The Christmas Season....

The Snow Globes

The month of December is slipping away ever so quickly. It is amazing how time flies by. Before it is gone, I'd like to share with you some highlights of the month that make me smile. First on the list of sharing is our snow globe collection. I won't go into the whole story right now but will instead encourage you to read here for a laugh. Go ahead, I will wait.

I must admit that this year has caught me stopping in the stores to pick up snow globes and ponder the idea of adding to my collection as I watch the snowflakes swirl to life in my hands.
 

While trusting that you will "link away" to read my previous snow globe story, I do want to take an extra minute and share this picture with you. A couple of mornings ago the sun was shining so brilliantly through the windows that it made everything sparkle to life. Pippin grabbed my camera and snapped a few clicks. This shot made me pause when I downloaded everything. I love the sparkle of the sunlight and am intrigued at the secondary image of the angel in the orb of the sun reflection on the glass dome. I love how God gives us extra delights all the time. He is so very creative.


Now for the Christmas Tree

A couple of weeks back we went to pick out to our Christmas tree. As is usual for us, we made great sport out of the whole thing. Our girls both have a quirky sense of humor and continuously challenge me to "think outside the box". In picking out a tree, they always look for the best oddball in the lot. Their philosophy is why have something in a perfectly full and normal bell shape when it can have its own character of life to proudly shine in our home.

This year they picked out a tree that had multiple tops to it as well as an assortment of extra long branches to stick out and hold our array of ornaments. There was no cutting off of branches to make things uniform, for uniform is boring.

Instead of our angel tree top being perched on the tip top branch that is 'tradition', she is nestled in between 3 top branches perfectly balanced.



 This branch that sticks out to almost touch the china hutch is holding a beautiful crystal ballerina. I imagine that it is as if both ballerina and tree branch are bursting with the joy at the Good News Of the King.


 





My Unique Elves

These mischievous elves are another oddity in our home. A friend made them for us as a gift a couple of years back. Standing each at a good 3 feet tall, their oddball presence actually brings a chorus of "Mom those are so creepy". I gotta admit that they are a little odd and 'not normal'. Even Kekoa sits and growls at them from time to time. Maybe they wink at him when I am not looking. It doesn't matter to me though. For some reason I think they are so odd and gooney that they are positively adorable and I can't wait to put them out for all to see each year. 





 Our Birthday Celebration

Each year I look forward to a special event in the month of December. Smack in the middle of all the hubbub of Christmas preparations is the joy of being able to celebrate my shared birthday with my mom. Not everyone can say that they have the same birthday as another family member. I have the joy of being able to share my birthday with my mom on the very same day (and actually before her dad went to be in heaven his birthday was also on the same day with us). It wasn't planned that way. It is just when God chose us to be born. 

After Hubby and I retired and moved back "home", Mom and I began the tradition of spending the day together. Family can plan parties and what-not in the evenings and weekends but we get the day for just each other. And in that tradition I get to surprise her with a special new place that she has never experienced. As traditions go, she makes sport out of trying to guess and pull the surprise location out of me and I always invent new ways of being two steps ahead of her in loving sarcasm and whit.
(By the way, Mom made those leis we are wearing)

This year, in honor of her island heritage, I picked a local Hawaiian restaurant that I had heard great reviews on. Oh my the 'ono grinds' (good food) we drooled over. Everything brought back so many memories for her and we couldn't decide which good things on the menu to have.

With the air outside being chilly and wet we opted to go simple and comfy. We started with appetizers of lumpia and manapua.  I could have been happy and content with just that but we got more.




 We both ordered medium 'auntie size' bowls of saimin with char siu pork, fried egg, green onion and cabbage. It was the real kind with home stock and everything. None of that pretend Top Ramen with a billion grams of salt.






Then when we thought we could eat no more, we were presented with birthday candles Hawaiian style. Our waitress had put a candle in our heavenly concoctions of coconut sorbet and mango sorbet. Again, they were the real things with frozen coconut milk in the half shell and frozen tropical island mango served in it's own skin as the bowl.


 It was all such a wonderful day, such a memory filled weekend and I am grateful for every ounce of it.

Thank You God for memories and joys, celebrations, family and friends. Thank You for loving on us and taking delight in creating big and small all the things that make us smile.