Contemplation

Contemplation: the action of looking thoughtfully at something for a long time

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It’s Not Over

For most people Christmas ended the evening of the 25th and now they are biding time to ring in the new year. For some of us though, the seasons of Advent and Christmas are the beginning of our year not the end of it. The 25th was the beginning of twelve days of joyfully celebrating, in big and small ways, the birth of our King. It will culminate in a great big ol’ Epiphany feast with roasted pig, copious amounts of delicious foods, libations, laughter and cheer.

But it really is much more than that. It’s not just a beginning of a new church year it also points us to something bigger, something more, something to come.

Have you ever considered the baby Jesus being laid in a manger…a feeding trough?

“For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…”

It wasn’t just a miraculous birth. It was a miraculous birth that pointed to a miraculous death and resurrection.

“The world is not as just, not as loving, not as whole as we know it can and should be. But the coming of Christ and His presence among us ~ as one of us ~ give us reason to live in hope: that light will shatter darkness.”

The Last DPP of 2016

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were both full of worship and love and laughter and so many more words to share but for now here are the last two pictures for this year’s DPP. It was another fun filled adventure and a big thank you to the community that participates and makes it so much fun.

Day 24 ~

Day 25 ~

DPP~ It’s Not My Fault

Seriously, I took the picture on the right day but for some reason my phone and email were not playing nicely and even though I sent it multiple times from both my phone and my husband’s it just actually sent this evening.

The delay in posting the following days was by choice. I took pictures but just figured I would do a catch up post and share the whole last week all at once. So, why am I sharing them now with two official days to go, you ask?

I have no idea except that I am sort of procrastinating other activities like more gift wrapping and Christmas card writing. I will get to all that later, pinky promise! But for now enjoy some DPP eye candy.

Day 20 ~ Date night sushi with friends. That stuff in the middle? So good!

Day 21 ~ I’ve been so busy. With five kids and 12 days of gift giving, even though not every day is an unwrap kind of gift day, plus wrapping for grandparents it’s a lot of wrapping.

Day 22 ~ Right in the midst of all the holiday hoopla and festivities quiet beauty can be found.

Day 23 ~ Claire and I made homemade lemon curd today. Tangy, tart, creamy and smooth…practically perfect.

DPP ~ Day 19

So more holiday cheer around the house. This little bubble vase is one of my favorites and it looks so very pretty on the coffee table.

DPP ~ Day 18

Deck the halls!

DPP ~ Catch Up

And the sun set on the fifteenth of December.

On Friday the sixteenth a sigh of relief echoed across the land as school dismissed early and Christmas break began. My oldest daughter had the bright idea (ha, I love puns!) to take a Christmas photo of the Hadding Five all wrapped in lights. It was somewhat successful but Sam quickly lost interest in trying to get it just right and abandoned our project. The cats were not anymore enthusiastic to take his place but us girls enjoyed plenty of laughs.

As the sun rose this morning I enjoyed my cup of tea in the glow of the twinkle lights on the tree. The day is full of feasting and fun as most of my family gathers for an early Christmas celebration. We started the tradition years ago when all of our kids were little so that the ones who have to travel could still enjoy Christmas morning at their own house. We’re hosting this year so there has been a flurry of cooking and cleaning and I am so looking forward to the chaos and noise that is us when we’re together.

Holiday Friday Funnies

Well, it was bound to happen. I missed posting yesterday’s DPP. I took the picture but with the kids holiday school program I just didn’t do anything else other than snap the shutter. The shot is currently uploading to my computer as we speak along with the gazillion other pictures I took last night and it will eventually make it’s way to the blog. With an early family Christmas tomorrow there may just be a big catch up post on Sunday or Monday. As another group member commented, the DPP was made for me and not me for the DPP so it’s all good.

I do, however, have a couple of  Sam funnies for you. The first one has many recognizable characters and maybe a few you don’t know at first glance. Think Mr. Bean, Grace Vanderwaal, Laura Bretan, and Tape Face. I’m pretty sure you will recognize Napoleon from his “Vote for Pedro” shirt.

I am always amazed at how good his drawings can be. And so expressive just like in the next one.

So happy and carefree. And, then, WHAM! You’re hit by a reindeer driving a truck. The boy has quite the sense of humor, doesn’t he?

DPP ~ Day 14

Y’all, it has been one of those days.

Not a bad day but a day where you can’t find your phone absolutely anywhere and your phone line is down for some unknown reason so you facebook your beloved hoping that he will get the message to call you and he does and the phone you couldn’t locate and looked all over the house for is actually on the counter of the bathroom you have been cleaning right in front of you face even though it was under a bag but it was a clear bag kind of day.

The kind of day where you look high and low for your glasses and they are, again, right there in front of your face in their case kind of day.

The kind of day where you go to Walmart to use one of those quick print kiosk machines only it isn’t quick because there is a line so you wait and it’s finally your turn and because you are printing an 8×10 you have to go to the counter to pick it up only to be told they have no idea when it will actually be ready since they are backed up and you still spend forty dollars only to get home and realize that you forgot the shower curtain liner that you went there for in the first place kind of day.  

Yup, it’s been that kind of day. But we will be decorating our tree tonight and despite the brief thirty minute interlude spent looking for my phone I got quite a bit of cleaning done. So, like I said, not a bad day at all.

And maybe, just maybe, I can find some time to start this book. Some of you may need to sit down for this but I am not a huge Jane Austen fan. Shocking I know, considering the reformed Christian classical education circles I move it. But there you have it. I find her a bit wordy. (Oh, irony, thou art my friend.)

However, I have a dear friend who has persuaded (Ha, see what I did there?) to read this with her in the hopes of enlightening my poor misguided self. I’m really looking forward to it.

Especially after the day I had today.

DPP ~ Day 13

Raindrops on roses…or Christmas greenery as they case may be. The heavy fog burned off today and gray skies rolled in. Unfortunately the rain (off and on) hasn’t brought any cooler temperatures with it so far.

But it does make for some excellent raindrops after you set your porch decorations out in the rain for a good watering.