Peeking In Our Window on Christmas Day

Marilyn Dennis, on her daily TV show, told me and all of her viewers nation-wide, that she likes going for walks when it's dark outside so she can peek into people's homes - the homes that have their lights on and their curtains open. Thank goodness!  Now I know I'm not the only 1 who likes to do that.  In fact, on Christmas Eve, after church, My Sweetheart drove my Mom and Darling Daughter and myself up and down the streets of our little town so that we could look at Christmas lights. He drove too fast for my liking. Our necks were sore from twisting them back and forth too quickly to try and take in the sights. "Slow down so we can see better," I remember telling him.  "You just want me to slow down so you can peek into the windows!" was his reply. Well, that was true.  He knows me well. He remembered that from walks we took other Christmases - walks at an aunt's home in North Vancouver, walks at his sister's in Langley.  We'd eat lots so we could wear it off going for a walk to "look at the Christmas lights."  And then I'd say, "Eww, look in that house - see that grand piano..."   or  "Look there - their pictures are hung too high..."  or  "look at all the people sitting in the living room - I wonder if they've had as good a day as we did..."   And My Sweetheart would say, "you shouldn't be looking in their windows.."  And I'd say, "Why not- their curtains are open..."  And now I know, thanks to Marilyn Dennis, that I, and most of her studio audience that day, like to look inside the homes when we go by on a dark night when the curtains are open and the lights are on.

So knowing that I'm not an oddball, I thought I'd share with you what it would be like if you took a walk by our house, on Christmas Day, when it's dark outside and the blinds are up, and the lights are on. If you were to come to the farm, and drive by our house, you just might see...

DD and my Mom, along with our good friends from church...

Dear Son and DD, along with Grandpa, dishing up at the buffet... The candleholders in the window are a treasured gift from DD a few Christmases ago!

I hope you can see the warmth, the peace, the joy and the love of family and friends, when you take a peek inside our home on Christmas day... I hope you are able to hear the laughter around the table... Perhaps you sense sadness, while wondering who is missing... I wish you could smell the aroma of the Christmas feast  that is set out on the island... I pray that you will know,if you don't already, the love of Jesus, whose birth we celebrated on this beautiful Christmas Day....

I'm glad that YOU peeked into our window today!











Patti and the Ghosts of Christmases Past

My very first friend was Patti Anderson. And I was enviously jealous of her.  She seemed to have what I always wanted, but was always out of my reach.  The first thing that I envied about her was the size of her family. Not only did she have 2 brothers, like I did, she had 2 sisters. I always thought she was so lucky to be able to share a bedroom with 1 of her sisters. They had, in my opinion, the coolest bedroom. It had 2 twin beds. I had always wanted a bedroom with 2 twin beds after seeing another friend's barbie doll case. It had a flap that folded out and became Barbie's bedroom- complete with 2 twin beds. Hey, that might have even been Patti's Barbie Doll Case come to think about it! Barbie could have sleepovers easily with 2 twin beds. And I imagined that Patti and her sister went to bed every night pretending they were Barbie and Barbie's friend having a sleepover.

Speaking of Barbie... Patti had a Barbie doll years before I did. And I'm pretty sure she had more than 1 Barbie. The year I finally got a Barbie for Christmas- my Barbie was wearing a red 1 piece swimsuit and had non-bendable legs- Patti got a Barbie with a twist and turn waist AND bendable legs to boot. She was so lucky!! And I was so jealous!

Patti was fashionable too.  She had naturally curly hair and did not have to do a thing with it. In the mid '70's when perms, and afros, were the epitome of style, Patti had it cased. And she had wire rimmed glassed to complete the look. I had poker straight hair and fangs. I remember 1 time when her and her sister, the sister she was so lucky to share a bedroom with, got on the school bus.  They were both wearing fashionable white leather-looking boots. Go-go boots is what I'm sure they were.  I was probably wearing those ugly boots that go right over the shoes.

There were 24 of us in grade 1. Patti was the best artist in our class. Naturally. I was the worst. In fact, my drawing ability hasn't changed much since grade 1. Not only was she artistic, she was athletic. Patti was NEVER the last person picked for the team. I was ALWAYS the last person picked for the team unless the teacher felt charitable and deemed me team captain- a rarity.

So what got me on this Patti v. me kick this morning was listening to the radio. Some singer sang "Frosty the Snowman" and I immediately remembered singing that with the rest of the Sandford-Dene kids at the annual Sandford-Dene family Christmas party. Patti was able to wear knee highs to that event.  I remember clearly being so jealous that she was able to wear knee-highs, along with her sister who she shared the bedroom with. I had to wear cable tights.  That was the year I fell into the piano at the Sandford-Dene school and split my lip open.

The Sandford-Dene Christmas party was the highlight of Christmas parties for me. Every year the moms in our growing-up area would start by scrubbing down the old 1 room schoolhouse in the country- the Sandford-Dene school. That was the school my dad and his little sister used to walk to.
On cleaning day the school bus would drop all of us 'Sandford-Dene' kids off at the school when the mom's cars were there. And we would have our rehearsals then. We'd rehearse our songs. And one year we sang "Frosty the Snowman."  We'd rehearse and rehearse until finally the big night would arrive.

Vehicles filled the school yard, casserole dishes and desserts were brought in and laid on the boards supported by saw horses. Tables, also boards on saw horses, were lined up with chairs and the neighborhood would partake of a magnificent potluck.  The program would follow. Us kids would sing, song sheets were passed around for the grown ups to sing along, Sheryl Kaake would play her accordian, Fern Bang would sing, in her beautiful soprano voice, "O Holy Night",  Jimmy Anderson, Patti's Dad, always ran out for a minute.  While he was gone Santa would magically appear handing out the brown paper treat bags. And then the games would start.  Card games, board games. It really was a magical time. It heralded, for the, the countdown to Christmas.

And on Christmas morning, after the gifts were opened, I would always phone Patti, or she would always phone me.  "Merry Christmas- what did you get?" And the jealousy and goodwill, together, transpired.

The Red Pantsuit

The other morning, on my way into the city, I was listening to the radio. An elementary school choir was singing a collection of Christmas songs. And I started to reminisce.

I started thinking about when I was in elementary school and we would begin rehearsing for the Christmas concert.  Every year, from grade 1 through to grade 6, my class, along with the other elementary grades in our little rural school, would begin the practising in earnest, likely right after Remembrance Day.

And every year, just before the evening concert, I would be thrilled to get a brand new Christmassy outfit for the performance.

For the school concert in 1973, when I was in grade 4, I wore a bright red pantsuit. It had been ordered from the Sears Christmas Catalogue. I was so excited when Mom brought the parcel home that year and I was able to try on the girls' size 10- 2 piece pantsuit. The pants had an elasticized waist. The top had a tie that tied at the back. It had white trim around the edges of the short sleeves and the collar. The collar was a Peter-pan collar. My pantsuit was a polyester fortrel blend. I felt so grown up in my red pantsuit. I thought that perhaps I should have been the model that year in the Sears Christmas Catalogue - that's how confident and beautiful I felt in my Christmassy red pantsuit. Never mind that my very fine hair, that had been cut, by Mom, in the very popular short shag style was likely full of static electricity, and my teeth, that had yet to be straightened by braces over the following years, were fang-like- I was the epitome of high class and high fashion in my red pantsuit. And I'm sure that when our class stood on benches and ladders to form a Christmas tree, and held our flashlights covered with differing colors of crepe paper, and turned the lights off while our flashlights came on, and we sang "O Christmas tree" in English and in German- I'm pretty sure that back then, on the darkened stage in the school auditorium, all eyes were on me in my beautiful  red pantsuit.

I've liked the color red ever since. It's my favorite color to wear. And I'm thinking that I have that Christmassy red pantsuit to thank for that!

Savour the Saviour

One of my favorite recording artists at Christmastime is Amy Grant. I bought her "Christmas Album" cassette tape back in 1983.  I've replaced it with the 'christmas album' CD.  And through the years I've added to my Amy Christmas collection with each and every one of her Christmas CD's. On the one I've been listening to lately she sings a song called "I need a Silent Night."  She co-wrote it with her friend, Chris Eaton. She could have written it with me - I had been thinking the same thoughts anyway- even before I listened to it.

'i need a silent night, a holy night
to hear an angel voice through the chaos and the noise,
i need a midnight clear, a little peace right here
to end this crazy day with a silent night.'

Lately I've felt like one of those rodents on a wheel - the one that keeps going around and around and doesn't get off. I haven't been able to take time to think or listen it seems. As soon as we got home after our Disney vacation it's been go go go.  The city Monday morning, work Monday afternoon, put up the tree Monday evening and if still a little energetic put out more decorations,
teach Tuesday afternoon, big city doctor appointment Wednesday, meetings Thursday, no school on Friday - so let's go back to the big city for more shopping, clean out 3 freezers on Saturday so there's room for baking that hasn't even started, church Sunday, rehearsals, appointments, list making.....agghhh!!!!

And in the midst of all that craziness, somehow I need to breathe.  Just take the time to breathe.  To be still.  Enjoy the moment. Savour the Savior. Christmas will come regardless. It will come if the house isn't as clean as I'd like.  Christmas will come if all the baking that I want to have in the freezer doesn't get baked. Christmas will come.

Priorites need to shift, for me anyway. I need to slow down before I wear out. I need to take the time out, in all my busy-ness, to 'be still with my Lord.' My Emmanuel. He is near, but lately I've not been near to Him. I need silence to hear Him speak. I need a silent night and a silent, listening heart.