a very merry Christmas to all

I'm not sure how I have missed it, but I had never heard the Pentatonix version of Mary, Did You Know. There I was, driving through my town to pick up my kid from school, minding my own business, listening to a Christmas playlist, and it filled my car. Then it filled my heart. Then it filled my eyes. Then I started to ugly cry right there behind the wheel as I was negotiating an intersection. It was an unstoppable force. Not good for driving safety, so I had to take some very deep breaths and just let it wash through me. 

I resist crying. I just do. Some folks only become more lovely when they cry. Their eyes get dewy and large and reflective. Crystal tears fall from their lashes and they become angelic and shimmery. That is exactly unlike what happens to my face. It collapses in on itself and my throat constricts and my nose becomes swollen and red. For several hours it's apparent to everyone from my puffy, red eyes and glowing nose that I've cried. 

However. Despite my blotchy appearance, it was a thing of true beauty that the account of God With Us in the arms of his mother touched my spirit like that, even when I've read it and pondered it and treasured it and heard it a thousand times. 

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy

Has come to make you new?

This child that you delivered,

will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would calm the storm with his hand?

Did you know that your baby boy

Has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little baby

You kiss the face of God

The blind will see,

the deaf will hear,

The dead will live again

The lame will leap, 

the dumb will speak

The praises of the Lamb

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy

Is heaven's perfect Lamb?

That sleeping child you're

Holding is the great, I Am

Somehow I don't think younger Larissa With No Kids could have been as affected. She no doubt would have found it a faith affirming and lovely song. Current Larissa, Mother of Two Non-Divine Humans, hears it and it just cracks me in two. It gives me chills. What a blessed woman Mary was. And yes, she knew.

It was a moment I needed.

Merry Christmas to you. Today, whether or not you share my faith in Christ, wherever you are in the world, I wish for you a peaceful, joyful day, surrounded by those you love and filled with all good things. And only happy crying.

handmade gifts 2012, part 3

The last handmade gift is a reprise of the Phil 4:6-7 papercut I made for Robyn a while back. This version is for my sister, Leigh.

It fits an 8 x 10 inch frame. I changed it a bit from Robyn's with more leaves and no birds included. I included several background colors with it so she could switch it up and find one that worked best for her decor.

I gifted it to her along with a pillow cover you see folded and tied above that I made from some Crate & Barrel napkins. I forgot to take a picture of it on an actual pillow. Oops. It's a nice, Christmasy array of bold green stripes. I made it in my favorite, quick no-zipper-required envelope method, which took three napkins. Also no hemming, since the edges of the napkins are finished already. Boom.

In addition to those I gave some Rifle Paper Co. notes and the Penguin Classic edition of Cranford, in honor of the afternoons we spent watching the mini-series together and drinking tea. The scene about the oranges. Oh my word. "We will repair to our rooms... and consume our fruit in solitude." So funny. The book is a wonderful read, too.

That wraps up the making for Christmas. I had pie-in-the-sky visions of making the quilts for the girls, but I've set my sights on Valentines for that. Which is probably just as unrealistic. Oh, I did have one more handmade gift besides these, but you've already seen the photos. I made a gift of these two stockings to my lovely sister Lori along with some books. She's a book addict like me.

worship notes for kiddos

Hey, everybody! I've had my head down and making a bunch of stuff, but nothing I can really share right now. I thought I'd share this though, if you would like it. It's a Christian worship activity page for your school-age kiddos that will keep them quietly occupied during worship while at the same time helping them to focus on what is going on.

I put it together recently for the congregation I worship with and it seems to work well, judging from all the quiet intentness from the little girls on our pew.

Click on the image above to see the full size version and right click to download it for yourself if you'd like to use it. Print it at full size on 8.5 x 11 inch paper.

Please note: You are very welcome to download and share it, as is. Do not alter it in any way. If you'd like to customize it, please create your own unique version. Thanks!