Christmas

We're leaving tomorrow for our two week Christmas visits to Ohio and Pennsylvania. We start in Cincinnati at the Bedinghaus' for a week, then onto central PA to my cousin's cabin and then finally onto my parents for the new year. That means that today I'm cleaning, doing laundry and determining how to pack all of us for two weeks. We're really looking forward to spending the quality time with our families though, so all this work beforehand is worth it. 

However, I wanted to pause and write a bit about Christmas. I'm reading a book, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, by Doug Wilson and it's opening my eyes to things I've simply taken for granted or am immune to about the Christmas story. Things like the miracle that is Jesus obeying his Father and coming to earth as a baby that needed to be nursed and have his diapers changed. The fact that Mary yielded her body to God's plan without even a question, even though she was only a teenager. The fact that Herod killed all the babies under the age of two because he realized Jesus was a threat to him. There are many other things, but ultimately I am reminded and re-taught that Christ came to die for me and my sin. That is the good news of the season, of every season of the year. He came in such an unassuming way that completely turned the world upside down. 

These reminders have been such a comfort to me as I am grieving during this Christmas season, remembering the baby we lost in May. He/she would have been born any day now. That's hard to think and talk about in such a joyful season. I am reminded that we are called to become more like Christ by joining in his suffering, and that even in the midst of trial we can choose to be joyful. "Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4) Let me tell you, I am far from perfect and far from being steadfast. But I can say that the testing of faith does its work to produce steadfastness. This year has been hard and there has been much testing of my faith. I still think I have a long way to go to contentment, trust and deeper faith in God, but I am glad to know there has been improvement over this year and I praise God for that. It is certainly not something I did on my own! It is only by God's mercy and grace to me. 

My prayer for me and you this Christmas season is that we would count our trials as joy as we see the fruit they produce. No matter where you are at, who you are, Jesus came to earth for you. To walk with you through that trial, to mourn with you, to rejoice with you. To die and live again so that you may have eternal life. There should be no happier people at Christmas than Christians! We have been given the best gift there could ever be. 

Merry Christmas! 

Tutorial: Live Christmas Wreaths

Long before I was born, the women on my mom's side of the family would get together the day after Thanksgiving for "Craft Day." I always looked forward to craft day as a kid because I got to play with my cousins, but when I had a home of my own, I really loved it because I got to make a wreath. A few friends have asked over the years about our tradition, so I thought I'd share on here how we make our live green wreaths. 

The practice of making one is quite simple. The hard part (if you're doing this on your own) is gathering the greens and having a space large enough to spread the greens out and get everything messy. We've always done it in my aunt and uncle's garage, and while it's cold, it works great. As for the greens, everyone cuts and brings some to share. The key is to have a wide variety -- spruce, white pine, boxwood, holly, cedar, etc. If you don't have greens on your own property, don't hesitate to ask your neighbors or strangers. You're not cutting very much, so hopefully they won't mind a trim. 

What you will need:

- A wire wreath frame. You can buy these at any craft store in the floral department. They come in all different sizes.

- Green floral wire on a spool

- A cutter/trimmer. A scissors can work, but a cutter is best. 

- Ribbon, Christmas balls, pinecones, etc. to decorate. You can tailor this to your decorating tastes. We've also used spray paint in the past for things like pinecones which is fun. 

- Something to hang your wreath on. I have an over the door hook which is great, but as you'll see below, I hung mine differently this year and had to find a different solution. 

- Greens. 

Tools of the trade: 

     

                             Green floral wire                  Wire frame                               Pile of greens

Start by flipping your frame over so the raised side is up. Wrap a good length of floral wire around a point in the frame. This will be where you will start. 

Trim a small handful of different greens so you have a manageable bunch. 

Lay the bunch of greens on the frame and wrap the floral wire around the bottom of the bunch several times until it is secure. You will continue to make bunches like this, laying them on the frame in an alternating pattern. One on the inside, one on the outside, sometimes one in the center, continuing to wrap the floral wire around each bunch. It's important to make sure all your bunches are going the same direction. I usually work counter-clockwise, but either way is fine as long as you point the greens in the same direction. It takes some time to get used to making bunches using different greens, so take your time and keep looking at it to make sure it looks even and one part is not fatter than another part. 

Your wreath will start to come together, looking something like this. Keep going! It gets a little tedious in the middle, but the end result is worth it. When you meet where you started, fill in the last hole and then wrap the floral wire like normal. Give yourself some extra and wrap it around the frame like you did when you started to secure the wreath. Clip the wire off the spool. 

One of my finished wreaths. 

Two more. I made three of this size (12 inch frame), one 16 inch frame and one 8 inch boxwood wreath. It was a busy morning! 

My lovely mother working on her two huge wreaths. 

Liam's boxwood wreath in yellow and gray for his room. He did not help in the slightest; my aunt made this for him. 

I didn't do any decorating of my wreaths until I got home and found some ribbon I liked. I usually decorate in gold and red for Christmas, so that is the ribbon I went with too. Like I said above, you can decorate them any way you choose. 

This is my tiny boxwood hanging on my Brad Smith mirror. (Excuse the poor photo and the light switch!) I simply looped the ribbon through it and pushed a push pin through the ribbon into the wall behind the mirror. The best part about boxwood is that it lasts forever. I could keep this wreath up for six months if I wanted. I may do that, with a different ribbon of course. 

The other three wreaths went outside on my windows. I watched too many YouTube videos on how to make the bows, but I'm pleased with how they turned out. They are hung by suction cup hooks directly on the window. I gave the fifth wreath to my pastor's wife for her front door. 

There you go! I hope this might inspire you to take on a project like this, or if not this, another simpler project. We made darling burlap wreaths at our mom's group last week that were super simple so I know those kind of wreaths are out there! 

Thanksgiving

Is it even worth posting these pictures and thoughts about Thanksgiving? Perhaps not, but oh well, this is my life. I've already moved on to making lists and things on Shutterfly for Christmas presents.

But, I would be remiss to not mention the fun we had over Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania. We made the trek on Tuesday and stayed until Sunday. Wednesday I made over 300 cookies for my dad's open house, which was fun. Thursday we were at my aunt's house all day. She makes the most fabulous meal, something different every year. It was a treat and a joy to be there. Friday we spent time at the open house and then had dinner and a cookie decorating party in the evening with friends. Saturday we went back down to my aunt's house for our annual wreath making day with the women in my mom's family. Saturday night Rob and I went out {on a date!} to see Skyfall. Sunday we drove all day back home. Whew! What a trip. In the midst of that Liam played and played and played with toys at Grammy's house and had an all-around fantastic time too. 

I love Thanksgiving for the reminder it is to be grateful for the many, many good gifts God gives to us. It also exhorts me to remember that every day there are equal opportunities to be thankful for the wonderful, ordinary blessings of life. 

Commence photos to prove all that really happened... 

Trays and trays of my dad's favorite cookies, Butterscotch Oatmeal. 

Playing, playing

The beautiful table at my aunt's house for Thanksgiving

Liam and Grammy reading after eating.

Some of dad's pots at the open house 

Bowls of icing waiting for cookies

You should see the creativity that flowed from this group...

I thought Liam would really enjoy this process, but he did a few cookies and wandered off to play. Of course he ate every one he decorated. 

The finished product + good friends. I've known Adam and Lydia since birth. Now that we're all married, it is even more fun to spend time together. 

This is the wreath my aunt made for Liam's room {yellow + gray!}. It is hanging on his door and is pretty adorable. 

One of my five (!) finished wreaths. I could not believe I made so many this year. I'll have pictures of the final ones hanging at my house, plus I'm planning to do a tutorial on how to make these, so stay tuned! 

The whole wreath making group. Aunts. Cousins. Sisters. Nieces. And a brother. Love.