Is Anyone Else Feeling "Stuffed" Yet

Here it is less the a week till Christmas, and yet I already feel like I have had enough season goodies to last me a life time.

Does anyone else, sit back and ponder as I do "Why do we do this to ourselves?". So much junk food, is associated with this season. But could we take away the candy canes and the fudge, and the overindulgence of the "big day" feast, and still feel content?

Don't get me wrong I love the holiday goodies as much as the next person, and I love to bake them too; the smells and even just the simple action of baking brings back a ton of great memories for me. But, it use to be I would make 6 or 8 different things and we ourselves would polish it all off. Now I make those same 6 or 8 favorite different things but I make them before Jack's hospital shift so he can take half to share, or before a holiday party, so we can bring half and share.

Now here is a real "evil" I will confess too, last year, the day after Christmas I was so sick of the goodies, I threw them all out. Yep, fudge and cookies and all into the garbage, this gal had, had enough of the "chub" and took control.

So if you like me love to bake, but hate the leftovers on the body from over indulgence, remember, share and throw out if you must. The memories are in the baking, not in the inches!!!!

Our other two little angels

Below I wrote about Thomas and his main part in the play but my two other children were in the choir. Aiden also got to play bells during one song ( I really wish I got a picture of it, but Thomas got a nose bleed on stage during that song and I had to help him, but I did get it on the camcorder, but of course its not compatible with the blog settings) .

Anyways Thomas' nose bleed was over before his next line, so all went well. And I managed to snap this picture of the choir, Aiden is in the back row third from the end, Courtney is in the row just in front of Aiden, third from the end with her hands in the air "praising Jesus", she really gets into her songs.

They all had a blast, I did too, it was a great season of children's choir. I am looking forward to the spring semester.

Our Head Angel

Sorry the picture is sort of blurry, I took it during the final dress rehearsal, while robing and crowning ohhhh.... about 30 other little angels.

Thomas sent out his last year of being in a children's church choir with a bang, his character got the most lines in the whole performance, which made this Mama (that is what Courtney calls me, its sounds so cute!!!) and Daddy team very nervous. But he pulled it off wonderfully, and made us both so proud. I am sure Jack and I could of lit up a room with our faces alone once the night was through.

Jack and I both had the opportunity to see how far our little extremely colicky baby had grown, these last almost 13 years, last Sunday night during the play. You see there was a 4 year old girl I had the opportunity to watch all season long, whom reminds both Jack and I so much of Thomas when he was little. I even shed a tear in one practice while watching this child during the near final practice, thanking God for reminding me just how far Thomas has come. She like Thomas at that age, seems to see no reason to communicate with others verbally, and seems to be content in her own little world. I am sure , just as us ,her parents are wondering just when she will leave her little world and join theirs.

I had the opportunity to hopefully give those parents a little bit of hope, as I told them, Thomas too really spoke little at 4 and here now at 12 he has the most lines in the church play. The thought of it still blows me away, we really do not know what the mind and plans of God are.

I hope they received as much encouragement from my comments as I did

from, looking from their little girl to my big boy and saying "Thank you God for all you have done for my son" .

We finished off this joyous evening with a trip to Sonic for a slushy (it was Thomas' pick) and a drive thru the Gas city light display. Then we took our three little angels home to bed. It will definitely be a highlight of our Christmas 2008 season.

Sorry there are no pictures this week, we are experiencing computer problems and I can't get the pictures to come up. Hopefully next time I write it will work, I know some of you only come here for the pic's of the kids!!! And I don't blame ya, they are very adorable if I do say so myself!!!!

Ten things I love about the Season

1. Jesus' birthday, its the main reason for this Season, and I love imagining what it would have been like to have been there.

2. My children as they light up and get so excited.

3. The Christmas light displays, we have a great one here in Marion, but I like visiting others too, thankfully so do my children.

4. Christmas trees. I love just sipping hot tea in a darkened room, no other lights but the Christmas tree and not a soul stirring but me, I take time to remember and give thanks.

5.Giving, not just to the kids and to relatives but to others, and in secret is always best (although I am often found out).

6. Snow, not a lot, it can stay a few weeks though, to help slow me down and take a few extra minutes to reflect.

7. Sleighing in the snow: one thing I love about being a fit mama is that I can get out the crazy carpets along side of my children and go screaming down the one and only good hill for sledding in our corn country town.

8. My hubbies Christmas card for me: I treasure the handwritten words in it. I forget what the gift is but I Cherish his written words.

9. Christmas baking: It brings back memories of mom and all her cookies and canning and Christmas fruit cake, oh if I could only have a piece of her trifle right about now!!! Nothing ever came out of a box in my home growing up.

10. Christmas crackers and advent calenders: Just a few traditions I like to pass on to my kids. I loved opening a door on my advent calender each morning knowing the more doors I saw open the closer it was to Christmas. Now my kids are at those calenders the second they wake up to do the same thing. And Christmas crackers are the only thing that makes it acceptable to wear a paper crown during a fancy dinner affair, now that is dining my style!!!

What I learnt during my "De clutter Week"

1. When things reach a certain level of caous people loose the urge to spend their few available minutes making a difference, but when harmony is found people are willing to pitch in and keep it up.

2. There are way too many receipts in ones life

3. I own an huge amount of small pointy scissors

4. We have more medication slogan ink pens than 10 families should own

5. We are mainly tea drinkers yet till De clutter week we owned three coffee pots and not a single kettle!!!!!. Now we own one of each.

6. Yard sales are only economical if you can buy only what you need, and not what you think is cute cause you can run out of room for cute real fast!!!

7. I am one of those people who grows tired of looking at the same Nick Knacks real fast, so I pick up new ones (cheap at yard sales of course) but forget to toss the old ones when I arrive home, now its one in one out.

8. Close cupboards may look neat but they can hide a lot of stuff, and if you don't keep up it will take over.

9. If you don't have the time to read free magazines, even if they are free don't bring them home.

10. Dust piles up in the weirdest places, and so does dog hair!!!! ( I will just leave you wondering on that one)

My Big Decision

I know you all have been on pins and needles for the last two weeks wondering what I decided to do with the time I had over our home school fall break. Well except for those that I e-mailed all week with updates!!! (hope you guys were not sick of me, I needed some cyber support). I decided to do option C and give the whole current home a good go through. I tossed, I shredded, I boxed and donated, I dusted, I swept I vacuumed and scrubbed. I also, pondered and questioned, doubted and giggled even shed a tear or two, but it was worth all those hours. I took the time after each room was done to sit down and enjoy a cup of hot tea in it, and really enjoy the feeling of knowing I had no crumbs under my fanny, and no webs over my head.

Now I did not manage to get the whole house done, but I did get all the main floor except the front porch (hey there is no heating out there and remember I am a 40 degrees is freezing winter, western girl!!!!) I also got the dreaded craft room done upstairs, and I got a few Christmas decorations up in each house and got all my snail mail cards out and all but two parcels,sent the other two are all ready to go in the mail tomorrow.

It feels great, and it even inspired my husband to poetry, he left me a homemade card out one night for me to find in the morning It reads "The house is beautiful and so are you" I am considering framing it, so I can look at it for inspiration the next time my home gets so out of control!!!