Merry, Merry Christmas!!

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
Luke 2:14 (KJV)

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This will be my last post for a while as I make the big move to Houston. I expect to get settled in and set back up in a week or so. I will miss all of you! Blessings of the season to you, and may peace and good will rule in your hearts and homes. Thank you for your kindness these past few months - what a great blessing and encouragement you have been to me! May God richly bless you in the coming New Year!

With love,
Becky

Illustration Friday: Surprise

"And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:9-11

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What a lovely surprise for us all!

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(I always hear that verse in Linus' voice from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" :o)

12 Days of Christmas - What Was I Thinking?!

I really don't know what I was thinking when I had the crazy idea that I could post to my blog 12 days straight with new Christmas graphics and neat Christmas ideas to share. It was a noble thought, born out of a sincere desire to "deck the walls" of my blog and surround myself with Christmas cheer. But, look at what I'm in the middle of - packing and moving! I'm one week away from my move to Houston - and I STILL have more packing to do! What was I thinking when I thought that it would just take a couple of days to pack my studio!? Our upstairs hallway has become an impossible, impassable maze of boxes, and I still have much more to go.

I got off to a pretty good start with my 12 Days of Christmas effort - made it to day 5, but even at that I missed day 3 and had to post both day 3 and day 4 on the same day. But then, I happened to see that the Studio Friday theme for this week was: "What Was I Thinking?" - and suddenly, I knew I had to stop the madness. Sadly, I haven't been able to participate in SF for weeks now because of all that is going on in my life, but I saw a perfect opportunity with this theme to participate one last time until I get settled in Houston and get the studio up and running again. I even managed to pay a brief homage to last week's SF theme "Where the Wild Things Are"

Yes, those are all mine - yes I'm a grown woman - no, I do not have children. I guess even "What Was I Thinking" applies to this - how and why did I acquire all these stuffed animals - what was I thinking...?? Normally my critters are scattered strategically all throughout the studio, but as I gathered them all together to pack them, it seems as if they were crying out for a group photo - so there they are. And now as you can see they are safely packed away for a while until they get to their new home.

So, I still have a couple of ideas for Christmas posts, especially one I hope to finish by tomorrow for Illustration Friday's theme "Surprise"....shhhh, I can't tell you what I'm creating - it's a surprise.

It was fun to participate in Studio Friday again, to see how it's grown, and to look at all the awesome studios that so many of you are sharing now - what fun! Click here to see all the other great "What Was I Thinking" entries for this week. Enjoy! I hope to be participating again with all of you soon!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 5

Late once again with one of the 12 days, but that's OK. The hustle and bustle of the season can really get to us sometimes and take our focus off the things that are truly important.

For day 5, I have a really simple saying that I think is fitting:

"The ornaments of a house are the friends who visit it."

I wish I could attribute that to someone, but I've only seen it listed from an anonymous author. For day 5, I wish for us all a home graced with the fine fellowship and warm laughter of friends and family this holiday season!

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The 5th Day of Christmas at Just Bee 'n Me

A house full of friends and family!

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Hopefully I'll post day 6 tonight - stay tuned...

12 Days of Christmas - Day 4

The 4th day of Christmas at Just Bee 'n Me

Something nice for every birdy

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Let's not forget our dear feathered friends out in the cold this winter.

Here are some great winter bird feeding tips:

http://www.birdsforever.com/winter.html

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Great bird feeders:

http://www.backyardgardener.com/store/feeder.htm

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Told you I'd keep it quick - see you tomorrow!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 3

It's actually the 4th day, but I'll do two short postings in one day to get caught up!

For this post, I'd like to keep it short and sweet and list a few family Christmas links that I think you and yours will like - Happy Surfing!

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Annie's Christmas Welcome Page
(assorted wonderful, inspirational Christmas goodies)

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Annie's "Christmas is for Kids" Page
(dozens of great puzzles, games, coloring pages, and much more)

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The 12 Days of a Romantic Christmas
(sweet, easy, inexpensive romantic holiday ideas for you and your spouse)

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More Meaningful/Less Stressful Holiday

(great ideas for happy holidays instead of humbug holidays)

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Christmas in Cyberspace

(tons of great Christmas links for th whole family)

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Good Christmas Fun
(easy entertaining ideas for the season)

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The 3rd Day of Christmas at Just Bee 'n Me

Christmas Surfing for your Family

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Stop back by for day 4!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 2

For day 2 of the 12 Days of Christmas at Just Bee 'n Me, I would like to share my movie "review" and other thoughts about "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe." Several days ago, I excitedly purchased my tickets online for the Friday release of the movie I've been waiting for most of my life. Since the 6th grade, when my Sunday School teacher introduced me to C.S. Lewis' classic children's fiction series, I've wished that I could see the stories come to life in some fashion. They have certainly been vividly playing in my head for years, but I think I always wanted everyone to be able to see them big and bold and appreciate them for all their power and beauty and majesty.

So, when I heard a little over a year ago that Walden Media was going to be working with Disney to bring at least the first book in the series to life in a live-action motion picture, I was thrilled. I followed the news about the movie on www.narniaweb.com, and watched their daily countdown till debut - 287 days, 286 days, 285 days...

So, was it worth the wait? Did they butcher or water down the incredible story line? Did the animals and other creatures, especially Aslan himself, look hokey and fake? The answers in my opinion are yes, no and no. It was well worth the wait - exceeded my very high expectations - they were incredibly faithful to the story line (which is really the most important thing), and the CGI creatures were stunning! The actors playing the Pevensie children were fantastic, Tilda Swinson was perfectly icy as the White Witch, and a new favorite character emerged for me - Mr. Tumnus, Lucy's friend the faun. I always liked him in the book, but his character in the film absolutely stole my heart. Any let down for me...? The only thing remotely disappointing to me was the size of Aslan - I always pictured him bigger - but he was still absolutely gorgeous and majestic and very, very life-like. The whole thing was just a great treat, a thoughtful and faithful adaptation, and a rare film that celebrates character and courage and loyalty.

So, if you're not familiar with the story line, you may be wondering what in the world this has to do with Christmas...? Well, Narnia is under a spell from the evil White Witch Jadis which keeps the entire country locked in winter, but a cruel winter without Christmas. No spoilers here, so I won't explain more, but that is why this is part of my 12 Days of Christmas.

I suggest you give yourself and your family a big Christmas treat and experience this joyous, beautiful movie together...and if you've never read the books - do it! C.S Lewis was a genius! Your whole family will love them!

Couple more Narnia links of interest:

www.narnia.com
(beautiful web site with clips, downloads, music, Chronicle synopsis, and much more - make sure you click on the "Enter Narnia" link - awesome Flash animation!!)

www.thenarniaacademy.org

(explore Narnia with 1000s of Homeschoolers and Youth Groups worldwide)

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The 2nd Day of Christmas at Just Bee 'n Me

Don't miss the Lion's new movie

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Hope you'll stop by tomorrow - more pictures than words next time I promise. :o)

12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

My heart is echoing the words of a familiar Christmas carol,

"I need a little Christmas, right this very minute!"

That is precisely how I feel. It's as though I have emerged from a long winter's nap only to suddenly realize that Christmas is but a few short weeks away, and I am far from ready. I feel an immediate need to "Deck the Halls" all around me. Alas, I cannot do it in my home because I am in the process of packing and moving back to Texas on December 22nd. Why I'm moving is a long story that I will share more about in the days to come, but the fact remains that I want to surround myself with the sights, sounds, and smells of this wonderful season.

So, I've decided the one thing I can do is deck the halls of my little blog. Beginning today, I am kicking off "The 12 Days of Christmas" at Just Bee 'Me. I will post a Christmas-themed entry every day from today, December 8th, until December 20th, when I'll have to unplug all my computer gear and get it packed away for the move. So, I hope you'll stop by when you can and join me beside the fire for a cup of hot chocolate and a touch of Christmas cheer...

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The 1st day of Christmas at
Just Bee 'n Me:

Hot Chocolate just for you and me
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I hope you'll stop by tomorrow for more Christmas fun..

Illustration Friday: Blue (and small)

"May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through."

(Irish Blessing)

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"He fills my life with good things..." Psalm 103:5

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I really hated missing last week's Illustration Friday theme, "Small", so I decided to combine small and blue and show you a few of my favorite small, blue things. Blue is such a wonderful color to work with; such a happy, peaceful color to me. I love the infinite variety of blue shades found in nature and repeated in man-made items. Blue makes me smile. Too bad "blue" is associated with feeling down. We should say we have the "grays" when we're feeling sad instead. :o)