My mom would tie a garland of plastic holly to the stair railing and pull out a ball of fake mistletoe that she’d have Dad hang from the ceiling light in the hallway. We’d plug in plastic molded candelabras with orange bulbs and place them in the sunroom windows. We’d drive into town and pick out a tree from the Methodist Church lot set up on Main Street and haul it … [Read more...]
Happy Birthday
One of our daughters has a December birthday. A week ago we celebrated with signage and candles and cake and presents. When her party was over, I started to tear down the streamers, but for the first time in 14 years I paused before pulling down the "Happy Birthday" banner and thought, you know, we could just leave it up.It's a little cheesy, I suppose, but a good … [Read more...]
I Love to Tell the Story: How Advent Traditions Invite Us to Reflect, Together
A few years ago we bought a preformed Advent wreath at Michael's. I wrapped some ribbons and beads around it, stuck some plastic red berries into the greenery here and there, and deemed it ready for service. It was hardly an example of artistic brilliance, but it would serve us fine. It was festive. It would hold the … [Read more...]
