Sunday, December 26, 2010

Sunday Evening Post, issue 14

(Oops. The internet went out just after I finished writing this, so I can't post it right away.)

A photo from this week:

Happy birthday to Jesus!

Jaan... lost another tooth. We caught this one. It came out while brushing teeth before bed.

Raia... has really enjoyed helping with everything this week: making cookies, cleaning up, keeping Asya busy, practicing and preparing for church events.

Asya... decided that maybe she's not such a big girl after all. Even with all the practicing beforehand, when she got up in front of everyone to say her part of the poem, she couldn't do it. She just flopped down on the ground and then spent a long while recovering with her beloved Alina.

Baby... has done my back in. Ouch! I really don't have anything to complain about this pregnancy, but now my back is really aching.

Will... did a great job with the tea at church! That was just the start of the Christmas season here, so please keep praying for him.

School this week: We caught up in four days and enjoyed it; now we're done with Week 15. Friday we baked and prepared for the tea at church instead of doing school.

My books and knitting: I hardly remember reading this week. Too bad! I have kept working on my November afghan square, and I'm actually almost done with it. It is by far the hardest one yet, but it's pretty.

A quote:
To live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to enter into the desert of loneliness and to change it by gentle and persistent efforts into a garden of solitude. This solitude requires not only courage but also a strong faith. As hard as it is to believe that the dry desolate desert can yield endless varieties of flowers, it is equally hard to imagine that our loneliness is hiding unknown beauty.
--Henri Nouwen
(Thanks, Julie W.!)

Weather and nature observations: Sigh. Rain and mud. I grew up without white Christmases, but I sure miss them now! The sun did come out off and on, and I enjoy that, of course. We went for a Christmas walk all together yesterday morning, and just before we came in, the sun broke through at the end of a rain shower. We were all soaked, but the sparkling wet view was worth it.


Advent this week... finished well. The photos here are from Wednesday night, when we made "Resurrection buns," which were a big highlight. Now we head into the Christmas season, celebrating Jesus' birthday as much as we can.


Other news, ministry, notes and miscellaneous from the week: I'll try to do a separate post about the Christmas Eve tea at church, our wonderful family Christmas day, other events and plans.

On this date in. . . 2005: I wrote about how the holiday schedule works out in our family and church life. It's still quite similar now.

holy experience

Just a few things I'm thankful for...
  • Christ's birth!
  • fun in Sunday school
  • Asya, making Christmas cookies and giggling with joy over each one
  • our silly cat, sneaking sugar out of a jar with his paw; he looked like Winnie the Pooh, dipping into his honey jar
  • Christmas carols, especially the traditional Ukrainian carols
  • spots of sunshine on Christmas day
  • new (to us) birds and pheasants in the park during our Christmas walk
My question for you: How was your Christmas? Will you celebrate again with us on January 7th?

5 comments:

Unknown said...

You are welcome! :)

Loni said...

Would love to know more about the traditional Ukrainian carols. Enjoyed reading your sharing today.

Rebecca said...

We'll be celebrating Christmas "with you" on the 7th. :-D We did our gift exchange on the 19th with St. Nicholas' feast day, so now we are completely focused on the Christmas story from here on out ... well, that and we'll focus on FOOD for Christmas Eve. :-D We're going to try for the "traditional l2 dishes", especially if DH is around to help me out with folding pelmeni. :-D

I really enjoy these Sunday Evening Post entries! Blessings! (And I hope your back is feeling better soon!)

signingcharity said...

What fun are your three tickers at the bottom. I miss having a ticker for baby on my blog, but it sure is nice having her here :)

Baba Julie said...

Hi, Phyllis! What a great post! And, how much you all have done since the last one! Was the cake you all had Red Velvet? It looks yummy!

How exciting that Jaan has lost another tooth! Make sure to post a picture for us!

We will be praying for your back and for you all as you approach Christmas. Bernie did our traditional Christmas "readings", including several poems and the Lk passage. I was also impressed, in talking to my Sunday school class and others, that our family has DEFINITE Christmas foods and maybe everyone else doesn't necessarily! Love you all, each one!!