We began this morning with a hearty breakfast of bacon and fried eggs, milk for the kiddos and piping hot coffee for me.
After breakfast, we took care of the outside animals, and then set to work in the kitchen. My oldest peeled pears, my 2nd oldest snapped green beans and cold-packed jars, and the younger two watched enthusiastically.
We processed our jars in the pressure canner to the sound of the Oxford Trinity Choir singing Christmas carols.
Speaking of Christmas Carol, I have a leather-bound copy of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol I begin reading every year following Thanksgiving. I also had a paperback copy that had special footnotes, commentary, and devotional content for families/small groups. I recently had passed it on to a family member and thought, you know, I think I’d like a copy for myself, it was a good resource for advent. And I found that it, being a special edition publication, is now a rare book, out of print, and while still not an asset for aquiring great wealth, it is worth now 3 times what we initially got it for. So, fun facts! I managed to finally track down a used copy that should be here next week.
Our church takes a “winter break” from Wednesday night Bible study from Nov-Jan, I guess because so many people travel for the holidays. I certainly don’t. But in place of our usual Wednesday night activities, my husband decided we should go through the Baptist Catechism, and he chose the Truth and Grace books from The Founders website. The books are put together by age appropriate question-answer style catechism with scripture to memorize, hymns, and is what we thought, a great starting point for theology for our littles.
For Christmas, we (I) decided to “rethink” our boys’ bedroom. The broken drawers and constant mess and clutter was NOT working for me. And the bright green walls are in need of some serious “mellowing” and I think (hope) that will translate to everyone sleeping better and being more peaceful. So, my oldest and I began phase 1 of rethinking the clothing and toy storage. We went minimalist, and purged/boxed up everything not being worn this season.
Then the kids and I did some creative crafting that all started with a small maple branch that we found in the yard. It promptly became snowmen. That was fun, and they enjoyed putting all the pieces together. And now it’s time to get dinner started! I’ll sleep when I’m dead!😅 In all honesty, I am definitely ready for Sabbath rest, and the seasonal Sabbath of winter. Soon!
Wholly Holy Living 