Presenting the St. Symeon Choir

O Holy Father Symeon, intercede to Christ our God


Here it is. The long-awaited clips from the St Symeon CD- Fire and Light.

One thing to say...

A friend of mine posted this. Thanks to her extraordinary description. I'll let the image say the rest.

Ice is melting, temps in the 40's are coming along with spring, according to the daffodils in my front yard. I'm wishing I could feed them fertilizer, if it would bring spring a little faster. The kids are finally back to school on a regular basis, and the periwinkle dresses need the buttons on them and they're ready to go. Good thing, since we're within the 72 hour countdown for the wedding!

Winter Wonderland?

I live in the south for several reasons. Southern hospitality, grits and really good ginger ale, nice warm summers, and not too cold winters. If it snows, it's in strange times, like March, or April when it will melt soon enough.

Until this year.

I've always heard the songs about a white Christmas, and had never seen them down here. There had been plenty at my grandmother's house in Ohio, but none here since 1963. Christmas was the day you got to ride your new bike, sometimes in shorts and a t shirt, unless it was raining. Christmas Day was the day to be outside with the new outside toys.

This year, the kids, young and old, had a special treat. When we left for church, there were a few flakes falling; nothing too impressive, and in fact, you could have missed them if you hadn't been looking. But after church, we heard squeals of delight from the younger ones, and comments of amazement from the older.

Snow at Christmas- who would have thought.... Certainly not this sweet innocent southern girl!

You know, the weatherman calling to check on you personally isn't a good sign.

Jack Frost started nipping at our noses

 After Divine Liturgy, again, I'm met with the hurried, and almost frantic comments making sure my plans included being at home before the bad weather hits. I'm not sure who was more concerned- my parents or the weatherman! Nevertheless, I was home by the appointed time, and watched the first drops of rain roll in.

Mother Nature turned the tables on us. 

Just rain. I listened to the resident naysayer comment repeatedly " It wont' do anything", and the argument that followed between my nephew and husband " I won't have school tomorrow!"  " Yes, you will"  " No, I won't"  " Yes, you will"  " No, I won't"

Old Man Winter blew in.


I opened the front door, and heard the telltale, almost metallic sound of sleet-like pellets... I knew what was coming  and added my two cents in " no, he won't- it's icing"  Then the argument changed to " It won't stick" ..
I've been down this road. April of 1993 to be precise. It stuck... OH BOY did it stick!

Frosty found his hat and started dancing in the front yard.

Contrary to my family's urgent pleas, it stuck. My nephew cheered, my husband groaned, and I emailed my storm spotter information to the weatherman. 2 inches of ice and snow had accumulated on our driveway by 7 pm. The next morning, it was more, but it had already compacted to 3 inches.

Unfortunately, nephew wasn't feeling well. When I brought in a handful of the wintery mix, he rolled over uninterested. It's amazing how a good night's sleep combined with the bright reflection of an unusually white ground can change someone's mind. He found his way out into the snow and ice, along with Liberty.

Liberty was another problem all his own. He didn't want to go outside, after he felt the ice for the first time, Poor thing couldn't even find his food bowl in the morning. He stayed in the garage looking at nephew like he was crazy! After 3 days of snow, he has learned to slide down the hill on his back, much to Nephew's sheer delight.

We weren't without some beautiful sites. We have pictures posted here . One of my favorite pictures made our house look very Narnian.

Our Lamp Post, near the city of War Drobe in the country of Spare Oom.... otherwise known as "The Compound"

So with that, we dig out of  "Blizzard 2011" and head on to other things, like a periwinkle wedding this Sunday. Hopefully, I'll have pictures to post soon!

And after the 12th day of Christmas...

The house is headed towards clean. The Christmas tree is bare, and still in the living room. The stockings and ornaments are all put away for next year, and the Christmas fabric has been re-labeled with new intentions.

Just in time for Theophany and Old Calendar Christmas.

So, as promised, here's a picture of the " Bishop bishop" with it's proud owner and her brand new bright red bow. I think she's a precious little gem, but then, I'm biased!

She loves her "princess dress and beautiful bow", and anything else I make for her!

My mom told me one of her friends mentioned I should go into business. I chuckled.

My wonderful hubby also schemed with my family and provided a treasured Christmas Gift.

Click here to see the wonderful gift! 

And, of course, the church CD. I'm surprised- we've gone through 100 cd's already! What a blessing to have such music in the car, on my laptop, and soon, on Ancient Faith Radio! We're working diligently with Concilliar press to make that happen. So, should you want to hear sound bytes- hang on a few days. I'm sure you'll have something soon!! Until then, if you would like a copy, feel free to contact St Symeon the New Theologian.

So, with the New Year in full swing, I look forward to my grandmother's 80th birthday party, and my dear friend's wedding. I'll finish sewing everything for her this weekend, and hopefully have pictures soon. Prayerfully, I'll have news on the job front soon, unless I have enough sewing requests to sustain us for some time.