Christmas traditions

There are several Christmas traditions we have, some passed down through generations, and some David and I have come up with for our own family. There are two additional traditions I've read about several times over the past couple of years that I have wanted to start, but never seem to get around to it. They aren't hard, but it takes a little time and effort, and I'm always fresh out of those...haha. These are the two things I hope to add to our list NEXT Christmas...


“A very old Christmas eve tradition in Germany was to hide a pickle [ornament] deep in the branches of the family Christmas Tree. The parents hung the pickle last after all the other ornaments were in place. In the morning they knew the most observant child would receive an *extra gift from St. Nicholas. The first adult who finds the pickle traditionally gets good luck for the whole year.”

*I was thinking instead of an extra gift, they would be the first to open one of the gifts they already had

Also, the Elf on the Shelf book & elf...I want this! I don't know why I haven't up and ordered it, I want it every year. Oh well, again, next year!
Most of you probably know about this, and may already be doing it in your own home, here is a link if you don't...
Elf on the Shelf



So, do you have any Christmas Traditions you would like to share or that you would like to start doing with your family? Share! (All 5 of you readers should insert a comment here LOL)!

Merry Christmas...may it be blessed and bright!

Coke right now

So, Izzy, my 4 year old, brings me a can of Coke.
"Open this Coke right now".
"You don't need a Coke, and that was a rude way to ask anyway"
"I need it"
"You don't need it, it's full of sugar"
"Just open it"
"It will rot your teeth and make you sick"
"I want it, I want the whole thaaaaaaang (yes, she said, "thang")
"No, but I can get you something else to drink"
"But my body neeeeeedddsss it, Mom"
"No, No, No...No Coke...what else would you like to drink"
Then with her big, beautiful brown eyes and long batting eyelashes,
"Mom, I really just want this coke, pleassssssseeeeeee"

sigh....


!POP! (that's the pop of the Coke can opening, or me being a bad mom because I don't stand my ground, or me just being a sucker for an adorable brown eyed girl...
you decide while I talk her into giving me a drink... :-)

Resolutions...

So it's not quite Christmas, and here I am blogging about New Year's...well, kind of. I am talking about "resolutions". Quite honestly, the word has always kind of freaked me out. I mean, it just sounds like I'm setting myself up for failure even saying the word. I mean, I get why people make them, duh...especially at the start of a New Year, a new year, a new start, out with the old, in with the new...I get it. I do. But. It seems like the resolutions are always such a big feat, and within a month we are right back where we started, we want to change for the better, but never really set up how we are going to accomplish those goals.
Anyhoo...I am normally NOT a resolution maker. It's just not my thing. (Not that there aren't MANY things I need to change for the better in my life...just sayin').
But here's the deal. I'm working with an ADHD mind. It's not easy. I can't, for the life of me, get things organized, or make a schedule (and stick to it anyway), etc. I'm sick of it, but what's a girl to do? EVERY single morning, I'm nagging the kids, "Let's go, Let's go, we are late"! I am late everywhere I go. I don't want to be, I don't like to be, I think it's rude and irresponsible, and I'm teaching that bad habit to my kids. Not cool. I just don't know how to do it any other way. It seems no matter how early I get up, allow for more time, etc, it just doesn't work out for me. School mornings are not the only time, is always! I'm forever forgetting stuff, having to turn around, go back, do one more thing. Anyway, let me get to my point here...
I am going to make a resolution this New Year. I'm gonna do it. I'm a little scared. Actually, I'm a lot scared, of failure. But since spending some time thinking about it...if I do fail, and I do end up right back where I started, will it really hurt anything? Hopefully not?! So, I am going to start dreaming and scheming on how to get this time thing, among some of my other "issues" figured out. I know it's going to involve scheduling LESS...period. Less activities, less commitments, etc. Also, I am going to need to allow more time for each thing. I know, I know, some of you (out of the 5 people reading this) are thinking, "Why doesn't she just do it...what's so hard"? Well, people, for me, it just is. I don't know how to make you understand it, but that's just the way I tic. So, I am going to be doing some serious thinking over the next couple weeks. I really want this next year to be a little more peaceful, not as fast paced, I want to enjoy it, relish it a little more. I want to be on time, without earning a gray hair every time (not that I have any gray hairs, because I don't...I'm just sayin'). So, this is going to be my resolution, I figure I better start figuring out a plan for success now, and I'm prompting you to do the same. Although, most of you don't have crazy minds like mine, surely there is something you want to do differently? So, there it is. You've been warned. The time is now and the place is here! Get busy people. :-)

As I'm listenting to worship/Christmas music this morning, I began to think about Jesus' birth. I thought about how eventually God sent his precious child, his son, to the cross. We hear it so often, especially those of us in church, how God gave His son for us. It means a lot, but I personally hear it so often, that sometimes I forget to ackowledge the powerful meaning behind that. My children are my most precious blessings, and while there are several people I would give my life for, not one of them would I give one of my children's lives for. My heart aches at the vision God had to bare, watching His sweet son suffer. Just the thought alone is horrible, so to actually go through that, there are just no words to decribe it. I mean I really can't think of sufficient words to describe what torture it must have been to watch your child be tortured and ridiculed, and then left to die. Even more amazing, with the blink of an eye, God could have put a stop to it. But, he didn't. He sacrificed one, for many. What a giving, loving, selfless God we serve. I haven't been doing my part to help Jesus bear His cross.
I haven't.
I think about my blessings, but they are never enough. I complain that my house is too small, but to those that are homeless, they would be ever so thankful. I complain that we can't eat out more, that I have to cook, and then clean it up...what about those who have no food, who dig in the trash or have to steal just to feed their children. I complain because there are days when, as much as I love them, my children's non stop chatter and activity drive me insane...what about the mother and father watching their child slip slowly away from a terminal illness...how blessed would they feel to be driven insane by their healthy children. I gripe when I have to run errands, pay bills, everything is so expensive. Instead, I should be thankful I have a car, with a tank full of gass to get where I need to go. Thankful my husband has a job, that he isn't lazy, but a hard worker, that God has provided us with these blessings so we can pay our bills...so we can have hot, running water, lights, heat and air, etc. I get annoyed when I can't go shopping and buy everything I want, but my children are clean, with clothes and shoes to spare. I hate paying such high doctor and medical bills, but what's the alternative? I should be praising God that we have insurance to cover so much of the costs, and that I am able to take myself, and my children to a good health care provider, that they can have medicine when they are sick. This doesn't even begin to cover how blessed I am, but yet, I find myself complaining so often. I am so thankful we don't have to be perfect to get into Heaven, God would have crossed me off the list LONG ago. I am grateful that I only have to believe in Him, and accept Him as my Savior. Still, in my heart, I know I need to be helping Him bare the cross He carries, after all, He carries it for me, for my children, for all those willing to take Him up on His offer. I'm thankful that I am not "stuck" in my current place, but with God, have the ability to grow in Him, and work on myself to become more like who He wants me to be.

And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself (disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself) and take up his cross daily and follow Me (cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also).
Luke 9:23

Christmas time

I LOVE the holidays, it just seems like (most) people are more merry, people are nicer to each other, you (usually) get to spend more time with fame and friends. Even though there are loved ones I miss, I love spending time with the ones I am blessed to do so with. I think about past Christmases...my kids just keep growing and growing. We have our tree up...we are missing a topper and we need to buy a few more ornaments (some have broken over the past couple of years and we need to "fill back up"). Our dog, KiKi, has made her new home under the tree, like she does every other year. I found a couple of photos from Christmas past, that made me fight back the tears, thinking about how incredibly fast time flies...
How sweet were they? Take note, in the first pic you can not see the custom Dora Christmas overalls that Izzy had on...yes, I was one sick mom LOL


Who cares if the bows were bigger than her head, she's my baby! Oh how I miss these days!

This picture is HILARIOUS to me...first, no, I didn't edit the red eye, that adds to the ridiculousness of the photo. Second, the guy in the red suit is the guy my brother takes care of, he's so funny, a good guy, he insisted on being in the photo. Third, my niece, who David is holding...the look on her face is CRAZY...she has the "deer in the headlight" look down!

And our tree this year, minus the topper and a few more ornaments we need to add...This tree is really quite big, I am hoping to get a tall, skinny tree to replace it next year...our ceiling in the living room is tall and I want a skinnier room to take up less space.

Anyway, I am off to do some Christmas shopping, no I'm not finished, and yes, my goal for next year is to be finished by this time. Happy Holidays!

Thankful...and then some...

Ok, same story, different day. I'm not sure when I will stop missing my grandmothers..."never" sounds like a pretty accurate guess, though. It astounds me as I imagine how much I miss them, then wonder about those who have lost parents, siblings, and even worse, (deep breath here) children. How can they EVER move forward? God bless them.
Anyway, in years past, we split our Thanksgivings (and every other holiday)...half the day at my Mamaws and half of it at my G-ma's. This last year or two I really don't even remember what we have done to celebrate, it's like we have all been stumbling along, trying to make sense of how to go on. Holidays are especially hard. Anyway, I know my grandmothers would want us to continue gathering and celebrating as a family, but, Lord, how we miss them. Everything flowed with them here, everything came together perfectly, the food, the decorations, the people, everything just...made sense. I am completely inept, I am not good at orchestrating a gathering...I can't cook like them, I can't plan with such ease and grace, I don't have the patience and easy going manner that they did. Either way, we must go forward. So, this year, Thanksgiving is at my house. Wow. Everyone will chip in and bring certain dishes (I could never do it all on my own), and my place is somewhat cramped, I hate cleaning. But, I feel led to do this. Even if our holidays can't be as graceful as when "they" were here, we will move forward, with the beautiful examples that have been set for us. We have something to help guide us, to set us in the right direction, something to work towards. Maybe one day, when I'm older and a bit gray, my grandchildren will speak the same words about me. I don't see it that way, but I hope for it. I am ever so thankful that I have/had those ladies as an example. Life was never promised to be easy, but He is always here with us, and He knows best.
So, I have two days to prepare. Yikes! Today I helped with a Thanksgiving feast at Isabel's school, and then at Joseph's. I saw all the children's faces...some I pictured a beautiful Thanksgiving day in their future...and some I wondered if they would have any family that cared about them on Thanksgiving, much less a Thanksgiving meal prepared for them. For some of them, today was it. My heart somewhat broke knowing that. So, all the pondering I've done today, again, has made me thankful for what I do have. I'm doing my best not to focus on what I don't have, but look for the positive things in our lives. My family may drive me crazy (and I them :-), I may not want to cook and clean...but, the fact is...I'm thankful I have a home to invite people to, and family that will come. I'm thankful I have health, and a more than capable body that I can clean and cook with. I'm thankful to have beautiful people from my past that have given me knowledge about which way to go. Thankful...and then some.

Soul Food...not the edible kind

Today I went to visit (with my aunt and mom, even though it's my dad's side of the family) the cemetery. It was a perfect, crisp, Fall day.

I wanted to see my Mamaw's headstone (now combined with my Papa Joe's who passed away when I was just a little girl)and have a little visit with her, and the other family that are buried there. Even though it's sad, because you miss your loved ones so much, it's helpful to be able to have a "place" where you can visit them and let your emotions out. My other grandmother, who I miss equally as much, chose to be cremated, so I've yet to decide on a "spot" that's comfortable to visit her. While my heart ached to see her (them), the visit brought back SO many great memories. It was really a blessing. I got to pick out the verse for my Mamaw & Papa Joe's stone, and I am comforted by the one I chose, and that everyone agreed to go with it.

There's not enough room on all of Blogger for me to tell how great a woman my Mamaw was, or what a blessing she was to me/us (both of my grandmothers were glorious women, as a matter of fact). She was an awesome cook, she was always there when you needed her (no matter how much you'd messed up), always there to help out and to forgive. She was a strong woman. My Papa Joe was a good man. I don't have as many memories of him, but remember he did magic tricks and used to do them to make a candy bar appear before dinner, but we weren't supposed to tell anyone! He loved those squishy orange peanuts (I didn't inherit that love from him) and had a big orange recliner, he loved orange. How blessed am I? You don't have to answer, I already know :-)

Papa Joe was a World War 2 Veteran...


Mollie and Bill were my great grandparents. I don't remember Bill, but remember Mollie as an anchor to our family. I never heard her say a whole lot, but I remember her always there, quiet and strong. I remember Christmastime at her house...playing with cousins, opening gifts, eating the best food in the world, and no worries...When she passed, my Mamaw took her place as the anchor in our family...


Aunt Katy & Uncle Dell...honestly, I don't remember them, I was just a baby when the passed, but they are still very special to me. They died within the same year, I think they loved each other so much, they just couldn't live without one another. I was named after Aunt Katy. While you hear mixed stories about people, good and bad...I've never heard anything but good, no, great things about my great aunt and uncle. I've heard Aunt Katy was the best baker ever, and was famous for her cooking. Lots of people knew them, and thought the world of them. Uncle Dell was a carpenter, and there are many pieces still around that he made...a talented man. So, I'm thankful that I'm an extension of these two...


Ahh, Aunt Cora Mae. My great aunt. She lived a few blocks away from my Mamaw. My cousin and I used to walk down to visit her quite a bit. She lived in an average home, but when you stepped through the front door, it was something special. She had a yippy little dog, and rode around in her electric wheel chair (which didn't slow her down). Her home was full of collectibles, antiques, and fancy things. It looked like a victorian museum. While she did ask us to be careful, she was so good to us, she let us two wild heathens in to her home to play. There was never a speck of dust on her porcelain figures and her cushions on her furniture were always fluffed to perfection. Good memories...


I got a shot of the marker for my great aunt that I never met, she was my Mamaw's little sister...she died when she was only four. I remember hearing Mamaw talk about her...they are together again...


I had cousins that passed away as babies, and I didn't get pictures of all of them, but I did get one of my cousin Abby's headstone. She and I were almost the same age. She passed away a couple years ago. I have so many memories with her in them, especially holidays spent running around playing with her. I pray her parents can continue to find some peace until it's time to see her again...



All in all, it was a good day. Sad, but good. The truth is, I could go on for hours reliving memories. But, I just wanted to share a little. Today, my soul really was fed, I feel good, I felt a small measure of healing today..that's a good thing.