Christmas Day!

Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus!

Merry Christmas!!

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care in hopes that Saint Nick soon will be there.

Stressed?

Do you feel like these end threads of a sari? All jumbled up? Running around with no purpose to your madness?

'Welcome' to some stress relieve! Stop! Take a deep breath! and think about the reason for the season! Now, doesn't that feel better?

'Tis the Season

Whether it's serendipity at the shopping center when you come across a junior high band playing holiday music dressed in their finest;
Or a planned evening to hear Middle Ages Christmas songs performed by Kemper Crabb , there is something special about the Christmas season. Look for Kemper and his band in your PBS line-up. His special "Downe in Yon Forrest" features many interesting songs played with traditional instruments of the period. Or maybe, you find a live nativity scene on your local church grounds--complete with donkeys, sheep, cows and goats grazing peacefully as shepherds and angels attend the birth of the Christ child....... The season is definitely magic and alive with spirit of joy, peace and love.

Believe!

Yes, I Believe!

Elves, Elves and More Elves

Beginning in 2002, elves have been busy at Reliant Center during the month of December. There is hustle and bustle as volunteers from all communities gather to assemble bikes that will be distributed to children who live in poverty. This is under the leadership of Elves & More

"A few years ago, we made an important discovery. We learned that by giving bicycles to impoverished children we could dramatically change their lives by helping them stay in school and out of trouble while improving their health"

Here are the guidelines that each child must follow:

First, working with school administrators, bicycles are used as incentives for children to achieve.
•To earn a bicycle, a child must first enter into a contract with his or her teacher or school.
•That contract requires each child to meet at least one of five criteria: 1) attend school regularly, and be on time, 2) behave well in class, 3) attend tutoring classes or Saturday school where necessary, 4) improve their grades in one or more areas or 5) whatever else the teacher believes a particular child needs to improve upon.
•The specific target area and level of performance required by each child is established by the teacher or school counselor, agreed upon by the student, and approved by the child's parent(s).
•Once the teacher determines that a child has met the terms of the Contract, the child is rewarded with a new bicycle.

This year is no exception for our family members as they journey to the vast Reliant Center, Houston, to work with tools and hands, to build bikes. In 2008 Elves & More had delivered 90,000 bikes! In 2009 Elves and More will give away their 100,000th bike. All this through the effort of volunteers!

Past Comes Alive

While rearranging the guest bedroom closet for upcoming guests, my eyes spied a quilt that was long forgotten. It was buried under loads of holiday decorations. And bringing this work out into the light, brought back memories of the days of years gone by. Memory comes into play as this was made for the first grandchild, born in 1990. What fun it was to savor this pattern again!
Oh, there are many handstitching errors, but who cares? It brings back memories of the grandbaby lying on the quilt to play or sleep under for warmth and comfort. You see this grandbaby was born right before Christmas. So, it was perfect to find it again at this time of year.
This was the first applique quilt done by these hands. And look it's tied! not quilted by machine or hand. If you stop to think about time, nineteen years seems like a long time but then sometimes, it seems like it was yesterday. When this grand(child)adult has her own family, this quilt will be handed to her along with the memories.