Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight
I absolutely love decorating for Christmas. It has been so much fun this year. This is the first year that my dear husband and I have actually had a Christmas -- it's our first spent together at home with friends and family. I've been collecting decorations for the past year or so. The glass balls and vases are from our wedding. I found the poinsettias for $0.10 each at Michael's.
And lest we forget the meaning of the holiday, the Nativity takes center stage. My dear parents gave this to me my last Christmas at home in the hopes it would become an heirloom for my new family. It's headed that way! My favorite piece is the angel saying "Thank You."
Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.
The first gathering was for my husband's family. His parents came over, as well as his sister with her husband and baby Alex. I guess he's not so much of a baby anymore -- he's 2 1/2 -- but he's limited so we still think of him as a baby. He just completed surgery this fall for his Spina Bifida. He's actually starting to crawl, which is a huge and unexpected blessing. Someday, God willing, he'll walk. He started treatment in the spring for his autism, too, so this is the first time I've seen him really be playful and trying words. He even said "eat" to me when he wanted to steal my bread! I love my husband's family. I've been totally blessed with awesome, loving in-laws.
I had a blast cooking for the family. I've never really hosted a meal before so it was all over the place. I think I'll save that story for tomorrow since it was so dramatic. But! All the food made it to the table, there was more than enough to go around, and I had more fun than I knew what to do with making this appetizer tray:
The pineapple was cut up leaving just enough to hold the structure, then reassembled. You pull a toothpick to eat a piece. The heart on the green plate is brie cheese I molded using a cookie cutter. The red cheese is cranberry/cinnamon goat cheese that was on sale at Aldi a few weeks ago. Mmmm.... I could have skipped dinner and just enjoyed this.
Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Lord allows
Hang a shining star
upon the highest bough.
And have yourself
A merry little Christmas now.
Next weekend, my parents, sister, and brother will be joining us for another holiday feast. Hopefully that meal will have less of a story to tell. But wait! I haven't told it yet ;-) You'll have to come back for it later.
May you and yours have a blessed Christmas this year. May it be filled with warm food, hearty laughter, and a good dose of the Holy Spirit to boost your family into the New Year
Song written by Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane, 1943
3 comments:
What a warm, lovely feeling I got just from reading your post! Your house looks beautiful and the food, scrumptious. Little Alex is adorable!
Have a wonderful Christmas!!
Good job on your first of many hospitality adventures! Wow! You went all out with the pineapple and brie heart! You know the Webbers aren't really that far away, how would you like to come and stay for the weekend sometime? We could do some sewing, and our husbands could meet. Just think about it.
Your house looks very pretty and Christmas-y. I stole your tree topper idea. Cedars have very thin, weak tops making them impossible to find a topper for. So I made a big bow, which is very light. It looks pretty and does not make the top crooked.
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