merry christmas and happy new year!

Christmas this year was surely different, but it went as well as possible considering the circumstances. As I expected, my favorite thing was the Christmas Eve service at the Episcopal church. Since my aunt is the choir director there now, lots of my [very musical] family was participating in the service. On Sunday, before the service Monday night, Auntie Mabel asked me to sing with Mom on her solo. I told her I would, and I enjoyed that. [Hopefully everyone else did too! lol]

The message that Big E brought that night was so great. I told Mom leaving the service that I felt like I could have just cried and cried. For the record, I'm not a crier. But sometimes things hit you where you wonder if you are going to make it out without one loud sob. And of course his sermon was before the song. It was one of those where you have to remove yourself mentally and force your brain to think about that time when you were playing with My Little Pony after your 6th birthday party and you got icing in the glittering mane of the poor purplish pink pony.

His message was talking about Christ's birth resulting in the name Emmanuel, or "God with us." I think that this holiday, I needed to hear that comforting message. He talked about how God is present in everything, and that night, he was with the shephards, the angels, he was in the cries of the new baby and the bright star that shown above. But he brought that further to what that means in the lives of humans, that God is constantly "with us." That means that everything we are going through or feel like no one knows how we feel, God does. Which, of course I knew that. But there are so many emotions that are hard to verbally express in this whole situation. To be reminded that there is someone who knows me so intimately that he knows my hurt and pain before I verbalize it, is such a huge wave of relief to me.

In this whole situation, everyone has such a hard time understanding the specifics, (and several are wanting to know them, especially when it's none of their particular freaking business...) so I have spent so much time explaining things...but I need not explain anything to Him. He already knows. As basic as that is, what a powerfully comforting feeling of relief for me.

But Christmas all in all was really great. The absence of my father's issues from the whole Christmas event was really wonderful. The absence of my father's positive things was really missed. It was really bittersweet. And of course, Dear Jewel rocked it out with food that would make Paula Deen slink away in shame. The Lady Baltimore did not disappoint.

New Year's was a blast too. The Twin and The Chef came and visited and a wonderful time was had by all. I miss living closer to good friends like that.

Pics of the new puppy Sadie will follow soon. She is precious and quite the wonderful addition to the apartment.

Okay...the closing bell is about to ring. Gotta get out of here.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!