Christmas 2011

I know I haven't been blogging much lately...I have been busy living my life rather than blogging about it I guess :)...and happy about it!

Today was Christmas - at least as I write this, at 11:58 p.m. at the moment. And although I had no gifts to open, it was one of the best Christmases I can remember! My husband and I had bought a new TV as our Christmas gift to each other, we've had it for a couple of months, and are enjoying it a lot. My daughter and grandson are out of town, visiting relatives on her dad's side of the family - that has been the only damper on my day, but even so I have been blessed with joy!

Starting the day with church is always great, I wish I could start EVERY day with church! The song leader, Mary, and I sang a duet. It is the first time I have sung in church although I play the keyboard for every service, and I got off to a bit of a rough start vocally...but then was ok after that. Mary, of course, did a great job from start to finish, she's a real pro up there :). The message was excellent as it always is.

Afterward we picked my mom up from the nursing home. She is in a big of a cognitive slump today (Lewy Body Dementia involves lots of cognitive peaks and valleys - "fluctuating cognition" they call it.), but I was excited for her to open her Christmas gift from my sister and I and our husbands - a digital photo frame. I had loaded it with lots of family pictures from past and present, and she watched it for a couple of hours, really was thrilled with it!

I made our traditional Christmas dinner of homemade tomato soup (lots of ricotta and cream!) and very rich cheese sandwiches on English muffin bread with 5 kinds of cheeses, spread with real butter and fried on the skillet until crispy. This has been our Christmas dinner ever since my mom requested it when she was in the early stages of the disease. And I believe it always will be our Christmas dinner, even when...well, after...

My mom stayed and visited for about 3 hours total. As her disease progresses she wants to spend less and less time away from her nursing home - it is small, family-like, everybody knows everybody, she thrives on her friendships and the routine there. She likes it here at my home also, loves playing with my dogs especially, but starts getting anxious after a while...lately it's been about an hour, maybe 90 minutes, before she wants to go back. So today was wonderful, having her here for 3 hours!

After we took my mom back, I had a rare Christmas treat: a nap with my husband! Usually our sleeping schedules are so different, and many Sundays my 31MO grandson is here, so a Sunday afternoon nap isn't possible, but today it was just us, and I slept like a rock for 2 hours, at the same time as hubby! That was a real Christmas gift right there!

After I got up, as he continued to sleep, I took care of my birds and made his lunch and had a couple of hours to myself which is always nice.

This year I have had great peace and joy about Christmas that I haven't experienced in a long time. Part of it are the blessings I receive from twitter, believe it or not - so many lovely Christians, it is like a worship celebration whenever I log on! Part of it is that Jesus has been drawing me so much closer this year, and His Word has been really in my heart. He's been giving me a thirst for it, and even though I don't remember what I've read afterward, the feeling is there, and I know that it is in my heart - the Holy Spirit will be - has been, and is! - able to bring it to my mind as needed, even if my mind doesn't recall it all the time. And the Word has been working in my heart, which sets my mind on things above rather than loving the world...how uplifting is that!

So this year I have had joy and peace in spite of circumstances, my eyes on Jesus and my heart centered on His Word and His promises. What a perfect day!

Family and Food

Spent the evening yesterday with daughter Casey and SIL Josh, they took us out to eat, then we went to the nursing home to visit Grandma (my mom, who has Lewy Body Dementia). Grandma was having a good day, and really enjoyed seeing Casey - they've always had a good and close relationship - and Josh, as well as Casey's "baby bump": Leelan Daniel will make his appearance in April.

Then the kids came over to exchange Christmas gifts, as this was the first time we could all manage to get together. Casey got me a neck pillow that I love, it's got beads or something in it, and is similar (different shape) to a pillow she got me several years ago, that goes EVERYWHERE with me, and I use it not only to hold my head but for other things as well...anyway, it was the perfect gift!

And onto food: I ate carbs at the restaurant yesterday, as I was afraid of...I just seem to lose all control when faced with so many delicious choices. FWIW, I did take my white kidney bean extract beforehand...

Today was much better: steak and salad for lunch, yogurt later, another salad with turkey and ranch dressing later, and 3 wasa fiber crackers with melted mozzarella later. So a good food day today. I sure love salads.

Went to the doctor, all is well, I'm back to normal activity, we talked about my GERD and a new med since the old one isn't working for me anymore. And about my recent neurological issues and most recent hospitalization and subsequent vast improvement. All is well, I'm back up to normal activity for the first time in months. And working on taking off the poundage that accumulated during those months...

Christmas Parties

Monday was the Christmas dinner for The Bug Man, down in Lansing - about 2.5 hours from us. We had a great time, as we always do. I love seeing the guys/wives that one time each year, since the rest of the time we are all just voices over the phone line. The dinner was at Hershey's this year and was superb. I got a chicken dish with spinach and goat cheese that was delicious! Although I could have just grazed at the salad bar and been perfectly happy with that also...everything was great but especially the company. To be with others who are natural and funny and delightful and open guarantees a great party!

Last night was the Christmas party for my husband's hotel. The owners were very gracious, and I enjoyed meeting some of Pete's co-workers - nice people, very down to earth and friendly. The food was great, and the people seemed to be having a good time.

The 2 parties couldn't have been more different.
One wouldn't know that each group was celebrating the same holiday. Observing the people at each party showed with extreme clarity the differences between those living for Christ and those living for the world. I definitely had a sense of being "in the world but not of it" at the one party, but I enjoyed meeting Pete's bosses and coworkers, and seeing them have fun in their way.

I'm thankful for both parties, and now I'm partied out. Because I'm experiencing some health issues that are having a great impact on our lives, and because Pete is so busy this year as a result, we're planning a quiet Christmas. If anything, we may have a small, quiet get-together or two with family members, but mostly we will celebrate the miracle of the Creator of the universe and everything in it, humbling Himself to become one of us, to mend the relationship between God and man. Because that's the whole point.