After my panic-mode Christmas prep drained my husband and me for years, I learned the most important preparation step for a peaceful Christmas. Simple is best for me. I’ve included an easy but delicious dessert recipe at the end of the post. Enjoy! Clean and Christmas go together, don’t they? We clean so that we can decorate. Then we put away containers. We clean off counters, bake, and cook delicious meals. Then we wash the pots and pans until our fingertips look like raisins. We clean before company comes and then vacuum and straighten the house when they leave.…
Tag: Psalm 51:10
Pre-Christmas Heart Check
Why, oh why did Dr. Jones schedule an appointment in mid-December? Who has time for that? My heart is fine. As holiday prep time grew shorter, my to-do list grew longer. My peace meter registered closer to frayed-at-the-seams-frantic than to Christmas card-perfect. “This appointment is a waste of time,” I said to my husband. “I have so much to do before Christmas. I need to shop and send cards, and I need to decorate the tree.” My feisty cardiologist had scheduled an echocardiogram, and trust me, no one argues with Dr. Jones. She ordered this test and others…
Extreme Makeover: Heart and Home Edition*
Ugly, black spider-like mold and wet floor joists dampened our enthusiasm. We had no idea destruction lurked behind the sheetrock until my husband removed the kitchen cabinets. Now, instead of creating the beautiful new decor we envisioned, progress halted as we assessed damage from an old pipe that had been secretly leaking. We budgeted for new countertops, paint, and cabinets but elected to keep our ceramic tile floor to save money. Did you know that removing floor joists under cabinets can trigger cracks in ceramic tile? Yep! One problem led to another. A hidden issue had damaged a vital part…