Movies

One of my husband and my favorite things to do on the weekend is watch movies we put on Netflix...and boy do I love Netflix! No late fees, no returning the movie to the store, just a quick jot to the mailbox...but I digress...so anyway, it's fun and it's cheap entertainment, and it's our form of zoning out! And in life, you really REALLY need to escape the "real world" from time to time, and whether it's in the pages of a great book or in a movie, I think it can be truly therapeutic!

SO...we got to see this~




And I have to say I really enjoyed it. Have any of you seen this, especially those of you who live in the U.K.? It is a British T.V. film about a girl named Amanda who loves Jane Austen's book, Pride and Prejudice. One evening, she discovers Elizabeth Bennet (the main character in the book) in her bathroom, and eventually a door that leads into Elizabeth's world. So she gets the chance to essentially live in the story of Pride and Prejudice and meet all the characters...it has some things in it that I really wished they had left out~ it would have been even better without them~ but even despite those things and a few other things that seem a bit contrived, it inspired me to read Pride and Prejudice. I always thought it would be dull, but it is such a great book so far!

And so now we are putting this is our queue at Netflix~




For though it's true we saw this before, I suddenly feel the need to see it once again! And this was a good movie as well, and as I remember, a completely clean film, which is always refreshing! I can recommend this one highly!

So what movies have you seen lately that you loved? And what is your favorite~ comedy, drama, classic, suspense...?

I hope your week is going well! :)

Getting things back to normal...

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you, too! Tomorrow we all go back to our normal routine, with kids at school and my husband at work...it is hard to let the vacation go! It feels SO good to be blogging again, though! I kept telling myself I wanted to have something "fun" to share before I blogged, and not just drop in to give you an update concerning my husband's health, not wanting to bore you or anything, but I recently realized it was really and truly quite rude of me NOT to give you an update much sooner...please forgive me?

The reason we were so worried was because the doctor found my husband's blood pressure to be REALLY high, and they ran an EKG on him and it came back abnormal, showing that his heart was enlarged, which means that it has to work harder than it should to pump blood. This should not be the case for someone who exercises regularly. So they scheduled a stress test, which includes an ultrasound and another EKG. They also put him on medicine for the blood pressure. The thing that was so worrisome is that having consistently high blood pressure can cause heart and kidney problems...So I was VERY worried, as you know.

I was SHOCKED when the stress test came back NORMAL~ shocked with happiness and relief beyond anything I've ever known! His blood pressure was also in the range his doctor was hoping for. The blood tests showed good things too~ his kidneys are in perfect shape. ALL of this shows that the medicine is working. I was disappointed when he checked it this week and it was higher, but he reminded me that it IS so much lower now than it was.

SO, thank you all very much for your prayers and thoughts~ they meant so much to me! :) And thank you again for listening!

BUT...I cannot leave you without showing you something pretty, so I wanted to show you this...

I have been looking for certain curtains online EVERYWHERE that I had seen on another blog, and couldn't find them, until I checked at the Country Curtains website.




I love these in the gold fabric, although they also come in other colors. I love the way they puddle on the floor...just delicious!

But they have many, many more curtains to choose from...

And what I love is that they have their curtains in an assortment of colors...




For example, the red is really pretty, but what if you want them in black?




They not only have them in black, they have a coordinating valance to go with them!




sigh...

I love how they have every style you could imagine, too. These are just some of the ones that caught my eye! :)

Well, that's all for now! I hope you have a great Monday! :)

Blessings,

P.S. I can't get the font to be smaller at the end here! Arg! Sorry for how it looks!

Calling all prayers!

Well, I don't think I have ever done this before, but I guess there is a first time for everything...I wanted to ask for your prayers regarding a health issue that has come up with my husband. It could be more serious that we thought, and I am frantic, to say the least. I can't really go into it too much right now, but if you have a moment, I would greatly appreciate your prayers!

I am neither a calm nor patient person, and worrying is what I do "best". It has been hard for me to rest in God's peace, though I know He would rather I accept His peace that be worried! I want to accept it, I really do, it's just I can't seem to stop being me and asking Him, "BUT wait Lord, what if?"

And then I make the mistake of getting on the Web and doing a little research on this particular health issue and end up feeling even worse than I did before! I am really beginning to believe that ignorance truly is bliss...

I just do not like uncertainty at all!

I will keep you as updated as possible for sure, and thank you again for listening. :)
I already feel a little better...

Blessings,

Celebrating Advent...

This third candle we light this Sunday is the Shepherd's candle.

"And there were some shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'

~Luke 2: 8-12


Can you even imagine? You're just doing your job, it's just another day~ I mean night~ and all of sudden, out of nowhere, there is an angel from God telling YOU that the Messiah has come and where to find him! I would have been terrified too if I'd been them, but amazed that out of every one in the world He could have chosen, God had blessed me with such a gift~ to be one of the first of those to meet Jesus! I love this story of the Shepherd's because it reminds me that God doesn't care what we do for a living, how much money we have in the bank, or if we are "someone" in the eyes of this world...He desires a relationship with each of us. We are valuable to Him. Valuable enough for Him to take on flesh and identify with us and share in our humanity. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around this, it's so wonderful!


Come Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in Thee.

Israel's Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious Kingdom bring.

By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
Amen.


I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and that this post finds you doing well! :)

BLESSINGS,

Rearranging in the living room...

I have been cleaning and preparing our living room for the Christmas tree we will be getting on Saturday, which meant the need for a little rearrangement of the living room...You may remember me talking about our fireplace and how it drives me CRAZY because the hearth is not symmetrical! We have plans to remedy this~ removing some of the brick on the "wider" side~ but in this old house, the list is long, and who knows when this will take place!

BUT...I needed to move a little table from it's normal place and thought this might be a good spot for it, nestled up in the "extra" space to the right of the hearth...




And I think it just may stay here for a while. It evens out the space and makes it look a little more, well, symmetrical! It also adds a bit of well appreciated lamp light to that side of the room! :)






Okay, I do realize I still have my "thankful" arrangement up there on the mantel, but you see I have just finally decided what to replace it with for Christmas...that coming soon! :)

I sure hope this week has been a good one for you all! AND best of all, tomorrow's Friday! :)

BLESSINGS,

The second candle of Advent

The Bethlehem candle~

Well, I meant to post at least once before it was time to light the second candle, but here it is Sunday already!


I found the wreath I made last year, but couldn't resist adding a little twine bow to the center candle. I love twine...it kind of looks silly here, but in "real life" it looks much better. You'll just have to trust me on this one, though...this is definitely not the best picture...




AND it is really hard to find a "cute" place to take a picture in this kitchen-not-quite-finished! SO with my disclaimers aside, let's light the Bethlehem candle...actually, we'll let my son light it! (With my supervision, of course!)




"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times...
He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
And he will be their peace."

~ Micah 5:2,4-5


O Little Town of Bethlehem

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie;
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
the hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear his coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still
The dear Christ enters in.

Now we'll enjoy the beauty of the lit candles...oh, and here's a picture of Gracie's Advent candle holder that she sanded and decorated in Sunday school this morning, and is very proud of! It looks so pretty all lit up! :)




Did you have a good week? I hope so! Christmas time can be so crazy, huh? Already I can feel things speeding up! Christmas is coming, ready or not, in just 19 days! (And a mere 18 if you're on the East Coast right now! :)

Hoping you have a wonderful night,

The first candle

Last year my family started a tradition...I made a Advent wreath (using the wooden wreath form my son had made) which has four candles~ one for each week of Advent. Each Sunday, we lit the candle for that week. This year we are keeping this new tradition. And this year, it was my oldest daughter who finished a wreath form for us, that she made at church.

This week I will dig out the wreath I made last year and put it together in time for next week's candle...so for now we have a "makeshift candle"...





Today we celebrate the first candle of Advent by lighting the first candle. This is the Prophecy candle, which represents the promise of a Messiah foretold by God's prophets.



"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
~ Isaiah 9: 6




Of the Father's love begotten

"Of the Father's love begotten, Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega, He the Source, the Ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been, And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heaven, adore Him; Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him, And extol our God and King;
Let no tongue on earth be silent, Every voice in concert ring,
Evermore and evermore!

Christ, to Thee with God the Father, And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving And unwearied praises be:
Honor, glory, and dominion, And eternal victory,
Evermore and evermore!"

Amen.


~ Written by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (348-413)



BLESSINGS,