Our neighbors are in the Christmas Spirit!

These are our neighbors!  They started decorating on Halloween and finished by the first of December!  In addition to their breathtaking display they also decorated the yards of several neighbors who are Christmas-light challenged, including our house!  Although ours is definitely not as cool as theirs(!) we are grateful that our house looks Christmas-y!

When my sister saw the display she said, "You are so lucky!  I wish we had crazy neighbors!"



I hope all our readers are enjoying this week with their families with their Christmas shopping done and some cider simmering in the crockpot.  May your ovens be producing cookies and gingerbread, may your stereos be set to Christmas music.  May you have strategically placed mistletoe and ugly Christmas sweaters!  May you eat more than your share of chocolate and only the best bourbon soaked fruitcake.  May you sip mulled wine with your sweetheart while you watch It's A Wonderful Life and sleep late under extra quilts.  May carolers stop at your house and may you get a Christmas card from a long lost friend.  May your children still pretend to believe in Santa Claus and may you all stand in awe in front of a creche.  May you attend a midnight mass or Christmas Eve service and sing Silent Night.

Once a year the Christmas season strikes both the sacred and the secular spheres of life with sledgehammer force: suddenly Jesus Christ is everywhere.  For approximately one month His presence is inescapable.  You may accept Him or reject Him, affirm Him or deny Him, but you cannot ignore Him.  Of course He is proclaimed in speech, song, and symbol in all the Christian churches.  But He rides every red-nosed reindeer, lurks behind every Cabbage Patch doll, resonates in the most desacralized "season's greetings."  Remotely or proximately, He is toasted in every cup of Christmas cheer.  Each sprig of holly is a hint of His holiness, each cluster of mistletoe a sign He is here.  --Brennan Manning