Skip to main content

Ten Things of Thankful: Christmas Edition

I'm sitting on my couch in the quiet early morning hours, trying to transform the peaceful contentment I am feeling into words. Minutes tick by, and I am still basking in the calm, wishing that words were not required to convey the serene sense of security. Drexel awakens, and greets me happily, but not frantically, his tail's soft thump thump thump providing background accompaniment to the morning's natural song.  

 If I could bottle this up, I would.  
A text from someone  reminds me that life is not always so still, and forces my attention outward.  How can I help?  And yet, the peaceful contentment continues.  In good times or bad, family--whether by birth or adoption, a nuclear unit or a larger community--steps in to support one another.  

 This has been a week full of family.  I'm thankful for the 11 other people who joined me around the table on Christmas day:  oldest son and his wife; oldest daughter; middle daughter, her boyfriend, and their three children; youngest son, youngest daughter, and, of course, John.  
Photo:  Oldest granddaughter, playing with a Nativity set
Photo:  My granddaughters, in coordinating dresses, stand in front of the Christmas tree
Photo: Baby grandson smiles for the camera, while granddaughters look up solemnly
Even though caroling was out of the question due to colds, the kids still managed to make music using sparkling cider bottles:


Photo: John and I with all of our kids and grandkids
John and I are hoping that we didn't pass on the cold that wiped us out, and we're thankful for the kids who pitched in while we rested up.


Photo:  Oldest daughter captured John, Drexel, and me snoozing and couldn't resist snapchatting. 

 I sincerely hope that your week has been a peaceful one, no matter what has been going on around you. 

 Merry Christmas!







Ten Things of Thankful


 Your hosts

Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group


Comments

  1. Clark FarleyDecember 26, 2015 at 11:49 AM

    excellent photo... (all of them, of course, but the last one especially)...
    "Drexel awakens, and greets me happily, but not frantically, his tail's soft thump thump thump providing background accompaniment to the morning's natural song."
    I'd say that perfectly expresses what I your Post brings to mind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiDecember 26, 2015 at 11:52 AM

      Thank you. My daughter is happy that her photo is the favorite! :-)

      Delete
  2. Clark FarleyDecember 26, 2015 at 11:49 AM

    ...FRIST!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiDecember 26, 2015 at 11:53 AM

      Frist you are. (I'm going to see Star Wars today--I've got to practice Yoda-speak.)

      Delete
  3. UnknownDecember 26, 2015 at 1:18 PM

    Looks like a colorful week of family and relaxing!! Glad you had s nice Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiDecember 27, 2015 at 8:20 AM

      Thanks. We did have a good time. Merry Christmas!

      Delete
  4. JDecember 26, 2015 at 2:03 PM

    Beautiful family! Full of peace and love! I've experienced those quiet moments too, and wondered what I did to deserve them! Happy New Year, Kristi!

    ReplyDelete
  5. RomiDecember 26, 2015 at 4:35 PM

    Your beautiful photos make me happy! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. ChristineDecember 26, 2015 at 9:21 PM

    I'm so happy that so many of the kids could make it back! A house full of joy. And such talent! Love the bottle music. :)

    That photo of the granddaughters is hilarious. Reminds me a bit of the one you and your sister reenacted.

    Hope you all feel better soon. Kudos to your daughter for the great photo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiDecember 27, 2015 at 8:21 AM

      All of them made it! :-)
      You're right--that does look like that photo! I should have recognized it at the time, and posed them even more!

      Delete
  7. UnknownDecember 27, 2015 at 6:15 PM

    Merry Christmas Kristi! your grand children are beautiful! I am very much behind, too! I am sorry that cold bug got you -- do love the photo of Drexel! And the Christmas photo of your family. Hope by now everyone is feeling lots better and that no one took the bug home with them!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Pat BDecember 27, 2015 at 11:58 PM

    How nice that you could get a complete family photo. I love those flute players! Were they the "carolers" this year? The granddaughters in their festive dresses look so cute, and the little one with his great grin too. I think Drexel wanted to make sure you two got your much needed rest. With his head on John's shoe, he was keeping everything just like it needed to be. I hope you are feeling much better each day.

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownDecember 28, 2015 at 1:11 PM

    Awesome family photos! So sorry you are fighting a bug though.

    ReplyDelete
  10. KerryDecember 30, 2015 at 10:02 AM

    Aw, love the family photos.
    :-)
    Love the sparkling stuff and the silence.
    Also, there's a beautiful music of lots of chatter from loved ones.
    Hope you're feeling a bit better.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousJanuary 1, 2016 at 4:23 PM

    It looks like a wonderful time was had by all...how nice.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Ten Things of Thankful: Autumn Edition

It's autumn time, one of my favorite times of year.  I just couldn't leave this weekend as a one-post weekend.  
21 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Last Two Weeks

  Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, as viewed from an overlook I apologize for not commenting on your blog posts this past week; John and I took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park, leaving behind our computers and, to a large extent, cell phone service. We escaped the outside world and just spent time in nature. Though we have friends near Yellowstone (who we love to visit) we made this trip just about us, so please forgive us if we were nearby and didn't stop by. The crowds were minimal (though we did mask up whenever we passed someone on the trails) and we spent our days hiking, taking photos, and watching geysers erupt. Today, we are back home and back to work, and, in the case of my computer, back to old shenanigans like not letting me import my photos. (I was able to add the above photo by using blogger on my phone, but that isn't my preferred method.) I want to write about Yellowstone and have photos I want to share, but will leave that for another...
10 comments
Read more

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago.  I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon.  (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall  Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this...
4 comments
Read more