The view from here...

The biggest Birthday celebration.....
Christmas (Jesus' birthday) is coming...all the preparations...shopping for just the right gifts for our loved ones, baking, decorating...and just driving around on a quiet night, looking at all the Christmas lights that people have put up.



Christmas wreath cookies. (Hint...when shaping these, rather than buttering one's hands, dip fingers lightly in a small bowl of water. It works way better to keep the cookies from sticking to your fingers.) They look delicious, don't they? Well....as I was carrying them to the basement to put into the freezer, the container opened and all our labor fell down the steps. I could do nothing but watch them tumble...most of them landing upside down. So...bought more marshmallows at the store the next day so that Kevin and I could make more. Those are now safely stored in the freezer.



Molasses cookies in progress. Rats! I only need 1 more tsp ground cloves for this recipe. Kevin graciously ran to the store to buy some for me.




As I was looking at the gifts under our lit tree this morning, God quietly reminded me again the reason we give gifts to our loved ones....it is our giving that is a simple symbol of what He graciously gave to us many years ago...the gift of His only loved Son. He offers this Gift to everyone, but it is up to us to accept (or reject) this most precious of all gifts. As we hand out our gifts this year, I want to be very much aware that God gave me His gift. And as we accept gifts from our loved ones, I want to gratefully remember the precious gift I accepted many years ago. A gift that does not grow old or stale, but one that grows more precious with time...if I do not neglect it. "..but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Merry Christmas, everyone.




This was the view out our front window, early one morning this week.



My friends, Belinda and Beth came over to celebrate my birthday one evening. We get together every year for each others' birthdays.