Along the path...

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas (I haven't been able to upload this video. Please follow the link .)

Renee posted this video on her family's blog the other day and I really appreciated her sharing it. You can view it below, from her blog or on youtube .

Courtesy of Conan and the Tonight Show ... Eight Days of Hanukkah from Tablet Magazine on Vimeo .

(To both of my blog readers:) Feeling the spirit of the season? Need somewhere to give? Remember setting up your first home or apartment and all those things you went to your "Old Mother Hubbard" cupboards for? My sister-in-law , Rebekah, and her family are collecting items for "Apartment Start-Up Kits" for a United Way organization to give out to needy families during the coming year. Items can be gently used. Needed: dish clothes and towels cooking utensils pots and pans vacuums brooms mops buckets sponges cleaning products sugar flour spices If you would like to donate anything before January 4th, let me know and I'll help get it to her.

You might want to see this twice. Be sure to watch all the way through . . . it's really fascinating! Click on the link below (I couldn't get the video to load), make sure your sound is on, and then watch all the way through as the message reverses without changing the words! http://media.creativepastors.com/mediapreviews/index.php?stream=Upside_Down_MPEG1

Tuesday - December 23rd. Andrea 's husband Mike has Norwegian ancestry and the coolest Christmas tradition! On the 23rd of December, Norwegians gather together to decorate their Christmas trees and have an open-faced sandwich making contest. Mike and Andrea's tree was already decorated, but we did have a sandwich making contest, complete with prizes. The rules: make a sandwich and you have to eat it. If you do not eat something on your sandwich you are disqualified. At first, I must admit I was stumped. What do you do with bread, cheese, sliced sandwich meat, pickles, sliced avocado, sliced cucumbers, sliced eggs, smoked salmon, sardines, condiments, etc.? How do you make them into edible art? Karyn is a fairly picky eater and was the most nervous about making something cool that she would also eat. Once we had started it was a great deal of fun. Everyone made awesome sandwiches. Mike took pictures so we could vote on which sandwich we wanted for each of three categories: Sil...

Christmas came. Fast. Presents are all wrapped and unwrapped in a jiffy. Thanks everyone! Here is part of our Christmas program. Mary, great with child. This part was not in the script. AJ came up with it on her own. Joseph leading the donkey through Bethlehem. Mary on the donkey during the journey. Shepherd and angel? Little Christmas gifts beneath the tree. (AM and EL) AL as a rock star, after Christmas! IC as Fancy Nancy. Merry Christmas to all and to all a great night!

Karen W. sent me an email explaining how it works. Choose a thank you card here , and Xerox will print and send it to a soldier currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who receives it, but it will go to a member of the armed services. How AMAZING would it be if everyone sent at least one card?!? It is FREE and takes only seconds to select a card and message. This is a simple way for us to show the soldiers we support them and are grateful for their service.

Lisa sent me a video (that kept giving me errors when I tried to post it). It's a good reminder. Follow this link to see it. (Courtesy of BYU's Fine Arts and Communications Program) May you and yours have joy this Christmas and hereafter!

(Warning: this post is not for the faint of heart or easily embarrassed.... It may also be a post with a limited time engagement.) Crystal sent me an email about a nifty homemade Christmas slipper craft idea for those on a tight gift budget. It made me laugh and I wanted to share. These bedroom slippers are soft and hygienic, equipped with potentially non-slip grip strips on the soles, fresh (optional built in deodorant feature), convenient (no more bending over to mop up spills), completely disposable, biodegradable, and environmentally safe. They come in three convenient sizes: (1.) Regular, (2.) Light and (3.) Get out the Sand Bags. Materials (per pair): Four maxi pads Decorations (optional) Instructions: Lay two maxi pads out flat (for the foot part). Wrap a second one around each flat pad to form the toe area/top. Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom foot part. Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers, buttons, ribbons, etc.