Holiday Spirit

The Christmas Spirit comes earlier each year, it seems.  Our area has been alight with decorations and lighting since before Thanksgiving.  I love the lights!  In the winter darkness the glow of fireplaces and sparkling lights brings such cheer.  Presently I'm sitting in front of our own fire, created with a flip of a switch.  Such a miracle, and such a warm joy it brings to me on a cold winter morning.

We sang with our Treble Clef group several times last week.  I am beginning to relax about singing as I experience more of it with this group.  Layne sings a solo with us as background.  He does a great job of it and the ladies in the group love him.  Bonnie, our leader is especially fond of him and always makes sure there is a song for him when she arranges our numbers.  I'm liking this singing experience.  It takes place at the same time as Rachel's Nutcracker performances on Temple Hill in Oakland, CA.  This is the first year we have not performed in it and I'm a little sad.  It was a source of many sweet experiences.  But it was time to let it go, I suppose.

Speaking of letting go, we finally have replacements for our addiction calling.  Stan and Nancy Beck, friends from our ward, are going to take over our groups this coming week.  I'm glad but a little sad about that too.  I've learned so much from working with the ladies in my support group.  They are righteous women whose hearts are broken but willing to do whatever the Lord requires of them to help their addicted husbands and hold their families together.  It is a tough road to walk, but they work together to find solutions and healing.  It is a wonder I've never experienced before and has been transforming in my own life.

We had the best Christmas social at Church than we've had for some years, on Saturday night.  Danea Villa, a party girl in our ward, organized a gala event involving dinner, entertainment and dancing!  Oh, I loved it!  No Christmas Breakfast for us.  Those breakfasts have become something of a regular celebration in many wards, including ours in the past.  They seem to say to me, "cheap and easy".  That is not how Christmas, the holiday highlight of the year, should be celebrated.  Our Saturday party was wonderful and goes to the direction of taking real joy in Christ's birth and His gifts to the world.  It takes effort to organize such an event, but isn't that how it should be?  All really good and effective things take effort!  I loved it, and Layne danced with me! He's getting to be quite a smooth dancer, as long as I don't distract him too much with conversation.  Dancing is a source of great pleasure to me, even now.  Not that I do much of it these days as there is little opportunity.  But I often dance at home, sometimes with Layne.

Layne sang in a quartet at the Christmas Social. They sounded pretty good, especially considering that Layne's voice was compromised by the salty ham he ate just beforehand.

I believe we are just about ready for Christmas.  I have the decorations up and have found a gift for Layne, my "I don't need anything" boy.  Now he feels the pressure to get me something.  I'm quietly pleased!  Our house is sparkling with lights, including the new tree I bought just to celebrate Carmen, our little granddaughter lost to heaven.  Her tree is filled with angels.  I add a new one each year and now the tree is full enough to look lovely.  Here's how it looks, standing happily in our kitchen eating space.  I feel happy this season.