Here we are on Christmas Eve–my plans are all kerpluey. I can’t go to church–one of my favorite services of the year. I do love a packed church with everyone dressed up and singing, the college kids home. And the boy is a lector! But I’m a big girl. My whole month has been off-track. And let’s admit, it hasn’t been a great year. Although we have been greatly blessed as well.
Daughter #1, Mr. Smith and I had planned to drive up to the prairie on Christmas afternoon, but we will delay that so as not to spread germs etc. C’est la vie.
So let us not forget that the Lord came—himself—to save you from your sins. As Ann says, what a reason to celebrate! What a glorious excuse to have a feast, to break out the champagne, the cheese, the cake, the party games and garlands.
On Friday Mr. Smith got a shampoo while daughter #1 and I got a glass of wine nearby, after which the OM brought home Chick-fil-A and we watched The Bishop’s Wife (1947). The weekend took off from there. Daughter #2 arrived on Saturday morning along with DN and the prairie girls who were ready to party …
We got dressed up…
…and went to a Christmas party at daughter #1’s house…I would share more photos but WordPress is not cooperating with me so I can’t share them. C’est la vie. Hopefully I can figure this out, but for now…
What would Christmas be without the Lucille Rapp Dancing School Recital? It was short and sweet and the bud, who was sitting next to me, dubbed it “nicely done!”. He was impressed with the gymnastic abilities of the girls. Also their beauty–“Pretty!”
Yesterday I also attended the Covenant School’s Christmas Chapel rehearsal–all church members had been invited, so I went. I enjoyed it very much. My favorite part was when the 4th, 5th and 6th graders sang “Away in the Manger” while accompanying themselves on ukuleles.
The Kindergarteners belting out “Amazing Grace” while the 1st graders accompanied them with bells was also very special. Not to mention the 2nd and 3rd graders singing “Silent Night” in German! And the whole school reciting Luke 2:8-14 from memory…
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
…Well, it was all pretty sweet and I admit I may have needed a Kleenex once or twice.
In other news, the boy and his family closed on their new house yesterday and will move on Saturday! Prayers all around for an easy and smooth transition. It will be another super busy weekend with daughter #2 coming into town with her family to attend daughter #1’s Christmas party. And DN will pick up the Mini Cooper and drive it home. More prayers for travel mercies!
We’re nearing the home stretch…but it rained all day Saturday which dampened everyone’s holiday spirits. We were grateful, however, that it was rain and not ice or snow. And we got the tree up!
It was a group effort. The boy came over Thursday evening to carry the tree in from the garage and put it in the stand. The OM and I strung the lights on Saturday morning. And daughter #1 came over after her DAR luncheon to help decorate it. Ain’t it lovely?
I missed the DAR luncheon because I had to go to our Historical Society Christmas party and membership meeting. It was actually quite fun. The house looked beautiful and festive. Of course, I didn’t take any pictures. C’est la vie.
The boy and his famille were in Kansas City this weekend, so the OM and I sat alone in church. They missed a good sermon on the Mosaic Covenant, some great hymns and solos, and a fantastic adult ed class, continuing on the angels and demons theme. The teacher even referenced Hermann Bavinck (see Friday’s post). I am learning a lot. My Bible Study leader made a really good and astute comment during the class and I told her so afterwards, and she said, “It was the Holy Spirit, not me”. Once again, I am humbled and grateful to be among these people.
We watched three Christmas movies: Home Alone (1992), The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)…
and White Christmas (1954), the latter on the big screen! We enjoyed them all.
What an absolute treat to see White Christmas on the big screen! In recliners! Can’t believe it wasn’t sold out! For the 50th time, it was great. And I had to laugh thinking of little Ida watching it for the first time at home on her TV and running to get her tambourine during the “Mandy” number! Perfect!
Have a good Monday, watch an old movie, feel the joy, read some poetry:
Let all mortal flesh keep silence, And with fear and trembling stand; Ponder nothing earthly-minded, For with blessing in His hand, Christ our God to earth descendeth, Our full homage to demand.
King of kings, yet born of Mary, As of old on earth He stood, Lord of lords, in human vesture, In the body and the blood; He will give to all the faithful His own self for heav’nly food.
Rank on rank the host of heaven Spreads its vanguard on the way, As the Light of light descendeth From the realms of endless day, That the pow’rs of hell may vanish As the darkness clears away.
At His feet the six-winged seraph, Cherubim with sleepless eye, Veil their faces to the presence, As with ceaseless voice they cry: “Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Lord Most High!”
Liturgy of St. James, 5th century (adapted by Gerard Moultrie, 1864)
Every year I bemoan the fact that no one sends Christmas cards anymore. With a single stamp costing over 75 cents, I realize this can be an expensive venture. Still, I do enjoy sending and receiving them. As of December 11, I have received three and one of those is from a business!
Anyway, I am working on mine. I was startled to note how many friends I have had to delete from my mailing list because they have died. Gee whiz, we are getting old. Sunrise, sunset.
Meanwhile both my daughters are sick! I hope they feel better soon! Unfortunately it is that time of year when you are most likely to get sick and are the busiest.
Daughter #2 was well enough (i.e. dragged herself) to attend Katie’s first Christmas program at her Lutheran preschool.
Her baby sister enjoyed it immensely.
Adorable.
In other news, the bud, when he was over on Tuesday afternoon, helped me unwrap all my Christmas stained glass…
He was a good helper!
This is always a fun job, remembering all the different ones we have–some from as far back as the 1960s!
On the academic front we are told that in a poll of 634 UPenn students, 63% stated they “stay silent/outright support” UPenn alumnus Luigi Mangione’s action of murdering the CEO of UHC. Only 37% voted that they condemn it. This is shocking and terrible news, but I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised when we remember all those people who laughed at the unsuccessful assassination attempt on Donald Trump last summer and said they wished the would-be assassin hadn’t missed. We live in a post-Christian world where such behavior is celebrated. Our pray-for-our-enemies list grows longer by the day.
Well, it is time to listen to this great Christmas classic written by English Anglican Reginald Heber in 1811:
P.S. I forget to mention that yesterday was the twins actual birthday. (They had so many celebrations, that the actual one may have–for me–gotten lost in the shuffle!) Of course, we are so thankful for our wonderful twins!
Readers of this blog may remember when they were born eight years ago, weighing just a little over a pound each. Many friends–Jews and Christians, Protestants and Catholics–were praying for them mightily. They pulled through and have thrived. We are so grateful.
O God, our times are in your hand: Look with favor, we pray, on your servants Wheeler and Lottie as they begin another year. Grant that they may grow in wisdom and grace, and strengthen their trust in your goodness all the days of their life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Christmas in our part of flyover country was warm and rainy, but we ignored that and had a good time. We spent Christmas Eve with the boy’s family and with daughter #1, going to church (twice!) …
…and then coming home to open presents and eat our traditional dollar roll sandwiches and toasted ravioli feast, with charcuterie board and assorted nibblies.
(The boy and his fam headed to sunny Florida the next day.)
Daughter #1 spent the night and we enjoyed our traditional leisurely Christmas morning coffee/stockings/mimosas/cinammon rolls/presents extravaganza.
Mr. Smith made out like a bandit.
(That red ball in the corner kept him occupied for literally hours.)
We had a lovely pork tenderloin for dinner and then watched A Christmas Story (1985) which I had not seen for years.
We missed daughter #2 and her family, but we look forward to the years ahead when they too are residents of flyover country!
Pete the Cat, a ukulele and a new plush bathrobe like Mommy’s–what more could a girl ask for?
Maybe one of these:
Something to keep in mind for a new year!
“He that hath slight thoughts of sin never had great thoughts of God.”
‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through our neighborhood…city workmen are starting a new street project which involves numerous large earth-moving vehicles and trucks moving earth in our own side yard.
Last week a row of mature trees was removed. Also very noisy and disruptive. We knew this project was coming, but, you have to admit, the timing is really special. C’est la vie.
I am not going to let this disrupt my happy Christmas mood and you shouldn’t either. Don’t let whatever is going on in your life that is annoying and causing you to sleep badly take your focus from what it is we are celebrating–the incarnation of our Lord and Savior!
Here’s an old reminder from Frederick Buechner to hang in there and trust God:
I REMEMBER SITTING parked by the roadside once, terribly depressed and afraid about my daughter’s illness and what was going on in our family, when out of nowhere a car came along down the highway with a license plate that bore on it the one word out of all the words in the dictionary that I needed most to see exactly then. The word was TRUST. What do you call a moment like that? Something to laugh off as the kind of joke life plays on us every once in a while? The word of God? I am willing to believe that maybe it was something of both, but for me it was an epiphany. The owner of the car turned out to be, as I’d suspected, a trust officer in a bank, and not long ago, having read an account I wrote of the incident somewhere, he found out where I lived and one afternoon brought me the license plate itself, which sits propped up on a bookshelf in my house to this day. It is rusty around the edges and a little battered, and it is also as holy a relic as I have ever seen.
–originally published in Telling Secrets
And this made me laugh. Now I want to go see Santa at the Bass Pro Shop. (Who knew that was a thing?)
Ten days til Christmas! This weekend we will decorate our tree which the boy kindly set up in its stand. We’re movin’ now.
Tonight we are going to the Christmas concert at Central Presbyterian Church, which daughter #1 attends. The program includes the first part of Handel’s Messiah and a variety of Christmas carols. I am really looking forward to it.
Tomorrow is the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea party! On December 17, 1773, John Adams wrote, “Last night, three cargoes of tea were emptied into the Harbour. This is the grandest event which has ever yet happened since the controversy with Britain opened!” He also wrote, “The people should never rise without doing something to be remembered, something notable, and striking. The destruction of the tea is so bold, so daring, so firm, intrepid, and inflexible, and it must have so important consequences, and so lasting, that I can’t but consider it as an epocha in history.”
Don’t forget to celebrate appropriately.
In other news, we were saddened to hear that Andre Braugher, who starred as Captain Raymond Holt in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, has died. Nobody could say “punk” like Captain Holt. Of course, someone did a YouTube tribute and it’s pretty good even though the compilation does not include Cheddar:
It should come as no surprise that I am enjoying the Christmas season with the girls. At 3.5 years old, Katie has been very invested in our decorations, Christmas stories, beloved movies, and other traditions. She makes everything more special, from buying an inexpensive wreath at the grocery store to unpacking generations-old ornaments. This year, she even picked out a few gifts and helped me pen the accompanying cards. (We discussed that, because it’s the thought that counts, it helps to write a thoughtful message about what you chose.)
For her part, Ida has enjoyed Christmas music and always amuses us with her dance moves, which center in her hips. She can’t help but dance, no matter how busy she is with something else (crawling, cruising, jail-breaking, wreaking general havoc). When we watched White Christmas, she stopped in her literal tracks when Bing Crosby sang his first note. (I have since heard multiple other accounts of children doing this!) Admittedly, she is still a big fan of The Beach Boys. (You may recall that when she was a wee babe, DN sang “Surfin’ I-D-A” to her, to much delight.)
With an older toddler, we have also been answering a lot of questions about Christmas. Some regard deeper themes — when learning “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing,”* Katie asked, “Why do they say newborn king and not newborn baby?”
Others, not so much. At dinner:
Katie: “Mom, will you tell me to eeeeat, Katie, eat?” Me: “Do you mean like Mrs. Claus says?” (I recognized the line from Rudolph.) Katie: “Yes.” Me: “Eeeat, Katie, eat!” Katie: “Can you say it again but not with that tone?”
Gee whiz. This exchange then prompted a conversation about why Santa needs a round belly in the first place. Like a bowl full of jelly? — what is jelly? I mean, I’m really with her.
While we are on the topic of toddler philosophy, I’ll leave you with one more anecdote. As we plan our move to Illinois, we are trying to prepare Katie for big changes. Accordingly, she has many questions. The other night, she asked, “Will we take Ida’s walker to Illinois?” We said, yes, we will take all of our things to Illinois. “How?” (Great question.) We explained that we will put everything in a big, big truck. “Why not 3 or 4 small trucks?”
Indeed.
*Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, lyrics by Charles Wesley, 1739
“Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.”
–A Christmas Carol by Charles DIckens
Are you feeling a little like our friend Mr. Scrooge? Here’s a good message from the late, great R.C. Sproul: “Every generation has its abundance of Scrooges. The church is full of them. We hear endless complaints of commercialism. We are constantly told to put Christ back into Christmas. We hear that the tradition of Santa Claus is a sacrilege. We listen to those acquainted with history murmur that Christmas isn’t biblical…All this carping is but a modern dose of Scroogeism, our own sanctimonious profanation of the holy.”
So lighten up. Enjoy the season! Spread some cheer! Write some end-of-the-year checks to the Shriners and the Salvation Army and your local Christian radio station. Put some paper money in the red kettle at the grocery store. You’ll be glad you did.
And I hope you enjoy this rendition of God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen, which is one of the oldest Christmas carols, originating in 16th-century England. The earliest known printed edition was published in 1760.
God rest ye merry gentlemen Let nothing you dismay For Jesus Christ our Saviour Was born on Christmas Day To save us all from Satan’s pow’r When we were gone astray O tidings of comfort and joy Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy
From God our Heavenly Father A blessed Angel came; And unto certain shepherds Brought tidings of the same, How that in Bethlehem was born The Son of God by Name. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy
The shepherds at those tidings Rejoiced much in mind, And left their flocks a-feeding In tempest, storm and wind, And went to Bethlehem straightway The Son of God to find. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy
But when to Bethlehem they came, Whereat this infant lay, They found Him in a manger, Where oxen feed on hay; His Mother Mary kneeling down, Unto the Lord did pray. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy
Now to the Lord sing praises, All you within this place, And with true love and brotherhood Each other now embrace; This holy tide of Christmas All other doth efface. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy.
dual personalities 