Welcome to December!!!

Hi, all!

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving... we went to a community dinner so we didn't have to cook, and we had a wonderful time. Not much else new in November that I can think of now. If there had been, I probably would have blogged about it. ;-)

The onset of December has given me a head cold... usually that happens around New Years. Maybe that means this year I'll get through Christmas and New Years being healthy! ;-) In spite of the scratchy throat and dripping, we managed to get our Christmas letters done and printed and stuffed in signed cards in addressed envelopes this weekend! Now we're just waiting for the stamps. We got our first Christmas card on December 2nd! Can you believe it??? Complete with a picture! How amazing is that?? I'm excited that people are going to get a card from me BY Christmas, let alone probably by the week before. I just hope I remembered everyone. I did take a few names off my list this year - people I haven't heard from in a number of years. It's sad because the people are dear to my heart, but it's been forever since I've heard from them. I don't even know that they're getting our cards. Granted, Christmas is the one time per year most people hear from me (which is why I continue to send cards year after year), but it would be nice to hear back sometimes, too.

In other news, we've been keeping busy with various things... I've been crocheting a lot over the past couple of weeks. I bought some patterns on Etsy and have made a few different scarves and two hats (same pattern - the first one didn't turn out as well as I would have liked - the second was much better). Just in time for a cold snap here... it was 20F at my house this morning! Not fun when I'm already sick! :-( But I had my nice warm coat and my nice warm neckwarmer and my nice warm hat and my thin gloves (bad call on my part), so I was pretty okay waiting for the vanpool. The sun's out now, so hopefully it'll break 32F today. This is unusual for this area - we're not used to it and we don't like it. ;-)

I have been making some Etsy sales here and there... I ran an ad for a while on Facebook and got a bunch of new fans for my Ladybug's Beads and Baubles Facebook page, so I can let them know about new items I have and hopefully that will translate into sales eventually. I'm also running an ad on a crafting site, and I'm getting some views from that, but I don't know if the sales I'm getting are from there or people just wandering in. Either way, I'm getting seen and selling some things along the way. Not too bad for a beginner.

I also want to report that I think Bill and I have found a church to attend. It's interesting because it's not somewhere I would have expected him to be comfortable, but everywhere is going to have pluses and minuses. We're also occasionally going to be going to the church Bill's been a member of for a few years. Our new church has an evening service, so we can do both in a day. That will help him since he's used to something more traditional and this new church is anything but traditional. :-) We really like the pastor, though, and the way he delivers his message, and that's the main thing I think we both were looking for. They also have small groups (another thing we were looking for), so we'll be checking those out in January. Thanks for those who prayed about us finding a church home, and please continue to pray that we would be able to grow and serve in this church.

Other than that, it's been Christmas plans and preparations. I have my shopping done (YAY!) and all the presents wrapped except one. I think Bill's getting close to having his shopping done, too. I'm glad I started my shopping early. ;-) We did some decorating but not as much as we normally do. I just didn't feel like hauling out every box and going through it. We did our tree in a red theme this year (no, I don't have pictures, Jana, LOL) and it doesn't look too bad. We have some lights outside, but not a many as last year (I guess my lethargy was contagious - sorry, Bill!). But we're still festive. :-)

If I don't "talk" to you before then, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and in the bustle of presents and preparations, don't forget to remember the real Reason for the Season. Happy Birthday, Jesus.

Blessings,
Kristin