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Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a dork. I know it. But you all love me!!!!
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Getting through life
1 year ago
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Holiday Newspapers :P
Call it boredome, silliness, or just plain ol' nerdiness. I made my mother a holiday newspaper. 
There's only been two issues so far... Yes, I intend to make more. But she commented that it was a shame she was the only one to see them. Soooo, here they are folks. All two of them! It should also be noted, these were both made like after midnight. 
There's only been two issues so far... Yes, I intend to make more. But she commented that it was a shame she was the only one to see them. Soooo, here they are folks. All two of them! It should also be noted, these were both made like after midnight. 
So, tada! More to come later. And since I'll be making 'em for you all to see, they may even be bigger, too.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
The "W" in Christmas
It's things like these that put a little perspective on the holidays. I, myself, know I put far too much emphasis on the trimmings of the season. But I like to think I still keep the true meaning of Christmas at heart.
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The "W" in Christmas
Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.
My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six year old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant." I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.
So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.
Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by it's bold title.
Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snow caps upon their heads. Those in the front row- center stage - held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song. As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love."
The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down - totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W". The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W".
Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities. For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear: "CHRISTWAS LOVE" And, I believe, He still is. Amen.
And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.
Mark 10:16 (New King James Version)
Monday, December 18, 2006
Christmas Babblings
I totally blame Susan for the following babblings as her blog got me thinking about this and so much more.....
Anyone that knows me, knows I love Christmas. I love everything about it. The decorating and the light hanging, even if I grumble while doing it... Sending out Christmas cards (which I have yet to finish, think it's too late?). Christmas songs, almost all of them! And for that I'm blessed to live in California with the KOST playing non stop Christmas from Thanksgiving to Christmas day!
Christmas carols, I'll sing as many as I can remember whenever I'm in need of Christmas cheer. The Christmas tree. Mom's baking. Christmas movies, just about any I can catch. I even like the shopping, so long as I am able to get gifts for loved ones.
I'm the girl you'd hear before seeing. I'm rarely without a bell around my neck and matching bell earrings when I'm out and about. And once you do see me, see if you can't smile at my red antler head band or ridiculously long Santa hat. And as it's my favorite time of year, I'm most often smiling when out there and singing Christmas Carols to myself. I love it.
The kids look up and smile and it's the one time of year I don't wish they were locked up someplace. The adults get a kick out of it too. Imagine I used to go to work like that too. Co-workers loved it and expected it every year.
I used to be in chorus as a kid and since then I've loved singing. So when I got a copy of Christmas Carols from my mother one year, I carried it everywhere so I could memorize those songs. I wore those papers out so bad I had to retype them up! My last year at the bookstore, I was offered a chance to go out carolling, sorta. We were making specific stops to our bosses' places. It was still fun.
Though gifts were never the most important thing, there were fun moments throughout the years. The year Josh was so anxious to open gifts, he and I were waiting out in a dark living room waiting for Mom to wake. And when that took too long, his constant attempts to quietly wake her. She gave in, a little, and let us each open a gift without her.
The years I was able to surprise my Mom with a big or special gift that led to "how'd you hide this from me?" for the big gifts and "when'd you even go out shopping?" for the others. The year my brother gave me a laptop. I was in shock that year. First time since I was a kid that a gift actually surprised me. Everyone said I was looking at it like I didn't know what it was. I think it was disbelief. Last year was awesome too. I got me my Firefly and Farscape. But mostly it was nice, cuz we spent the morning at my Dad's. So it was just a nice casual little family moment.
Anyone that knows me, knows I love Christmas. I love everything about it. The decorating and the light hanging, even if I grumble while doing it... Sending out Christmas cards (which I have yet to finish, think it's too late?). Christmas songs, almost all of them! And for that I'm blessed to live in California with the KOST playing non stop Christmas from Thanksgiving to Christmas day!
Christmas carols, I'll sing as many as I can remember whenever I'm in need of Christmas cheer. The Christmas tree. Mom's baking. Christmas movies, just about any I can catch. I even like the shopping, so long as I am able to get gifts for loved ones.I've gotten a little obsessive over the years. 
I used to be just the Christmas Elf (on speed) and now I've become the Christmas Nazis, so says my Mother. Decorating has got to go just so. Lights are always properly tested. There's a system to Christmas cards. Searches are done to ensure we don't miss a favorite Christmas movie. On the flip side, I have fun decorating everything I can manage to hang tinsel or some other holiday decoration on! This year even the fan and the water bottle cooler got decorated.
I used to be just the Christmas Elf (on speed) and now I've become the Christmas Nazis, so says my Mother. Decorating has got to go just so. Lights are always properly tested. There's a system to Christmas cards. Searches are done to ensure we don't miss a favorite Christmas movie. On the flip side, I have fun decorating everything I can manage to hang tinsel or some other holiday decoration on! This year even the fan and the water bottle cooler got decorated. I'm the girl you'd hear before seeing. I'm rarely without a bell around my neck and matching bell earrings when I'm out and about. And once you do see me, see if you can't smile at my red antler head band or ridiculously long Santa hat. And as it's my favorite time of year, I'm most often smiling when out there and singing Christmas Carols to myself. I love it.
The kids look up and smile and it's the one time of year I don't wish they were locked up someplace. The adults get a kick out of it too. Imagine I used to go to work like that too. Co-workers loved it and expected it every year.I used to be in chorus as a kid and since then I've loved singing. So when I got a copy of Christmas Carols from my mother one year, I carried it everywhere so I could memorize those songs. I wore those papers out so bad I had to retype them up! My last year at the bookstore, I was offered a chance to go out carolling, sorta. We were making specific stops to our bosses' places. It was still fun.
Though gifts were never the most important thing, there were fun moments throughout the years. The year Josh was so anxious to open gifts, he and I were waiting out in a dark living room waiting for Mom to wake. And when that took too long, his constant attempts to quietly wake her. She gave in, a little, and let us each open a gift without her.
The years I was able to surprise my Mom with a big or special gift that led to "how'd you hide this from me?" for the big gifts and "when'd you even go out shopping?" for the others. The year my brother gave me a laptop. I was in shock that year. First time since I was a kid that a gift actually surprised me. Everyone said I was looking at it like I didn't know what it was. I think it was disbelief. Last year was awesome too. I got me my Firefly and Farscape. But mostly it was nice, cuz we spent the morning at my Dad's. So it was just a nice casual little family moment.
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