It Is Christmas Week!

Wow.  How did that happen?  Somewhere, somehow as I was mixing, pouring, labeling, delivering thousands of candles the days, weeks and months slipped by and here we are.  I'm delighted!  This is such a blessed time of the year here at our place.  Understand that there is always some grumbling and complaining about the commercialism and expectations that we place upon ourselves.  There is also the pain of missing our loved ones who have already graduated to their Heavenly home.  But there is also that underlying peace and joy that comes with the knowledge that we are going to celebrate the birth of our Savior and Lord.  It is because of this baby and infant King that we can mourn without despair.

Even now there are people close to me who are losing family members.  Each day takes them a bit farther away.  My heart is broken for them.  Especially so because at this point these family members are not known to be Believers.  However, who knows what God is doing in their hearts in these final days and hours.  There are signs in both cases that He is at work.  I'm just going to keep on praying!

Saturday evening found Warren, Georgia and Myself in Lititz at the Moravian Christmas Vigil Service.  Back in York we called this the Love Feast.  It is a treasure of a service filled with amazing music, the sharing of bread and coffee/milk, and candle lighting.  Warren's mother was raised in the Moravian Church and so it was tradition to attend this service on Christmas Eve.  She has missed it dreadfully and so we, with some difficulty, got tickets for Saturday night's service. They were already completely full for Christmas Eve.

The church as it looked Friday when we went to get tickets for the service.

The church as it looked Saturday evening.

 It amused me that when we got there before 7pm for the 7:30 service it was almost completely full already and we headed to the balcony.  The seats available there were in the back row and you couldn't see a thing.  So looking down and across we spotted seats in the very, very front that we figured were probably reserved but Georgia went down to find out.  Pretty soon she was looking up in the balcony and motioning for us to join her.  So, to the very front row we marched.  How cool it was to see everything from such great seats.  There was an embarrassing moment when I almost dropped the offering plate.  Hey!  It was surprisingly heavy.  They don't have no cheesy fake metal plates at that church!  My eyes got huge and as the usher caught the plate on the way down I looked at him and whispered, "Oh!  That's heavy!".  He laughed with me.  Bless his heart.  I like him, whoever he is.

Sunday was our Christmas service at church.  We always enjoy tons of music and special performances by our young people and some adults who like to write or sing.  This year Kelly wrote a beautiful piece called "Love Came Down".  It was from the perspective of a shepherd boy named Caleb.  I told her she must have written well because it didn't take long for me to get over the shock that "She" was a a boy named "Caleb".   Yes, it was well written and we enjoyed it so much.
All of our little musicians have grown up and are playing so well.  It is amazing to hear the growth in them from year to year.  We have a lot of stringed instruments in our church.  Large ones mostly.  Cello's and a Bass.  Although we still enjoy Ben's violin, which is a manageable size.

We had a vocal ensemble headed up by Susanna and Joe Musser this year.  They did a fantastic job of keeping us on pitch as we sang acapella.  It was amusing when we met for our final rehearsal to discover that we hadn't remembered a pitch pipe.  But we decided to see if there was "an app for that".  And indeed, there was.  So it was downloaded, our starting pitch was found and off we were.  But the silly app must automatically repeat the pitch every ten seconds or so because soon after we started singing there it was again.  It happened both in the rehearsal and again in the performance.  It was all we could do not to break into giggles...but it did put a big smile on our faces, which is never a bad thing for pitch control and a pleasing view for the audience.

I have been getting to dust off my singing voice this year.  It had been way too long since I was able to really cut loose.  I do sing from the piano at church sometimes but it is just in congregational singing, I'm leaning into the mic and it just isn't the same as opening up the diaphragm and letting her rip.  This year I found a friend who's voice is strong and clear.  She is an amazing vocalist.  I've been blessed to sing with the ladies at our Change of Pace Bible Study where she, Jana, is the lead singer.  We got to lead worship at a local Mennonite church that another friend attends one week and sang the song Hallelujah with fabulous Christmas words.  It was amazing.  So, when Chelsea got a cold and wasn't able to sing with me in our service as we had planned I contacted Jana.  I figured that it was too late and she would have other plans but asked anyway if she would want to come and sing that song with me.  She was free!  She came!  We sang.  Oh, my goodness.  It was so amazing to be able to open up and let it out.  Not since my Dad was alive have I been able to really be free like that.  It was the best Christmas gift ever.  I'm good.  Done.  Don't need a thing.  Well, maybe some really absorbent kitchen towels, but that's it.  Really.  :-).

Warren and I are enjoying each other's friendship so much these days.  Our kids are grown and need us less and less.....until grandchildren start coming at least.  Michael and Emily have a lovely home and are so happy together.  It is such a blessing to see them together.  She hosted Mom, Georgia and I to dinner one night this past week.  We feasted on chicken with roasted veggies and asparagus and then watched an old movie, Holiday Inn, while enjoying hot chocolate, chips and cookies.  A real girls night out.  We are so blessed to have this lovely addition to our family.

Chelsea is dating a nice young man that she met at work.  She continues to learn Thai and work on her music.  She is still in contact with her friends in Thailand and is thrilled to see what God is doing in that mission field.   She is torn about wanting to go back.  We'll see what God has in store for her where that is concerned.  And Jonathan continues to work as a security guard.  His hours are a bit funky so there are some days that things need to be kept on the quiet side around here.  But we are so thankful for his faithfulness to his job and for opportunities that are opening up for him because of it.

So....Warren and I have lots more time just to pal around and chatter together.  We like it and are so thankful to have come through the parenting years still as best friends.  It isn't something that should be taken for granted.  It is a gift.  That gift is hopefully going to get us through some remodeling that needs to happen around here.  I'm thinking that could be potentially stressful but it is how we began...in a little crooked house in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania so it will be interesting all of these years later to see if we still have the ability to hang drywall, paint and install plumbing.  We have two bathrooms to overhaul and a work studio to build for me.  I'm finally going to get to hang the paintings I've purchased from my friend Niki over the past few years. Woo-hoo!

These last few months were absolutely crazy when it came to candle making and sales.  Two animal rescues added to the usual rush in very positive ways.  I am so pleasantly surprised at how well the local group did with selling candles.  I don't know about the Chicago group....but I'm hoping they were able to sell what they purchased.  The shows and fundraisers alike were all very successful.  I love helping groups raise money to do good things.  I was invited, kind of last minute, to a local show that is known to be "big" around here.  It ate up a lot of my inventory and made for a lot of extra candle pouring but that also means it was a huge success.  If I'm invited back next year I will prepare in advance for it and it won't be so stressful.  I'm so thankful for the opportunity and the people I met there were just delightful.

Well, this novel of a post is much longer than I had intended.  But I enjoyed writing it out and reliving the experiences, so to speak, as I did so.

We will have a rather quiet Christmas Day with just a few of us and then we will have another round of festivities on New Year's Eve when Allan and Bev arrive to celebrate with us.  That's when we will open our Christmas stockings...always a highlight....because we look for "fun" things to put in there and make quite an event our of the opening of them.  I'm glad to have an extra week to find those things.  I'm kind of running behind.  Thank goodness for Amazon and their ability to get things here quickly.  Yes, it has come to that.  :-)

O.k.  Catch you all later.  Have a very, very Merry Christmas.  Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends.  I know it is a very warm and special time for most of us.  To those who are struggling with loneliness or grief...you are on my mind.  I am praying for you, if I know about it.  Hugs!

"My" Little Girls from Burma Sing....

I hope this shows up!

It wasn't always easy to go into Lancaster and pick up these precious ones.   But as you can see the end result was worth it.  I felt badly that my commitment until November had to be cut a few weeks short because I just couldn't keep up with all of the candle orders coming in.  But thankfully God provided another driver...and one that the girls already knew and loved.   That really helped.

Whoever filmed this focused in on the girls frequently.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2014

 We don't have to go over any rivers or through any woods

to get to "Grandmother's House".

But we do walk down this sweet country-ish road

to get there from our house.

It was a lovely day for this walk as we 

carried our green bean casserole contribution

to the annual feast.

With the only downer being my mother's cold, 

which she didn't complain about one bit, 

we had such a lovely day.

I have no photos of the meal....

but trust me it was amazing.

Our "events planner", Chelsea, wanted to go to Longwood Gardens

to see the first day of the Christmas Lights display.

So off we went.

Poor Warren has a sprained ankle so we moved slowly

in the COLD night toward the Conservatory.

It looked so festive.

And when we got inside we saw that it truly was

in a very party kind of a mood.

Inside the music room.

All decked out for a dinner party in Peacock.

I don't think I am going to edit any of the photos found in this post

in the interest of getting this post up. 

(This dark photo is killing me....) 

These days are absolutely so crazy busy with candle business.

What a fantastic year this has been 

So....please just accept the beauty for what it is...

through a camera lens in the raw.

 Longwood showed its sense of humor with 

Penguins in the desert.

Fun!

And a recap with some new sights added.

All of the above photos were taken with my cell phone.

The following were taken with my Canon point and shoot.

 There are so many details on the many, many 

decorated trees.

I loved the lacy shadows on the floor.

 Gotta love the vintage....

And the sparkle....

Golden Paper roses....uh-huh!

And then it was time to go.

Chelsea and her friend both had huge three show

days to work Friday and Saturday so we headed out

at a reasonable time.

What a wonderful day.

So special and packed with happy memories.

I had two shows over the weekend that were incredibly exciting and fun.

Lime Valley Mill Conservation Society

hosted its 17th Annual three day Holiday Craft Show.

This year they invited me at the last minute when their usual candle

person had something come up.

I was so happy to get to know them even as I scrambled to 

have/make enough inventory to fill the generous space I was given.

Most nights I went to sleep with my head literally spinning from exhaustion.

The reward came on Saturday when I worked a four hour shift 

at check out at the mill.  

Meeting the customers, other crafters and getting 

to know the delightful 

caretakers of the mill.

An experience to treasure.

I'll be delighted if they ask me back next year.

We'll see.

One other crafter cracked me up when she said,

"You are in like Flynn!".

Love her optimism.

My second show this weekend was an emotionally special one.

My friend, Katie, is raising money in order to be able to run

100 miles in an event in California organized to raise money to prevent suicide.

Her family was personally touched by the tragedy of suicide so 

it was very special to help this lovely woman on her first step to 

such a huge goal.

A treat and honor came also this weekend when my friend Carol 

wrote about the candles on her blog.

You can see that sweet post here.

Thank you, Carol.

What a treasure and precious friend you have become to me...

and the family members who were blessed to meet you

on our trip to NYC this past summer.

Mom continues to be sick which caused a run to Urgent Care

yesterday.  The doctor diagnosed Pneumonia and mom is under treatment

for that right now.  She will see her family doctor this week to see how 

that is progressing.  Jonathan and my brother both managed to catch the 

bug....we are hoping and praying it stays out of their lungs.

We would appreciate any prayers about that....

and that the rest of us could somehow avoid it.

It may be asking too much...

but I can't help it.

With so much to do it would really make things

difficult.

Thanks for visiting.

I've missed blogging regularly.

Maybe one day I'll be back at it again.

But for this day and this week I hope to be back 

with some photos of our annual ladies tea

to be held this evening

at Creekside Cottage.

She is getting ready for us 

with such delightful 

decor.

I need to figure out what goodie I'll be taking to share.

And picking up the unsold candles at the mill.

And checking in on Mom.

And shipping orders.

And playing with my puppies..aka...old dogs.

And cleaning the messes made all week last week in the

mad rush.

And loving on my sick son....poor dude.

He must be sick, he called off work.

That never happens.

Yep..busy life.

Real life!

Good life.

See you soon!

Why Fast Food Had Better Watch Out!

Others who had my "bug" that was neither a cold nor the flu had said it lasts about ten days.  They were right.  And so I was not yet fully back to myself last week for teaching music but at least I was able to actually teach rather than show videos like the previous week.  It was during that class with the second and third graders that I got such a good laugh.  And it has come back to bring a smile many times since.

With a throat that needed support I had brought my unsweetened tea into class which was prominently marked with a big yellow M.  The kids had been told during the pre-class opening to take it easy on me that day since I wasn't feeling well and so it was on their minds.

When one of them proclaimed loudly....You have been to  (Insert name of Ronald's place here)!!
They all began to add their two cents.  All of a sudden one voice rose above all of the rest.  "NO WONDER YOU ARE SICK if you are eating there!" .  There was a chorus of agreement among the little bodies.

Hilarious!!

I wonder if it is just homeschoolers who are getting the message about eating healthier or if those fast food places are "going down" in this next generation.

So Many Candles.....

 Number One Seller when sniffed.

 My Favorite Tin....

 The hidden Treasure.  A very delicious candle.

 The most popular candle when not sniffed.  :-)  

But they come back for more.

 I don't think anything really needs to be said......yum!

 Definitely not a jar candle.  A throwback to how this company began.

But currently available in my Etsy shop. 

 When the stress of many orders and short time gets to me...

making these helps so much!

Relax with lavender.

Just heard another order is coming in for these.  

So glad this ministry is getting benefits from their candle sales.

These are a tiny fraction of the candles being made here.

It is so much fun!

I'm a happy camper.

Unexpected Memories

It is a day of fever, a sore throat

and generally feeling blah.

 

I've cancelled my schedule for Wednesday

in favor of trying to accelerate

recovery from this "bug".

Besides my voice sounds like a foghorn

at the moment and isn't much good for

singing or teaching.

 

Tonight was supposed to be a long

awaited dinner with Michael and Emily

but can you believe she is also feeling

under the weather?

Poor dear.

 

I tell you all of this in an attempt to have

you judge me less harshly when I tell

you the reason I was inspired to

pop on here and write this post.

 

You see

I just noticed something that took me back

to some very special times in my childhood.

Back to the days when we lived in the parsonage

beside the church my Dad pastored.

 

In that church was a study

where Daddy spent many, many hours

preparing for his Wednesday evening prayer meetings,

Sunday morning and evening sermons.

 

In the course of most days he would head next door

with plates and cups in hand.

He would return empty handed.

 

After a while there would be a noticeable shortage

of dishes and glasses in our cupboards.

When this happened Mom would offer my

brother and I an opportunity to earn some

money by gathering all of those things back up again.

 

Off we would go with a basin to carry our treasures in.

We enjoyed this.

I mean, the man had plates, cups, saucers, spoons, knives and forks

everywhere over there.

It was a very real treasure hunt!

 

We were paid in coin

but to us it was just what we needed

 to purchase

Bottle Caps, Gobstoppers and Grape Bubble Yum

at the little grocery store a few miles away.

It was within reach by bike.

 

Now you may have figured out what it was that inspired this

memory today.

Perhaps not....

But it was the moment I looked up at the window sill

and saw not one, not two...

but three cups from today.

My cups.

One for hot tea, one was coffee

and one was orange juice.

 

Apparently the apple doesn't fall far from

the tree when it comes to collecting

cups, at least.

 

And in a time when my dad is on my mind

I just don't feel too badly about that.

I hope I have other traits of his as well....

since this wasn't one that we generally bragged about,

ok, we never bragged about it....

but he could have had much worse vices

than that of eating in his office.

Well, and not returning his utensils.

 

But don't you find that it is the little things that

bring them back to our minds?

These ones not with us now.

I'm thankful that it has come to a point where the

pain of loss is less than the sweetness of the memory.

 

For those who are facing new grief

know that time does help.

Walk the path.

Feel the feelings.

Trust the Lord.

 

Look forward to that day when the

memories bring sweet comfort

and smiles to your heart.

 

Miss you, Daddy.

See you when the time is just right.

 

****

This post is dedicated to two wonderful friends

who have recently lost their fathers

 very unexpectedly.

 



Missing Time with the Camera

Hello!  It has been more than a month since my last post.  Unbelievable!  I guess without taking my camera out and capturing beautiful things it just isn't as exciting to blog.  But that doesn't mean that nothing has happened.  Not at all.  We have been living it up!  Hehe.

Warren and I had a very fun date on Saturday.  We went to see Mark Lowry and The Martins in concert at the American Music Theater.  It was great.  I loved how chatty Mark was.  Getting to hear more from him than one can when you see him at a Homecoming event or the Gaither Vocal Band.  It was very special.

Taken with my phone from the balcony.  They were there...not the ghosts they appear to be. 

The Martins are siblings who have very tight harmony.  They have a new acapella project and sang some songs from it.  We enjoyed it very much.   And then we were off to meet up with some friends who are doing a candle fundraiser toward their adoption of a second little boy from China.  His name will be Hudson.  Here's the really fun part about this meet up, though.  We decided to go to Chili's near their home and meet someone there for the candle exchange.  Right beside the Chili's is a Dunkin' Donut.  So....Warren and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner and then he got after dinner coffee as we met two of the family's beautiful daughters to hand off the candles.  Mixing business with pleasure?  Always!

Speaking of business and pleasure.  I've hired a helper on a semi regular basis.  I really have two helpers but one in more persistent in asking to help.  :-)  I love both of them!  Melissa has been a long time friend and so having her here once a week or so to help me get stuff done is more like hanging out with a friend than having a work night.  Although, I do make her work for her pay.  :-)  Ask her about wicking tea lights and how much she likes working with my poor old broken hot glue gun.  Ha. It is definitely time to get a new one.  It is just one of those things that you get used to working with and really don't think that much about until someone points out how bad it really is.

Last month we had a one month anniversary party for Michael and Emily.  It was so special to see family that we haven't seen in a very long time.  Aunts and Uncles came in from far.  I was going to say near and far but none are near ....so they all came from far.

 It was also fun to see cousins again.  Our kids don't really know their second cousins because they are all ...far...away.  But they enjoyed each other's company.  We took the family guests to see Moses.  I think they liked it.  What's not to like, right?  I enjoyed seeing the show again.  It is a great production and a truly wonderful story.

Chelsea got good news recently.  She was promoted to full time at Sight and Sound in concessions. We are very happy for her.  She loves to stay busy and without a firm plan for her future this was something she really needed.  It took effort and growth on her part since they were looking for her to become more outgoing and confident.  In her usual Chelsea way once she knew what they wanted she set out to challenge herself to work hard on this area.  Forcing herself to start conversations with guests and other employees, etc.  She really made huge strides and surprised herself by enjoying this new aspect of her job.  She has made some wonderful friendships among her co-workers and it pleases us to no end to see her settling back in after nearly a year of struggle after her YWAM trip.  There are many wonderful things about doing missions....coming home and readjusting are not some of them.  We knew going in that it would be hard but it isn't something that you can really prepare for.  Even while she is doing the work of settling back in she is studying the Thai language seriously.  It is so neat to hear it roll off her tongue.  It is on her heart to return to Thailand at some point in the future.  And while she has applied to return as early as July we have serious doubts about that....with the world in the condition it is in and other things to consider.  However, God knows.  He would have to change the hearts of her parents on that one.

I'm leading a Small Group at a large ladies Bible Study.  Ridiculous of me to try to do this in the Fall with all things candle at record levels but it just makes me rely on the Lord more.  I know I can't do it in my own strength and so far He has supplied my needs there.  We are doing Beth Moore's study on I and II Thessalonians.  Amazing!!  Altogether there are more than 100 ladies coming.  We have about 12 in our group.  Twelve lovely and encouraging ladies.  What a blessing!

The other blessing that is coming out of this Bible Study is the gift of song.  I get to help lead worship each Wednesday morning.  This is a dream come true.  I feel as if God has "Opened up the Floodgates" of blessing in my life lately.

And on the same note...I am also teaching music at the co-op we graduated from.  Two classes...2nd/3rd and 4th-6th.  What a blast this is!  We sing together, laugh and play as we learn music theory.  I am so delighted to have so many long held desires met all at the same time.  I feel the love of God poured out in my life.  We have come through very dark and trying times in the past year but He was faithful through them all and is blessing us with JOY now.

At the same time I must ask you to pray for one of my dear friends who lost her father unexpectedly.  I saw her yesterday and the pain is intense.  I know she would appreciate your prayers.  And also for another friend, whose son fell from a horse yesterday.  He fell directly onto his face and has lost some teeth and also broke his jaw.  There are some other damages as well but those were the most severe.  In this world we WILL have trials....but we know the ONE who has overcome.  Holding onto HIM.  Lifting these families up in prayer.

Well, enough of my rambling.  Have a blessed day.