Deep thought for the Day

 

Christmas Traditions

 I want to preface with, "I'm coming clean ladies" but I hope I haven't put on any airs to tear down.

I have been dealing with hormone stuff and feeling VERY overwhelmed. I am OK and we are very blessed but just the daily "he hit me" "what does this mean" and constant toddler training and teen drama and all the little things to think through and the laundry and meals and budgeting for 7 people....it takes a toll on me. It takes a toll on our fun stuff. That is one of the points of this blog" To encourage to find the celebrations and the joys of the everyday.

I ordered Christmas cards. I took them to our Friday co-op and started to pass them out and then left them locked in a church 1/2 hour away that I don't attend. And now I don't have a car.

My daughter was frustrated that I didn't get the tree up on Black Friday so SHE put it up.

and asked the littles to help her. Most of our ornaments were broken. I have prayed and prayed and counted to ten many many times and we are discussing respecting boundaries. Not the festivities I had in mind :(



I hung our stockings that my husband's dear grandmother knitted for each of us (this is our first Christmas without her) ***All pictures are from last year--although things are hung pictures have not been taken yet:)

I got out our Advent wreath and candles but I couldn't find the devotional (we have more than one.) I planned a Christmas party but didn't get the word out until last minute so I don't know how it will come together...

We celebrated my husband's 40th with his parents and made dinner together. It was a good time. One of our best.

All that said to try to convince myself that it is Christmas time and we are doing fun things but....

It doesn't "feel" like Christmas. Could it be our beautiful sunny Southern Ca weather?  I know that we'll sit down to a campy Christmas movie together and I'll cry. And we'll sneak in some time with friends. We'll deliver cookies to friends. Christmas cards will start arriving. We'll find that Advent devotional and really dig in. I just don't want to miss any of those precious moments because I wasn't prepared to "catch" them.

Do you have any suggestions?

These are a few of my favorite things......

 One of the hardest things about this time of year is not being able to buy all the things for people that I'd like to. I'd love to buy the mail lady and each Sunday School teacher, and oooh, the nice neighbor, meaningful and heartfelt gifts that show how much we really appreciate them. Unfortunately though, my non-existent budget goes pretty quick and doesn't send the message I'd like.

BUUT! If I could play Oprah for a day (on the $30 budget that Nester suggested) I'd invite each of you and with a cloth lined basket with a big big bow I'd give you:



Love love love this book. I have been asking EVERYONE I see to read it because I want to talk about it, but I don't want to loan out my book:)

You would also recieve this print: framed and ready for your home

made by Kimmie at Sugar and Dots

then, of course we'll need these:

You'd each get a few of these:

from FiveSisterz on etsy because I just love these girls...

I want to make you a mixed tape of all my favorite songs and one of Christmas songs too...what would be the techo savvy version? A mixed cd? an Itunes gift card? Would my party have its on web page with music? I'll need to think on that.

It's also seeming that your basket has a lot of red in it. I'm thinking the liner is a brown and white damask maybe the rest of the $30 should be spent on candy to fill the basket. Candy that you hide from your children (you all do that, right?) Oh and we need a beeswax candle in there too...

Also linking up at:

Affiliates: Amazon is back!!

 CA legislation stopped my Amazon affiliate for awhile...But it's back!!

When you buy from Amazon, please go through my link:




When you go through this link, nothing changes for you.  You still go under your account. You can still use your Amazon Prime and free shipping.  BUT I get a percentage of your purchase (all anonymously) I have one friend who bookmarks my blog page and labels it "Amazon" another has the widget on her desktop...
 
I sooo much appreciate your support: Thank you.

In the Everyday

 It amazes me how at times you realize how mundane and plain your life is and how dirty and sinful you are and you beg God to pick you up and blow off all the sin and selfishness and make all the cares and laundry and drama go away. The thing is, that is not how God chooses to work. He could if He wanted to but instead of picking you up, He holds you close and meets you there and works miracles and amazingness through and with all your crud and sin and shortcomings.

It;s in the laundry and snotty noses and dirty diapers and "Mom!!! He did..." and our desire for great things that we are shown the meaning and usefulness that we were designed for and that there is so much more than we can see now.

Anne Kiemel says, "Life is made up ordinary days." Yet in the ordinariness of our days is His amazing and miraculous plan to work through and with us in our dirty and distracted state.

I am so grateful for that. For all of it. So grateful that God can see the whole picture and the whole plan and chooses me. Truly mind blowing and very very humbling.

GDA! Lane Bryant half price!

 Starting to feel a lot like the holidays!!

Just in time for finding that special something to wear Lane Bryant is offering 50% off of everything on their site!!

There are some great things on clearance like this pretty shirt...

They have fun outift suggestions like these for a holiday party:

I really really want some holiday boots!

Or you coudl REALLY take advantage of the 50% off and go big with a winter coat...

DEFINATELY worth heading over to the website to check it out:

Let's Link Up and Help one Another!!

I'm having one of those "why do I blog? What good am I doing here?" moments.
In my daily life, people are looking to me for answers on parenting and homemaking. Is it because I'm near 40? Is it because I'm loud and bossy? Is it because I have teens? Am I doing something right? I haven't given very good advice to these questioners. No advice, no encouragement. Rather..I have stared back with a "really? Are you talking to me? expression." NICE huh?

I do take this mothering, teaching, homemaking stuff seriously but I'm not all that great at any of it . I am honest. In my life you will see Grace not perfection. I'm not going to put myself above you and say how much better I am than you. Not here.  I will however come alongside you and nod my head saying, "Yep, this is really hard"

So, what if Having a Hallelujah Good Time could be a place like that? What if we had a link up here that brought you ways people make things work, tutorials on how to do them and a monthly link up on subjects where we all need help: freezer cooking and planning ahead, budgeting, how you take a break, curriculi planning, gardening...whatever WE need help figuring out OR have figured out. If you make an amazing tatted pillow, that is encouraging to me (especially if you show the brownies you had for dinner and the mess your toddler made while you worked on that pillow) This isn't a competition--we are in this together and can help one another.

Once again my mantra is going to come out: I DONT HAVE MONEY RIGHT NOW TO start a linky but was hoping you all could overlook that and just link up in the comments :) I am working on advertising and site redesign. Expect some pretty pretty changes and a breakdown of link up subjects in January. BUT lets not wait til them OR until I come up with a witty title and button...lets link up now!

What are you working on? What works for you? What doesn't work for you? What day is better to link up? Do you any witty titles for this link up Im dreaming up?