A Contest, Looking ahead to 2009!

As you may have noticed, I've been participating in Sheri's (MidniteScrapper) month long blog challenge. This was her second month of hosting and she's done a spectacular job at it. I think that all participants have appreciate the little kick in the pants that it's given to our blogging.

Well, January, I will be "hostessing" the challenge. I've been spotting a lot of beauty around me lately, snapping pictures whenever I can. Mostly inner beauty with the kids, beauty in nature... just the kind of thing that makes you stop in awe at God's creation. A lot of it is stuff that I don't have time to really scrap but it definitely brightens my day to be looking for the beauty even if I don't have a purpose for the pictures. Everyone always complains about how gloomy January can be, in the aftermath of the Christmas glow, so it's important to focus on the beautiful aspects too.

My Theme for January will be a Search for Beauty. This beauty can be a combination of both inner and outer beauty and will include a photo contest too. The rules are as follows:

Part 1:
Blog daily about the people/places/things you find beauty in. A post can be a tribute to a special person that is or was beautiful to you. Or a post about something beautiful in the world around us. It could even include a beautiful plate of cookies that you bake, or a drawing hanging on your fridge.

The challenge will run from January 3rd - January 31

Part 2:
Post 3 pictures each week showcasing beauty. I'm not going to give you weekly categories this month because I want you to feel free to snap and post photos as you search for beauty.

Note: There will be 2 separate prizes for this challenge, one will be drawn out of the people who blog daily successfully, and one will be drawn from the people who post 3 photos each week. You can win one, or even both, but you don't have to participate in one to win the other, etc. Photography/Writing skills do not play a part in this contest so please jump in and participate even if your posts are short and sweet and photos aren't the best quality!

Leave me a comment and let me know that you're playing so that I know whose blogs to visit. Then be sure to check back here at the end of the month and let me know how you did, if you're eligible for Part 1 or Part 2 or both. I'll be checking in on your blogs as the month goes on but it's a lot easier to have a little list of names to be able to draw from if you actually pop in and tell me how the month was for you.

Have a Beautiful New Year everyone!!!!

Choose Joy, through a joyful rant

I know that we're in a month of choosing joy. I know this. So this rant will end in something that brought me great joy, I promise.

In my last post I described my gift card-funded trip to Starbucks. Well, while I was waiting in line for my beverage I glanced around at all the discounted gift items. There were bins and bins of "Holiday Blend" coffee. Then there was one little tiny package of "Christmas Blend". I asked the girl what the difference between the blends was, thinking one might be stronger, one peppermint and the other spicy or something. I was completely wrong. I felt like smacking myself in the forehead when she answered: "No, they just have the holiday blend for the people who are offended by us using Christmas."

Now, first of all I will admit to being completely Christ biased. Christmas to me is a celebration of the birth of Christ, the one and only Savior, the son of God, the ONE who has altered and remodeled my life in ways that I never dreamed possible, the reason that I know personally that I will spend eternity in Heaven after my life here on earth is over. That's it. Plain and simple. It's not just an excuse for me to give gifts, although I admittedly enjoy that side of it. It's not a glittery shiny show. It's not an excuse for church plays or fun music. That's me, and that's where I stand.

That said, what on earth is Starbucks thinking? I mean, obviously there are a lot of people who A. are not offended by Christmas Blend, or B. are offended by the Holiday Blend. Otherwise Starbucks wouldn't be trying to unload barrels of the stuff at half price when the Christmas Blend was all sold out. I'm no marketing genius, but I think this whole attempt at making it seem like "The Holiday Season" is barely about Christmas is a joke. The majority of this country celebrates Christmas. That's not saying that there aren't people celebrating other holidays too, but they are a minority! So why pretend otherwise. If you want to sell off all your bags of coffee, just accept reality. We Christmas fans are out there and we buy coffee. There's no need to make so many of these generic holiday labels. I understand making some to market to people of non-Christian faith but let's face the facts, you don't need THAT many.

Now that my rant is over, I'll give you the joy that I found in this. It was joyful to me to hear the girl behind the counter say that the majority of the people bought the Christmas Blend. It was a joy because I'm glad that not everyone is getting tied up in the whole "Should I buy Christmas Blend, I mean what if Tommy and Suzy don't celebrate Christmas???" idea. I'm just a little sick of playing the paranoid politically correct game. And I'm joyful that not everyone is choosing PC over JC.

Choose Joy, Gift card heaven

I love Christmas, mostly because I love giving gifts. I like receiving thoughtful gifts too, but it really isn't what makes me love the Christmas season. That said, I must confess that I adore having a gift card to spend on myself. I don't know what it is about it but it feels like such a treat. This Christmas I was given a Starbucks card from my secret santa, A JoAnn's card, walmart, Friendly's.. and something else that I'm forgetting, but anyways, you get the picture.

So yesterday, since it was so gorgeous out we took the kids to a nearby city so that I could spend my cards. (let's face it, I wanted to spend them asap in case the stores end up closing anytime soon... and considering all the going out of biz sales in that plaza, my fears might be valid) Anyway, I walked into JoAnn's with my $25 gift card. I first went to the register with a handful of sale items, including 2 stamp sets, paper, and some stickers that Aidan picked out. Even with the sales, my math figured that the expensive stamp sets would come to about $18, and the other stuff would fill my card up. I was pleased with my purchase. So the cashier checks me out and tells me my total was $11. WHAT? Apparently I had missed a sale sign some where. So I went back and picked out an embossing/distressing tool that was regular priced at $17, on sale for $12. I figured that would do the trick. I went to the front and my friend the cashier tells me that the tool took another.... $5.24 off my card. Um. Ok, I'm completely puzzled by my lack of mathematics skills here but I was grateful. So I went back and grabbed a bunch of stuff I liked (since I obviously couldn't add on my feet or something) and came back. She giggled and scanned it all. I was still $.60 short so I grabbed a chocolate bar. I ended up with all the stuff I described above, plus a package of brads in assorted browns, a package of brads in assorted teals, a cute teacup stamp that I have huge plans for in the card variety, ribbon and rickrack.. I can't say enough about my great deal. I have never in my life had a hard time filling up a gift card in a craft store. I felt so blessed, it was like they were just letting walk out with literal steals.

Then to make the evening even sweeter we went to Barnes & Noble so that Aidan could ride up and down the escalator. I love B&N. If we had one closer to home I would work there part-time just for fun. It's sort of like my dream job. I wonder if the workers get a discount? That would be so sweet. But I digress. If you're still reading this, I'm impressed with your ability to be entertained by babble.

After picking out an awesome little day planner at B&N at a huge discount, we headed down the street to the Starbucks so that I could use my gift card. We were treated to Peppermint Mocha Twist Frapps. We went for the cold drinks because of the balmy weather. But seriously, I drink iced coffee when it's -20* outside.

In conclusion, please don't ever feel like when you purchase me a gift card it's not a good gift, because it's not a REAL gift. It's a great gift. I mean, if you have a special, thoughtful gift for me, then of course I'll love it. But if you just go buy me a gift for the sake of buying me a gift.. well let's just say that I'd prefer a teeny tiny $5 gift card instead of a $50 neon yellow sweater with hot pink polka dots any day.

Choosing joy! It's a warm day in NY

It's Saturday, December 27th. And it's 60* degrees. In New York. If that's not reason enough to choose joy then I don't know what is. There's a breeze outside and it feels like that warm type of breeze that accompanies a late night walk on a beach somewhere. The snow has melted and it's brown and yucky outside. But the weather is beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

One more joy...

I love Christmas and I love my family!

Christmas Day - Of course I'll choose Joy!!!

Christmas Eve is always my biggest enjoyment of the holiday. I don't know what it is.. partially because my family's biggest celebration is on the Eve. Partially because I picture Eve as being the actual night that Mary and Joseph wandered into the manger. There's just something incredibly peaceful about it for me.

This year Christmas Day was just as enjoyable though. We slept in as usual, and then all of a sudden Michael and I heard noises from the livingroom. Aidan was up and building walls with his big cardboard bricks. You know, the ones that kindegarten classrooms have? They are awesome. Anyhoo, we figured out that we all had to come out and join the party. We opened our stockings, of which we had all taken turns playing Santa for each other, first. We sang happy birthday to Jesus. We took our time enjoying gifts and each other.

And now, much to Michael's dismay I'm going to tell you what my favorite gift was. My husband and I decided to wait until after Christmas to give each other gifts this year. (besides our stockings) Instead we decided to give each other cards with pictures of whatever we'd like to buy for each other after the new year. Well, Michael couldn't find a picture of what he wanted to put in my card. So he wrote me a poem. It was actually a really good poem. And it rhymed. It was the sweetest thing. He claims it's the only poem he's ever written. I doubt that. He doesn't want me to post it so I'll respect that. But know that it's an awesome poem. And the gift that the poem is written about? A day of hair care and pampering at a spa with the guest of my choice.

Any volunteers to come with me?

Choose Joy - It's Christmas Eve, even in the hospital

This morning I awoke to a hacking, barking, wheezing 10 month old girl. Miss V has been sick for about a week now but overnight she became much worse. At about 4am it became evident that she was going to need some help breathing. We tried the steamy bathroom. We tried the extra vicks humidifier stuff. It was beyond scary. She just could not get air. I figured the options were either Croup, pneumonia or RSV. I was hoping it was just croup. So finally I packed her up and took her to the ER.

I have to say that I was so grateful for Vivi's personality. And so were the nurses in the ER. Even though she had to receive breathing treatments, chest xrays, bloodwork, etc. she was still cuddly and smiley. She just sounded plain awful and it broke the heart of everyone, lol. She made it easier though because she offered up hugs to every single nurse. That's no exaggeration. Over and over again I heard the following statements:

"That baby is just such a sweetie"
"Awww.. thank you for the hug!!! I don't get to see my grandbaby this Christmas, you just made my Christmas eve so happy."
and
"Did you go visit that baby girl in bed 6? She makes it worth it to work today!"

I'm not kidding. She knows how to work a room. Even an Emergency Room.

Anyway, for those who are still reading this shameless brag about what a blessing my daughter is.. Vivi was not admitted. It was confirmed that it was just croup and the treatments seemed to improve her breathing. We were sent home in the afternoon in time to get ready for our Christmas Eve celebration. She gave everyone big smiles on the way out.

So choosing joy in the emergency room? I was able to spend some incredible cuddle time with my daughter, as did everyone else in the ER. At one point while I was holding her snuggled up with me I thought "Just think, at home she'd be playing on the floor watching me run around like a chicken with my head cut off.. or even worse I'd still be at work and she'd be at Granny's. It was nice that even though she was sick, we were still enjoying each other's company. She was able to breathe by the time we walked out. She's still breathing, not perfectly clearly but she's not in any danger. As a side note because of a blogger friend I was able to have my desserts made in advance the day before so I didn't have to stress about not being home cooking on Christmas eve. The dessert was a Sopapilla Cheesecake that was out of this world. You can check it out here. Thank you Karin!!!!

Life is Good. God is Great. I am blessed and joyful.

Still Choosing Joy...

Joy is such an easy thing to choose really.. I mean, all I really have to do is look around and there is a lot to be joyful for in my life. I have a wonderful family, a house that is warm, a neighborhood that is safe, a country that is mostly secure and stable compared to many in the world, sources of income.. the list goes on.

So why is it that every so often I wake up and just want to growl and bury myself in my pillow? Even at this Christmas season it's necessary to CHOOSE joy. It's not enough to know that it's there and still make the choice to be grumpy anyway. I know that God has blessed me. Today I choose to recognize it, be grateful for it, and in turn bless others in my actions.

Choose Joy! A big ball of tape and paper

My usual Christmas routine involves a lot of gift wrapping. And it's usually all done on Christmas Eve Morning. I'm not doing much of that this year. Some, but not much. The kids' gifts are pretty much all wrapped. Mike and I are only getting stocking stuffers for each other. And everyone else.. well we're doing things in a simple fashion this year. But it's nice. Because I'm finding a lot of joy in getting people something simple that I know they will enjoy. Only 3 more days people! 3. more. days!!!!

Choose Joy! Another Christmas picture

The photo theme for this week's Choose Joy challenge is Family. Well of course my best recent photo that fits this theme is the kids' Christmas pictures. Vivi refused to smile but it's still my favorite of them together. That poor not-so-patient boy holding on to her for dear life so that Jeremy could take the picture.

Aidan's a really patient kid most of the time. I think his life has been flipped upside down since the arrival of Vivi. But he's the type to go with the flow so he's dealt ok. Once in a while he'll randomly shout at her to stop screaming. Or we'll catch him grabbing a toy out of her hand just for fun. But he's always really quick to give her hugs and kisses. I love my little family.

Choose Joy, one last Sparkle post

Not long ago we (my mom and I) entered in a cookie contest for a nearby town's Christmas festival. The festival is called "Sparkle" and my mom's cookies actually did Sparkle, with white frosting and white sugar. You can't see it very well in this picture but they were beautiful. We both entered two kinds of cookies. I will graciously admit defeat.. I did not win. But my mom did, and not only did she win the top cut-out cookie, but she won the Best Overall Cookie! It was awesome because she won a bunch of gift certificates, etc. Aidan and Mike accompanied us to the festival and although it was freezing we had a great time. They close off Market St and there are vendors of all sorts, live music, dancing, holiday skits and shows, snowboarders, Santa, etc. It was a great way to spend an evening. We're hoping it's a little warmer next year though because it was only around 12 degrees that night.

Choose Joy - It's here! My package is here!

My Scrapshare Secret Santa package came today! It's here! And it's awesome! There's an apron, candy, candles, scrapbooking stuff, and a starbucks gift card!!!!! I'm so excited. The whole box was full of stuff that I would never ever buy myself. What a treat! I can't post pictures from here but I'll be sure to take some and share it in another post! Yayyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Choose Joy! Our First Christmas...

Last night was our very first family Christmas celebration this year. And it's obvious why that would be an easy Joy to find. We had a very simple evening with desserts, sharing of memories and gifts. It's funny how even though I've been preparing and truly am excited for Christmas, that first official celebration definitely sparked a new excitement. Must be it sparked it in everyone, because our Aidan informed me last night that he STILL doesn't want Santa to come to his house. (Aidan doesn't like santa so he reminds us all quite often that santas are pretend, especially those really scary ones who want you to sit on their laps) In all seriousness though, I feel like running around going "It's Christmas! It's really Christmastime!!!!"

Choose Joy! Ice crystals

This isn't much of a post, I'm sure, but considering how consistent I've been with posting as of late, you'll have to excuse me. (Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I've kept up this monthly challenge for... 17 days straight now so... TOOT TOOT!!!) This picture meets the sparkly criteria of the week, because this tree is covered in frosty ice. I pulled over to take the picture on my way to work last week. It was so pretty that I did forgot all about it. Then when I drove by it again this morning I thought "I should post that picture!"It's pretty. By tonight it should be covered in snow instead.. the forecast says 3-5 inches.

Choose Joy! A hodge podge of blessings

Hello out there in blogworld! Thanks for the well wishes and kind comments. It seems that our whole family has been infected by something, although I seem to be the least sick. Mike and Aidan both have pretty bad colds and Vivi.. well hers could be the same sore throat that I have.. or it could be just teething. Hard to say with that one. Needless to say we are all a little cranky and a lot exhausted. We are blessed though that this bout with the common cold is all that is physically wrong with us, and that the colds seem as though they will have passed on before Christmas.

Yesterday was a particularly good day for me. I was home from work, in fact it looks like it will be one of two days off for me this week. If you're familiar with the chaos that I call a schedule as of late, you'll know why it's incredible for me to actually work just my regular 3 days. Anyway, Monday was glorious. It was.. just glorious. Even through the sickness I was able to clean some, do dishes, feed everyone, scrapbook 13 pages, and wrap Christmas gifts. It was so nice to be able to accomplish something at home for once.

For those of you who wonder if I'm really only going to post that one picture from the kids' photo shoot.. Don't worry. I'll post more. I just have to sort out the best ones for printing and then I'll share some of the others, lol. Until that point though, I'm posting these pictures instead. If you're wondering how these pictures relate to this week's theme of "glitter/shine", don't worry they do. Because of Vivi being such a good girl in her high chair, and Aidan playing fireman, I was able to SHINE my sink the other day. You can also see the "sparkle" in her eyes.. She's such a cutie.

I think she sat in her chair and played for at least 2 hours that day. It's about the only way I can be sure she's not getting into trouble or getting hurt these days..

I guess I could say that her chin was "shiny" to fit the theme too.. all that drool from the new teeth coming in. (For anyone who's wondering, I don't leave her sleep sack on her all the time.. but it does help keep her warm for a bit after her naps)

Choose Joy - A fever, tummy flutters and a throat like an elephant

Sunday morning didn't go so well for me. I woke up with a fever that was just intense. Like what I imagine menopausal hot flashes are like. Crazy. And my glands were so swollen that I felt like I was wearing one of those neck braces. It was just strange. It was just a yucky morning. Needless to say we cancelled plans to go to church. And it's a good thing to because shortly after that I discovered that my day would be haunted by stomach issues. None of these symptoms made any sense together.

Now for the joy in the matter. Aidan managed to spend some time with dad because of our time at home. They hung the Christmas lights on our porch. Then later in the day I took Aidan to Walmart so that he could pick out a little Christmas gift for his dad. Besides the fact that I felt like garbage for most of the trip, I enjoyed spending some one-on-one time with him. So there was a lot of joy that came from me not feeling well. I'd prefer to find a different kind of joy today though....

PS: no photos with this post.. the "photo theme" for this week is glitter/shine. There certainly wasn't a glittery picture to share that coordinated with this post.

Choose Joy! Her little red dress...

Vivi-Ann has officially worn her Christmas dress already this year.. we held a little photo shoot in her honor this weekend. Jeremy and Trina were kind enough to join us for the afternoon so that he could take some pictures of her. It was a challenge getting her to sit still, let alone smile, but he did manage to get some good shots of her. (In case you've ever wondered, she has never had professional pictures of any kind taken. We fully plan on her asking "why do you have all these pictures of Aidan and none of me?")

This is the only one of the pictures that I'm sharing.. because a few of you will be getting the best of the pictures in your Christmas gifts this year. I figured you might like a preview. These pictures definitely fit the Choose Joy theme of "red" this week though. She's a doll and the little red dress definitely suited her. Many thanks to Jeremy for his photography expertise too!

Choose Joy again.. A secret santa jewel

This is the necklace I made for my secret santa! The.. what's that word? Hematite? The Hematite beads are like a black/silvery color and have a magnetic quality to them. The other beads are different shades of turquoise and green. My recipient made some comments on her questionnaires about how she would like some handmade jewelry, and would like to try something a little bolder. Well, I think this piece is a little bold. I hope she likes it. I hope receiving it gives her as much joy as making it did for me. Her package goes postal today, or yesterday, considering that this post is pre-scheduled.

Choose Joy - Aidan's red hat rocks

Hello all! This is another choose joy post, with the theme of the week being "Red". Last week Aidan went to the dollar store with Granny and put this Red fireman hat on. That's about all it took to convince her that he should bring it home with him.

It's so nice to have our very own firefighter on the job.. even if he does prefer to travel in a dumptruck instead of a fire truck.


That face gives me so much joy. Even if he did inherit my battles with coldsores, poor kid. He's been running around putting the house putting fires out faster than I can pretend to yell for help.. Rescuing kittens from trees, saving people of all shapes and sizes.. The only thing he's not so good at is convincing his baby sister that he should pull her out of a burning building. She'd prefer to be left alone.

Choose Joy - The fruit of my labor

In case you've been waiting patiently for some sneak peeks at my gift ideas, here they are. These are what I made for my two nephews. They are dry-erase "calendars" made out of picture frames. You can't see it so well here but the strips are labeled M, T, W, Th, F, S so that the boys can use a dry erase marker (which I'm including with the gift) to write down what they have planned for the week on the glass in front of the strips. Their names are pre-cut chipboard letters and the background papers, etc. are all just out of my scrapbooking stash. All in all it was a very inexpensive project, just a couple of dollars for the frames, markers and magnets. (thanks to some black friday sales)

For Luke's you can see that I went with a hunting theme, including a little turkey in the corner.

On the bottom of the frames I hot glued magnets. I had strips to put on but they just wouldn't hold as much weight and I want them to be able to use the magnets so I just went with the round ones. Then I covered a handful of magnets with coordinating paper to actually be able to pull off and use to pin up notes, etc.

Zack likes horses and his room has a bit of a western theme to it so I found a cool cowboy print paper that wasn't childish and used it for the background and accents. I like his a lot because of the contrasting patterns. The frames can stand up like this but they are better used if hung on the wall because then stuff pinned with the magnets can hang below the calendar strips. The glass is a really good surface to write on because it wipes off easily.

I feel so productive to have these finished and ready to wrap. And yes, it brings me joy!

Choose Joy - in working with my hands

As my previous post hinted, I'm making a lot of gifts right now. Some of them I can't share pictures of. This post itself is going to be pictureless, just to let you know all of what I've been working on.

First of all, I'm part of a Secret Santa swap on Scrapshare. The girl whose name I drew is a really awesome person. I'm glad that the name that was emailed to me was hers. I don't mind giving a gift to someone that I don't know at all, but it's cool because this was actually someone whose posts I read, etc. But I digress. From what I have learned about her I think she will like her gifts. So far I've made her a necklace. I like it, although it's a bit edgy. I would wear it myself so that's always a good sign. (unless you think I have awful taste and if you do then.. well just keep it to yourself, lol) I also have been working on a basket for her. I don't know if she's into hand woven baskets but I came up with the idea just Monday. (I bought a kit from Anja to make Vivi's Easter basket with) When I got home I thought of all the basket supplies that I have left from last Christmas and I immediately grabbed what I could get to from the closet and started a little basket. It should be finished tonight. I hope she likes it. I also have purchased some snacks for her and a scrapbooking magazine. I'll post pictures of some of this stuff later.. even if she sees it on my blog, she won't know it's hers til it shows up on her doorstep right?

Also on my crafting list, I've been making gifts for my niece and nephews. I finished Sarah's gift last week, but since she's a blogger I won't share what it is. I'm very partial to it myself.. almost so much so that I'm afraid to give it to her in case she doesn't like it. It's.. well it's just one of those situations when you put so much thought and care into a gift and I want it to be perfect for her. I'm sure she'll "like" it but I want it to be "her".

I also finished gifts for my two nephews, Luke and Zack. I can post pictures of these later. They are picture frame dry erase boards. I was very satisfied with them, and they were actually really inexpensive, thanks to some great black friday discounts.

I have ideas for my youngest nephew and some of Aidan's little buddies. I'm making paint smocks for them, along with giving them some watercolor paints. Hopefully I can finish them soon. There are also some scrapbooking gifts floating around, pictures to be matted, sewing to be done..

All of this is making me very excited for Christmas. I find great joy in having a "vision" completed. There's just something about creating something personal for someone that I enjoy.

Choose Joy - it's an awesome season to be in

There is so much going on around here, I wouldn't know where to begin. The word busy for me sometimes is a synonym for productive. At other times it's just another word for "in over my head". I've committed myself to keeping this Christmas season in more of the productive form of busy. I want a simple Christmas. Simple for not only the reason that finances are limited for everyone this year, but also that I can't afford to have my focus drifting away from what's important.

Christmas is about Jesus's birthday. I want my Christmas to be a warm birthday celebration in His honor. In order to do that I need to serve the ones I love, which even though it does involve gift giving it does not necessarily involve a lot of gift buying. After all, when the 3 wise men brought gifts to the baby savior they didn't have meaning because they had "gone out and scored some myrhh half off at Macy's", it was because they were GIVING the gift. It was the act of giving that was so special about it. So give we shall, and we'll do so with a joyful heart. The gifts we'll give shall be special. In some cases that might mean spending money, in others it might require no spending at all. It doesn't matter as long as it brings joy to the heart of the giver and the receiver. (After all what good is it to give, if not with a joyful heart.)

In fact, I'm pretty sure that the conversations that I've often heard during the Christmas season were not murmured many years ago in Bethlehem. Can you imagine?

King 1: Did you hear there's a savior born?
King 2: Oh great, now I've gotta get a gift..
King 3: I already bought mine. It was really expensive.
King 2: What did you get?
King 3: Frankensense. Came with a Gucci carrying case.
King 1: As in THE Gucci?
King 3: Yup. They were BOGO. I bought myself one too.
King 1: Great. Now I'm going to have to go find something else to go with my gift.
King 2: Why?
King 1: Well, I would hate to have Jesus think that King 3 spent more than I did.
King 2: I'm so stressed. How on earth will I be able to find a gift to compete with yours? And even worse! The gift of Salvation that he'll offer me some day is worth more than anything I'll be able to give him.. I hate it when my gifts aren't of equal value.

Can you just imagine? Well I guess it's a little unrealistic because let's face it, men don't tie themselves up into knots about such things. But when you look at it like this, it makes what we all do seem awfully ridiculous right?

In summary, I've been toiling away making some gifts that I hope are very meaningful to their recipients this year. It's keeping me very busy. So busy that my house is a dump and because of my long work hours this week I don't see an end in site. But I can say that I'm preparing gifts with a joyful heart and I'm grateful to be able to create them. I will continue to choose joy. In fact I even have plans to entertain later this week amongst all this clutter. (Sorry Trina, but think of it this way, you can always sit and craft something because there are supplies scattered everywhere. ;-)

Posts coming soon with pictures of some of the gifts I've been working on.

Choose Joy - Red cheeks and noses!

Last week we went to the Parade of Lights in a nearby town. Every float is lit with Christmas lights and it truly is a site! We have wanted to watch this parade for the last few years but never ended up going for various different reasons and we are SO glad that we made it this year. Poor Vivi-Ann was not a spectator, but she ended up staying at her Nonna's and they watched the parade on TV so it all worked out. (It was too cold for a baby to be outside that long)

Before the parade we went to the nearby Wegmans for a snack. Aidan liked their cafe because it was bigger than the cafe at our local Wegmans. (he's quite the little Wegmans connoisseur, but it's fitting since his mom and dad first met while working at Wegmans)


We knew that we'd need something to help keep us warm during the parade so we bought some cafe-mocha's and hot chocolate, then started the walk down to Market St.


The parade hadn't started by the time we picked our spot so we were able to take a quick walk down the town square and see the reindeer up close. The pictures didn't turn out so well though (who knew reindeer could have such bad red eye?) so I'm posting this one of them instead of the close ones. I personally had never seen reindeer in real life. They are such beautiful animals.

When the floats started coming Aidan was truly mesmerized. The lights were awesome. Every float was decked out in true holiday form. There were marching bands playing carols, dance troops, antique cars, floats from the local churches, schools and businesses. It was so nice to see so many floats, in our local town the parades are quite short but this one lasted a while.. almost long enough for my toes to freeze. The firetrucks were favorites of ours, they seemed to have the most impressive lighting.

Since the theme of the Choose Joy challenge this week is Red, here is my post to fit the theme. We may have had red noses and cheeks, but we chose joy and let our good fun keep us warm! (well that and Aidan's red mittens)

Choose Joy - learning to talk

When on earth did Vivi learn to jibber-jabber? If I had to pinpoint it I think it was last Friday. I went in to pick her up from her nap and heard Nanananmamamamyayaya! Well. What a shock that was.

It wasn't long afterwards that she went straight to Momomomomomomom, which is what she now whispers at me in a sweet little voice whenever she wants to get my attention. She also shocked Michael the other night when he walked in and she said Dada?

I could choose to be in denial about this little stage of growth because I think she's growing a bit too fast for this mama's heart. But I'm choosing joy and choosing to embrace the idea that once she learns to talk I think she's going to have an amazing personality that she'll share with us more often. She's already so interesting and she brings me great joy. I love my daughter.

Choose Joy - the angel I love

This picture is of my son when he was 8 months old. My husband hated it. I loved it. He looked so adorable as an angel. To look at it just brings me so much joy. That smile of his is just contagious. Plus he was at that age that was so cute because he was cuddly, couldn't talk, and was just so impressed with the world around him. Now he never stops chatting, is cuddly at his convenience and thinks he knows a lot about the world. That's what happens when you're three apparently. I love him. And I love what his presence has done to my life.

Choose Joy, via Love

Things are a little.. different around here. I can't put my finger on one thing exactly but they certainly are different. It's a different that's hard to explain.

Part of the difference is Michael's new job, I'm sure. It's caused some changes in routine. He goes in earlier, which means my morning routine is different. He's also working in a different town which has its glitches. Errands that he could normally run on his commute to and from work are no longer possible, etc. It also means that our lunch dates on my days off are no longer possible.

This job is different for him too. In order to make more money for a much more secure job he had to take a demotion. That demotion means no chat time with me during the day, a lot less responsibility but a lot less freedom too. It also means working in a school surrounded by a bunch of rowdy, obnoxious kids. (if you're a polite, well mannered, quiet pre-teen then I'm sorry to be addressing you in this way.. but please know that in the public school system you are the minority)

All of these things have made me notice how much more helpful Michael was able to be while working at his old job. I'm not sure that I fully appreciated it all at the time but I'm certainly taking note now. So Michael, thank you, and I love you!

If you're still following me down this bunny trail, feel sure that I do know where I'm leading you. It would be easy to get tied up in all the little quirks that this new job is creating in our lives. But I'm not. And I don't believe Michael is either. We're choosing joy.

Joy in that this is the best move for our future. Joy in that we will be in a new home a lot sooner. Joy in that even though I miss cooking a hot lunch for my husband, this summer we will both have Fridays off together. Joy in that there is more room for advancement with this job. Joy in that by getting up earlier in the morning I will be getting more done. Joy in knowing that when we are 55 years old we'll be retired and will be taking our grandkids on camping trips.

We're choosing joy.

Choose Joy - For the love of Lint

The world behind our clothes dryer is a dark and dingy place. Few people venture back there and even fewer make it out unscathed when they do. It's dusty, smelly and loaded with lint. Not to mention dark. Can you tell it's a place that I usually forget about cleaning?

Well this morning I wanted a pair of jeans that was on top of the dryer. It was under a pile of clothes. A rather tall pile of clothes. That should have been my first clue. My other clue should have been that the pile was mostly the kids' clothes, meaning that they were small, unstable items. Of course I didn't heed the warning signs. I pulled the jeans out anyway. And down came the whole pile. Not down on the floor mind you, but down.. you guessed it, behind the dryer.

I couldn't fish them all out with a coat hanger if I tried. There were just too many, and I was already coming dangerously close to being late for work AND I had to load both kids in the van still. I climbed up over to peer down into the dark abyss of linty mess.. I could see tiny socks, onesies, sleepers.. all had been sparkling clean just moments before and now they were covered in filth.

I was tempted to yell right out loud. I was tempted to call in to work mentally "sick" so that I could just start my day over and regroup but considering the circumstances at work right now, that's not really an option. Instead I took Sherry's lead and decided to find the joy in the situation. To be honest it was awfully difficult. But here's what I came to: Because my sweet husband will be pulling the dryer away from the wall, I finally will be forced to clean that mess of a cave. The area behind my washer and dryer will be sparkling clean. That's as close to joy in this situation as I can get. (I know, I know, at least my kids HAVE clothes to begin with, there are many less fortunate than us.. yada yada yada. I know. And I'm grateful for that too.)

Today I found joy in the thought of being lint-free behind my dryer.

Choose Joy, via Love -- Aidan and Dad

My son loves his father. And it's not just because he's his dad. It's because Mike "gets" Aidan. He understands him. He knows what makes him tick, what he enjoys. And he plays along.

Earlier in the fall (yes I admit, this post is late in arriving here) I looked out the kitchen window to see a big pile of leaves in the yard. I saw Aidan standing near them. But I didn't see my husband. I have to say that my first thoughts were wonders of why Mike had left Aidan unsupervised near the creek.

Then I saw a glimpse of white under the pile. So I ran for the camera.

Sure enough, he had buried his father.

Here he is sneaking up on him.

Taking a seat in the nice "pile of leaves"

Watch out for the leaf monster!!!!

Now that is pure joy and it's easy to see why Aidan loves his dad. It's hard not to love someone when THEY love YOU so much that they lay down on the cold ground and let you bury them in wet leaves.

Choose Joy!!!! December's Challenge

If you remember last month's challenge, it was a Gratitude challenge. Although my posts were all Thankful ones, they weren't daily because.. well because I am not self-disciplined enough to do anything daily. Except for brush my teeth. But that's about it.

Well this month will be different. The theme this month is "Choose Joy" and Sherry has requested that we look for joy each day and blog about it. She also is giving us a weekly photo theme too.. this first week is Love. If you want to check out her more detailed instructions they are HERE. If you look at the comments, they are all the bloggers who are participating. You can always check out their joyful posts too if you want. Thanks for the challenge Sherry, I'm off to write my first post!

Resistance to change - and Thanksgiving too

I know that Thanksgiving has come and gone. I know that Christmas is fast approaching. I've started preparing gifts. Aidan and I have been chatting more about Jesus' birth as of late. I'm aware there is snow outside. ...but that is NO reason to change my blog appearance. I'm keeping this summer look as long as it gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling when I look at the daisies at the top. I'm resisting the urge to switch to a beautiful winter look. So there blogworld!!!



And now for more important things. Thanksgiving was delicious, for anyone who was wondering. We ate dinner at Michael's aunt's house. Turkey, dressing, mashed taters, squash, yams, peas, salad.. what am I missing? It was all yummy. Dessert was my contribution. I made an apple crumb pie, a pumpkin pie, homemade candies and then I purchased an additional dessert.

*GASP*!!!! I can hear the jaws dropping all around blogworld. Yes. I did it. I BOUGHT a dessert for Thanksgiving dinner. At least hear me out people. There is a cute little Italian bakery about an hour from here. We've sampled their products before and were impressed with the quality. As many of you know I married an Italian man. So as a less traditional Thanksgiving dessert we decided to throw some cannolis into the mix. So now you understand. I cannot, or rather will not, decide to make my inlaws guinea pigs whilest I learn how to make Italian pastries.

I only have a few pictures from Thanksgiving, just too busy eating and all, lol. And by some miracle I didn't take a single picture of the food. I must not have been myself that day.

Look at the hair on this boy!!!! (he has since had a trim) Yes that is a chocolate mustache by the way.


Miss V with her Nonna: