Counting Down The Days

I can hardly believe that Christmas is getting so close! I know for a fact that the days did NOT go this quickly when I was in school.  Then my children started school and Z O O M! the days flew by so fast I could hardly keep up!  My baby will be a senior by this time next year! Whoa, slow down time!  I'm sure that I am not the only one who feels this way.  Come on, you know it's true. 
Anyway, enough about that.  I don't want to be depressed... It's almost Christmas!  I love this time of year, despite the cold weather.  I love listening to Christmas music, decorating the tree, baking cookies, going to special church programs, sending Christmas cards... the list goes on.  What is your favorite Christmas tradition or Christmas memory?  I have been scrapbooking a lot lately and it is so fun to look at all the pictures of past Christmases.  I just hope we all take the time to remember what Christmas is really all about... Jesus Christ!  He was born, crucified, and rose again so that you and I could spend eternity with Him.  Please take the time to read the Christmas story in the book of Luke.  And be sure to explain to your children that it is WAY more than just a story.  :)

Thanks Giving

I have much to be thankful for and this time of year always brings certain things to mind.  I am thankful for...  We all have a list; family, health, home, job,... the usual list.  But have we ever stopped to count our blessings and really think about them?  Do we take our blessings for granted?  Of course we do.  Until something happens that wakes us up and makes us take note. Hey, we are not invincible!  Bad things DO happen, even to good people.  So this year, as you gathered with the usual suspects around the giant feast, I hope you stopped and looked at each person and the affects they have had on your life.  Did you learn to play the piano because Grandma loved to play?  Did you take dance lessons as a child because you wanted to be a dancer like your Aunt?  Are there traditions that you have made sure to pass on to your own children that you observed as a child? 
It is eye-opening to take the time and truly "count" your blessings. 

As we come to the Christmas season, please be sure and take the time to really ponder the meaning of CHRISTmas!  It means so much more than presents; HE is the best GIFT of all!

Brief Separation

In the 13 years that I've been married, I haven't been separated from my husband more than two or three nights.  He was sent on a few business trips that resulted in these brief separations and I always had kids at home to keep me busy.  The days usually went by pretty quick; with the occasional phone call to update me on his schedule and return.  But today my husband left to go visit his parents for 9 nights!  That is just unacceptable!
Only, it's not.  How do you say no to someone you love when they want to visit their parents? You don't.  He only gets to see them once a year when we take the family there for two weeks in the summer.  His dad is about to be 71 and they live in the middle of  No Where, West Virginia.  (That's just outside of Charleston, in case you were wondering.)  We don't have the extra money to take the family out for a visit, so he went on his own.  He will be busy visiting and reminiscing so the time will fly by for him.  Before he realizes it, it will be time to come back.  I on the other hand will not be busy visiting and reminiscing.  I will be waiting...and praying... sniff sniff :)
Okay, my little pity party is over... back to reality.  It won't be that bad. I just pray for his safe return and a wonderful visit with his family.  I have a book to write and with all this extra time on my hands, who knows.  It may be finished by the time he returns!

Middle of the week

It's Wednesday already! I have a rare opportunity that most people don't.  My husband works second shift.  He gets home early enough that he can sleep a good eight hours and still get up in the morning and spend the day with me.  When we got married, I had a seven year old daughter and a three year old daughter.  He had an eight year old son and a six year old daughter.  Needless to say, we didn't get much "alone" time.  We were a busy young family and the years flew past.  Our youngest daughter is now 17.  Doesn't seem possible, but it's true. We are just now starting to see what "alone" time really is.  I get to spend every day with my husband and most evenings with my daughter.  I feel truly blessed!  Being the youngest, she never really got much one on one time with either of us.  Now that she is the last one at home, she is getting that time.  Not your typical teenager, she gets along with us very well.  I am thankful for the time I get to spend with my husband; and I am thankful for the time I get to spend with my daughter, as well. Whatever stage you are in with your family, I hope you take the time to enjoy it.  It doesn't matter if you are just starting out or if you are facing an empty nest.  Enjoy it!  It won't last long...

Tuesday

I've been doing a lot of cleaning and rearranging lately.  You know what happens when you start doing that?  You come across pictures that you haven't looked at in a long time.  Pictures of your past.  I love pictures and regret not printing more out lately, but most of all I regret not writing on the backs of the ones I have.  I can look at a lot of my pictures and tell you exactly where we were, what we were doing and narrow down the date pretty close...but someday I won't be able to do that.  Or I might not be around to tell others.  My kids will someday look through all the stuff I left behind and wonder, "Who's this?"  "I wonder where we were in this picture?"  Maybe it isn't too late.  I can drag all those pictures back out and start writing... Who am I kidding?

Monday

People have a lot of different opinions about Monday.  Some say it is a "blah" day, others say it is a new beginning.  How do you feel about Mondays?  When I had four small children living at home Monday was a chaotic dash around the house...making sure everyone had there backpacks and all that was supposed to be in them.  Even when we tried setting everything out the night before, it was inevitable that someone forgot something they were supposed to take that day.  "I forgot my lunch money is due today!"  "I forgot I was supposed to wear a purple shirt today!"  "I forgot I was supposed to bring a picture of me when I was a baby!"  That was a crazy, but exciting time in our lives.  Now I have two kids in college, one about to be a mom for a second time, and one seventeen year-old at home. We still have some chaotic days, but it's not quite the same as the ones we had back then.  If you have little ones at home, enjoy them (even on Mondays).  They will be out living their own lives in the blink of an eye...

Fast forward

Sometimes life would be easier if we could fast forward and see how things were going to turn out.  Last May when we moved into our house, I would have never dreamed we would be where we are now.  Still in the house, of course, but where we are in our lives.  People that left are coming back, people that we didn't even know are welcomed new additions, and dreams we never had the courage to dream are coming true!  How can one person's life change so quickly?  It just goes to show, you never know what a day will bring...so live life to the fullest and don't be afraid to reach for the stars!