Last-Minute

I hate the term "last-minute."
LAST-MINUTE SHOPPING.
LAST-MINUTE SHIPPING PRICES.
LAST-MINUTE GIFT IDEAS.
LAST-MINUTE HOLIDAY RECIPE IDEAS.
LAST-MINUTE SHOPPING SOLUTIONS.
Those are some of the subjects I received in my email this morning.
It implies that the person (usually I) wasted all the time before that last minute and now he/she is rushing around like a crazy person trying to finish everything up and giving no personal thought to anything.
Can't they come up with a nicer word? A more positivie connotation? Something that doesn't imply 360 days of leisure and bon bons, and instead acknowledges teaching and driving (did you hear my 3-month old car has over 6500 miles on it already??) and grocery shopping and meetings and obligations and parenting and laundry and working and sewing and work parties and church and kid parties and just a teeny bit of laziness?
I feel so PRESSURED when I read those words. I feel like such a procrasinator. I feel like a failure in the great Martha Stewart clone contest. I am ALMOST done shopping. Almost. Just one or two little things to get. I made several gifts this year and knew what I wanted to buy for the others. Most cards are in the mail. All to-be-mailed gifts are on their way. There is a very sugary gingerbread house on my dining room table. And some gingerbread waiting to be frosted. I'm getting there....I'm just a little slower than others. And can I say a big "thank you" to Amazon Prime for their 2-day shipping?!
Today I am rebelling. Jammies all day, Christmas movies and popcorn, apple cider on the stove, and two boys home with me all day long.

Joshie took some pictures of our Christmas tree from underneath

Kurie is taking it easy this holiday season...

packages last week waiting to be sent

two cute little trees we made for our favorite piano teacher EVER.

Both boys sang in the Christmas Cantata last Sunday

Joshua and his best friend Jason sugared up themselves and everything around them while working on their gingerbread houses



Joshua and I went to the Kennedy Center to see a play



Dave was the ringmaster at the annual Boy Scout party and gift exchange. He's so awesome at that kind of thing.

And on a final note, I feel the need to address the whole "saying Merry Christmas" thing. I don't know why, but I do. There has been a bit of a hullabaloo about stores and organizations not saying Merry Christmas anymore. Honestly, "Happy Holidays" does not bother me. I feel like even for Christians, with New Year's Eve the very next week, it is not inappropriate to wish someone well on both holidays. If a stranger says "Happy Holidays" to me I take it as a nice gesture. He/she doesn't know me. They don't know if I'm Christian or not and it is simply a polite greeting or farewell at this time of year. I don't assume they are trying to push their religion or lack of religion on me. I do say Merry Christmas to people. This time of year is about Christ for me and I definitely want to take the opportunity to let people know that. I also realize that many public places (schools, for example, I just learned from a friend today) are purposefully avoiding any mention of the Christian holiday while promoting other religions or non-religious celebrations. That's wrong and I encourage people to be a voice in their own communities and situations. But I also encourage "you" to be gracious in your meetings with others and assume the best rather than the worst in people. A "thank you" and "Merry Christmas to you" or yes, even, "Happy Holidays" is a good way of showing the love of the Savior whose birth we are celebrating this month.

God bless each one of you and Merry Christmas. :)

'Tis the Season....

There's always a lot to do in December and we've had a blast the last week or so. Here is photo evidence:

The boys started off the month with a new Lego Star Wars advent calendar. What says Christmas season more than Boba Fett's Slave-1?

Joshua was in a play at church called Anton's Christmas. He played a beggar and a caroler. Nick did the lighting and sound for the production, which was made up of homeschoolers from our church. Have I mentioned lately how much I love our church??



are these not the most adorable little waifs you've ever seen?

 I got to go to a Moms' Night Out with some fabulous friends and fellow homeschoolers. We went to The Melting Pot in Annapolis, which is a fondue restaurant. I ate more melted cheese that night than I think I've eaten the entire year...

We began decorating the house:

Dave and Nick got free tickets to the Army-Navy game. Has anyone noticed how my husband has a knack of ALWAYS getting tickets to things that are in demand? The NLCS playoffs back in the early 90's (Go Braves!), the President in Iraq and Germany (technically he was working, but still), the Carolina-Duke game at Cameron Indoor.....well, this was no different. Got a call from out of the blue, and the next day he's at the game. Too bad Army lost, but they had a GREAT time.

While those two were at the game, Joshua and I went caroling with some friends from church. It was a fun night-we brought fruit baskets to the "listeners" and had a great time visiting in the van as we drove around. We went to the homes of some of the elderly and shut-ins from church to brighten their evening. There were around 50 total, and we split up into groups to reach about 15 different homes.

We did finally get a tree! We always go to the same place and are so happy with their trees and their service. It's a little local farm down the road from us. Gorgeous day out for tree shopping!

We had our soon-to-be Eagle Scout tie the tree down. He tied a half-hitch or something like that, if you're wondering.

Which brings us to this week! Lots more fun on the agenda so stay tuned for the wrap up. :)

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to my beautiful daughter. I miss you every day. I am so glad you get this time to spend with Danna and make memories together. I wish I was decorating the house for you this morning and getting out the "You are Special" plate but know that you are on my heart all day today.
My prayer for you today is the same as every day, my sweet girl-
May you know the everlasting joy that comes from the Father and prevails over every worldly thing, whether it be happiness or sorrow. That you would earnestly seek God in all your endeavors and that you would see the Lord's purpose in your life as you grow older and head out on your own. 
"Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:20-21

Thanksgiving

And then I blinked and it was Thanksgiving....

We have enjoyed going to our friends' house in Northern Virginia for the last several Thanksgivings. They are some of our oldest and dearest Army friends and are the kinds of friends that, even if we haven't seen or talked to each other in months, are instantly reconnected at the first hello. This year we had a couple other families join us which made for a full house.
I have to admit that I am having some trouble getting used to what is becoming the new normal-not all my children home at the same time. This year we had only Nick and Joshua. Jarrett works at the mall and had to be at work at midnight Thanksgiving night (can I get a "that's ridiculous" out there?? At least we did get to see him later in the weekend-see pics below) and Alyson is waaaayy out in Montana and she celebrated with my mom and my aunt and her family.
But we do have much to be thankful for--not the least of which is Nick's health. Looking back on the last year and a half I cannot help but be amazed at how God has so specifically answered our prayers and provided for us. I am hesitant to use the word "blessed" when referring to Nick getting better because I feel like that infers we are not blessed when things are not going as we hope. On the contrary. We have had some very down and hard times over the last year. What I can honestly say has been, for many reasons, one of the hardest years in my life. But as I look back on it, I can see how God was blessing us even in the midst of the worst moments. I have had friends and family be there at just the right time, I have "happened" upon Scripture that spoke directly to me in a given moment, I have been able to fully realize that these children are not "ours" but are lent to us for a time and they all ultimately belong to the Father. And, thankfully, I have been given a husband and best friend to walk through this with, good friends to lean on, and even our wonderful doctors and therapists to rely on.
Yes, we feel blessed now to see how far Nick has come. But the truth is that we have been blessed all along. Blessed since the day God gave each of our children to us, blessed as we raised them, and nurtured them, and taught them, and watched them grow. Blessed when things were easy and blessed when they were hard.
Amy Carmichael says it well: "This evening the clouds lay low on the mountains, so that sometimes we could hardly see the familiar peaks. Sometimes the stars, too, were nearly all covered. But always, just when it seemed as though the mountains were going to be quite lost in the mist, the higher peaks pushed out, and whereas the dimmer stars were veiled, the brighter ones shone through.
Even supposing the clouds had wholly covered the face of the mountains, and not a star shone though the piled-up masses, the mountains would still have stood steadfast and the stars would not have ceased to shine. Our feelings do not affect God's facts. We may not see the shining of the promises-but they still shine!"
I'm so thankful that even when I can't see what's behind the clouds, I know that the stars are there...
And now, pictures of our weekend:

annual turkey frying (we have two turkeys and ham...)

Jan's famous sweet potato casserole. Alyson made her own this year for Danna and Aunt Lori!

There was a large nerf gun battle.

 I actually completely forgot to take any photos of the actual Thanksgiving meal. It was lovely and abundant-take my word for it. :)
Friday afternoon we headed down to North Carolina to see the big boy and get ready for the North Carolina-Duke football game Saturday. We were delighted to find out that we were the "Guests of the Day" at our favorite Hampton Inn and got all kinds of goodies, including an upgrade to a king suite with whirlpool! Ooh-la-la! (We never actually got in the whirlpool. Too beautiful outside!)

Cheering for the team at the Old Well Walk..

I am putting this picture in, despite how terrible I look, because the weather was just so gorgeous! I was really sick all weekend--some allergies or a cold or something. I tried my best not to share my germs...

Joshie and Rachael enjoying some Carolina sun and barbecue

face-painted and ready for the game

My Three Sons



Dad and the little boy



Carolina won the game, we did some shopping, watched a couple basketball games (it's early in the season--no smack talking about that loss...), and had a wonderful time. Wow, it sure would be nice to live there....

Getting crafty

Technically this should go on my shop's blog, but I just haven't gotten going on that yet. It's there--it's just boring.
So YOU get to see what I made today. :)
I made this for as a birthday gift for a little girl we know. She loves purple and owls are so popular right now. I thought it was a perfect match! It fits across the body of an elementary-age child but I could make it bigger or smaller.


The body of the bag is fine-wale purple corduroy. I used fabrics and felt from my stash for the details.

 

I added a pocket inside to hold small things. The velcro closure is great for little kids--I'm thinking I would use a magnetic snap for bigger people.

 I bought this pattern from someone else who uses the owl design in her logo so she does not want me selling it on etsy, as it creates competition for her. She said I was free to sell locally and to people I know, just not in my shop. I've already sold two! :)
What do you think?

I'm thinking about making one for myself in more subdued colors. And last night when I was laying in bed, I had this really cute idea that sprung from this one. And THAT idea I CAN sell in my shop. Now, I just have to make it a reality....

Creating

This weekend we finally got the etsy shop opened! I feel good about it and excited about the possibilities. It's been so intimidating for me to actually take the step to open. Shop policies to come up with, shipping rates, pictures to take, advertising to figure out.....I've spent hours reading blogs and advice on everything etsy related. I've dreamt about packaging. I've pondered and questioned and wondered and contemplated. And sewed. I've done a lot of sewing.
I have a few items up for sale now--and my erstwhile photographer (Nick) is working to get me more ready to list.
There is a cost with etsy. A listing cost and a sort of commision cost. And deciding on prices for the things I make has been difficult. I want to be competitive but also make a little money. I use designer fabrics, which are not cheap. And what is my time worth? It's hard to decide that something I've been doing for years is actually worth money, and then how much? :) I'm nervous about selling to strangers--what if they don't like my work? You can see I am over-thinking everything here.

But those are some of my thoughts. And I am committed to making this work. I have a little more time to myself now that the kids are getting older. And I love the hours--whatever hours I want. I love sewing. I love making things for other people. And I really love what I've made so far...
My shop will eventually have pillows, aprons, lunch boxes, key fobs, burp cloths, and two sizes of list-takers, which are little note pad holders/organizers. But for now, we've got all kinds of crayons going on. :)

Check it out:
www.etsy.com/shop/bluetulipcreations.

Happy Blessing Day!

Inspired by a Pinterest item a friend posted on Facebook (aren't social networking sites awesome?) on a RAOK day (random acts of kindness) I decided that I wanted to spend my birthday thanking God for the blessings I have been given and giving smiles to others.
We called it our "Blessing Day" and it was so fun! What a treat it was to spend an entire day consciously making other people smile, being courteous, and reminding myself of what a blessed life I am living. I am posting about it here to inspire others to try something like it, too. Choose a day. Make a list of people and places in your life that you would like to thank, stretch yourself to think of others that may just need a smile or a hug, and be sure to leave some blanks open so you will look for sponaneous inspiritation while you are out! You can read about my inspiration here.

My morning began with a sweet breakfast in bed brought to me by Joshua, which started out a day of thankfulness. My family is such a blessing to me. I'll do a post on another day of all that I am thankful for and I"ll use today's post to tell about our Blessing Day.
We had a pretty long list of things we wanted to do, but also did not want to be slaves to our list so we used it as a guideline. We took the day off school in order to do this (that was a blessing!) and we were out for 5-6 hours. We could have spent longer and done more but we felt like, at the end of the afternoon, that we accomplished our goal of making a lot of people smile so we were satisfied. And we were smiling, too. What a spirit-lifter it is to do nice things for others without expecting anything in return!

Here is our day, in order:
1. Nick had an appt there on Wednesday so we started our blessing day early, by dropping off crayons and coloring books (we had some unused ones) to the waiting room at Johns Hopkins.

2. We made and wrote several cards, notes, letters to 1)take with us on our day and 2) mail to people I've been meaning to write. Hand-written notes are so much more personal than emails and finding the time to write is hard, but I know it means a lot to people.

3. We started out at the nursing home near our house. Like the original poster, we had driven by so many times, without ever stopping in. The night before we picked up some flowers from the store and split them into two bunches. We also made two Thanksgiving cards and delivered them, hoping to brighten a couple rooms. They were delighted we came and we got a little tour. They invited us back to see the place when it's decorated for Christmas and also for their Christmas party!

4. We took pumpkin spice muffins with homemade cream cheese frosting (thanks to my friend, Rhonda, for the idea!  I'll put the recipe at the bottom of the post) along with us to Nick's physical therapy appt. His therapist has been a HUGE blessing to us (stay tuned for a health-update on Nick!) and we wanted to thank him and the office for their kindness to us.

5. We took more muffins and a card for the new secretary at our church and dropped them off in the office. We had made 4 dozen muffins the night before and packed them in disposable tin pans with fall-type confetti sprinkled around the bottom of the pans and cute fall picks stuck in the tops of the muffins.

6. We went by the animal control facility to give some attention to the kitties. That was a blessing for us, too. :) While we were there we had the opportunity to speak with a lady who had just had to put down her cat. She was upset and wanted to talk about her pet. Those are the "blanks" you need on your list. We tried to stay aware of those around us who just needed a hug or a smile.

7. We took more muffins and a Veteran's Day card to the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Meade. This is a place where injured/sick soldiers are assigned after they leave the hospital but before they can get back to a real unit. We called ahead and they were delighted to receive us. We are humbled to be around soldiers who have sacrificed so greatly for us and I think we will plan on bringing them things on a regular basis.

8. We dropped off the first of our "blessing quarters." We put a dollar in quarters in the newspaper machine and taped a baggie with $1.25 and a "Have a nice day!" note onto a soda machine at the PX. We did that at a couple other places throughout the day as well. It's fun to imagine someone going to buy a drink and getting a nice little surprise. :)

9. After a busy morning, we headed down to lunch. We ate at Noodles & Co. which doesn't really have waiters, but we left a nice tip on the table for the person who would clear our table.

10. We took a couple packages of cat treats to a local mum farm. They have all kinds of cats running around on that farm and when we go to buy flowers we love playing with them. We had intended on just dropping the treats off with a note (the farm was closed) but the owner was outside so we got to speak to him and had a wonderful surprise that there were new tiny baby kittens in a basket to snuggle! :)

11. We stopped by the local fire station and took them muffins and thank you note. The boys got to get into a fire engine and got a lesson on perserverance in Scouting from the fireman on duty.

12. We took muffins (we made a LOT) to our friends' house, along with a Thanksgiving card and a book Joshua wanted to share with them. It was a fun surprise because they said they had just left OUR house after dropping off a surprise for us. :)

13. We went to the library and put post-it notes in each of our favorite books. We wrote things like, "This is my favorite book! I hope you enjoy it, too-have a great day!"

14. I practiced extra-courteous driving all day. That took some concentration. :)

15. We smiled at everyone we could, held doors, and just generally tried to be as kind as we possibly could all day.

We didn't do everything we had on our list. For instance, we had wanted to pay for the order of the driver behind us when we got coffees in the morning, but no one ever got in line behind us. We forgot to put a treat in the mailbox for the mailman, but we'll do that another day. We did do some things we hadn't initially planned on. And I'm so glad it worked out that way. The three of us came home with big smiles on our faces and a full realization of how wonderful and precious our life, and life in general, is.

muffins: 1 box of spice cake mix, 1 can of pumpkin. Mix and bake as instructed on box and add the pumpkin in. I found that the muffins "fell" a bit when I took them out of the oven but it didn't affect the taste at all (very much like pumpkin pie!) and not even noticeable when we covered them with a huge dollop of cream cheese frosting!

My family blessed me even further last night with dinner out and a very generous gift, with more thoughtful gifts when we got home from the rest of the family. :)