...After a wee bit rest

Well how quickly a week passes. I guess the time of year seems to make the days and evenings all blend together and before you know it, December is just around the corner!  I was beginning to feel a wee bit guilty about not posting for six nights, but then I realized that I get to decide when and what I will post! LOL. That's the beauty of blog. There is no deadline and the topic is totally mine.

Part of the reason I am delayed in posting is that I had a jammed packed wonderful weekend! Friday night I had the privilege and joy of hosting five of my nieces and one of my nephews. This tradition started about 11 years ago and has now become a full weekend adventure to which I look forward to with great anticipation. It seems to grow a little bit bigger each year. This year we started with arrival on Friday evening with each of them getting mix their batch of gingerbread cookie dough. The flour was flying, the mixing spoons clanking, the ginger and cloves emitting their glorious odour! After clean up we all headed to the Town Christmas Tree lighting ceremony and fireworks. Then back home to make special Christmas crafts for moms and dads. This was followed with Arnold's Christmas movie and then the infamous made up story routine with cousin Abby. ...and what a story it was, all crafted from key words, places, numbers, names and animals provided by each of the kids. This year was a fabulous journey of Evan Blake and the special peppermint Christmas Candy. It included magic toilets, a beyond bananas amount of candies, special sleeping dust and an incredible Kangarooooooo.

This brings me to last weeks sacred space. I have to say that sitting there watching these beautiful children so captivated by my amazing daughter, and her incredible stories, was definitely spending time in a sacred space. So special and forever imprinted in my memory bank of special moments.

Story Time with Abby

Twas the night of Gingerbread Cookie day
When all the nieces and nephew in bed did lay
With teeth brushed and the movie and snacks complete
It was time for Abby's Story, unique and a very special treat.

Eyes were all focused, and lips were all sealed
As they awaited with pleasure the plot to be revealed
Each was asked for their special addition
To help bring the story to fruition.

Then Abby her magic began to spin
As each item was masterly crafted within.
As giggles and laughter filled the room
as the story emerged and continued to bloom.

Evan Blake was the hero and Christmas he saved
with magic Kangaroo pouches and Christmas dust sprayed
transporting flushing toilets and mysterious trees
all covered in peppermint candies instead of leaves.

In the end Evan Blake no more candy did he take
And nieces and nephew could no longer stay awake.
So with smiles on their faces and visions of candy peppermint dust in their heads
They all settled down nicely snuggled into their beds.

Virtue Pick for this week:

I love this Virtue! And the timeliness of it coming forward is so appropriate. As we enter the holiday season we thing a great deal about what we are truly devoted to. For me spending this past weekend with my nieces and nephew reminded me of how devoted I am to spending time with them. They bring such joy to my life and such wonder and awe as I watch them grow, and begin to express their souls and their personalities. I don't know how many times this past weekend I found myself just stepping back and feeling so grateful for their presence in my life. And when the parents joined us, and my mom and step dad, I also knew that planning special times to bring my extended family together would always be a devotion of mine. For as the final quote above states: "I am grateful for the gift of devotion. It makes me fully alive." Every year as I sit exhausted wondering if I can keep up with pace of youth and family gatherings, I know that somehow as the month of November creeps up the following year I will totally forget the messy house, the tired bones, and the complete exhaustion and with total joy and glee dive in once again with the plans for the annual gingerbread cookie party/craft time/sleepover annual event.

So what exactly are we devoted to in our lives? I am hoping that we each are devoted to things that have great meaning to us, and that bring us joy and gratitude. As the card above says, 'discernment is the first step in discovering what is worthy of our devotion. I hope that I and you will be to discern what calls to us so strongly that we cannot resist and that we know it is truly ours to do. It's interesting to think how much time in our lives we spend doing things that we must do, that we feel obligated to do, that other's expect us to do, that are just the easiest and therefore the first thing we do. I am thinking however that all of these things can eat up our precious time, and that it is very important for us to discern our true devotions so that we guard that precious time and be assured that we are fulfilling our life's purpose and not that of another. To ensure that our heart is full and bursting with gratitude rather than resentment, frustration, and regret. So tell me my friends, do you do what you love and love what you do? I am getting closer each and ever day, but it is truly a hard journey. I had an amazing conversation with my daughter the other day and I told her that I was having a very difficult time making a decision and I could not figure out why. What we discovered at the end of our conversation was that the struggle was due to the fact that this decision was totally about me, I no longer had to factor in my kids, my work, my husband, my other obligations. I was totally free to do what I wanted and that was very unknown territory to me. So entering the fabulous 50 years, there is a totally new bonus, I get to deeply discern to what I wish to be devoted and .... It's all about Me!" Oh la la, isn't that exciting.

So looking forward to the Holiday Season and thinking this is a great time to learn how to say some holiday greeting in French:

So I wish you a merry Christmas becomes Je vous souhaite un Joyeux Noël. Isn't that beautiful? And my very favorite "Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me!" becomes  et Que la paix soit sur ​​terre. Which brings me to the next song lyrics I wish to learn:

Let There be Peace on Earth: Enjoy the you tube link to Vince Gills version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPH4LRASWbo

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our father
Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

So to end today's blog I am so excited about tomorrows... my Sister Tiena writes beautiful poetry and I discovered in reading her blog that she wrote one all about meaningful questions in life. So I am going to write about that poem and some of the questions she posed. Stay tuned...

...and with that I will leave you with the next book on my list of new author's to read. I am about half way through Pema Chodron's book, The Places That Scare You... fabulous and would really recommend. http://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Places_That_Scare_You.html?id=DRkSAQAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y

... until we meet again my friends.