The Best Gift

There was only 1 day that the family was all at our home at the same time, so that had to be the day Santa arrived!  He does not come down the chimney at our house.

After our talent show, we had a little break.  Usually the children follow Papa around the house, waiting for him to go to the "bathroom" and try to catch him changing into his Santa suit.  This year Jason snuck downstairs to put on the costume and then came to the front door and rang the doorbell!  He was a little bit skinny for Santa, but...

he helped Papa hand out the stockings and then said his good-byes.

We don't really do Santa in the traditional sense.  He doesn't come Christmas Eve and put gifts under the tree; gifts are put under the tree ahead of time.  He just pops in to say hello and pass out the stockings.  We have always celebrated Christmas as Jesus' birthday.  That's the important part, although for us, Santa is a part of the tradition.

My mother sewed a Santa suit for my dad many years ago in Japan.  I can remember him coming to our one-room school in Miyakonojo one Christmas.  After the play we performed for the parents, "Santa" walked into the school.  My initial thought was "My parents lied!  There IS a Santa Claus!"

Here is a picture of him passing out gifts to us missionary school children.  He is giving me a gift in this picture.  When I looked into his twinkling eyes, I KNEW it was just my Dad!!  This was in 1963, when I was in 3rd grade.  That year, he also put that costume on at our house and told us not to peak through the sliding dining room doors to the living room.  Of course we did and we actually saw Santa kissing Mommy!!

My dad continued to be Santa when they retired at the nursing home.

He dressed up to pass out gifts to the elderly there.

See his eyes?  What sweet, kind eyes!  

He loved to laugh and make us laugh!

And here is Allen who inherited that suit.  This is in 1981 and Josh and his cousin were visited by Santa.  The kids have since purchased Al a new suit as this one made in the '60's was pretty far gone.

* * * 

We passed out all the gifts first, then one by one we opened one gift at a time and went around the room admiring what each person received. 

Claire was so excited for her new pony barn!

Is there any other kind of gift this boy wants?  Nerf guns!

Well, and money from Aunt Mindy and Uncle Jason is pretty cool!

I gave both families a couple of DVD's of the Walton series.  I used to LOVE that show!  Good clean shows with family values.  And a lesson to learn.

A clue for one of the gifts I gave Mindy.

Food + net + work + sub(marine) + script (lettering) + shun (sheep being shunned)

Many of these pictures are from my son, Josh.  Between the two of us we were able to capture what all went on. But I didn't get a good picture of Mindy's gift to Jill.  The one I took was blurry.  So Jill sent me a picture.  Such a cute gift!

sister hugs

A gift I gave the kids this year was a "book" made up of airmail letters I found.  Letters my parents had written from Japan to my dad's parents in Kansas from the 1950's to the 1970's.  What a find it was and such a joy to read these letters of how God was working in them and through them.

A few of the children made us some gifts of art.  Love, love!

God has gifted each of our grandchildren with an artistic bent!

Staci and Emeri surprised all of us girls with sherpas!

Then we sat down to dinner.  I fixed a recipe from Deb Raney, she calls Copacabana Tacos. 

Season a medium-chuck roast with Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and bay leaf in the crockpot overnight, or until beef falls apart with a fork. Remove bay leaf and any fat, and reserve juices. Shred beef and set aside.
Make a gravy of the juices (I bring the juices to a boil and stir in a mixture of 1 cup water and one Tblsp. cornstarch, depending on how much juice is left.) Once the gravy is smooth and thickened, add the shredded beef back in.
To assemble: Spread warm flour tortillas with sour cream, spoon beef mixture in the center, sprinkle liberally with shredded cheese (I use the Mexican blend Kraft makes). Roll up tortilla and line them up in a 9x13 pan enchilada style. Cover tightly so tortillas don’t dry out, and bake just until cheese melts. (Usually 30 minutes is plenty if the beef mixture is warm when you start assembling. You can also make ahead, store covered in refrigerator, and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.)
Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream and salsa (for salsa I use one can of Del Monte Mexican Style Stewed Tomatoes pureed in a food processor—I add about a teaspoon of sugar plus salt and pepper before I puree. Recently, I’ve been adding the salsa to the meat mixture.) Add your favorite Mexican trimmings if you like: lettuce, chopped tomatoes, guacamole, onions, etc.
A medium roast will usually make 10-12 large “tacos” and I squeeze them all into a deep 9x13 pan.

We asked the kids and grandchildren for a list of things they would like to have and of course, we shopped with them in mind.  It was so much fun shopping and finding just the "right" gift - what they would like and enjoy the most!  Although getting and giving gifts is a lot of fun, these gifts will one day end up at a thrift store, or perhaps in a garage sale.  Or eaten, if it was an edible gift.  

The BEST gift of all, that you could EVER receive is the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ!  That is God's gift to you!  That is the whole reason for the Christmas celebration!  He is the Gift that never will expire, go out of style or become worthless.  One day, all our gifts will be gone.  Even our lives will pass away, and all that will be left after this life is the human soul.  That lives forever.  

God is offering you Himself.  But you do have to accept Him in order to receive Him, right....I could give one of my kids a gift and they could choose not to open it or accept it.  Many people choose not to accept Christ, even though God desires to give Him to all people!

And what do I get when I receive Him as my Lord? 

First, eternal life in heaven!  If that sounds boring, you have not a clue what heaven is about!  It is NOT sitting on a cloud strumming a harp!  Randy Alcorn in his book "Heaven" and John Eldredge in "All Things New" will open up the Scriptures to you about that.  I highly encourage you to read these and get excited about eternity!  This world is not our home - THANK goodness!!

What other things does God give when you accept Him?  Right now, you can have these things:

Peace, such peace!

Joy

Comfort

His unconditional LOVE!  

His Presence.  You NEVER need to be alone!  He promises never to leave you nor forsake you.

He calms your fears.

Wisdom - He promises to be your Counselor!  Ask Him if you need wisdom!

If your are discouraged, He will lift you up!

He will be your Provider.  

He gives direction.  He will be your Guide.

If you could ask God for any gift what would you ask for?  God listens to us when we talk to Him.  A friend of mine made me this plaque.

Ask Him for what is best for you.  Our kids didn't get everything on their list.  God knows what we need.  Sometimes He gives us what we ask for; like the kids opening up gifts they put on their list.  Sometimes He surprises us; like Staci did with those sherpas.  Sometimes He gives us something to stretch us - like going through suffering.  Suffering a gift?  Yes!  It really is.  He allows it for our good.  It may not feel good at the time, but He says He can turn it into good for His glory!  

What better gift for you than to receive than the gift God has for you, His Son Jesus!  

 THE BEST GIFT!

'Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift'—2 Cor. 9:15

Graber "Talent" show

Before opening our gifts, we had a little "talent" show.

I got the idea from a friend of mine.  I wrote to all the kids prior to them coming encouraging them to come up with something to share - they could sing, play an instrument, read a poem....  

Claire began with a "wild" dance number!   She danced to "Welcome to the Show" by Brit Nicole, which I thought was appropriate!

Hannah, Jill and Adam performing Christmas song

Emeri plays a song

Sophia on the piano

Jill and Josh found a song in "Rodeheaver's Sing Sociability Songs", which I had found among my parents' things.  

The Peanut Song

The man who has plenty of good peanuts And giveth his neighbor none;

He shan't have any of my peanuts When his peanuts are gone.

     When his peanuts are gone, When his peanuts are gone;

     He shan't have any of my peanuts, When his peanuts are gone.

(other verses included "good oranges", "soft, sweetest crackers", and "ripe, red strawberry short-cake" in the place of "good peanuts".)

Staci had us join her in "Silent Night."  

Al and I grew up singing this at Christmastime in German.  "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht".  I read the story behind the song in Robert Morgan's book, "Then Sings My Soul".

"It was Christmas Eve in the Austrian Alps.  At the newly constructed Church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, a Tyrol village near Salzburg, Father Joseph Mohr prepared for the midnight service.  He was distraught because the church organ was broken, ruining prospects for that evening's carefully planned music.  But Father Joseph was about to learn that our problems are God's opportunities, that the Lord causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him.  It came into Father Joseph's mind to write a new song, one that could be sung organless.  Hastily, he wrote the words, 'Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright....'  Taking the text to his organist, Franz Gruber, he explained the situation and asked Franz to compose a simple tune.  

   That night, December 24, 1818, 'Silent Night' was sung for the first time as a duet accompanied by a guitar at the aptly named Church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf.

   Shortly afterward, as Karl Mauracher came to repair the organ, he heard about the near-disaster on Christmas Eve.  Acquiring a copy of the text and tune, he spread it throughout the Alpine region of Austria, referring to it as "Tiroler Volkslied."

    'Silent Night' was first published for congregational singing in 1838 in the German hymnbook 'Katholisches Gesang'.  It was used in America by German-speaking congregations, then appeared in its current English form in a book of Sunday school songs in 1863.

    Were it not for a broken organ, there would never have been a 'Silent Night.'"

Al doesn't care for this song.  He says it was NOT silent and therefore inaccurate.  Bethlehem would have been filled with people made to go there by the feared and hated Romans.  The town would have been in a clamor.  I'm sure at the dinner table there would have been much discussion and anger expressed about the taxes mandated by their oppressors.   

Eli and Jason shared a talent.  Sharpshooter "William Tell Elijah" with Brave Jason.

Allen and I told the Christmas story.

And we ended with Alphabet Praise.  Now, a couple of my grandchildren can burp the alphabet, but we did this instead.   I said the letter and everyone would pipe in with words to describe God. 

Lord, You are....

   Almighty!  my Anchor,  Able

   Beginning (and End), BIG!, Beautiful!

   Captivating, Changeless, my Comfort

and so on and so forth.  There are not enough words to describe Him!

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders.  And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The kids were ready for gifts!
(see a little someone hidden among the gifts?)

Donuts, games and the movies

Claire woke up really early Thursday morning.  I sent Adam back to bed and she and I snuggled and I got her some breakfast too.  

When the others woke up, Mindy and Jason made a run to Drubers.  Mindy loves Drubers, our local donut shop (don't we all?!) and every time they come back to town, she makes sure to put in an order.   We used to take the kids back in the 1980s when we moved to town.  And now our grandchildren also like them!

Here is a picture when we took all the grandkids back in 2017.

These are my 2 favorites kinds!  

 Al likes the peanut butter with nuts.

It was rather brisk morning out, but Claire wanted to go for a walk and so we bundled up.

There was a puddle under the swing.

How sad.

So we went back home.  

I have a little swing under the deck.

We played some games.

Guess what's in the box?

Not sure why the guys closed their eyes.

You can't see what's in the box.

Maybe it helps with concentration.

You have to guess before the timer goes off.

Dress up time!

Clue - Jason is competitive and  ALWAYS seems to win.

Someone needed a nap.

 In the evening, Adam and Jill went to Wichita with friends.  Mindy and Jason went to see some family of his.  And we took the girls to see "Mary Poppins Returns"!

 It was fun, but I don't think you can't beat the original!

It was the very first movie I ever watched in a movie theatre!  I saw it in Japan in 1964 when I was in the 4th grade.  My parents didn't approve of movies but we had gone to another missionary family's home for the weekend and they didn't know that so they took us.  

Here are some fun facts I found about the original movie:

Her hair in the movie was "practically perfect in every way," but did you know it was a wig? She wore a dark wig to cover her blonde hair. 

At the start of the film, before Mary Poppins appears at 17 Cherry Lane, a scene shows dozens of nannies applying for the job. What you might not know is that many of them were actually stunt men dressed as women to deal with the gust of wind that blew them away.

Actor David Tomlinson played Mr. Banks and also voiced the parrot head on Mary Poppins' umbrella, but he wasn't the only one doing double duty.

The 2nd movie I saw, our parents took us!  It was "The Sound of Music" the following year.

I guess my parents decided that it was okay to see good films.  They even bought us the records that we listened to over and over!  I still have them!