Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!

May Christmas bring you peace and joy!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Snow at our house - LOTS of snow


Our back porch Friday evening during the storm


What a storm! We got about a foot of snow on Friday which pretty much shut everything down around here (Hendersonville-Asheville, NC), at least for a couple of days. Being down South where we don't usually get a lot of snow, our counties are not equipped to handle a huge amount of it, along with downed trees and power lines. We read in the newspaper that upwards of 50,000 homes were without power as of Sunday morning and the power company was still working hard. We were very blessed to keep ours.


The woods around our house


Yesterday afternoon we decided to go to town to get groceries. Mike wanted to make some tracks in the driveway to help the sun and melting process along, and he wanted to check out our state road. The first hurdle was getting down our long driveway which is steep, made of gravel and dirt, and full of potholes and curves, and no picnic on a good day but a real challenge with a foot of snow. Mike is a great driver but the car slid on the ice and got stuck in the ditch on the side of our driveway. I had to trudge back up to the house and get Johnathan (our 19-year-old) to come and shovel around the tires.


Looking down the first part of the driveway. The car got stuck a little farther down, around a curve.


Then Johnathan and I pushed, and finally after much spinning of wheels, Mike was able to drive it out of the ditch. Then Johnathan and I gasped as we watched the car slide over to the OTHER side of the driveway and it would have gone off the edge into the woods but Mike was able to steer it back to center and down to a level spot where he stopped and waited for us to hop in.



We slipped and slid all over the rest of the driveway, and got to the hill at the top, where we turn onto the state road. The snow plow had been by and piled a HUGE pile of snow there, so the only spot we could drive over entailed turning the wrong way, then turning around in someone's driveway to go towards town. The state road looked like a war zone. The snow plow had only plowed a single lane - quite dangerous on the blind curves but we made it. It's one mile to the main road into town, which was clear and all the streets in town were fine.

We went by our church and I dropped off music for my choir since I wouldn't be going to Mass at 5 p.m. This time of year, it's dark out by the time Mass is over. Mike said we would not be able to contend with our road after dark because anything that melted earlier would turn to ice. I know the choir can handle everything without me but I love being there and am sad when I have to miss it.


Our front walk


Then we got groceries at Sam's and Ingles and came back home. Mike decided to park at the bottom of the driveway so we had to carry everything up to the house. Huff, puff, what a chore!



We are so thankful to have a warm, cozy house and that God was blessing us so we didn't get stuck anywhere. It was fun to have Johnathan go to town with us. He usually goes his own way in the other car so we enjoyed being together for a change.


Footprints on our front steps



Our older car today. Most of the snow has melted off, but I think it's still impressive.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Fingerprint Friday - The light of the world

The Advent wreath at my church

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" - John 8:12

As we celebrate the birth of the greatest Fingerprint of all, I wish you a Christmas filled with blessings and joy!


~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~
To find out how to join "Fingerprint Friday" and see links to other posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Sweetest picture ever



(This photo came in an email.)

Friday, December 11, 2009

Fingerprint Friday - Waiting for Christmas



During this frantic time of year, I'd like to take a few moments to slow down ... and breathe .... and focus on the true meaning of the season.

In our church, for the four weeks leading up to Christmas, we celebrate Advent ... a time of preparation for the birth of Jesus. We sing beautiful songs, all with the theme of waiting. Here is a contemporary version of a favorite hymn you may be familiar with ... "O Come O Come Emmanuel".

Here are some excerpts from an article I found online. The traditional candle colors are purple and rose, but some people substitute red.

The Advent wreath is a popular Advent custom that originated in Germany. It consists of four candles (three purple and one rose), surrounded by evergreen branches. One purple candle is lit the first week, two the second, two purple and one rose the third, and finally all four in the last week of Advent. The light of the candles signifies the light of Christ, Who will come into the world at Christmas.

The Advent wreath helps us keep our thoughts focused on the coming of Christ at Christmas, so we should integrate it into our daily activities. The easiest way is to make it a part of our evening meal. The family gathers around the wreath and lights the appropriate candles. The father (or other leader) prays the Advent wreath prayer for that week, and the candles are left burning during the meal.

Advent ends, of course, with Christmas Eve, but that's no reason to put the Advent wreath away. Many people add a large white candle to the center of the wreath and light it, along with the other four, starting on Christmas and going all the way through Epiphany. It's a good way to remind ourselves that Christ is the reason for the preparations we made during Advent, and it also helps us remember that Christmas doesn't end on Christmas morning, after all the presents have been opened.

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~
To find out how to join "Fingerprint Friday" and see links to other posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

Monday, December 07, 2009

Thursday, December 03, 2009

FoxyGknits on etsy


I've been wanting a twisty scarf for ages and just couldn't resist this gorgeous color. From FoxyFknits on etsy. Super customer service.