You'll notice a new Showcase Pic. Last year for Christmas, we gave Mike six laps at Talladega. I highly recommend it. It was expensive, but his parents, my family (and of course the remaining Faulkner Four), all went in on the gift. It was his only gift, but six months later when he actually raced on the course, he said it was definitely worth it. It is a great experience if you have someone in your family who enjoys racing as much as Mikie.
Also, I've added a couple of pictures of things we did this weekend. You'll see Roxie and Mikie after her tournament game (we lost by one basket in overtime). I had Austin take the camera into the dressing room and got a great picture of him and Melia in his tuxedo right before the church Pageant. Roxie and her friend, Hannah, baked delicious Snowmen Cookies for our dessert one night, and I had to take a picture or two to show their hard work.
I'll be adding pictures since we have several things going on toward the middle of the week.
The Christmas Card Count is officially 23. S-l-o-w-l-y and surely we're getting there.
My readership number is much better. It stands at 143. Still, I have a long way to go to reach both goals. I'm not losing any sleep over it. Well, maybe a little sleep. Maybe 30 to 45 minutes a night. (Mike would interject right now that I NEVER lose any sleep.) I am blessed with a metabolism that can fall asleep anytime I become horizontal... and sometimes vertical, too, depending on the day I've had. It's a gift I don't take for granted because my mom hasn't slept since I can remember. I think five hours a night is an amazing amount for her, whereas for me, five hours is just a nice little nap.
Let's face it... you can't be 47 years-old (and look 47 years-old) if you don't get enough sleep.
Mikie and I had our Klingler's date and it was wonderful. I look forward to that date all year long, and even though we go more than once a year, Christmas is the best.
The Christmas Pageant was the "Christmas highlight" of the week, and it was so good. I'm so glad we were able to go as a family and watch Austin sing.
I literally just have three more gifts to buy. That feels so great. I'm going to try to do them today so I can say, "I am finished," instead of "I am almost finished."
I hope you had a great weekend, too. There's still a lot of Christmas to be had. Be sure and take advantage each and every day of this season by doing something a little special for your family or someone in your neighborhood. It's amazing whose name God might put into your head and heart who might have a need to just talk. There was a Christmas three years ago when I was literally on auto-pilot the entire month (and for two years after), and I know what a blessing it would have been for someone to take time out of a busy season to minister to me and my family. There are families right outside your door who have that need today. You don't have to look very far.
I received a card from a very dear family who is having an extremely difficult year. Her card simply read, "Carry on the Spirit of Christmas." I like that so much because it is saying the Spirit of Christmas doesn't just last 25 days in December... it goes throughout this year, and the next and the next. We're the ones who put it in the "time frame" of 25 days of Christmas. It was a very good reminder for me, and I will always keep that card.
Christmas Tea Party
This is a tradition that started exactly ten years ago this year. I bought the book The Twelve Teas of Christmas by Emilie Barnes. In the book, it describes 12 different teas in detail. It gives you a theme (Celebration of Friendship, Celebration of Joy, Celebration of Traditions, etc.), decoration ideas, invitation ideas and menus. It is a beautiful little book. You're supposed to pick a "tea" and host it at your home. I tweaked it a little bit, and the following is what we have been doing for the last ten years.
I asked ten friends to join me one Saturday before Christmas for an hour and a half at a local tea room. There was only one criteria. They didn't have to do a thing. It was to be a stress free time to visit and share during a sometimes stressful holiday.
They didn't have to buy a gift. They didn't have to bring a dish. They didn't have to decorate or clean their home. They just had to get dressed and meet at a tea room for a beautiful Christmas tea. It was a lot of fun. The first year was the Celebration of Friendship. I explained we would be having a Christmas tea once a year for the next 12 years. I also said anyone who attended all 12 of the teas would receive a special gift at the 12th tea. Everyone was willing to give it a try.
By the time our second tea rolled around, one of the girls had moved to Kentucky, so we added a new member to the 12 Teas of Christmas. Although she wasn't eligible for the 12 year prize, she was still willing to attend.
We decided to hold our FIFTH and TENTH teas out of town, and on our fifth a few days AFTER Christmas (again keeping it stress free), we went to a wonderful bed and breakfast in Marietta, Georgia (2 1/2 hours away), and then to a tea room the next day before heading home.
During our Celebration of Family (Tea #2), we invited our mothers and/or daughters to join us for a tea. That was a memorable tea because as we were paying, a tornado decided to come through, and we ended up staying in my mother's basement for about an hour until the danger was over.
We also have had the tea at a different tea room each and every year. Again, some have been better than others, but all have been memorable.
As we approach our tenth tea, we are planning a trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee to stay at the Mayor's Mansion Bed and Breakfast, having tea at the English Rose Tea Room the next day and then traveling home. This year is a Celebration of Giving. Since we try not to spend extra money on gifts, this year everyone has to write two things they admire about each person on the trip. Every girl will have a bag with her name on it, and everyone will drop two "admiration slips" into her bag when we arrive at the bed and breakfast. We'll read the slips before we go to bed that night. Instead of "giving" a bought gift for each person, every girl will leave Chattanooga with a gift bag of compliments which will hopefully mean more and last longer than anything anyone could possibly purchase.
So far there are three girls (not including me) who have not missed a single tea. In only two more years, these girls will be given a special gift at our 12th and final tea. These three girls are serious, too. They're coming whether they have a contagious illness, broken bones, etc. (I had originally told them diamond earrings, but now I'm thinking really big rhinestones!)
The 12th tea is called a Celebration of Stillness. Perfect. This tea will be held in my home. It will be all white. There will be beautiful music playing. The food will be perfect... (if I can save enough money over the next two years to have it catered!). Our verse for this tea will be, of course, "Be still, and know that I am God."
However, I'm not going to skip ahead and miss this year's tea and next year's tea by planning the last one. No, sir. I know better than that. Enjoy the moment. That's my motto! (I have got to get that tattooed somewhere!)
During one of the busiest times of the year, I do appreciate the ladies who have committed to these last ten years and the next two, also. We have laughed. We have cried. We have taken pictures galore, and I think we've made some fun memories together.
Our numbers are a little smaller this year. One of the girls lives in Tennessee, and won't be able to join us this year. Another has a commitment here in town, but she'll be back next year, and yet another will be going to Texas for a family function. Also, two of the girls who will be attending the tea this year will be moving to Illinois and Mississippi in the near future. So only seven of the ten will be attending the Celebration of Giving.
It's amazing how fast things change, isn't it? In the blink of an eye. That's why it's so important to tell the people in your life how much you care for them right now... today. And if you're fortunate enough to see them tomorrow, tell them then, also.
I'll leave you with a little poem by Sandy Lynam Clough that is written in the front of this delightful book:
If teacups could talk
And teapots could sing,
Especially at Christmas,
They would tell us some things...
Of family and friends,
Carolers and trees,
Sharing the warmth of the season
With twelve special teas.
Also, if the Christmas season is just too busy for you to add one more event in your life, this would be a great thing to try to do each spring around Easter time. You could use the same themes and adapt them for the Easter season.Tomorrow, I have a very simple quiche you can make ahead of time for dinner. Just add fruit and salad, and you've got a quick light meal for a busy night of choir concerts and such.
Have a great Monday, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
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