A Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night

O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant,

O Come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him, Born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

God of God, Light of Light,

Lo! he abhors not the Virgin’s womb;

Very God, Begotten not created.

Sing, choirs of angels, Sing in exultation;

Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!

Glory to God, In the highest.

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, Born this happy morning;

Jesu, to Thee be glory given;

Word of the Father, Now in flesh appearing.

--John Francis Wade

On life and hobbits

Christmas break is finally here. I'm reveling in doing absolutely nothing in the coming weeks.
Well, nothing as in, no homework to work, no papers to write, no tests to take, no lectures to listen to, and no Latin quizzes to grade! I do have a few projects I'd like to complete and books I'd like to read. But it makes all the difference in  the world simply because I want to and no is telling me to do it.
Isn't it funny how that makes a difference? We're stubborn creatures. Or at least I am.

Within the last couple of weeks, I've successfully taken the ACT (and am still anxiously awaiting my score), turned in my first college application (and barely made the early deadline), and completed my last midterm (my very last ever big test for that class). Sleep is a sweet, sweet thing, friends.

Although he's been my brother from the moment he stepped through that door, Jeremiah's adoption was officially finalized on Friday! And despite a "minor" incident that sent Jamie to the ER - he stepped on a pitchfork while playing hide-and-seek outside in the dark . . . barefoot - all is well at the Crampton house.  The whole family - all nine of us! - are finally under one roof. Joseph got in around 3:00 AM last night. The house is loud full again.

My house is filled to the brim with people, laughter, homemade goodies, and Christmas everything! There are so many reasons to be thankful.

As you hear/sing carols this Christmas season, it's easy to simply skip and skim over the words. Don't. There's a reason these old hymns are still being sung. Read the last verse of Hark the Herald Angels Sing:

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

And on an entirely different note, The Hobbit comes out in December of next year and they just released the trailer!!! This makes me one excited fan girl.

This is the part where I tell you about my Christmas. Just like everybody else.

How original.

(This is assuming you actually care. If not, you can stop reading now.)

(Or now.)

(Now would be good.)

For those who do care, Christmas morning went something like this: My little brother was up and pacing the hallway at precisely 6:20 A.M. on Christmas day. Just waiting. He had to wait. He knew no one can go downstairs until at least 7:00 A.M. It's a rule. Always has been. Always will be. It's funny how that rule used to torture me and now I could go for a little more sleep on Christmas morning. Funny how things change.

But I woke up soon enough. Just to humor myself since I had heard so much talk about the chance of snow, I looked out my window.

I saw this:

Okay, okay. So it actually looked something more like this:

Which was a welcome sight on Christmas morning to a Mississippi girl!
My reaction went something along these lines: "A white Christmas! In Mississippi! It's a Christmas miracle! I think all my dreams just came true."

So, it was around six in the morning, I was tired and a tad bit delirious. But it was awesome! When I showed my sister the snow, she literally jumped up and down on the bed.

My sister's 22.

We all were pretty ecstatic and immediately turned this on, just to really characterize and dramatize the special moment.

This quickly became the theme song of Christmas 2010. (Except we didn't even have to dream!)

Christmas morning and a gimplse at the "Christmas Spider web."

Christmas afternoon/evening is usually a let-down. Every year, we have our Christmas dinner on Christmas eve and on Christmas day, after all of our morning activities, we have an annual brunch at our house with different families from around here. So afterward things are usually slow and boring. But this year, we ate chips and dip and some sandwiches and lounged around in our pj's watching Wives and Daughters. Good movie. Good time. I love my family. I love Christmastime.

I think I can safely say this was the best Christmas ever.

Santa's been good to me.

I think it's a little strange I'm typing this on my phone. I think it's strange that I can really, truly, honestly say that I have the world at my fingertips.
Strange and really, really awesome.
Helloooo, iTouch 4. Where have you been all my life?

I hope everyone's had a lovely Christmas. I know I have.

Merry Christmas! (I believe it's still acceptable to say on the 26th, right?)

Christmas is coming.

Is anyone else amazed that Christmas is 4 days away?
Or that 2011 is just around the river bend? (Oh how I love Disney songs.)
This. Is. Strange.
But I'm excited about all that 2011 has in store. It should be a pretty eventful year. Which is always better than a boring year.

I've also been overwhelmed with all this first-rate and incredible music that I've recently (re)discovered. But. It's not Christmas music, so I feel ashamed to share it. So it'll have to wait 'till after Christmas!

Remember Christ and His rich mercy toward undeserving sinners - toward us! - and in this busy Christmas season, seek Him:
"'And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.'
It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." (Isaiah 11:10-12

And life goes by.

Hi, I'm Courtney. Remember the days when I actually wrote decent posts? Or maybe I'm just imagining this?

Life has been a little crazy over here. Tests, papers, midterms, babysitting jobs, applications, TeenPact staff prep, Bible study, etc.

But right now, I'm putting all that aside and writing. This time with thought.

I've just noticed that this blogging thing has all of the sudden become a trend with Tupelo girls. I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing, I think it's great. I just wonder what started it all? I don't know. There's something for you to ponder.

Here's another. Jamie's back home and Joseph will be here Thursday. It's been too long since we've all been together at home. This is yet another reason why I love Christmastime.

Tonight's sunset was absolutely beautiful. I actually had my camera this time. But a camera can't even really capture the vividness of the colors I saw in the sky. That pinkish color was actually a burning red. (By the way, photographers anywhere near the vicinity of a  certain pick-up soccer game will be hit. Holy guacamole! It's like they were aiming for me.)

The lights on the tree and the stockings above the fireplace make studying cozy and bit more happy. (If that's even possible. Well, I guess it is. You can always get more happy - happier - when in a state of complete misery.)

On first glance: Oh, what a cute little nativity scene.

Now look again.

I just found out our Christmas break is about two weeks. I was counting on getting a lot done over this break. Why can't we have a whole month, please?

I've also been thinking about the best movie soundtracks of all time. (You know, really using my time wisely. Taking advantage of every moment.) Here's what I've got:

1. To Kill a Mockinbird Theme

2. Gone With the Wind - Tara's Theme

3. The Fellowship of the Ring - Concerning Hobbits

4. Pride and Prejudice - The Secret Life of Daydreams

5. Sense and Sensibility - Throw the Coins

6. Master and Commander - Bach's Prelude

I hate to leave it at six. What a random number. I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot. I want to hear your favorites. Name three. Or one. Or six. Whatever floats your boat, suits your fancy, creams your twinkie, toasts your bagel. . .yeah, I think you catch my drift.

Oh, that was me putting thought into a post (not only thought, but actually time, too). This is sad. Maybe I left my thoughts back with those tests. Now I'm not even making sense. Do I ever?

Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.

It still hasn't quite hit me yet that school is out for 2010. I guess it's because I still have "THE test" to take.

These past few weeks have been draining. Physically and mentally. It's over now. So, yay.

It's Christmas time and I'm (basically) out of school. This is good.

You know what else is good? The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Go see it.

More good stuff: I got to play hide-and-seek twice this week with two different sets of awesome kids. You know you're growing up when you can't find [fit in] good hiding places anymore. (I also got to watch Snow White and the old Rudolph claymation! Yes!)

How cute is this?

I watched It's a Wonderful Life tonight with my family. I still have mixed feelings about it. So much of the movie is oppressively sad, but I've finally decided that even the few happy moments at the end make the whole movie worth it.
"Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives."

And He shall reign forever and ever.

This video pretty much made my day. How amazing.

Also, remember Pearl Harbor. Never forget the "day that will live in infamy." (El Pensador)

Christmas happy.

I'm pretty excited. If you haven't already noticed.

Tell me about your favorite Christmas memory, or your favorite thing about Christmas time!

Give thanks.

So what if everyone posted their Thanksgiving posts on Thursday, and those punctual bloggers on Wednesday? Normally I'd probably apologize for being late and get on with it. But, I'm not. Anyway, Thanksgiving: We ought to stop and look around and give thanks for family, friends, home, so, so many things. I think of my wonderful church and the fellowship I can have there with other believers. A church where God is glorfied. I go to a "school" where I have the opportunity to learn so much from a Christian perspective. It seems crazy right now since tomorrow happens to be Monday and I happen to have a busload of homework, reading, and test prep to do, but I am thankful for the opportunity to learn. Not to be spoonfed a bunch of politically correct lies, but to learn truth, to delve deeply. I'm thankful for that. And most importantly, I'm thankful for the God who has loved sinners and sent His only Son to die for an ungrateful people. How can I not be grateful? How can I not love Him? Give all for Him?

No, it's not Thanksgiving day. That doesn't matter. Every day, every single day, we need to stop even in the midst of our busy days to just think of all our blessings and give thanks. Do you realize what has been given you? How much has been poured out? God has given us grace. Be thankful.

I'm also very thankful that it's Christmas time. I can listen to Christmas music without people hating on me. Yay!

Christmas break

Wow. Thank goodness for Christmas break. Mine has consisted of:

-belting out Christmas carols as often as possible
-decorating the tree, hanging lights, and wreaths everywhere (can I keep the Christmas tree in my room up until...March? Is that okay?)
-making and decorating cookies
-watching White Christmas way more than once
-seeing Bourne Ultimatum for the first time with Katie and Savannah (that's intense stuff right there)
-wrapping presents
-laughing around a game of Balderdash with the family + Savannah
-waking up Christmas morning to a "spider web" (a.k.a, colored yarn wrapped all through the house)
-having our annual brunch with the Moellers and the Robbins
-playing Catchphrase with all the kids
-trying to make some progress on an impossible puzzle
-reading Mansfield Park (I'm still not finished. But I'm getting there!)
-dominating Kelley and Jonathan in a game of Monopoly
-catching up on the scrapbooking I've neglected

(This was the only remotely good picture of all the kids)

P.S. Can you believe we're only about a day away from 2010? 2010...wow, that looks so strange.

Glory to the newborn King

It's so easy to get caught up in all the busyness and excitement of Christmas. But it's also for us easy to carelessly say, "Jesus is the reason for the season" and "Keep Christ in Christmas" just because it's the right thing to say as "conservative Christians". But to really and truly say that He is the cause for all of our joy, not only at this time of year, but always, and to mean it and live upon it is a bit more difficult. But doesn't Christ deserve all of our joy, every thought, every action? Doesn't it become so much easier when we choose to do so out of love for Him who first loved us?

"For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given"; it's because of Christ's humble birth and His death on the cross that we can come before a holy and righteous God, for we are clothed in Christ's spotless righteousness, and say with joy, "I am His and He is mine." I hope that we might never forget the Reason - our "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace", Jesus Christ - and that we all might be able to sing with joy of the coming of our Savior:

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as Man with men to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Good thing too. I love Christmas.