I so love our Christmas tree and all the ornaments Skipp has bought me over 20+ years. Each one has such meaning and beauty and purpose. The white shell with the two red flowers was from my nephew Clayton and his wife Gatey. They made them for all of us. It was their only Christmas together as husband and wife - he died the following November after only a year and a half married. They were an ideal couple in so many ways. Clayton is truly missed.
My manger is priceless. It was our family's manger when I was growing up. If you look closely you can see the small angel candle and the small choir boy candle leaning up against the manger - they were my Grandma's and are over 100 years old!! Oh how I love family heirlooms and traditions.
Did I thank all of you for your loving support and understanding during my recent low spirited mood? Well, "thank you"!!
And so it comes to be - Christmas, the New Year - so much to believe in, hold on to, let go of, fight against, surrender to, scream in anger, laugh in delight, celebrate, mourn, stand firm, walk away, run to, run from, - I think you get the gist of life with all its twists and turns as do I, as do I.......... I leave you with this song -
I hope you see and feel the hope in this song - "Merry Christmas" and "thank you" for all you do, are, give, share and intend. You are a 'gift' to me, each and every one of you............
36 comments:
Great blog...and what treasures you have on and under your tree, Gail!
As I listened to the song and thought, "Bring on the rain," I smiled....knowing that you have a great attitude, my friend. Thank you for sharing that song with us (me)...
Merry Christmas to you and Skipp...and know that you have a friend in me.
Love and hugs,
J.
HI JACKIE - oh how I adore you and your presence, your spirit and friendship are real gifts for me to hold on to "Thank you" my friend and Merry Christmas to you and your family - please hug your Mama and Daddy for me -
Love Gail
peace......
Oh, I love your tree and your Nativity scene, and I especially love the sentiments and the love attached to and wrapped up in it all.
So glad you had your nephew for awhile, and so sad for your loss. And I have so much admiration for the joy and gratitude you have in spite of trials, and for the joy you spread to others.
You're one of the good ones, Gail.
Love and Prayers,
Eileen
HI EILEEN - and YOU are such an inspiration and oh how I admire all you do to write/create such loving and life giving chapters for your grandchildren's lives - you are building good spirits and kind hearts - I am always so moved by your humble giving -
Merry Christmas to you and yours
Love Gail
peace......
GORGEOUS decorations and even more so w/so much sentimentality attached, esp. those things that were your grandmother's & esp. the shell from your nephew. I'm so thankful to be headed into the New Year with you as a friend. Let's hold hands & walk thru it togethe!! :-) Love ~ me
Thanks Gail for sharing, this is truly beautiful!
Enjoyed your photos and the music...I had one of the angel candles that we put out each Christmas when I was young. During the time my parents possessions had to be stored the candles sadly melted! Your manger scene is beautiful!
Merry Christmas, Gail. I hope your day is filled with Joy!
I love that song.
Take care.
@TRACEY - Oh yes!! I love that idea - I too am so happy to be your friend and holding hands as we walk into the New Year is a definite. Thanks so much for a ll your kindness.
@MADELINE - so glad you came by and enjoyed :-)
@THEANNE - sorry your Gram's candlemelted :-( I love that I have these old trinkets from my Gram and childhood. I also play the old vinyl albums we used to play - I love the scratchy sound and textures. So glad you came by.
@ANNE - ...and a very Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Love to all of you
Gail
peace......
Gail, Sadly, I was not one who was "here" for you during your recent dark days.
But I AM here today - and would love for you to drop in for a cup of hot chocolate and share a little comfort and joy in our Christmas Cottage...
Your tree is beautiful & (as you obviously know) you are blessed to have the candles from your grandmother!
Merry Christmas, Gail.
Thank you is the best!
Many blessing to you and yours Gail
Thank YOU for all you share here Gail. Hope you feel all the appreciation coming your way as a result of all the kindness and love you share. May your holidays and new year be filled with love and light.
Amen, tomorrow is another day. That is what we hope for each day. Thank you Gail for sharing. Blessings.
@REBECCA - I love your Christmas cabin and all its' treasures. I am so happy you came by :-)
@WHITEMIST-JOEY Thank you for all your kindness and shared journey - I am so honored and glad to know you
@BONNIE - and so it is true, we do reap what we sow !! :-) thank you for coming by - I have missed you - and I love your beautiful. loving and honest and creative blog too. Merry Christmas to you and your family
@JBR keep feeling better, one day at a time, holding you close in prayer and light this Christmas season and always
Love to you all
Gail
peace.....
love all your ornaments and that you cherish them so much, so sorry you have been feeling down and where was your friend from Canada for you...hey. sorry sweetie. I got your beautiful card today. thank you so much. love you much, big hugs.
HI CINNER - so glad the card arrived :-) and I feel you with je, always Love you girl "hey"
Gail
peace.....
dear Gail, your Christmas tree look wonderful! A very merry Christmas to you and your husband :-) ps: I'm writing from my new blog as I was having too many problems with the old one, it has a different name, email but i hope you will still like it :-)
HI BIRDIE - .....and a very Merry Christmas to you and yours. I will go over to your new blog now :-)
Love Gail
peace.....
I think that manger may be identical to the one we had in my home as a kid. It sure looks it. I don't know whether I still have that in the stuff I brought from Mom's attic after she died or not—but you're so right about the value of those little family keepsakes and treasures. They are priceless!
I hope you're back up and in the groove, getting all excited and geared-up for Christmas. We're going to leave here in a few minutes to go grocery shopping and to a couple of stores to pick up a few additional—small—presents. Then, back home to an evening of hearthfire and good snacky type of food.
HI GRIZZ - so good to see you here. I have missed your presence and your words. I am getting in the spirit - :-) We are doing our prep cooking for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. WE have traditional food we make every year, some go back to my Grandmother's days - :-) Enjoy your moments
Love Gail
peace......
Hey sweet Gail, blessings to you dear one.
JBR - thank you SO much - and Merry Christmas to you and yours
Love Gail
peace.....
beautiful, at aww with your decorations god bless you this holiday season
BARACKA - so glad you came by - Merry Christmas -
Love Gail
peace.....
Gail, Merry Christmas!
May you have a wonderful day full of love, peace and Joy!
And may the New year bring you many blessings!
Love
Margie
HI MARGIE - thank you SO much and the very best of the Christmas season to you and your family
Love Gail
peace.....
Beautiful post and pics, Gail. Stopping by to wish you the best of holiday seasons. May peace and love guide your path always.
thanks for being ever so present.
one love.
Hi Se'Lah - so nice to have you come by. I feel so very blessed this Christmas season - I wish all the blessings of the risen Christ to you and yours
Love Gail
peace....
I like the special treasures of Christmas...Hope you had a great one
HI KIM - so nice to have you visit. :-) Our Christmas was filled with miracles of the simplest kind :-).
I went over to your place - great new header design.
Love Gail
peace.....
Gail, your tree is lovely and the Nativity Set is beautiful.
Thank you for visiting my Blog and leaving a comment.
I hope you have a wonderful New Year my friend.
gloW
Just popping into your blog from JBR's. This post is lovely and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I quite enjoy that song you posted and listening to it again brought me back many years! Happy New Year to you!
HI AMANDA - so glad you came by and also glad you liked the song and that it opened up memories for you :-) Happy New Year to you and yours
Love Gail
peace.......
HI GLOW - so nice to have you visit as well. Happy New Year to you and yours and I look forward to getting to know one another in 2012
Love Gail
peace.....
Hi Gail, A lovely post :) Your manger is darling and you are so fortunate to have it, I don't have any Christmas heirlooms from my childhood. My sister has the only one - a little elf made from an egg carton that my brother made 40 years ago, which she hangs on her tree every year!
I really appreciated the thoughts you shared on my New Year's post - beautifully expressed and I agree, in actuality there are no true clean slates - for any of us. It's a nice thought though and I always feel a surge of positivity and hopeful expectation as we enter a new year.
Blessings, Jane
HI JANE - SO glad you came by - and I do understand as well about the clean slate image, there are always spaces on my slate (in my life) that are open for new whatever - ya know? :-) looking forward to growing in friendship w/you in 2010
Love Gail
peace.....
HI Trek - thanks and welcome :-)
Love Gail
peace.....
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