I slept straight through until 6:40 this morning when I got up and checked for new snow. I can’t really tell if it snowed any more last night. All I know is that we had 7-8 inches of snow on the deck rail this morning. There was a foot of snow on the garage roof and the roof of the well house. By 10:30 some of the snow was beginning to fall from the tree branches and I was working away on a hat to go with William’s sweater. I was also still cleaning out old emails and whittling down some of the gazillion lists I’m on. Way too much duplication of embroidery ads!
We got an update from Samaritan’s Purse today. Because I did the shipping costs online, we had a barcode on our boxes. They are able to track them and they reported that our boxes went to Mexico. It is exciting to actually know where they went. According to the Samaritan’s Purse website, gift boxes were first delivered to Mexico in 1995. Since then, 4,146,972 children have received a gift. Last year more than 65,000 children enrolled in the Operation Christmas Child (OCC) discipleship program.
Working in partnership with churches throughout the city, OCC invited children to special Christmas parties—complete with music, balloons, and clowns – where they received gifts and learned of El Regalo Mas Grande en Todo El Mundo, “The Greatest Gift In All The World.” At these meetings, OCC handed out Gospel storybooks in Spanish, and a Mexican pastor explained how to receive eternal peace and joy through faith in Jesus Christ. After one meeting at a church on the outskirts of town, the pastor had a special message for everyone involved with Operation Christmas Child: “Most of these children have never received a gift. The joy in their faces is something that I didn’t ever expect to see. You have been the heart and the hands of God to the people here in Mexico.”
At 1:30 the sun peeked through and I had to close the blinds for a short time to keep from being blinded. Of course, that didn’t last long. When the recycle and garbage trucks had not shown up by 2:15 we were pretty sure they weren’t coming - not that we really expected them. Bill’s plan was that if the recycle truck showed up, he would take the garbage down; otherwise he wasn’t planning to hike through the snow!
Grace called. She was having a time with the loan for her new machine. As with Deanna, they wouldn’t accept her by herself. Then she added her son and they still rejected it. Next she added her daughter and it went through. Then Grace got a letter saying the loan was rejected because “the applicant is deceased.” I told her they obviously had it mixed up somehow with her husband who passed away in 2004. Today she got two credit cards – one for her and one for her daughter. At the same time, her daughter got a letter saying the loan had been rejected. She finally called the toll free number where the recording said she owed $$$$ and her monthly payment would be $$$. She held on until she got a live person and told him she was confused. She was assured that the loan is real. Good thing she is getting this squared away before she gets the machine into her hot little hands! Grace will spend Christmas in Seattle with her daughter.
I heard from talked to Ellie today and their power was out for several hours last night. She didn’t say when it went out but it was on when I talked to her at six. She said it came back on around midnight. Nadine said hers was out a couple of hours this morning. I also talked to Ann and they, too, are snowed in. They live half way up a hill so no getting up and down that. Fortunately her husband had planned to be off this week anyway so he isn’t missing work. Their daughter Jenny is flying in despite the potential problems with that which Ann pointed out to no avail.
I also talked to Sally down in Shelton. They had 20 inches of snow in Shelton so she certainly wasn’t going to Myra’s shop – and neither was anyone else. She said that Myra called today from Mexico and couldn’t believe about the snow. She was going to have Ramon put something at the bottom of the driveway to stop people from trying to come in since it is and will be an icy hill up to the shop. And finally, I heard from Nancy. As feared, she was not able to get to the gathering of her family because of the weather. Her sister from Montana was here for a few days and left on Saturday. She said their power was out from sometime last night until just after four this afternoon. Thankfully we have been spared a power outage so far but I did have to put the boots on again today to keep the tootsies warm!
I was done with William’s hat before dark came on and Bill has the sweater and hat all wrapped and ready to go whenever he can get out of here again. For some reason I felt real melancholy when I finished with it. I thought of telling them in the card how William was born on the fourth anniversary of Clint’s going to live with Jesus and that he shared William’s name but decided maybe that wasn’t a good idea. Maybe another time. Anyway, here is the baby set.
I’m posting early since I’m not anticipating much excitement tonight - more knitting, maybe a movie…
Is Santa Claus Real?
I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"
My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.
Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she snorted.... "Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."
"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my Second World-famous cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything.
As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.
I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class.
Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.
"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby." The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.
That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it. Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.
Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.
Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were, ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.
I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.
May you always have LOVE to share, HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care. And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus
Hi Diane. Was finally able to get out cyberwalking again and wanted to check on you and see what you were up to ... 
Hi Carol, I get a "lump in my chest" reading your thoughts that you share .. thanks for reminding us how life is a 
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