baby love letters

Friday Letters...Baby love letter 110....Merry Christmas!

                        MERRY CHRISTMAS!

               Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Oregon

                    image copyright 2009 bev hawley
 

"City sidewalks, busy sidewalks

Dressed in holiday style

In the air there's a feeling

Of Christmas."

Ray Evans

.

 

I found peace in the most unexpected of places this week. It was a cold clear evening and my husband and I made a quick trip downtown to enjoy the sites. There in the middle of all the hustle and bustle I felt totally at peace. We actually took time to enjoy and see. My husband gave me the gift of letting a sometimes obnoxious third party, my camera, accompany us on our evening out. Everything seemed to be seen through fresh eyes.

Here is a little slideshow of my favorite city...  Portland, Oregon, USA

Christmas Slideshow

.

Friday Letters...Baby love letter 109

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

Dr. Seuss

 

I love the wonderful holiday celebrations that surround the Christmas season but my fondest memory of Christmas is the annual Christmas Eve service at our church. We belonged to one of the most beautiful churches in the city...it was like being in the interior of some incredible very old ship. It didn't have walls covered in gold but the warmth the huge old timbers gave off was awesome. We along with what seemed like everyone else in the city filled it to overflowing each Christmas Eve. The candles, the choirs, the Christmas story and the caroling in the flickering candlelight...made it a magical place. The organist knew how to let the organ rip till you felt each note rattle not only the timbers but the very core of your being. No matter what sadness had happened during that year, somehow it just melted away in those moments of praise, renewed hope and peace.

I wish for you all that same peace.

Merry Christmas!

                              A FUN PROJECT

Ingredients:

A quick trip to Trader Joes

Stock up on the following:

                     A bag of cutie tangerines

                        a few boxes of soup
 

 

                     a few boxes of crackers

                   a few boxes of chocolates
 

 

                              a holiday card

Put 5 tangerines into a cellophane bag, add that to a gift bag, and place one of each of the above into the bag. Make several bags and take them to neighbors that you don't know well. Enjoy the results.

.

 

.

Friday Letters...Baby love letter 108

 "Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present."

Albert Camus

"If you have much, give of your wealth; If you have little, give of your heart."

Arab Proverb

Although this isn't quite on topic I love this idea I read today about gift giving to children. Sometimes the piles of things we give our kids just goes beyond common sense. So here is a dust free idea. Why not have adults give the child a coupon for an experience with them of something they do? For instance, I had my grandson take a picture with my camera while we were at the beach. The coupon would be for an hour lesson with me on my computer turning that picture into a card. Or how about if you are a good cook...a coupon for an afternoon with you making your special secret recipe. Or if you are a gardener, a coupon for an hour of planting a special vegetable garden pot...one for them to take home and tend during the summer. (Might want to talk to mom first before you give gifts that involve her follow up.) Time with adults children love, doing something that the adult also loves, can be a win win gift.  (idea from 12/13/09  article "Gifts that don't gather dust" The Christian Science Monitor)

  
 
 

Friday Letters...Baby love letter 107

 "Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all thirty feet tall."

Larry Wilde

 

I think last year I had visions of sugar plums dancing in my head when I pictured all 6 of my grandchildren at the Christmas tree farm finding that perfect tree. In my dream....they were all scampering through the endless rows of trees until... there it was... my tree. In reality...the boys took off one way beating down the weeds with their pretend swords. And the 4 girls went the other direction running and chatting endlessly. I finally picked the tree...the dad's cut it down... and home we went shivering from the cold. Not quite what I had imagined.

 
 

Well this year I wanted it to be a memorable experience. So a week before our outing, my grandson and I went in search for the perfect tree. One hour later we found it, tagged it and memorized its location. 

 

That week I created 12 clues and put them in individual envelopes. Tucked inside some of the envelopes were 5 dollar bills to be collected during the hunt. These, when all found, would be enough to pay for our tree.

 

On the following gorgeous Sunday, upon each child's arrival at the farm they were given 2 envelopes with their clue numbers printed on the outside.

 

 

 

The older children helped the younger ones decipher the big words as each clue was read and off they ran at full speed from one clue to the next until... they found our tree which was identified by 6 large candy canes hanging from its branches.

 

 

The tree is now up and decorated and awaiting its December 5th debut. That's the night Sinter Klaus arrives upon his white horse with presents for the good girls and boys.

.