It’s time once again for a Thing Post, which simply means I feature a whole bunch of things that don’t make up a post by themselves but are still worth sharing.
Before Sarah came home for Christmas, she and her roomie/friend, Becca, enjoyed wandering the campus and taking in the Christmas lights.
My favorite picture was this one which she captioned, “Yay! I’m tall enough to ride the Ferris wheel”
Seeing Regent from up high.
Since she’s been home she’s tried to grab as many hours of work at Food Lion as she can. Christmas vacations are great, but bills are not in the habit of taking a break! One day she drove all the way back to the Virginia Beach store, just to get in some hours. We are proud of her for being so diligent.
Two days after Sarah got home, we were just finishing a quick dinner before our Candlelight Service. Steve had gone upstairs to change and Sarah and I were chatting at the table when we heard a crackling sound, like when a light bulb burns out. We paused for a moment but didn’t see anything amiss so we kept talking. About two minutes later, we heard the same sound and then Sarah said, “Mom! There are sparks shooting out of the outlet!”
As you can well imagine, I made a beeline upstairs for Steve who went out to the garage to turn off some breakers since we sure didn’t want flying sparks while we were out of the house.
When we got home later that night, Steve took apart the outlet and realized some wires had melted together.
He said if we hadn’t seen the sparks when we did, we could very well have had a fire. All three of us had been gone all day except for a few minutes at supper so we’re thankful the sparks “sparked” when they did.
In the semi darkness, we started loading up the stuff in the fridge/freezer (since the breaker was off) so we could move it to the refrigerator in the garage.
Just when we had gotten all finished Steve said, “Oh wait. I had turned off all the breakers because we were leaving in a hurry and I wasn’t quite sure which was which. I’ve just realized the refrigerator breaker was fine.”
So. We turned around and moved all the stuff BACK into the house . . . all the while giving thanks that we had a house to move stuff around in.
The next morning, there were a few odd items spotted in the living room.
Since they couldn’t be used in the kitchen, Steve found new temporary homes for them until he could fix the outlet. I think decorators refer to this look as the Quasi-Modern, Early Century, Kitchen-esque Living Room Decor.
I had to go to Greenville last week and en route, I ran into some terrible traffic.
A traffic jam . . . Outer Banks style.
In Greenville, while I was checking out after my appointment, I glanced out into the waiting room and discovered that even Santa Claus is not exempt from Rheumatoid Arthritis.
When I got into the parking lot, I didn’t have much trouble picking out his car.
On the RA front, my rheumatologist has suggested that I might consider looking into having a joint replacement in one of my fingers. It is turning decidedly crooked and an x-ray is showing that the joint is starting to fuse. I am wondering if any of you (or someone you know) has ever had a finger joint replaced and what the results were. You can leave a comment or email me at smithellaneousATyahoo.com
For the creative types among us, I thought you would enjoy seeing what our children’s pastor did for decorations. She painted Solo Cups and attached them to balloons to make large Christmas “lights.” Is that not so cute?
And speaking of lights and decor, here are Sarah and I in the process of decorating our tree.
Before our service yesterday, I took a few more photos of the splendor that our talented decorating people have created.
With all the great things up on the platform, the best looking one was this guy!
As for our family’s Christmas plans, we will leave for Charlotte Wednesday afternoon after Sarah gets off work. Since this may very well be Steve’s dad’s last Christmas with us, Nathan is flying in late Friday night and we will all do Christmas together on Saturday before Steve, Nathan, Sarah and I leave for Florida on Sunday morning to join up with Meagan and the kids.
In the meantime, I have only wrapped a couple of gifts and have not even thought about what I am packing for the trip. The house is in a semi-disastrous state which may or may not be remedied by the time our dog/house sitter arrives.
Oh well. A little chaos is good for the soul. Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself!
Steve presented this box to Sarah and me yesterday–a box which has a story behind it.
When Steve and I went to Israel in January, we somehow forgot to buy an ornament for our collection. It wasn’t until we started decorating the tree that we even realized it.
However, yesterday Steve happened to remember that he had picked up a stone in the Judean valley and put it in his sock drawer. He retrieved the stone, drilled a hole in it for a hanger, and carved the star of David.
Presto! An ornament from Israel featuring a stone that is who knows how many years/centuries old.
I’m thankful for a creative husband and an ancient, new ornament for our celebration of Christ’s birth . . . which happened not far from where that stone/ornament was picked up.
For quite a while I have been wanting to get a 50 mm lens for my Nikon but it never seemed a good time to spend the money. However, last week I was looking at our local FB Yard Sale page and saw that someone was selling their lens for less than half of what a new one would cost. I decided that eight years was long enough to wait and I took the plunge.
It has been great fun to play around with this lens. Here are a few pictures I took yesterday.
And lastly, here is this year’s Christmas card.
FRONT
BACK
Every year I try to have a few extra available to send out to readers who want one. I need to leave them out on the table in our church lobby one more Sunday to be sure all of our church folks have picked one up. If I have any left, I will let you know.
What about you? Tell us your Christmas plans. Traveling or staying home? Big gathering or small gathering?
And once Christmas is over, let us know what was the favorite gift you got or gave.
Hi Becky
Love your latest post. Asked a friend who has been following you all since the very beginning of your journey after Sarah’s diagnosis. Been thinking of you all a lot!! Wow, Nathan has 3 children. That’s wonderful. Sarah looks beautiful and so do you and Steve.
Unfortunately cancer hit our family hard just last year and we lost Kevin Sr Nov 15, 2018.
Hannah was married Dec 3 which kept us busy and in a joyful spirit.
Kevin Jr is a high school math teacher at a local school.
I’ll be returning to work in Jan after a 4month sabbatical.
Love to you all.
Ronna Perry
Ronna,
How great to hear from you. I’d love to know which of your friends has been following us since the very beginning. That’s a long time.
These past few months have truly been emotional for you and your family with a funeral and a wedding so close together. I can’t even imagine the ups and downs and the tears and the joy of those journeys. May God continue to give you peace.
Sounds like Kevin Jr. is doing well. Anyone who can teach math to high schoolers has my admiration! And congrats to Hannah on her recent wedding.
Blessings to all of you.
Becky
My friends name is Kathy England. ❤
Happy New Year to you and your family.
Ronna,
Thanks for taking the time to drop back by here and let me know. Hugs.
Hope you had a peaceful Christmas Day. Praying your time with family will be special this coming week. Wave as you pass near Jacksonville, FL 🙂 If you have an extra Christmas card, I would love one. Hugs.
Marylea,
We will give an extra wave and a toot of the horn as we come through. 🙂
I will put your name on my card list and will hopefully be able to send out a card once we get home. (And after I check if we have cards left are leaving them in a basket at church for our congregation to pick up.)
Happy day to you!
We had our kids and grandchildren here this weekend. SO much fun! The BEST gift was the three ‘pictures’ our 5 yo granddaughter colored for us. She wrapped them in paper all by herself and wrote the tag too. Absolutely precious!!
The sparky outlet sounds so scary! That you were home when it happened is amazing. Thank God you were! Divine intervention!
Merry Christmas to the Smith clan! Safe travels!! ❤?
LeeAnne,
There is not an expensive piece of jewelry on earth that could ever compare to something handmade by a grandchild. I know those pictures absolutely melted your heart. And especially that handwritten tag. Too precious!
We’ve made it on the first leg of our journey to Charlotte. Three days here then on to Florida!
Okay, now I have your post. Don’t think it was a coincidence that all of you were home when the sparks flew – you were there at the right time. Thank the Lord that Steve is able to fix what needs fixing. Of course, you do such a wonderful job with pictures and your new lens (with the great price) makes it even more special. Love the “balloon lights” – what a great idea. Glad you will be able to spend at least one more Christmas with your dad-in-law. Know you’ll all have a great time together.
Sharyn,
Yes, I was very thankful we were home to see those sparks!
Looking forward to spending Christmas with folks we love on Saturday. Today will be a quiet day with just the three of us. Merry Christmas to you!
I love your “Thing’ posts! Sarah’s campus is beautiful – is there a Ferris wheel there all the time or was it for a special occasion? …So glad you “caught the sparks” and no fire occurred.While we don’t want to live without electricity, it can also be scary. What a pretty traffic jam on your way to Greenville. Thanks for sharing a picture of Santa in a doctor’s waiting room – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of that before. Prayers for wisdom and discernment as you make decisions concerning your possible joint replacement…Your church is decorated beautifully, and what a creative use of solo cups and balloons!…What a creative and special ornament – better than anything you could have purchased….wishing you all a blessed time together with Steve’s parents and then with the next generation Smiths. Merry Christmas!
Sue Ellen,
The Ferris wheel was just there as part of a Christmas Village theme. It would be fun if it was there all the time, though. I would love to ride a Ferris wheel again!
Thanks for taking the time to comment on each “thing” of the Thing Post. Very impressive! Merry Christmas to you, too.
Always love your Thing posts! Merry Christmas and love to the Smiths! ♥️ Deb
Deb,
Hope the Mantik clan has a wonderful, peaceful, joyful Christmas. Your pictures/video on FB of the church service were wonderful. Love to all.
Glad that you were home when the sparks flew and that you have your own handyman to help you.
My mom and dad have both had joint replacements – my dad both knees – one in October 1997 and the second in April, 1998. My mom had hip replacement surgery in May of 2010. They have both done relatively well and are much older than you. I’ve never known anyone to have finger joint replacement though.
Your church is beautifully decorated.
Tonight my mother and I will go to Christmas Eve services – there is a prelude starting at 10:00 and the service starts at 11 and will end at midnight. This is the first Baptist church I’ve ever been to that has a late night service. Tomorrow one brother and his family will be at my house. The other brother is working and my niece is at her mother’s.
Have a great trip to Steve’s parents and Florida!
Phyllis,
I am amazed that anyone can stay up past midnight for any reason! I am thankful our church doesn’t have a late service because I’m afraid the piano player would fall asleep between verses of Silent Night. 🙂
Have a wonderful Christmas!
Merry Christmas to you and your family Becky. I love the impromptu ornament, great idea! Sarah certainly is busy these days but she looks very happy. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas celebration with Steve’s dad. Precious moments indeed.
Lesley,
Wishing you many precious moments of our own during this season. Christmas hugs to you and Sarah.
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to the Smith family!
Mary,
And to you! Enjoy the season.
Love, LOVE the ornament Steve made! That’s better than any store-bought ornament you could have. It now has the Star and is made of The Rock. Three cheers for Steve’s creativity – also a God-given gift! Merry Christmas to you and yours
Jenny Jo,
I know–wasn’t that so great? That will be an ornament that will have a story to be told every time we put it on the tree.
Becky, haven’t read your post yet, getting ready to go to our daughter’s home. Just wanted to wish the Smith family a blessed and Merry Christmas. My husband has a book that was written by a Jewish scholar and after much research he determined Jesus was born about September 26th. Now I know many folks don’t celebrate birthdays right on the exact day, so I have determined to celebrate His birth, not the day. May 2019 hold many wonderful things for each of you.
Sharyn,
Yes, Steve has mentioned that date disparity before, too. But it’s like you said–we are celebrating the birth, not the day.
May you have a merry and blessed celebration.
Enjoyed the pictures. So glad y’all caught the problem before a fire. We had a family gathering yesterday with my sister, brother and spouses who live here and two nephews and one niece and their families. Enjoyed the time together. Plans are to go to Raleigh tomorrow to visit a son and his family. However, I woke up about 5 am aching and have a temperature of 100 so I have gotten up to take meds and go back to bed. Prayers it is minor. I can only take extra strength Tylenol per my Oncologist. Prayers for safe travels for all and a wonderful time together. Merry Christmas to y’all.
Ann,
I hope you are feeling better and the aching and temp didn’t turn into something worse! Whatever your day holds, I hope it is full of peace and the joy of Christ’s birth. Hugs to you and Jim.