Christmas preparation, decorations, photos, early morning twinkling lights, pre dawn and before the house awakens. All the pieces of my heart.:
The handmade ornaments, the sticky foamie crafts, the felt and glitter, the spilled glue, the most glorious ornaments on our tree, yes, more so than the crystal and the storebought........and the long days of childhood we knew would someday be a memory, but not so soon. Not yet.
And the photos, our memories in print, that line, that grace, that adorn our walls, our stairs, our counters, that spiral us back in time ...... Spilling the stories......
Of laughter and fishing and mountain trails and docks at the lake. You almost inhale the aroma of a barbecue starting up........ motor boat gasoline, too.
You feel the tippy canoe under you as you gaze into the smiling faces. You remember the sand in the sheets and the sunburned shoulders under your heavy sweatshirt that night roasting smores.
There is laughter and there are lingering summer suppers. Citronella candles burn to stubs as sun dips below horizon...
You know that no matter what gets done on that last-week-before-Christmas to do list, it will all be okay because, truly, this is the important stuff of our lives.
The handmade ornaments, the sticky foamie crafts, the felt and glitter, the spilled glue, the most glorious ornaments on our tree, yes, more so than the crystal and the storebought........and the long days of childhood we knew would someday be a memory, but not so soon. Not yet.
And the photos, our memories in print, that line, that grace, that adorn our walls, our stairs, our counters, that spiral us back in time ...... Spilling the stories......
Of laughter and fishing and mountain trails and docks at the lake. You almost inhale the aroma of a barbecue starting up........ motor boat gasoline, too.
You feel the tippy canoe under you as you gaze into the smiling faces. You remember the sand in the sheets and the sunburned shoulders under your heavy sweatshirt that night roasting smores.
There is laughter and there are lingering summer suppers. Citronella candles burn to stubs as sun dips below horizon...
You know that no matter what gets done on that last-week-before-Christmas to do list, it will all be okay because, truly, this is the important stuff of our lives.

And with that, my 5 minutes are up.... I'm so happy to join Kate at FMF and the tribe of writers, who scribble, or type ( ! ) on one word each week. Please visitAll the Kate for more glimpses into FMF.
Friends, while you're here,
may I ask that you whisper a prayer for
a dear friend?
Mary is losing her daughter.
Her time this side of heaven, as Mary says,
is numbered in days as of now.
~Thank you~
Our hearts are breaking for sweet Courtney.

Before I close, may I share some good news and ask a favor!?
Campfires and Cleats has been nominated in THREE categories
at the Homeschool Post Blog Awards #HSBA2014 and
I. Am. Thrilled!
It is truly an honor and I'm blown away!
May I ask you to please click over and vote?
It's quick and easy.
I promise.
Here are the three links...
just click my blog name and then scroll down a touch to
click on the "vote" button.
Friends, as always,
thank you for stopping over and
spending some of your precious time
here at my home on the web!
And hey:
Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?
If not, just enter your email address here
so we can be in touch regularly!
If you are shopping at amazon this Christmas season,
would you consider clicking through my link?
Here it is:
In this way, I will receive a small commission on the purchase.....
a few pennies per dollar.
If YOU are an amazon affiliate, please send me
your link and I will do the same!
THANK YOU!
Until next time,
~Chris