December has been a busy but delightful month. My oldest son came in from RI last week, and the local kids have been over more often to see him (and us, too, of course. 🙂 ). We enjoyed Christmas together as well as a few outings (more about those on Friday's Fave Five tomorrow), games, and lots of talking and laughing.
Usually during the last week of December, I post the books I read this year, my top ten or twelve of those books, and wrap-ups to reading challenges. Sometimes I also share the top-viewed posts of the year. This week there just hasn't been time. I wanted to enjoy time with the family as much as possible. So I'll at least share the bookish posts next week.
We've greatly simplified our Christmas activities, but we got to go to a couple of gatherings, a play, a fun Family Night at church (skits, songs, etc.). It all felt like just enough without being overwhelming.
Jim and I celebrated our 44th anniversary. We normally keep it pretty simple since it's so close to Christmas and such a busy time. We go out to eat at a nice restaurant and exchange cards. It's a nice time to pause and reconnect in all the busyness.
Watching
We really enjoyed All the Light We Cannot See. It had a bit of bad language. It was set during WWII, so naturally there was violence--some of it may have gone over the top. But overall it was a great movie. I've heard the book is excellent, but so far have not read it yet. I want to even more now.
We also enjoyed watching The Muppet Christmas Carol, most of us for the first time.
Creating
This is the card I made for Jim for our anniversary:
I used a heart punch and then edged them a bit by tapping a foam brush onto an ink pad and brushing it around the edges. The "I" and "U" were stickers.
This was Jim's Christmas card:
This was Jeremy's:
He likes foxes. The wording and holly border were stickers. The "snow" was embossed with the Cuttlebug.
This was Jason's:
This was Mittu's:
I did the lamppost and tree with the Cricut. The wording was a sticker.
This was Timothy's:
The wording was another sticker. With making so many at once, I relied on shortcuts as much as possible. I got the stuffed snowman and hat at Hobby Lobby--they were both stickers as well, but made of fabric.
This was Jesse's:
The words were a sticker and the tree was made with the Cricut (same tree shape as on Mittu's card).
Reading
Since last time, I completed (titles link to my reviews):
- Elisabeth Elliot: A Life by Lucy S. R. Austen, nonfiction (actually finished at the end of November but not reviewed til December). I enjoyed learning more about this woman who has shaped so much of my own thinking. The author did well with harmonizing material from several sources, but I felt she was too critical.
- Abide Bible study course on 1, 2, and 3 John by Jen Wilkin, not reviewed.
- Heaven and Nature Sing by Hannah Anderson, nonfiction. This was a reread, linked to last year's review. I am so glad I read it again this year. Though I fondly remembered some parts, I had totally forgotten others. Excellent, very highly recommended.
- Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke, fiction, audiobook. A woman in the 70s travels to Germany to learn more about the mother with whom she'd had a difficult relationship and finds some surprising information about the family she never knew. Excellent.
- Crown of Thorns by Sigmund Brouwer, fiction, is set in Charleston , one of my favorite places. It's a bit of a departure from my usual preferences, but was still good.
- The Christmas Angel Project by Melody Carlson, fiction, audiobook. Four friends mourn another who has just died and start a project in her memory. Very good.
- O Little Town, three novellas by Amanda Wen, Janyre Tromp and Deborah Raney, set in a small Michigan town in three different time periods. Very good.
- A Cliche Christmas by Nicole Deese, fiction, audiobook, not reviewed yet.
- The 20th Christmas, fiction, not reviewed yet.
That might look like a lot, especially for December, but the Christmas books were short.
I'm currently reading:
- Be Skillful (Proverbs): God's Guidebook to Wise Living by Warren Wiersbe, nonfiction
- Proverbs for Life for Women
- Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making by Andrew Peterson
- Being Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn (mentioned this last time but set it aside for Christmas reading)
- How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One by Stanley Fish (had also set this aside for a time)
- Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon, the Mitford book set during Christmas. Another lovely reread, via audiobook this time.
- The Best of Christmas in My Heart, a collection of short stories written or compiled by Joe Wheeler.
Blogging
Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I've posted these since last time:
Writing
As you can imagine, there's not been much activity on that front this month. I'm hoping to be more disciplined and regular about it next year. I'm looking forward to our writing Critique group resuming.
We're soaking up family together time for the next few days. I have not even thought much about next year yet. Time enough for that next month. I don't choose a word for the year or make resolutions per se, but I like to evaluate different areas and set goals.
Have a wonderful and safe rest of 2023!
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