Posted in Holiday Bits

Welcome back to February's installment of Christmas Countdown 2009, where we try to do a little holiday preparation each month to ease our burden and increase our joy for the next Christmas season.  Our installment is about a week late due to illness, but that's okay - we're not striving for perfection, only for contentment.

Last month our assignments (if you followed the suggestions found here; some chose to determine their own jobs - whichever is easier and motivates you more) were to create a binder, journal about the previous holiday just past, and organize/put away the last of the holiday decorations.  I did in fact sort and organize my decorations; here is a photo of some of the many containers I use to store my Christmas decorations:

I was so pleased to knock that chore out; I will be so grateful come the first week of December when I pull them out.  My binder is also complete - at least as complete as I can make it for now.  As new needs arise, I'll simply fill in where necessary. 

Unfortunately, I ran out of time to sit down and journal, but I'm not too upset about it.  I'll fix myself a cup of tea and sit down of an afternoon within the next couple of weeks and get that knocked out before March 25th.  No worries.

Now, it's time for a new assignment:  this month, considering how we're a week short due to the lateness of this post, how about if we simply make our gift list?  This is deceptively easy - there is more thought wrapped into this than anything else.  Take your time, and really put your heart and love for that person into a special gift.  We're so far ahead of the game this year that we can invest bits of ourselves into almost each gift this year.  I know that I only get to invest a little of myself into a few gifts - how wonderful that this year will be different!

So, if that assignment works for you, get to work.  If there's something else that is more pressing for you, then share what your goals are so we can encourage each other all the way.  Post your intentions, your results from last month (if you participated), and link back here to Mr. Linky so we know who you are.  The more we can support each other, the easier it will be!  We'll see you back here on March 25th!

Posted in Holiday Bits

Welcome to Christmas Countdown 2009!  In a bid to have a peaceful Christmas celebration, I'm inviting you to join me in doing a little each month in preparation for the most holy of holidays.  On the 25th of each month, we will share what we have done and encourage each other, because accountability and encouragement really do make our little homemaking worlds go 'round.

This month, we're going to do three things.  First, we're going to make ourselves a folder that will be specifically designated for holiday preparations.  Secondly, we're going to sit down and journal a little bit on what worked for us this past Christmas, what didn't, which traditions are important, which ones could maybe be recycled, new ideas that we gleaned from others that we would like to incorporate into our next celebration, and maybe jot down any gift ideas that may come to us.  If you, like me, find yourself enjoying making homemade gifts more each year, then we really need to be prepared by making our list, organizing our materials, and slowly begin making those items.  Thirdly, we're going to take care of those few decorations that always seem to get overlooked and that we stash anywhere just to get out of sight.

Now, our binder.  This can be anything from a spiral notebook to a decked-out three-ring binder; the important thing here is that you have something permanently designated for this express purpose, and also that it is all connected and you won't lose any of the bits of paper we seem so fond of writing on only to lose within the hour.  I have chosen to make my planner from a three-ring binder.  I grabbed a thin ½" one and had fun with my scrapbooking supplies.  (It's important to note that I spent no money on this; I used only what I had on hand)  I used to think badly of myself for making things pretty and spending time on 'useless' projects (like this, when a spiral notebook would suffice), but I've come to realize that a) I won't use it if it isn't pretty, and b) this project is actually more valuable than I give it credit for because it's saving me enormous amounts of time and effort down the road.

Now, I have finished my binder to give you an idea of what you may find helpful to include in yours, but remember - this is what YOU will use, not me, so make it flow with your personality and your organizational process. Ü

Here is what I came up with:

As you can see, I made this binder mostly about Christmas, because for me it's the largest holiday we celebrate, but I also left some space for "Other Holidays," because we do have recipes and traditions specific to them.

In case you can't read the individual sections, they are:  (Christmas) Gifts, Crafts, Recipes, Traditions, and Other Holidays, (sub-divided into Autumn, Spring, and Summer).  I just filled the sections with lined paper, and put a folder in the Gift section that holds my permanent Christmas card list that I printed off of Donna Young's site.  This doesn't have to be fancy, but can be as detailed as you like.  Remember, make it to fit your personality and you will use it.

Every month on the 25th I will be posting an account of what I've worked on towards Christmas, and an assignment (which you can follow or not, as it fits your needs).  This month's assignment, due February 25th, is to get your binder/notebook in order and to journal the items suggested above and any others you think will be helpful to you.  This really doesn't have to take a long time - remember, you are in control.  Spread it out, or get it done in an afternoon.  Whichever you prefer.  We're also going to be putting away those last straggling decorations, but this time with a twist.  We're going to go through the boxes and totes and get rid of anything that we haven't put out or detest looking at.  Those pieces of things in the bottom of boxes that we ignore every year will be thrown out, and we will be kind to our future selves by organizing the Christmas supplies.  Again, this doesn't have to take long.  We truly make mountains out of molehills as homemakers sometimes, but not this month.  We will be so grateful to ourselves come next Christmas season.  As a special treat to ourselves, if you have any rosemary or peppermint essential oil, place a few drops on a cotton ball and stash in your decorations (not touching them, though) so when you open them next year you are rewarded with a holiday scent.

I hope you join me as we work lightly all year to enjoy a peaceful Christmas season.  Christmas should be about snuggling with our children, reading treasured holiday stories, baking special treats, visiting loved family members, and making memories.  It should not be the scramble to make/buy/wrap gifts at the 11th hour, with no time to enjoy our children and spouses.  These are their memories we're creating as well as our own; it's time we took that a little more seriously while being kind to ourselves.

If you would like to join in, please post your goals for February 25th and sign Mr. Linky.  We will encourage each other right to a peaceful Christmas season!

Posted in Holiday Bits

"We three Kings of Orient are,
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following Yonder Star..."

Today is the celebration of Epiphany, also known as the Three Kings' Day or the Twelfth Day.  Today is the day set aside to mark the arrival of the three wise men/kings to the birth place of Jesus.  Imagine seeing a sign in the heavens, a sign you had been watching for, and the feeling that must have washed over them as they realized their hopes and dreams.  Each step along that long journey wouldn't have been hardly noticed, I would imagine, as each step brought them closer to salvation and redemption.  How far would you walk to kneel at the foot of your King?  Would you count those steps, or would you fairly float?  They had to have journeyed hundreds, maybe even thousands of miles, to shower the Christ child with gifts and to pay homage to their King of Kings.  And so we honor their blind faith and their journey made on behalf of all mankind with this 12th day of Christmas.

As an aside here, several years ago I got fed up with the rush, rush, rush of Christmas, only to have it "done" on Christmas Day.  All that work and stress, and I didn't even get to slow down and enjoy it.  I decided a change was in order, but wasn't sure how to go about it, or even what it would look like when I was done.  At the time, I was reading Sarah ban Breathnach's "Mrs. Sharp's Traditions," (a book I highly recommend) and I came across the history of the Victorians (who 'invented' most of our modern day Christmas traditions), who actually carried the Christmas season over to Candlemas (February 2nd)!  That one historical fact got me thinking, and I pondered my Christmas woes for a long time.  By the time the next Christmas rolled around, I had a plan.  We would work right up to Christmas, as usual, but on Christmas day, OUR Christmas season would BEGIN.  NOT end.  So, we have been keeping the tradition of the 12 days of Christmas for the last few years, and it has made such a difference.  We now have 12 days of enjoyment, relaxation, and celebration, instead of just the one (and one where we're all exhausted, at that).  So today is the final day of Christmas for us, and our tree will come down tomorrow.  We are so very blessed, and to set aside 12 days to honor and appreciate that is so little to do.  I whined a little yesterday about not feeling the Christmas spirit, but have realized upon writing this that I feel it now - not as strongly as I would wish to, perhaps, but a glimmer of it shines within me still.  That is the season's gift to me.  So, if you find yourself tired, stressed, and lost at the Christmas holiday anymore, don't stand idly by while one year bleeds into five bleeds into 10 - take control, focus on what you want for your family, and make it happen.  You don't have to follow the Christmas mandates passed around; make your own traditions and start thinking outside the box.

As for Epiphany, it matters not how you celebrate - do not traditions begin somewhere?  All that matters is that you recognize the importance of the day.  In the past, we have attended Mass, or not.  We have had long drawn-out celebrations, or quick recognition moments.  Out of these different years I have pulled the following for our family:  We keep a candle burning all day by statues of the wise men with the Baby Jesus (see above picture).  We hold back three gifts from Christmas (one for the family, one for Piper, and one for Jigger; again, see pic above) to be unwrapped after dinner (to symbolize the gifts from the Three Kings).  We have a Three Kings Cake (I don't use a traditional Three Kings Cake recipe, but a spice cake that I save only for this occasion) after dinner, and during dinner we light all the Advent wreath candles one final time.  We pray, and if I can find some book related to today, we read it.  If I am totally together, I find Epiphany related word puzzles, etc., for the boys to do in place of their school work.  It's just kind of morphed into this wonderful day here, but it didn't start out that way.  So pace yourself and build your traditions your way.  They will mean so much to your children when they have children of their own.

Whatever you do, may the faith, trust, and joy of this day find its way into your hearts.

Posted in Holiday Bits

I wish you all nothing but the most peaceful and joy-filled Christmas holiday.  May your nights be warm, your days full of love, and your spirit refreshed in this most holy of seasons.

I will return to visit with you all after the first of the year.  May God bless us, everyone.

poster courtesy of allposters.com; Season of Peace by Bill Breedon

Posted in Holiday Bits

Well, the last official holiday of summer is upon us.  For some of us, it marks the end of glorious weather, while for others it denotes the beginning of glorious weather.  Whichever camp you fall in, I wish you a lovely day full of family, love, and peace.

Happy Labor Day, My Friends.

photo courtesy of www.allposters.com; "Labor Day Souvenirs, Flag and Gears"

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On July 4, 1776, a new nation was birthed through blood, sweat, and tears.  Persecution, injustice, and abuse of power could no longer be tolerated.  No longer would people live in fear, or anger, or confusion.  A people were resolved to affect change, to make a place of their own in the world, a place where they, their children, and their children's children could live unfettered and free of others' tyranny.

On July 4, thirteen colonies resolved to stand and be counted, no matter the cost, because freedom was more precious to them than their own lives.  They had the might of God on their side, and their resolve as they walked into battle was unwavering.

On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress activated the Declaration of Independence without knowing the consequences, without counting the cost.  Because there was no cost too high to them to end the tyranny of the rule of Great Britain.  Thomas Jefferson almost solely constructed this precious document; those words are his gift to a nation conceived in thought, desire, and desperation.  His eloquence is unmatched to this day.

"When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal stations to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

Happy 232rd Birthday, America!

A very Happy Birthday to Mary, over at Canadagirl, as well!!  To take part in her Show and Tell Friday - The Birthday Edition, please go visit her!

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May you all have a very Blessed and Joyous Mother's Day with your beautiful families!

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May you all enjoy the peace and joyful celebration of this Easter Day.

Posted in Holiday Bits

Well, my blogging friends, the old year has gone quietly into that night, and so must we.  We must take a few moments to reflect on the past year, and let go of things that we are less than proud of, or that troubled us, or lessons we learned.  I much prefer a gentle reflection of all that has come and gone to setting unrealistic hopes and dreams on a future that is barely hours old.  So, in that spirit, I thought it appropriate to release myself from the emotional ties of 2006, so that I may walk unencumbered into 2007, which is sparkling and fresh at my feet.

Things I am Grateful to be letting go from 2006:

• my constant need to say 'Yes!' to anything, despite looking at my calendar.  This has tied me up in knots for a good portion of the year, and I am happy to say that I have learned my lesson and look forward to a less-event-filled 2007.
• financial difficulties.  DH and I are FINALLY on the same page financially, and have a budget in place that, while tighter than a drum for a most of the upcoming year, will give us better control over our finances and more financial freedom in the years to come.
• struggles with our home education.  While I know it's the best thing for us, I've struggled to make it 'perfect' in my head, and am thrilled to report a breakthrough has been had for me personally.  Good-bye unstructured, fragmented thoughts and welcome my 'less-than-perfect-is-perfect-for-us' philosophy.  I can not tell you how I've struggled to fit into one mold; what a fool am I.
• an internal religious strife to be 'more' than what we are.  God made us as He wanted us.  Who am I to mess with the path He has set us on?

All of these struggles have really exploded (in my head) in the last couple of months, and I am quite relieved to have learned what I needed from them, and to be letting them go.  I hope your reflection is as productive and peace-filled as mine.  May your New Year be filled with the blessings of peace, love, and contentment.

In his 1939 Christmas message King George VI quoted:

"I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year,

'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'

And he replied, "Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the Hand of God.  That shall be better than light, and safer than a known way.'"