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Encouragement, Life Is Beautiful

Christmas in My Corner of the UK

With Christmas all around us, this week I am featuring some wonderful guest posters who will share about their personal Christmas stories and how they each observe the season. Please welcome Zoe!  This is what she says about herself:

Hi! I’m Zoe, young wife and mummy to toddler Phoebe and baby Simeon, living village life in Oxfordshire in the UK. Jesus, my family, words and creativity are my passions, and I write about these things over at Zoeprose. Feel free to pop by and say hello! http://zoeprose.com/

zoe2

The build-up to Christmas Day is my favourite part of December- we usually go to candle-lit Carol services at our church, do some absorbing of the seasonal atmosphere in the Christmas markets and of course, decorate the house. As a young family, we are still in the process of figuring out our family traditions and working out which things from each side of the family to incorporate and change into our own. What started as a little Christmas tree on our first Christmas together after three months of marriage and some wonky salt dough decorations, has become a fun tradition of putting up the tree at the beginning of December, filling vases with baubles and hanging our felt advent calendar. Often we have little pocket decorations on the tree to hide chocolate treats in, or we hang Cadbury’s Christmas tree chocolates off the boughs. I find it’s really easy to forget in the hustle and bustle, the reason for the gift buying- the real gift that God gave us at Christmas, in Jesus. So we’ve got lots of purposeful decorations as well as the usual baubles and tinsel, with little hanging advent figures on the tree and angels.

“…the real gift that God gave us at Christmas, is Jesus.”

An avid Christmas lover, I play old cassette tapes of Christmas tunes and carols all month, as well as my more recent additions. The familiar songs I heard as a child evoke so much excitement and joy about the coming day, and I really struggle to wait past 1st December to decorate. There is something about having a Christmas tree in the corner of the room that fills my heart with gladness! This year I am excited to do some Christmas baking with our little girl. She’s not yet three but loves to bake, like her mumma. At my in-law’s house the days before Christmas seem to be full with Christmas baking- mince pies, sausage rolls, making marzipan fruits and trifles. When we have had Christmas at our house, some of these things have started coming with us, as we have learnt how to do them ourselves, and adopted traditions of our own.

Christmas Eve is for welcoming family or recovering from our own drive to be with parents, hiding away to wrap the last few presents, playing games, preparing food for the day. Christmas morning comes, and something on the end of the bed has shifted- joy has come in the night while we were sleeping. Stockings which were pretty, but flat and lifeless the night before have been filled, and we take the first moments of the morning to open them and discover the treats inside. Chocolate coins, chocolate Santas and perhaps a Terry’s chocolate orange are usually familiar items, other trinkets, pens, socks and toys for the little ones often fill the rest of the space. Bouncing on our parents’ bed to show them the things Father Christmas had brought was always next as a child- now I am beginning to share that delight with my toddler, who will be having her third Christmas, and now her little brother too.

Christmas in My Corner of the UK

Christmas in My Corner of the UK

Eating Christmas dinner evokes lots of memories for me. Brussel sprouts remind me of my Grandpa, who used to mask the taste with gravy (I concur on this point!) and the years we spent around their dining room table. Roast potatoes have been a bone of contention between my husband and I since our families cook ours in different ways- his family par-boil and cook little ones, mine go for larger ones, cooked under the juicy turkey. I have learnt from my mum how to make chestnut and sausage meat stuffing–always fought over and a favourite of my brother’s. There are often trimmings to go around these things- bread sauce, gravy, other veg like carrots, cabbage, roasted parsnips and sometimes gammon. Pudding growing up for me was always raspberry pavlova as the majority of my family didn’t eat the dessert of choice in England, Christmas pudding. Other options over previous years have involved mince pies, Christmas cake, yule log, trifle and cheese boards!

Christmas presents wrapped have also appeared, or multiplied overnight beneath the tree, anticipated but always much better than we could have imagined. After our dinner, coffee and chocolates, we take it in turns to give presents to one another. Often one person sits by the tree to deliver gifts to each person. The feeling of picking up pretty packages, not knowing what’s inside- knowing it will be something special for the person on the label but not knowing what- is such a nice shared part of Christmas. That we all get to experience the joy of giving and receiving at one time on one day is really unique to this day. Once the present-giving has been done, the quiet, or loudness of the afternoon descends. We watch the Queen’s Speech, perhaps play a board-game, watch some Christmas television or read our new books, entertain ourselves with our new presents. I like that kind of content quiet, the peace that falls from time well spent celebrating together.

Out of all of these things, the presents, decorations, the food and the family, my favourite thing has to be the atmosphere of anticipation surrounding Christmas. For a month prior to the event, we are busy preparing, shopping, thinking about the day which is coming. Readying our minds and homes to share laughter, love, good food and memories. Sometimes I have felt that the day itself could be a bit of a let-down after so much anticipation, that it could never be perfect enough to live up to the excitement and build-up. But then I remember that the real reason is not readying ourselves to get more stuff, or eat more food, or even to see everyone we love, but to celebrate the greatest gift ever. That we are anticipating the arrival of a tiny baby, a perfect human, God with us. To remember the best present we ever got, from the person who loves us the most- is truly the best thing about Christmas.

December 8, 2014
Encouragement, Life Is Beautiful

Stay Tuned!

After a very happy and eventful week in our family, I’m taking a breather this weekend to enjoy my family and get my girl ready for the Christmas dance tonight. There’s hair to do, toenails to paint, and photos to snap.  I will return Monday with a great series featuring some talented guest posters who will enlighten us about their traditions and activities surrounding their Christmas celebrations. You will want to “tune in” for this as these wonderful ladies come from different parts of our country and world. I’m excited to showcase them here so come on back and learn about “Christmas in My Corner” of the world!

December 6, 2014
Life Is Beautiful

Man’s (And Woman’s!) Best Friend

Not everyone has pets and not everyone wants one, but for those of us who love our animal friends, we can get pretty serious about it. I once read a quote (paraphrasing) that we may have many pets in our lifetimes, but for most pets we are their only humans. I found that pretty profound. Think back to all the pets you’ve had so far in your life. For many of us that will be quite a few. But how many humans has your pet had? The likelihood is that not many or maybe just one…you.

My first-ever pet was a blonde Cocker Spaniel named Brandy. Our family had a bent towards Cockers and it’s no surprise. They’re adorable with those sad, big eyes and floppy ears. They’re generally snuggly and loyal. Brandy was a wanderer. Once in awhile, she’d get free from the yard and I remember my parents quickly deploying my older brothers to go find her. They’d take off on their bikes riding through town calling to her while my older sister and I stayed behind fretting we’d never see our faithful friend again.  She always returned but eventually quietly left us for good a few years later in her old age. But 30-some years since then, I still think of her fondly.

We had two more Cockers after Brandy. Sparky was rust-colored and I claimed him as my own. When he passed away my freshmen year of high school, I sobbed for days.  He had been my canine BFF. Black Buffy came later and favored my sister and when I got married, a black cocker is what we brought home.  Cuddles stayed with us until I was expecting my second baby and in between there, my parents’ dog Lady, had literally stayed by my side through my entire first pregnancy. It was no surprise she then became the self-appointed guardian of my daughter once she was born.

My dear friend Luke came to me quite by surprise. We were in the market for a pup to rescue. I was expecting my son at the time and had a husband who worked nights and I wanted a dog in the house. It made me feel more secure. And I loved dogs. I envisioned this cute, cuddly, tiny little pup. I had him or her all picked out in my imagination. It’d have longer hair and big eyes, much like a Cocker did. We showed up at the vet’s office on a whim after learning they had a puppy who needed rescuing. What we saw was anything but a cuddly, tiny, big-eyed, Cocker-looking puppy. What we did see, however, was a gangly, fawn-colored, six-month-old Labrador-Golden Retriever mixed boy. But he looked at me and I looked at him, our eyes met, and it was all over.

Our lovable Luke

Our lovable Luke

Luke came home and was our staunch protector, faithful friend, strong boy, who at one time put himself between my kids and a much larger, much scarier looking stray dog that came on our property. Oh, how I loved Luke. He was our trusty steed and when he met an untimely passing, I was undone. He had been through so much with me personally…a difficult pregnancy and birth, and he’d loved my Dad who had loved him right back. He was a tie to my father who was also gone. Again, I sobbed for a solid week, desperately pained by this loss.

Now, we have welcomed Lillie our Beabrador and years later with a new husband, came a new puppy, Gracie. These animals love us so. They watch over us while we eat to ensure we don’t choke (that is what they do when they stare at me when I eat, right?)

"Watch" dogs over our meals.

“Watch” dogs over our meals.

They miss us when we’re away from the house. Even if we’re absent for a few short minutes, they greet us with enthusiasm as if we’d been away for months. Maybe to them, one hour feels like seven, just like dog years. I’ll admit, it’s a pretty great feeling to have pets jumping all over you expressing their love and devotion every time you enter a room. Gracie pines for my husband when he’s out of the house. She will sit in the window and await his return. She’s definitely his dog.

Gracie keeping a lookout for her "daddy" to return.

Gracie keeping a lookout for her “daddy” to return.

If you are fortunate enough to have a pet who’s waiting at home for you, who keeps your bed warm and feels comfortable enough to back it’s butt up to you while you sleep (as gross and annoying as it may be), accept the blessing.  Even though we may have many in our lifetimes, each one is special and each one is beautifully loved. These little charmers love us more than we now and to them, we are their whole world!

Quote Courtesy Josh Billings

Quote Courtesy Josh Billings

 

November 28, 2014
Life Is Beautiful

It’s Tuesday…

It’s Tuesday and of course you knew that. There’s been so much buzz in the news today and very little of it is pretty or about being thankful. This is a busy week for most of us with grocery lists as long as our arms, budgets to stretch, houses to clean, food to cook, and company to welcome.  Make sure in all this bustle that you take a few moments to just breathe…

 

November 25, 2014