What a beautiful Christmas Ward Party we had last night. I hesitate to call it a party, because it wasn't really like a party . . . it was more like an inspirational celebration of all that is good about Christmas, of the true meaning and the reason for the season.
The chapel was beautifully decorated . . . with a bevvy of Christmas trees lining the front of the chapel, lit only with white twinkle lights being their only adornment. There was a small marquis in the centre beneath which was a living Nativity . . . Mary, Joseph and the babe, a young couple in our Ward who have recently had a baby. All of the costumes were beautifully sewn by one of the members who is very good with the needle and thread. The choir was seated to the left of the nativity and all of the children in the Ward were dressed up as angels, shepherds, animals . . . so sweet.
There were tables set out in the main area for those of us who were not participating to sit and watch the program and the narrator was our Stake Mission Leader. Each table was gently lit with a few white twinkle lights and some greenery. Very beautiful and . . . peaceable I thought. Gentle.
What followed was one of the most beautiful presentations I have ever been to at Christmas . . . with beautiful music and carols . . . and a living nativity being performed by the adult members of the Ward, and wonderfully narrated from the Scriptures themselves. One could not fail to be touched by the Spirit which was in abundance throughout the presentation. It was very moving and very, very well done.
It ended simply with this short message from President Monson, our prophet . . . and a blessing on the food which was to follow.
Do watch the video . . . but turn off the music below first. It has a beautiful message and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing. Tres magnifique!
It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!
I think I shall crack out the decorations this week!
This is what I was working on yesterday afternoon. I had been wanting to do a Matchbox doll with this little angel for a while now, but wasn't sure how to do it. The original piece looked like this.
I wasn't sure how I was going to make it so that her legs were positioned correctly. I think I managed it though and instead of bare feet . . . she has gold slippers . . . and that is supposed to be snow she is prancing across, but with the bad lighting in here this morning it doesn't look very white.
I can promise you that it is though . . . and I am not sure if you can see it or not . . . but there is a winter landscape in behind on the bottom.
On the back, simply a message of good cheer for the holidays. Sorry for the poor photos, but the lighting in here is not that great this morning.
Today is my beautiful daughter, Amanda's birthday. It is hard to believe she is 33. How old does that make me??? (TOO old I think!!)
I don't have a lot of photos of my children . . . but I have this one of her when she was about six years old I think. She was a happy girl. I can see the look of her in Maryn, her daughter. I hope that she has a lovely Birthday today. Happy Birthday Amanda!
That song Mandy by Barry Manilow was popular when she was born and the Character Rachel Cory on the soap, Another World, had a baby girl and called her Amanda and I liked the name and so we called Amanda, Amanda, thinking we would shorten it to Mandy . . . but I have never been good at nicknames and so she has just always been Amanda to me. Her dad called her Manda though. It was a difficult birth . . . well really pregnancy right from the start. I had to move when I was about six months pregnant with her. My husband decided to get out of the Military and went to work for the Alberta Highway Patrol. My sister and her little girl were living with us at the time and so we all moved up from Calgary to a small town about an hour outside of Edmonton.
My sister stayed for a couple of months and then went back to Ontario, so once again I had nobody but my husband with me. No time to make friends or anything. The cord was wrapped around her neck and so they had to stop me when I was delivering her and cut the cord first. That was the first episode. She ended up being severely jaundiced and they didn't have the lights to put here under in that hospital, so when her bella reuben count got up to 16, they released her to us and we had to drive her in to Edmonton where she was kept in the hospital for about 3 days before we could bring her home to be with the rest of us. I hadn't done any Christmas shopping or anything . . . we had literally no money anyways. The Highway Patrol hadn't paid us yet. I think we managed to borrow a couple hundred dollars from the inlaws to keep us going, but that was it.
The evening of the day we were finally able to bring her home to be with us . . . I hemorrhaged . . . and ended up back in the hospital. I literally lost 10 pounds overnight. It was terrible. I was so weak and sick . . . it was a very hard time. Eventually about two days before Christmas I was able to come home and we were finally able to be a family. I often wonder if all of that tumult during those first few weeks caused some drift to come between us . . . as she has always been a bit distant from me. I don't know. I only know I love all of my children and long to be close with her. Who knows why these things happen. It's just life I guess!!
A few weeks later my husband decided to get back into the Army and we spent 21 days in a motel room in Medicine Hat waiting for our furniture to be moved down and into our house. I can tell you that was a lot of fun . . . 2 month old baby, 2 year old, 4 year old and a cat. My husband had to work. I was never so glad to get into a house and settled in my life as I was when that adventure was over!!!
Well, we started off with a beautiful Nativity and ended up in a Motel room! How did that happen? I don't know. I guess it's just how my mind works . . . and so I will leave you with a thought to carry with you through this day . . .
“Think the best of each other, especially of those you say you love. Assume the good and doubt the bad.”
~Jeffrey R Holland
Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . low fat Cheesecake Brownies!
Seriously! These are the lightened up version and very scrummy!!
Happy Day!
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