Happy St. Nicholas Day!

 

[an edited repeat from past years...]

Pere' Noel, Christkindle, Father Christmas, Kriss Kringle, Sinterklas,

St. Nicholas

I was first introduced to St. Nicholas as a freshman in college when my dear friend Grace [whose grandparents on both sides of her family came to the US from the Netherlands] put a wooden shoe, filled with candy, outside my door on December 6^th. [Still have that shoe, btw.]

I’ve loved the idea of St. Nicholas ever since!

There’s a lot of fact and folklore about him today, but most believe he was a real person and that the idea of Santa Claus came from the acts of goodwill that he did.

[Random Acts of Christmas Kindness, if you will - ]

Here’s a link that tells his story briefly.
I’ve always wanted to have “Santa Claus” visit our boys on December 6^th and keep Christmas sacred [or, practically --at least spread out the gift-receiving a little for them], but differed to C’s wishes. So instead, for the last 27 years, our boys have always received a chocolate Santa on December 6^th. [Granted there were some years when I was out at 5 a.m. to get these Santas because of our crazy schedule! – But it was done!] 

This year? Let's just say they're on their way!

So, Happy St. Nicholas Day to you!

At our house Santa has always been pretend.

Our boys were never taught he was real, but more just a character of the secular celebration of Christmas [kind of like Mickey Mouse = celebration of magical place] who left gifts for them on Christmas morning. They’ve always known that Mom and Day were “Santa.” We’ve had a few Santa photos through the years [we have those Mickey ones too!] and we’ve had fun with it, but have always, always tried to help our boys see that
Jesus truly is the reason we have anything at all to celebrate in this life.
We hope that in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Season you can take the time to see a tiny baby lying in a manger who died so we might live eternally.

And, oh - the peace [that passes understanding] that only He can give us 

as we live in this crazy world broken by sin...
What a hope we have because of Him!

Thursday THree:

 

 

1. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend - LOVE having all of our family together!

2. I'm going [extra] simple with Christmas decor this year - going with the mcm tree that requires very little time or effort ...

3. We're getting the coldest weather right now [it's in the TEENS at night right now!] and we're taking all the precautions... here's hoping for NO frozen pipes...

[And yes! I found the gingerbread man that Aldi allegedly took off the shelves... he's weirdly cute. lol]

 

Thursday Three:

 

1. We sure enjoyed a couple of days with our Bolton Family up in TN over the weekend... meals together, bowling, a little bike riding, and just generally being together.... Even with the underlying <constant> sadness without Sister... it was just so, so good to together.

 

2. Stayed overnight in the Shoals before bringing Craig's mother home with us for the holiday...

 

3. On Thanksgiving, we had a family pajama day! Enjoyed the parade on tv [no rain!]... biscuits... a card game [5 Crowns -- thank you Laura Valdez & Music City Friends]... and had slices of pie while we watched the end of the parade [lol]. Then DINNER and Christmas movies to call it a day.

#HardwickAdventures

 

{And oops, I'm mixing seasons... but I couldn't resist these winter flamingos, even though it's still ÀUTUMN here at our house.}

Thursday Three:

 

1. I've been unpacking and putting away ALL the stuff from my weekend away... and if I'm honest, also from the last month's camping excursions...

2. Cleaning/ straightening things around the house in preparations of the youngest two coming home. [Yippee. I'm soooo looking forward to family together!!]

3. Craig surprised me with plans for a crew to come re-do our steps, [re]build a flowerbed, and put in edging around our beds near the house. AND THEY DID IT IN TWO DAYS. I know I say it A LOT, but I'm so thankful for people with the skills and knowledge to do things quickly [and right.]

Merry Christmas to me.

Thursday Three:

 

1. I'll admit it -- I'm breaking ALL [my self-imposed] rules for Christmas!** I've seen the BEST Christmas movie this week, worn my favorite gnome holiday dress, and now I'm sleeping with THIS right outside my door

2. I'm enjoying another little Christmas Bible Journaling retreat over in the North Georgia Mountains to kick-start the Advent Season.

3. It's been a busy but good week. We turned the heat on this week for the first time ... after going about six weeks without using heat or air... so I'll have to say we've had some pretty nice fall weather...

#hardwickadventures

** I've always been pretty strick about keeping Christmas stuff after Thanksgiving -- which I love and enjoy equally as much... but I'm loving beginning the celebration of Jesus ' birth a bit earlier!

Thursday Three:

 

1. This was a quick turnaround week with only a couple of days at home before adventuring again...

2. It's unseasonably warm for us ... so no cozy sweaters are in our near future ...

3. We're enjoying the weekend in Tennessee with our Music City Friends - even with the rain...

Aishling the Airstream Update No. 027

 OMGOODNESS. Y'all.

 

Let's talk a bit about International - 

This is what people in the airstream world call the yearly gathering / convention that has to do with ALL THINGS airstream. I know for sure that I cannot fully cover it in one blog post - so here's some highlights -

But first, some back ground - Craig and I attended the Vintage Airstream Club [VAC] Rendezvous in 2021 with our #AnnieLeetheArgosy - and this was our introduction into the world of VAC - but also the WBCCI [Wally Byam Caravan Club International] now known as Airstream Club International [ACI] - and we REALLY enjoyed getting to know other 'streamers.

 

We were intrigued with the idea of International, but couldn't commit to a week-long gathering -- both due to travel times [International Rallies are held in different places across the US each year] and, well, work. Also, to be honest - we weren't sure we were interested enough to do ALL THINGS AIRSTREAM for an entire week.

So. The next year we flew to Maine to experience a couple of days at International. [Note: I'd recently been appointed Region 6 VAC Rep and wanted to attend their luncheon... I had airline $$$ that I was about to lose and had to use... and, hey WE LOVE MAINE.] We really did enjoy it... and decided to sign up for one that could work with our travel schedule.

All that to say --  last month we found ourselves in Sedalia Missouri at the 67th annual Airstream International Rally. And let me say - the International Rally is SO MUCH MORE than workshops / vendors about all things airstream - and those were GOOD.

I think I'd have to  sum it up and say it's about community.

 

 We loved seeing so many familiar faces and meeting up with so many people we've met over these last four years. And we regret that we didn't have time to have a good catch-up visit with each and every one! [We're already thinking about how we can remedy that in the coming years -] Because we WERE BUSY y'all.

In addition to the [very] informative workshops we attended, we also had VAC activities, a few meals with both our Alabama and Music City Clubs, activities with some of our affiliate clubs, and our caravan friends... plus large group activities... whew...

And there were fun things on the agenda too -

 

Like a Bridgerton inspired tea party - where we dressed up and enjoyed tea and sweets. All proceeds went to a local charity.

 

And a 'workshop' for stuffing / sewing tiny pillows for preemies. Such a sweet donation to a NICU hospital - and a great time to visit with some new [Alabama] friends! 

 

The VAC Party was THE BEST. Since it was October, they went with a halloween theme and the costumes were over-the-top... The music was THE BEST. and we had a blast. 

 

[And I'm glad I could pitch in and help get everyone their raffle tickets...hmmm.] 

This is our little group that caravaned in together [and thus parked next to each other...] - a fun group of friends from Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee.

I also did a fun little class where we made a crochet flamingo. And well. You've already seen my results on the socials... lol... But I'm determined to give it another go!

 

There was also a pajama party movie night... And while I made our pj t-shirts with a Wally Byam quote... -- See More -- Do More -- Live More -- I'll admit that our little group was just too tired to go to the movies... so we hung out in our clam and played dominoes...lol .

 

Okay - so we had over 1200 rigs come and go this week with about 2400 people. Everyone had their own idea of how to set up their trailers... and some of the VAC went all-out since they had an open house. [And I DO love seeing how these trailers have maintained for over 50+ years -]

 

We had several opportunities to gather together as a large group with updates, announcements, the airstream band and choir, give-aways, church services, dances, and music. No doubt - there was plenty on the agenda to choose from!

One of the highlights of our week was the Region 6 Luncheon. [I'm still loving that BeReal app, lol] We'd met many of these folks at the Region 6 Rally back in the summer so it was fun to reconnect with everyone. [Region 6 is Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and the panhandle of Florida.]

After the luncheon the Region 6 Leadership took a moment for the installation of Alabama's new officers. That's Mike Riggens our new Alabama president, Eric McHenry our ACI President, Craig - 1st VP, and Rob Fike, our 2nd VP.

 

We're looking forward to being a part of the leadership team for our Alabama Club [I'm corresponding secretary -] and think it will be a great year! [Of course I had to get a photo of Craig with our Alabama flag -]

Takeaways: We'd do it again in a heart beat. #AishlingtheAirstream was a joy to be in during these 15 days! From the Rolling Rally to our little VAC Rendezvous and throughout the entire International Rally... we had THE BEST TIME. Now that we know more about the agenda we hope to add in some time to catch up with friends we don't see very often... But we were going from sun-up to midnight most days... 

Especially that night God's glorious lights showed up!

 

And side note: I am SO VERY GLAD Craig found these Lectric bikes [used] for us back in the winter. Everything was at least a half mile from our campsite and we were back and forth multiple times each day. These bikes helped save time and who-am-I-kidding? our knees, lol... Pedal-assist is the way to go - ha - 

PS - The Katy trail just outside the fairground  was wonderful!

 

Thursday Three

 

1. I had the best time with my Kansas friends! [We're actually from all over the country... lol]

2. Enjoyed the routine of Bible Study and Wednesday morning service before heading out

3. On another adventure down at The Gulf... [It's over 80* down here, y'all.]

#HardwickAdventures