blessed beyond measure

Christmas is the time of year For being with the ones we love Sharing so much joy and cheer What a wonderful feelin' Watching the ones we love Having so much fun It was different, this year's Christmas. My first year of feeling it in a long time, and the feeling led to actually living it and breathing it in and as the festivities died down on Christmas day I gazed all misty-eyed toward the heavens and thanked the Lord for this heart swollen with joy. The season was everything it should have been. Both boys singing carols with their classmates at the school's Christmas party, Aden playing a shepherd at the church nativity play, cheering our beloved Golden Eagles basketball team on to an amazing 7-2 start, eating waaaaay more than we should, counting down the days, then hours, then minutes to go-time. Breakfast was yummy, and I applaud the boys for finishing their meal before everyone else even had a plate, then sitting silently while the grownups told stories a...

Hark now hear the angels sing A King is born today And man will live forevermore Because of Christmas day Wishing you the peace, love, and joy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas

My love for food is deep, reasons physical and spiritual and philosophical. There's a post brewing in the back of my mind over food, and I'll get to it. But for now, since it's Christmas and the sweets and savories and cinnamon aromas are enough to make one dehydrate from saliva production alone, thought I'd share some holiday favorites new and old. Overnight Breakfast Casserole serves 10-12 6 eggs, beaten 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese 1 tsp. dry mustard 1 lb. sausage, browned and drained 1 c. Bisquick 2 c. milk 1 tsp. oregano Mix all ingredients together and pour into 9x13 dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, bake at 350 for one hour. Refrigerate leftovers. Pumpkin Bread makes three loaves 3 1/2 c. flour 2 tsp. baking soda 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. nutmeg 1 c. oil 4 eggs 2 c. pumpkin 2/3 c. cold water 3 c. sugar Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour three loaf pans. Blend all ingredients together till combined...

It's a strange generation my boys have been born into, so very different than my growing-up years. Never will they have to get creative with the single paragraph of knowledge offered by a real-life encyclopedia volume with actual pages in order to complete a school report. Never will they place a telephone order out of a paper catalog (there are those pages again!) and then hope for the best. This became all too clear the last time they ordered something off Amazon and tracked the shipping progress every. ten. minutes. Eye roll. And rarely will they be surprised by the weather. Our weather apps with their DIY layering and time lapse radar have made us all meteorologists. It's kind of sad, as I can remember many times waking up in the blue house, peeking out the window and my breath catching over a fresh blanket of white on the ground. Part of the wonder and joy of childhood. Well, the paid meteorologists around here missed yet another one, for their predicted passi...

I took a frigid, slow walk to the mailbox the other evening after dinner. The crisp air and winter's profound silence beckoned beyond my ability to withstand, an ability already weakend by the flurry of noise and sensory overload within the walls. A billion stars shouted the glory of my Lord against the deep blue expanse, calling my mind to His giant love for one so small as me. Those rare moments of just Him and me? A burst of abundance in the routine. Then it happened. I huddled the mail to myself, turned back toward the house, and stopped dead in my tracks. Our little home, decorated and lit up to minimalist perfection, was beautiful . I felt it, like a long lost friend I've been too afraid to fight for. My heart in my throat, I felt Christmas . Joy, spirit, cheer, excitement, whatever you want to call it. I'm happy , y'all. Though the difficulties of life remain, it found me. A feeling so all-encompassing that I honestly feel like I'm waiting for som...