Hark The Herald Angels Sing....2013 Version!

I've recently fallen in love with a new version of the traditional Christmas carol, "Hark The Herald Angels Sing." I think we sang this version at church two years ago and I've thought about it off and on ever since but could never remember the new part that I like so much. I heard it on the radio a few weeks ago and thanks to Google, typed in some of the words and found it online. Mark Maher is the one who put out this version and I just love the part that's been added to it.

HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING Lyrics
Matt Maher

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 man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

And the angels, they sing
And the heavens, they ring
Won’t you raise up your voice
To the Son of the King
Singing “Glory to God
and peace on the earth!”
Sing it out now
Song of the 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!”

And the angels, they sing
And the heavens, they ring
Won’t you raise up your voice
To the Son of the King
Singing “Glory to God
and peace on the earth!”
Sing it out now
Song of the King

Annual Christmas Ornaments

When Ross and I were engaged we started a Christmas tradition with Christmas ornaments. We decided that each year we would get an ornament for our tree that summed up or represented something big in our lives from that year. We both liked this idea and just this afternoon I picked up our ornament for 2013. I have a picture below of the ornaments we have so far.

 

 

2009:  Top left, engagement ring for our engagement that year.
2010:  Top right, bride and groom for our wedding.
2011:  Bottom left, a Hawaiian snowman for our trip to Hawaii for our first anniversary. Now, we did a lot of traveling that year and other things, too, but Hawaii was such a great time we decided to make this our 2011 ornament.
2012:  Bottom middle, expecting ornament for being pregnant with Lucy!
2013:  Bottom right, a house that in the middle says "Sold 2013" and my house address and Ross' house address on the top. Now, by far the biggest thing that happened in our life this year was Lucy being born, but we'll have "baby's first Christmas" ornaments, so figured this house ornament would be a good reminder of this year, too.

I look forward to continuing this tradition each year. It will be fun to look back in 10, 20, 30 years from now and remember each year by way of our ornaments.

Christmas Potpourri

Last year I came across a stovetop potpourri recipe on Pinterest that is just perfect for the Christmas season. You can find the original blog post here.

Here's the recipe:

1 whole orange

1/2 c cranberries

1 Tbsp whole cloves

3 cinnamon sticks

 

Quarter the orange and place the orange (or just the orange peel) along with the other ingredients in a small saucepan. Fill the pan with water. Place the pan on the smallest burner on the lowest setting. Refill with water as needed. Enjoy!

 

This is a really great recipe that smells up the house so nicely. It makes a great gift, too. Last year and this year I got all the ingredients together, along with a recipe card, and put them in a little bag to give as gifts. I've enjoyed having this burning in my house the past week. It smells so yummy! Hope you can enjoy it, too. 

5 Years!

As of last Sunday, December 8, 2013, Ross and I have been dating for 5 years! I like to celebrate special days like this and I think Ross does, too. He suggested to me that we ask my parents to babysit Lucy for us after church on Sunday so we could go out and have an uninterrupted breakfast. We did just that and it was a nice time! We tried out a breakfast place we'd been talking about for a while and it was nice not having to worry about Lucy for a few hours. My parents enjoyed having breakfast with their friends and Lucy so it was a win-win all the way around! You can read about how Ross and I started dating here.