Love One Another

I just remembered this Charlie Rose interview I watched one night while up late being crafty-- Anne Rice was being interviewed about her new book. It's about Jesus and everybody was all freaking out that this crazy lady who writes about vampires and maybe IS a vampire was writing about Our Lord (I have never read her books or seen her movies so all I know is hearsay so I reserve my opinion until I am better informed). I was so impressed, though, when Charlie Rose asked her, "What is the most important message Jesus taught?" She answered, "Love. Love one another. Love everyone as I love them." She went on to explain that if we really tried to live that commandment, it would take up all of our time and energy (as it should) and we'd have no time for all the pettiness and evil we are prone to. Quite the profound statement coming from the Queen of the Damned. I agree with her wholeheartedly, as do the scriptures, time and again.

So it reminded me of my favorite Christmas song: "Truly he taught us to love one another; His law is love and his gospel is peace; Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother and in His name all oppression shall cease." Ugh. That brings tears to my eyes right now because I just imagine (a) what it would be like if we all accepted and lived the gospel of Jesus Christ--all oppression WOULD cease and it would be beautiful, and (b) how sad it must be sometimes to see what Christ's message had been twisted into. I think, like Anne Rice and the apostle Paul, without charity, we are nothing.

On another note, I have a deep and abiding love for the song, "The Heart of the Matter," by Don Henley. It is so beautiful and when I hear it, I kind of feel like I got punched in the gut a little bit, like maybe I'll cry. Anyway, today they played it on the radio and then the DJ said, "That 's a great song for the season--it's about forgiveness." Hmmm...Interesting thing for the DJ to say about Christmas...truer than he knows. "These times are so uncertain/ There's a yearning undefined/ And people filled with rage/ We all need a little tenderness/ How can love survive in such a graceless age?/ The trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness/ They're the very things - we kill I guess/...I think it's about forgiveness/ forgiveness/ even if/ even if you don't love me anymore." Lovely.

Addie loves the snowman party favor she got at the Breakfast.
Our porch Me (jamie/Mommy), Addie, & Heidi getting ready to go deliver gifts to our neighbors Sunday night.

O Tannenbaum

From outside, the tree looks like this...

Saturday night we decorated the tree and only used about half our ornaments
The girls did pretty well at decorating and so far, are leaving the tree alone.

Fetching the Tree

This year, having a zillion feet of snow and freezing temperatures already, we decided to forego the traditional cutting fo the tree and just buy one from the Boy Scouts. Here is Addie at their lot Saturday about noon, immitating the plastic Santa.
Here are the girls posing with the tree and whining about being cold and hungry.

Church Christmas Breakfast

On Saturday, 12/10, we started off the day with the annual ward Christmas Breakfast. This year, each family made their own gingerbread houses and the Young Women put on a skit of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and the Grinch handed out gift bags at the end to all the little kids. Dad & Addie build a candy house that resembles our own...
...complete with "log" porch...
...while mom & Heidi get down to business and eat breakfast.

The New Camera

Daddy's digital Canon Rebel came this week and this is the first picture he took.(There are supposed to be blankets in there, silly girls!)

But I'm not THIS conservative...

..or crazy, or whatever you call it. We moved here aroudn the time of the first anniversary of 9/11 and this truck, however crass and redneck, made me laugh so hard. I kept meaning to take a picture of it but hadn't seen it for a long time. Then lo and behold, at the gas station on our way to get our Christmas Tree, I saw it again. It's a Festivus Miracle! And YOU, dear reader, get the benefit.

(more festivus)

The Wall of Separation

I am pretty sure I qualify to be a card-carrying member of the "religious right," but truth be told, they scare me. I have been trying to figure out why there exists such a chasm between me and "them." I mean, I go to church AT LEAST twice a week and read scriptures everyday. I love Jesus and I try to follow him, I am a registered Republican, fiscally conservative and mostly socially conservative ( I know they'd have my hide on the sujects of abortion, public education, and stem cell research, to name a few "departures"). I think I should feel more in common with these folks than I do.

But mostly the whole catgory makes me shudder. This year's crusade is to put CHRISTMAS back into the "Holidays." "They" are boycotting stores that advertise "Holiday Sales" instead of Christmas Sales and stuff like that. Thing is, I am all for separation of church and advertising, just as much as church and state. I mean, if it's a Christmas sale, does that mean you can't get the discount for Hannukah, Ramamdan, Kwanzaa, or just cuz you WANT it? Let's just call it holiday. You dont' step on my toes and I won't step on yours.

For the record, I believe that public things should be ethical and religiously neuutral, and private things should be deeply spiritual, religious, commited, and meaningful--to each his own. And pleeeeease crazy religious right people, stop speaking for Christians as if we all agree onthis stuff.

End of rant. Your thoughts?

Decking the Halls

Yesterday we decorated little trees for the side windows. The girls hung most of the ornaments themselves and I tried to just be the creative director. We will get our big tree for the Living room this weekend. Also in this room, we put up the cute Rudolph Village that my mom sent because there was no other high, flat space in the house...we love it! Heidi's Teddy Bear Tree (these pix were taken at 8am--it's so dark out!)
Bed-Head Addie and her Nutcracker Tree

Addie's tree close up...merry, merry!

The Rudolph Village from Nana
The guest room/ Christmas staging room

The Tree Tops Glisten

Weather.com's local page says it's MINUS 14 and feels like MINUS 36. What can I say? Nothing. I can say nothing except "Brrrrr." Although I just got out of the hot tub and I am sweating a little bit and drinking an ice water. Heh, heh.

I guess mother nature was easing me into Montana winters the past three years. My fourth winter (which technically hasn't even begun yet) is cookin' up to be a doozie. [Aside--you'll forgive my whining about the weather--it comes with the territory when you're reading a blog written by an AZ girl transplanted to MT--I do it every winter and will probably double it up this year!]

My poor house bound kids! I let them jump on my bed today cuz they had to let of some steam. We decorated mini-trees today--Addie's is ballerinas and nutcrackers and Heidi's is teddy bears. They are in the guest room windows, and when I am not afraid that the weather will break the camera, I will take a picture. It's really quite magical.

Well, much love to all--I wish you down comforters, hot cocoas and sweet dreams!