Six Words Saturday 2012 Christmas Card

I wrote this blog post the other day...but thought I would link it up to Six Word Saturday today on 12-22-12





My six words are:  Merry Christmas Six Word Saturday Friends!



I am linking up with "Home for the Holy Days" blog party today!

http://www.impartinggrace.com/2012/12/home-for-holy-days-2012.html

This is our 2012 Christmas Card with our 11 Grandkids...ages 5-22



 Christmas Cards


When I was a little girl, my momma, Margie, and I would send out Christmas Cards to our friends and family.  Momma had only one arm, (after an auto accident before 3 of her four children were born), and so she often needed help from me or my siblings with certain tasks. 

With one hand she would type out a short Christmas letter on her old typewriter, and then she would sign the cards and I would fold the letters and insert them inside the cards, and stuff them in the envelopes and put the stamps on.  Momma had been right handed before she lost her right arm, so she had to learn to do everything with her left hand….including handwriting.   In my mind’s eye, I can see her back-slanted cursive writing and her signature, as I am remembering this special time together.  She wrote very clearly, but she enjoyed pecking away on that old typewriter, and I enjoyed the clicking of the keys and the bell that rang each time she would return the carriage and begin a new line of the letter.  I have an old typewriter like that in our guest room, just to bring me smiles!

When we were all done with the cards we would put them in stacks and put rubber bands around each stack to keep them together, and then we’d head off to the post office and wait in line to mail our bundles of cards.  I found the hustle and bustle of Christmas crowds quite exciting.  (Salvation Army bell ringers take me back to my childhood too.) 

Another benefit of sending cards, was receiving cards in return!  Each day we would get cards in the mail, and I couldn’t wait to open them.  Each one had a cheery picture on the front, and a special message inside.  I loved the ones that had the baby Jesus in the manager, with Mary and Joseph, and the Christmas star over-head.  But there was always such a huge variety of Christmas scenes, and yes, many included Santa Claus, Snowmen, or brightly colored gifts and trees.  I would string them up across the living room window, and around the doors of our living room, and they made it look so festive!

Happy memories of my momma always flood over me when I do my Christmas cards.  My momma has been in heaven now for well over 20 years…but I still feel her presence, in my heart and mind, each Christmas as I send and receive cards. 

I also have fond memories from Christmases as an adult, when we would go to John’s mom and dad’s house in Nebraska. Among English momma, Edith’s traditions… of English poppers/crackers with paper crowns and little toys inside, we would also have English trifle, mini-mince meat pies, and other delicious foods, and fun with the huge family. Momma Edith loved Christmas cards too.  She had a green ceramic holder shaped like a Christmas tree where she would place all of her cards, and then we could all browse through the cards and read the letters and see the pictures from friends and family who lived far away.  She especially loved hearing from those she loved in England.

  

I know that some people don’t send cards anymore, because of the time, and the expense…but to me it has always been a very special part of Christmas.  Another tradition I enjoy is the Candlelight Christmas Eve Service that we attend each year.  Christmas is all about the birth of our King...Jesus!  We need to take the time to honor Him!  I pray that God will bless each and every one of you this Christmas, and in the New Year!   

Love, Linda    

Sweet Momma-in-law Edith, on her 85th birthday, before she went to heaven.

My brother- in-law and sister-in-law in the silly paper crowns from the English cracker/poppers
that Edith always had for us at Christmas.

 Me at age 14, with two of my nieces, and my Momma Margie.

And my sweet Momma when she was older.  She has been in heaven now for over 20 years!

Fond memories are with me this Christmas time of my two sweet Momma's.

Margie, and Edith!  I loved them so very much!

Our Christmas Tree

Also linking up to this fun blog...enjoy!
http://southernhospitalityblog.com/green-and-red-christmas-sparkle-in-the-kitchen/

Our Plans May Fail..But God's Plans Are Perfect!

I had "planned" to do more blogging...but with Christmas coming, and a few things going on in our family right now, I just don't seem to be blogging much at all.  I seem to never accomplish most of my "plans" anyway.

That's ok though...because I know that God is at work in our lives, and His "plans" are always best!  I was thinking this morning, about how life can change in a moment's time, and nothing seems to be in our control.  It just reminded me that I need to worry less and trust Him more.

I really do trust God with my life...how about you?  Even when things are happening that we don't understand, He is always faithful!  Our God is always present...and always loving us!  Christmas is a good reminder to us of just how very much God does love us!  John 3:16:  For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life!

Eternal life with the Lord sounds pretty wonderful to me!

Accepting the Lord Jesus into our lives is the best thing we could ever do!  He is so powerful, and so strong, that we need not fear our future...or our day to day troubles and issues.  He is there for us, and all we need to do is ask Him to help us through.  In our weakness...His strength is made known. 

The baby Jesus grew up and became the sinless sacrifice for all who would place their faith and trust in Him.  Jesus died in our place on the cross at Calvary, and was buried, and rose again on the third day, to gain victory over death and hell for us..  Men always make their "plans" and they mean well...but most of us fail and fall short.  Many of our "plans" never amount to much...but God's "plans" for us are much better.

Jeremiah 29:11 says.  For I know the "plans" I have for you saith the Lord..."plans" to prosper you, and not to harm you..."plans" to give you a future and a hope. 

My hope is in the Lord who made heaven and earth!  How about you?  Where is your hope ?  What are your "plans" for today, tomorrow...and forever?  Why not let Him work His will in your life.

 Ephesians 2:8-9 says: For by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the "gift" of God... Not of works, lest any man should boast.  Jesus is the best gift this Christmas! 

Wow...59 degrees On December First

Here it is December first in Kansas...and it is 59 degrees this morning at 9:00.  Weather sure is changing.  We are going to have nice weather this coming week...in the high 60's and low 70's.  My husband has been golfing several days in a row, and he is loving it!  But it seems strange to me to be this nice in December here in Kansas.  Don't get me wrong...it is very pleasant....but we do need moisture so badly.  And it just seems like weather is changing all over the place...and it seems a little bit un-natural!!!!

  This weather makes me want to go on another vacation...not be at home decorating for Christmas!  Ha!

What's it like in your neck of the woods today?  I hope you will be enjoying your Saturday!




So, these are my "Six Words" today:

Wow...59 degrees On December First!

Click on the button above and share your Six Words and join in the fun!  (:>)

Our Sweet Miss Bailey Turns Twenty!

Our oldest Granddaughter, Bailey, turns Twenty!!!!!

She was an "itty bitty" baby and only weighed 4 lb. 9 oz.  This is one of my favorite pictures of Bailey Elisabeth when she was a child!

Bailey was a little ball of fire when she was little.  She was everywhere in a minute!  She had the most adorable little mischievous laugh as she ran around so energetically!  She's still mischievous...yup, but now she is a 5ft 2in ...eyes of blue...ball of fire! 

Here's a picture of Grandma's girl from a few years back.

This is one of her senior pictures.  I love this barefoot picture.  She is a fun loving, casual kind of girl...and she lives in jeans, and comfy clothes...except when she dresses in her work attire for Kohl's.

This is Bailey with her beautiful Momma...Lisa!

And here is one which includes her Dad, Brad....he is a Pastor.

And we can't forget Grandpa!  Bailey and Grandpa are great friends.  She helps him with yard work...she mows and he weed whacks!  Then they go out and eat lunch together.  Yup...they are fast food buddies!

This is Bailey's car...and our house in the background.

And here she is with one of her doggies...Duncan!  She loves dogs, and has two of them...both Corgi's.  Her other one, Riley, is tan.  Bailey knows everything about clouds, storms, and tornadoes, and she is a wanna be storm chaser!  She and her friends have been known to do some of that...but of course it makes her grandma nervous.  Tornadoes here in Kansas are nothing to mess with!

This is Bailey's good friend Jennifer.  Grandpa and I took them to dinner for Bailey's birthday last year.  Jennifer is a twin, and she and her sister go to Bailey's church.

I like this picture of Bailey with her Aunt Lynnette.  Then one with her cousin Abigail, who is about 6 months younger than her. And then the ones with two of her boy cousins, Jared, and William.

And here is one with Bailey and all of her cousins!  She loves them all so much.

This one is of Bailey and her mom.  Bailey's silly smile kind of shows the joy that bubbles over, and spills out of Miss Bailey!  We call her Bailey Girl...and Bailey Bug...and we love her sooo much!  She is a blessing to our lives...and we thank the Lord for giving her to us 20 years ago!

Happy 20th Birthday Bailey!

Love, Grandma

Our Sweet Miss Bailey Turns Twenty!

These are my Six Words...if you'd like to link your six words today...just click on the button above.

Our Fun Trip To Branson Missouri!

From my last post most of you could tell I was feeling a bit low, and not feeling much like blogging.  I just want to thank each of you for the encouraging comments and the love you sent my way.  You are all awesome!

John and I needed a little time away, so we went to Branson, Missouri for five days, and we had a great time.  We had been trying to get there since last spring...but there was always too much going on to prevent us from getting away on a trip.

A picture of us from last Spring

We went to Silver Dollar City, since we have season passes.  I loved being there for the Christmas shows and festivities.



 It's a Wonderful Life!

A Christmas Carol






Click Here

I loved all of the lights and the Christmas decorations, the parade...and the lighting of the huge Christmas Tree!  AND we saw a couple of great shows.  They had "It's a Wonderful Life!"...and "A Christmas Carol."
And my favotite show was at The Sight and Sound Theater in Branson, where we saw the musical production  of "Joseph"...and it was Spectacular!!!! 

Sight and Sound Theater

 I love the statue of the Lion and the Lamb outside of the Theater!

You have got to go see Joseph...it is so good!

It takes us about 6 hours to drive to Branson...(we make a few stops along the way)...so it isn't too bad of a trip.  I left my camera at home, so I got these pictures online.

We also saw a show called..."A Christmas Snow"...and it was on a much smaller scale...but really good too.
If you are needing a little getaway...I think Branson, Missouri is the place to go!  We had a lovely time.  They have lots of good places to eat...and lots of great shopping too.  It is a great getaway for families!


Our Fun Trip To Branson Missouri...
So these are my "Six Words" for my Saturday post, but I had to post it a day early ...why not join in the fun and link up with your post tomorrow.  Just click on the button below and Cate will have a linky there for you.

 

Do You Get Bored with Blogging?

Do you ever get bored with blogging?  I sometimes wonder if I should continue my blog, since I find myself  going a week or more sometimes without posting.  I don't live a terribly exciting life...I don't have a house full of children to inspire my posts...and I am not a great photographer, so I don't have a ton of amazing pictures to add to my posts either.  We haven't traveled much lately, so there is nothing interesting to report there.  I haven't recently read many inspiring books, and I haven't even been writing my story poems that I usually enjoy sharing...So I guess I am feeling like "I" am kind of "boring" at present!

I feel like I need to get away and experience the beauty of God's amazing creation!  Isn't this a peaceful picture?  I wish I knew where it was!  (:>)  Just looking at the picture, I feel God's presence!!!


I really love reading other people's blogs, and I love commenting, and I try to give encouragement when, and where I can.  I LOVE to pray for other people's needs.  Everyday my husband John and I do a devotion time together where we read the Bible, study it, and discuss what we have read...and then we pray for our needs...the needs of our adult kids, and our 11 grandkids,...and lastly, we pray for the needs of our friends, (blog friends too), extended family members, pastors, church body, and missionaries.  We feel like it is the least we can do, and we consider it a ministry of prayer.  We feel blessed to be able to enter the throne room and lay petitions at His feet...as we praise and worship our magnificent Lord and Savior.

He restores my soul!  Doesn't this look like a place where you could be rejuvenated?  I would love to be in this spot praying my heart out to the Lord!  (:>)


Over the years I have met so many wonderful people in the blog world!  I never dreamed I would care about so many of you so deeply.  I feel so close to so many of you...and I love your children too.  Having gone through the death of three of our grandchildren, we have a tender heart towards those of you who have experienced great loss.  We also pray for those of you with complications in your pregnancies...and those who have babies born with issues....also many of you who deal with health issues yourselves.  Since we are retired, we know what it is like to slow down, to not feel good a lot of the time,... and to not be able to "keep up" with the business of life sometimes.  I think that just happens as people age.  Not that we are ancient...but we are noticing that we are aging these days, and don't have the energy we used to have.

Don't get me wrong...I love growing older with this man of mine!  He is such a gift to my life!  If I am feeling low, he cheers me up...and I do the same for him.  And our devotion times together are our favorite times together.


And what I like about blogging is that when someone is feeling down...there are so many of us to help each other up out of the pits we fall into sometimes!   We KNOW that things are not hopeless, because we have seen others conquer so much by God's grace,...and then return to vibrancy and joy-filled living.  I try to let my little light shine when I can...and so many of you have shared the light of Jesus with me over the years too.  Thank you for always sharing God's word with me.

God's word is so alive...and so healing.  It is medicine to the soul....like a high potency vitamin to enrich our lives... and to give us renewed strength.

I guess I am feeling a little "off" these days, and I could really use some rejuvenation!  (:>)  My husband is planning a little get away soon, so that we can just relax, have fun together, and a little change of scenery.  I am looking forward to it.  So, I hope it will happen soon before the weather turns too cold.

This beautiful picture that our daughter Lynnette took from her yard out in the country, just shows that God's beauty is everywhere...even here in Kansas!  (:>)  The flat lands do have beautiful sunrises and sunsets!

As Thanksgiving time approaches we all need to be considering all of our blessings...and telling the Lord thank you, for all that He has given us!  I plan to be doing just that.  I know that when we spend time praising Him, we don't worry so much, and we don't complain so much.  So, it is a win, win situation.  (:>)

Maybe my next post will have some bountiful blessings to share with all of you.  Until then, I pray that each of you will feel His presence, and experience His power at work in your lives.

Love, Linda

Click on the button below and add your Six Word Saturday Post.  Our hostess, Cate will link you up.
My 6 words: Do you get bored with blogging?