2008 | chatting at the sky

sky chatting in 2008

December 31, 2008

Yesterday I talked about how I’m not going to be all sentimental and look back over 2008. But I’m alone on New Years Eve so what else am I supposed to do?! Here are a few highlights from Chatting at the Sky 2008. Click to enjoy.

Things Babysitters Wish We Knew
a four part series

Portrait of a Kitchen
our old house, sweet Sophie Marie

An Unlikely Voice
how my alcoholic Grandfather inspired courage in me

Senior Photos: Take Two
a glimpse into my love of photography

Chatting at the Sky
my purpose post

Here’s to another year of discovering the holy and the humorous in the midst of everyday life.

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what is tuesdays unwrapped?

December 30, 2008

Celebrating the small things does not come natural to me. Most of the time, I am in survival mode, thankful to make it to bedtime. That is why I so love this project. For these moments, in this place, I slow down. If only for a few minutes, we have permission to take the time to unwrap the small, secret gift of the everyday. I’ve set aside Tuesdays to share a moment that may have otherwise disappeared under the pile of daily tasks. Instead, stop. Notice. And be thankful.

What should I write in my post?

Anything that causes you to pause and celebrate the moment. Not what will be or what is to come, but what is real and true this day: the messy, the lovely, and the unexpected. Share a photo, a story, or anything that offers a glimpse into your own journey of discovering the gifts in the midst of the ordinary.

Can anyone join?

Ooooof course. Anytime. Anyone. You don’t even have to have a blog. Just unwrap that Tuesday gift right there in the comments. But if you do have a blog, link up in the Mister Linky by putting your name and then the permalink to your Unwrapped post. Then link back to Chatting at the Sky so your readers will be able to read/join as well, if they would like.

What is a permalink?

A permalink is the URL to a specific blog post. In other words, each blog post has an address and the permalink is the street number and the avenue. For example, my blog address is www.chattingatthesky.com. But the permalink to this post is chattingatthesky.com/2009/12/30/tuesdays-unwrapped-4/ To get the permalink, I simply clicked on the post title and it popped up in the address bar.

Why was my link deleted?

Probably because you linked to your blog rather than the permalink of your post. Sometimes people like to browse through your Tuesday Unwrapped posts from my site days or weeks after you’ve posted them. If you simply link to your blog front page, they will not be able to find your Unwrapped post. Unless you use the permalink, your link will be deleted out of courtesy to the reader.

I look forward to celebrating the messy, lovely and unexpected with you.

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new

December 30, 2008

There is a week between Christmas and the new year for the following reason: to give us time to clear the house of all things Christmas and prepare for spring. Right? Am I the only one who is ready for warm weather by December 26th? I am practically pulling out the spring clothes. Except for the fact that I never put them away because I am just not that organized. What good is winter without Christmas?

So I do things like this. I put shells in a jar with the starfish that was living in my Christmas garland just yesterday. And I display it as a reminder of good things to come.
Each December I panic at least once, worried that I’m not savoring the season completely enough. I anticipate the after-Christmas-letdown. I think that is a left-over fear from childhood. Because as an adult, I love after-Christmas. I love taking down the decorations and clearing out the extra stuff. I love the fresh and the new that comes with January. I always forget how ready I am for the future by the time it arrives.
Generally at years end, I look back and reflect and pour over sentiment of what the past year has held. But this time I am ready for 2009 and what it will bring. I am looking forward with excitement and anticipation. I’m throwing open the blinds and letting the sunlight of a new day pour in around me. There are things on the horizon of this new year only beginning to dawn in my heart. I look forward to sharing them with you.

In the meantime, I’m off to look for my flip flops.

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find the baby, find the peace

December 28, 2008

Not only is this what Nana’s house looked like on Christmas afternoon, it is also what my brain feels like this week. Finding the important in the midst of the crazy is a challenge today. But I know it is in here somewhere, hiding beneath all these piles of laundry and torn up gift wrap.

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O holy night

December 24, 2008

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how we do birthdays

December 21, 2008

This happens every year. Just as I begin to settle into the Christmas season, my girls begin to plan their birthday. They were born shortly after Christmas (seven whole weeks before their actual due date thankyouverymuch). Had they come on time, we wouldn’t be doing their birthday until the middle of February. Which would have been great because nothing big happens in February.

This year they will be five. They have already made their invitations and have been busy making plans for what will happen on their birthday. So far, it is a coloring, pajama, balloon, cooking party and there are 473 people on the guest list. And they want strawberry cake. With purple icing.

One thing I know they won’t want is for us to focus on who they were as babies. Although it is fun for them to see baby pictures and to hear stories from their birth, for the most part they want to talk about all the things they can do now that they are five: like get skates and go to kindergarten and help mommy make dinner.

So we will celebrate them. We will celebrate the fact that, even though they were born too soon, they were healthy and whole and well. And they have become little ladies full of joy and innocence and excitement for life. We will celebrate who they are now.
As I’ve thought about the way we do birthdays, I’ve considered the unique way we celebrate the birthday of Jesus. We sing about his birthplace, his virgin mother, his swaddling clothes, the manger. On Christmas, we celebrate Jesus as a baby.

Maybe it’s because it seems more manageable and less offensive to think of Him as a baby than to think of Him as a man. I can handle a baby. But a man who claimed to be the the Son of God, Savior of the world?

He entered the scene of humanity in this most humble of ways and he did so on purpose. Beautifully. Ironically. But Jesus as a baby isn’t such a big deal unless you know him as a man and why he came as a baby in the first place. What depth of joy is available to those who are able to transition from celebrating Jesus, the tiny baby in the manger to Jesus, the redeemer of our hearts.