Saturday, December 26, 2009

Merry Christmas & Happy Birthday, Jesus!

We had an incredible Christmas in the Sheffield home! I was told that it was the first time since 1898 that we had a "White Christmas" in north Texas! As I was sitting in church on Christmas Eve, I looked out the windows in the sanctuary and could see the beautiful snow falling. The snowflakes appeared big with a delicate appearance. As we sang Silent Night, I felt my heart fill with emotion..... Lord, you have blessed me with so much. My beautiful children, my loving husband, sweet fur babies, beautiful home that I love to open up & welcome folks in, my health and my children's health, my many wonderful friends, and an incredible business that allows me to stay home with my children. Thank you for loving me just the way I am and for forgiving me when I fall short. Thank you for the gift of your Son! I'm looking forward to what you have in my future.

I am thankful for our Church and church family! It was one year ago on Christmas Eve that we found MacArthur Blvd Baptist Church. Pastor Josh is wonderful and keeps me thinking about his message all week long. I can't believe it's already been a year. I look forward to raising my youngest children here.

Christmas was more than perfect this year! I felt myself getting stressed on my birthday and had my own mini meltdown. After taking a deep breath and crying a bit, God reminded me what this time of year was about and it wasn't the gifts or the food on the table but teaching my children about Him and reminding them how much they are loved. The other things are like the sprinkles on the perfect sundae.

We shared our Christmas with a special Mom and sweet daughter. I truly feel like God blessed us with two new members of our family this season. We meet Dedra and Malasian just 3 short months ago but feel so close to both of them. They joined us for Christmas Eve service and our new tradition of a lasagna dinner with fondue for dessert.....Yummy! We ended our wonderful evening with new Christmas Jammies for all the kids including Malasian and new slippers for the Mommies. Daddy got new jammies, too! Than the workshop began......building Santa toys and starting on our Christmas dinner.

Alexandra joined me in the kitchen. I will treasure the memories of the fun we had. She baked her first pumpkin pie and I worked on the breakfast casserole, cornbread for my honey's Cornbread Dressing, and a dear friend's recipe for strawberry pretzel jello salad. We made a big mess.....but had so much fun! Alex's side of the island was covered in spilled spices and I had crushed pretzels flying thru the air because I opened the lid of the blender while it was on. Than off to build the wagon and stuff stockings.....

Alex started in on the wagon. What fun it has been to have her joining us in the workshop. It seems like just yesterday that I was building for her. Daddy and Christopher slept like angels on the sofa while Alex pounded on the tires. I couldn't believe they slept thru it.....than little man woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed. It's a good thing he's so little and won't remember. :)

Christmas morning I meet up with Melissa, April and Jessie to deliver meals for Meals On Wheels. What an awesome experience and something I hope to add to my Christmas traditions. There were so many cars lined up waiting to pick up the coolers full of meals to be delivered to area seniors. God answered my prayer to dry up the roads so we could accomplish this task. As we worked our way thru our route, we learned quickly that many of these seniors would not have eaten if we hadn't made it to their homes.

One of the ladies we meet will forever be in my heart. She was so sweet and thankful to see us. She was basically wheelchair bound and had many medical issues that effected every aspect of her daily life. But she was so full of the Lord and thankful for His love and blessings. To be so ill and remain faithful gave me hope that I could strengthen my walk with Him. Thank You, Miss Pat for sharing your Christmas with me!

After finishing my route, gave Christmas hugs to my friends and headed home. As soon as I opened the door, I could hear the laughter of the little ones enjoying their Santa gifts and playing with Alexandra. The breakfast casserole I left in the refrigerator had been enjoyed by all....well, except Miss Ellie. She preferred the fruit and requested I make donuts next time. Note to self....add donuts to Christmas breakfast tradition. My sweet husband was getting the turkey ready to go. We jumped in together and finished the meal....The house smelled sooooo good! I'll post the recipes soon.

I heart felt heavy at times, I need to find time in my schedule to give back to seniors. I seem to focus on the young and forget about this generation. Note to self....call Meals on Wheels Monday to set up a regular time to serve.

As our meal cooked, we played and laughed......It was wonderful! Our new family, Dedra and Malasian came over for a bit. They looked so beautiful! Dedra gave me the most wonderful gift. She gave me a necklace that belonged to her Mom. It has a charm with an angel on it and engraved with the words , " I will always be at your side." I will treasure her gift of love!

Thank you, Lord for this beautiful time of celebration!

2 comments:

  1. Love it girl! You are such an inspiration! We need to meet! :D

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  2. I would love to meet you, Girl! Let's plan it! The girls would have a good time too!

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