Seriously, I took this photo today.
Make room within your heart today
And find a place for Jesus to stay
For he is the promise that God will never break
If we just trust him and change our lives to make
Room for the Savior today.
The above verse in something we sang when I was in choir in high school. It was added to Silent Night (which I love!) and this verse has always stuck in my head. I’ve never heard it anywhere else. Just thought I’d share it with y’all today.
Merry Christmas! And, may your heart be filled with the true reason for the season!
Okay, so we just finished watching Four Christmases. I was wanting to watch a Christmas movie and this is one I’d wanted to see for a while.
It starts out with a very happy couple who are completely content and happy with just each other, as in…they don’t want kids. As Christmas approaches, they are planning a getaway for just the two of them over the holiday. Something happens to cause them to miss their vacation and they were forced to spend the holidays with family.
Their families are horrendous. Seriously. But, yet somehow during these two days, apparently this couple realizes that they don’t know each other at all, aren’t actually happy and you guessed it…end up having kids. Wallah! Instant happy!
While I agree that the couple needed to make a marriage commitment, obviously, and perhaps they were a bit too caught up in their own lives, but seeing how their families were…you really couldn’t blame them much.
The thing that upsets me most is that without fail, anytime you see a couple depicted on TV or in movies, they are presented as unfulfilled, lacking or discontent until they discover “the joy of parenthood”. Yes, parenthood is wonderful for those who choose it, but who says it’s for everyone. Why can’t a family of two be accepted as a happy, fulfilled family unit as they are. Why do you have to have children to be complete?
Even Doug and Carrie from one of my all-time fav shows, King of Queens were hurriedly given kids like two seconds before the series ended. Apparently, the 9 years they were happily married was a lie and they were actually “missing something”.
Seriously, I’m so sick of this way of thinking. I’m here to tell you that a married couple can be blissfully happy, fulfilled, content and every bit a family as a couple with kids.
I know most people have kids, and for them it’s fulfilling and awesome and that’s great, but please don’t assume because I don’t that I’m not as happy as you are.TYVM!
And while I’m at it, don’t automatically assume I’m a freak for not having them, or that I’m a child-hater. I LOVE kids. Well, most some of them;-)
I know tons of people without dogs, and while I now can’t imagine living in a house without the sweet sound of puppy paws, I know that it’s not for everyone. Please show me the same respect.
*This message is a general rant brought on by a stupid movie. It is not intended to stir up controversy or anger and it is by no means a anti-parenthood post. I have the utmost respect for all of my parent friends. Y’all rock for doing what you do. It’s amazing.
I just don’t wanna do it.
And, I’m happy.
Blissfully happy.
So, my friend Mark has accused me of slacking on my blog since NaBloPoMo. We can’t have that, now can we?
I have been quite busy preparing for Christmas. It’s coming SO fast, seriously! Dude!
I know I said I was contemplating making less cookies this year…but yeah…
I’m up to six varieties so far, about 60 of each, give or take. I have 4 more varieties to make. When it’s all said and done? About 600 cookies will pass through my door and into some lucky peoples mouths!
Out of 600, we keep only a handful for us. Most of them are boxed up and given to friends and taken to family gatherings. I love giving them away! Especially to those who don’t really bake a lot or have access to ginormous quantities of cookies over Christmas! We always get so cookied-out around here.
It’s fun making them, but it’s most fun boxing them up pretty and handing them off!
I must say, I’m looking forward to finishing them up by Friday. *hopes*
I have enjoyed breaking in my new kitchen. It’s much roomier than my old one, so it’s been much easier to clean up etc.
In other news…Christmas shopping is ALMOST done! I still have the usual suspects that take forever to shop for! Gift cards it is!
I finally got my iPod all Christmased up just in time to listen whilst I bake. I didn’t listen today though, not much in the jolly mood I guess. I kept busy baking, but my mind was on the day. Today, my mom should have celebrated her 60th birthday. I imagine we would have had an extra special celebration for such a big year. But, she never got to reach that milestone. Most days I try to ignore the grief, probably not the best way to heal, but it keeps me sane. Days like this just suck me in though and I can’t help but give into the sorrow a lot more than usual. I wonder if the excruciating pain of it will ever go away?
Tonight, we had what has become our annual remembrance dinner. Basically, it’s just the family getting together to honor my mom’s birthday. We ate at the Dutch Haus tonight. It was nice to be gathered as a family, but the void was so evident. I am so grateful for my family. I love the whole crazy bunch of them!
Well, that’s about all I got in me tonight. I’m off to watch some NCIS.
Later days!
Thought this was kinda neat.
If you’ve ever asked yourself…”What should I read next?” then check out THIS site. Fun!
Today I made 2nd Thanksgiving.
Or should I call it 1st Thanksgiving since I did not actually cook on the actual Thanksgiving?
We decided since the family was going out this year that we would take advantage of the 40 cents a pound turkey sale and grab us a small, two people sized turkey.
It was nice having a traditional Thanksgiving meal, even if it was a week late. It was also nice making it just for the two of us. I’ve always cooked for the masses when it comes to Thanksgiving, so it was nice to just make enough for us.
It was tasty too. And, there are leftovers!!! 
Our turkey friend!
I love our little pub table. Such a lovely meal we had!
Last night we put up our skinny little pencil tree. I love it!
I guess now it’s time to start working on some Christmas cards and finish up our shopping. When I say “finish up” I mean wehavesomuchlefttodo!!! Oh well, I’m not stressing this year, I’m enjoying!
Off to watch Jeopardy and then have some pie! I made pumpkin today for Kevin (I don’t like pumpkin) and I have a store bought cherry pie for myself. I didn’t have time to make one and I didn’t want to sit empty-handed whilst watching him eat pie!
Later days!!
Treasured: Cigar boxes. Refrigerator doors. Scrapbooks and sock drawers and top shelves. These are the places we store our treasures–the keepsakes that tell the story of whom and what we’ve loved, how we’ve lived, and what matters most to us.
God is a collector, too, whose treasures are tucked securely into the pages of his book: a golden bell here, an olive leaf there, a scarlet thread, a blood-stained cloth, a few grains of barley. Each of these saved artifacts reveals a facet of his heart and tells the story of a Father whose most precious possession is…us.
In Treasured, Leigh McLeroy considers tangible reminders of God’s active presence and guides us in discovering evidence in our own lives of his attentive love.
God Gave Us Love: As Little Cub and Grampa Bear’s fishing adventure is interrupted by mischievous otters, the young polar bear begins to question why we must love others… even the seemingly unlovable.
In answering her questions, Grampa Bear gives tender explanations that teach Little Cub about the different kinds of love that is shared between families, friends, and mamas and papas. Grampa explains that all these kinds of love come from God and that it is important to love others because…
“Any time we show love, Little Cub, we’re sharing a bit of his love.”
This sweet tale will warm the hearts of young children as they learn about all the different sorts of love, while the gentle explanations of each provide a valuable opportunity to encourage children to share with others a “God-sized love.”
God Gave Us Christmas: As Little Cub and her family prepare to celebrate the most special day of the year, the curious young polar bear begins to wonder… “Who invented Christmas?” Mama’s answer only leads to more questions like “Is God more important than Santa?” So she and Little Cub head off on a polar expedition to find God and to see how he gave them Christmas. Along the way, they find signs that God is at work all around them. Through Mama’s gentle guidance, Little Cub learns about the very first Christmas and discovers that… Jesus is the best present of all.
This enchanting tale provides the perfect opportunity to help young children celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and to discover how very much God loves them.
Leigh McLeroy is the author of The Beautiful Ache and The Sacred Ordinary. An avid collector and recorder of everyday moments, words, and wonders, Leigh’s keen eye for God’s presence in ordinary life infuses her writing and living with a deep, insistent joy. A frequent conference and event speaker, the author makes her home in Houston, Texas, and posts often on www.leighmcleroy.com and www.wednesdaywords.com.
Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than 1.5 million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave Us Love follows in Lisa’s classic tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She lives in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.
*There are no giveaway copies with this tour, however I am willing to give away my copies of God Gave us Love & God Gave Us Christmas, as they would be more suited to a home with children;-) So, if you are interested…please comment below to let me know. Thanks!
For more info or to order copies of your very own, click HERE, HERE and HERE.
Well, this is it folks. Day 30!
It’s been a long and crazy month and probably wasn’t the most ideal month for such a challenge. But hey, NaBloPoMo comes when NaBloPoMo comes. And I survived, so yay me!
For my final post, I thought I’d share a couple more pictures with you of our new place. We still have so much left to do. I was STILL unpacking things today and we’ve been here almost an entire month! I had no idea it took so long to get settled into a new place. I don’t remember it being like this when we moved before, though I think we have a lot more stuff than we did 8 years ago!
Today I unpacked the rest of our books and organized a few more things. Tonight we hung a couple more curtains and put up a nice rod on the front living room window. I ordered a couple nice blinds for the living room windows and they should arrive in a few days. They are supposed to be energy efficient and save us 25% on heating/cooling. We shall see;-)
I also finally got all of our new checks ordered and our address changed on most everything. What a process it all is!
I think I want to stay right here for a very long time! Moving is hard work! And costly!
Well…here are the pics:
I’m still organizing and arranging the upstairs, so perhaps I’ll get pics from there soon too. Also, my window seat should be fully decorated soon, so another pic of that will be coming. I suppose some outdoor photos should be taken too;-)
Well, it’s been fun NaBloPoMoing with you all. I’m gonna end now and enjoy the remainder of the evening.
Later days!!
The windows are done! The windows are done!!
Well…all except one?
I don’t know what the deal is, but they did not replace the hall window. They ended up taking it with them when they left (the new one, that is) and never mentioned it to us. Perhaps it didn’t fit? I have no idea. Woulda been nice to know!
Another thing that would have been nice to know is that they left! They were in and out of the house working on the windows and we were sitting here waiting for them to finish up so we could relax and make lunch without feeling that weird ” There’s someone in the house” feeling. So, after a while of quiet we looked outside to see what they were doing and they were gone! Apparently, they finished and left. A courtesy “Hey, we are all done. Goodbye!” would have been nice, don’t you think?
Oh well, it’s done. (save for the mystery hall window!)
We now FINALLY have blinds on the bedroom windows. That is a blessing! Nothing like walking around your bedroom with only a very sheer curtain for privacy!
I also started decorating for Christmas. I have my It’s a Wonderful Life houses all set up and I put out a couple of my mini-trees and also bought a lovely new wreath for the front door. Sometime this week we will put up the “Big” tree. It’s not really so big, it’s one of those skinny pencil type trees. We do have another bigger, fuller tree but I don’t think we will use it this year.
I think that’s about all the decorating we will do. I don’t like to go overboard.
We are starting to feel pretty settled in at the new house. I really like it lots. The only thing I can say I miss about our previous residence is our neighborhood/neighbors. Other than that, I like this house much better!
Tomorrow, I shall try to get some good pictures to share so y’all can get a better idea of what it looks like.
Speaking of tomorrow….anyone know of any good Cyber Monday deals? Have you ever shopped Cyber Monday? How does it compare to Black Friday?
I so want to get all my shopping done in a quick and stress-free manner! Everything has been so hectic this year. I just want to be able to stop and enjoy the season. I want to concentrate on the reason for the season and spend my time being thankful for ALL the blessings we have.
Oh, and there are cookies! I have to make Christmas cookies! I am so off my game, I just now realized this!! I need to start preparing my grocery supply list and figure out what kinds I am going to make this year. I wanna say that I’m going to trim down the amount I make this year, but I’ll probably not stick to that statement;-) I love baking and sharing the cookies way too much! I hope people love eating them as much as I enjoy sharing them!
Well, I think it’s time for dinner and a relaxing evening.
See you tomorrow!
Oh hey… how many days are in November? Is tomorrow the LAST day?
I better make it a good one!
