A few more Christmas pictures...

 I couldn't fit all of my pictures in the last entry so here are few more. :) 

Kacie and Nikki

Pretty Pink poinsettias at Calvary

The most beautiful Sanctuary ever

The Advent wreath all lit up

Robin lighting candles

Happy Donna

Silly Nikki and Abby

Me with my cousins, Amy and Ashley

Christmas 2009

Wild and crazy and non stop, that was this Christmas.  I felt a little like I was meeting myself coming and going all weekend and was ready to come back to work to get a little rest.  However it was wonderful!!  The candlelight service at Calvary on Christmas Eve was gorgeous with the church lit only by the candles in our hands.  People can say was they will about battery operated candles but I love just good ole regular wax candles, even if they do drip and burn you and make you hit random high notes in the middle of Silent Night.  I wore jeans to the service, but I think Elise and Marisa had the right idea, as they came in their pajamas and looked absolutely adorable!

All of the friends exchanged presents which of course was fun.  My friends are entirely to generous and incredible!  I of course was so excited to give Robin his tie.  I am still not sure what possessed me to get his a Clemson tie, but for that smile I suppose I can suck it up.  This picture however is to funny for words.  I couldn't stop laughing at Nikki and Clemson in a Bowl Game makes Robin entirely to giddy.

I spent Christmas Eve night with Nana and Lucy for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning festivities.  The taco soup was incredible as were the cinnamon rolls on Friday morning.

We opened presents and I got money towards a new computer (I can't wait!!!), and one of my favorite things, a new Gamecock key ring.  It's so pretty and goes we will my new Gamecock earrings!  I suppose Santa rewards those who love people enough to buy ugly Clemson stuff :)

After Christmas morning was wrapped up (or unwrapped) I went to BB's and we went to Charlotte to see Aunt Dena, Uncle Don, and Amy and Ashley.  We had a yummy lunch and fun opening presents and then us girls went to the movies to see Alvin and the Chipmunk: The Squeakquel.  I am now a huge fan of the Chipettes!!!

It was a really fun girls outing and it was great to spend some holiday time with my cousins!

Stockings!!! and trees....

Well, after a mild panic attack, when I realized that I really had no clue where my camera was, I found it and all is well.  Actually I prayed last night that God would show me where I had left it, and I had this really inconsequential dream where I was carrying my Dano bag instead of my regular purse, and voila!  It was in there this morning.  God is so awesome!

I finished the Grandparents presents last night and as I am pretty sure they don't read my blog (or even know that I have one) I can post pictures.  They have never had stockings for Christmas for as long as I can remember, and stockings are one of my favorite traditions.  So this year their real present is the wrapping as I made them stockings...or bought stockings and cross-stitched and decorated on them.  I am really excited about how they came out and I hope they enjoy them!

Also as promised ages ago, here are some pictures of my trees at the bank.  The little one is in my drive-thru and the big(ger) one is in our lobby.

I love decorating the bank and I am dreading having to take it all down next week.  Is there anything wrong with wanting a tree year round?

Snow in SC...the continuing saga

Well the weater finally went haywire Friday afternoon and depending in where exactly you were at in Sparkle City you may have had a little slush or have been socked in for the night.  I was the latter up in Chesnee.  I actually didn't mind as a curled up with some hot cocoa, my cross stitch and watched Frosty the Snowman while the snow fell.  I think that may be the first time I have ever had snow for watching Frosty and his friends so good on CBS for scheduling with the weather.

By noon on Saturday the white had melted down to traveling managabilty, and I was off to a marathon trip to Michael's for some last minute jewelry making supplies I had forgotten and one last skein of yarn (YAY!)

I have a tight schedule for my evenings to finish out everything I need for Thursday and Friday, but I am confident I will make the deadline!

Saturday evening was the Calvary Choir party.  I would have pictures, but I haven't gotten them from Cynthia and I can't find my camera :(  The party was a blast as was the Carol Sing on Sunday night.  For those unfamiliar with the Carol Sing, it is the the night when everyone who wants to sing a Christmas song, sings it in church.  Everything from Away in a Manger to Silver Bells.  Nikki and I sang which was super fun as I love singing with that girl!  My Sunday School kids stole the show though.  They were really nervous about singing in public but blew everyone aways with there voices and super cuteness.

Snow in SC...

...well sort of.  If you count the five minutes of snow that fell this morning and stuck to absolutely nothing then we had snow.  LOL  Weatherman says more is on the way tonight so we shall see!
I love snow and I absolutely loved the massive snows that we got when I was a kid in Missouri.  There is nothing like being six years old and having snow in your yard that is higher than you are.
The only thing that concerns me nowadays is driving in it.  When Buddy taught me to drive he taught me to drive a stick and I could manuever pretty well in Blanche (the old Subaru) in the winter weather.  However, I have no idea what to do in my automatic Maxie Lou.  I suppose I will figure it out, but I am not particularly looking forward to it.
I have ONE, count it ONE, scarf left to finish and I will be done with them for a little while, but I still have a bit of cross stitching and sewing left to do before the big guy comes down the chimney.  I have the coolest idea for presents for my grandparents who don't really do much to celebrate Christmas anymore.  When they are finished I will post pictures, but until then I will leave you in suspense. ;)

A Blue Christmas Cantata

The church is decorated absolutely beautiful for the Christmas season this year and last Sunday night was our annual choir program.  Some of you have known me for quite some time and you know that I love to sing, love my choir, but I can not and have never been able to sing any form of harmony.  The Lord did not wire my ears for hearing harmonies.  However I sucked it up and through many tears worked on learning a second soprano part for the program.  It was HARD, but I had a blast doing it!

After much debate we decided to leave the robes hanging in the closet this year and wear shades of blue and silver, and it looked gorgeous.  However due to Paul's sadness about not getting to wear his robe, Nikki and I will be wrapping up one for him to open on Christmas Eve.  I love my P-daddy, but those robes should sit in that closet til the world returns to dust!   My biggest surprise of the night had very little to do with the music at all, but in lots of hugs from my big sister Kelly, her husband Artie and their kids who are the greatest kids in the whole world.  They all came to see the musical and I felt like the coolest aunt in the world having my own section of smiling neices and nephews.  Kelly's youngest daughter Emily made me the sweetest card that I tucked inside my folder so I could see it next to my music while I was singing.  I am so grateful for God bringing Kelly and Artie back into my life after many years apart and for their amazing children who bring such joy to my heart.

After the cantate Ms. Debbie and Ms. Linda put on the most elaborate fabulous dessert buffet ever and the social hall was transformed into a North Pole tasting room full of goodies Mrs. Claus herself would have been impressed with.  It was a good time to kick back and enjoy time with friends after working so hard on the musical for the last months.

Cynthia, Donna and I should never be allowed to take pictures of ourselves.  We are very bad at it.  Cynthia says she doesn't like her neck in this picture but I'm not sure who can see it with the blinding light of my glasses.  Of course there is the annual cheese ball picture of me and Robin.  I smacked him in the head and told him not to look stupid right before we snapped it...we see how well that worked out :)

I'm glad we are finished with the music, but grateful for the memories it leaves us!  Now looking forward to to the choir Christmas party on Saturday.  It should prove equally memorable!

A Few Chirstmas Friends

This is what I have been spending my evenings watching while crocheting.  Some of them have been with me every Christmas I can remember, and they are like old friends, and others are much newer.  In any event no matter where I end up at Christmas these guys seem to come with me.  So cheers to Rudolf, Bing, Rosemary, Frank, Santa and all their friends!  Happy Chirstmas!

A Very Crochet Christmas

This Christmas has been full of yarn!!!  In an effort to not have a last minute rush I started on this year's Christmas in January....glad I did!  I of course had a fall lag of enthusiasm and now am overwhelmed with the stuff I haven't finished.  Priorities of course are in order.  The children in my life will have something from me; the adults will get theirs when I get myself together.  In any event, scarves, afghans, snowflake ornaments, purses and other assorted crocheted handy-crafts will find their way to their new homes in the next couple of weeks and I might possibly find the floor in my bedroom that has been hidden in yarn for months...and then it will all start again.

Sometimes I worry I am going to turn into Iola Boylin from Mama's Family with all of my handy-crafting but I love it and I love honoring my mother in making Christmas presents the way she always did.  Her presents were never about how expensive or grand they were but in the time she spent on something esspecially for someone she loved.  This is my connection to her that is mine and mine alone and I treasure it above all things she could have left me.

Sushi and Parades: Take Two

It's hard to believe a year has passed since the first time I went to the parade with my church.  Even more amazing that of all the events that come this time of year, this is the one I have spent the whole year looking forward to.
Rain was the unexpected prelude to Santa this year and I was soaked though and frozen to the bone by the time the jolly ole elf rolled through the corner of Daniel Morgan and Church but still there is nothing like huddling together with the ones you love around Gatorade coolers filled with steaming hot chocolate to warm the soul.  No matter that is going on in life, the parade is magic and for those few fleeting moments all of life is about what is on that next float and the smiles that it will bring.  Nothing else matters, all is perfect.
Sushi has come a long way in my life since last year and my first squeamish attempts and trying raw fish.  Niku tataki is my new favorite after last night.  It was incredible.  (and yes I know that is beef and not fish, but I had some tuna tataki too.)
Anyway friends, thanks for the memories and here's to looking forward to next year (and hopefully a little less rain.)

It's finally here...

Well a month of anticipation, parties and being good so that Santa will come see me and it is finally Christmas Eve. I will be in bed soon as Norad says the big guy in red will be hitting the United States in an hour or so.
Truly an amazing Christmas on every level. Forget that I haven't opened the "big presents" yet, this Christmas will go in my personal record book for being wonderful whether I have gifts or not. I have had my friends and family near and dear almost everyday. There has been a lot of laughter, a few tears, and more hugs than I can even begin to count. It has been a long road to this Christmas, to these friends and a church family that I was convinced could not exist for me again. When I moved back to Spartanburg two years ago, I never thought I would find a home like the one I had left in Asheville. I couldn't believe God would let you strike gold twice. I am the most blessed girl in the world.
Merry Christmas dear friends and family near and far, old and new and to the ones who lie ahead on the road for me to meet. May the coming year keep the spirit of love that has filled every nook and cranny of the last few weeks.

Sadness...

So amid all the joy and frivolity of this season, here comes tragedy. We know that death comes to us all eventually; no man is immortal. But at Christmas death seems somehow more cruel, more real and in some ways more final. The death of a friends mother reduced me to a puddle last night. I have never met this woman and yet her death brought a flood of emotion from me. Memories of my own mother's death two years ago came rushing up to the surface and all my strength and diginified reserve were lost.
This year Christmas has been so vivid, in such full technicolor. The joy of it has been overwhelming, and on the flip side this sadness is just as vivid and rich. My prayers are with my friends and their loss but selfishly it makes me turn inward and mourn my own losses. It also makes me want to build up the walls of defense another layer. I want to protect myslef from the hurt and so up goes the protective barriers. The problem with these barriers is that while they protect from the pain the lock out the joy and reduce the vivid colors to grays. It's a constant stuggle for me to keep the walls down and enlist a little bravery against the sadness.
In the mean time, say a prayer for the Edge family and love the ones you have a little more this Christmas.

Making a Memorable Christmas

Last night we had a really informal night at church where we sang a lot of carols both sacred and secular and told stories and had a great time being an extended family to one another. During the course of the evening different ones told tales of their favorite Christmas memories. Our pastor, Scott, posed the question of what God's favorite Christmas memory would be. He of course gave promise of a sermon to come with many Biblical references. I, being not so theologically inclined or intellectually minded have my own thoughts on the subject. I am of the opinion that God generally is good with anytime that we his children come together in his name. I also think that he loves seeing his children love one another even when loving one another is the most difficult thing to do. With these things in mind I suppose that God's favorite Christmas memories are much like ours. The times when we are together with friends or family and they fill your heart with such joy you think you will burst from trying to hold it all. The times when the Christmas spirit feels a million miles away and someone brings you a miracle that is particularly personal and specific to you and where you are. Even more amazing when that person is clueless that they are the deliverer of the miracle that you and you alone needed. I figure, God doesn't get much pleasure out of midnight door-busters at the mall in order to fight over a vacuum cleaner that you must have to wrap up for someone who could frankly care less about a vacuum cleaner and won't appreciate it anyway. He probably doesn't gain a great deal of joy out of his children going into ridiculous amounts of debt to give others unneeded gifts all in the name of Christ's birth. God's ultimate Christmas gift to us wasn't really about frivolous wants like my wish list is full of. His gift was about a need. A need to save all of mankind and about loving people so much that you would give what is most costly to fulfill that need, even at the cost of one's own son. I'm not God and my capacity to love and give is so minuscule in comparison, but I want to strive this year to make it a Christmas that God would want to remember by keeping His example fresh in my mind.

Reindeer Games

As I have always lived in a church environment I am not certain how the secular world views church choirs. I am not certain that it has any real view whatsoever on them. I am certain, however, that whatever view they may have has nothing to do with the absolute insane frivolity that my church choir is.
We had our Christmas party last night and I, with my strong handle on church culture am still left speechless and giddy with the antics of the night. Who knew that a pair of pantyhose and some balloons could make reindeer antlers and that and old man with the word "Vixen" (ala Santa's reindeer) on his back could bring such laughter to my heart and joyful tears to my eyes. In fact, we had fun at church with church people.
So often I get the impression that people believe that if you are of the mind to glorify God by attending a church you must be one of two things. Either a stodgy stick in the mud who believes that fun is only for the heathen or you are a hypocrite who raises hell 6 days a week and then prays for forgiveness on Sunday. Both extremes exist and I am well familiar with both stereotypes but most of us are just normal joes and janes who love God and enjoy life. It has been known to happen at the same time. God was not lacking a sense of humor, and I don't believe he wanted his children to be either. So maybe putting a pair of stockings on a friends head and and stuffing them with balloons was not exactly what the Lord Jesus had in mind for his birthday party but maybe it was. Maybe just maybe God himself had as much fun last night with his children in his house as I did. I certainly hope so.

Christmas Parades and Sushi

Who knew that these two things went so beautifully together. My church served free hot chocolate at the Spartanburg Christmas parade this week and made tons of great memories. The parade was entertainment beyond entertainment. Who needs Macy's when you can have the Spartanburg Hillbilly Shriners backfiring down Main and Church Street. Not to mention the Remax float flicking the Bic on a hot air balloon sans balloon. All this and enough hot chocolate to float to China and good friends that warm your heart in a way that defies soggy cold weather.
And then there was the sushi...
I will eat anything. My friends call me Mikey in that respect, but sushi was my last holdout. It made me queese up ever so slightly and I just never made the effort to overcome. Well no more. 18 church friends and of course Robin, the conossuier of all things sushi, were enough to make me overcome my fears and gag reflexes and have a wonderful unforgetful virgin voyage into the world of rolled up raw fix. All in all a good experience with the exception of barbecued eel. This little tidbit I can certainly pass on.
I made a new friend as well. An 82 year old man who I knew of but had never made friends with properly was the best person to share this first sushi venture with. After being brought a plate of tuna sashimi he prompty filled his mouth with a huge bite of ginger, and then after sitting silently for awhile commented "That wasn't bad, but I can't feel my false teeth."
Unforgettable!

Christmas is Coming

So here we are almost to the close of 2008 and Christmas is coming on like gangbusters everywhere you go. Downtown lights are lit, parties abound from every direction and even the most devout hermit needs a Blackberry to keep up with his holiday calendar of events.
I myself am juggling church and work parties and making time for movie nights with friends who are so close we don't need an invitation to celebrate together. Most of my Christmas presents are made because somewhere in my youth or childhood I decided homemade presents were the best. You would have to consult all the receivers of my gifts to get a real idea of whether or not I should hang that idea up or not, but I get a real kick out of it.
The church choir contata is tomorrow and of course I am thrilled even though the idea of choir robes makes my curly hair lay straight. This is by far my favorite time of year. No two Christmases are ever alike except that they all have their own special spark, their own little miracle waiting to be unwrapped. Sometimes they are big and flashy like Rudolph's nose and sometimes they are understated and found only when you take a moment to watch the squirrels pack in their food for the winter and smell the air for the hints of pumpkin, apple and pecan pie.
So here I wait anxiously to see what will be the gift of this year, and try desperately to remember that although all of the granduer lifts my spirits, the Lord's birthday is the reason for all of this and that lifts my soul.