What a blessed day we had.

We wanted a simple Christmas so we decided early on not to put up the Christmas tree this year. Rearranging the furniture, dragging out the artificial tree, assembling and decorating it, only to have to undo it all again in a few weeks, did not fit our definition of simple. A few days before Christmas, knowing we were going to be hosting some of our family,  we decided to put up a small tree. On Thursday we identified one of the Norway Spruce trees that we had planted, as a seedling, on the farm, in 2012. My husband looked for a Christmas tree stand, that he thought was stored in the shed, but it was nowhere to be found. I decided to call our local Kmart to see if they had any tree stands left, I figured this was a longshot being so close to Christmas. When the girl came back on the phone, after checking their stock, and told me that they only had one tree stand left and it was a small one, I said “I think that is exactly what I need. Can you hold it ’til I get there?”  Not only was this tree stand perfect for holding our small tree, it was on sale for 50% off the regular price.

On Friday afternoon we went to the farm, and for the first time in our 16 years together, cut our Christmas tree. Perhaps this is the start of our new tradition.

We only had to move some plants from this table in order to put the tree in position. It took one strand of lights and a small portion of our ornaments to decorate the tree. We added one box of candy canes and the angel and tree skirt for the finishing touches. Our homegrown Christmas tree was perfect!

We decided to keep our Christmas Day celebration low-key. We opted for a simple luncheon of (mostly) finger foods, including a meat and cheese tray with crackers and bread, spinach-artichoke dip, a veggie tray, a fruit salad, pickles and olives, cookies, pumpkin pie and a wonderful dessert called Sopapilla Cheesecake, that Aunt Donna brought.

I wasn’t sure who was going to show up, but I was thrilled upon receiving a phone call from Tina on Christmas morning. She said her and Ken and Jackson were coming over but probably not until around 2:00 P.M. My dad arrived around noon followed by Aunt Donna and shortly there after Kara and Lindell.

Scout and Trooper had a Merry Christmas as they reveled in all of the attention they received from the girls.

Good food and great conversations made the time fly by. It was fun listening to Dad and Aunt Donna share stories about “nutty” neighbors, and Lindell razzing Kara for taking all of the cheese with toothpicks in it from a plate at a party that they went to. Before we knew it Tina and Ken and Jackson arrived.

While gift giving is part of our Christmas, I don’t like it to be the main focus. I like gifts to be practical, homemade and/or from the heart. About a month ago when my husband was cleaning out the closet, in a room formerly occupied by the girls, he came upon a pile of their clothes, mostly t-shirts from when they were in high school. There were shirts from homecoming events, school plays, and other activities they participated in.  It was apparent that they were no longer a part of their wardrobes but the girls could not part with them either. Even though sewing is not one of my strong points, I decided to make them into memory quilts for the girls.  I spent many hours in December cutting, fitting, pinning, sewing, and clipping. My sister, who is very skilled at sewing, describes the fabrics that I was using as “very forgiving”. Fortunately she is right, because even though I probably committed every sewing sin there is, I was pleased with the results.

Kara and Lindell loved them.

The gift that Kara and Lindell gave to us was given from the heart,

and now fills hangs on a previously empty wall in our dinning room.  I had thought, only the day before, that wall needed something.

Everyone “awed” as this special gift, that Popa  Dom (my husband) picked out for Jackson, was opened. I suspect he will wear this when he visits the farm this spring/summer.

This beautiful ornament we received from Tina and Ken now hangs on our tree. It will remain there until the tree comes down, but in the meantime I am looking for a permanent home for it. This gift is too precious to be packed away for most of the year, so we will find a special place for it.

It wasn’t until later that night that I realized how the beautiful message conveyed by Tina and Ken’s gift to us was reflected onto their son by way of Popa’s gift to him.

Our guests stayed for only a few hours but it was a precious time, and after all were gone, the peace, love and joy that this day brought, remained in our home and in our hearts. This day was everything that Christmas should be.

Jesus Is The Reason For The Season!

From our home to yours we wish you peace, love and joy this Christmas. However you are spending this Christmas Day, I hope you take time out to consider the greatest gift ever given, the gift of the Christ Child, that was given to you and to me and to all of humanity, and to reflect upon what precious gift this is . Merry Christmas.

The pink and tan scarves at the top are done in the awareness ribbon design that I posted about previously. The three scarves at the bottom are done in broomstick lace and are made as infinity scarves. I took these five scarves to Pure Michigan Country Market https://www.facebook.com/PureMichiganCountryMarket/ to be sold on consignment. I’m not sure if they have sold yet. Pure Michigan also carries “Don’t Eat It! Soaps and Skin Care products.

This broomstick lace infinity scarf was made for my sister. It is my favorite so far.

The infinity scarf above is done in a light weight, thread type, yarn and is all about fashion vs warmth. I still have both of these scarves available for sale.

I made these bib overalls for our grandson, and future farmer, Jackson.

He also made a very cute elf when he visited on Thanksgiving.

This morning my husband and I were privileged to be able to attend the December 2016 Commencement at Wayne State University where my daughter Kara received her Bachelor Of Music degree. She graduated cum laude and achieved distinction in departmental (Music) honors. 

Way to go Kara!!! We are proud of you.

Tears came to our eyes, our hearts went out to the family, and I said a silent prayer during the ceremony when the WSU President introduced the family and awarded the diploma of Officer Collin Rose which was accepted by his fiancé.

May he rest in peace, and may his killer be brought to justice.

My daughter Kara, who will turn 23 this Wednesday, was only four or five years old when she asked, “Mom, why can’t God babysit us.” Since Kara was my 3rd child I guess I was somewhat prepared for questions like this. My response was something like this. “God does take care of us all, but God made me your mommy and He gave me the job of taking care of you and making sure you are safe and have the things you need, and when I can’t be with you I have to find another person, that I trust, to do that.” Kara seemed satisfied with my answer.

I took my role as their mother seriously. When I was with them it was hard to let them out of my sight. When someone else was caring for them I expected that they too would be monitoring my child’s every move. As my children have grown one of my biggest challenges has been letting them go off on their own, not knowing where they are, what they are doing, or who they are with. I hope that their upbringing has taught them to be responsible, to make good decisions, to stay safe, and I pray daily and trust that God will guide them and protect them. It is only my faith in God that relaxes my worries.

Last July when Kara’s 1998 Honda Civic, that had well over 300,000 miles on it, gave out on her, my husband and I decided to give her the car that he had inherited from his mother. The 2005 Dodge Neon had a mere 11,000 miles on it, only a few surfaces scratches, and still had it’s new car smell. It had been my Mother-in-law’s pride and joy. She loved her little red car.

When we gifted her the car we told Kara that Grandma Chris’s spirit would be riding with her, and yes, we believed it to be true.

A few weeks ago I answered my phone around 5:30 pm on a Thursday, and Kara greeted me saying, “Mom, I just had and accident, I’m ok but my car isn’t.” My first thought and probably my first words were, “Thank God you are okay.” As the conversation continued I learned that she was on I-94 near Nine Mile Road, her car had hydroplaned on the wet roadway and went off the road, there were no other vehicles involved, the police were on their way, and we decided she would call a friend to come pick her up and take her home.

Later that evening Kara told me the whole story. She was driving in the left hand lane, keeping up with traffic, when her car began to hydroplane. She first went off the left hand side of the road but in trying to regain control she apparently over-corrected sending her car back across three lanes of traffic, up the embankment on the right-hand side then back down before coming to a stop. It seemed miraculous that all of the traffic traveling with her or behind her, during this rush hour,  somehow managed to avoid collision with her out-of-control car. I told Kara that her angel must have been with her. I also repeated this when I told the story to my husband.

The following day, when talking to my dad on the phone I told him “Kara had an Angel riding with her,” I then went on to tell him the story of her accident and how we had told Kara that Grandma Chris’s spirit would ride with her. He, too, thanked God that Kara was not injured and that no one else was involved in the accident. We went on to talk about other things and as I stood looking out our living room window a cardinal flew into our cherry tree. I mentioned the cardinal to my dad, and he told me he had recently read that there is some spiritual significance when you see a cardinal. He couldn’t remember exactly what it was.

After I got off the phone I went back to my housework. I didn’t think about the cardinal again until the next morning. When I did and internet search I discovered that it is said “When a cardinal appears an angel is near,” some also said the a cardinal is a visitor from heaven, or a visit from a loved one that has passed on. I knew immediately that the cardinal was my mother-in-law confirming my belief. I felt peaceful and grateful. I shared the story with my husband and he agreed that I had a visit from his mom, Kara’s angel.

Later that day I realized God’s sense of humor when I called Kara to share the story. I first asked her if she was busy. She said she was at a football game. I quickly shared the story of talking to my dad and seeing the cardinal and learning the meaning of seeing a cardinal and that I believed that this confirmed that Grandma Chris is her angel. When I was finished Kara said, “Mom, the strange thing is the team that we (the Wayne State Warriors) are playing is the Cardinals.” I wasn’t sure of the significance of this but I found it funny. So much so that I was still laughing out loud 20 minutes later when my husband came home. When he asked, I told him that God has a great sense of humor.

I will end this story with an addendum to the answer I gave my young daughter many years ago. When you were young, Kara, God trusted me to take care of you and to find the right babysitter when I could not be with you. Since you are grown up I now trust God to take care of you, and He uses Angels just as I used babysitters to take care of you.

Thank You God! and Happy Birthday Kara.