Christmas Treasures

Merry Christmas!! What treasure we have been given through our
precious Lord!

I had the joy of sharing in some very special Christmas moments this
year. Esther is a 92 year old woman from my church. She has been 'shut
in' at her home for over 2 months now. She is perfectly spry and well
enough to continue to be in church and play the piano, but she must
stay home to care for her mentally ill daughter whom she cannot leave
alone.

So twice this week I got to see Esther. Monday a bunch of us from
church went caroling at her home. That was a treat for us! As we sang
the songs about our Savior's birth, Esther stood there, hands raised
in worship. My eyes filled with tears at the beauty of it. I will not
forget caroling at Esther's!

Then yesterday I shared a Christmas Eve communion with Esther at her
home. We read the story from Luke and talked about what stood out as
precious to us from the story. Then we read from Isaiah 9 as it was
foretold that He would be our Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace,
Mighty God, Everlasting King . . . Then we reflected on what He has
been for us in all those ways! It was a communion memory I will always
treasure.

So Merry Christmas to you. May the richness and beauty of our Lord,
who set aside His majesty to become like us so that we could be
righteous like Him, make this Christmas a time for you to treasure as
well!

Snowman factory!

We are having caroling in the church neighborhood on Tuesday. Everyone
is supposed to bring 2 dozen Christmas cookies to share when we get
back. So we turned the kitchen table into a snowman cookie factory
this afternoon. It was fun - but I like making turkeys better. So - I
don't think we started a new tradition - unless they have unbeatable
rave reviews. Time will tell!

Marmalade Makin' Mama

The title of this blog is compliments of Kara's creativity. Credit
given where credit us due!

I got busy making my annual batch(es) of jam yesterday. I did a double
batch in TN at Thanksgiving. Yesterday I did 4 batches. I have enough
cranberries left to do 2 more batches. So I will have done 8 batches
when all is said and done.

How can it taste just as good every year? I don't know, but I'll keep
making the annual cranberry banana marmalade until that changes!

I just wish all of you were here to enjoy some!

It's begining to look . . .

a lot like Christmas at the Miller home. Kara and I decorated as soon
as we returned from Tenessee (literally as soon as!). Thought you
might like to see what our place looks like.

It has been a flurry of activity since. Most of the Christmas shopping
is done. I just need to get my annual letter out now. I will have a
few extra days off over the holidays, including time the first week of
Jan when Kevin, Jenn and the girls will be here! Can hardly wait. You
can tell what is Emery's under the tree because all her things are
wrapped in Disney Princess wrap. :-)

On our way home :-(

What fun we had! It's hard to leave. But we are on our way home. We
will board here in Nashville in a few minutes. So glad they come to
Albuquerque in month! :-D