Saturday, December 5, 2009

It's Saturday night. Cold weather, sunny today, just right for the Christmas season.

On Thursday, I got a chance to get a little work done from home and also go through a couple of boxes that I had shipped here from my apartment in nyc. I pulled out the stuff that I could pass on to some friends setting up an apartment here. It wasn't much, but it will help get them started. Then I got a call from a school social worker for some coats, so I ran them by the school on my way to run some other errands. So much for spending the day on the computer at home... but it was nice to be out in the cold sunny day.

Friday was a long day processing the Angel Tree info from the schools. I got to visit a little bit with the McGimpseys at the Food Pantry. It's nice to see new volunteers helping out there. I was soooo tired when I finished at the church about 5:30, but I wanted to run by the AT&T store to have a friend help me get my new phone set up, so I ran out to the Promenade before I went home. I did get to hear a little of the FBC choir singing at the mall. I would have hung around for a few more songs, but I was really wanting to get home and relax. (besides, Deanna had cornbread in the oven for dinner - yum!)

Today I ran around to finish my Christmas shopping. I had to get Jet and LucyAlice their gifts. Jet got a new coat so we can walk in the cold. At first he kind of liked it, but then we ran into some of his dog friends on the street and they barked. I'm assuming they were making fun of his coat, because after that he seemed to want to rub on the ground to get it off. He actually whimpered after they barked at him. Poor Jet. He even sat down on the sidewalk and quit walking. I got him home and took off his coat and he went under the bed. Poor guy was humiliated. But - he'll get over it the next time I get the coat out with his leash. He'll put up with anything as long as he gets to go on a walk! He'll thank me for the warmth of the coat when the weather gets colder, too. By the way, LucyAlice's gift was 3 little stuffed mice that she immediately started playing with.

I hope to get most of the remainder of Christmas Angels adopted tomorrow and early next week. Almost half are adopted so far. Some people have contacted me through email, phone calls and even facebook. Since we can't have a physical Angel Tree along side the pretty decorations at the church, using technology and communication is a good alternative. I'll be in the halls between services tomorrow with Angel information, so that will be fun, too.

I feel so blessed that God has allowed me to live with little material things these last 2 1/2 years. Three years ago, I was planning to sell everything and move to nyc. As I put out my Christmas decorations that year, I really appreciated all the sentimental ones and enjoyed looking at them all. When it was time to take it all down, I saved one box of really sentimental ones for storage and all the others were either given to people or sold in my moving sale. It was okay to say goodbye to the 'stuff'. When in nyc, I had a small nativity set (a gift from the Janes family) with pieces about 1" tall. I put it on top of my tv. I also had 2 stockings I bought at Macy's (I couldn't decide which one I liked best) which I hung on the wall. That's all the room I had for Christmas decorating, except for hanging up all of my Christmas cards on the wall. It looked festive. Of course, in nyc, most people don't have the room or money to decorate their places too much. That's why the trees at Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, and Lincoln Center as well as the windows at Macy's and Bloomingdale's are all so popular. I also loved walking through the Christmas shops at Central Park and Bryant Park. It was different to celebrate Christmas there as you share it all with the rest of the city. I look forward to celebrating in other places and making new memories in the future.

Today I joined Deanna and 2 of her grandkids in attending the Christmas program at FBC. I loved the children's choir, youth ensemble, women's group, men's group and the 'big band' style song that Corey sang. The ballet dancing was nice and it reminded me of some of my friends in nyc who are dancers. There was a lot going on in that program.

I'll be spending the next few days trying to learn how to use my new phone. I'm thankful to have it and to transfer to a cheaper carrier and plan. It just takes me a while to learn new things. I'm getting too old I guess. ha I'm sure I'll love it when I learn it. I do appreciate it.

I got a message from a friend in Monterrey Mexico this week. How fun to remember times of serving on mission trips there. I'm thankful for friends and memories.

Time for bed for today. I'm so thankful to God for allowing me the life He has given me. Much of it has been unexpected, and for sure there has been many chances for growing. I'm thankful for the circumstances that lead me to depend on Him more and learn more of His unfailing love. And I am honored and humbled to be allowed to celebrate Him, especially at this time of year.