Mountain Musings

2005 in Review

Wow! what a year! So much has happened around here that it almost boggles the mind. Just looking back over the blog since we began writing and perusing what everyone has been up to over the past months makes us realize how very blessed we are to have each other as a family and how grateful we are for the great God we serve who gives us abundantly more than we could ever ask or think!

The end of one year and the beginning of another are always times for reflection and looking ahead. What did we do for the Lord this past year? What will we do in the coming year that will really matter? How have we blessed our families? What will the neighbors remember about us?

We looked back and took the first couple of sentences from each month's post to see what we were doing and thinking through the year. Of course, those few posts don't mention some of the times when we really cried out to God...Tom's heart scare in March, Micah's broken hip in April, Jonathan's first job experience in May, or Tom's recent Thanksgiving trip to the emergency room--ouch! Or the exciting times we celebrated...Micah and Elizabeth's engagement party, our 25th-anniversary trip out west, and family birthdays. But it gives us some idea of our journey so far this year.

So, here's 2005 in review:

January 1, 2005  Hymn: Another Year is Dawning. Frances Ridley Havergal, who wrote such well-loved hymns as Like a River Glorious and Take My Life and Let it Be, penned the words to this song in 1874.

February 1, 2005  "An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels." Her husband ... praises her, saying: 'Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all.' "

March 1, 2005  We've been working on trying to upload some snow pictures taken yesterday and today. This is the snowy view I see from my kitchen sink.

April 1, 2005  It's good to have a "girls' night out" sometimes; but last night after having the girls gone for almost a week, it was great to be "in" and fun to listen to them yakking about their time away! 

May 1, 2005  The awfully horrible c-o-l-d which kept me home from yard-saling yesterday morning with Hannah is threatening to keep me home from church this morning.

June 1, 2005  Why are rabbits depicted in storybooks as cutesy and lovable? Why is Mr. McGregor considered the mean old farmer when he runs Flopsy, Mopsy, and CottonTail out of his garden? Well, rabbits have gotten me a little discouraged this week.

July 1, 2005  I haven't really elaborated on the Words That Hurt, Words That Heal Bible study I've joined recently. We had our second meeting last night, and the subjects were Bragging and Complaining.

August 1, 2005 I've mentioned before that I would l-o-v-e to have a faster computer connection, but when the cable and DSL companies say "we just don't come out that far yet," what can you do?

September 1, 2005  With today being the first Thursday of the month, Sarah and I are headed to the library for their "A Little Lunch Music" series. Today's concert is by the Stonewall Brigade Saxes.

October 1, 2005  Whenever you're next in the mood for some homemade pizza, try the recipes below. They're what we always use, and it turns out great!

November 1, 2005 Whenever we buy anything, we always ask around, check Consumer Reports at the library, read E-pinions, and in general try to find out pros and cons and the best brand for the best price. We're just starting this process with a garden tiller.

December 1, 2005 The Mountain Musings crew would like to thank those who nominated us in two of the categories for the Blogs of Beauty Awards for 2005.

So that's just a smattering of what we've been up to this past year. We look forward to 2006 and what the Lord has in store for us.

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. ~Psalms 90:12

Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.  ~Colossians 4:5

~The Girotti Gang

Jesus My Lord, My God, My All

We have thoroughly enjoyed listening to a new Steve Pettit Evangelistic Team CD we received for Christmas, and I wanted to share it with you.

My favorite song on the CD is "How Deep the Father's Love for Us." You can download and listen to a 90-second snatch of it here on the Old Fashioned Christian Radio Music site. You can purchase the CD at either the Pettit site or the OFCRM site; prices vary slightly.

Verse 1: How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure. That He would give His only Son to make this wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss! The Father turns His face away as wounds which mar the chosen one bring many sons to glory.

Verse 2: Behold, the man upon the cross; my sin upon His shoulders. Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there, until it was accomplished. His dying breath has brought me life. I know that it is finished!

Verse 3: I will not boast in anything, no gift, no power, no wisdom. But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death, and resurrection. Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer. But this I know with all my heart. His wounds have paid my ransom.

~Deb

Dear Ol' Dad

Happy Birthday to the Dad of the Mountain Musings gang! We are so very thankful that the Lord has blessed us with such a great example of God's love and provision. What a steady and faithful Dad he has been through the years--always sacrificing for the good of the family.

We appreciate you more and more every day, Tom/Dad, and we all hope that your day is extra, extra special! Happy Birthday!!

~ Deb and kids

Random Tidbits

Perusing the blogosphere this morning, I'm finding it's mostly quiet out there; bloggers are still relaxing after Christmas.

While my sister was here visiting, she set up Bloglines on my computer, which is working out to be a great time-saver! I love it so far--thanks Bet! It shows me which blogs have been updated and which haven't, so I don't even need to click on the blog itself and wait for our slow dial-up to bring up each individual blog only to find out there's nothing new. It's an interesting concept; check it out if you don't have it installed already.

Tom is home on his last two days of vacation this year for an extra long weekend off with the New Year's holiday falling on Monday. We love Dad being around on a regular weekday!

It's dreary looking here in the Valley this morning; the forecast is for rain with some wet snow possibly mixed in. That's okay--we are inside working today anyway.

All the decorations have been boxed and stacked in the garage for another year. It feels great to get the house clean again--floors scrubbed and rugs washed where the visiting dogs were camping out over the holidays. More cleaning is on the agenda, and then we will relax and celebrate Tom's birthday tomorrow.

Today's thought: (taken from Back to the Bible website)

WHAT God may hereafter require of you, you must not give yourself the least trouble about. Everything He gives you to do, you must do as well as ever you can, and that is the best possible preparation for what He may want you to do next. If people would but do what they have to do, they would always find themselves ready for what came next.  ~ George MacDonald

~Deb

5 Wood Projects--1 Busy Man!

For those of you who have asked..."what's behind that sheet?" from a previous post...here ya go! Needless to say, we saw very little of Tom during his vacation days the week before Christmas. But everyone loved the results of his hard work!

Tom made both girls a spice cabinet. Hannah picked "winter white pastel" for the color of hers with an Early American stain rubbed on top of the white and immediately wiped off to give it more of an antique look. She also wanted a towel bar at the bottom. The cabinet turned out looking very classy.

Sarah's color is golden oak (which matches the color of the recipe box and bread box from previous years' projects), and she picked Shaker pegs at the bottom.

Below is the jelly cabinet Tom made for me. The color is Early American with 4 raised panels inserted in the door frame. The knob installation was delayed, but other than that it is complete. I love it!! In addition to jelly jars, it will hold tablecloths, placemats, napkins, and candles; it will be great to have everything readily available downstairs!

The bread box below was a complete surprise! I had no inkling that Tom was making me a bread box in addition to the jelly cabinet! Wow! It will definitely be put to good use. I love it!

The "winter white pastel" bread box below is the project Tom was working on when the big "ouch!" happened earlier this month. This is Elizabeth's (our future daughter-in-law) wood gift this year. As you can see, it is packed with various other presents ready for carting back to Georgia; but I'm sure it will eventually get plenty of use packed with her homemade bread.

Now...we just need to brainstorm and pick out some ideas for wood projects for Tom to work on for next year--although I think he deserves some well-earned time off. Well done, good and faithful woodworking Dad!

~Deb

Empty House

How can this feel like an empty house when five of us are still here? Well, amazingly, it does feel sort of empty after the last of our company (and canine guests) left today.

My mom, her husband, and dog Little Bit, left yesterday morning. My sister (and hyper puppy Barney) left today headed to my mom's in South Boston for a couple of days before heading back to South Carolina. And I drove my aunt back to her home in Richmond today--4 hours round trip.

We enjoyed the Christmas holidays and getting to be with extended family. Now, we're settling down to JUST US and ONE dog. Sure makes for a empty house! I think I can get used to it though. :)

~Deb

Happy Blogiversary To Us!

Yes, it's our birthday! We received Typepad last year as a gift from my sister; she helped us set everything up and get started writing soon after Christmas. So this entire week we're celebrating our blogiversary--we like to spread the good times out.

During our first 365 days of using Typepad, the family has written 411 posts, and we've received 994 comments. Thank you for being a part of our blogging experience; we've enjoyed it tremendously. And we always enjoy hearing what all of you commenters have to say.

Now, let us ask a favor. If you are a reader of Mountain Musings, would you let us know you're out there and how you found our blog--even if you've never left a comment before--we'd love to know who's celebrating with us!

~Deb

The Stockings Were Hung...

...by the chimney with care, in hopes that the family all would be there. We've just posted some individual family pictures (yikes--upclose and personal) in a new photo album (lower left sidebar).

We hope you enjoy celebrating His birth this season with your loved ones. From our house to yours...Merry Christmas!

~ The Girotti Family

More Blessed to Give Than to Receive

I'm guessing that with only three days left until Christmas just about every gift that's going to be purchased has been purchased, or baked, or crafted or it's right now being frantically finished to be placed under the tree or taken next door to a friend or neighbor.

I can remember the years that I planned a cross-stitch gift for someone, and I would literally be putting in some final stitches after midnight on Christmas Eve! It's usually the crafters in our house who are the ones burning the midnight oil trying to get gifts ready.

I gave a gift this year like that...rather I gave 8 gifts like that--lots of midnight oil! I worked on the gifts frantically trying to finish each one. I can write about the secret now because we gave out these particular gifts last Saturday evening when Micah and Elizabeth were with us.

Each of the four kids received an identical 7x7 Creative Memories mini-scrapbook of Tom as a baby/toddler/little boy/young man growing up, me (Deb) with my parents growing up, our meeting, proposal pictures, wedding, first apartment, first baby, etc. Each book was then individualized for each child showing Mom and Dad with each of them as babies, toddlers, growing up, and eventually graduation. The last page was an up-to-date family picture from last Christmas with Elizabeth joining our gang.

The second gift that accompanied each scrapbook was a journaling book titled "A Family Legacy for Your Children--Reflections from a Mother's Heart--Your Life Story in Your Own Words." Each page of the 200-page blank book posed a question for me to answer. I thought up stories to some of the questions that I know I'd never mentioned to the kids before--answers that will help them learn how I grew up and what made me the person I am today. It was really a journey back in time as I recalled story after story to write down in my own handwriting. (I used up 4 Zig pens writing the 4 books! Scrapbookers can identify.)

I decided mainly to write the book so my grandchildren and great-grandchildren would one day know who their grandmother was and how we lived "back in the good old days." Here are some sample questions that were relatively easy to answer:  What scent or sound immediately takes you back to childhood? What fashions were popular when you were in school? Describe your first trip alone. Describe a time in your life when you feel God led you in an unusual way. Did you ever have a special hideaway or playhouse? What do you love best about Dad now? Tell about your most unforgettable summer experience as a child.

A few questions weren't quite as easy: What's the most unusual thing you've ever seen? What Bible verse or Scripture puzzles you the most? What was your most tender day as a child?

After watching all the kids spend quite a bit of time thumbing through the scrapbooks oohing and aahing over Dad as a little tyke, reading the journals, and seeing their reactions to their own baby pages, I think they liked their gifts; and I think it was well worth the time I spent secretly grabbing a free minute whenever I could to complete another page.

It is definitely one of the best gifts I'm giving this season. What's the best gift you're giving? Are you working hard even now to complete it in time? Does the gift have a special meaning? Are you excited to see the recipient's reaction?

"The beauty of the written word is that it can be held close to the heart and read over and over again."   ~ Florence Littauer

~Deb

Barney's Coming!

We are all super excited around Mountain Musings today--Barney is coming later this morning! Well, my sister Bet arrives, too, and of course we'll be happy to see her since she hasn't visited since last Christmas...but munchkin puppy Barney will be the star of the show! Should be fun and interesting. The kids can't wait to see him...and Aunt Bet, too, of course. :)

~Deb