A Christmas Wreath

Back when my parents were out visiting and my mom and I sewed the curtains for the nursery, we were standing in line at the checkout at Joann Fabrics and I saw a yarn ball wreath on the cover of Martha Stewart Living. It was ridiculously cute (of course) and it looked totally doable. I quickly paged to the tutorial, saw that they had just used a styrofoam wreath and balls, wrapped in yarn and glued together and knew it was something I could do.

So when I drew my sister-in-law’s name for Christmas, I decided that I would make her a wreath (and me as well, while I was at it). I didn’t want to actually buy the magazine for the tutorial so I looked online and found this tutorial, which suggested using crumpled up newspaper instead of really expensive styrofoam balls. I also saw on Pinterest a suggestion to use pipe insulation instead of a styrofoam wreath. Initially, I had planned on just going with the Martha Stewart way – it just seemed better. Well, the prices of styrofoam balls and wreaths are ridiculous. Seriously, it would cost just as much to buy a yarn ball wreath already made as it would to make it myself that way. So newspaper and pipe insulation it was.

The pipe insulation ended up being the perfect length, and I just taped the ends together into a circle. I covered it with white yarn and then was on to making the balls. I had chosen white yarn, red yarn and twine (inspired by the blog tutorial I used, above, and the colors my SIL likes) for the balls, and also bought some sparkly little balls to use as well. I discovered how much newspaper made what size of ball and tried to make a variety. Once I had about 15 balls, I started hot-gluing them on the wreath. After that, I made the balls as I needed them, so that I could make the perfect color and size for the spot.

Once all the balls were glued on, I affixed some beading wire across the back (like you do for a heavy picture frame) so she could hang it easily.

Voila!

I LOVE how the wreath turned out and would totally have made one for myself like I had planned, except that the whole wreath took forever to wrap and glue. So I made one for my sister-in-law, took pictures and called it done.

Maybe I’ll get ambitious again in another life?

Christmas 2012

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Our Christmas was very enjoyable this year (but how can you not enjoy Christmas?).

I worked from home Monday and we left around 2:30 to drop our dogs off at a friend’s and head up to Estes Park (about 90 minutes away). It started snowing as we got into Estes Park and snowed 4-5 inches over the course of the night. We were sharing a condo with our friends and their 2 kids, so we talked for a while, cooked dinner, played Ticket to Ride (love that game!), and watched Elf.

The next morning, we opened the gifts we had brought (Travis and I brought our stockings that his mom packed to the brim) and then ate breakfast. After breakfast, we packed up and headed out into the snow.

We went to pick our dogs up and ate some cinnamon rolls with our friends. Then we headed home. We unpacked, tidied up, put our Christmas dinner in the crockpot and then opened presents. I got nice new headphones, baby bath stuff (hooded towels, washcloths and soap), $50 for a mani/pedi and… a Keurig coffee maker!

The coffee maker is for both me and Travis. We are really excited. We’ve already used it twice and love it. We used to make so much extra coffee (to get the blend right) so I think that even though the coffee will be more expensive than our Folgers, it’ll taste better and we’ll end up wasting less.

After presents, it was time to bum. We watched The Tourist and the rest of Downton Abbey Season 2, while enjoying the awesome surround sound and Blu-ray player that my parents gave us for Christmas. We are fans.

By then it was dinner time, so we ate our chicken wild rice soup and crescent rolls with some sparkling grape juice. Then we tried calling our families (unsuccessfully, though we did talk to mine a few hours later), started a puzzle and then watched The Bourne Legacy. I tried to stay awake but it was way past my bedtime.

We missed being with our families, but it’s really hard to not enjoy a relaxing Christmas just the two of us!

Christmas Festivities

A couple of weeks ago, I got together with some friends from church to make Christmas ornaments. It was a lot of fun to see what everyone created!

My ornaments

This past Thursday night, we went to Travis’ work Christmas party. He works for a really small company (there are 5 employees) so we had dinner at a nice restaurant. Since my maternity wardrobe is pretty limited and I didn’t really want to buy a dress just for this occasion, I just wore one of my typical work outfits. I also convinced Travis that since the dress code was semi-formal, he couldn’t wear jeans. He cleans up nicely.

My department at work didn’t have a Christmas party this year because there has been a lot of layoffs in the past couple of weeks and no one was in the Christmas mood. There hasn’t even been any treats in the break room! Very Grinch-like.

Then on Friday night, we had a Christmas party for leaders at our church (we lead the projection/lights team). We met at the church for hors d’oeuvres and then went to Too Hot to Handel in downtown Denver.

I had been to Handel’s Messiah before and decided it wasn’t really my cup of tea, but this was a jazzy modern version of it and it was really good! We had a good time.

This morning, we had our Christmas celebration at church. I always enjoy the break from routine and hearing the adult and kids choirs sing. So fun!

Other things we’re enjoying this Christmas are our tiny little tree:

It’s only 3 feet tall. Our ornaments don’t even all fit on it anymore!

My boss let us borrow her copy of Downton Abbey Season 2. We’ve already watched 5 episodes. This show is so addicting!

What are you enjoying this Christmas?

Repost: The Passion of Christmas

I’ve been listening to Christmas songs on KOSI 101.1 and discovered that I absolutely LOVE Josh Groban. Normally, I hate vibrato in singing (like opera) but he has an amazing voice. I can’t get over it. Anyway, a song they play a lot is his version of O Holy Night. And every time it comes on, I turn it up and just soak in the lyrics. In my opinion, it is one of the best songs ever written – because it captures the meaning of Christmas so succinctly AND has an amazing chorus. I included the lyrics below.

While I was writing about Christmas song lyrics, I thought I’d repost my thoughts about Christmas from last year. Enjoy.

First posted December 24, 2011

I love listening to Christmas music – not just because it puts me in the Christmas mood, but also because it floods my heart with the meaning of Christmas. This year, I am captivated by the passion behind historical Christmas hymns. The authors of these songs exhort us to adore Christ, fall on our knees before Him, and praise His name forever. They write of a world, weary under the burden of sin and guilt, that sees a new day, filled with hope, dawn with the birth of a simple babe. The Savior has come, the catalyst of God’s plan of redemption.

I like to imagine what it would have been like the night Jesus was born. Four hundred years had passed since God has spoken to His people. But God had promised a Messiah, a Redeemer. All of Israel was waiting for the Christ. And on that night in a little town of Bethlehem, a town “too little to be among the clans of Judah,” the long-awaited Messiah was born. Humble shepherds were at work in the field, watching their flocks in the moonlight, straining to stay awake. All of a sudden, they were blinded by “the glory of the Lord” and an angel told them,

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord…”

So what did they do? They went “with haste” to where the angel had indicated – to Bethlehem to find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. This is what I find interesting: the Bible doesn’t say anything about them locking their sheep up first, or arranging for their care, or one of them staying behind. It seems that they just leave their flocks in the open field because they are so amazed and excited about what they were just told.

Does that go against common sense? Do I doubt that’s what actually happened?

Yes, because it seems so impractical, so irresponsible. I am challenged – what would I have done in that situation? Would I have been so consumed with responsibilities and practical concerns that I would think it foolish to abandon all and sit at my Savior’s feet? Would I be so captivated by Christ’s coming that I’d be willing to drop everything – abandon even my livelihood – and seek Him?

It’s easy to rest when there’s nothing pressing, nothing urgent. It’s easy to take a moment to breath when life’s tight grip on your schedule relaxes for an hour. But what about resting and breathing in the midst of the chaos? That’s what Christ came to bring us – His rest, a deep soul rest that can’t be touched by circumstances. What does it mean to have a deep soul rest in Christ?

Embracing the messiness of being human. Jesus Himself was born in a stinky stable surrounded by loud animals (not the serene night of perfect harmony pictured above). He slept on itchy, pokey hay and grew up as a pretty normal kid. Christ didn’t just experience what it meant to be human during His ministry. He lived his whole life as a human. He grew up with brothers and sisters as a human. He learned to walk, to talk, to laugh. He loved, he cried, he gave. “In every way he was tempted just as we are, yet without sin.” I love how Jesus embraced humanity – not just by becoming a baby (though that was big enough) but by also engaging in life. He wasn’t just alive – He lived. He didn’t view the basics of human existence as beneath Him – rather, He embraced those constraints. Instead of them getting in His way, He turned them into a source of blessing.

And all this, when He was the Son of God, the Most High, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, Author of Creation.

Pondering these truths, how can your heart not fill to bursting with the truth of Christmas?

O Holy Night (sung by Josh Groban)

O holy night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night
Of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear’d and the soul felt His worth
A thrill of hope
The weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine
Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine, oh night, oh night divine

Chains shall He break
For the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy
In grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise His holy name
Christ is the Lord, let ever ever praise Thee
Noël, Noël
Oh night, Oh night divine
Noël, Noël
Oh night, Oh night divine
Noël, Noël
Oh, oh night, oh night divine

Christmas Stockings: November Goal

My 2012 goals took a major hit with the whole pregnancy thing. I really wasn’t expecting to get pregnant as fast as we did so I didn’t really make goals that could be done either way.

Climb a 14er… Couldn’t do this because that high of altitude when you’re expecting is a no-no.

Bike 50 miles at once... The only bike ride I’ve gone on in the past 6 months, I almost fell off due to slick roads. I quickly abandoned this goal. (I’m not sad.)

Run 700 miles… I’ve only “ran” 37 miles since the beginning of August which puts me at 563 miles for the year. (So close and yet so far away!) 4.4 miles each day for the next 31 days would get me to my goal… hmmm, let me ponder that.

Read 27 books… I’m only on book 17. And 7 of those books I didn’t even read! (I listened to audio books on my drive home.)

Finish writing my nonfiction book… No comment.

BUT!

I did accomplish my November goal. And I have plans to accomplish October (pumpkin bread) and December (watch It’s a Wonderful Life) as well.

So, about my November goal – Make our own Christmas stockings.

I always see other people do projects like these and think “Oh that looks fun! I should do that!” And even though this project involved sewing (which I am definitely not good at), the stocking tutorials here and here that I followed made it seem like even a sewing-challenged person like me could make them.

So I went for it. I got my fabric, printed out the template, cut out my fabric and started sewing. After a few mishaps and miscalculations, the stockings are hung.

They’re not perfect and they were definitely more challenging than I had expected (but only because I sew like once every 2 years). I’m still not satisfied with Travis’ (the one on the left – the toe area is a little misshapen since I was still getting the hang of not sewing in a straight line with a machine). I’m planning to make a stocking for our little girl so I might remake Travis’ at the same time. The little ones in the middle were for our dogs but they turned out MUCH smaller than I had planned. They actually kind of look like little baby booties!

Nevertheless, at the end of the day, I made our own Christmas stockings so I’m counting this goal accomplished!

The Day After Christmas

If you can believe it, on Monday, we did even less than we had on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We moved from our bed to the couch to watch Little Fockers and DVRed episodes of Bones and Desperate Housewives and there we stayed. Glorious.

But! Monday was officially the start of my marathon training (kinda, sorta, more on that later) so I had to get in a 3 mile run and strength training. We had also talked about going to buy new running shoes at Boulder Running Company, since Travis was in dire need. And we had a 15% off coupon so I figured I might as well buy a new pair too – even though I don’t need them right now, I will soon! I think I’ll start rotating my shoes when I run on consecutive days.

Finally, we got motivated at 2:45 to get running. Unfortunately, my pre-run fuel choice of nachos and caramel corn set off my acid reflux and I hadn’t drank enough water so I had a headache for the entire run. At mile 2.5, I decided to walk the rest. It just wasn’t worth it.

Ok, not quite the start to marathon training I had envisioned…

But no biggie. I know that bad running days happen and I have gotten acid reflux on enough runs that I know it’s just plain stupid that it continues to happen. I need to stop eating tomato-based foods (like salsa!) on days I’m running and start taking antacids before every. single. run. Even when I don’t think I need them. At first on this run, I thought it was the caramel corn attacking my esophagus. It seemed a little weird but the combination of chocolate and coffee once sent me to the ER – so why not caramel corn? But then I remembered the salsa-laden nachos and that made a lot more sense. Even ketchup gets me. It’s so sneaky!

After our failed run, I did 15 minutes of strength training, wiped myself off with a fancy cleansing towelette, and we headed down south to BRC and to get us a juicy burger and some fries for dinner (after all that candy, I was craving something hearty… but still not healthy).

At the running store, I stuck with my tried and true Nike Zoom Structure Triax:

It’s been so long since I bought running shoes that I actually skipped a version, going from the 13 to the 15. Sad. These feel less squishy than past pairs so I’m going to try them out at the gym first, just in case I don’t like them (please, don’t let it be true!).

Travis went with the Brooks Ravenna:

He had ran in the Racers for several pairs and while he liked them, he wanted something with a little more support, since we run on concrete 95% of the time (hey, it’s convenient and free of traffic). Plus, these aren’t horrific colors like the new Racers:

I told Travis that he would look like a Kenyan in those. He didn’t buy it.

After a quick stop at JCPenney to do an exchange, we went to Red Robin for some juicy deliciousness. As we sat there debating menu choices, I had the grand idea to sub a beef burger for a Gardenburger – I mean, I’m not a huge fan of meat so would it really make that much of a difference?

Big mistake.

It did make a big difference. I was craving a juicy burger and while my veggie burger was tasty, it didn’t have the juiciness (ahem, fattyness) I wanted. At least my heart thanks me.

On our way home, we got a call from my family – we were planning a conference call for that night so that we could all talk together a bit, since we were in 3 different locations (Colorado, Indiana and Minnesota).

After we talked for about 30 minutes, we hung up and Travis and I watched Hall Pass. It was a bad, dirty movie. Which made me sad because I really Owen Wilson and Jenna Fischer as actors.

Anyway, this has been so true this week:

Cheers!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning wasn’t as relaxing as I had hoped… I woke up extremely tired and practiced my math skills while lying in bed trying to figure out the latest possible time I could get up.

Nevertheless, I was still able to make our special Christmas breakfast:

Monkey bread and fruit salad. I LOVE monkey bread and could eat the entire pan all by myself.

Then we went to church, where we thought we had to do projection and lights. But silly us, we were confused. So we got to hang out for an hour before church started. Bah! That could have been sleep!

My church outfit:

After church, we went home and bummed.

Worked on the puzzle, which we finished!

Called our parents.

Ate a lot of mini Snickers bars.

Walked the dogs.

Made our Christmas dinner and devoured it – chicken wild rice soup, green beans and crescent rolls. (There was also supposed to be Watergate salad but I used the cool whip to make the Christmas Trifle, which we ate for dessert.)

Watched Red Dawn - the classic from 1984 with Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen.

It was a very low-key Christmas – just what I wanted.

Christmas Eve

Travis’ and my main goal for the Christmas weekend was to be bums. That’s the only upside of being without family on Christmas – you get to lay around in your pajamas watching movies all weekend and no one can tell you not to.

So Saturday morning, I slept in until 8:00, then got up, made coffee, fed the dogs and read the Christmas story in Luke. Then Travis got up and we opened presents.

First up was our stockings stuffed lovingly by Travis’ mom.

Katy said she wanted to open my stocking.

Charlie just wanted to sniff things.

Before unpacking my stocking, I decided to give the dogs their Christmas present: a big bone for each. That kept Charlie occupied for 4 hours and Katy occupied for 4 days.

The contents of my stocking (plus a Target gift card, unpictured).

The contents of Travis’ stocking (plus candy, unpictured). Man stuff. The rolls are hockey tape.

This was part of what Travis got from my brother Jeremy (my side of the family draws names). It’s a hound dog that sings and makes farting noises with his armpit. Let’s just say that this was a very fitting gift, for both the giver and the receiver.

Wearing my new pajamas that I got from my sister-in-law Jen.

And my awesome reindeer slipper socks. Thanks Jen!

This was my gift to Travis – Big Buck Hunter Pro that he can play on the TV without a game console. I tried playing it a little and got so frustrated that I had to quit. It’s not my thing. But Travis likes it!

The new dinnerware from my parents – we love it! Can’t wait to use it.

And I got an immersion blender and new bath towels from Travis’ parents – which are great! Now I need to get to work making soup. I’m not sure about the deal with the hat though…

Katy still chewing on her bone. Charlie actually finished hers by noon and grabbed Katy’s when she wasn’t looking. We grabbed it back for Katy, who then went and hid it in the backyard. Charlie made one small move toward the bone and Katy attacked her. We broke up the fight and Charlie left the bone alone after that. For the following couple of days, every time Katy was  outside, she was chewing on her bone, butt in the air. Hilarious.

After gift opening, we worked on a puzzle and watched the Broncos lose. Then I decided to end my week of inactivity by going on a 3.57 mile run (40:33, 11:21/mile). And I discovered that while the side streets and sidewalks don’t get plowed or shoveled (sometimes making it near impossible to get out of your neighborhood), the greenway (bike trail) does. That’s Colorado for ya! But I am a big fan, since that meant I was able to run on a fairly snow-free surface for the majority of my run.

I got back, stretched, took a shower and we headed over to our friends’ house for dinner with their family. This is what we did last year too, and it was a lot of fun. This year was just as fun – we drank some wine, ate a lot of good food (including a deep-fried turkey that I actually liked!), and played lots of Catch Phrase. Once again, the females dominated the males. I tell ya, we’re just smarter.

We stayed there until about 8:45, then went home to feed the dogs, put my slipper socks back on and work on our puzzle.

It was a great Christmas Eve!

What was your favorite Christmas gift this year? Mine was my slipper socks. I love that they keep my feet warm and I don’t have to worry about them falling off. All my other presents were great too though. We have very generous families.

A Christmas Trifle

I got to start my Christmas weekend early by leaving work at 1:30 on Friday – there was hardly anyone in the office and I had nothing to do. So why stick around?

I stopped by Walgreen’s on my way home to buy ingredients for what I prefer to call Triple Decker Brownies (call me old-fashioned) and happened to see the cutest sparkly pink nail polish (called A Cut Above). So I spent the afternoon watching Lifetime Christmas movies and painting my nails.

That manicure lasted a whole 6 days.

Friday night, we had dinner and played Catch Phrase with our friends D and Doug. D and I dominated Catch Phrase by winning every single round.

For dessert, we had lefsa (a Norwegian tortilla made out of potatoes – we warm up them up and top with butter and sugar) and Chocolate Angel Food Trifle. I had attempted to make Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake… I even took pictures of combining the ingredients (box of angel food cake + cocoa ) and whipping the angel food batter into a poofy mess with my pretty white Kitchenaid mixer. I had the parchment paper in the pan. I had the baked cake upended onto a towel dusted with powdered sugar and rolled up all pretty. I had my whipping cream whipped, with what I would imagine were stiff peaks.

But then I made my crucial error. I was making this cake the day before we were going to eat it. The recipe said that you could only refrigerator the assembled cake for 6 hours so I decided to wait to assemble it until the next day.

The next afternoon, after I had painted my nails sparkly pink, I unrolled the towel and found that the cake was stuck to it. I tried to gently unpeel it and the innermost curl broke off. No biggie, I thought. I’ll somehow reassemble it. I painted a white stripe of melted whipped cream down the biggest chunk. But it wasn’t going to work. I couldn’t even get the big piece of the cake off the towel.

Ok, on to Plan B. I knew that the combination of the delicious angel food cake (I had sampled it), raspberries and whipped cream was going to be delicious, no matter what way I served it. So I decided to make a trifle instead.

I tore the sticky, gooey angel food cake into bite-sized pieces and placed them at the bottom of a large decorative bowl (I don’t have a trifle dish). Then I sprinkled on half of the raspberries and a layer of cool whip – I had discovered that my whipping cream was more of a liquid at this point than a cream so I used a small tub of cool whip I happened to have on hand. I repeated those layers one time – cake, raspberries, cool whip. And I topped the trifle with a few reserved raspberries. Voila! A Christmas trifle. And it was absolutely delicious, even if it wasn’t was I had initially planned.

Have you ever had a recipe go awry? How did you salvage it?

The Passion of Christmas

I love listening to Christmas music – not just because it puts me in the Christmas mood, but also because it floods my heart with the meaning of Christmas. This year, I am captivated by the passion behind historical Christmas hymns. The authors of these songs exhort us to adore Christ, fall on our knees before Him, and praise His name forever. They write of a world, weary under the burden of sin and guilt, that sees a new day, filled with hope, dawn with the birth of a simple babe. The Savior has come, the catalyst of God’s plan of redemption.

I like to imagine what it would have been like the night Jesus was born. Four hundred years had passed since God has spoken to His people. But God had promised a Messiah, a Redeemer. All of Israel was waiting for the Christ. And on that night in a little town of Bethlehem, a town “too little to be among the clans of Judah,” the long-awaited Messiah was born. Humble shepherds were at work in the field, watching their flocks in the moonlight, straining to stay awake. All of a sudden, they are blinded by “the glory of the Lord” and an angel tells them,

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord…”

So what did they do? They went “with haste” to where the angel had indicated – to Bethlehem to find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. This is what I find interesting: the Bible doesn’t say anything about them locking their sheep up first, or arranging for their care, or one of them staying behind. It seems that they just leave their flocks in the open field because they are so amazed and excited about what they were just told.

Does that go against common sense? Do I doubt that’s what actually happened?

Yes, because it seems so impractical, so irresponsible. I am challenged – what would I have done in that situation? Would I have been so consumed with responsibilities and practical concerns that I would think it foolish to abandon all and sit at my Savior’s feet? Would I be so captivated by Christ’s coming that I’d be willing to drop everything – abandon even my livelihood – and seek Him?

It’s easy to rest when there’s nothing pressing, nothing urgent. It’s easy to take a moment to breath when life’s tight grip on your schedule relaxes for an hour. But what about resting and breathing in the midst of the chaos? That’s what Christ came to bring us – His rest, a deep soul rest that can’t be touched by circumstances. What does it mean to have a deep soul rest in Christ?

Embracing the messiness of being human. Jesus Himself was born in a stinky stable surrounded by loud animals (not the serene night of perfect harmony pictured above). He slept on itchy, pokey hay and grew up as a pretty normal kid. Christ didn’t just experience what it meant to be human during His ministry. He lived his whole life as a human. He grew up with brothers and sisters as a human. He learned to walk, to talk, to laugh. He loved, he cried, he gave. “In every way he was tempted just as we are, yet without sin.” I love how Jesus embraced humanity – not just by becoming a baby (though that was big enough) but by also engaging in life. He wasn’t just alive – He lived. He didn’t view the basics of human existence as beneath Him – rather, He embraced those constraints. Instead of them getting in His way, He turned them into a source of blessing.

And all this, when He was the Son of God, the Most High, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, Author of Creation.

Pondering these truths, how can your heart not fill to bursting with the truth of Christmas? Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!

These wonderful songs celebrate that truth:

“O Holy Night”

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O’er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

“What Child is This?”

What child is this who, laid to rest,
on Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
while shepherds watch are keeping?

Chorus:

This, this is Christ the King,
whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
haste, haste to bring him laud,
the babe, the son of Mary.

Why lies he in such mean estate
where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
the silent Word is pleading.

So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh,
come, peasant, king, to own him;
the King of kings salvation brings,
let loving hearts enthrone him.

“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new born King,
peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with th’ angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new born King!”

Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
late in time behold him come,
offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th’ incarnate Deity,
pleased as Man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new born King!”

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new born King!”

Have a blessed Christmas!