My husband knows me more than I ever remember he does.
This year, for the first time, we are going home to Ohio. I will spending part of the Christmas week - because that's really what it is, isn't it; doesn't it go from December 24-December 31? - in Ohio. Now I am not typically the type to get all nostalgic for dead relatives. I'm feeling it a bit this year, though. I will be forced to remember standing next to Grandma on Christmas Eve and singing "Silent Night." Memories of being forced to wait until Grandma finished her morning cup of hot tea to walk into my living room to see what Santa brought. The look of her living room with wrapping paper strewn across it while she attempted to get a perfectly posed picture of each and every gift the grandchildren opened. Her smile when she made us happy.
This year for Christmas, Buddy gave me several gifts. Several great gifts. The most wonderful one, though, was a picture he blew up and framed of my grandmother when she was young. Young, beautiful and happy. A simple snapshot, something she probably didn't even remember having that I have had tucked away since she died. But I love it and I love my husband for knowing I would love it.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
tradition time: week 4
Since moving away from family after college, Buddy and I have loved starting family traditions of our own at Christmas time. So, this tradition is sort of a lump of those traditions rolled into this...
We don't go "home" for Christmas.
Christmas Eve has always been about church and Christmas carols to me. Growing up, we always had a candle-lit Christmas Eve service and I'm pretty sure if I went a year without singing Silent Night at some point on Christmas Eve, the world might end. Since living here, Buddy and I have become involved in our amazing church and so have our kids. So, it only makes sense that we would be at OUR home church on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day is spent doing a whole lot of nothing! The kids open the Santa loot then we lounge around in pajamas - Just relax and enjoy! With all of the hustle and bustle of the season, it is nice to cap it off with a day of just pure enjoyment of what we are celebrating and each other.
Our tradition of not going home most likely started out as my own subconscious avoidance of missing my Grandma. Christmas was her holiday. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with her. The big family celebration took place at her house the weekend following, etc. She died the year we moved here and I haven't spent a Christmas in Ohio since.
What came out of this, though, is that we learned how to have our own family traditions. We really learned how to be our own little family. So I guess this tradition is more than NOT going home, it is being at home with just ourselves and loving it!
I must confess that this tradition, much to my dismay, is being broken this year. I am in a wedding 2 days after Christmas and so off we'll head to Ohio... but not until the day AFTER Christmas, on my insistence! Because it just wouldn't be Christmas to me without a few good traditions!
We don't go "home" for Christmas.
Christmas Eve has always been about church and Christmas carols to me. Growing up, we always had a candle-lit Christmas Eve service and I'm pretty sure if I went a year without singing Silent Night at some point on Christmas Eve, the world might end. Since living here, Buddy and I have become involved in our amazing church and so have our kids. So, it only makes sense that we would be at OUR home church on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day is spent doing a whole lot of nothing! The kids open the Santa loot then we lounge around in pajamas - Just relax and enjoy! With all of the hustle and bustle of the season, it is nice to cap it off with a day of just pure enjoyment of what we are celebrating and each other.
Our tradition of not going home most likely started out as my own subconscious avoidance of missing my Grandma. Christmas was her holiday. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with her. The big family celebration took place at her house the weekend following, etc. She died the year we moved here and I haven't spent a Christmas in Ohio since.
What came out of this, though, is that we learned how to have our own family traditions. We really learned how to be our own little family. So I guess this tradition is more than NOT going home, it is being at home with just ourselves and loving it!
I must confess that this tradition, much to my dismay, is being broken this year. I am in a wedding 2 days after Christmas and so off we'll head to Ohio... but not until the day AFTER Christmas, on my insistence! Because it just wouldn't be Christmas to me without a few good traditions!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
25 things about the 25th day of december
Heather did one of these and I thought it was fun. Also, it aided in my procrastination of present-wrapping... Feel free to consider yourself tagged should you so choose. Or not. I'm fine with either.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? whichever - I am HORRIBLE at wrapping gifts but like wrapped gifts better I guess.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Oh, if only it were up to ME it would be real, real, real! But I have a husband who occasionally expresses an opinion about something so fake it is at our house. :(
3. When do you put up the tree? sometime around Thanksgiving
4. When do you take the tree down? New Years day
5. Do you like eggnog? Love it but since I'm the only one in my family who will drink it, I usually have to settle for the occasional eggnog latte.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? A dollhouse that my Dad built - still have it!
8. Easiest person to buy for? My kids - I could buy them a million things! ...And probably would if I didn't have Buddy around to put me back on Earth.
9. Do You have a nativity scene? Yep... my Grandma's before she died
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail, typically - This year, however, we somehow never got around to doing them - Oops!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? "Baby on Board" sign and anything Christmas-themed (decorations, etc) because you can't use them until the next year!
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story and I love Elf, too. OH and Polar Express, too!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? the day after Thanksgiving
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Once - a lotion set and I still feel guilty about it.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? buckeyes, puppy chow and cut-out cookies
16. Lights on the tree? I don't understand this one - Does anyone know of a lightless Christmas tree?! Do some people put trees in their homes and not decorate them!?
17. Favorite Christmas song? Oh so many... but FAVORITE favorite is River (especially Robert Downey, Jr's version)
18. Travel for Christmas or stay home? stay home... but not this year :( post to follow soon on this!!
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Of course! ...as long as I can sing the beginning of Rudolph!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? snowman :)
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Buddy and I do our gifts Christmas Ever (and honestly, usually one or two before then because we're just big kids with no one to tell us NO!) then the kids can go nuts on Christmas morning on the Santa loot
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? I love this time of year - even all the annoying business and hurry! No complaints from me!
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I prefer all bulbs but no real preference other than that.
24. Favorite Christmas dinner? honey baked ham
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Long answer: Don't even ask me this question... the last time I was asked this, it caused a major breakdown and mid-mid-life crisis ;) about motherhood and identity - - - Short answer: I don't know!
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? whichever - I am HORRIBLE at wrapping gifts but like wrapped gifts better I guess.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Oh, if only it were up to ME it would be real, real, real! But I have a husband who occasionally expresses an opinion about something so fake it is at our house. :(
3. When do you put up the tree? sometime around Thanksgiving
4. When do you take the tree down? New Years day
5. Do you like eggnog? Love it but since I'm the only one in my family who will drink it, I usually have to settle for the occasional eggnog latte.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? A dollhouse that my Dad built - still have it!
8. Easiest person to buy for? My kids - I could buy them a million things! ...And probably would if I didn't have Buddy around to put me back on Earth.
9. Do You have a nativity scene? Yep... my Grandma's before she died
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail, typically - This year, however, we somehow never got around to doing them - Oops!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? "Baby on Board" sign and anything Christmas-themed (decorations, etc) because you can't use them until the next year!
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story and I love Elf, too. OH and Polar Express, too!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? the day after Thanksgiving
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Once - a lotion set and I still feel guilty about it.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? buckeyes, puppy chow and cut-out cookies
16. Lights on the tree? I don't understand this one - Does anyone know of a lightless Christmas tree?! Do some people put trees in their homes and not decorate them!?
17. Favorite Christmas song? Oh so many... but FAVORITE favorite is River (especially Robert Downey, Jr's version)
18. Travel for Christmas or stay home? stay home... but not this year :( post to follow soon on this!!
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Of course! ...as long as I can sing the beginning of Rudolph!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? snowman :)
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Buddy and I do our gifts Christmas Ever (and honestly, usually one or two before then because we're just big kids with no one to tell us NO!) then the kids can go nuts on Christmas morning on the Santa loot
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? I love this time of year - even all the annoying business and hurry! No complaints from me!
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I prefer all bulbs but no real preference other than that.
24. Favorite Christmas dinner? honey baked ham
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Long answer: Don't even ask me this question... the last time I was asked this, it caused a major breakdown and mid-mid-life crisis ;) about motherhood and identity - - - Short answer: I don't know!
Monday, December 15, 2008
tradition time: week 3
One of my favorite little family traditions is baking Jesus a birthday cake each year! Punky's favorite part: We eat it for BREAKFAST on Christmas morning! We bake the cake on Christmas Eve and chow down on it Christmas morning post-present opening. Baking Jesus a birthday cake started as a way to explain a big holiday with big meaning to a little girl (and now little boys, too). Little kids understand birthdays and that is what Christmas is all about - Jesus and his birthday! We even sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus - we do not, however, have over 2,000 candles on the cake. MY favorite part: It worked! Just the other day, Punky told me as we were discussing Christmas wish lists that "the best gift you can get is that God gave us Jesus."
I do not have a picture for this post. I really should, but I don't. Apparently we are so excited about birthday cake for breakfast each year that we don't bother to photograph the experience!
I do not have a picture for this post. I really should, but I don't. Apparently we are so excited about birthday cake for breakfast each year that we don't bother to photograph the experience!
Monday, December 8, 2008
tradition time: week 2
Is it normal to decorate your bathroom for Christmas? I grew up thinking so. My mother has a tradition of overdoing it at Christmas, in every way... decorations, gifts, etc. My house growing up looked like Christmas threw up. It was a nice familiar sort of Christmas vomit, though. And every year, the gifts on Christmas morning filled our entire living room. Buddy has reigned me in a little bit, but I very much love overdoing it at Christmas, as well. I LOVE giving gifts - lots of gifts - to him and the kids. I LOVE decorating for Christmas and listening to Christmas music from November through January. I LOVE overdoing it just a bit at Christmas. It is tradition, after all.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
tradition time: week 1
I love Christmas in crazy, little kid sort of way! And in the spirit of this, I am going to join in on the Tradition Time Heather proposed. So, on with the show...
A Christmas tradition we have started that I know Buddy loves is some of the little treats I make around Christmas time! I am no pro in the kitchen. Boiling water can even be a challenge for me. Buddy jokes that my IQ falls 20 points the second I walk into a kitchen! So, the fact that I can successfully make some Christmas goodies each year really does mean a lot! My specialties (and pretty much the only thing I can't mess up)... buckeyes and puppy chow! Mmmmmm...
A Christmas tradition we have started that I know Buddy loves is some of the little treats I make around Christmas time! I am no pro in the kitchen. Boiling water can even be a challenge for me. Buddy jokes that my IQ falls 20 points the second I walk into a kitchen! So, the fact that I can successfully make some Christmas goodies each year really does mean a lot! My specialties (and pretty much the only thing I can't mess up)... buckeyes and puppy chow! Mmmmmm...
full mind
In the past, I have struggled a lot with insomnia. I joke that I didn't sleep for about 2 years straight and, in all honesty, that's not far from the truth. Lately, as I've mentioned before, sleep has amazingly been coming to me. And I am loving every second I can soak up! Five straight hours of sleep means more to me than you'll ever know!
Last night, though, I began to battle my insomniac demons as I lay in bed, listening to Buddy's deep breathing and (I'll admit) cursing anyone who can doze off so easily all the time. So many thoughts were floating around my head... to do lists, prayers, and even blogs! This blog grew not only out of a desire to "learn how to think again" but also insomnia! I would frequently blog in the wee hours of the morning. So last night I tried something. I hopped out of bed (ok, maybe I wasn't that spry!) and searched for a scrap of paper and a pen in the dark of my bedroom. Besides my blog, I am a list maker by nature and I also journal prayer requests, but this didn't need to be eloquent. I just scribbled down one word for each of the things in my brain. I then returned to bed and that's the last memory I have of the evening. I found sleep!
I don't think that this means anytime I can't sleep it will be this easy. I do think that I learned something about myself, though. Putting things down on paper is therapeutic for me, whether I ever go back to those words or not. It takes the pressure off my full mind.
Last night, though, I began to battle my insomniac demons as I lay in bed, listening to Buddy's deep breathing and (I'll admit) cursing anyone who can doze off so easily all the time. So many thoughts were floating around my head... to do lists, prayers, and even blogs! This blog grew not only out of a desire to "learn how to think again" but also insomnia! I would frequently blog in the wee hours of the morning. So last night I tried something. I hopped out of bed (ok, maybe I wasn't that spry!) and searched for a scrap of paper and a pen in the dark of my bedroom. Besides my blog, I am a list maker by nature and I also journal prayer requests, but this didn't need to be eloquent. I just scribbled down one word for each of the things in my brain. I then returned to bed and that's the last memory I have of the evening. I found sleep!
I don't think that this means anytime I can't sleep it will be this easy. I do think that I learned something about myself, though. Putting things down on paper is therapeutic for me, whether I ever go back to those words or not. It takes the pressure off my full mind.
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