagon shaped present?), but in general, I just cut, fold, tape, tape, tape. 

Tonight I finished my mother-in-law's present and turned it over right-side-up, and it jumped out at me:

"JoyJoyJoy"

As I looked at that gold paper, I realized that there have been many moments over the last month, and the last few days in particular, that I let something other than Christmas - real, true Christmas - rule in my heart. I tend to want to lay the blame elsewhere (we're traveling and that makes it hard; he/she doesn't listen/understand), but the truth is I am quite responsible for a great deal of the angst I have felt recently. 

Angst and joy are not the same thing.

I told my sister-in-law Wendy that maybe this year I will have learned my lesson regarding some of these things. We'll see. (Is this a New Year's Resolution in the making?) 

Elizabeth tells Mary that the baby in her own womb leaped for joy at the sound of Mary's greeting. Mary "glorifies the Lord and [her] spirit rejoices in God [her] Savior." The angels bring the shepherds "good news that will cause great joy for all the people." Jesus' coming was a joyous occasion 2000 years ago.

May it be a joyous occasion now. Peace and joy to you.

Christmastime

Mike's mom, Diana, hosts a dinner each year before Christmas. It's a time for the families to get together, eat delicious food, get a photo...without the crazy excitement and chaos of presents.

Each year that we're here (every other Christmas), I help with the traditional Tuscan Bean Soup. It's so wonderful. My fingers are green for a while after tearing spinach for an hour, but it's totally worth it. 

Before everyone arrived, I took a few minutes to wander through, snapping here and there. 

I'm so blessed that I have in-laws that make me feel at home, that I have two houses in which I feel so comfortable.

Stockings hung...

Uncle Lance slicing the tenderloin...

Boys running around outside...

The jukebox (which the kids LOVE)...

Cousins who carry you around on their backs...it's all so much fun. 

At the end of the day, I have a lot of blessings to count. That's exactly what I'm doing tonight.