Dear Reader:

With all the planning and organizing that goes on at Christmas (like preparing for a military invasion of some sort) sometimes we can get “thrown” by the silliest things…like the unexpected guest or visitor who arrives unannounced.

Finally…at my ripe old age…like Elsa, I am letting it go. As wonderful as my mother was…this was a pet peeve with her. She would set the table and plan for a certain number of guests…and she was not happy if  these plans became altered at the last minute…particularly with an unexpected addition.

As an adult I can certainly understand my mother’s feelings back when…this was a time period when tables were set and careful planning went into seating arrangements. Mother was a perfectionist, in her day, with the cooking and decorating. Everything always looked so good.

Today, of course, most Christmas get-togethers are quite informal…with either buffet or pick up foods and paper products to eat off of….it makes a hugh difference in planning.

I keep reminding myself that nobody, years from now, will remember what we ate or didn’t…just that we had a good time doing it and being together. The house doesn’t have to be spotless…because with young children…it certainly won’t be when it is over…so I tell myself to get a grip and party on.

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I have also learned that unexpected visitors bring wonderful things with them many times. I usually try to get the blog completed in the afternoon (doesn’t always happen, of course…such is life). But when I do it is usually around mail delivery time….and at least a couple of times a week Mary, our marvelous mail carrier, comes on the porch and rings the doorbell.

You would think I would be used to it by now…but I jump each time the doorbell goes off. In the early or mid-afternoon (when the sun is flooding the front porch) while it is darker inside my “Happy Room.” I shade my eyes to get the glare off the storm glass door to see who is standing there. Most of the time it is Mary….coming in to hand me a package/mail and also to tell me how much she likes this or that room decoration…or if she has a minute to come look at the garden.

I always return to the blog more fulfilled and joyful than I left it…Mary is so full of life…it just spills over.

A couple of days ago…one of The GuidePost editions (containing one story) popped up on my email. This true story was also about unexpected visitors and on this occasion…the miraculous consequences. Enjoy!

“A Lifesaving Drop-in”

By Sue Carloni, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

It was one of those cold December evenings when there’s nothing better to do than cuddling on the couch, watching one of those heartwarming, made-for-TV holiday movies. That’s exactly the night my husband Kurt and I had planned. We live way out in the country with only our Springer spaniel for company, so it was quiet. Just the TV and the howl of the winter wind outside.

A ring at our door startled us. I glanced at the clock—8 p.m. Who’d be visiting after dinnertime on a cold night like this?  I opened the door a crack. John, Dana and their 10-year-old Carissa—our friends from church—were standing on my doorstep. Grinning wide.

“We were passing by on our way home and thought we’d drop in,” John explained, “Hope we aren’t intruding.”

Well, a little bit, I thought. So much for our quiet, cozy night. Ever the hostess, I put on a smile and helped them with their coats, offering to make more of the popcorn we’d been enjoying by ourselves moments before. Our Springer spaniel could barely contain himself – jumping and wagging his tail like crazy.  

“Mom, can I play with the dog outside?” Carissa asked.

“It’s freezing out there!” Dana said.

But Carissa wouldn’t give up. She begged and pleaded. Dana sighed and helped her bundle up. Carissa dashed out the door to play.

Before I could ask John and Dana if they wanted tea or cocoa, the door swung open again. Carissa ran back inside.

“Sue! There’s an old lady calling your name. I think she’s hurt!”

I rushed outside, not bothering to put a coat on. The cold stung my face, the darkness engulfed me. But I could hear a faint voice. I followed the sound and found Betty, my neighbor’s elderly mother, lying on the frozen ground.

“Call 9-1-1!” I yelled to the others.

I rode with Betty to the hospital. She’d been walking her dog when his chain caught around her ankle. She tripped and couldn’t get back up. The dog ran off. “I would’ve frozen to death,” Betty said. “I didn’t think anyone could hear me.”

No one would have…if not for our friends, dropping in on our quiet night at home.

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So until tomorrow….Isn’t Christmas about making room for that one unexpected guest….each and every Christmas? Invite Him in this year.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday….the family (with the exception of Walsh who was working) and friends went to Tommy and Kaitlyn’s Christmas gathering to watch the Mt. Pleasant parade. Everyone had to get there by mid-afternoon before Coleman Blvd was closed down since Tommy lives one block off of it.

Of course when we arrived…it was sunny and warm….felt so good. But the parade doesn’t start until 5:30 or when it gets dark…and by then the temperatures were dropping quickly…most of the parade watching took place in mid-forties with a cold dampness in the air. Burr!

Everything was decorated so cute with a bonfire going in the backyard….Tommy made chili and it was delicious.

Everything was just clicking long until….but wait a minute… let me show you the pre-panic pictures. Kaitlyn was so creative with the decorations…even down to glitter on plastic cups…adorable!

 You have to have a “dancing Santa” if you want the kids to dance….Eva Cate and the “drama of it all”…which tickled Rutledge. (Thanks Honey)

The Happy family…all decked out in their “tacky Christmas sweaters”…including the cute outfits Kaitlyn worked on…but one of them gave everyone a terrible scare…criminal photo shot…please!

Yes…the culprit was Atticus….the dogs went with Tommy and myself to set up chairs near the street to see the parade and when Tommy arrived back home…Rudy was there…but where was Atticus.

After a panicky hour….they found Atticus under the bed hidden by some boxes…what scared him? The fireworks kicking off the parade.

Yesterday’s parade seemed eternally long….bitter cold and dropping. We would stand up occasionally to see if ‘Santa was coming’ but “nada”!

By the time he came I had laryngitis…the cold damp air….what we do for our little children/grandchildren.