Well, I started writing this early this morning, when Still Waters Pond looked like this and the morning sun was reflecting on the trees and on the pond...it was so lovely. I thought I'd get something written before now, but the day got away from me...
You know, this time of year there's always something to do!
Our church choir sang this song yesterday:
"Christmas Is Comin'"
(turn up your sound to hear it better, and just remember we are a small church country choir!)
and then if you want, stay around and listen to great sermon by our pastor from Luke 1:26-45, "The Announcement".
Christmas is comin’, let the church bells ring!
People celebratin’ the birth of a King
Shoutin’ hosanna till the heavens ring
Christmas is comin’, let the church bells ring!
Christmas is comin’, Mary’s baby boy
Bringin’ us a message of comfort and joy.
Glory hallelujah, what a wonderful thing.
Christmas is comin’, let the church bells ring!
Glory filled the heavens. Music filled the night
Shepherds heard the angels sing. Wise men saw the light
Christmas is comin’, let the church bells ring!
People celebratin’ the birth of a King
Shoutin’ hosanna till the heavens ring
Christmas is comin’, let the church bells ring!
O come, O come, Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!
Glory filled the heavens. Music filled the night
Shepherds heard the angels sing. Wise men saw the light
Christmas is comin’, let the church bells ring!
People celebratin’ the birth of a King
Shoutin’ hosanna till the heavens ring
Christmas is comin’, let the church bells ring!
Let the church bells ring! Let the church bells ring!
That peppy little song should get you singing along...you'll now be doing like me and going around singing "Christmas is comin', let the church bells ring!"
Speaking of letting the church bells ring...guess what we did last night?
Yes, we set up our train and village!
Here's a little video of the train running around the tree:
This is becoming a new tradition for our family, started last year. Well, not really new. Just being resumed from probably 30 years or more ago, and carrying on the tradition of my father from my childhood and his childhood too. (Click on that link for last year's story about this to get more history).
So the "kids" came over for pizza supper and to help put together the train and village.
Here's my sweet DIL Rose and I putting together the village
And Hubby was supervising everyone and taking pictures of us working:
(while he watched football on TV)
Son Scott did most of the on the ground work because he's really the only one of us
still agile enough to get down on the floor and get back up again. LOL
Benton and Rose relaxing and enjoying the fun...
I couldn't wait to start playing with the train, but soon discovered that getting down there and back up is going to be a challenge for me this year...
Of course we had to bring Lily Grace into the room so she could see the train for the first time in her life:
And of course she wanted to take over being the engineer right away:
Yes, I think she's going to have a lot of fun this Christmas:
If you want to watch another short video, here goes Lily Grace, enjoying the train for the very first time:
Here's a couple of great quotes I read on one of my newer blogging friends' posts today:
Thank you to Kirsten at "Loving Life" for sharing these quotes.
Obviously, I "resemble" those quotes...
Well, friends, that's it for today. My Monday Morning Reflections became a Monday Evening Sunset Reflection...
Isn't God's artistry in the skies just amazing?
Praise God in the morning and in the evening too!!
Amen!
Good Night!
and May God bless you all with His peace and joy and love.
"Christmas is comin’, let the church bells ring!
People celebratin’ the birth of a King
Shoutin’ hosanna till the heavens ring
Christmas is comin’, let the church bells ring!"
The days keep getting away from me too. The weeks just seem to be whizzing by.
ReplyDeleteYour decorations are all so lovely. I did mine haphazard this year. It's pathetic.
Blessings. xx
I am sure it is NOT pathetic...it's all in where the heart is...sometimes we don't really need a lot of decorations to feel and show the spirit...God works in so many ways to lift our spirits and help us get in the right Christmas Spirit. I pray that is what He is doing for you!!! Remember, JESUS is the reason for the season...not the decorations or the toys or anything else...
DeleteThe Christmas train! Yes, I remember that sweet tradition begun by your father. I think I mentioned, my hubby is/was a big train enthusiast. Your tree looks wonderful; why, the whole room's come together beautifully! Let the church bells ring!
ReplyDeletePS - Gotta LOVE a man who does foot massages. Go Benton!
Thank you, Myra. Right now some things are still a bit of a mess..."I've been working on the railroad, all the live long day..." well, not really...but most of this evening...rearranging the village and bringing out the people...but today we went Christmas shopping for a little while and then I went to the Ladies' Bible Study this afternoon, so the cleanup on aisle one had to wait. LOL. But yes, Let the Church Bells ring!!! Yes, Benton gives his sweet Rose good foot massages. She works hard on her feet all day, and he takes good care of her. They are such a sweet couple. I hope your hubby is feeling some better. Maybe a he needs a little train to bring back some Christmas fun for him. I do remember the story, however. Hey, my hubby has found some great train videos on YouTube that he's been enjoying. Sometimes that's what the big boys need to do to get their train fix. Take care my friend.
DeleteThis is such a fun post, Pam!! I just love that you are doing the train and village around the tree! The videos are great! Your family is so very precious! Have a blessed week and don't let Lily Grace make the train go too fast!! xo
ReplyDeleteHa ha! Lily Grace wants to take over and drive that train around there lickety split. I really do wish she could get down there and run things and arrange things. My body just "ain't up to it" these days, and I'm feeling it this morning. LOL. But we are having fun. Thank you for enjoying the fun with us. xoxoxo
DeleteWell I think for a small church y’all did great. The tree looks lovely with the village and train under it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sandy. We do try hard, and we enjoy singing for the glory of the Lord. That's the most important reason for singing, right? Thank you for liking the train and village...we are still tweaking it a bit. Did some rearranging and of the village last night and added some people, etc. It's fun, but I'm feeling the effects of that bending and stooping and stretching this morning! Probably good for me...but gee, I wish Lily Grace really could do this for me. LOL. Have a blessed and wonderful day!
DeleteGetting down on the floor isn't the easiest for me anymore either, Pam, although I did it many times in November when playing games with the grands. Joked about it in my blog that is out today. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the train, the village, and the whimsy of Miss Lily Grace. She really does make us aware of the child within us that longs to come out, especially at Christmas.
Blessings!
I told my hubby that next year we will have to figure out how to get this train and village up on a table. This crawling around on the floor just isn't working! We may have to get a shorter tree and put it in the middle of the table with the train going around it. Or we may just not do it at all, but it's been fun...and yes, Lily Grace helps me to remember the excitement of Christmas for the view of a little child. I haven't had the joy of little grandchildren around at Christmas (our one grandson lives in Maine, and I don't think we ever spend a Christmas together sadly. We usually went in October for his birthday, and now he's 22). So I think there's a little girl in me that just wants to come out and play again, and Lily Grace is my excuse to do so. LOL. I must go read your blog now. I've been waiting to hear about your trip. Blessings to you and yours.
DeleteStop that train cause I want to get on!!! :) I've missed Lily Grace, loved seeing her enjoy decorating for Christmas. I also enjoyed watching the video of the choir, that's a fun Christmas song that tells all about His birth. It's a wonderful time of year.
ReplyDeleteAll Aboard!!! Come on and get on board with us! This train is bound for glory!!! Yes, Lily Grace has been quite excited about Christmas, as this is her first! It's fun to see Christmas through the eyes of a little child. Every day is a new adventure! And the closer we get the more there is to learn. Thank you for coming along with us!!
DeleteLet the church bells ring let the church bells RING!! Amen!
ReplyDeleteYes, let them ring! I hope you and your "girls" are excitedly getting ready for Christmas. You can tell that Lily Grace is quite excited about everything that is happening.Every day is a new adventure with her! Such a blessing she is...Thank you so much.
DeleteI love seeing the different scenes of your pond on different days/weather/times/seasons etc. Almost always a different and ever-changing view! Enjoyed all your tree pictures yesterday and oh my gosh YES!!--something bad was on that tree that must've reacted with what you put on it....could've been dangerous to breathe those fumes and your headache was surely telling you something! Glad y'all got it out of there!! Loved today's pictures of the train, that sure looks fun and oh gosh that Lily Grace sure is having a ball isn't she? I will try to get Tracie over to Lily's blog later today....she is VERY BUSY helping me decorate our mantel and put up our Christmas tree!
ReplyDeleteOh, please do bring Tracie over for a visit to Lily Grace soon! She is missing her identical cousin so much! But yes, she is busy too, running that train around the track!! I told her she needs to take a break and write another post soon, but she's just having so much fun. She wishes she could jump on that train and ride right up to visit you and your family! Wouldn't that be fun? I can't wait to see what you and Tracie and Amybelle and Tansy are doing for decorating. I am sure you are all having fun fun fun!! Life is good, and God is good and we are blessed!
DeleteOh, our village is quite vintage...from the 50's I'd say most of it, train too. The village was called Plasticville, and I don't really recommend it. You have to snap the pieces together, and they rarely want to stay snapped, and it becomes a real challenge to move them about as needed. If I could afford to do so I would start over with the cute villages they have today that are so realistic and easy to deal with. But, this is what it is...it brings back happy memories, but I don't remember dealing with the frustration of buildings that wouldn't stay put together when I was younger. I guess someone else dealt with that and I just had fun. LOL. Right now I am in pain from crawling around on the floor trying to get the train back on the track and other calamities of village life. Sometimes nostalgia isn't all it's cracked up to be when you are old and stiff. LOL. But we are still having fun. Thank you for visiting our little village.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know which I like more, the beautiful pond pictures or the cute train.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's okay to love them both!! I am sure there's room enough to add one more thing to your list of loves and likes!! Have a blessed and beautiful day!
DeleteYour small church congregants sing better than the whole Cathedral over here, I'll just say that! I love love love your "new" tradition of the village and train around the tree. Thank goodness Scott could get down there and do the ground work! Lily Grace is doing a great job running the train! She's a natural at being the engineer! Rose is getting a foot rub! Benton's a KEEPER for sure!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Holly! I'm so glad you enjoyed the music and the train! And yes, I am very very thankful for Scott being able to get down on the floor and do the "ground work". I keep trying to do it, but oh my goodness, my body does NOT like that at all! I think next year we may have to try something different, like putting it on a table, which will mean shrinking our tree to fit in the middle. We shall see...it's all good fun and we enjoy it, and yes, Lily Grace especially is loving it! And yes, Benton is a keeper. I'm so thankful he found Rose and she found him. God has truly blessed them together, and we are so happy for them. Have a blessed and wonderful day my dear friend.
DeleteOlá Pamela
ReplyDeleteLindo blog e postagem também. O louvor é maravilhoso, gostei da criatividade do trem, que Deus abençoe sua famÃlia sempre, abraços.
Pam: I always enjoy seeing your pictures of the pond. Glad you have young family around that can help you with your decorating. Peace and blessings to you and yours.
ReplyDelete