ex(PR)essed

When I was driving to Jamie’s for the extravaganza a few weeks ago, I passed a large display of Christmas lights just north of Scranton. Before me in the dark, winter night was a huge, brightly lit sign proclaiming, “Rejoice!” I was stunned — what an awesome word to see blazing in the darkness on a cold Thursday night. I stewed over that word for awhile. Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! It’s a word you hear almost exclusively at Christmastime, and that got me thinking about the language of Christmas.

It seems that we do adopt an expanded vocabularly during the holiday season. We sing songs with words like hark, peace, gladsome, and realms. We wish people a season that is merry and joyous, and we sing about peace on earth as though it could really happen. I think that’s because peace on earth really can only happen when we look to the Lord. And when do we look to Him more than at Christmas?

For several years, I have adopted a new favorite Christmas song — “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” It’s not a common carol. But, it is so powerful. So God-centered that I have a hard time keeping from throwing my hands in the air by the final stanza:

“I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And mild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

So, as you’re bustling off to spend the holiday season with friends and family, let praise be on your lips for this God who does not sleep and who is the only source of peace we’ll ever find.

Merry Christmas.

Every holiday season I look forward to watching “A Muppet Family Christmas.” Nothing puts me in the Christmas spirit like seeing the whole Muppets gang — including the crew from Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock — come together for Christmas caroling and general merriment. So, last night, after a day of partying with the gang from work and then partying with the youth group, Jeff and I settled in for our first “Muppet Family Christmas” viewing of the season. “First,” you say? Yep. Every Christmas requires multiple viewings of this classic for me.

Today is the last day of finals for the students, so I imagine the Christmas spirit is alive and well on campus as students pack up and prepare to head home for the holiday break. I know I’m looking forward to packing up and heading home for the holidays!

…Beth gets tired out! Let me tell you, these senior high girls in my small group know how to shop! And laugh. And scream. And listen to me complain endlessly about my sore feet and extreme thirstiness. On Sunday, I took Mandi, Emily, and Squatch home for lunch and then out for an afternoon of Christmas shopping. I’m not sure that I’ve ever had so much fun Christmas shopping amongst the masses. The crowds? No big deal. The lines? Fine. The ice careening off powerlines and trees and crashing into the car? No biggie. The power outages on the Carlisle Pike? Freaky, but fine. The company? Best ever. I love these girls. (For those of you wondering about “the square” reference: At LIFE this summer, the “triangle of womanship” was formed by Emily, Mandi, and me. When we returned, we welcomed Squatch to the triangle and thus became “the square.”)

This was a weekend o’ Christmas preparations. Marathon card-writing and sending. Hours spent in the kitchen baking, including pecan pralines adhered–no joke–to my countertops. Wrapping paper strewn from one end of the family room to the next. Pots, pans, ribbons, bows, stamps, mixing bowls, envelopes, more stamps, tissue, bags, boxes…I’m exhausted just reliving the busyness of the weekend for this post.

And…good news! If you’re clamoring for more original photos (scalps and such) from the very talented Natalie Patton, then you’ll be thrilled to know that her “Ya-Ya” bought Little Miss Hospitality her very own digital camera. Stay tuned.

…when you give a four-year-old your camera!

Dear little Natalie — hostess extraordinaire — was in the thick of the present-opening at Emma’s birthday party. To distract her, I pulled her on my lap and let her use our camera. We were sitting right beside the birthday girl, so Natalie took a series of photographs of Emma’s scalp. I’ve chosen my favorite to share with you here. She also took a series of self portraits which are each outstanding.

Wondering about Jeff’s blue tongue? Blame it on the bright blue frosting on the Ice Age cake. And, Robert? Well, he wouldn’t cooperate so Natalie was forced to take a photo of him with video camera in hand. He can be so exasperating. Right, Natalie?

When I saw the birthday girl at lunch yesterday, she was feeling a bit unsure about this whole birthday thing. She wasn’t admitting that it was her birthday. But, by the time Jeff and I arrived for the official birthday party last night, she was in the swing of things. “Happy my birthday!” “Emma birthday!” She seriously could not have been any more adorable.

This girl brings incredible joy to my life. For the past three years, she has been lovable and huggable. She has let Jeff and me cuddle with her, tickle her, and wade with her in the creek. She dances regularly, sings with all her might, and has a smile that lights up an entire room. When she was younger, we used to joke that she “heard color” because she would just stand in front of the Christmas tree and dance. It’s impossible not to love this girl. Trust me.

So, when Emma celebrated her third birthday last night, Jeff and I were certainly there to help her celebrate. How could we not be? This girl and her cute red-headed sister Natalie brighten our days. We talk about them sometimes like they’re our own. We always look forward to seeing them…even if it’s only a glimpse of them in the nursery on a Sunday morning. My heart swells with love for the Patton girls.

Well, sadly yet another annual Christmas-Cookie-Baking-and-Crafting-Extravaganza has come to an end. We declared 2006 the “best year yet” for our cookie baking — the new Kitchen Aid mixer had whipped up soft sugar cookies and the buttercream frosting was of perfect consistency. While quality is always key, this year the name of the game was quantity! We rolled, cut, baked, frosted, and decorated 122 sugar cookies alone! Plus, two types of spritz cookies, white chocolate chip cranberry cookies, and chocolate, chocolate chip peppermint cookies. As Jamie’s husband Brad said…”The whole house smells like a cookie!” Not such a bad thing in my book!

In addition to the cookie-baking (did I mention the 122 sugar cookies?), we had time for creating homemade Christmas cards and tags, addressing Christmas card envelopes, playing with Sydney, the yellow lab (who was a constant companion and help in the kitchen), attending a craft show too entertaining and racy for the limited space of this blog, and enjoying church activities. No joke — I felt like I needed today at home to recover! And unpack. The photo that is missing from this collage is the one of my very full Element!

So, Christmas is a mere two weeks away now. While I’m happy to have a freezer full of cookies, I’m still feeling pressure. There are gifts to buy and wrap, cards to write and send, and plenty of evening commitments to keep from doing all of the above. The anticipation of time with family warms my little heart — I can hardly wait to see Mom and Dad Bertram and the Bertram family Christmas tree in all its splendor!

Here it is! The Lorow Family Christmas Tree in all its beautiful glory! I had to lay on the floor to capture the entire tree in the picture. It is a sight to behold!

Snow is falling in Grantham! I wish you could see out my window right now — it’s the perfect December snow. Makes me wish I was watching it from my kitchen window while I baked Christmas cookies and listened to John Denver and the Muppets sing Christmas songs.

Speaking of baking, just one more sleep until the Annual Christmas Cookie Baking and Crafting Extravaganza with Jamie. This tradition — a whole weekend spent preparing for the holidays — reassures me every December amongst all the busyness that this is the most wonderful time of the year!

I got an early Christmas present yesterday. We started a new Sunday School class, led by our capable and witty pastor, based on a Beth Moore video series called “Jesus: The One and Only.” As someone who had excellent Sunday School teachers as a kid and who spent much our her life in the church, I was feeling pretty good about my knowledge and understanding of Jesus, especially His birth. Well, my little world was rocked yesterday when I learned that from the time the Old Testament ended to the opening chapters of Luke, God was silent. For 400 years, God did not speak to His people. You see, the people weren’t listening; they ignored the prophets that God sent, and they even “stopped up their ears,” according to a verse in Zechariah. God was angry, so He quit speaking. His silence caused a desperate hunger for a word from Him to develop in His people. When God did speak again, it was through an angel to tell Zechariah that he would have a son. And Zechariah was afraid. And he lost his ability to speak. And–this is my favorite part–God spoke by giving us Jesus. The realization that 400 years of divine silence was ended with God sending His only son to earth totally stunned and humbled me. The Christmas season feels differently now. It’s more than the same baby in the same manager: It’s God’s people desperately hungering for Him and God responding by making the ultimate sacrifice.

So, I was brimming with the Christmas spirit when Jeff and I bundled up to head to the tree farm in search of the perfect Lorow Family Christmas Tree. It was drizzling and cold. We made quick work of identifying the tallest, fullest douglas fir in the field and cutting it down. And it is stunning! This tree is no less than eight feet tall. It looks splendid in our home, if I do say so myself. Much to my glee, it also smells strongly of pine, something last year’s Lorow Family Christmas Tree was disappointingly lacking.

I hope the Christmas spirit soon catches you by total surprise and doesn’t let go!