Christmas Art

When the grandchildren were here for Thanksgiving, I thought it would be fun to do an art project.  I had some leftover canvas.  I got on Pinterest and got an idea.  Pinterest is loaded with great ideas!

 

Claire was napping when we were doing the older kids' so she worked on hers afterwards.

Such fun!  And when the paint is dry, they can add red fingerprint ornaments!

Christmas Birdie

My friend, Mary Ellen, has written several children's books.  One of them is called The Christmas Birdie.

Last year, she got the idea about putting it into a musical.  She enlisted the help of many friends -       Dunri, who runs Angel Feet Dance studio,
Marilyn, who is a composer and is a tremendous musician!!
Caryn and I to do props,
Diane and several others to do costuming.
Hearts 4 Him and several other musicians.
Dr. Michael Donnelly, an associate professor of English at K-State to do the narration.

We all put lots of effort into it and it turned out wonderfully, I think!

Caryn decided to paint a little lost sheep - all alone.  (yet not, because the Shepherd has His eye on him)  It was not part of the Christmas Birdie story.  Just a part of a story we talked about as we painted.

The story is about a little bird named Flit who gets knocked out of the sky by a stone from a sling shot and is left behind when his family migrates south.  But what starts out as a disaster turns into Flit witnessing the birth of the most important person who has ever lived! The night God came to earth!  You can order this book on-line or in some Christian bookstores and read it year after year!


"Leaves" for the spring trees.

This is a nest that my grand daughters and I worked on.  We began with cattle fencing that Al and I bent into a circle shape.  Then we wove branches and twigs back and forth all over the frame.  I loved the final nest!

 Our family arrived for the play early.

I could only watch the play from back stage since Caryn and I were some of the prop people who moved the props between scenes.

Mama Birdie with Flitty, Twitty, and Itty Bitty.

Angel chorus appearing to the shepherds.

Here are Mary and Joseph - I borrowed this picture.  Aren't they cute?

I am so proud of Mary Ellen and give God the thanks for the talent He has given her!

A few more pictures

This week has been so busy with getting the house decorated for Christmas and also my mother's place.  And then the unexpected turn of events leading to my  mother's move.  So I haven't been able to post all the pictures from Thanksgiving.  Here are a few Josh took.

The kids put on a Thanksgiving play for us:

  Hannah spent much of the afternoon, between practicing for this play, designing the program for it!



A very good Thanksgiving play!

Moving mom

A week ago, we all went to Grace Fellowship. Mindy and Bryan picked up my mom.  Adam was preaching and with Josh's here for Thanksgiving weekend, Adam had asked him to lead worship.  We enjoyed listening to him practice Rich Mullins "Creed" a couple of nights before.

                                                    

Claire did sing some, but she enjoyed making faces in my camera too.

After church was finished and they were taking down everything, a girl asked Josh if she could try playing the hammer dulcimer.  He gave her a little lesson and she took off with it.

We all went to Jill's for lunch. 

Mindy and Bryan had to go to his family's house for their Thanksgiving dinner.

Matchy-matchy!

After lunch, Dave took mom home and spent the day with her.

I had to get to the play, The Christmas Birdie, where I helped with props (another blog).

Josh's had to leave for home in Arkansas and Adam's family took naps.








Less than a week later, unexpectedlly, my mother was feeling so much weaker that it was necessary to move her into healthcare.  Jill came to help me.  A big plus is that Dad and Mom get to eat meals together now!  Do you see how happy he is?

 Mom was at peace about this.  She is surprised by how suddenly her health has taken a turn for the worse, but she has joy in knowing that her life is in the Father's loving arms.

Still about Thanksgiving

People are already blogging about getting ready for Christmas but I haven't finished up my Thanksgiving blog!  But that's ok.  It is still November.  I won't be decorating for Christmas until next week anyway.

The Christmas celebrating seems to crowd out Thanksgiving.  It gets earlier and earlier.  I don't mind if others want to, but I LOVE Thanksgiving!   It is probably one of my favorite holidays!   So I won't begin Christmas until December.

Yesterday I went through this past year (used my Picasa photos to help me remember - much easier than re-reading my journals!) to think about how to thank the Lord for His goodness and His care for us in 2014.

     .....recovery for Mom from her brain bleed
     .....Dad's health improving
     .....various trips overseas for the family - Jill and Hannah to help in a children's home in Mexico, Allen and Josh to Israel for a study trip, and a medical missions trip for Staci to Ethiopia
     .....the recovery of some very sick children in our young mom's Bible study from HUS and E-coli
     .....the arrival of a new worship pastor
     .....a fun family trip to Dauphin Island
     .....baptisms of 2 of my grandchildren, Hannah and Sophia

The list goes on.

On Thanksgiving Day, it was wonderful to have my parents over.  With Dad's improving health, we were able to bring him to our home!

 We also invited a college student from Japan.  My friend Kaori and I help him with English on Wednesday evenings, and she and him help me with Japanese.  Toshiki had never experienced an American Thanksgiving holiday.  I gave him the assignment of studying what Thanksgiving was about.

 I got out our china instead of the usual throwaway plates that we often use.

See the meat platter?  Always, always, we do the Norman Rockwell turkey presentation thing.  It is a family tradition that my parents and grandparents did.  And we have continued.

But this year, I have been super busy with doing props for the production of The Christmas Birdie and with my time crunch, I purchased a Jennie-O turkey that is freezer to oven.  Unfortunately, I did not realize this but I put the bird in the oven upsidedown!!!  Ha ha!!  Actually, the breast of the turkey simmered in lots of juice and it was probably one of the tenderest turkeys we've eaten, but it definitely was not presentation worthy.  So we sliced it and put it on a platter with some sprial ham.

Of course, we have to insert a cross-eyed Sophie picture, as usual.

 Along with Thanksgiving, we surprised Staci with a birthday pie!

 And birthday gifts, of course!

Using our china, means lots and lots of dishes to wash. 

 But I have a super, wonderful dishwasher!

 And I will soon be ready to celebrate Christmas. Just think, a month to celebrate the birthday of Jesus!  Most people celebrate for 1 day, or perhaps some have a birthday week.  But we get to celebrate His birth on earth for all of December!!