In the Twelfth Blog of Christmas...

So.... in the twelfth blog of Christmas, your blogger gives to you an enthusiastic MERRY CHRISTMAS!



I know I've recently used this scripture, but I think it's a fitting salutation on Christmas Day.

The Lord bless you and protect you;
the Lord make His face shine on you,
and be gracious to you;
the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26

In the Eleventh Blog of Christmas...

So.... in the eleventh blog of Christmas, your blogger gives to you a look at my second Christmas Tree. It is more traditional, a kind of family tree - the tree where all the meaningful ornaments hang. It is 7.5 feet tall and is covered with 600 colored lights (not pre-lit).



I have another Santa as a topper for this tree. He is a doctor, and proceeds from his purchase benefit the Children's Miracle Network (so buying this Santa helped out ole Arkansas Children's Hospital).



Some of the ornaments commemorate trips and vacations I've taken. The Pineapple (posted yesterday) reminds me of my trip to Hawaii; my friends from that trip actually just sent me a Palm Tree ornament (sorry, no pic). The Goat ornament honors my vacation to Maryland and DC (see the 9th day for the 411 on the GoatMan). The Raccoon or "Mapache" commemorates our trip to Costa Rica, where wild "mapaches" would walk right up to your dinner table and swipe food if you weren't careful.





I received this ornament (from Tammy Adams) before moving away from Tennessee.



Does this Jack Russell ornament need any explanation?



This is the first year this SpongeBob ornament made it to the tree. It was usually relegated to a wreath, displaying oddball ornaments. It was given to me 5 or 6 years ago by a friend, Debbie Dillon, who passed away about a year ago after a long battle with cancer.



I think the neatest thing about a tree like this is the memories that each of the ornaments conjure up for me, whether good memories or bittersweet ones; Christmas should be a time for family, tradition, memories, and fun. May God Bless You this Christmas.

In the Tenth Blog of Christmas...

So.... in the tenth blog of Christmas, your blogger gives to you a photo of the official ornament of this blog.




I know a little lazy, but come on, I've already done nine entries in a row. That's certainly a record on this spot. Anyway, this ornament adorns my second large tree. I'll tell you more about it on Christmas Eve.

In the Ninth Blog of Christmas...

So.... in the ninth blog of Christmas, your blogger gives to you a doodle of a goat (not exactly Christmas Future, huh, well, at least I hope not).



So, this a a 23 second doodle I did for my nurse Lorie a few days ago. Her daughter "shows goats." Showing of livestock is way big and way cool down here in Southwest Arkansas. Lorie's daughter, Haley, bought a goat (through the FFA program) and named her Barbie Pearl. To "show a goat" one must apparently cloth themselves in western gear, clean, trim, and lead the goat around an arena at one of several local, county, or regional fairs. Actually, Haley and Barbie Pearl did well.

What does this have to do with Christmas? Well, I just recently bought a new piece for my Fontanini Nativity Scene - a goat. All of the Fontanini figures come with a little story (even the goat), but sometimes I don't like their story, so I've decided to start making up my own narrative for each of the figures (the goat shall now be called Marvin).



Anyway, if you've heard me discuss goats before, you're sure to have heard of my fear of The GoatMan. The GoatMan is a legendary boogy-man of sorts that lives in Maryland. I saw a special on the History or Discovery Channel about regional boogey-men a few years ago, and the story of the GoatMan kind of weirded me out - almost as bad as when I hear, see, or read something about the Fouke Monster (the local booger-bear near where I grew up). I had forgotten about the GoatMan until I was visiting my friends in Maryland, and as we were driving to Annapolis, I read aloud from a book about that state. It discussed the GoatMan, and as I read about him, we actually passed the stretch of road (including the exact cross streets) where the GoatMan had been sighted. Fortunately, we made it to Annapolis without any cloven-hoofed interference. Even the Naval Academy respects the GoatMan!



Since I was blogging about my nativity set (sort of) I also wanted to include this picture of Lydia, a figure given to me as I moved away from Murfreesboro (thanks John).



She was given to me in honor of the time I accidentally taught the same Sunday School Lesson (about Lydia) as was taught the week before by someone else.

In the Eighth Blog of Christmas...

So.... in the eighth blog of Christmas, your blogger gives to you a photo of Christmas Present.




This is a picture of my current home, mildly decorated for Christmas. On the subject of exterior holiday decorating, I believe less is more - clearly, that doesn't hold true for interior decorating. Don't worry, kids, that same creepy, decapitated Santa wreath hangs of the front door, inviting friends to enter at their own risk. The two small trees on the porch are hooked up to a remote control, so I just click a button to turn them off and on. My smaller Christmas tree (with colored lights) is visible through the dining room window. Fortunately, this picture being taken at dusk helps to hide all of the leaves strewn about the yard - which I have yet to clean up (why should I, the trees haven't dropped all of their leaves yet).


Does tomorrow's entry hold a clue to the future? Tune in to find out...

In the Seventh Blog of Christmas...

So.... in the seventh blog of Christmas, your blogger gives to you a picture of Christmas Past.



This a a photo from a couple of years ago - it is obviously of 2208 Alexander, in Tennessee, my first house. I really do miss that house. Sometimes I think I'd like to build a new house and pattern it on this one (not that I have any current plans), but there are a lot of things I would do differently. I would want the stairs to face the front door (adding drama), and the treads would be hardwood - no carpet. The upstairs bath would be larger. I would adjust how the breakfast nook was arranged because it actually was separated from the kitchen. I would probably eliminate all the wall-to-wall carpeting. There would also be a fence, and a pool, and a carriage house, and a butler's pantry, and French doors, and some established trees - maybe I won't pattern my next house on this one after all.... Thanks for enduring my nostalgia (and neuroses).

In the Sixth Blog of Christmas...

So.... in the sixth blog of Christmas, your blogger gives to you an early contender for my Christmas Card picture.



I thought this was a wonderful shot of Travis, but I wasn't thrilled how I look (big, thick, white, fuzzy neck - yikes). This idea was inspired by the moose ("reindeer") costume that I bought for Travis for Halloween. I actually bought him three different Halloween costumes. Most of you have seen him as a lobster. Don't be surprised next October if you see a picture of me as Colonel Sanders, holding a Jack Russel Chicken.

Wow, half way through these dozen Christmas Blogs - stay tuned for more.