We are enjoying quiet time here at Fort Cedar today. Our Christmas celebrations have finally wound down and now we are having fun with all of the many gifts we have been blessed with the last few days. Our festivities began on Christmas day with the Williams family. We celebrated at our house this year and as hostess, crock pot chili was stress free. My sweet SIL and MIL made such delicious desserts and candy. Then we all went to the movies and had a great time together!
Christmas at my Mom's house with aunts and uncles and my cousin EE was peaceful and nice. We ate my mom's special meatballs and EE's crescent dogs along with other holiday treats. The picture above is my Mom's beautiful tree this year and in the background is a painting of me done just a *couple of years ago.
Christmas with Dad and L was also blessed, fun and stress free. We tried out a new pizza place that is literally three minutes from our house. And...it is fabulous! So nice to have a great place so close to home. Another movie was on the agenda again. We don't go to the movies often throughout the rest of the year so it is an especially fun treat.

It seems that everyone this year was seeking calm, simple celebrations. We really did not miss the large dinners and were able to spend time on our favorite holiday snacks and our family and friends. And while not the focus or the reason we all checked off many items from our wish lists.

So now on to the new year! With a renewed purpose and spirit, I am looking forward to 2011. I am still working through my resolutions and will post more later. But for now, we have a few days left before returning to school and I intend to savor every moment! Hope your holidays were blessed!

With a joyful heart,
Gigi

The Red Room

I could feel the air cooling and the voices begin to fade. I followed the woman, small and kind, down the hallway. The walls were heavy with their burden of black and white photos of ancestors long gone but not forgotten. At least not as long as the woman lived. She was joy and love and family in one small package and she always remembered. She didn't live the privileged life of the others, hers was harder, truer. Her life was blessed and she was the first to claim it.

On we traveled, my youthful excitement growing with each step. It was my turn to visit the room. It was a red room with crimson carpet and dark furniture. The door was always closed so it was cold. It was messy but only in the way of a great heaped treasure. All manner of beauty lived there. There was the shining promise of wrapping paper, bits of Christmas, and bits of vintage. There were real antiques that belonged to real people...my people.

She would scrabble around in the treasure until she uncovered the reason for our visit. It was never the same but always warmly familiar. It might be a bite of candy or chocolate. It was exotic nuts or fruit. It was a special gift from sisters who lived in faraway places, sisters who lived like royalty in my little girl imagination. And there in the red room...all of a sudden...was CHRISTMAS. It was sharing a secret treat, just me and the woman. For that moment, I was the chosen, in on the most sacred of rituals, sharing in the most delightful treat ever dreamed of by man. It seemed as if the world was just for us...for that moment.

We returned to the warmth and volume of family. The journey shorter this time. A return to laughter, food, and sweet packages under the tree. But now, the contents of those beautifully wrapped surprises didn't matter. With her sparkling blue eyes, Granny had already given each of us Christmas, with our very own brief visit to the red room.

Hope all of you are having a blessed Christmas.
Remembering with a joyful heart,
Gigi

Christmas Break is almost here!

There are only 4 1/2 school days left until Christmas Break and we are all ready! Big C has been home since Wednesday and just driving back up for finals as they are scheduled. Little C had his Christmas band concert on Monday night and the eighth grade band sounded amazing! The holiday gatherings and parties have started and even though I would like to snuggle in and read it is very fun to spend time with others this time of year. There is even a tiny dusting of snow on Fort Cedar this morning! Really lovely, sunny and cold. This week will be a crazy one at school as we finish up the semester with finals and celebrations. One of my classes will be celebrating tomorrow with Sra. Wms coffee cake. I really did assign a lot of work this week and they rose to the occasion!

I have really been enjoying some great blogs and gathering lots of ideas for the new year. I want to have more substantial and important resolutions this year...yeah yeah lose weight and keep my house clean...really? What would God put on my list? How can I be more obedient and Christ like? What will make a difference to the souls that call Fort Cedar home? Maybe those two things fit and maybe they dont? Where should I invest my time? my talent? Can I set and achieve resolutions that bless others? What sort of resolutions are really important? Just a few directions my mind is heading...

Spending more time reading my Bible and in prayer
Listen more
Ask people questions
Be graceful and dignified
Control my emotions
Be mindful of spending
Make do with less
Eat fruit and vegetables
Drink water
Read
Use the good stuff today

Oh I dont know... it always seems to come back around to me...but I will be working on a plan.
Until then, I need to put the pilgrims away and put the nativity and village up! Oh yeah and make coffee cake and cheese ball for a party tonight! Please share with me your plans for the new year! I want to hear what you all have to say...What are your plans for 2011? What will you talk about? what will you read?

With a joyful Christmas heart,
Gigi