Christmas All Year 'Round

Oh, how I love Christmas. If you know me, you KNOW I do! ( PRe CHriStMAs: "Family, I know it is Thanksgiving Day, but we should go get our tree...we want to get the BEST one!" PoST ChrIStmaS: "Family, do you think our most beautiful tree can make it through to Valentine's Day?")



Even so, more than I love Christmas, I love Christ.



This year, Todd was sharing with our little family, some of his thoughts on Christmas and what it means. Here is what I heard from this man of mine...



So many times we get all ready for Christmas with decorations, presents and celebrations...as we should. But for us (The Hedgepeths), it needs to be more than a season, or time of year... Christmas is a way of life!



-Our lives are reflections (decorations) of Christ and His love for others.



-We have the priviledge of sharing (giving presents) the love and TRUTH of Christ with a hurting and needy world.



-Daily we celebrate who Christ is and what He has done through His redemption and restoration of our lives and the lives of those around the world.



What beautiful things to ponder.

Who IS coming to dinner?

Tonight I came home from a staff meeting to find the table cleared of laundry and set, with cloth napkins and a dish of perfectly cut limes.

The table is set for six.

The lighting is low.


I asked Todd what was going on. He didn't know because Jackson is the one who did all of this.

Hmmmm...

Earlier today, I made a homemade turkey soup with egg noodles, carrots, celery, garlic...mmmm good! It had been on the stove for most of the day.


At one point, Jackson became very agitated. I asked him to tell me what he wanted. He got his talker and said, "I want dinner."


"Well buddy, it's only 2:30."

I had to run out to meetings.

I came home to this. It is really quite wonderful. I just wish he would tell us who is coming to dinner.

If you are hungry, please stop by.

The food is hot and the company is sweet!

I promise, you will be well cared for.

Friends Around My Table

Tonight, I am overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude. Thankfulness for all those friends, big and small, who have gathered around our table this year. We are so ...BLESSED!

We have had most of our family around our table this year, at one time or another.

Friends have come for visits.

Friends have gathered to be creative and to laugh and to get their fill of joy and camaraderie.

"New Friends", meeting us for the first time, have come to work on our home, to leave their fingerprints all over the place...masonry, framing, electrical, electrical and more electrical.

We are so grateful for those who have sat and shared LIFE with us. Thank you...this is such a precious gift to us.

Treasures in the Attic

Growing up in Minnesota, we did not have an attic. None of my grandparents had attics. (I do not even think we had friends who had attics.)

I would read a book, or see a movie, that had an attic in it. The attics always had a sense of discovery about them. Old trunks to be gone through, some treasure waiting to be discovered.

Oh, the romance of it all.

We had basements. They can be a bit on the scary side. Even at my own house, I would turn the light off at the bottom of the stairs and take the stairs two at a time...outrunning whatever might be chasing me! (That is so funny to me to think about now.)

Well, this house has an attic. Oh how glorious! I had toys in one corner, Christmas decorations in another, bins of baby clothes, a few treasures and a bit of...mmm...stuff (can't bring myself to say "junk"). Well, all that "stuff" had to come down to the main level due to renovations.

Our little house has become smaller and smaller as we have brought bin after bin down! We have turned Jackson's room into a storage room of sorts.


I have already gone through my treasures and given things away, sold a few things, and then put the rest into Jackson's room. The longer it stays in there, the more I want to go through it and whittle my "keep pile" down a little bit more.


What happens when our house is finished? I will want to use some of these treasures to decorate and "clutter" our new space!


We have talked, and dreamed, about what each room should look like. Any evening you can hear...



"The family room could look like this!"


"I think Jackson would like that."


But, we have never discussed the attic. I definitely need to be able to move some things back into that space. We will have easy access through a little door in Ashley's room. We have already called it "The Door to Narnia."





What treasures should be in there? What stories will be told by those who have the joy of discovering these things of old? How exciting to imagine...

...how exciting to have my house back!