Dear Reader:

We talk about this a lot…but the giving of time to loved ones and strangers, alike, has got to be the most precious gift of all….on any day…but especially, I think, at Christmas!

Luke surprised me with his gift of time… the most adorable Frasier Fir Friday afternoon…then I sent a photo, along with the lights that Luke had already put on it…with Ruthie, the rag doll, in her favorite element of the year…on the “tip tip top” of the tree… to Mandy.

…And the next thing I knew Mandy said that she could bring Jake and Eva Cate over Saturday morning (yesterday) to help trim the tree! What a blessing in so many ways…have missed seeing the children since I left for the mountains with Tommy and Kaitlyn at Thanksgiving…amid the passing of Tigger.. and I have felt that I wanted to check and see how everyone is adjusting.

Mandy said that each family member has their moments…when they momentarily forget… and then are saddened again…but slowly they are healing.

Part of that is because Mandy is really keeping them busy… making home-made decorations for trees and home-made gifts for family. When they arrived Jake and Eva Cate proudly handed me my gift bag with  Christmas gifts from them.

I had three homemade tree ornaments: a heart, a dolphin, and one mitten from each. Adorable! The first ornaments on the tree!

Eva Cate also pulled artwork from the ornaments and placed two of Anne’s card/ornaments on the tree!

It was now certainly…beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

We had so much fun and trimmed that tree before we knew it…actually ordered lunch early because we finished so quickly. And what a “show piece” it is…thanks Turners!

“Timing” is everything and Rutledge and Lachlan timed Santa perfectly at Hidden Ponds Nursery…this year they could only sit near him but it did not deter them shouting out their Santa list for sure. 🙂

Eloise’s “time-table” for talking to Santa in this “timely” fashion didn’t “pan” out…since she fell fast asleep. No matter…there will be another time and another Santa…no doubt! Plenty of “time” left! 🙂

And as you can tell from the boys’ t-shirts…another timely Saturday with the Clemson Tigers playing football has arrived…nearing the end of the season…which saddens all football fans….Even amid the numerous challenges…football has provided such a wonderful “time-out” from the isolation that accompanies Covid19. As a family we can  text each other throughout the game…lots of fun…and photos add enjoyment too!

GO TIGERS! THE FAMILY LOVES ALL OF YOU! PLAY YOUR HEARTS OUT AND HAVE FUN! STAY SAFE!

So until tomorrow…Let’s remember that the Christmas “time-crunch” is of our own mortal making…not God’s…He has plenty of time to put a little Christmas, a little love, into everyone’s hearts…if we are open to Him.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Mandy told me she was the “mystery reader” this past week for Jake’s kindergarten class. It is a cute idea…a parent or relative of a student in the class selects a favorite Christmas story to read at home, it is “zoomed” into the classroom…the students can hear the story but not see the storyteller (just the book) until the end of the story … then the students try to guess who the reader is by the teacher’s clues.

I asked Mandy what story she read…she told me one of my favorites….and it is!

“Mr. Willowby’s Christmas tree came by special delivery. Full and fresh and glistening green — the biggest tree he had ever seen. He dashed downstairs to open the door — this was the moment he’d waited for.

But once the tree stood in its place, Mr. Willowby made a terrible face. The tree touched the ceiling, then bent like a bow. ‘Oh, good heavens,’ he gasped. ‘Something must go!’

The wonderful story of how one Christmas tree brings so much joy to so many…simply by sharing. Perfect story! Great choice Mandy! Thanks for taking time to share!

When the sunlight hits this pink poinsettia on my “Happy Room” floor…it glows different colors…unfortunately my iphone only can pick up the white light but not differentiate the other more subtle colors…still it brings joy into the house!