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You are here: Home / Our Family Stories / Our Cozy Home This Week / Our Cozy Home No. 51



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Our Cozy Home No. 51

Wednesday, December 23, 2020 (Updated: Friday, May 16, 2025)
7 Comments

Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure statement.

Did you think I’d abandoned this place? No, I haven’t. I’ve tried to write this post a number of times in recent weeks and it simply wouldn’t flow. I admit that I’ve been preoccupied with the state of our nation as well as preparing for Christmas. I’ve also been struggling with some eye fatigue and so here we are just two days before Christmas.

My shopping is done and the gifts are wrapped. We’re having a quiet Christmas this year. We already celebrated with David’s parents and we won’t be able to see my parents. My mom had surgery a few weeks ago (one of the prayer requests I shared – thank you!). Her surgery went well, but she’s still recovering so it will be a few more weeks before we can see them.




Like many of you, this Christmas season feels off. We sang very few carols at church due to all of the restrictions and I dearly miss music. We’ve had virtually no snow this winter. I realize snow has nothing to do with the birth of Christ, but when you live in a four seasons part of the world and the season simply doesn’t seem to start… It’s just a bit discombobulating on top of everything else that has happened this year.

My Christmas cards went out at the very last minute. Again, not characteristic of me. But I managed to write a Christmas letter to include and get them out. We’ve sent a Christmas letter every year we’ve been married (1997) and I decided I wasn’t going to let 2020 rob me of one more thing. Given the struggles I’ve been having with my eyes, it probably had typos. Oh well. It went on its merry way.

I’ve been doing a lot of organizing and streamlining of all kinds of things – email, online, paperwork, calendar, etc. Rather than write about them here where they will get lost in a post during Christmas week, I’ll try to write about them in the coming weeks.

That’s all for today, friends. Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. Maybe you be blessed with peace, understanding, joy, beauty, and faith during this holy season.

Artwork: “Skiing Children” by Jenny Nystrom

Category: Our Cozy Home This WeekTag: Jenny Nyström (Artist)

About Sallie Borrink

Sallie Schaaf Borrink is a Christian, wife, mother, homeschooler, homebody, and autodidact. She owns a home-based graphic design and web design business with her husband (DavidandSallie.com).

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mary Ann Sorensen

    Wednesday, December 23, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    Merry Christmas, Sallie. Thank you for your post (even though you think it’s late). : ) I’m glad you got everything done and now I hope you can relax and enjoy it all. Strangely, this has been one of my best Christmas’s. Isn’t that odd with all that we’ve been through? It almost makes me feel guilty to admit that because I know SO many people who are NOT enjoying this Christmas and just want it all done and over with. Some things will definitely be different for us and usually I’m not okay with different. But the Lord has given me a “peace that passes all understanding” and I’m grateful for that.

    I wish I could send some of our snow over your way! Right now we have a blizzard raging outside with a possible 10-inch snow accumulation! On Sunday we just set our minds to thinking that it was going to be blah and brown but……………… : )

    Again, Merry Christmas.
    A hug to you,
    Mary

    Reply
    • Sallie

      Monday, December 28, 2020 at 9:09 am

      Hi Mary!

      We did end up with some snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! We even had lovely flakes falling part of the day. It’s the little things that matter in life sometimes.

      Good to hear from you!
      Sallie

      Reply
  2. Marilyn

    Wednesday, December 23, 2020 at 9:12 pm

    Happy to hear from you. Glad that your mother is on the mend. Will add her to my prayer list for her healing. We had a north easter and received about 7-8 inches of snow her in New York. Our cousin lives upstate and received 41.1 inches. We have finished wrapping the gifts. Wishing you and your lovely family a Blessed and Merry Christmas and a Happy and healthy New Year.
    Joan,Marion and Marilyn

    Reply
    • Sallie

      Monday, December 28, 2020 at 9:11 am

      Hi Marilyn,

      Thank you for the prayers for my mom. I greatly appreciate them. She continues to do well.

      I saw you had a nice holiday storm up your way! I cannot imagine 41 inches! I saw the pictures and they were amazing!

      Sallie

      Reply
  3. Ticia

    Saturday, December 26, 2020 at 5:28 pm

    Merry Christmas! I have missed your posts here. I also went to share one of your older posts and learned it fell victim to one of your purges (your comparison of WooCommerce to something else).
    It’s been a hectic Christmas here, and I’m not sure why there was less stuff going on but it felt more hectic.

    Reply
    • Sallie

      Monday, December 28, 2020 at 9:13 am

      Hi Ticia,

      Thanks for the encouragement about the posts. I have missed writing as well. The year 2020 was a good learning experience for me regarding what I do here. I tried some things and realized some good things about myself as a blogger that will guide me moving forward.

      I think I know which post you are talking about. I took it down because I wasn’t sure if anyone was still using the other option. Can’t remember it off the top of my head. Maybe I should put it back up?

      Sallie

      Reply
    • Sallie

      Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at 10:28 pm

      Hi Ticia,

      This is probably too late to be helpful now, but I did republish that post if you ever want to refer to it again in the future.

      https://sallieborrink.com/selling-digital-downloads-woocommerce-versus-wp-estore/

      Sallie

      Reply

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Sallie Schaaf Borrink

For more than 20 years, I’ve written about following Jesus Christ, thinking for yourself, and building a home life rooted in what is true, beautiful, and eternal.

At A Quiet Simple Life, I share thoughtful essays, relaxed homeschooling encouragement, gifted/2e resources, free printables, and reflections on faith, home, education, culture, and simple living.

This is a place for Christian women and families seeking substance, beauty, discernment, and a quieter way to live. Welcome.

 

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