Saturday's Scribbles: Advent, Cozy Robes, and Earthquakes

Good Saturday morning to you from our corner of stormy Iowa where significant rain, sleet, ice, and  snow are falling across the northern part of the state.  Between 5 to 12 inches are expected to fall, depending on the track it takes. Joel went for a two mile walk early this morning before it all started.  December is coming in with a bang.  Another winter far from the Arizona sun.  We have resigned ourselves to this winter season of our lives, with sickness and weather. In hope we believe that it is a season we will walk through doing the best we can in the process.  Some day the sun will shine, the snow will melt, and Spring will come.

Christmas tree 2018

We have been enjoying our Christmas tree so much.  It stands tall in our living room.  Our small angel tree graces a dining room table to brighten up that room.  Decorations are everywhere, and Christmas music is at our fingertips.  Don't you just love this time of year?

I have just finished week two of the daily meds and today I am feeling it more than ever.  In fact it is a P.J. day, and with the stormy weather, it seems right.  I ordered two new bathrobes recently and the one that is like a floor length sweatshirt is so warm on days like this.  I can't imagine not having a robe to relax in.  I could not justify the cost of most robes so went online and found a company, Blair, that had robes for sale quite reasonable.  In fact, cheap!  I had a coupon and free shipping and paid less than $40 for two robes that fit and do their job well.  None of my girls wear robes, in fact our middle daughter says she thinks it is a "generational thing" to even own one.  On days like today, I am grateful to have two robes for half the price of one!

This past week our oldest son, Matt, came for a visit.  We had lunch together and spent a few hours catching up on hugs and family.  I was able to send him home with my traditional pumpkin bread and a mini poinsettia graces our table, a gift from him.  When we lived in the Philippines, poinsettia bushes grew wild.  They were so beautiful!

George H.W. Bush has died at the age of 94.  I was always fascinated with his wife, Barbara.  She was a fiesty outspoken woman who loved her family and husband fiercely.  A real character.  I saw her in one photo during a White House event, and she was wearing a bright blue dress.  In today's political climate, that would not fly.........there is such a division with red and blue.  Even the White House trees are decorated with all red balls.  Everything appears to be a political statement.

How about that earthquake in Alaska...........and the 300 plus aftershocks in one day?!  Yikes!  I remember when we lived in the Philippines and had a small quake.  I was talking with the sewing girl and the door started banging and lights started swinging from the ceiling.  Our maid Nora had the kids out for a walk and I panicked.  I ran outside screaming for them. By the time I got outside it was over.  Joel was at work and said he could see a wall "waving" as it moved from the quake.  Our maid and the sew girl were not phased by it at all.   I kept thinking, where does an island go during a quake?  Down?  Ha!  Strange as it sounds, during our middle daughter's graduation in west central MN there was a brief quake.  We were aware of a rumbling noise and then a big bang.  Turns out it was a quake, but the only thing we noticed when we got home was a couple of pictures askew. 

December brings with it Advent, a time of waiting and preparing for the birth of our Savior Jesus.  I always have enjoyed this time of year.  I fondly remember our nightly devotions with the kids, lighting candles on the Advent wreath (special made in Philippines), opening up a door each night on the Advent calendar.  I loved when the family gathered together to focus on the coming birth.  I pray your December is filled with good memories of the past, and new memories for the future.  And maybe a warm bathrobe too!