My 12 days of Christmas....Day 12

"For unto you is born this day

in the City of David a Savior,

which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you,

you shall find the babe

wrapped in swaddling clothes

lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was an angel

a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

'GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST,

AND ON EARTH PEACE, GOODWILL TOWARD MEN'

That's what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown."

I truly hope everyone finds peace this Christmas and never forgets what we are celebrating.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

TTFN~

My 12 Days of Christmas...Day 11

Well the last of my Christmas shopping is done and my presents are wrapped. The family and friend visits are about to begin and the next few days are going to be a huge blur. The days will be filled with good food, great company, lots of laughter and tons of smiles. It truly is the best time of year.

At least for us this year it will be; it hasn't always been that way. Three years ago on Christmas Day I was sitting in the Emergency Room with Madelynn on the verge of losing it completely. Not quite eight weeks after surgery Madelynn still was not eating and I felt like I was watching her die. She weighed less than before surgery and almost every bottle she ate she threw it back up.

I was completely at a loss on how to help her and I told Phil I was taking her back to the hospital. This was her third visit in less than eight weeks. Talk about a dark day.

A few weeks after that day Madelynn finally started to turn around and we were making the long road back to normal, whatever that is. There isn't a day that goes by that I am not ecstatic she survived and I don't kiss her at least ten times.

As you start rushing through your day, holiday weekend and through the next week in your 'normal' life please remember those families who have children in the hospital. If you have had the luxury of never taking your child to the emergency room much less experiencing long hospital stays you have no idea the strength it requires some days just to remember to breath.

Please pray for those families, the health of their children, that they find peace in their journey and what ever answers they are searching for from God, He reveals it to them. Treasure every minute of your time with you family and friends.

TTFN~

My 12 Days of Christmas...Day 10

When I discovered Day 10's topic I was really excited. I wasn't sure why it came to me for today but it did. Then the more I thought about it I almost talked myself out of writing about it. I didn't really have a great story to tie it to Christmas. That was until I read a comment from a friend.

As my 12 days of Christmas is creeping to an end you always 'end ' with a friend. So today I am celebrating Friends!!! I'm not going to deny that family is important because it reminds you of who you are and your history. However, friends are a different kind of family. Friends trudge that road with you everyday, learn everything about you sometimes things that even your family doesn't know and love you just as much as family.

Friends help you celebrate those huge lifetime highs....the day you graduated, the day you were married, the day your children were born and sometimes other very special days. They even help you see the light at the end of the tunnel on your darkest days. We all know those types of days. No one's darkest days are ever the same and hardly ever come about the same way. Friends are the ones who help you bury your parents, they are also the ones that keep you together when your child could have died.

My best friend has a HUGE heart and ALWAYS puts others first. When we met in high school we discovered our birthday's were only a week apart. As long as I can remember, my friend always gave me my birthday present on her birthday except once. That one time is probably the birthday I will remember most.

When my best friend entered the NAVY she was going to be away on our Birthdays. That first year she was gone I was really sad. I remember working that day when around the corner came her parents. They brought me a present, a card, a giant cookie and lots of hugs. Her mom has been gone a few years now and her father passed away this year. It is a special memory I will treasure forever.

I am grateful that God made our paths cross back in the Fall of 1986 and through all the moving, military, getting married and having kids we still make time to see each other at least once a year. She is that one friend that no matter the amount of time between calls or visits it is ALWAYS like I just talked to her yesterday.

As you share in the Birth of Christ and celebrate with your families don't forget those friend members who are just as important as family. The comment from my friend was, "I have really enjoyed reading these everyday." That alone made my 12 days of Christmas blogging worth it.

TTFN~

My 12 days of Christmas...Day 9

I was once told that my Grandmother Caroline could take a peice of ribbon, carefully fold it over back and forth and convert a simple ribbon into a beautiful bow. To listen to my dad tell that story it was like he watched her do it yesterday, even though she has been gone a long time. I am guessing she had a few creative genes up her sleeve. In college I started working at a flower shop and I loved it. One of  the first things they teach you is how to convert a simple ribbon into a fantastic presentation of a bow.

I never knew what a difference it made until I saw the reactions of the people I made it for.

For most people, wrapping presents is a chore and too time consuming, it is my favorite part. Picking just the right paper to match the bow is the present that everyone wants to know what is in it because it catches their eye. I always buy paper and ribbon after Christmas for the next year. I never match the paper and ribbon up in the store. I find cool paper and the sparkly ribbon toss it away till next year and always find just the right combinations when I am wrapping.

I have a friend who LOVES Christmas. She loves every aspect of it. I joke about how when you walk in her house it looks like Christmas threw up in it. She loves to give gifts and buys something for everyone and then some (literally). She likes me to come over once or twice during the Christmas Season just to help wrap. Really what I am there for is to BOW her presents.

The other night when I went over she had another friend wrapping. When I walked in she said there you go. Sitting before me was a pile of presents waiting to be "bowed". So I scooped up all the ribbon found myself a comfy place to sit and away I went. I could almost make bows in my sleep. When I finished the first bow and attached it the lady wrapping looked at me and said, "I have never seen anyone freehand a bow like that before, Wow!"

That's exactly what I'm looking for. Something to dress up the package so you know it was wrapped with love. My dad always saves my presents for last not because of what is in them but because he never wants to undo the "beautiful" wrapping job.

I am trying to keep my focus this season and what we are truly celebrating. We aren't just celebrating the birth of Christ but all the details of why and how he came that makes Christmas so special. It is remembering the details. I consider wrapping a Christmas present a detail. Taking the time to make that present look beautiful is just as important as the present you chose for them.

So whether your talent is baking, decorating or making bows don't forget the details. God didn't forget the details when he brought Jesus to earth for us. Why would you forget the details this holiday season.
Happy Wrapping....wish I could be there to help bow all of your presents.

TTFN~

My 12 days of Christmas...Day 8

Today I am celebrating the freedom Christmas Break. There is always so many other things to do during Christmas break there is no swimming, basketball, school meetings or any other place we need to rush off to. So getting home from work the kids are all waiting, wanting to know what will we do. We have been lucky the weather has been warm and the kids can play outside. They have been playing lots of Wii even Maddie is figuring out the bowling and baseball. It is really cute.

Because the next grading period ends two weeks after Christmas Break the school has a reading program for Christmas Break. Katie and Jack are required to read 20 minutes per day for eight days during break. So the kids brought there books and piled in my lap and read. For Katie this is an easy task, she loves to read, I find her reading all over the house. But Jack not so much. He is well above the reading level where he should be for this time of year, it just isn't his favorite thing.

The school also has an at home math program called Math Stars. Katie and Jack log in the computer and answer all kinds of Math challenges. Katie has earned the most points in her class so far. Jack dislikes that she can do it so well so he is working to catch up with her. I know it sounds like a lot of homework over a holiday but I like the freedom of doing it at your own pace.

My employer is pretty generous with days off during the holiday so the kids and I will be together quite a bit. I am sure I will be ready for them to go back to school when it is time but for now I will enjoy all of the early morning snuggling, Wii playing, being outdoors or just all piled on the couch watching a movie.

Happy Christmas Break!

TTFN~

My 12 days of Christmas...Day 7

I was at a loss for words today on what I wanted to celebrate. With all the different aspects of the Christmas Season when I first came up with this idea I was most certain the ideas would flow. Well NOT today. I didn't really go anywhere Sunday so I did not have outside perspective to feed from. Afraid I wouldn't think of anything I started walking around the house. At one point I was just staring at the tree.......

Suddenly.....that's it....I found it!!

Christmas ornaments......

As I looked around the tree I realized all of the ornaments had very special meaning. The "Our First Christmas" ornament from 1997, wedding gift ornaments, the ukulele from Hawaii, the Washington DC annual ornaments (we have three of them), the ceramic doves (one for each family member) and my most favorite ornaments; the ones the kids have made me. I have ornaments made from puzzle pieces, foam, paint, construction paper, glitter and most importantly LOVE.

My favorite ornament is more like a decoration but it ALWAYS goes on the tree and right in front for all to see. Kaitlynn made it which is very appropriate. Cut out of red construction paper and bedazzled with lots of red glitter is the word JOY. In the center of the O is a picture of the kids I sent into school.

It isn't just any picture. It was taken about six weeks after Madelynn's surgery. She was still very weak and not eating well so she was very tiny. She had just been released from the hospital for the second time. Even though it was the Christmas Season it was a VERY low time in our life. I would watch her take a bottle and 10 minutes later throw it all up. Some days she would only get about 400 calories not enough to survive if it continued. Her body went through such a shock she wasn't adjusting well at all.

We all know how the story ends at least as of today. I think even in this years Christmas card picture you can see it in the background.

So as you look over your tree I hope it gives you pause to help you find something to celebrate.

TTFN~

My 12 days of Christmas...Day 6

The kindness of strangers is a rare find these days. People are so untrusting and don't take a chance on anyone. Most days I feel the same way. Well yesterday I had an obscene amount of errands to run and Phil had an appointment so the kids had to travel with me. Usually going to several different places with three kids in tow is like a suicide mission during the Christmas season. Yesterday I was proven wrong.

We left the house and landed at Chick-fil-a because we had time to kill and I figured the kids would be ready for lunch. We ordered our food and the order taker said we'll bring it to you. It was fabulous I didn't have to find a table, balance a food tray and get everyone in their seat without spilling anything. They brought us our drinks, our food and even stopped back by to make sure we didn't need anything else. I have never been to a fast food restaurant that. They didn't want anything extra for the trouble it was very nice.

After getting Katie and Jack's hair cut we headed off to drop Katie off with my Mom and Jack and Maddie headed off to do our business. The first store had a line eight people deep so Jack, Maddie and I went to the back of the line. In my mind I am thinking this is going to be a difficult wait. However, God sent us a little angel. He put a 63 year old a man in front of us, who is patiently waiting for grandchildren.

During this incredible long wait, he made the kids laugh and chatted with us, the next thing I knew it was his turn in line. When he finished, he turned around wished us a Merry Christmas and was gone. I hope he does a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Our next stop was again another line, thankfully shorter but a line nonetheless. This time we had an ordained biker minister.  At first glance he was a very scary being. For whatever reason, he turned around and started talking to us. When I looked him in the face he had these amazing blue eyes. We started talking and the scary exterior melted away. He talked about his mother coming to visit, his son in the Army and reaching out to other bikers wanting them to find Jesus. The next thing I knew it was his turn. He also wished us a Merry Christmas and was gone.

Had it not been for the wonderful people filled with Christmas cheer our 3+ hours of errands would have been totally miserable. I am very grateful we crossed paths and it made my day a little easier. I just wanted to remind everyone there still good people out their.

Happy Errand Running!

TTFN~