Merry Day #25 - Merry Christmas!

 ~Welcome to my ~

Merry Day #25!

I know that I have fallen apart here the last week...

but with good reason! My family has all been home and I have spent every precious minute with them.

Keith did get his dream truck...

Toyota 4Runner SR5 Premium

It is fresh off the trailer, only 3 miles on it when we test drove it. He wouldn't have gotten it, had I not said: You deserve it, you get it. 

This man is the most hard working, honest living man I know. All he does is work. He has put three kids through college. He has no hobbies that he spends money on. He never, ever blows money on anything. We have saved our entire marriage. We are of the age now and in the position now that I say we can throw a little caution to the wind and if ever there was a person that deserved to throw a little caution to the wind, it is this hard working, generous man. 

Here he is with his baby - (that we are not allowed to drive in the rain, snow, or in the salt - ha ha ha!)

I did very little crafting this week....

but I did get this applique done on the sweatshirt for holiday JOY :)

I used my Baby Lock Meridian single needle embroidery machine and Kimberbell Designs software.

I started painting Ellen Stamilio Designs - Mr &Mrs. Claus. She uses a lot of traditional Tole Painting strokes so I'm a little lost...but I'll figure it out.

These boys went on a brother winter hike in the woods and later met up with some friends to hike with in a local state forest trail. Makes my heart happy when my adult children still love to be with each other :)

Yesterday we had our

~ Pfeiffer Family Christmas ~

here are some scenes from our most spectacular day toagether. 

Hunting the Christmas Pickle and Bigfoot:

Pickle Finder: Austin - who got to open presents first. 

Bigfoot Finder: Logan - who got a bag of Bigfoot Poo (Lindor Chocolates)

Just fun silly traditions we do each year. 

After presents we had all hands on deck helping Mom and Dad prepare our Chinese Christmas Feast!

Fra-la-la-la

They were rolling homemade:

Egg Rolls

Pork Dumplings

Crab Rangoon

Our Chatterbox, warming his arthritic kitty bones in front of the fire on his kitty pie (he was looking at his Daddy who was talking about his gift he just opened - which involved the word "treat" - LOL!)

Daddy by the tree, on his iPad 

(which he told me 3 Christmases ago he'd never use so don't get him one - three years later....he is ALWAYS on it)

Our big tree:

Ellie with some early morning food prep with Mom:

Goofing off waiting to dig in:

Resident Chefs:

Our Traditional - stick it in the pie-hole Christmas photo: 

I won the "exploding kitties" game during our White Elephant exchange so we played this fun (albeit heavy on the rules) game all afternoon - I never won. Ha ha ha!

and finally we celebrated the birth of our newborn Savior and King at midnight mass:

What a wonderful day we shared with each other! Perfect, wonderful day!

Merry Day #25!

What do I have to do today: 

NOTHING!

So guess what?! I have pulled several potential new starts - all Christmas Themed and I'm going to choose one and start it today! And stitch the day away in my PJs with no bra!

 TMI, I know. 

Finally....

I wish to thank, each and every one of you for following me, my family and words here. It is always humbling to read your comments and words and I thank EACH ONE of you deeply for taking the time to read and comment. I appreciate that so much!

You know...

with me I always try to be very, very real. I never "put on" I figure that's silly to act/to be something I'm not. I haven't been faithful to this blog for several years. When I lost it all a year or so ago and all that was going on at that time with me....I nearly deleted everything that was left. Just done. Pack up and go home. I'm glad I didn't as with all things - life went on, circumstances changed and my true friends stood by me. 

Life has been difficult for me and my family for the last 3.5 years.

For reasons I will keep to myself, we have struggled. Mightily. During this time, I have prayed. I have prayed for our struggles, prayed for mentors to be placed in paths, for situations to be illuminated and for hearts to change. During these 3.5 years, there were times were I felt no hope. What was I doing wrong? Where was God in all of this? 

How singularly human I acted. How selfish and self indulgent.

To compensate for where I think I am failing, I then will over extend myself, trying to be all things to all people, being super human. Because I know from 51 years of experience I can work longer and harder than anyone else and I can control the outcome of that.  I pride myself on it (sinner that I am). 

My prayer life - because of my struggles and my family's struggles - has sort of been not the best, for the past several years. However, in spite of the desert, I tried to continue in prayer - best I could - to be steadfast, persistent and continue on. I fasted. I talked to God. I offered good works to his better glory for the help and healing of what needed healed and helped in my family life.  

About 3 months ago....my prayers began to bear fruit. I have seen hearts change, I have seen situations resolved. Again are things perfect? No they are not! But fruit is borne and for that I am thankful!

 Why do I tell you all of this? Because I know that there are people out there struggling, just like me. 

Life is hard. 

No matter how you want to spin the pictures and stories to plaster all over social media today - 

LIFE is hard and WE ALL have issues. 

I'm here to say: My family has struggled - mightily - the last 3.5 years. I have struggled mentally and spiritually the last 3.5 years (and some years before that).

We are all common in the strife of life. I walk with you in strife.

Today is the day...

that we of the Christian faith celebrate the God-man humbling himself to come to earth - this dirty, sin ridden earth - to save us. 

There is so much hate in the world, so much strife. When I go in public I am truly and honestly shocked by people's actions, by their words, by their treatment of other people. Then these same people will go on social media and proclaim that they are so kind, so loving, so all knowing. 

I am saying right here, right now that I too struggle in kindness, in love, in being the kind of person I want people to remember me - the sort of legacy I want to leave.

Give of your heart to the world. Be the love to someone who needs love. Be the kindness to the one who is suffering. You don't have to be Christian or believe in anything or any other power other than simple love and kindness shown to fellow man walking the earth with you.

I plan this year - the year of 2022 - to give thanks to God for his answer to my prayers by:

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”

-Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol"

 

God sent his son to teach one thing: Love.

and I hope to honor that Christmas miracle and my own Christmas miracle I received last night by doing the best I can at spreading only: Love.

Join me.

Merry Christmas!

all my love, Vonna xxxx