Christmas Day - Highlights

What a joy that we have a day to celebrate the birth of our Lord. All the rest...well, there's the good, bad and ugly!
Of course the bad is the consumerism (and one of the cats peeing on some Christmas presents) and the ugly is some of the horrible "Christmas" displays. The good, are those things that bring joy to God and remind us of WHY we celebrate Christmas.
Here are some highlights of our day:

- Christmas Eve at the Tumacacori Mission (see previous post)

- The kids wanted us to open the presents they got for us at the school's "santa store" before they opened theirs

- We shared what we are thankful for - none of it was stuff

- We spent time helping each other out, and I don't even think there was a fight

- Lots of family came over for a wonderful time of fellowship. What a gift it was to celebrate and spend time together. Everyone brought their dog along as well, so along with 16 people we had 6 cats and 6 dogs. There wasn't an alpha dog among them, so they enjoyed their party, too!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Tumacaccori Mission Front
Originally uploaded by kretyen

Once again we spent a beautiful Christmas Eve at the Luminaria Night at the Tumacacori Mission. It's very old and somewhat crumbling, but it shines in true beauty with all the candles lit in the darkness. Ken was busy taking pictures outside, while the rest of us walked into the church behind a group of carolers. They sang Christ child songs, and when we were inside the sanctuary, the voices echoed beautifully. I have to say it was a truly sacred moment for me. Seeing the gentle light of the candles, the beautiful voices singing of Jesus and being in such an old, old place brought tears to my eyes, and God close to my heart.
Nothing like the truly simple things that make Christmas a true joy.

Christmas In July

If you were wondering WHY you didn't get a Christmas card from us, it's because we didn't send ANY!! It's not that we didn't try. I ordered picture cards (picture above) with a New Year's greeting....just in case they didn't make it by Christmas. The USPS had different ideas. After waiting two weeks for the cards to come, I contacted the photo company. They refunded my money. In the middle of January, the cards showed up! It appears they were sent back to the company, and they forwarded them on to us. Well, I was out of the "Christmas mood" in January, and busy driving to Tucson three days a week on top of working and lots of other things. So, since some people celebrate Christmas in July (???!!!), I thought I send you all a Happy Greeting and wishes for a wonderful remainder of the year!!