I like what my friend Kat said in her post today…it’s the

END OF A SEASON…
END OF A MONTH…
END OF A YEAR…
END OF A DECADE…

and, so it is. How would you characterize your ‘days of auld lang syne’? (‘times gone by’).
Was it good, was it bad? Was it constructive? Destructive? Did it make you proud or make you sad? Would you want to live it again?

I remember the start of this decade with all the talk of Y2K. I didn’t buy into all that…much. But, I did stock up on batteries…and fill up several containers of water. Just in case!

We’ve added 4 new members to our family…Suzanne, Will, Ben (by marriage)…and John Thomas (by birth). We’ve lost two members, my Mom in 2009…and Don’s Mom in 2004. And, how wonderful it is for us to know that they are both residing in their mansions in Heaven!

Tonja and Don, Tara and Will, Lori and Ben, Suzanne and Adam, Alex, Ian all moved into new places to live.

Adam, Will, Ian, Suzanne, Tara, Lori,Ben, and Tommy started new jobs. I retired from 20 years of teaching. Lori and Ian both graduated from college with Masters Degrees.

We learned hard lessons, we eased over bumps in the road, we kept going when we didn’t think we could. We fell in love, had babies, and celebrated anniversaries!
We learned life lessons, learned more about the way other people act, and learned more about why we do the things we do. And, we laughed, we wept, we smiled, we sobbed, we wanted to live the moment forever, we wanted to die. But, through it all…we survived.

We took it in, and rolled it around in our brains, put it in its proper place, took what we needed, and let the rest fall away. Yes, we survived…and we grew…and we became older and wiser. We came to know that some of those things we thought were SOOOO important…really aren’t. We learned that it really IS the little things that matter…we learned that it really IS the ‘moments’ we remember, we realized that every day really IS a gift!

Oh, how much wiser we are! And, oh, how much we still need to learn!
Here’s to the new month, the new year, the new decade! BRING IT ON !!!!

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FYI….ONCE IN A BLUE MOON

Rare New Year’s Eve ‘blue moon’ to ring in 2010
By The Associated Press
December 30, 2009, 4:00AM
According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year’s Eve.

Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don’t expect it to be blue ?

We made it through Christmas, even though it was sad without Mom. We all felt her absence. Each of her grandchildren received a gift from her that Joy and I picked out from among her things. Hopefully these gifts will be a reminder of the love she felt for them. I missed her way of doing things, her delicious dishes, her beautiful smile. I missed her just ‘being’ there.

I wrote this little poem on Christmas night…after everyone had gone home. Don took care of cleaning up the kitchen, along with the Alex and Ian. I found myself on the daybed, with my feet propped up…laptop in my lap…looking at the pictures I had made during the day.

My home was filled with ‘happy’ all day. People laughing, smiling, singing, praying, eating. We played games, we opened gifts, we repeated, from memory, the verses from the Bible that tell the Christmas Story…Luke 2:1-20. We were blessed to have a beautiful baby in our midst to ooh and aah over! Beautiful, sweet John Thomas was a delight to have with us. I thought of the words of the song…”O, come let us adore him…” We all adored this sweet baby. And, how much more did the angels and heavenly hosts adore sweet Baby Jesus when He was born!

All is well. All is well in my home…in my family…in my heart…

This, friends, is the basis of all I hold dear. Because God sent His son into the world, we are able to enjoy all the good things in life. Without Him, this would be such a different world. Any goodness or kindness or joy that you find is a gift to you from God, himself. “EVERY GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT COMES FROM ABOVE…” James 1: 17. With the most wonderful gift of all being the gift of His son, Jesus.

I pray that your days of celebration are filled with all the good this life is full of. I pray your home is filled with warmth, and family, and friends. May you enjoy the bounty that He has richly blessed us with. May your table be filled with good things to eat. “O, TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD” Psalm 34: 8. I pray that you experience smiles and hugs and happiness. And, remember to return the same to others you come in contact with.

God Bless You and Yours!

Tonja

Wanted to share a few of my nativity pieces with you today. These have been collected over the years and are just a few of the ones I own.

This one of stone is made up of just these pieces. It is one of my favorite because it looks so primitive.

This one is very tiny. I bought it one year as a gift to myself. Each piece is made of solid pewter and the creche is made of a resin material.

This set I have had since before I was married. Mom and Pop bought it when they went on a trip to the Holy Land. It is made of olive wood and the carving is quite intricate.

This little piece was sent to my boys from some missionary friends of ours that lived in Guatemala.

I love this set of nativity boxes! Each one has such beautiful pictures of it. There are 7 of them, and they look lovely next to the tree!

This is, perhaps, the one that is dearest of all to me. This little set is very inexpensive and has been glued back together more times that I can remember. It has been gnawed on…by baby boys and a baby dog. Pieces of it have been carried around in pockets, in school bags, in the dog’s mouth. Pieces have been found under the covers of a boy’s bed, under the bed itself, in the bottom of a toy box, and even in the bathtub, draining with the rest of the toys that made the bath bearable.

It is the set that was bought for Son #1…and passed on to Son #2 and Son #3. It was the first thing to go under our tree every year, and that was its home base throughout the Season. It was set up, always, on an old block of wood. The pieces would not stand up otherwise. It was arranged and rearranged more times than I can even imagine.

It was a set that said, “Play with me. Touch me. Learn from me.” And, they did. They learned the wonderful story, and could tell it easily using the figures as props. They learned that this story was meant to be loved…explored…told and retold.

And, even when the time came that they were too big to play with the figures…they still looked to be sure it was there. Because, under the tree, full of wonderful surprises and gifts wrapped in bright paper and ribbons, was the depiction of the greatest story they would ever learn. The greatest story ever told. The greatest gift they could ever receive.

Fitting it is that this set is modest and simple. That’s the way the Savior came. Fitting that it should be carried into every area of a young boy’s world. For what it represented has become a part of the lives they live every day. Fitting that it has lasted through the years…as the coming of the Christ Child is what gives meaning to the lives we lead.

One year, the baby went missing for several days. I could not find it anywhere. Until I washed a load of blue jeans. When I removed the jeans from the washer to the dryer…there he was…as clean as I had ever seen him. I asked the boys about it, and one of them finally ‘fessed up. “I jes wanted to take Baby Jesus everywhere I go!” Now how do you do anything but say, “Carry Him, Sweetie, carry Him with you every where you go…every day of your life!”

And, here is the lovely Holy Family statue. I gave it to Mom many years go…she gave it back to me in the most special way. It reminds me that love never dies or goes away…it is just passed on from one to another. I think that is exactly what God had in mind when He sent Jesus so long ago. That love and hope and peace and joy that He sent then is just as fresh and relevant today. Because of that little baby, we have hope for an everlasting life. I wish for you this Christmas the peace that only He can give. I wish that you feel His love wrapping all around you. And, I wish you the joy that come from sharing that love with others. God Bless You and Yours!