Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7



Friday, December 20, 2013

Nearly There



With less than a week until Christmas, we are nearly there

Like you, I am a-flurry with Christmas wrap (never wait to order wrapping paper until the week before Christmas, lest you also be tempted to run out the door each time the UPS truck drives around the cul-de-sac praying a long thin box is in the day's shipment), cookie dough, and last-minute gift-making. There is only time to pray my St. Andrew chaplet each day, and the Christmas novena. No time for reading all my favorites blogs -- I will have a lot of catching up to do after Christmas.

I have no time for chit chat, as much as I would love to (can we talk while I'm wrapping and baking?), but I wanted to pop in and say "Hi" and let you know I haven't fallen off the earth, as much as I might like to in this last minute rush to celebrate the joyous birth of Our Infant God. Wouldn't it be so beautiful to celebrate His birth with a quiet hush or silent prayerful thanks, rather than all this horn honking and hair pulling (pulling out my own, not that of someone else)?





Jesse Tree, one of my newer favorite Advent traditions





Our tree is up and a new ornament is a new favorite as well.





Nearly there, Mary.




Another favorite decoration, pardon the lighting, my kitchen is so dark this time of year. It's a plate handed down from my mother-in-law, hanging in the kitchen during the Christmas season.




Nearly there.
I love these candles, kit from Sunflower Candles.





Nearly there. A hat for my husband. It's an obscene amount of knitting in the round for one hat. I just started to decrease this morning.





Nearly there, kitty. Just a small hole, about a centimeter wide remains open in her belly. Poor thing. She also shows signs of concussion that is still healing. But she'll be fine, in fact, fine enough to find quite a bit of fun in Christmas tree ornaments on lower branches.






Some blingy gifts being created in Santa's workshop.






The first batch of cookies was started this morning. Each child gets to pick on recipe. These are chocolate chip biscotti.




I'm off to finish some knitting, wrap some packages, and mix up some cookie dough. I hope you are able to garner some peace from these last few days of Advent. Pax vobiscum.


19 comments:

  1. I love the idea about each child picking one recipe! And your decorations are so lovely. Did you embroider your Jesse Tree ornaments?

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    1. Yes, Charlotte, I embroidered my Jesse Tree ornaments. Some day I'll take a photo of the entire set.

      The recipe idea keeps the cookies to a minimum. Otherwise it would go on and on...

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  2. I love that recipe idea too! I'm excited we have no plans tomorrow except laundry, pick up b-day cake/cupcakes and ice cream for Simeon, trip to drop off goodwill stuff...I guess we have plans...

    Enjoy your time away from the computer.
    Merry Christmas, God bless you.

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  3. Jamie, darlin', laundry alone at your house is plans! :-)

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  4. I love those Jesse Tree ornaments!

    I have so much to do when I get home tomorrow. I have been gone a week and I am sure my husband has not wrapped any presents. That is not something he would think to do.

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    1. Jenny, my husband never wraps gifts. I have to say I'm used to it, and he probably would not do a good job (his excuse) but as he spends hours on his iPad and I spend hours wrapping, it never fails to make me growl inside. This morning I think all but one gift is wrapped. Whew!

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  5. It is a busy time. Thanks for stopping and sharing a little of your thoughts. I always enjoy coming here.

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    1. Merry Christmas, Christine. I'm so glad the Internet brought us together!

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  6. Merry Christmas Barbara! Thank you for all your prayers and so graciously showering us with your talent this year. Baby Michael is over 8 lbs!

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    1. I'm so glad you have a plump little infant under the tree this year, Kara!

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  7. I love this post, Barbara. Nearly there ...

    I have been sick since Thanksgiving, which has been such a challenge this Advent. The worst of it was over this weekend with chills and fever and the hope that my body is finally ridding me of this awful virus. The kids' prayer everyday has been that we are all well by Christmas ... I pleaded with the Blessed Mother last night to pray for us!! I know she is. I wish my illness made me just let go, but it makes me more irritable that I feel behind, that I can't "do" what I want. Ha! Anyway, I love your Jesse Tree ornaments. They are gorgeous! This is a newer tradition for us, too, and I love it! I still have a package of broken consecration bracelets and rosaries sitting on my desk to mail to you, but I decided to wait until after Christmas. We all have plenty to do, as we're nearly there. xoxo

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    1. Sarah, I'm so sorry you're sick. I pray you have a healthy Christmas. Maybe with the kids out of school for a while all the viruses will be gone!

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  8. Thank you for your post, Barbara, at this busy, busy time of year. I love peeking in on you and all you do. I've been using Fb and ignoring my blog. Right now,I feel like I'm in some kind of twilight zone. My two granddaughters were here the whole weekend. Guess I'll pull things together tomorrow. IT is nearly here, ready or not.

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    1. I can't wait until I have grandchildren for the weekend, but I guess the weekend before Christmas is a little crazy! Merry Christmas -- what's important always manages to get done!

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  9. Are we nearly there? Oh thank you, God! As you can see, I'm not making the rounds too frequently myself. So much happening, plus the three little ones are pretty ill -- even poor Septimus for his first birthday. :(

    I always tell Rob "one year, it will all come together!" And he says, "That will be when we have no more kids in the house." I hate thinking about that, so I guess I'll never get it all together.

    Merry Christmas Eve Eve, as my kiddos say. Sending you much love, as always. :)

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    1. Aimee, I am still not getting it together --not to my definition anyway --and my oldest is 24. It just keeps changing. I'm trying to roll with it. Have a ball, baby! Love you.

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  10. Ack, sorry for the double comment. The first time didn't seem to go through . . . so tired, need coffee . .

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  11. Nearly there! I hope you are taking some time for yourself. Yesterday, someone commented about Christmas break and I thought that it must be the worst "break" ever because by the time school is out, the Christmas prep spirals out of control with all the cooking, cleaning, last minute shopping, wrapping, and Jesus is there, but I think he really gets lost. By the time you recover and clean up Christmas, there's New Years, and then school starts. If you're lucky, you actually have a little time between Jan 1. and the start of school to relax!

    Anyway, I was at a girlfriends get together last night (Yay!) and the hostess said she has the party (or goes to it at someone else's house) because if she doesn't, she gets absolutely no time off during the "break" and she goes back to school completely exhausted. So take some time for a girls' night or coffee or nails or something. :-)

    Poor kitty. I hope she's better soon! And that hat is the worst, isn't it? ;-) Obscene is a good word. Lol.

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    1. Sara, I love, love that we celebrate Christmas as the beginning of the celebration and not the end. I am so grateful for the Twelve days! I plan to enjoy every single free moment. I have dozens of Christmas movies to watch! And knitting to do!

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I appreciate your comments -- sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself!