Now is it Christmas?

We're having a bit of  holiday confusion at our house. First of all, there were presents and cousin time to go along with our deep fried turkey. Since the 'out-of-towners' who came back home this year, did so over Thanksgiving, we had our Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration in one big happy day.

Then surely the arrival of the tree in our living room means Christmas is here, right? My kids sure thought so. I explained that we were just 'getting ready' for Christmas but land sakes, that tree is half dead already and it's STILL not Christmas.

Twinkly lights, lots of them. They look so cozy and pretty but even they don't mean it's Christmas.

And believe it or not there is even a few gifts under the tree. Santa never comes to our house so Mom and Dad have taken over. They may be from yard sales but who cares, they are presents just the same, right?

The cookies are baked. Good thing Mom isn't making us wait till Christmas to eat all of them. We should probably find some neighbors and friends to share them with since none of the presents under the tree look big enough to be a treadmill.

Our mailbox is full of pictures of people we haven't seen since last year's picture. We even managed to get our pictures sent out at the beginning of December this year.

If you didn't get a paper copy, We wish you a 

 MERRY CHRISTMAS

  too!

The candles are lit.

We've made sweet treats to thank people that we appreciate.

 {While the school boys wrote cards for their teachers the little ones wanted in on the fun too. I gave Kyra a card to write on and when she was finished she brought it to me. "Who is that for? I asked. "For Joseph," she said, I guess she's been listening to some of the story anyway.}

We're counting down the days with this fun project. A wrapped story for each day in December. Just remember, if you plan to use library books for this you should keep track of due dates. I may or may not have learned that lesson the hard way.

While we wait for Christmas to get here we pass the time by playing with our very own Nativity set.
And every time that sweet little voice says, "Mommy, can I play [with] my Jesus Loves Me?" (a.k.a. Baby Jesus)  my heart melts. 

I love the signs that my children are picking up the real meaning of Christmas. In the van today, one of them said, "Mom, this is the Baby Jesus song we sang at church, the one that says 'REmanual'."

 

 Wishing you and yours a Blessed Holiday!

{and if you happen to read a blog where the writer can't decide whether to write in first or third person, just go with it and try not to let it ruin your holiday spirit!}

If I had an Amish neighbor........

I'm told she may be jealous. Call me an old married lady but I requested a wash line for my birthday. I know, I know, this is not on the top of the "perfect gifts for your wife" list but it's been 4 years since I've had a real wash line. 

We wash a LOT of blue jeans at our house!

My sweet hubby tackled the project like a pro. It took him several weeks to find/collect all the necessary ingredients but it's up and ready to roll now. 

I have to admit that I did remind him at one point that an alive husband was more important to me than the wash line. I had to move away from the windows while he perched 25-30 feet in the air on a ladder supported only by a 5-6 inch tree trunk. Don't worry, he was smart and cautious about the whole plan, it just gave me the heebie-jeebies! (Really, blogger doesn't like that word? Stange!)

Our springy 60 and 70 degree temps this week provided the perfect chance for putting it to work.

It's less than 10 feet from the washing machine to the back porch where I can hang everything from one spot, with no bending up and down. Spoiled much?

 
My excitement over the thought of being able to hang sheets out and enjoy the crisp, fresh air goodness again, is off the charts! Since my neighbors tend more toward the redneck stripe than the Amish breed they probably find me and my new contraption quite strange but that's okay, I've been called worse. Besides, my electric bill and my weary dryer are both just as thrilled as I am.

With a Grateful Heart

I know Thanksgiving is history. Even the leftovers are gone by now. I'm as excited as anyone to move on to lights and trees, Christmas Carols and nativities, but there are a a couple of Thanksgiving memories that just need to be included here in this little blog of mine.

Note to self: Remember to sign up to help with every Kindergarten Thanksgiving feast your children are part of. After the meltdown my son had when I didn't show up for lunch with his class a few weeks ago, the next volunteer sheet that came home was for the Thanksgiving feast. I signed up. How hard can it be to serve apple slices and popcorn to kindergarteners. Sounds much easier than creating glittery Christmas ornaments--count me in.

And truly it was no big deal. Open a few bags of carrots, slice a few apples and run the hand sanitizer pump like a pro. In exchange I got to watch the cutest little people put on a darling show. They sang several song. Marched around the room in there Indian feather hats and painted pasta necklaces. They did those little finger plays that Kindergarten is famous for. I'd have missed it all if I hadn't signed up to serve those carrots. I suppose the teachers probably reuse the same ideas every year but I was super impressed with their ideas and crafts. Projects I would never dare to attempt with 2 little people much less 20 of them.

 

They ended with an impressive rendition of  This Land is Your Land. I wish I had known what was coming, I'd have saved room on my camera card to record it!

**************

Roasted us a tasty good turkey this year. Almost every year my hubby brings me a free fresh turkey. While I'm not big on the whole carving (a.k.a. picking meat from bones for hours) thing, there is something domestic-y and satisfying about smelling that baby roasting all day and then pulling a golden bird from the oven.

It also helps if you're tackling the whole process on Tuesday afternoon and minus a house full of starving guest with high expectations! 

And of coarse a mommy feeding a family of 7 never turns down free meat!

I told my man not to bring me one that didn't fit in my oven, he listened but he stretched me to my limit, she's a 26ish pound-er!

***********

Most importantly as I thought about my own reasons to be thankful, there are many, I was reminded of a song we sang a lot when I was a teenager.

Give thanks with a Grateful Heart,

Give thanks to the Holy One,

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ His Son.

That first line, that's where I got stuck.

It always seemed like a repetition to me. Songs are like that, especially choruses. Say the same thing a couple times in different ways. Make it 'flow-y.' Make it rhyme. Make it easy to remember.

But it suddenly hit me one day. Giving thanks is NOT the same as having a Grateful Heart.

I say I'm thankful for my house,  but I sure wish it had a bigger kitchen and an attached garage.

I say I'm thankful for my children, but I get frustrated when the act like children.

I say I'm thankful for food but I think that the fridge and freezer full are not enough, I must go get that one thing I'm out of.

The list could go on. I just had to wonder if my words and my heart are connected on this thankful stuff.

We live in a world that doesn't promote much thankfulness, much less the grateful heart.

We've come to the place where we miss our family dinners to line up to be the first one in the stores for a good deal. (That's another  post, another soap box....but it sure makes some pretty loud statements about the contentment and thankfulness, or lack thereof, that we're surrounded with.)

I too, could easily get caught up in the "I wishes" and the "It would be nice..." thing, but what I want, what I really want is that Grateful Heart.

There are some out there if you look for them.

As I watched a dear couple facing serious health issues hold each other tight and sing

"I Have Someone to Thank" I saw a grateful heart.

When a sweet little voice says "Sanks Mom" for a simple snack or a glass of water, I see a grateful heart.

 When I receive a hand written note of thanks for doing something simple for a friend, I see a grateful heart

When I choose to focus on what I have and the many blessing I've been given instead of the endless list of  wishes, I take another baby step toward a grateful heart.

I do however, think it this will be a longer process than figuring out what to do with all those turkey leftovers.