Merry Christmas!

Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays
'Cause no matter how far away you roam
When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze
For the holidays you can't beat home sweet home! - Perry Como

Welcome dear friends to my last week of No Place Like Home this year! I hope you all enjoyed the party and you made some new friends.

Are you ready for Christmas? I have a couple of friends who always wait till Christmas Eve to shop. That has always flabbergasted me because I like to stay away from the stores the last month or two before the Holidays. Much too crowded, and there is usually nothing left in the stores. But I guess if we were all the same, it would be a boring world, wouldn't it?

 Let our hearts be filled with gladness,

And our spirits lifted high;

Let us breathe a prayer of joy and peace

As Christmas Day draws nigh. ~ Lucile Taylor

My post today is an assortment of photos. 

Every Christmas my mother made mincemeat pie when I was growing up and I continued that tradition after I got married. I usually make mincemeat tarts now instead of the pie because there is usually pumpkin pie among the desserts for Christmas dinner. 

I simply love this sweet and spicy fruit mixture which goes so wonderfully in pies, squares, tarts and the like. Unfortunately, it cannot be found in the grocery stores this year, so I had to make due with a photo of my tarts from a few years ago. 

This is the first year ever I haven't made them and I really miss them!

You will have as many happy months in the coming year, as the number of houses you eat mince pies in during Christmastime. - unknown

I think I'm in trouble next year, according to that bit of trivia I found on line about mincemeat pies! *smiles*

Christmas is such a special time of year when families and friends get together to celebrate. 

I was in getting my hair cut the other day and my stylist was telling me all about the games she and her family are going to play on Christmas Day. It sounded like  a great time! She is blessed because all of her children live here. That is not the case with so many families this year, including our own. I am thankful we have one of our sons and grandsons here so we can spend the day with them. But this year, it may very well be the loneliest time of the year for some.

Prayer Request-

I mentioned a couple of months ago that my oldest son, Jeff, is having ear surgery soon.

Well, tomorrow, Tuesday, is the day! This will be a fairly serious surgery because it will either give him back 50% of his hearing in his bad ear or it will render him deaf. The surgeon will be replacing the bones in his middle ear with synthetic bones. The bones had been damaged by the tumour he had removed in his last surgery a few years ago. This is his third surgery and I am praying it will restore the hearing in his ear. Would you please pray for him? Thank you so much and God bless you!

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: The presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~ Burton Hills

For those who are given permission to gather together, may they cherish their Christmas and give thanks for the miracle of family and the Reason for the Season.

This is a photo of my family when my children were very young. How I miss those days!

I am sharing one more Christmas ornament gifted to me by a family member many years ago. I have a story to go with it... 

Many years ago, a home we were renting, got a flooded basement. In the basement I had stored all of the Christmas ornaments, in boxes. There were no totes. Sadly, many of the ornaments had to be disposed of which made me incredibly sad because they all had wonderful memories attached to them. Some of them were from our first Christmas together as husband and wife.

One of those ornaments which I was able to salvage was this water logged, wee rustic stable with the Holy Family in it. I enlarged the photo so you could get a better look at it. It is quite tiny and consists of numerous pieces of wood; between twenty and thirty pieces of wood! 

I carefully gathered up all the wet pieces of that stable and Holy Family and set them on a window sill so the sun could dry them out. 

When the pieces were dry, I painstakingly started to glue it back together again. It was tedious work and it took some time and patience to get it right because the pieces were so small. 

However, I did finally get it back together again and after thirty some years, it still hangs on the Christmas tree every year. 

Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing. ~ Camille Pissarro

That little nativity kind of reminds me of us humans. When we come into this world, we are brand new, but as the years go by, we get our feelings hurt and we begin to acquire bad habits, and dare I say it, sin in our lives! The day comes when we realize what a mess we are and we need help to be put back together again. 

That is God's job, and that is one of the reasons why God sent His only Son down here. If we allow Him to, He will work on us, a little at a time, helping to mend our many hurts and our inferior qualities. He is in the business of making us more like Himself, if we believe, if we allow Him to.  

Just like my little nativity, once He fixes us, He makes us strong so we can be of use for many years to bring joy to Him and the world around us.

I like the quote by Max Lucado~

"Live in such a way that the world will be glad you did."

God Rest you Merry Gentlemen

God rest ye merry gentlemen

Let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Saviour
Was born on Christmas Day
To save us all from Satan's pow'r
When we were gone astray
Oh tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
Oh tidings of comfort and joy

~ English Carol, 18th century

Merry Christmas everyone! May we all be a light in this world and do what we can to make the world a better place. The Lord be with you all and make you a blessing this Christmas!

Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. - Luke 2:11

I am delighted to have you join me today. If you have something to share, simply let me know in a comment and I will add your blog to the list of participants. I will be happy to come and visit you. Please share any of the following: Cooking and baking, recipes, antiquing, artwork, ceramics, crafts, crocheting/knitting, quilting/sewing, collections, floral arranging, home decor, homemaking tips, hospitality, refinishing furniture, tea time, tablescapes, thrift shopping etc....Maybe there's a new baby in the family or you have a new fur baby you would like to introduce us to. They are welcome too! Anything and everything which makes your HOME more enjoyable to come HOME to, for your family, your friends, and yourself.

Lord, this humble house we'd keep 
Sweet with play and calm with sleep. 
Help us so that we may give 
Beauty to the lives we live. 
Let Thy love and let Thy grace 
Shine upon our dwelling place. - Edgar A. Guest

My party participants~

Margie

Ellen B

Kitty

Linda

Thelma

Maristella

Lorrie

Barbara

Schotzy

Jocelyn

Jean

Pamela

Deanna

Brenda

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi