What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Wednesday Treasures: Ready For Christmas? Well, Almost!

 It's the Wednesday before Christmas, December 23rd.  I should be ready...are you?  I know many of you will say a resounding "yes!", and then there will be those, like me, who are still trying to make up for lost time and procrastination, and these next couple of days will be a whirlwind of activity.

This, I am ashamed to say, is my guest room, a.k.a. the "wrapping room".  Yes, there is still MUCH to be done.

Some progress has been made, under the watchful eye of my paternal great grandmother, LOL. I wonder if she would approve of my methods? Probably not. Life was much different then...and sadder for this dear woman, Mary Vogt Mursch.  She died at the age of 35 from complications of childbirth. Her infant son had died a couple of months previous to her death. And another baby son had also previously died at a very young age. She left behind four young children (my paternal grandfather was about 12 years old then) and a grieving husband. I'm sure she would tell me to not worry so much about all of this "stuff" at Christmas, and focus on what's really important, like family relationships and Jesus.

Little by little, thanks to my hubby helping, some things are getting wrapped...


Hubby insisted on taking this picture of me working on Christmas cards...thankfully this was early last week and those that are going out are long gone. I didn't think I was sending out very many, but by the time I was done, I'd gone through three books of stamps...and with the high cost of postage these days, wow...but I still love giving and receiving Christmas cards from loved ones and friends that we don't get to see or hear from except maybe once a year.  However, I am noticing that many have not sent out cards this year, and so, like other traditions that are dying out because of either expense or because of social media taking its place, letter writing and card sending are fading into the sunset.

But some things are all ready and waiting for Christmas to happen:

"Baby Elva" has been patiently sitting in her carriage, all decked out in her pretty red Christmas dress and Santa hat, and wondering when will the celebration begin?


Our little family in Pamela's Victorian Cottage are all wrapped up in the new winter coats that Mama made for them on her new sewing machine that was a Christmas gift last year from her dear sister from the city, so they can go outside and play in the snow.  


Their house is all ready and waiting for Santa to arrive as well...


And they can even go back to the cabin for Christmas now if they want to, because they have warm coats.  (Don't laugh at the style and design...they were lovingly fashioned from some fleecy socks that had lost their mates and a little Yankee ingenuity. Nothing fancy, just warm!)


The people in the little train village are all ready and waiting for Christmas Eve


A few weeks ago when I originally showed you some of my treasured Christmas ornaments,
I showed you this picture of this little choir boy bell that was a gift to me many years ago from my grandmother.  I didn't realize until I looked at the picture just how dirty his face looked! Yes, he is about sixty or more years old, but still...


And so he got a nice face scrubbing with some silver polish. Why? well, I've discovered that many of my old painted items (probably lead paint!) were "tarnished" when we lived in our last house because we had sulfur water and a lot of sulfur in the air caused things to tarnish more severely than normal, like silverware, brass, anything metallic.   And so this little fella looked like he had a dirty face, but when I cleaned him with silver polish he looked like this:

Much better, wouldn't you agree?

Likewise, this beautiful brass bell was very dark and ugly.  I used some brass polish on it, and it is much happier now and ready to ring in the Christmas celebrations!

This beautiful angel used to sit atop our tree, but our ceilings are little lower in this house and she just doesn't quite fit. And she had also lost her halo...


So with the help of a Christmas elf and a hot glue gun, she has her halo back on and she is ready for Christmas:



These two little "elves" are sitting on the shelf, waiting for the fun to begin.  (A sweet friend from church gave us these for Christmas this year. I think they are darling!!)



The nativity is set and ready to share the Good News that Jesus Christ is born!


And we have that "Christmas Star" in the western heavens, leading the way to the Baby Jesus...

Can you see it there?  Look real close:


This is how it looked through my camera last night:


"Oh, Star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to that perfect Light."

Jesus is that perfect Light...
Jesus said in 
John 8:12

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”


At this Christmas, let us 
"Come to the Light...'tis shining for thee...
sweetly the Light has dawned upon me...
Once I was blind, but now I can see...
The Light of the world is Jesus."

Do you remember this old hymn?

  1. The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin,
    The Light of the world is Jesus!
    Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in;
    The Light of the world is Jesus!
    • Refrain:
      Come to the light, ’tis shining for thee;
      Sweetly the light has dawned upon me;
      Once I was blind, but now I can see:
      The Light of the world is Jesus!
  2. No darkness have we who in Jesus abide;
    The Light of the world is Jesus!
    We walk in the light when we follow our Guide!
    The Light of the world is Jesus!
  3. Ye dwellers in darkness with sin-blinded eyes,
    The Light of the world is Jesus!
    Go, wash at His bidding, and light will arise;
    The Light of the world is Jesus!
  4. No need of the sunlight in Heaven we’re told;
    The Light of the world is Jesus!
    The Lamb is the Light in the city of gold,
    The Light of the world is Jesus!
  5. (written by Philip P. Bliss in 1875. I believe was a blind man, but he was looking forward to seeing Jesus face to face.)


So my parting thoughts are, I may not be physically quite ready for Christmas, but in my heart I am very ready for "The Light of the World", Jesus, to shine in our hearts and lives and world once again.
Yes, I am ready for Christmas in the truest sense of the word,
Ready!

And now, if you will pardon me, I must get back to my wrapping, so that I have time for some baking tomorow...Have a blessed and very Merry Christmas!  

22 comments:

  1. Actually, I think your first two pictures put the "Merry" in Merry Christmas! I've but two presents to wrap, and you think they're done? Nope! That's so nice of your hubby to pitch in. My Tom's a much better, more precise wrapper than me; maybe that comes from his being a modeler.

    Love all your 'little people'! And 'Baby Elva'? At first glance I thought she was a living, breathing child! :)

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    1. Thank you, Myra. I am not a precise wrapper at all. I never could figure out how to get the corners and ends so perfectly folded and beautiful ribbons tied just right. I just learned that you are also a "lefty"...and that explains our frustrations with wrapping and all things precise! (That's my story and I'm sticking to it). Oh, you haven't met "Baby Elva" yet? I will have to send you some links (later) with her story. Yes, she does affect people that way. She's very special!! Have a very merry Christmas!!!

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  2. Beautiful pictures. You are so ready for CHRISTmas! We are too. Gonna have family over the day after and I'm looking forward to that. Blessings. xx

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    1. Oh Sparky, Enjoy your CHRISTmas day and your family the next day. I pray it will be a day of many joys and blessings for you and yours.

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  3. Everything looks beautiful Pamela. Wishing you and your family a blessed Christmas!

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    1. Thank you, Martha. I hope that you and your family will also have a blessed and beautiful Christmas day!!

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  4. Hope you get all that wrapping done. I almost feel guilty as I have nothing to prepare. It will Steve and me on Christmas Day, so we’ll keep it very simple. Merry Christmas.

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    1. Sometimes simple is good. You can focus more on the real meaning of the day. Enjoy your time with your son. Maybe you can do something extra special that day...but simple is good. Merry Christmas to you and your son and his daughter!

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  5. I sure enjoyed this post, Pam! I still have things to put together for our friends, Helen and Cheryl, but the rest of our little gifts have been delivered. No wrapping... just gift bags here. The big day is nearly here! It came upon a midnight clear... Merry Christmas, to you and all!! xo

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    1. I do both gift bags and some wrapping, depending on the size and shape! Nothing fancy. We recycle gift bags from year to year unless they get torn in the excitement. If the labels are still on them they get used again for the same person! LOL. Nothing fancy about our wrapping because it's just going to get torn off anyway. I have boys, remember? And boys NEVER grow up! LOL. Merry Christmas to you and Joe and Helen and Cheryl. God bless you all.

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  6. I have no doubt that you will get everything done in time for a joyous Christmas Day, Pamela! Your home, as always, looks so comfy and inviting, and I love how that old ornament spruced right up under your loving hand. Such a treasure!
    Merry Christmas!

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    1. Thank you, Martha. Little by little it's getting done. Presents are wrapped, some cookies are baked. Tomorrow will be double check everything for Friday's dinner plans to be sure we have all we need, and then go to church for Christmas Eve service. I pray you have a blessed Christmas day!

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  7. No matter what I do to get ready there are always last minutes rushes and late parcels to prepare. I see you have a LOT of wrapping to do. I don't buy that many presents as people here don't need that much that they don't already have. But I like to remember a certain few people that don't have others to remember them. I hope you and your husband have a very Merry Christmas. I smiled when I read he helped you wrap the parcels. You two make a good team. Love and blessings to you and all your family and all the best this season and into the New Year.

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    1. Thank you, Penny. We have our family here, two sons, daughter in law, and then there are special friends, and our extended family that we will see probably sometime next week or New Years. And my hubby is of the mind that even if it is a bag of candy, it should be wrapped and put under the tree so they have lots of things to open up. It's all part of the fun on Christmas morning and probably goes back to a childhood that didn't always have much under the tree because they were having a real struggle, and he remembers that and wants his kids (who are all adults now) to always have something under the tree, even if it is something silly or simple. And so that is why I asked him to please help wrap the gifts because he's the one who kept buying more "stuff" for the boys. LOL. I hope you have a blessed and beautiful Christmas day and a very Happy and healthy New Year!

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  8. I got my wrapping done yesterday...a whole TWO gifts for Bud! Cards were sent out a couple weeks ago. Will bake a pie today & cook a ham on Christmas day. I look forward to a quiet, serene day. That Baby Elva? She's not real? My goodness, but you coulda fooled me!!! Love your mini-playmates in their new coats!! And, Pamela...may your holiday be blessed,with good health, happiness & be safe from harm!!!

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    1. Thank you, Anni. Yes, Baby Elva fools a lot of people! She has quite the personality and following. LOL. I've written about her in the past, but before you became one of my "followers". I will have to tell her story again soon. Praying that you and yours will also have a blessed and Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!! What kind of pie are you baking? Which reminds me...I have to do that today too! Pumpkin and whatever else hubby says he wants...maybe apple, maybe coconut cream if he begs...LOL.

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  9. Oh, more of your pretties! I do enjoy seeing them all. :)
    Your grandmother was a Vogt? I knew some Vogt's. They lived on my street growing up. Two families of them and I went to school with the kids. One girl was my roommate our freshman year of college. Their family was originally from the Butler area, I believe. The parents eventually retired back to that area.
    It's Christmas Eve Day here. Tim is out doing his shopping...he is one of THOSE. LOL
    I am going to wrap the final two gifts that arrived this morning and clean up the kitchen. Tonight we are celebrating with a few members of my Bible study group and tomorrow with our daughter's family and Mom and my stepdad. For once I am ahead of the game and not stressed out. Wishing you and your family a safe, healthy, blessed and merry Christmas!

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    1. Thank you, Stacy! This was my great grandmother...my father's father's mother, and they lived in Utica, NY. My grandfather moved to Pittsburg as a young man and that is where he met my grandmother and raised his family in Crafton. But his birth family was from Utica, NY (and originally came over from Germany). So I don't think the Vogt's you know are the same family, but then again, you never know!! I'm learning with the DNA matches that I have relatives literally everywhere!!
      Have a very wonderful Christmas. Sounds like you will be busy, but happily so. We have church tonight at 6:00, so I am going to get pizza for supper. Been baking today and I'm too tired to cook. God bless you all.

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  10. Merry Christmas, Pam! I love all your festive traditions ... and the memories of past generations.

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    1. Thank you, Molly! Christmas time seems to really bring out all the old family traditions! Wonderful memories and heritage from days past.

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  11. Doing some "catch up" reading on December 28th. Love all the pictures. Such a cheery time!

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    1. Thank you Barbara. All that preparation and now it is all over already, but the decorations will stay up at least until after this weekend. My sister and her hubby are coming to spend New Year's with us, so after that I can start putting things away. I enjoy looking at them all, but after a while it is time to "clean house." I am assuming you must be back home now. Been thinking about you and praying for you every day.

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