Christmas 2020 Has Come and Gone

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. ~ Hamilton Wright Mabie

Hello dear friends! I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas. We certainly did!

We had a wonderful time at my son's girlfriend's house on Christmas Day. We had a turkey dinner and then we exchanged gifts afterwards. Later we had a video call with our boys. 

I started sending my only granddaughter a Christmas ornament every year since she was born. She is now ten years old, and she loves the ornament I sent her this year! The little red truck was also a gift to me from my hubby this year, so we each have one.

My son and his girlfriend gave me this heart for Christmas. It has the family tree etched on it with all my grandchildren's names. I love it!

On Boxing Day, we did another video call with all the family. That evening our oldest grandson dropped in for supper and a long visit. It was a wonderful Christmas after a long and oftentimes lonely year!

Today, I have set the tea table with my Spode Christmas Tree teapot and some festive teacups. The boot had been part of a floral arrangement for my mother a few years ago which I made an arrangement in. Homemade cherry topped mini cheese cakes will be our tea treat today. They are just enough to enjoy with a cuppa. 

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,

For loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away

Like the bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.

The good you do to others is good you do yourself. ~ Norman Wesley Brooks

This year is winding down, and like pretty much everyone, we will be happy to say goodbye to the year 2020. I don't believe it has been kind to very many of us.

It has been a year filled with highs and lows; mostly lows. Our family suffered through several disappointments, but losing my brother was a monumental loss for me.

My only brother, who was younger than me, passed away in March, right after the Covid hit, so that was extremely distressing. I cannot express the level of despair it has caused me.

Our whole family was supposed to come home for a visit in the Summer, the first time in two years, and that had to be canceled. 

Our youngest grandson who lived here on the Island, moved up to Ontario to play football and go to school. That was difficult. He is only fifteen years old and he is not happy up there, so that makes it even worse. We miss him terribly.

Our middle son and his son got Covid in November, but they have recovered. At the same time, my hubby had his stroke. Hubby is better now but he gave us all such a fright! With proper meds and diet, he should be fine.

Three days before Christmas, our oldest son had surgery to hopefully restore some hearing in his ear. He has been in a lot of pain ever since, and we won't know how the surgery turned out until his ear heals. 

So, it has been a really rough year in our household.

 

The blessings however, are numerous, and outweigh the woes. We are grateful for our loving family and answers to prayer. 

One of those answered prayers is, our middle son and his family will be moving from the west coast to the east coast; closer to home! Twenty years of praying for this to happen, and it is finally going to come true. Sometimes, I still feel like I have to pinch myself. We have a very excited family right now!

I know many of you have suffered much worse this past year and some of you sailed through 2020 fairly well. But the New Year is upon us and I, for one, am looking forward to a fresh start. 

Regardless of how things appear sometimes, we must remember that God is still in control of what happens. We must always put our trust in Him, not man!

Thank you for stopping by my blog, and I want to thank each of you who joined my No Place Like Home party the last number of weeks. It gave me something lovely to focus on when life came crashing down on me late in the year. So, thank you to everyone who joined and all of you who left comments.

I will end my post with a wish for a Happy and Healthy New Year. I pray the next twelve months will bring us all good health, love, joy, peace, and contentment. In the words of Tiny Tim, "God bless us, every one!"

See you next year!

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi