Catch Up on Joy Dare

Hanukkah, Dec. 8-16,2012

I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him.
(Psalm 62:1 NLT) Air 1 verse of the Day


Today begins my count down to the New Years, January 1, 2013.

My last post was 8 days ago when I was having a rough day.

We had 30 -45 mph gusts on the freeway.

I am still without a vehicle, since Nov. 15th.

We live in a 1969 mobile home in an irrigated pasture and get about 25 inches of rain a year, so we are almost always flood.

Today is the beginning of a series of storms that may leave us with totaling possibly 8 inches by Sunday.

I have these wonderful pictures windows on the South Side and we can see the yellow and green leaves swaying with the wind and the rain.

Since I have been non-comunicato this last week I wanted to catch up on my Joy Gifts for November. Ann has gotten me into the Joy Habit.

So, I will list the Gifts for the past week and then mix them into a narrative of some of the things I have been doing the past week.

Day 21 ~ 3 Gifts of Family (Abbie, Mary and Johanna)
Day 22 ~ A Gift Grateful (Thanksgiving Day)
Day 23 ~ 3 Gifts only in Christ (The Bread, Wine and Baptism)
Day 24 ~ 3 Gifts Humble (Getting rides from my clients and friends)
Day 25 ~ 3 Gifts Ugly-Beautiful (3 turkey carcasses)
Day 26 ~ 3 Gifts Preparing ( Pre-Christmas Cleaning, decorate for my friend Anna May,Christmas side-up Shelf  Paper)
Day 27 ~ A Gift Handmade, Held, Happy (My menorah and snow people)

On Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day I began my Pre-Christmas Cleaning. My Daughter, Abbie had begun the cleaning for me on the weekend while I was working. My daughter, Mary had blessed her sister Johanna by taking her to school on Thursday when my van died and I was on the look-out for some items around the house she could use in her newly acquired apartment as thanks.

Thanksgiving Day 2012

We had our traditional Thanksgiving Dinner with 50 to 60 of my husband's closest relatives. His mother was one of 11 with 9 living into adulthood and 3 still living along with one spouse. Aunt Merna hosts the dinner every year and is the youngest sibling at 78. Aunt Betty is next and she is 83, my mother-in-law would have been 85 this year (she passed away 5 years ago on Dec.11) and Uncle Vernnie is 87. Uncle Jack was married to Aunt Marilyn who was between Merna and Betty. Ian is the youngest of his generation and my husbands brother, Wilson, is the youngest of his generation. 

Getting rides from my clients and friends has allowed me to get to work and I have enjoyed some special Holiday Jobs cleaning and decorating. On Monday I got to decorate for my friend Anna May. She had over 10 boxes of decorations and a floor to ceiling tree.  Candles, dolls,green garlands, ornaments, pillow, poinsettias, and hot soup for lunch made a special memory and a time of sharing.

One of my holiday traditions is to buy discounted wrapping paper and save it for shelf paper. I have always wanted to put it Christmas side up, but have been too busy to change self paper before Christmas, so I put it white side up. This year I got all the kitchen cupboards cleaned out and have Christmas side-up Shelf  Paper on all.

So far, the only decorations I have are a couple of cloth snow people that will stay up until mid-January and the menorah. Hanukkah is early this year, Dec. 8-16,2012 and after years of getting the menorah lost before Hanukkah, I finally put it away so I could get it out first, with the soft snow people to keep it safe.

I will be teaching Jr. Church this Sunday. We are on questions 126-129, which refer to the sacraments. The material being used is Great Commission Publication's "First Catechism". I look forward to sharing the Truth with the children who have some amazing questions that never cease to intrigue me.

Which leaves me to only one Day left and that is 3 Gifts Ugly-Beautiful. I will say that is 3 Gifts Yummy-Ugly. I have 3 turkey carcasses in my freezer. They have been picked and stew, but we only put the bones out for the cats when our Corgi, JR, is staying in the house. He hates the rain and especially thunder, so there wont be much chance of him catching a bone in his throat if we put the bones out in the next few days. To the cats and other scavengers in our neck of the woods those turkey carcasses are something ugly to me and beautiful to them.

So, now I am caught up with the Joy Dares, and there is one more thing I am grateful for today: I get to sing Christmas songs and no one can say I am off-season.

♫ Oh, Come all you faithful....Glo-o-o-o-o-ria, in excelsis Deo! ♫
(click for Youtube on songs)