Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning AND Merry Christmas!

The Gallery Pics are from the Christmas Eve Service last night. It is one of my family's favorite Christmas activities, and it did not disappoint.

Of course, after the service, the Faulkner Five bought our traditional Chinese Chicken dinner and enjoyed Chinese take-out for our Christmas Eve dinner. The opening of sibling gifts, (I've included a couple of those pictures, too), a Christmas movie and the evening was considered a Christmas Eve success.

CHRISTMAS CARD COUNT - Thanks to Evelyn for a hand-delivered card, Robin for a wonderful musical e-mail card AND four cards in the mailbox yesterday, my total is 79!! Can you believe it? I have 79 Christmas cards! YEA!!!

So I guess my new goal for December 2010 will be... 100! I think we can do it! If not next year, then maybe the next. I don't mind if it takes more than one season to meet my goal. Not a bit!

And would the sweet family who sent me at least FOUR cards please step forward. I would like to thank you in person. Who knows? I might even bake you an eggnog pound cake to show my sincere appreciation!

Weekend Happenings

This weekend will be much like your weekend, I am sure. Last night found me in the floor working on Matthew's (my great-nephew) ABCs of Christmas Scrapbook. I am almost finished. (Thank goodness we see him Saturday instead of today!)

The kids will open their "Santa" gifts this morning. We can practically fit all of their gifts in a shoebox these days... but the price tag is not what it used to be when they were younger!

We will be at my Mom's for Christmas today, and Saturday we will celebrate with Mike's family (and my great-nephew). I'm trying a new recipe for Saturday's get-together, and I'm planning on posting it next Tuesday. (My friend, Melaney, shared it with me, and it sounds very good.)

Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, I will have lunch with three of my oldest girlfriends Sunday after church. (Not old in age, but old in length of friendships. I don't want to start off a great lunch having to apologize.) We usually have three out of four of us attend, but this year we are trying very hard for 100 percent. It's difficult since one of our group lives in Atlanta, but we work around her very busy family schedule when she comes home to visit to squeeze in a couple of hours of "girl time." We'll see.

Sunday night, the Faulkner Five (along with the lovely Melia) will be attending our annual Movie After Christmas. As of this minute, it is still up in the air which movie we'll be attending. I'll have to let you know for sure Monday.

As always, I'll see how everything I've carefully planned and orchestrated turns out. It's always interesting to see what REALLY HAPPENS.

Books - These are a few more Christmas favorites. (You can also look back in the December 2008 archives for more Christmas book ideas. There are more religious books in the 2008 posts.)

1. Christmas in the Big Woods (Little House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It will make your children really, really think about what is important at Christmas time, and to be happy with blessings such as God and family.

2. God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa T. Bergren and David Hohn. It's the book with the two polar bears on the cover. Excellent.

3. I Spy Little Christmas by Jean Marzolla and Walter Wick. My kids always loved the I Spy books, and this one is more of the same. If you have car traveling this season, this will occupy the guys for quite a while.

4. The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa by Stan and Jan Berenstain. What can I say? A classic.

5. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. This probably goes without saying, but it is one of the BEST secular Christmas books ever. Beautiful illustrations and beautiful story. Love it.

If you have favorites, share them in the comment section. You can never have enough Christmas books.

Have a wonderful, safe, Merry Christmas. Enjoy your time with family and friends. Take 1,000,000 pictures, tons of video and memorize as much of this special time with your little ones and other family members as you can.

Take care, and I'll talk to you Monday.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting and Very Merry Belinda

Breakfast/Manicure Date

Good Thursday morning!

This will quite possibly be my shortest post EVER. I know most people will be too busy today and tomorrow to read blogs, but I'll be here just the same.

The Gallery Pic is of my MamMa's dining room table. It is filled with Christmas cards. (She has 49 as of yesterday.) Not quite as many as me, but she doesn't go around soliciting holiday greetings either... unlike her eldest granddaughter.

CHRISTMAS CARD COUNT - You are not going to believe this. I couldn't believe it myself. As of yesterday, December 23, I have 74 Christmas cards. Only ONE card away from my goal of 75. It is 8:27 a.m. and I've already checked twice to see if the mail lady has come by... four hours early. Surely there will be one Christmas card in my mailbox today. Don't you think? I still haven't my received my annual greetings from my Virginia, California and Georgia friends (although I have called).

It's going to be a long morning. I will post my final Christmas Card Count tomorrow, Christmas Day, 2010. Wish me luck!

Blog Linkage - I have only one for you to read today, but it is an important post. Once again, I will refer you to Nitty.Gritty. under My Blog List, and ask that you read Jody's post dated December 19. It is entitled "When the Holidays Hurt."

If you and your family are having a Merry Christmas this year, I am genuinely thrilled for you. I want you to enjoy every precious moment. I truly want you to be happy and have the best time of your life with your loved ones.

But if you are hurting this year, for whatever reason, and this "happiest season of all" is only making the hurt more unbearable, I want to offer you my deepest sympathy and prayers.

And I want you to read Jody's post.

Breakfast/Manicure Date

I think this appeared somewhere in last December's posts as a Seasonal Tradition, but today, it is a reminder and a date.

If you are blessed to have a daughter, niece or other female member of your family nearby, take them to breakfast and then for a Christmas Eve manicure! Yes, there is much to do on Christmas Eve... cooking, cleaning, wrapping, (hopefully not shopping), visiting, Church services, etc., etc. AND having breakfast and getting a Christmas manicure with your daughter.

It's fun, festive and something you can do with your daughter when you're 60 and she's 25. (Oh, my! I'll be 60 when Roxie is 25. More unbelievable numbers!) And you can also add the granddaughters as time marches on.

Have a very productive Christmas Eve. Tomorrow, I'll be back with a list of my favorite Christmas books EVER, and a short and sweet Weekend Happenings post. I'll also reveal my final Christmas Card Count number. You know you want to know!

Reach out to someone hurting today. If you call and they are not at home, leave a message. I've received much needed kindness and encouragement from listening to a message on my answering machine. You never, ever know.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda