Thursday, December 17, 2015

Gaudete!

{Pretty}
All sorts of pretty things as we rejoice this third week of Advent.


Beautiful wrapping paper and vintage tags.  My defense for making glorious packages that will just get ripped and torn on Christmas morn is this:  snowflakes.  God made millions and millions of snowflakes so intricate and different just to give us wonder and joy.  They melt as soon as we see them, but oh, the glory of that split second.  He could have made them round and blobby - it would get the job done.  But it was almost as if He said, "These need to be beautiful to remind these humans that they are still Kings and Queens in another beautiful place even though they walk through a valley of tears." Thus, beautiful packages tell people you want them to be filled with joy and to remind them of their royalty.   Beauty is so important! 

 
A nice, new tablecloth for this year.  The old one has seen better days.  I needed to get something to go with my Mom's Wedgewood China.  I love this set of dishes because my Mom got them little by little at the grocery store.  If you bought a certain amount of groceries, you would get a plate or glass or pitcher etc.  My Mom secretly hated grocery shopping.  But she did it every week for ten people week in and week out.  To me, the reminder of all her lifetime sacrifices is contained in this symbol: a set of twelve place settings.  



 The Merry Christmas Purse comes out for a short two weeks, but I just love it.  Have had it for ages.

 {Happy}
The Christmas CDs are gathered and waiting!






 The Christmas Creche display at my Parish on Gaudete Sunday.  There were some real beauties!!




















 My absolute favorite was from Peru.  


{Funny and Real-ly Nice}
Youngest Child trying to make it to Lesson 62 in the Math book before Christmas break.    He looks like some sort of  rapper/elf doing his...... Mennonite Math.  The  thought of all those images together will make your brain short circuit.  

Eldest Child treats us to an Ethiopian Stew for dinner.  It was HOT but we couldn't stop eating!! So yummy.


5 comments:

  1. Nothing wrong with making all things beautiful!

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  2. Love your purse!! Love that your son is cooking. My youngest son is our chef. We finished our lessons today and the kids are thrilled to be done. You have some lovely decorations. The older I get the more I appreciate the history of objects.

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  3. Oh, thank you for this beautiful glimpse into your beautiful world! Your elfin mathematician is TOO funny! That stew sounds delicious! And your Mom's set of crockery is just wonderful- priceless actually!

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  4. I love beautiful wrapping paper, too. My husband has a family tradition to take picture frames off of the walls and wrap them like presents, bows and all. We get to enjoy the pretty paper all season and it's an inexpensive decoration. See #5 in this link http://www.bhg.com/christmas/indoor-decorating/quick-and-easy-holiday-wall-decor/

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  5. Your Christmas cd collection is impressive! Your decorations are all so authentic, it is beautiful in this age of mass production Christmas. God Bless

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