Friday, December 20, 2019

Friday's Fave Five #564


Hi and welcome once again to Friday's Fave Five.  I can hardly believe it the last weekend before Christmas.  I still feel like I'm 10 steps behind but it is what it is and I'm just going to go with the flow.  I am going to choose not to stress about what is not done and just be in the moment and enjoy what is getting done.  I'm going to choose to intentionally enjoy the moments of wrapping and preparation instead of freaking out.  Really the only ones who know what exactly is not done is me, and I sure will keep it to myself.  LOL.  Are you ready to hit the pause button in the busyness and look for blessings in the week?  Yes?  Great then just join in with us in sharing five of your favorites.

~  Treated to lunch out ~  We have been trying for weeks to get together with some friends of ours but things just don't seem to work out.  But this Sunday after church we finally connected and we enjoyed a nice meal out.  It was fun to catch up and exchange gifts and just relax in each other's company.

~ haircut ~ my hair is still recovering from the straightener gone rogue incident so it was nice to get another trim and get more of the damaged hair trimmed off.

~ extra night to get things done ~  as much as I absolutely love my ladies small group, I was very thankful that we have wrapped up for the year and I had that extra evening this week to get some more things knocked off the Christmas to do list.

~ Christmas shopping finished ~ well except for one minor thing.  It is good to get that out of the way and just knowing I don't have to fight the crowds this weekend is a relief.  I'll run out and get that last thing tonight.  The dinner items still need to be purchased but I'll do that sometime on the weekend.  We don't even know what we are doing yet as everyone is getting here so staggered this year.  But I'm just going to take it as it comes and not stress about it.  I'm off Christmas Eve so if I have to make a quick run I'll do it then.

~ Picture Christmas cards ~  I absolutely love them.  A dayhome family who hasn't been with me for years still sends me a picture card every year and I always look forward to getting that in the mail.  It's fun to see how much the kids have grown.  And I got an extra special one from a blogging friend this year, you know who you are, and I'm here to say I was absolutely thrilled to receive it!  Everytime I glance at these cards I say a pray for those pictured on it.

Well that is my five for this week.  It is short and sweet but looking for blessings doesn't always mean they are going to be obvious or big.  Sometimes they are simple, or very quiet and can quickly be passed by.  But they are still there and as we take note and are thankful to God for them, His love and hand in our lives becomes more evident.  Thanks for joining me in this intentional exercise of becoming more grateful people.

What were your blessings this week?






8 comments:

Gattina said...

We have a rather strange Christmas this year (must be the Dutch influence of my DIL) we will celebrate on the 21st Christmas Eve, our son will organize everything, I only have to buy the Italian Christmas cake ! It will be a Libanese buffet and we will be 9 !! First time in my whole life that I don't celebrate Christmas Eve only in family. On Christmas Eve we will be alone also first time in 50 years ! Times change, but now I don't mind anymore !

Faith said...

What a nice list of faves!
! Mine are nothing big either but they all brought a smile to my face and made my lips say Thank You God.

It's so sweet of that long ago family to keep sending you cards. That's how my college friend and I are. We have been exchanging cards for 36 years now!! It's been fun to see our children grow via Xmas photos.

I'm done with everything except two gifts haven't arrived yet in the mail. And i have NO idea what we are doing for Xmas dinner, I'm leaning towards a tofu stir fry for claire and make your own subs with all the fixings for the rest of us. Maybe adding some fun dishes like a potato salad, healthy chips ( quinoa chips, blue corn chips) and hummus. I do have Xmas coookies in the freezer. The girls don't even want happy birthday Jesus cake. I think they've outgrown that tradition. We're definitely keeping it simple as we have a big family gathering on the the Sat after at my sisters home. I'll have to cook for that.

Enjoy the weekend...take time to pause and just be!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

a spirit of simplicity said...

I still have shopping to do and our Christmas gathering is tomorrow! Oh boy! It’s sweet to get photo cards of children who were in your care.

Barbara H. said...

I know what you mean about freaking out. I was feeling panicky this week and asked God to help me trust Him for grace to get things done and wisdom to know what most needed to be done and what didn't need to be done. I've had to repeat that prayer a few times. :-) I like what you said that I'm the only one who'll likely know what things didn't get done. There were a few items I normally would have liked to do a bit more for, but stopped at "good enough" for now.

Lunch out with friends is such a blessing. Glad you have the extra night off. I was hoping to get a haircut this week, but it's probably not going to happen. Maybe I can squeeze it in Monday.

It's such a nice feeling to get the bulk of the Christmas shopping done. Mine is mostly done as well--I may keep an eye out for an extra stocking stuffer or two.

I hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas!

Deb J. in Utah said...

Hi Susanne! Sounds like a great week. I love your Faves. I totally agree - that we are sometimes the only ones who don't know what we didn't get finished for the holiday. Sometimes we are so hard on ourselves. I love your example of slowing down and enjoying the season. Merry Christmas! P.S. I would love to exchange Christmas cards with you. Just email me your address! See you again soon.

Wendy said...

I think you have the right attitude about taking things as they come. I hope you get all your preparations finished and have a wonderful Christmas.

Willow said...

I just finished my last shopping today! All done!
And all but one Christmas letter has been mailed off although we have some to hand deliver on Sunday. Whew.
Spending time with friends is always a very special blessing.
Merry Christmas!!

ellen b. said...

Here we are at the Friday before Christmas! A very Merry Christmas to you and yours dear Susanne!