Oh look! Wesley Tingey was nice enough to put a letter T above the fireplace before snapping a picture of it. There’s even a stocking, actually two stockings, with letter E! We all know T is for Twedt and E is for my daughter Emily. This is practically my mantle!
Here’s our actual mantle minimally decorated for Christmas, which is the way I like it. If I get around to it, I’ll hang the stockings. Darn ugly television. The Christmas print is available as a downloadable here from Jones Design Company. You’ll need to sign up for it though.
By the way, an alternate title for this blog post could easily be “Weekend Roundup: Procrastination Edition.” Or this: “I’d Rather Clean The Bathroom Than Write Edition.” But I’m partial to “I Should Be Writing My Christmas Letter Edition.” Yep, it’s December 8 and I’m feeling meh about writing our family Christmas letter, my usual favorite holiday tradition. But I haven’t put together a Weekend Roundup since a few weeks before Thanksgiving so I’m doing this instead. It’s as good of time as any and it will keep me from writing from my heart, which sounds terrible but is the simple truth. I’m resisting the urge to bare my soul through our family Christmas letter because this year, like last year, has been a hard one and I’m not ready to go there just yet. 2017 was also a splendid year filled with glories and breakthroughs deserving proper attention. The Christmas letter will happen when I’m feelin’ the Christmas letter love.
Speaking of Christmas, I thought it would be fun to share our top three worst Santa pictures because PROCRASTINATION.
This is Emmie’s first date with Creepy Mall Santa. She wasn’t impressed. She burst into tears the second the photo was snapped. I hardly blame her.
The next photo is from the Historic Santa Train. We thought Steven would love the Santa Train from North Bend to Snoqualmie. The train ride was a hit. Santa was not. Steven is throwing a tantrum as Emily patiently waits for him to get over it. He never did.
Other than the fact that our dog looks like a weasel, or an unnamed wildlife creature, this one isn’t bad. Unless I tell you the story behind the Santa photo which involves poop and puke. Let’s save the story for a rainy day. I have to make a pumpkin streusel pie to take to a Christmas party and I do not want to associate poop or puke with pumpkin pie, given its color.
Back to the Weekend Roundup, which was the whole point of this post. If you’re new around here, the Weekend Roundup is a collection of essays and blog posts from around the web. To be precise (because I always like to be precise) the essays are by my friends at Hope*Writers, an online writing community I belong to.
The first essay up today is by Vanessa Hunt (not the Vanessa Hunt I know in real life). Initially, the essay grabbed me because of the photo of the mason jar advent candles. It’s kinda-sorta like the one I made this year in my quest to simplify and purge the decorations I don’t really love anymore or what not longer works for us. I’m glad I decided to actually read Vanessa’s essay. It’s absolutely hysterical. I don’t want to give too much away. I’m going to stop right now so you can check out Vanessa’s website. Here you go.
Welcome back. Wasn’t her Advent story hilarious? And tender too.
This next one is also funny. Mary Carver writes about hosting a Cheesy Christmas Movie Watching Party. Here’s the link. The introvert in me cringes at the thought of another Holiday party, but with a little planning I think this would be a hilarious way to kick off the season next year. On the other hand, who needs an official party? The Cheesy Christmas Movie Watching Party has been my reality every night for the last few weeks, party of two. A certain someone in my family has a fondness for Hallmark Christmas movies, the ones that find their way to Netflix and Amazon. Since I’m not one to throw my husband under the bus, that’s all I’m going to say about that.
The last link is a wee bit different. Instead of an essay or blog post, I’m linking to my friend Dorina’s website. Once there, you will have the opportunity to sign up for a special 4-part Behold Advent experience. Who doesn’t like free stuff? On a serious note, I’ve taken great comfort in Dorina’s writing about grief and hope this year. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us for Advent. Here’s the linky-link for you at www.DorinaGilmore.com.
It’s time for me to go. In a few minutes I’ll need to get ready to pick the Twedlings up from school. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
N.
P.S. I shared this older post on Facebook earlier this week. This mini-essay is all about the intersection of trendy Hygge and motherhood. I originally shared it last winter as a Mentor Moment for my MOPS group. I’m not sure if my blog was “live” at that point.
P.P.S. This word of hope found its way into my inbox this morning as part of my friend Faith’s newsletter. Fatih originally wrote this piece last year for those who are grieving or going through a particularly challenging season. Go on and give it a read. You’ll be so glad you did. I promise.
