the best gift

I suppose I will be pondering the miracle of my salvation well into eternity.

It is truly amazing that God would save someone like me.

Christmas is when God sent His Son into this world 

to die for our sins.

That's why we celebrate.

Jesus is the best gift that was ever bestowed.

Believe!

"For God so loved that world

 that He gave His only begotten Son 

so that whosoever believes in Him 

should not perish 

but have eternal life."

John 3:16

💗

 

hooray, i have a Christmas tree

My new tree arrived yesterday (Sunday) afternoon.

I found it on the front porch right after I got up from rest time.

Erika and Walter came over and got right to work.

We were very excited that it got here with 10 days to spare.

This one had four sections.

The first one had six.

I knew when I saw it start to grow that it was the right size.

The hardest part of the setup is fluffing the branches.

They sent special gloves for that job.

It was leaning a slight bit to the left.

After Erika fixed the lean,

she laid down on the floor and slid it in place.

Perfection!

She is now the right size for the sunroom. (7 feet, 5 inches)

Wide, with great places to put the ornaments.

She has just the right amount of lights which look like the old incandescents which I loved.

No hassle!

So thankful.

I may not get her decorated, but at least I have a tree.

Thank you for all the hard work, Erika and Walt.

Y'all make everything more fun!

🎄

 

back to Lucy's birthday

Before we get to Lu's 20th birthday, I must share about her 19th.

🎂

I was just starting to decorate for Christmas.

Then, the birthday decor went up.

On our family birthdays, we always play games with monetary prizes.

There is a high level of excitement and lots of competition.

"Spoons" is a fast-moving card game.

Cards are passed to the left very quickly.

You have to be fast to grab a spoon when you get a set of four matching cards.

The last one to grab a spoon wins.

I'm always the first one out... 

Not quite quick enough anymore. 

Gus won both games.

He's saving for his 8th-grade trip to Washington, DC.

👏

Celebrating in front of the fireplace,

Summer decor is still up in December.

It goes beautifully with my fall decor but must come down for Christmas decor.

The picture of Lu's first birthday is on the mantel.

David grilled steaks.

We had a baked potato bar.

For dessert, we had an ice cream sundae bar.

Everybody loves it when I do this.

They all go a little bonkers afterwards from all the sugar.

Lastly.

I couldn't resist this one...

Harry with all of his glorious, curly hair.

He makes me laugh,

every time.

 

after all the Christmas tree disasters...

... I've decided on this one.

It is a lovely potted cedar wrapped in red foil,

adorned with a 10-light strand of LED battery-powered lights.

It has 6 red and gold ornaments fastened to the branches with the tiniest little hooks I've ever seen.

It is easy to manage,

easy to decorate,

easy to water.

It doesn't take up much space.

I can seat more people.

And think of the dollars I'll save on electricity.

Finally, I've let my obsession with my yearly Christmas tree go.

At least this little tree is a "real tree."

🎄

The LED white lights that look blue will be hard to take,

Maybe they will grow on me, 

but I doubt it seriously.

 

another tree saga

Why do I always encounter problems with my Christmas tree?

My new fake tree came on Friday.

Erika came by on Saturday afternoon to open those big boxes that were left on the porch.

We were beyond excited!

The first thing we noticed as the bottom layer of the tree unfurled was 

the beauty of the branches

how well made it was,

how real it looked.

You can tell from the picture above.

The lights were perfect even though they were LED.

Then we noticed how massive it was...

At this point in the assembling, we looked at each other skeptically...

At this point, it dawned on us that I had made a huge mistake.

The top branches where I place my star were bent over.

Verdict...

Too tall. 

I didn't measure; just ordered a nine-foot tree.

It was a foot more than it needed to be.

After our pizza party, we all worked together to take her apart,

fit her neatly back in the boxes,

and arrange for her to be shipped back to where she came from.

She's back on the front porch now, awaiting her pick-up.

Sad for me, sad for her.

So, another Christmas season,

another tree saga.

And now I don't even have a tree to decorate.

But,

I'm thinking about what I can do.

More later.

🎄

 

Christmas tree

My new, fake Christmas tree was delivered yesterday.

Each box weighed in at 55 pounds.

I heaved and hoed and got them inside.

They are right on the other side of the door as I write.

I'm sorry I didn't write about Lucy's party yet.

I'm working on at least 5 different projects.

Most are Christmas decorating related.

I get to create at my leisure, and I love it!

It takes over my life.

I have about 5 blog posts swirling in my brain as well.

Since I have no time to write, they will have to stay there until I do.

Walter is coming at two. 

I am going to teach him how to create a lighted Christmas village.

This will either go really well or really poorly,

He has been begging me to let him help.

I chose today.

We'll see.

There will be a pizza supper afterward.

I'll write about that party too.

Until then...

I'll be in decorating heaven.

 

Lucy turned 19 today.

We wore our birthday crowns to celebrate.

👑

I will share about her party tomorrow.

It was a good one.

💗