The Boy Jesus, A Foreshadowing ShadowBox (assemblage, found object shadowbox)

It's been a busy week or so... lots of preparations for Christmas, and getting ready for year end things, bookkeeping wise, too.

One of the gifts I was going to give my friend, Deb, who I work with at Church, is this shadowbox. I love this picture, it's one I found in a large print in an old frame at Good Will. The original was about 18 x 22 inches. I took it to a photo place and had many images of various sizes made so I could use them in future assemblages and framed for gifts.



This one is in an 8 x 10 gold frame that I touched up with dots of a shimmery gold paint. The front of the shadowbox frame is from an old clock, and John made a back box that I painted & stained to match, glued the framed photo in place, then attached the frame and the box together with both glue and brackets.

The marble globe-looking piece fit well with what the boy Jesus is holding in his hand, and I added the crown at the top of it. The cross I painted gold and added the brass crucifix to it. Inside is also a small votive candle holder.

I gave this to my friend this morning, having spent most of the night finishing it and hoping the glue, epoxy, paint & stain would be dry in time... it was and Deb loved it! I do TOO, it was hard to not keep it for myself! *S*

Granddaughter Jorden's Early Christmas Visit

I was able to pick up Jorden on Monday afternoon so she could spend two days with us and we would be able to celebrate our family Christmas early with all our kids and grandkids here together! We always look forward to her visits!

On Tuesday, after I worked in the AM, Kasey and I took her to my Mom and Dad's so they could watch her open the gifts they bought for her. Before we left, I pulled out a cute old fashioned coat that was her Aunt Kasey's when she was about 2 - 3 years old. We took a lot of photos with her wearing it, she looked SOOO cute.!





Jorden liked Red's duck toy a lot - Red is my parents dog, he's about 14 years old, and Jorden loved the "puppy" Red too! She also loved the movable Christmas doll with the candle at Nana and Papa's.




One of her gifts was a cute rocking chair that she'll keep at her daddy's apartment to use. And she received a dolly and some cute clothes too!

After Nana and Papa's, we stopped at Church to get photos with the poinsettia plants that the altar guild put up earlier that day...they are beautiful and make great props for photos!







On Wednesday, before Jorden has to go back to her Mom, we'll have our family Christmas with our kids and the 4 grandkids... more photos to come from that later!

Pre-School Christmas Program - somebody was added to Santa's naughty list...

Our youngest Grandson, Jeff had his 3 yr. old preschool Christmas sing this morning. Here he is when he first came in, and he seemed to be cooperating... but things changed fast.

It was a cute program of songs that the teachers led the kids in singing. Jeff however, decided he was NOT going to do anything but stand there for most of the songs, even though his mom pulled out her cell phone and told him she was calling Santa right NOW!! *lol*


Were the other kids trying not to watch Jeff's bad behavior here? *L* Nope, just some actions to the song that Jeff decided NOT to participate in, no matter what the teacher, his mom, or we grandmother's said.




His mom, Janel, did get some video footage of him, not singing...*L* We all decided it would be good to show at his high school graduation, or when he had kids of his own and thought they were bad! *L*



But WAIT... just when we had given up on seeing him sing, there came a song about snowballs, and the props each kid had was a piece of paper they were to smash into a "snowball"... Jeff was eager to do it... the reason being, they got to throw them at the end of the song, and YES, he tried to bop his mom with his! *L*



And then Jeff finally did pick up his bells to ring during one song, but rather reluctantly. His Mom did say that he was upset about her taking their dog, Buck, to the vet that morning and having to leave him there for a removal of a growth on his eye, so I guess he was reacting to that.

The next day, when he came for grandson day at gramma's he was out of his "mood" and back to his normal smiling, Jeffro-self! *S* Gotta love him!! And we DO!! xoxoxox

Wait For the Lord... Keep Watch, Take Heart

This is a wonderful song to meditate on. It's one of many songs from Taize, which I was introduced to about 18 years ago when our french exchange "son", Sebastien, sent me a cassette tape of their music. I fell in love with the worship associated with it.
(The Taizé Community is an ecumenical Christian monastic order in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France. It is composed of a little over 100 brothers who come from Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. Over 100,000 young people from around the world make pilgrimages to Taizé each year for prayer, Bible study, sharing, and communal work.)



Here are the words to the song.

And below is one of many videos on YouTube of this prayer song.
(REMINDER: Turn off my playlist music before playing the video song.)

This is a prayer hymn I have in my heart and mind lately. John's back is not doing very well. He was able to come home late Friday afternoon, but his pain and leg problems started to come back just before he was discharged. It's been disappointing and very painful for him, especially since he was doing so well the first day and a half following the surgery. He's been in a LOT of pain, and is walking worse than he was before the surgery now. The on-call doctors have said he needs to give it awhile, because there is swelling that needs to go down, and he needs rest. The pain meds don't seem to be working well, and he isn't sleeping well either. The prayers of others have been a comfort, and we are so very thankful for them. The words to this song are also a comfort to me... "Wait for the Lord, keep watch, take heart."



So, it's about time for the patient's pain meds ... then 4 hours of sleep before the next time. I hope to fall asleep with this song in my heart, in my mind and in my spirit, and as a prayer for John and his healing.

Pre-Op and Post-Op

John had surgery today. We left very early this morning, at 4 a.m. to head to Milwaukee. John had to be at the hospital by 5:30 a.m., surgery scheduled for 7:30 a.m. The roads were pretty good, considering all the snow and ice we had. One lane was good most of the way and we made it in plenty of time. It was very cold however... minus - 1 (F) when we left Delavan...brrrrrrrr (windchills of minus -25 (F)).




Yesterday John was doing some "pre-op" stuff, ...giving bobcat lessons to Kasey so she could plow, if needed, while he is laid up for a couple of weeks. She did very good actually, she just needs a little practice, hopefully though she won't need to use the newly acquired skills very soon.



Then today John had a few more pre-op things before the actual surgery. They have these new kind of gowns now for patients, they are paper-like, and have a place to attach a hose, where warm air (or cold air if preferred) is pumped into the gown keeping the patient toast warm, or pleasantly cooled. *L* This is John with the gown on waiting on the aides to come to wheel him into surgery. He was like the stay-puff marshmellow man, all puffed up..*L*



During surgery Kasey and I went to the Family Center, where there was internet access (we both brought our laptops to work on to pass the time). The surgery went very well!! Dr. Kurpod said he removed 3 disk fragments that were pushing on the nerve that was affecting John's leg, and that John had an abnormally placed nerve as well which maybe was part of his problem? Not sure how it came to be abnormally placed?...something to ask the surgeon when we see him again.

John was out of recovery and back to his room by 11:35, we came to his room, stayed for about 30 minutes, then went down the hall to the family multi purpose room to do some work. John has been sleeping, snoring away soundly, for the last couple of hours. The nurses have said he'll be getting up sometime soon to walk, and then he has other things he must be able to do before they decide later today or tonite on whether he'll come home, or stay over for a night.

We are thankful for all the prayers and well-wishes from family and friends, please keep praying!! John has said his leg already feels better, his back is a bit sore from the surgery, but it's not real bad. Thank you Lord!!

Thank you everyone... *heading back to check on the patient again*
With love,
Roberta and family
xoxoxox

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**** UPDATE ****



About 4 p.m. they told John he was going to go for a short walk... they told him just to the nurses station about 8 rooms down the hall and back... but Kasey and I waited, and waited, and waited... and lo and behold, John and the nurse on duty came around from the OTHER side... they had gone the whole "block" around the floor in record time! John was and is doing great! No pain in his leg or backside, just some in his back where the surgery was, which is to be expected. Kasey said it's a "Christmas miracle", and to me, IT SURELY IS!! I'm so thankful for the great results so far for John.

The nurses told us that there were several things that had to happen in order for John to come home today. His walk was one of them, he passed with flying colors.

He had to eat regular food with no problems.. and he ordered a nice dinner, which he devoured... Kasey and I went to the Dining Room and brought a dinner-to-go back with us, to eat with John in his room... we bought him a giant chocolate chip cookie, which he ate along with his meal, so he passed that test as well.

He had a bladder scan, and although he did go to the bathroom, evidently it wasn't enough... and they are afraid of an infection if he doesn't empty his bladder.

Dr. Kurpad came in around 7 p.m. (he'd had a long day of surgeries!) .. he told John that the abnormal nerve placement he had was probably something he was born with ... and that the herniated disk was broken into many pieces around the nerve that was suppose to be on one side or the other of where it was, but it was instead, in the middle of the broken disk, causing the problems. So, now it's been corrected and we are so happy!! And thankful for Dr. Kurpad and the nurses and others caring for John.


But, he wasn't able (as we had hoped) to come home tonite... Kasey and I got home around 8:30 p.m. ... and tomorrow I'll call John to find out when I can come and get him... but we are so thankful and appreciate SOOOO much the prayers of many friends and family. Thank you for all the special messages on Facebook as well, I plan on reading them ALL to John tomorrow when he comes home, he will also, undoubtably, be thankful for you all!!

With much love and thanking God for the blessings and healings for John!
Roberta and family
XOXOXOXO

The Diary of a Snow Storm Continues...

If you look at yesterday's post on my blog, you'll see I am keeping a photo diary of the snow storm we are in the midst of here.

This is our back yard at 7:15 a.m. this morning. And our pine tree at 8 a.m. (and it's still snowing lightly.)


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And at 11 a.m., here is the walk up to our front door, John had already plowed it - and it's still flurrying.




The sidewalk in the front of our house looking south up the street. I love how beautiful it looks with the snow covered branches.


The snowplows are doing a good job of plowing our driveway back in, and the sidewalk entrances at the corners too. I was temporarily stuck sideways in the entrance from trying to get out over the pile of snow the snowplow left for us.



The old oak tree at our Church was so pretty covered with snow, I had to snap a few photos of it too.







More photos to come later in the day as the storm progresses .....

The Diary of a Snow Storm - Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

Weather reports on TV are saying by Wednesday afternoon, we'll have over a foot of snow here in S.E. Wisconsin.

So today and tomorrow, I'll take photos throughout the day of how the storm is progressing ... this one is our back deck at 7 a.m. this morning.

Hopefully the big snow will finish up in time for us to head to Milwaukee early on Thursday morning for John's back surgery without any problems on the road.
And later today, John is going to show Kasey and me how to fire up the bobcat so we can plow out the house and the church sidewalks, if needed, while he is laid up following the surgery.
I'm sure that will bring adventures IF we have to do that..ha!

More photos to come throughout the day.....
Snowstorm... kinda stalled, 10:00 a.m., flurrying a little still, not much accumulation however.




The snow started to melt on the streets, but it's getting colder again, and although the snow stopped for a bit, it's pretty overcast and the ground is covered now, as you can see by the photo of our pine tree at about 4:00 p.m.













This is a 7:45 p.m. view of our deck again, the snow has started again, and I hear sounds of snowblowers and plows outside in the neighborhood...

Maybe we WILL be getting a foot of snow as predicted by tomorrow night?? I know the TV stations are showing a LOT of cancellations for tomorrow already... school kids are rejoicing in WI..*L*

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What a difference 45 minutes makes.. 8:30 p.m., and it's getting pretty windy outside!











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The snowstorm continues, slowly ... 10:45 p.m.

Yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus....

(from Wikipedia): Is There a Santa Claus? was the title of an editorial appearing in the September 21, 1897 edition of the New York Sun. The editorial, which included the famous reply "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus", has become an indelible part of popular Christmas lore in the United States and Canada.

In 1897, Dr. Philip O’Hanlon was asked by his eight-year-old daughter, Virginia, whether Santa Claus really existed. Virginia O'Hanlon had begun to doubt there was a Santa Claus, because her friends had told her that he did not exist.

Dr. O’Hanlon suggested she write to the New York Sun, a prominent New York City newspaper at the time, assuring her that "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." While he may have been passing the buck, he unwittingly gave one of the paper's editors, Francis Pharcellus Church, an opportunity to rise above the simple question, and address the philosophical issues behind it.

Church was a war correspondent during the American Civil War, a time which saw great suffering and a corresponding lack of hope and faith in much of society. Although the paper ran the editorial in the seventh place on the editorial page, below even an editorial on the newly invented "chainless bicycle," its message was very moving to many people who read it. More than a century later it remains the most reprinted editorial ever to run in any newspaper in the English language.

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December 6th is the "feast day" of St. Nicholas, the forerunner to the modern day Santa Claus.... yes, Virginia, there IS/WAS such a person!

(from The Nicholas Center website): The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.
St. Nicholas died on Dec. 6, AD 343. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St. Nicholas Day.


We were blessed to have St. Nicholas visit Christ Church, Delavan on Sunday, and have this saint of old tell the children and adults a little about his life. He even brought gifts for ALL!

Here is St. Nicholas with the acolytes and clergy before the service. (left to right: Jerry (my Dad), Fr. Bill, St. Nicholas (thanks Bruce!), Ian, Deacon Bill, and Steve.)


During the sermon time, Fr. Bill & St. Nicholas sharing with the children.

Mary, Mother of God

This piece would fit well during the 4th Sunday in Advent (Dec. 20th), where we have the Canticle, Song of Mary, and hear the Gospel reading from Luke of Mary's visit to Elizabeth (mother of John the Baptist).
But I was anxious to put out some decorations, and this is one I assembled.

I have a small collection of Madonna's, and when I found this MOM shelf, I knew I had a place to showcase a few of them.
The Jesus statue behind it is a representation of the huge "Christ the Redeemer" statue that stands on the mountain top in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
I think it gives a great message of how Jesus felt about Mary - with His arms outstretched to His mother....MOM!

Jesus, God incarnate (in the flesh), was born of Mary - Mary, the one chosen by God to give birth to the Messiah, the Savior of the world.
Mary had her baby boy, nursed Him, cuddled Him, sang to Him, cared for Him, taught Him, disciplined Him, soothed Him, and most of all LOVED Him. All the things that mothers do - she was His Mom. And as Moms know, not only is there great love in being a Mom, there is much heartache and sorrow as well, especially in Mary's case and all that she had to see her Baby Boy go through as an adult.


"Mary Did You Know"

[lyrics by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene]

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

Mary did you know..

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

(If you'd like to hear this song, click on number two on my playlist in the column to the right of this entry.)

December Sunset & Moon Over Parish ....

Looking out my living room window at dusk tonight, I noticed how big and bright the moon was over the houses, trees and telephone lines down Parish Street. I wish I had a camera like my daughter has, but she was gone, and so I went out to try to capture the image I was seeing, in a photo, with my cheapo digital camera. As I went out the door, I looked in the opposite direction, to the west, and saw an even MORE beautiful sight... the December 1st sunset was awesome!! The colors were so vivid and bright!


After watching the sky for awhile, I went around to the street in front and shot this image, but somehow, the moon seemed to shrink when it got into my camera and came out in the photo..*L* When viewing it with my eyes it sure "seemed" to be larger than what it appears in print.

How interesting too that at the same time, in the same sky, you get two different, in a way, kind of opposing views ... one bright and vivid...the other much more subdued, dim and somber, yet both are views from the same place, it just depends on where you focus as to what you see.

So too in life, whether facing good times or bad times... your focus makes ALL the difference.

For The God On The Mountain Is Still God In The Valley
When Things Go Wrong He'll Make Them Right
And The God Of The Good Times,
Is Still God Of The Bad Times
And The God Of The Day Is Still God Of The Night

(From the song, "God on the Mountain", words and music by Tracy Dart.)

Wow... ArtSlant has me as a November Showcase Winner!

I have some of my assemblages on the ArtSlant, Chicago site and have entered their monthly competitions pretty regularly over the last couple of years. This is the first time, however, that I've won an award from them. I am one of the winners in their November showcase competition, which involves artists from other cities too... Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, New York, Miami, London and more. Check out all the entries, there are LOTS of wonderful artists there!!

I entered my "Factotum" assemblage this time, and received this email a couple of days ago (and I noticed that the award is posted today on my ArtSlant site):
Dear Artist: Congratulations! You have been selected as a Showcase Winner in the November 2009 Showcase!
The ArtSlant Curatorial Team is very pleased to welcome you into our special group of winning artists. Showcase Winners have been designated as promising artists by our team of professional art watchers.



SHOWCASE WINNERS PREMIUM PLACEMENT: Your winning work will move into the Showcase Winners premium placement program.
HOMEPAGE SPOTLIGHT: Your winning work will be randomly exhibited in our spotlight showbox on our Homepage. This new exhibition space has been developed specifically for our Showcase Winners. Look for your work on our homepage next to the Big Black museum and openings box.
GALLERY PANEL JUDGING: Each Showcase winner will go before our Gallery Panel for review and judging over the next week. Our gallerists will select the top Juried Winners, who will be eligible for the Golden Frame competition which will be held in March 2010.


Maybe this can help me get some things into a gallery showing somewhere in the Chicago, Milwaukee area? That would be very cool! Thank you ArtSlant, I appreciate the honor!!

The Hunters Are Home....

John and son, John arrived home from the annual deer hunt this afternoon. It appears we are going with plan B for business customer gifts (fruit boxes) since they didn't have a successful deer hunt, so there will be no venison landjaeger or sausage for business customers this Christmas. Ahh well, maybe it's a fruity year for us all anyway..*L*

John said they had a good time upnorth with the hunting buddies despite the lack of venison coming home. He probably needed that time, since now he has just 10-11 days until his back surgery ... lots to do before then in getting things ready and hopefully work for the crew too!

I'm glad they are home! Thank you Lord!

One of my entries is included in the ECVA call to artists "Full of Grace"

The Episcopal Church and Visual Arts has calls to artists several times per year. I'm honored to have one of my entries be included in the latest call "Full of Grace".

One of my entries this time included a photograph I took. I'm not really a photographer (even though I take hundreds of photos for the church newsletter and family photos), but my daughter, Kasey is a professional photographer, and she let me borrow her fancy camera one day. I've learned a few things from Kasey in taking photos, so I was fortunate to get a nice photo of fall leaves on Delavan Lake, which is the piece featured in "Full of Grace", titled "God's Glory".



And another really cool thing is that one of my assemblages is featured on the home page of ECVA too. It's an honor for me to have it featured there as well.

Thank you to the curator of the latest call to artists, Moses Hoskins, and to the Episcopal Church & Visual Arts for featuring my work.

Adventus....

"Advent" ...is taken from the Latin word "adventus," meaning "coming."
During the season of Advent, we are called to prepare ourselves, it's a season that teaches the value of waiting and patience. We are not called to passive waiting, but to using our time to prepare and anticipate. Just as we take time to prepare a special dinner or dress the nursery for a new baby, in Advent we prepare our hearts to welcome the Christ.

May “peace on earth, good will to mankind”
be more than a season, may it be a way of life.

Happy New Year's Eve!!

No, I am not a month ahead of myself .... today COULD be considered New Year's Eve, since tomorrow (Sunday, Nov. 29th) is the first day of Advent. Advent is one of the "seasons" of the Church Year, (other seasons include Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, and Ordinary Time/After Pentecost). Advent was the last season to be officially added to the church calendar, in about 600 AD. It was made the first season of the church year because it begins the story of the events of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Advent always includes four Sundays before Christmas, this year (2009) beginning on November 29.

"Advent" is taken from the Latin word "adventus," meaning "coming."

During the season of Advent, we are preparing for the coming of Christ, both in His Birth at Christmas & at the Second Coming. Each Advent we are called to prepare ourselves, it is a season that teaches us the value of waiting and patience. We are not called to passive waiting, but to using our time to prepare and anticipate. Just as we take time to prepare a special dinner or dress the nursery for a new baby, we should prepare our hearts during the Advent season to welcome the Christ.

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Twas the Beginning of Advent

'Twas the beginning of Advent and all through the Church
Our hope was all dying-- we'd given up on the search.
It wasn't so much that Christ wasn't invited,
But after 2,000 plus years we were no longer excited.

Oh, we knew what was coming-- no doubt about that.
And that was the trouble-- it was all "old hat."
November brought the first of an unending series of pains
With carefully orchestrated advertising campaigns.

There were gadgets and dolls and all sorts of toys.
Enough to seduce even the most devout girls and boys.
Unfortunately, it seemed, no one was completely exempt
From this seasonal virus that did all of us tempt.

The priests and prophets and certainly the kings
Were all so consumed with the desire for "things!"
It was rare, if at all, that you'd hear of the reason
For the origin of this whole holy-day season.

A baby, it seems, once had been born
In the mid-east somewhere on that first holy-day morn.
But what does that mean for folks like us,
Who've lost ourselves in the hoopla and fuss?

Can we re-learn the art of wondering and waiting,
Of hoping and praying, and anticipating?
Can we let go of all the things and the stuff?
Can we open our hands and our hearts long enough?

Can we open our eyes and open our ears?
Can we find him again after all of these years?
Will this year be different from all the rest?
Will we be able to offer him all of our best?

So many questions, unanswered thus far,
As wisemen seeking the home of the star.
Where do we begin-- how do we start
To make for the child a place in our heart?

Perhaps we begin by letting go
Of our limits on hope, and of the stuff that we know.
Let go of the shopping, of the chaos and fuss,
Let go of the searching, let Christmas find us.

We open our hearts, our hands and our eyes,
To see the king coming in our own neighbors' cries.
We look without seeking what we think we've earned,
But rather we're looking for relationships spurned.

With him he brings wholeness and newness of life
For brother and sister, for husband and wife.
The Christ-child comes not by our skill,
But rather he comes by his own Father's will.

We can't make him come with parties and bright trees,
But only by getting down on our knees.
He'll come if we wait amidst our affliction,
Coming in spite of, not by our restriction.

His coming will happen-- of this there's no doubt.
The question is whether we'll be in or out.
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock."
Do you have the courage to peer through the lock?

A basket on your porch, a child in your reach.
A baby to love, to feed and to teach.
He'll grow in wisdom as God's only Son.
How far will we follow this radical one?

He'll lead us to challenge the way that things are.
He'll lead us to follow a single bright star.
But that will come later if we're still around.
The question for now: Is the child to be found?

Can we block out commercials, the hype and the malls?
Can we find solitude in our holy halls?
Can we keep alert, keep hope, stay awake?
Can we receive the child for ours and God's sake?

From on high with the caroling host as he sees us,
He yearns to read on our lips the prayer: Come Lord Jesus!
As Advent begins all these questions make plea.
The only true answer: We will see, we will see.

Pastor J. Todd Jenkins
First Presbyterian Church, Fayettevile, Tennessee