Christmas Favorites

The love of brothers & sisters...

Peace and Joy from our family to yours.

May the rest of your 2009 be filled with love.

Starbucks Bounce

A little birdie gave me an early Christmas/birthday gift of a card from Starbucks, so the kids and I took a break today and went for a treat. Thanks little birdie. I got my usual, Reeves got an Izzy Soda, and Brice got “chocwat” milk. Embree wanted to try the Peppermint Mocha. It did look yummy!

Now think about that…Embree+coffee+chocolate+sugar=WOW!!!!

I told her she would be bouncing off the walls. Reeves said, “You know you can’t really bounce off the walls.” I said, “It’s a figure of speech, but I’ve see her try before.” His response, “Well it’s difficult…I’ve tried it before. I just smacked the wall and fell to the floor!”

BOYS!!!

A poem for Winter Solstice

Today is Winter Solstice (12:47 pm, Dec. 21, 2009). I got up early this morning and sat in the dark, quiet house, trying to free myself from all the stress of this coming week…trying to feel a soft darkness and quietness inside as well. I have found myself struggling for inner peace in the past few days. Actually I’ve probably been searching longer…as I recall that the mantel in the dining room is decorated with the word, as are our family Christmas cards. When the kids sometimes ask what I would wish for if I could wish for anything I often say world peace, and I do wish for that with all my heart, but I think I need to follow the old song. “Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me.” And peace on Earth can’t begin with me until I feel peace in my heart. My prayer today, is the peace within myself to guide my actions to create peace around me. If you are reading this, I wish it for you as well. Happy Winter Solstice. Peace.

Winter Wishes

By Ray Cruz

December 12, 2001

Let the first snow of winter
Cleanse the wounds in your heart
From conflicts and hardships of the year.

Let the heavenly showers
Clear the air and freshen your view
Of the world around you.

Let the brisk sounds and scenes
Of the holiday season
Pace the rhythm of your step.

Let your soul be uplifted
With the sparkle of children
Enjoying the surprises of winter’s antics.

Let your heart be filled
With the peace of an infant's succor
From her mother's breast.

Let peace in your heart
Free you from doubts and fears
And spread your warm feelings to those near to you.

Let peace in your heart
Open the door to love
And reveal the true delights of the human experience.

Let there be peace on earth,
The purest peace of innocence,
And let it be born in your heart.

Santa’s Helpers

I’m not usually the sappy type…maybe I’m overly tired with everything that’s going on right now…but someone sent this to me this morning and it brought a tear to my eye. Wish we could all bring ourselves to feel this way all year.

Happy Dec. 10!

*Adventure With Grandma*

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit  her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!" My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I  fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true. Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus!" she snorted. "Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let's go." "Go?  Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous, cinnamon bun.

"Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's. I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends,  my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker.   He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs.Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough, and he didn't have a coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!
I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes," I replied shyly. "It's.... for Bobby." The nice lady smiled at me. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) and wrote on the package, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" --Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team. I still have the Bible, with the tag tucked inside: $19.95.

He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree.

Changes in blog access

Due to some privacy issues that have arisen, I am closing this blog to the public. If you were on my regular list I have sent an invitation to you to become an approved reader. If you received posts via email, I have retained that list but I am unsure if the changes will affect delivery. If you receive today's post via email, please let me know so that I know it's working. If you wish to become a reader and need assistance or want to recommend someone who would like to be come an approved reader, please email me at jfgambill@gmail.com.

Thanks! Have a nice Tuesday!

December Giving posts

Our December giving project is well underway and the kids are enjoying it. This week is dress rehearsal week for THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER. I am directing, Embree is on the stage crew, and Brice and Reeves are both in it (so Dad is a kid wrangler!!). Needless to say, I have had no time to post blog entries. I’ll be posting updates on our giving project, and pictures from this week’s adventures next week…when I can breathe again! What ever happened to stringing popcorn and making gingerbread cookies?????

Have a great week!

December Giving - Day 3

Today's gifts (December 3)

My clever cousin, Heather, is putting together a book for my grandparents with submissions by all the great-grandkids.

The kids worked on their pages today as their gift of the day.

Reeves chose his favorite poem and drew a little picture to go with it.

Brice shared a bear collage he made recently...

Embree created her own photo picture...

December Giving – Day 2

Our second day of giving. I suggested that they give each other permission to borrow something of the other’s that they seldom share. Both said that they didn’t care to borrow anything of the other’s. So much for that idea…so they were on their own to think of a gift.

Reeves decided to sing Happy Birthday to his great grandfather (93).

Embree and Reeves attend a combo science and sign language class on Wednesday evenings. They made colloids – gum drops – out of Jell-O gelatin and water. They were cool. Of course, because they were made of gelatin, Embree wouldn’t eat hers. She gave one to a friend and one to Reeves. This, she counted as her gift. Ok, it was 8pm and she was desperate to check off the assignment. Got anything laying around you would rather die than eat…give it as a gift!!! I admit, before now, she would have thrown it in the garbage rather than share it with her brother…so there was generosity in her gift.

This is going to be a learning experience for all of us! I know they will both benefit from this experiment if we stick to it.

Until tomorrow…

December Gifts – Day 1

The kids and I started our 25 days of giving yesterday (Dec. 1). I think it was more difficult for them than they thought it would be. They are still focused on buying and giving material things as gifts. But, by the end of the day they both were able to do something nice…though it seemed like a checklist. I have faith that it will get easier and more sincere over the month.

Embree: Helped Reeves find his new bird ornament after we got home late last night and the cat had ripped all the feathers out and mutilated the beak. She helped so willingly, then asked if she could count it as her gift. Ok, so she actually was nice to him about it…so yes, it counted.

Reeves: Put off his gift until bedtime because he couldn’t think of anything except giving away a toy. He gave everyone in the family a big hug before bed. It’s a start.

It’s hard for kids to think of giving at this time of year when they are inundated with so much that encourages them to ask for things. So, today we’ll start with things. I’m going to ask them to allow the other to borrow something for the day that they don’t normally share. We’ll see how it goes!