2021 Holiday Greetings

Holiday greetings to my faithful readers! May you be blessed by a word I write! May you grow in number! May God minister to your souls through the words he weaves from my pen (or keyboard 😉). No matter what transpires in the coming year, may He draw you ever closer to Himself!

We are grateful for a holiday visit from our eldest son, Bryce. He flew in from Dallas, TX, on Tuesday and is able to stay for a full week. Such a blessing to see him and spend time with him.

Especially grateful for our comfortable back porch where we open stockings and gifts. A plethora of blessings:

I have enjoyed this holiday season - especially taking it easy for the most part.

Favorite gift finds: I found two adorable and funny gifts for John. He loves squirrels (despite feelings of ire when they eat all the food he scatters for the birds, or bring down his window feeder by squeezing in with their girth). I snagged a big squirrel head feeder from Kohls at great discount:

Then, I found an adorable matching sock set to give him from the dog - ha!

Best deal: Sean wanted cologne. Thank you, CVS for your deals: I snagged a $40 bottle of Drakkar for 40% off and then received $10 in ECBs for purchasing a cologne over $19.99. Score!

Favorite funny gift: A Facebook friend posted photos of these gifts she gave her co-workers:

Mine didn't turn out quite as polished as hers, but the boys loved them anyway.

I have highly creative Facebook friends. Another friend, Laura (my CBLI friend-selfie buddy), added a unique twist to her holiday cards this year. She posted this in November (plenty of advance notice):

For the Holidays I would like Holiday cards. I want a tiny (index card size) artwork inside the card. Even if we hardly talk. Message me for my address if you don't have it. I would gladly send you one also if you would like! How nice it would be to have my mailbox flooded with Holiday cards. I'd love to keep your unique artwork forever. It doesn’t matter how fancy, simple, childlike it is, as long as it is creative and you. Oh and make sure you sign it please.

Love this idea! Stolen from a friend except they were asking for recipes.

I loved the idea, despite not being as artistic or crafty as others. I'd love the recipe version, as well, but as I only receive a dozen cards, it didn't seem worth it to ask for anything more, ha! Here's a photo of the artwork I sent to Laura on a plastic magnetic frame:

Here's the art she sent within her Christmas card to me:

And here's a photo of the tiny artwork my niece, Billie Jean, sent us:

Visits, gifts, and cards all make Christmas special. Celebrating the birth of the Savior makes it extra special, indeed! May you and yours enjoy this Christmas day, as well!

As a parting gift, enjoy this euphonium selection of "Carol of the Bells." Melodic and amazing.