christmas on bartram way

I like to think that this Christmas has proved that I've allowed myself to chill out a bit. And by chill out I mean not spend a gazillion dollars on garland or on the ribbon that I would have really preferred on our packages. Not obsessing over the wrapping of our neighbor gifts or buying Christmas party plates when I had perfectly acceptable party plates at home [THIS IS A BIG DEAL]. That doesn't mean that I haven't loved decorating our home for our first Christmas on Bartram Way, but I used mostly what I had plus some free clippings from the tree farms and some landscaping clippings from around the neighborhood. Don't tell the HOA.

You could attribute that to actually having places to go and people to see this year. Or a grounding from our favorite advent readings. Or maybe a good ol' dose of God-given maturity? That'd be nice too. Whichever way [none being anything I did myself], I've certainly enjoyed a sense of simplicity during the Christmas season this year.

There's been long lunches with friends before braving the mall, shopping for an adoptive family, wrapping gifts to Christmas music, dinner with neighbors, Sunday School Christmas parties, and lazy mornings together making pancakes with red and green chocolate chips. Simple things that are so much more important than the things I distracted my lonely self with last year.

Not being able to fathom missing a week together when our leader was out of town, my small group girls came for dinner. And though we missed the wisdom and company of our surrogate mother and friend Terri, we laughed and told stories and asked advice and passed around the babies. We ate the most simple and cozy things I could think of: soup and bread and pie. And drank Candice's eggnog which shut up all of us non-believers. Over five hours later, after the last friend had left, the candles had burned completely out - a sign of a perfect night. There was no frantic deep-cleaning, no special homemade dish with stuffed this and sautéed this, no new outfit or playlist or floral centerpiece. There was soup and, in fact, thanks to Jenny's brilliant suggestion to the group text an hour or so before, we all curled up around the table in our pajama or yoga pants. Complete with holes.

A couple days later, our downstairs was filled with all of our favorite ninth graders. This is when I put the Christmas party plates back on the shelf at Target. Again, this is a big deal. That night we were reminded that serving platters don't matter. The chip bag will work perfectly fine. And just how funny a white elephant gift can be.

I'm very thankful for Christmas 2013. I don't say all this to make it seem like the last few weeks have been obnoxiously perfect. There are still worries and stress. We miss the loved ones we lost this year. I get anxious for what I hope 2014 will bring. But I'm thankful for the changes that have come since last Christmas and what we've learned from them. For every Saturday morning pancake made, every pot of soup, every friend who steps through the door that makes this seem more like home.

our louisiana christmas

Our highly anticipated Christmas vacation has ended as quickly as it began. Last night we came home to a perfectly green tree that we left neglected for two whole weeks. It's as if our little evergreen new we needed a little more Carolina Christmas.

The two weeks away were mainly characterized by family and eating only carbs and sugar. It could have been an experiment for what it's like living in a family compound, sharing all kinds of responsibilities under one roof. We took dogs out and fed cows and passed the baby around so someone else could stir what was on the stove at the time. We took turns playing with our favorite five year old and wrapped gifts and decorated trees. We watched movies and played late night charades. We baked enough sweets and dips and casseroles that our Southern heritage never be questioned. There was even some fence-building. And there was target practice with both pistols and shot guns, of course.

After spending a week in Franklinton and a week in Ruston, there are plenty of characteristics that stand in stark contrast of one another, and there are plenty of that don't. Though there was certainly no fence-building or cow-feeding as my mom's house, both weeks allowed for those conversations that don't normally happen over the phone or through a text. They brought plenty of time to be lazy bums and opportunities to live daily life together. There was time to sneak off and hug all those long distance forever friends. We spent the vast majority of that time laughing and, in the quiet moments, we remembered we had much to be thankful for - for health and safe travel and the deep love of our families. For those family members whose lives are quieting though their influence never will. And for those who fill that noiseless void with he sound of bouncy balls and baby squeals.

We are happily unpacking in Columbia, looking forward to what this new year in what still feels like a new home will bring. I hope you had the happiest of Christmases, that you cherished time with family, and that you tried, for another year, to grasps the miracle of Christ's sacrificial birth.

And if you want to keep celebrating, head over to King Street. I'm determined to keep our tree up until every branch is brown!

christmas on king street

When it comes to Christmas decorations, I can completely lose my mind in aisles and aisles worth of glitter. Over the years, I've learned that I regret when I over-sparkle, but this can only be realized outside of the glitz trance.

Put down the 40% off Hobby Lobby coupon and walk to your car.

It's hard, y'all.

But by combining a little bit of glitter, D's rustic preferences, and yearly Shiny Brites from my mom, I think we've come out with a good balance this year.

The only things we actually purchased were a tree, a giant roll of brown paper, a little extra ribbon, a rosemary topiary, and two $5 fresh garlands at Lowes' Black Friday sale. But the most important part of our decorations this year was the trunk load worth of free tree clippings. After making a wreath and a swag, I shoved them in containers until I ran out of surfaces to put them on!

By the Christmas tree with a book is absolutely my favorite place to be, and, if you need me, you can find me there soaking it up before our Christmas in Louisiana tour begins.

Which I'll gladly say SAYONARA to our pretty little tree for the sake of Christmas at the moms' houses. Though I may combust from pure excitement before that happens.

Merry Official Christmas Season!

an advent guide

As a self pronounced lover-of-busy, this quote from a favorite author really stuck with me since last Christmas:

"You can show up with your perfectly wrapped grab bag gift & your perfectly baked cookies...and your perfectly resentful and frazzled self, ready to snap at the first family member you see." [Shauna Niequist]

This year does happen to be different. When you know less people and are involved in less than ever in your 23 years, you have less to cause that so-called frazzle. But I've realized that distractions remain, that there is always something to consume my mind. It's decorating the house or thinking about those that I miss or hoping for change. Regardless of what it is, I aim to not let them distract from this season that comes once and year and leaves all too quickly.

To help this problem, D went searching for Piper's advent guide and found that he suggested one from The Village Church. Week one runs from November 25th to December 1st [which I realize is today], but I wanted to share anyway. I promise not to tell if  you cheat a little on your advent guide.

You can find the .pdf here. 

I hope that this heightens our yearning for Christ - for His coming, for His will to be done. I know that my controlling lover-of-busy self needs to yearn less for those few extra Christmas parties we've grown accustom to and more for His peace and His purpose in our lives.

home for the holidays

Even though I'm slightly mourning that my favorite weekend of the year has come and gone, the memories of our first married Christmas are great ones.

I loved spending time with my sweet grandfather.

And worn out little girls.

How fun it was to watch Daddy Brandon and Uncle Dustin piecing together that Disney Princess bike.

Which was obviously a success.

 
 The impossible even happened [Brandon is the biggest Auburn fan I know which means he also really hates Alabama].

We spent the entire day in our pajamas.

And tucked ourselves around the dining room table for my absolute favorite part of Christmas day - brunch and reading the Christmas story. My cream cheese apple tart is a recent addition.

I absolutely wish I could eat Christmas morning casserole, Mama Dot's cheese grits, cinnamon rolls, and apple tart every single day. But then I guess it wouldn't make it quite as special.

I truly hope your Christmas holiday lived up to all its expected excitement. I hope that, whoever you were with, you laughed until your sides hurt. I hope that you were reminded of the grace and mercy that was born to us in the most humble of ways. And I hope that it will continue to be new and astonishing to us every morning when our feet hit the floor.

christmas greeting

Love the McMahone/Stone/Jenkins clan!

homecoming

I have discovered that where my priorities lie is easily perceivable. When I can wake up without an alarm in time to get coffee with a big group of some of my favorite females, it is clear. This is in stark contrast to my frequent frantic mornings of alarm punching and eating out of a 48 ounce jar of applesauce with a plastic fork on the way to work.

And as thankful as I am for a provisional job, days like today are dearly preferred. Days like today remind me how much I love being privileged to the lives of friends. How I love to know their back stories. How I love that homecoming holidays provide opportunities to ask a million questions about their futures and get an eye-to-eye report on their jobs and travels and parents and siblings and grandparents and roommates. And sometimes even their cousins. 

I relish in watching friends file through our living room and settle around the kitchen table for hours of retelling those old favorite stories. And I'm a big fan of cramming lots of voices in a grouping of comfy chairs at the local coffee shop [except we really really missed our Savannah-dwelling, new grandmother and aunt friends]. 

I'm also a big believer in fireplace-staring and ritual cookie-making. All good things making it a blessed start to the Christmas weekend. Tomorrow, I hope this Christmas Eve is your favorite and most memorable and incredibly picture-worthy. Soak it up, folks!

christmas on hillside

Mom's house is all things merry and bright. This is where we will eat way too much and see what Santa brought and curl up on comfy chairs and bask in the light of their pretty pretty Christmas tree and laugh a lot and watch Muppet Family Christmas.