Sorting Through Christmas Decorations

 

Christmas has always been a very favorite holiday.

Throughout many decades, collecting Christmas decorations has been a most delightful past time. 

 Living in a large home, there was plenty of space as well as rooms to decorate.

Christmas, 2024, is far different. 

 Now, there is just a small apartment to decorate and very little space.

 Consequently, many of the Christmas decorations collected throughout the years, have to go.

While sorting through them this season, it's been very hard to decide which ones to keep and which ones to let go.

The ones in this post are, hopefully, keepers.

 This little pond with penguins is among the favorites and it's a music box, too.

 The tiny penguins on top of the "lake" twirl around and around.

The little reindeer with the antlers never fails to make people smile.

 There are colorful ornaments hanging from his antlers.

HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO DOWNSIZE?  HOW DID YOU HANDLE IT?

Remember His Birth...

  

 Today is December 1st. 

This is the beginning of  probably one of the busiest months of the year.

We are preparing for a very special holiday, Christmas.

In many places, it's no longer except-able to even say the word "Christmas." It's been replaced with "holiday."

Stores, especially on the weekends, are filled to the brim. 

 Trying to get through the lines to the cash registers is sometimes maddening.

Money is getting spent like a waterfall and the thought of bills often signals alarm.

Amid all this chaos, we still love seeing gorgeous Christmas lights and decorated homes and businesses.

It's such a beautiful time of year.

It's important to remember the real reason for the season.

 Even if Christmas is not His exact birthday date, the reason for commemorating it is to remember Him and his humble birth.

 It is also to honor Him, the little Savior of the world.

The Baby Jesus, his mother, Mary, and father figure, Joseph are so important to teach to children.

The little king's birth gives hope to a broken, weary world.

He exudes love and with Him, life is worth living.

One can accompany children to people-sized manger scenes as a special activity this month.

Explain who the characters represent and how the first Christmas came to be.

 

Such a visit is one of the greatest gifts one can give to a child and it can have life-long impact.

While enjoying all the goodness and wonder of Christmas, remember the real reason for everything------the birth of Baby Jesus. 

DO YOU HAVE A MANGER SCENE IN YOUR HOME OR APARTMENT?

Fixing Angel Wings

 

 

One of my favorite gold colored angels lost her wings.

They snapped right off.

As it is, the horn she's supposed to be playing is missing, too.

Try as I may, the glue used to put the wings back didn't work.

A stronger glue seemed to be needed.

So off to the pharmacy it was, to get a glue replacement.

The strong glue purchased stated on the container that it could hold an object up to 100 pounds.

Angel girl weighs a tiny fraction of that figure.

 Getting the wings positioned turned out to be a mega challenge.

The glue, however, melded two fingers together quickly. That required a run to the sink, squirting on liquid soap, running everything under water, soaking the melded fingers in more water, and finally getting them apart. It was less than a pleasant experience.

The wings remained severed.

Sooooo, after carefully pouring on more super glue, and  holding the wings tightly against angel's back, furiously avoiding the scary glue,  the wings finally stuck.

It's a good thing, too, because angel girl was about to go permanently without wings.  They were headed for the trash.

This project turned out to be frustrating to the max as well as scary for the fingers.  

Whew!  Angel girl is part of this year's nativity scene which will be shown in another blog post.

A Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving to All Who Celebrate

Here come dreams, hopes, and wishes for a happy and blessed

Thanksgiving Day to all who celebrate.

When thinking of the millions of gifts and kindnesses given from the hand of the Lord over the course of a lifetime,  it is truly overwhelming.

Good health that gives the very ability to work comes from Him. Without good health, life would be so devastating.

Eyes that see, ears that hear, and legs that walk are great gifts.

Faithful friends, wonderful blog peeps, and family members are also among our greatest gifts.  Without them, we would have to walk this journey alone.

A safe place to live, a warm bed with fluffy covers, food in the refrigerator and freezer, and more, all come from Him.

His generosity toward those who love Him is never ending.

Many decades spent with a wonderful man who enriched my life are among my greatest gifts.

He was a man of rock hard faith who taught me to always put God first and life would be okay, as we prepare for eternity.

After four painful years,  I still miss him desperately but look forward to being with him again in the real life, eternity.

Two beautiful children and their beloved spouses and now, among the greatest gifts of all, are grandchildren! 

Oh, slow down my rapidly beating heart, Lord.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I think of my Lithuanian grandparents, and my Polish grandparents, all now living on the other side of life.

They struggled so profoundly to make better lives for me and my children and now, grands.  What immense sacrifices they made,leaving their countries of origin and never again seeing their biological parents.

I also think of my parents who sacrificed everything they had for their five daughters.  

Despite difficulties and very little money, they were still able to love us with every fiber of their beings. 

Of all the gifts for which I am thankful today, the greatest one is faith-----the faith passed on from all my grandparents and parents.

Faith in God is what gave them the ability to live long lives as they prepared for eternity, where pain, disappointment, insecurity, and sorrows will never plague us.

Without faith, where would I be in life?  

When problems ravaged, when life's storms hit with profuse power and deep, soul-squeezing sorrow, faith got me through.

What an immense gift faith is in life.  

With my entire heart and soul, I thank God, my parents and all my grandparents for passing it to me. 

They all knew that this life is so transitory and fleeting. 

However, eternity, our real life, that we prepare for on earth, is forever.

A most blessed and peaceful day to all! 

 Enjoy every bite of turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings. Laugh!  Hug!  And let your hearts be filled with thanks! 

Every breath of life is a treasured gift from our Heavenly Father.

Gobble gobble gobble, til you wobble, wobble, wobble!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

Miniature Circus at the Modern Railroad Museum in Greeley, Colorado

 

Hearts beat faster when the circus comes to town.

That's exactly what goes on at the Colorado Modern Railroad Museum in Greeley.

Imagine seeing a circus in miniature where the elephants are no longer than a few inches long.

When members of a band play minuscule instruments and look sharp in red uniforms, it's cause for celebration.

How about seeing an ice cream cart? 

 Nearby, a teeny tiny child gets an ice cream cone with the "cold" creamy confection as only big as a match head.

White horses still perform to perfection in the miniature circus. 

They wear fancy yellow decorations on their bitsy heads.

Extremely small clowns perform in a show, too, as do lions, and their tamers.

There's a ring with tiny seals, as well, garnering for attention from the audience.

All of the circus shows play to audiences of tiny attendees including some people wearing hats.

 None of them, however, appear to have facial features. 

The circus also has a delightful merry-go-round and a Ferris wheel.

So hats OFF to this wonderful circus performance at the Model Railroad Museum. 

If you are anywhere near Greeley, be sure to schedule a visit to this fascinating museum.