We read the Christmas story out of Luke 2 this morning, and I prayed that Jesus would be honored by our celebration of His birthday today, and that we would be fully aware of His presence with us. There is a quiet peace about the house as we are in no rush to do anything or to be anywhere but here. I am grateful for this time. I need this time. Time to hear myself think. Time to spend with my family. And time to reflect on the significance of this day. It may not be the actual, historical day perhaps, but the day we choose to celebrate a most miraculous event. The day God became flesh and dwelt among us. The day He gave up His majesty to become like one of us. Oh, how He loves us!!

Many blessings from our family to yours this miraculous Christmas Day!

My parents, our family, and my brother's family

Last weekend we celebrated my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary! My brother and I have been working with my mom to get everything together for the big reception at their church which was Sunday afternoon. My mom finished up the heritage quilt she had been planning since before my older daughter was born (she’s now 10), and along with the quilt, she also had her wedding dress and her sister’s bridesmaid dress on display. My brother put together a slide show from a variety of photos, both new and old, which is now on youtube – thank you very much. Its exact whereabouts will remain a mystery to you all. My cousin’s wife made sheet cakes with her grandmother’s chocolate cake recipe – yum! Aunts, uncles, and cousins, and of course my grandma, and lots of friends all came for the big event. Unbeknownst to the other, my mom’s sister gifted my parents with three huge mum plants, and so did my dad’s sister!

I asked my mom to invited my friend Penny and family since I hadn’t seen them in ages (we decided it had been three years!):

Penny & me

All in all, it was a very fun weekend! The one exception would be my 4-year-old nephew who ended up with the stomach flu right before the reception started. My poor sister-in-law had to miss the entire event.

Now I am just working on re-stocking products in preparation for the holiday rush. Yesterday I made more large jars of unscented Whipped Shea Butter. Today I’ll be making more Skin Glow facial moisturizer. Fall weather is finally here!

Penny, Lynette, and me - circa 1978

At Lynette's house - the junior high years!! Hello poofy bangs and perms!

At our national church youth conference - high school. The hair has tamed down, but the XL t-shirts with rolled sleeves are in!

Lynette was a year older than Penny and me, so she took off for college after that summer. Penny and I ended up going to college together in Chicago.

Penny's family took Lynette & me on their family vacation to Colorado the summer after we graduated from college.

After college, Lynette and I rented this house together in Clay Center, Kansas. Um, those are Christmas peanut M&M's in our noses.

Penny got married on August 8, 1998. Lynette and I were bridesmaids.

My wedding was on August 22, 1998 - just two weeks later!

Not long after that, I started giving Penny & Lynette something handmade for Christmas each year. One year it was a lighted “Christmas tree” made out of seed pods from a sweet gum tree that I had painted gold and attached to chicken wire in the shape of a cone. Another year I made some quilted wall hangings. In the fall of 2002, I started searching the internet for ideas of what to make for Christmas that year. I came across Kathy Miller’s website on how to make soap, and the idea really appealed to me. So after gathering up all the equipment and ingredients, I made my first batch. When I went to unmold it the next day, it was completely crumbly! I went back to the internet to research what had gone wrong…and decided that maybe it hadn’t reached trace after all (I had stirred it with a spoon). So I put it all back in my soap pot and put it in the oven for a few hours. Once it got warmed up and held together, I mashed it back in the mold, and the next day it came out perfectly!

I have a photo from the Christmas of 2002, but sadly, there are no pictures of my soap. In fact, we almost didn’t get this picture taken because my older daughter had just puked all over the floor after a nice Christmas dinner at Penny’s house. We left the party early that night…

Christmas 2002 - Penny's son is almost exactly one month younger than my oldest daughter!

So that’s the story of how I got started making soap. Penny lives close to my home town, so I see her once in awhile when I go home to see my parents. I hadn’t seen Lynette for over two years, but she just came through town and spent about 24 hours at our house. It was so good to see her again!!

Lynette and Me - just yesterday.

However, I’ll be honest. This was not an easy birthday – for other reasons. Personal reasons that I really don’t want to share with you, but I’m going to. Yesterday morning I texted my Bible study leader and told her I wouldn’t be at Bible study. I didn’t tell her this, but it was because I was afraid that I would literally break down. And I did, in the comfort of my own living room, just between me and God. You see, every year my birthday comes around there’s this ache in my heart for my friends. My true friends. The ones who used to call me up and take me out to lunch or go out for pedicures on my birthday. They are still my true friends and I love them so much, but they live hundreds of miles away now.

One of them called from Alabama to sing Happy Birthday with the cha-cha-cha’s which made me smile. And she sent me a practical gift. We’ve only known each other for about five years, but she knows me. She’s good at buying just the right gift. Check these out:

Stylin' and profilin'

Anyway, my husband (who really is my best friend) took me out to lunch at Red Robin – where you can get a free burger on your birthday! I let him eat it, so I could order a salad. I almost always eat salads whenever we eat out. Then we went to Culver’s to get ice cream – where you can get a free sundae with two toppings on your birthday! I ate it all by myself and let him get his own ice cream!

I had over 80 Facebook friends wish me a happy birthday. How cool is that? I even heard from some of you, my readers. What a blessing to connect with people I’ve never met in real life! The best part of my day, however, was when I finally got around to reading the devotional I receive every day in my inbox from Proverbs 31 Ministries. It was just what I needed to hear. I think it’s going to take my relationship with God to a new level.

So it ended up being a really great day overall! I’m blessed in more ways than I can count. I know I have Jesus and that should be enough. But I think one of the strongest ways He shows His love for us is through relationships with people on this earth. What do you think?

When I was a junior at North Park College in Chicago, I took a class called “The Historical Geography of Israel.” We studied the various places in Israel from biblical times, drew on maps, and then went to Israel for two weeks during Christmas break. We spent one week just in Jerusalem, and the other week traveling all over the rest of the country. It was my intention before we left to find a nativity set to purchase while we were in Bethlehem. I found it in a small shop near the Church of the Nativity which supposedly marks the historic spot where Jesus was born.

Now it graces my fireplace mantle each year:

Carved Olive Wood Nativity Set from Bethlehem

Autumn is currently hosting a giveaway for a nativity set on her blog, so if you would like to enter, just click here for more information. Giveaway ends Thursday, so you’ll have to go quickly!

- Jesus. His mercies are new every morning!

- my family. I recognize how blessed I am to be married to a wonderful man and have two beautiful daughters. And I couldn’t ask for better parents and in-laws. They are wonderfully encouraging, and pray for us daily.

- employment. My husband’s business has been thriving lately, as well as mine. With uncertain economic times, there is MUCH to be thankful for!

- new friendships. I’ve been involved with a women’s Bible study and playing on a volleyball team with my husband at my church recently which has led to some wonderful new relationships. I am also amazed at how many soapmakers I have met via the internet!

- encouraging customers. You know who you are! Your comments about the products I make are what keep me going. Thank you for your kind words!

- my new nephew! Riley Thomas was born on November 9 – 7 weeks early, after my sister-in-law’s water broke four weeks before that! He is still in NICU, but progressing so well! His older brothers are two-and-a-half, and are completely enamored with him so far. (It will be interesting to see the transition once he comes home from the hospital!)

- paid off vehicles. We just finished paying for my husband’s truck this month – whoopee!

- a sunny Thanksgiving weekend. (I would never survive in Seattle!)

- and so much more…God is so good!

I knew him the last five years of his life. He was funny, hard-working, and usually ornery. My first memory of him was my first year at the market when I started out with a cardboard table I had borrowed from my neighbor, with a plastic tablecover and about five different kinds of soaps in various sizes. Robert and Joan had their booth on the opposite end of the market then, and he came over and asked if I would like to buy a tent that was still in the box for $20. (He was a car salesman at the time.) As a market newbie, I knew I needed a tent, but I certainly didn’t have $100 or more to buy a new one, so this sounded like a great deal! And it was – for the first year. The entire frame of the tent had to be assembled and disassembled every week from about 40 different poles and pieces!

Robert had some great lines for selling their bread:

“We use the magic oven on Fridays. It takes all the calories out.”

and

“We bake all our bread with non-fat hot air.”

He and Joan also sold homemade dog biscuits. Inevitably, someone would ask, “Are these for dogs?” To which he would reply,

“Or for you (or your husband) if you’re (he’s) in the dog house.”

Robert’s job was to make the dog biscuits and Joan baked all of the bread up until this year when she had hip replacement surgery. Then Robert took over most of the baking until she was feeling better and able to get around the kitchen again. No one could tell the difference.

For the last three years, we have been neighboring vendors, and Robert was always the first one to come help me with my [new EZ-Up] tent as soon as I arrived in my spot at the market. Around the middle of this summer, he started having health issues again. I have visited him in the hospital three times in the past three years, and got a chance to see him in the last few weeks of his life as he was cared for by Joan and hospice in his home. Our last conversation only lasted a few minutes before the morphine kicked in and he fell asleep, but he was asking how my husband’s business was doing.

This is how I will remember him though:

Robert and Joan - Fall 2008

Joan is at the top of my prayer list right now. She’s a very strong woman, but I know this is very hard on her. I just want to be a good friend in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. She’s still deciding whether or not she will return to the market next year. Whether she does or doesn’t, I just want to be there for her.

Update: Joan surprised all of us at the farmer’s market this morning by showing up and handing out the programs from the funeral and giving out hugs. She is an amazing lady!

It was rather chilly this morning and one of the vendors had on a coat that she hadn’t worn since last Spring. When she stuck her hand in the pocket, she found the handkerchief that Robert had given her the last time she wore the coat. She was able to give it back to Joan this morning. Wow.

I think this qualifies as part of The Generosity Factor. I wish I was more faithful to do this EVERY day. What a blessing it is to bless others!

See before we left for Florida, some robins built their nest in our weeping mulberry tree, about four feet off the ground. And when we got back from Florida, there were these four, beautiful blue eggs in the nest:

Robins Eggs in Nest

This is the view of the nest from the window in our stairwell. Just right for bird watching!

Robin and her eggs

Yesterday – on Mother’s Day – the eggs started hatching, and “Robin” officially became “Mama Robin”. So far, we have two baby robins:

Baby Robins

Hopefully, we’ll have two more very soon!

**Updates on our baby robins here and here.