When four of Santa’s elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the Pre-Christmas pressure.Then Mrs Claus told Santa her Mother was coming to visit, which stressed Santa even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out, Heaven knows where.

Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered.

Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drank all the cider and hidden the liquor. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and it broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.

Just then the doorbell rang, and irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.

The angel said very cheerfully, ‘Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn’t this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?’

And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.

«««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««

I don’t know the author of this story, so if it’s you, please let me know. Thanks to my sister, Tracey, for sending this to me. I had a great big laugh! I hope you did, too.

image courtesy of dee m.

A Christmas Story to Brighten Your Day is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

Tweet

This was sent to me in an email today. Of course it is one of those chain-mail type emails and I don’t like to pass those on. BUT, this one actually brought tears to my eyes, and whether or not this particular story is true these stories do happen.

««««««««««««««««««««««««««««

A brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,painting, etc, and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On December 19 a terrible tempest – a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.

On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large areaof plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity, so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored,crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. “Pastor,” she asked, “where did you get that tablecloth?” The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .

The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten “The Tablecloth”. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria ..

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home. That was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full.

The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return.

One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn’t leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike?

He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride.

They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.

He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman’s apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story – submitted by Pastor Rob Reid who says God does work in mysterious ways.

««««««««««««««««««««««««««««

Want to know more of this story’s origins? Check out the Urban Legends information over on Snopes.

image courtesy of Gingergirl

The Ivory and Gold Tablecloth – An Old, But Sweet Story is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

Tweet

I first heard Andrea Bocelli when a co-worker brought in a cd of his to work. It was so beautiful and relaxing. And yes, I have to admit I first thought it would be a female singing. Well, the cd was not the original and there was no picture.

Andrea Bocelli’s voice is so soothing and great for those days when you want to lose yourself in a good book with your trusty drink by your side [coffee, tea, hot cocoa, wine]. He’s also great to listen to when you are trying to write a good book, like I am trying and probably failing to do during this month’s NaNoWriMo.

So, when I received my weekly Amazon email of new music releases, including their freebies [no this is not free], I was immediately drawn to My Christmas and had to have a peek.

There are 15 wonderfully sung Christmas songs included in My Christmas and it is sure to put you in the holiday spirit. Great for those days of decorating, baking, or when you head out to do a little shopping [Christmas or otherwise]. Some all-time favorites include: White Christmas, Angels We Have Heard On High, Adeste Fidelis, and Silent Night.

If you are looking to add a little something special to your Christmas repertoire, then I would recommend giving My Christmas: Andrea Bocelli a listen. It’s only $9.49 over at Amazon.com.

Now I’m off to write, write, write…. is it just me or does everyone see that little ballerina dancing around with a pad and pen in hand?

Disclosure: I was not paid nor given anything to write this review. I just really like Andrea Bocelli and wanted to share the existence of his album My Christmas with my readers. I did, however, use Amazon affiliate links in this post. What does that mean? Well, if you click through any of those links and make a purchase [any purchase] I will earn a small percentage.

My Christmas: Andrea Bocelli is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

Tweet

Oh joyous sticky buns with your cinnamon-y flavor and sticky gooey goodness. Yesterday was my first foray into the world of homemade sticky buns. Who knew the joy one could bring to her family by providing a special treat for the following morning. A cup of hot coffee and some vanilla soy with an ooey-gooey treat. Yum! Thank you Betty (Crocker) for the recipe.

I can not believe Christmas is almost here. Happens this way every year, but this year is different. The past few years it was work work work and hope I was able to get everything in time. Time. There was little to none of that. Now there is plenty and I am grateful.

This year is hard on many. So many layoffs, so many financial pitfalls. My family is limiting its spending since I lost my job in early November. Today is the first pay day I will not get paid in over five years. I am not complaining. I have a great family and a roof over my head. We are healthy and have more than so many others. So many do without all the time not just when the economy craps out.

Enjoy each moment and be thankful for what you have right now… with a cup of coffee and a sticky bun! Mmmm

Homemade Ooey-Gooey Goodness

Sticky Buns and Family Happiness is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

Tweet