Christmas meditations...

merry Christmas to all!

just a few thoughts about Christmas...
family.
friends.
music.
food.
sleep.
presents.
movies.
games.

most important... the birth of JESUS.

shine His light into the world around you this season.

have a wonderful rest of 2014!

blessings
~abby

sisters.

Christmas Time is Here...

It's the most wonderful time of the year!
There'll be much mistltoeing,
And hearts will be glowing,
When love ones are near!
It's the most wonderful time of the year!

~Andy Williams

Not only is it the most wonderful time like the songs says, it's also my favorite time of the WHOLE year! I love the sounds, the cold weather, the music, the lights, the trees, the business, the overall excitement! It's just a happy time. At least for me. I still get a little perturbed over the traffic and nastiness of people who don't enjoy the season, but I know that there is a good reason to celebrate!

I had a conversation with someone at my workplace last week. This person is not a Christian, dislikes anything to do with family, friendships, and holidays, especially Christmas. She was commenting on how when I "grow up"and "go through bad situations" I will understand why she hates Christmas and I won't love it as much as I do now. I said that I would never not love Christmas or this season. But I bit my tongue because I didn't want to "preach" at her. (She knows I am a Christian.) This little interlude made me realize even more how lost this world is. I love Christmas for the reasons I stated above, but I also love it because it tells us the beginning of the story of our Saviour. Jesus Christ came down from Heaven where He was sitting next to His Father to save us and this sinful world! What a pitiful sight we must have been! Yet, He came down here because He loved us!

I never want to lose the real reason behind Christmas. I never want to lose my joy and happiness throughout the craziness of this season. It's a time to be blessed and to bless other people!

Well, my Christmas Eve was quiet and rather uneventful. I am suffering with a slight cold, but it hasn't prevented me from the celebration! Last night we had our candlelight service at church. (Picture at left, sorry it's edited but it's the only one I have!) We had a video going on the screen of a yule log! The tree and Nativity scene on the piano was looking spectacular with all the other lights dimmed in the church! We had had dinner before service at Grandma's then returned there after the service for dessert and presents. But the biggest surprise was when my cousin and my aunt showed up at my grandparents' front door! They flew in all the way from Arizona to spend Christmas in Jersey! It was a great surprise and it was wonderful to spend some time with them!

Christmas Morning! Because of this cold, I was up at 4 am, but I didn't get anyone else up until 7:30am. We dressed and went downstairs, all sitting on the couches to listen as dad read the Christmas story from Matthew. Then, the presents. Books, calendars, slippers, sweatshirts, a wafflemaker, bobbleheads, giftcards and more were all in the mix! It was so fun to spend time with family! Then the extended family came at 10. (My dad's parents and sister.) We had brunch! So yummy!

 We had muffins, fancy coffee cake, a German breakfast dish (far right) that I can't pronounce, lol, and quiche: spinach & swiss, and three cheese!


We also had blueberry bread and a bowl of fruit! Delicious!

 



Here's Opa and Oma after eating talking to Mom (not pictured.)

                              Aunt Linda and Dad chatting in the kitchen.

Elizabeth working on her guitar. It's all tuned and ready for her to start teaching herself!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want to wish you all a Happy Christmas, as they say in Great Britain, and a Blessed New Year!

~Abby

 

Elizabeth (right) and I
 

Christmas Time is Here

Time flies! It's the holidays!

Well, I have not posted anything for over a month! It is now the first of December! Christmas is around the corner. What are your upcoming plans for the holidays? How have you been, my readers?

Since I last posted, Hurricane Sandy came through and destroyed most of the East Coast. There has been much damage here in Jersey. We were safe, thank God, but I have a few friends who were affected. I would appreciate prayer for them. There are so many people who were affected and lost so much and many lost everything. It's a time for Christians to step up and help others. Don't just read about it or watch the news. Prayer is always good, but sometime, we need to get up and do something for others. God is faithful!


Thanksgiving arrived with full force. We had a full house: nine of us around the table! It was enough, believe me! But it was a great time! Two days before Thanksgiving however, my family and others from our church put together and delivered our Thanksgiving baskets. We filled up boxes with food for the holiday, including a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pies, and delivered it to families in our church and in the area to people who were suffering financially. It was such a great blessing to us to be able to help them at this time.

Our Thanksgiving, as I said, was great! We had the works: turkey, rice dressing, stuffing, sweet potatoes, veggies, cranberries, pies, cake, cookies, ice cream, etc! After the majority of our company left, we had a number of teenagers and young adults at the house to have some desserts with us, play some games, and just be together at the holidays!

Two friends slept over from Thanksgiving and we went shopping on Black Friday! Unlike the people who were on line at 3am, we slept then went to the mall around 10. It was busy and crowded, but not too bad. We got a lot of Christmas shopping done! It's always more fun to do things around the holidays with other people than by yourself. At least that's my opinion.

The majority of my Christmas shopping is done!!! So happy! Aside from ordering a few things here and there, I have all my presents done! Now I just have to wrap them all... the joys of the season!

Well, I promise to post soon about Christmas!

Merry Christmas! ~Abby