It's SNOWING!!!

I LOVE the SNOW! So I thought nothing of putting my boots on with my pajamas at 11:00 at night to go outside and take a picture while it was snowing. We don't have the snow my dear friend Ronda has at her house, or a view like she has, but just having snow is enough for me. I am happy...and the minute the snow is good for making a snowman, I am going to go get the princess and we are making a snowman. All day she reminded me of every detail we put into the snowman we made last year and wanted to do it again.

I am very sure she didn't understand what I was saying when I told her it wasn't "snowman snow", but she is holding on to the promise that when it is, we have a date.

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,
I was so excited to get to see you today. I took a tubby last night and let Grandma fix my hair real pretty so I would look my best for you. From the minute I woke up this morning you were the first thing I thought about. I got dressed all by myself and sat very still while Grandma curled my hair and put pretty red ribbons in it to match my new dress.

I knew your reindeer would be there again this year and I was just as excited to get to see them again. I am not afraid of you this year like I was last year. Thank you for letting me sit on your lap and tell you what I wanted for Christmas. I love the toys you gave me today, especially the teddy bear. I will take good care of it.

Did you like the songs I sang for you today. I really like to sing "Santa Clause is Coming To Town" I don't know all the words but Grandma sang it with me to help teach me. I am trying to be real good and to not be on the "naughty" list.

I hope you liked my new dress, Grandma says I looked beautiful in it.
Love,
Chelsea

Rockin Around the Christmas Tree

I don't know where she gets her personality but if I could bottle it up and sell it I would be rich. She sees the camera and goes into "pose" mode. I LOVE IT!

I have no idea where she learned these "moves" but I don't think she learned them from me. You are laughing at that aren't you?
I am realizing just how much I have taught her though. She is forever watching, learning, seeing, and repeating. She knows all my "Grandma isms". Her conversations with me are always reaffirming things I say to her, nicknames I give her, and silly words I use.
When someone used the word Goomba the other day she was quick to tell them that was her Grandma's word.
And she says to me, "I am your baby girl, right Grandma"
Grandma: "You sure are Chelsea, and what else are you?"
Chelsea: "I am your Princess"
Grandma: "I luva luva luva you little Princess!"

Deck the Halls

Everyday I find out more and more about myself, like how much patience I can put into practice if I really want to. Some of you are laughing at that, aren't you? This year the Christmas decorating was a little different for me. I have always had the kids here to help out, to haul boxes and boxes up from the basement, to open up the boxes and know where everything is suppose to go, to help with lights, to assemble the tree and tolerate the Christmas music that has to be playing as we decorate.
This year it was just me. I brought the tree up and spent a day putting it together and adding the 5 strands of lights. It was a little different for me, I found myself really missing my kids. They moan a little, but they add life to the day. They harass me about being such a perfectionist, they tease each other, and me behind my back. They giggle and laugh together, which is music to my ears.
It was quiet this year. I had time to think, which is very scary for me. I handled it for a day and then begged Sarah to let Chelsea come help. So, I had a day of thinking and reflecting, which was very good for me, might post more on that later, and I had a fun day with the Princess.

She was so much fun, she loved opening up the boxes and she would get so excited at each item. It was better than Christmas morning by far. Every ornament was a thing of wonder to her. Yes, she has helped me decorate every year, but this year was different. She is almost 5 you know, so the conversation is much different and she has ideas of her own now. The bonus is she lets me take her picture pretty much whenever I want to, and believe me, I want to.
I know things about myself, like every ornament has to be in the right place, they have to be spaced just so, there is an order that they go on the tree, first the red balls, then the snowman balls, then the handmade ornaments, then the candycanes. Let me tell you right now, we did things a bit different this year. I tried my darnedest to stay a step ahead of Chelsea the whole day. She loves to learn and she is watching everything I do, so the minute I hung an ornament, she knew exactly what to do and where she was going to hang them. At one point I turned around and she was on a chair, just like Grandma was doing, reaching up high to hang ornaments. Made me a bit nervous but...what the heck, I kept an eye on her and she did fine. I tried very hard to not move any of the ornaments she hung up, but may have moved a few.
At one point I turned around and this is what she was doing, blowing the tree a kiss. Now how cute is that? I just love her to pieces.

While hanging the candy canes she informed me that they could make a heart. Now, tell me how she came up with that one.

I do believe the highlight of her day is when the nativity set came out of the box. She has loved this since she was old enough to touch it. I am sure she doesn't understand what it is yet, but one day she will understand the nativity story and the true meaning of Christmas. She was so careful to unwrap each piece, just like Grandma told her too. (it is an expensive set so I want her to take care of it) She sat at the table and played with it for over an hour.

At the end of the day, we had decorated two trees, hung lights and garland, set out decorations, and both had a wonderful time.

She's Done It Again

The Moore family, I must say, is anything but boring. They are always up for a challenge, they are very competitive, family is important, and they love to have fun. They all view "fun" in different ways but when given a challenge, they meet it head on.
So Helen (Mark's sister) has the traditional day after Thanksgiving get together at her house, and every year it is an experience. There is always lots of food and family and her added bonus is she throws in a "game" of sorts where we are split into teams and are given any range of tasks to accomplish. The first year one of our stops was at her woodpile where we were challenged to stack as much wood as we could. Very clever way to get that woodpile stacked, if I do say so myself. Being the competitive group we are I don't think she was disappointed in the end results.
This year we started with a 5K walk (pretty sure we didn't go that far but it sounds good) It rained on us for most of the walk, but didn't slow anyone down. When the walk was over it was serious game time. We were slit into two teams, given our respective colored bandanas, red and blue, and very little instructions. Each team was also given a camcorder where we were instructed that every stop we made as a team we had to be taping from the time we got out of the car until we got back in, and someone different had to be taping each time. We were also given a sack with a deck of cards in it and sheet music to a few Christmas carols, along with a clue as to our first stop.
So, in my expedition, we crammed my team (red), all 10 of us and away we went, still unsure how we were being judged, if we were being timed or how long this would take. The other team had a suburban which I believe was a little roomier than our vehicle, but you know we weren't complaining.
First stop, Delores house where we piled into her home to be instructed on how to play Rock Band where we had to complete a song all the way through successfully. Miles on the guitar, Brett on the drums (did I mention Brett is color blind) and the rest of us on vocals set out to conquer this song. It took us two tries but we managed to get through the song, nothing I am sure you would ever want to hear again, poor Delores, but mission accomplished at stop # 1. Each stop also had a trivia question, and if successfully answered you won a different assortment of "stuff" I believe our first stop we won some rebar and wire. You can imagine how excited we were.

Stop number two led us to the store in Pilot Rock where we were given an envelope with $10 in it and instructed to purchase a complete meal for someone. Can you just see the look on the cashiers face when all 10 of us piled in the store, scattered to all four corners searching for the perfect meal we had no idea what we were doing with? We had at least 4 trips to the check stand to spend all our money we left with the winning meal. Did I mention that while we were there the other team arrived and Karen thought it would be nice to move their car around the back of the store so elderly shoppers could park closer to the door. I believe somewhere around here both camcorders batteries stopped working, but I had my camera on board. Trivia question answered successfully, given more boxes of "stuff" which I might add was taking up precious room in the car for seating, and away we went.
Stop number 3, go to Rance and Tiona's home and teach everyone in the house over the age of 5 a new card game and play it through 2 times. Spoons was the game of choice, and they were very good sports about playing the same game they had just learned from the other team who had just left. More "stuff" to load up and on to stop 4.

Here we are at Pat and Carols, Packy's parents home, where we practice our singing skills again as we sing them two Christmas carols before receiving our trivia prizes and sent on our way.

Last stop, Packy's welding shop where all our "stuff" we had won along the way came into practice. Here you see our winnings displayed. Each team was to use these items to create a piece of "yard art". We had full use of any of the equipment in the shop but were not allowed to add anything else to our display other than what we were given. We were assigned Packy as our team welder and the blue team had Kelly.

Team work is an understatement at this point. Still no idea if we are being timed or what we are being judged on but we dive in as if we have no time to spare. It is amazing how well we worked as a team, each person willing to do whatever was needed to be done, even if it meant guarding our project from the other team who stole supplies from our pile and spied on us.
So, here you see our finished projects. The red team created Burl the Snowman and the blue team created an angel. Each unique, each cute and creative as can be, and not way to judge the winning teams. We were both winners, even if I think our snowman is the best.

You really do have to see them in person to appreciate them. There are some very creative things happening in these works of art. The the best part was the fun the family had together. Helen, you rock! Wish you could of been with us to experience the caous but I guess someone had to stay with the babies and keep the food hot. The look on Helen's face when she saw these was priceless, I think I saw a tear in her eye.
It really is true, the family that plays together, stays together. Okay, I think the original saying was "prays" but you know this family knows how to do that also. Each member brings something special and unique to a family. I am so thankful to be a part of such a family.

Pondering on Thankfulness and Treasures

Don't you just love it when you are asked to make a list of what you are thankful for..and then you struggle with even making a list. So, it isn't that I am not thankful, I think my disorder is I think the list has to be perfect and say all the right things. And why is it that is seems to be Thanksgiving time before we make these lists? My challenge to myself is to make them more often, make them real, make them from my heart.
I am Thankful that my husband is home safely from 2 weeks in Rwanda. Probably the longest two weeks I can remember for quite some time. We take for granted that we see someone everyday, can call them anytime, communicate with them, lean on them. For two weeks there was no communicating, just a few incoming emails but unable to respond back.

(FYI: Full grown man standing next to Mark, and they are the same age)
I am thankful for a marriage that has stood the test of time, through too many ups and downs. For a husband who is committed to "US", and understands unconditional love (He may of had to draw on that a few times).
As I looked at the pictures Mark brought home, and listened to his stories, I couldn't help but be very thankful for so many of the comforts we take for granted. The first things we think of when we ponder on what we are thankful for are the obvious: home, family, love, friends, etc....so when I look at the homes these people live in, I am blown away by just how spoiled I am. I don't live in a one room shack smaller than my bathroom, made of sticks with mud plastered on it, sleep on a dirt floor, wear the same clothes everyday, walk 10 miles to church, wonder what my next meal will be.
And yet, with every picture I saw, there were smiles on everyone's faces. They sing, they dance, their poverty hasn't broken them. Can I say the same thing? Not always, I will be honest. Can I challenge myself to focus more on what I am thankful for than what I think I am lacking? I can try. After all, our true happiness should come not from things on the outside, but what is on the inside, what is in my heart.
"Because where your treasure is,(that which we value most) there your heart will be also." I am challenged today to treasure the one thing that should be my highest treasure, my relationship with God. Sadly enough, I let things, circumstances, other relationships, take more priority more often than not. I get sideways, I let life take over instead of letting God steer this vessel. Oh, I know I am not alone, we are all human, we all were given our own "will" to make our own choices, and we all let our focus get blurry at times. We all grab ahold of the steering wheel and refuse to let go. I am sure God is thrilled when I let go with a few fingers, only to grab on with my toes, it is so hard to let go, to not be in charge, it scares me and leaves me vulnerable.
I have been given so many Treasures, in heaven and on earth. So much to be thankful for, so much to stop taking for granted. In moments I choose to not be thankful...I am unthankful..bottom line! OUCH! So today, I check my attitude (which may take some time) and re-focus, re-evaluate, re-direct my thoughts and actions. When all is said and done, I want to be real and all God wants me to be. If you don't know that I love the Lord and it comes as a shock to you, then I haven't let his love shine through me for all to see, I have let ME be the shining star and not Him.
What are you thankful for today?
Where are your treasures?
I am making a list and checking it twice.