...and so it begins

christmas cards are made...

the tree is up...

but my favourite thing is playing christmas carols... all the time. i think they are some of the most beautiful hymns written.

my favourite is Hark the Herald Angels Sing:

“Light and life to all He brings

Ris'n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth”

life this week

a couple of extra books have sneaked onto my list of reading... i think that will always be the way! after Paula, I started The Red Tent, a fictional story based on the biblical story of Dinah, Jacob's daughter. a message on the telephone let me know a book i ordered a few weeks ago is in. it is called At Home in Mitford. it is the first book in a series that a colleague once told me about. she thought i'd like them. many of the books i read are a bit heavy on the "literary" side. i'm not into "chick-lit" at all (this book isn't chick-lit), but i felt like something a bit lighter than the stuff i normally read. i'll see how it goes...

speaking of critiquing books, my sister bought Ali Edwards book on 'mini-books'. one of the examples in it is scrapbooking favourite books, with quotes and reviews etc. another project to add to the list!!

this weekend we are putting up the Christmas Tree. N told me he will be "so pleased" when we decorate it. i don't know where he gets it from!! at the moment i am madly trying to finish A's Christmas stocking.

and A now has hair long enough for a ponytail! trying to get a photograph of N's bandaged hand (dog bite...) but he fancy's himself a photographer too...
my blessings:~

* always my children

* evaporated air cooler!!

* Pilate's aches and pains (it must mean something is working!)

remember to deliberately pour...

boy is this what i needed to read today...

baby love

sometimes i am so busy with the demands and developments of a preschooler that i forget about all the milestones of a baby. now when i pick up A, i am taken by her weight. then i realise in only a few weeks she will be one!!

holiday season is around the corner

i must admit, since N was born, I have really loved the family togetherness of Christmas time. i am trying to finish scrapbooking one page per year since N's birth into a Christmas album, the idea being that in 20 years, we will have one album to look back on and see how our littlies have grown over the years - all at Christmas time.
we have slowly been accumulating some traditions, which i am adding details of to the album:
* even before N or A, we had our traditions of egg nog and panetone at Christmas time
* decorating the tree on the weekend that is closest to 1 December
* listening to christmas cd's all month - even in the car (and i have a great new one this year to add to our collection)
* looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve
* feel good Christmas movies
* a new one: stories to read together (and for any other time of the year!)
something that was becoming a tradition which i was determined to stop was present shopping on Christmas Eve!! these days as we are only giving gifts to the nieces, nephews and grandparents we are a little more organised. i have our Christmas card ready to print and i even bought D's present today! (and we keep the gifts simple...)


how about this fantastic free pattern from Heather Bailey?

**exciting news**

we have a new member in our family!! my brother's wife had a baby boy this morning!! Mitchell Dean. every Christmas since 2005 we have had a new baby join the family to celebrate with us. i love it. ;-)

the little things

often i get so busy about my daily activities that i forget to just slow down and enjoy life around me. there is always something to rush to - and i hate rushing. i read this article from the Washington Post about a year ago and it came to my mind again last night.
a famous violinist, Joshua Bell, who's concert tickets sell for at least $100. his violin was crafted in 1713 and is worth 3 million dollars!
just to see what would happen, he was asked to play in a subway, busking. the article is a little long, but well worth reading, and the clips are worth watching. a nice little experiment. i think one person recognised him, but most people walked on by.

He'd clearly meant it when he promised not to cheap out this performance: He played with acrobatic enthusiasm, his body leaning into the music and arching on tiptoes at the high notes. The sound was nearly symphonic, carrying to all parts of the homely arcade as the pedestrian traffic filed past.
Three minutes went by before something happened. Sixty-three people had already passed when, finally, there was a breakthrough of sorts. A middle-age man altered his gait for a split second, turning his head to notice that there seemed to be some guy playing music. Yes, the man kept walking, but it was something.
A half-minute later, Bell got his first donation. A woman threw in a buck and scooted off. It was not until six minutes into the performance that someone actually stood against a wall, and listened.
Things never got much better. In the three-quarters of an hour that Joshua Bell played, seven people stopped what they were doing to hang around and take in the performance, at least for a minute. Twenty-seven gave money, most of them on the run -- for a total of $32 and change. That leaves the 1,070 people who hurried by, oblivious, many only three feet away, few even turning to look.

it can be watched here.