Please Pray...

I believe that most of my blog followers are faithful prayers so I thought I would share this urgent prayer request.  If you would, please lift up this family who is facing something more challenging that I can fathom.  I cannot imagine Christmas through their eyes right now.  I do not actually know the Kellys but I've heard of this story from multiple different angles as it seems that this couple is friends or acquaintances of many different friends of mine (Patrick went to JMU).  Patrick, who I believe is just a little older than I am, has brain cancer that looks to be terminal.  He has a wife and 2 1/2 year old little girl.  Click here to read their story and see updates.  Please join so many who have gathered around this family to pray for a miracle. 

O Christmas Tree...times three!

It has become a tradition of sorts for me to decorate three trees every year...

#1 - My tree

#2 - My parents' tree

 One of my favorite ornaments on my parents' tree...Santa in a hammock that I picked out on a family trip to Michigan back in '89.

#3 - A ceramic tree

This particular tree and fixture in my parents' house at Christmas holds great sentimental value.  My Great Grandmother (on my Dad's side) lived till she was 103 so I was fortunate to be able to get to know her and have memories of her even though she lived farther away.  One of the stand out memories I have of visiting her at Christmas was admiring this 18-inch tall ceramic tree that she always had sitting in the window (I believe) of her modest home in the hills of North Carolina.  The plastic pegs with varied colors, shapes, and sizes glowed when placed in the holes of the tree.  I'm sure I was tempted to play with the pieces but doubt I ever actually touched it. 

Many years after those memories were recorded in my mind, Mawmaw gave us our very own ceramic tree.  And it was exactly like Great Grandma's...or at least how I remember it.  Decorating this tree is definitely something that Mom always "saves" for me because of how much I enjoy it.  And now I get to play with the pieces.  Having the personality that I do, this becomes a work of art carefully created.  Of course, I always aim to make sure that no similar colors or shapes are right beside each other.  The longer it takes, the longer I have to enjoy the process!

Christmastime

Even though we see signs of Christmas before November and the season seems to be in full swing by midnight on Thanksgiving, there's something inside me that resists thinking about Christmas until I flip my calendar from November to December.  Part of the reason for this is that I want to savor (literally and figuratively) Thanksgiving and spending time with family and friends without Christmas bleeding into that holiday.  But once December 1 arrives, I'm excited to decorate, play Christmas music, string lights, and enjoy Christmastime...especially in Williamsburg.  We took full advantage of all the events going on around town this year and had a very festive Christmasy first weekend of December. 

Mom, Hayley, and I kicked off the weekend by spending our Friday at the Bizarre Bazaar in Richmond.  Over 500 vendors make this a fun day of shopping all under one (big) roof.  We don't exactly shop til we drop but always grab a few good & unique finds.  That was also Dad's birthday so we finished off a great day with dinner out to celebrate him.

Saturday morning was the annual Christmas parade through downtown Williamsburg.  For many years (10+), Hayley and I were both in the parade as a trumpeter and baritone saxophonist, respectively.  After those days were over, we didn't really make the effort to go...until the past couple of years.  There's just something about a small(er) town parade... 

After the parade, we headed straight to get a Christmas tree...from Lowe's!  Years ago we went to a tree farm and picked out our own.  Neighbors who went with us ended up having a huge issue with spiders that hatched from their lovely tree.  That pretty much ended the "cut your own tree down" tradition.  Lowe's may not be as exciting or adventurous as a tree farm, but it works for us.  I'm just glad that my parents do not have an artificial!  Because it's not exactly feasbile for me to tackle getting a live tree every year (as painful as that is for me), I always decorate Mom & Dad's and welcome the sticky sap covered hands after adorning their live tree with ornaments.

 A happy girl to have a basket full of fresh tree clippings!  If I can't have a live tree, at least I can have fresh greenery on my mantle and scattered around my downstairs.

After a quick break from our morning outings, Hayley and I headed to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens.  All of the Christmas decorations, trees, and lights are quite a sight to see!

It's hard to tell scale in this photo. Those white lights are strung on a ride that exceeds 90 feet tall. Said differently...that Santa is HUGE!

We topped off our weekend with the Grand Illumination in Colonial Williamsburg...

 A beautiful sunset to start off the evening

Thousands fill Duke of Gloucester Street for the lighting of all the historic houses and buildings (1200+ windows are lit with candles), the doors are decked with amazing wreaths made only with natural materials (pine, apples, berries, oranges, and fresh garland), and entertainment is provided by the Fife & Drum Corps.  The main event of the evening is the fireworks show simultaneously going off in three different locations.  The display this year was impressive.  It was very difficult to capture images with low lighting, far distances, and movement.  So...these are what I ended up with...

  Fifes and Drums playing in front of the Governor's Palace before the fireworks

 Smudge pots on poles all around to keep warm

 These fireworks were my favorite. They first started with colored dots (seen above on the left) and then the dots would fizzle and turn into white smaller dots (below).  Very cool effect... 

And that was our fun-filled weekend to get us in the Christmas spirit!



Thanksgiving in Pictures

A mix of photos from the night before and Thanksgiving Day...

Grammy with her Great-Great-Granddaughter

(the youngest and oldest members of the family)

This sweet baby actually lives at the same house where Grandma lives.  Is it any surprise that Mom, Hayley, and I all fight to hold this sweet pea when we visit?! 

 Mom's side of the family

(Quite a few of the gang had already left but we figured we might as well get a group picture.  It's quite a feat to get us all together and capture it!)

Always some John Deere green around Dad's side of the family...

Mawmaw's feast of food...

 ...food

 ...and more food!

(Some dishes and all desserts missing...unbelievable!)

...and Dad's side

I actually like 2010's picture better so I'm including it below as well (since this was taken pre-blogging days)...