An Honest Christmas

I have a confession to make: I lied.

Well, not so much lied, as I gave a false impression of the truth. (I know, Mom, same thing.)

But its a Facebook thing, so does that count?

We all know it happens, and I think we all do it at some point or another. You know what I mean- that bit where we take the best of ourselves to post on Facebook while hiding the worst. We post fun, gregarious pictures that make our lives look fantabulous, while in reality, reality is rather mundane. Don't get me wrong- I don't necessarily want to go to a depressing 'realistic' Facebook where everyone posts every bad mood, poor grade, worry, fear, and mess. I've had a few friends who made that their norm, and quite honestly, its depressing. But it's tricky to find a middle ground.

Anyhoo... here's my boldfaced lie:

Looks cozy, right? A fireplace with candles, Christmas decor, and twinkle lights reflecting in the flame. It was cozy, and it did make me smile to see, so it wasn't all a lie. But let me tell you about the reality behind this photo:  the hubby is off to the side (you can see his arm on the right edge), after having just given up on a project that wasn't working for the evening. Me? I'm on the sofa across from the fireplace, where I've been all day with a cold, in my leggings, mens flannel shirt (that I sewed in hopes of looking cuter in it), and knee socks that are bunched around my ankles because they're too tight to go up to my knees without cutting off circulation. My day consisted mostly of fooling around on the laptop, too sick to be very profitable, too stubborn to actually sleep. (Though the hubster did eventually make me take a nap). After minimal food and various glasses of water, tea, and lemonade (the boring British version of Sprite), I ended the evening by throwing up in bed. Don't worry- I had a bucket.

See? I lied. It wasn't a wonderful cozy evening of reading and cuddling by a fire. I was miserable and searching for something to make me happier. And when I found it, I shared it. Trust me, you didn't want to see anything else described in my day!

I did manage to do a little bit profitable. Do you mind if I share? I promise to be honest in my presentation.

I did get a few more Christmas decorations up. I love decorating, especially for Christmas! There's so much potential for sparkle, and lights, and glitter, and fun! But life doesn't always deliver just that.

*Side note- That eucalyptus hanging is from the Pinterest post that said if you hang it in your shower, it makes your bathroom smell nice. They lied.

Okay, so for the sake of honesty, I admit. I edited these pictures. Trying to photograph a room by Christmas light makes it all weird and orangey-yellow. Oh, and windows... yeah. Not black and lovely, just a mirror for everything else in the room that distracts from the main subject. 

Honestly, I'm pretty happy with our decor this year. It feels cozy and warm. And there's a bit of nostalgia with the paper stars, glittered leaves, and cranberry/popcorn garlands. But can I tell you a secret? I wasn't necessarily going for the vintage look. (I just posted an article about hipsters faux nostalgia). In truth, we have cranberries, leaves, and paper because they're cheap. Christmas decor is stinking expensive until after Christmas, which wasn't an option for this year! So we made do... and its enough.

In fact, that's what I'm working to learn right now-- that concept of 'enough'. I love The Nester's philosophy that "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful." I want to believe that. But in a day of Pinterest and Facebook and my natural perfectionism, its darn hard!!!

And by the way, a London Christmas doesn't look like this:

Right now, our London looks like this:

Yep- cleaning crews blowing damp leaves off the grass and cement. Did you know that London doesn't get snow? It'll snow once or twice a year, making the roads a muddy slushy mess before melting away.

Fortunately, we do have pretty things like this house-way, and December blossoms.

Its been an interesting holiday season. I've known about the 'real reason for Christmas' for years and years. We've read Luke 2 every year for as long as I can remember. But still, its so easy to yawn through the story, complain about a Christmas Eve/Day service, and then race back home for the 'real' fun. **Can I admit it, I still LOVE getting presents!** But I feel like this year, God's asking me if He's really the most important. If there's no snow on the ground, no family on Christmas Day, and if my homemade gifts/decor really aren't super impressive and Pinterest-worthy, can I still be joyful? Can I still praise Him? Can I still be thankful for the blessings he's giving, materially and spiritually? To be honest, I've not done so great this year. I've found myself 'bah-humbug'-ing a few too many times.

But I AM blessed. I have family at home who loves me a lot, and technology means I can call them whenever I want. I have old friends and new friends here in London who have opened their lives to us, and invited us to share houses, meals, and parties over the holiday. I have a sweet, newly renovated home, and a church that let me borrow craft supplies to decorate cheaply. I have a Christmas tree with white lights and sweet decorations from our pasts. I have the love and care of a godly man who seeks to serve me and make me smile on a daily basis. And I have the gift of salvation- bringing joy and comfort to my darkest days. His word and His Spirit never fail, never disappoint, and provide peace beyond December 25, if my heart will seek Him.

So here's to an honest Christmas in London, where its grey and wet and 53˚, and God is teaching me about joy more than ever!

Our "Right Now" Home

What a lovely night.... sitting in my living room with my husband, book in hand (well, he has a book in hand. I have the laptop in hand right now.), listening to Bach while the open window blows a cool breeze through the flat. Not a bad life if you ask me.

I've been asked several times how the rough London weather is treating me, and actually, I've been very lucky. The last two and a half weeks have been lovely. I think today is the first day we had cloud cover all day long. Otherwise, it's been sunny for at least the afternoon every day. Even today was right at 70˚F- though tonight's forecast gets us down to 50˚ (not sure I'm ready for that). My English friends say not to get used to it- that winter won't disappoint. I'll have weeks without sun at some point in the next year; but for now, I'm basking in the sun while I can. Maybe I'll blog more when I don't want to go outside (So that's why England produced such great writers--they had nothing better to do! In the words of the great Gru... 'Lightbulb'.)

I've also been asked for some pictures of the flat we're staying in, and with this post, I oblige. However, a bit of explanation. We are blessed to live in a flat adjacent to the church. The flats themselves are quite old, but ours was renovated in the last couple months to prepare for our arrival. There is a flat on the 2nd floor (the 3rd floor to Americans- English have the ground floor, and start counting with the 2nd level. Yeah- still confusing for me) that just began renovations. When that finishes, we'll move up there (it has a bit more room), and our current flat will be occupied by the youth paster who arrives on scene in a few weeks. It's all very exciting, and we are so grateful for all the work people have put in to make us feel at home here. It's been a blessing.

So we're here, for now. It'll probably be only two months, but we want to be as at home as we're able, while still leaving flexibility for the future. The following is where we are right now.

The front door comes into the living room, where my hubby has borrowed a mid-century chair we found in the church basement. I plan to hack those Ikea Lack tables soon! We look out on the street, and though its residential, it still takes some getting used to the fact that people's heads float by all day, eighteen inches from your living room.

We love our kitchen! So grateful to have a gas stove, though the oven is similar to a convection oven, which is taking some adjusting, as is the fact that the dial (like our house thermostat) is in Centigrade. And yes, that is a washing machine in our kitchen. Space is tight, so washers go in the kitchen or bathroom (which you can see in the back), and most flats don't have a dryer. So I block the pedestrians view with our laundry twice a week! :-) 

And last is our bedroom, which is currently what needs the most work. Its the smallest room in the house, and with the bed on one wall, and the other taken up by wardrobes (no closets in Europe), I'm still trying to figure out what to do in here. Plaster walls mean I oughtn't fill the walls with nails as I did in my old apartments (I think there were 28 holes in the hall alone when I moved out of Bloomington!). Suggestions are appreciated.

So, yeah that's my home. My favorite blogger, The Nester, talks about how weird it was putting up pictures of her home for the world to see, and I understand that a bit now. But she's brilliant, and her house is awesome, so maybe posting pictures will light a fire to do something awesome and creative for the next post. One can hope.