Speaking of which, happy Monday and Merry Christmas to you! I hope this day and season finds you blessed and feeling full of the Holy Spirit and His love for you!
Jumping right into the holiday spirit, our home is decked out in twinkling lights, cheerful holiday decor and there's never a shortage of Christmas music playing.
And, at Luke's farmhouse, we've got the homemade ornaments his mama made for us adorning our trees. Such sweet blessings!
On the topic of his mama, I've not had the fortitude, until now, to share this news on my blog nor the gumption to share much at all, in the past month. She's doing well enough now, though, that I feel encouraged to write about it. From the very beginning, Mama Re has emboldened me with a sense of genuine love and encouragement, and has probably been one of my biggest fans when it comes to my writing and of this blog. She suffered a stroke last month, however, and has been receiving intensive therapy at a rehabilitation hospital for the past five weeks. While the stroke claimed her ability to move her left side, for a spell, it could not defeat her mental sharpness or her keen sense of humor. For the past month through intensive therapy, she has proven sheer determination to gain as much independence as humanly possible after having a stroke. She's able to move her left arm and hand again, and is taking great strides at learning how to use her left leg again. I am in awe of her perseverance and so SUPER PROUD of her! What a blessing it's been to watch her heal! If you, sweet reader, feel so inclined to pray along with us for her continued healing, we certainly covet those prayers.
When I make Luke supper to take to work, I always include a note on a napkin. This one made me smile because I shared it with him the night after his mom's stroke and he brought it back, the next day, with a reply and it's been hanging on the fridge since. I'm so thankful for this man's faith. 
As some of you may remember, my oldest biological child became a mother to her first baby in October. She and her fella kindly asked me not to share photos or too much information of him here, and I completely respect that. I'll just say that he is nursing like a champ and has grown doubly PLUS since birth! He is the most beautiful baby on the face of the planet, and I am absolutely smitten! AND, I am beyond proud of the new parents. They work well at raising their baby together. They are diligent and loving and I am thoroughly enjoying having a front seat to it all! We are all quite enamored with that little baby! He's made the best addition to our family and we feel so fully blessed to have him!
I don't even care that I look insanely silly in this photo. I'm so in love with that baby!
We celebrated Thanksgiving a total of three times over the week of said holiday. Three things come to mind when thinking about that last week in November. Food out the wazoo, warm fuzzies over the amount of people we got to celebrate with, and immense gratitude to God for it all. Here are photos from all three celebrations.
Our Thanksgiving-week tradition, for twenty plus years, has always been to go to the Gaddy's and the Stanfield's Christmas light displays in Tyrone, Georgia. This year was no exception and they blessed us well.
Luke has never decorated gingerbread houses before, so he bought a gingerbread village for he, the kids, and I. Jacob said it best when he said, "I'm so glad we got to decorate gingerbread houses with Luke for his first time getting to do it! That was fun!" Here are the results of that event!
My Mama's birthday was Monday. The woman I, long ago, dubbed Mama Meme Marme Mo is now 68 whopping years young! We celebrated at the Olive Garden, per her request, cause she loves her some Olive Garden fried doughnuts. 
We took the younger kids to Callaway Gardens Fantasy in Lights event. The frigidity of the night could not keep me from counting my blessings and reveling in time spent with my loves at such a magically festive place! Despite the fact that I wore literal layers of thick clothing, I could not feel my feet by the end of the night. BUT, the hot chocolate was a warm hug in a thick paper cup, the lights and music were sheer holiday cheer to my heart, and time spent with my babies and fella simply filled my soul to the brim. I'd do it again a million times over...but include activated HotHands warmers in my gloves, pockets, and shoes next go-round! ha! Here are some photos of our Callaway adventure.
Our church performed a Christmas play last Sunday that filled my soul to the brim. We are most grateful for all who volunteered their time to bless us with the story of our Savior's birth. The music was spectacular and the little ones were absolutely precious.
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And, lastly, just a few random photos from the past month:
The perks to lunch time when you school at home, according to Ella. ha.
They've been rained on three times and are still festively lighting up my life with their cheerful lil ole selves.
The early morning sky over the farmhouse. God creates the loveliest tapestries, I say!
Approximately two minutes before I slipped into a short coma. Mama Re and Mr. Larry's house is so cozy!
The evening sky at the farm.
Mr. Larry has been unwavering in his support of his wife during her healing process. He has made the long drive to be with her countless times, in this past month. I love observing the two of them together. With nearly 50 years of marriage upon them, they are such good examples of what love, commitment, faith, hard work, and determination look like. I'm so thankful for these two precious people and how well they raised their son as he's blessed my babies and I well.
My sidekick, Miss Ella, has happily tagged along on several visits to see Mama Re with me. I adore her heart.
This clip made me BIG cheesy smile. It sums up our relationship perfectly, as this man shares an endless supply of funny reels with me, on a daily. His instant smile when I laugh, in the clip, makes my heart go pitter patter. I sure do love that fella o'mine!
I began this post three mornings ago and worked on it, off and on, when I could find the time. Completely indicative of my mama life but I wouldn't change it for the world. It's currently after 1:00 a.m. so I suppose now is as good a time as any to end here and sign off! Merry Christmas, sweet reader. Much love and blessings to you and yours this holiday season!
Relishing in HIS goodness...
Christy
IStndAmzd79@gmail.com
