Holidays

We had four Christmas gatherings this year, and I enjoyed them all.  Christmas Day, we were with our kids, their spouses, and grandchild at our house.  After a great meal (our traditional Cornish hens), we opened gifts.  Books were again a gift of abundance, and we counted 47 books exchanged among the ten of us.  At our big family Christmas marathon on the 30th, I received five more books.  I now have lots of good reading material for the new year.  I also received a motion-activated candy dispenser which, when filled with Skittles, was a big hit with the kids (including some of us big kids)!

Tuesday, I took year end inventory and then started on a Balance Sheet for our lender.  We want to keep him happy, because he gives us lots of money!  I also started going through files and closing the books on 2013.

After New Year's eve church services, we brought in the New Year at Matt and Lena's.  We enjoyed good food and fellowship, and were brought up to date on the improvements and additions to the farm set. We stayed out until 2:00, which is pretty late for us old folks.  But when you are playing rousing games of Balderdash and Psychiatrist, it's not too hard.

The days around the New Year celebration are a good time to stop and count our blessings and evaluate how we are living our lives and our spiritual growth.
We are humbled by the blessings that were ours in the past year and pray for God's continued mercy, love, and grace in the coming year.

The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year;
Esther 9:27