Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Christmas Family Style Part 2

Our "Family Christmas" has turned into a huge hit with the kids. I never in my life imagined they would embrace this as much as they have.  They are enjoying making things for the family for Christmas.. I can say my family will be one of the cleanest out there :)

After a lot of thinking Corey and I made the decision to go ahead and pick up the big gift today... Yes it's not going under the Christmas Tree.. I had mixed feelings about that... but knowing that it takes a week of diffrent things and watching the tank before adding animals and knowing that Rose would be leaving the day after Christmas until New Years and the other two and I would be gone for 3 days starting the day after Christmas this seemed like a logical thing to do.

I didn't want it to sit empty for to long.. so we talked to the kids yesterday and told them we were meeting up with Santa today at the Mall so that we could pick up the big family presant.. It being big and glass it would be safer this way :) They were so excited...

When my brother and husband bought it in all Colty could do was stare and say WOW MOM WOW!!!  He can't wait to go see Santa Next week and say thank you!  Wow a chance to say  tahnk you to Santa :) How cool! I never thought of that :)

Rose was speachless for the first time since she was born!!! And Kyera just kept going "This is ours? From Santa? Really?

I can say other then the Family Christmas two years this has already been the most fun Christmas EVER!!
I can't wait till they pull the pictures out of their stockings :) Colty will have bubble stuff for the bath tub and the girls are getting winter hats and gloves :) At 1.50 a piece it was awesome they each will have three hats (some are also reversable) and three pairs of gloves 2 long and 1 short :) They can have fun mixing and matching while staying warm :) And their won't be a bunch of broken non used things at my house :) 


I can say the tank is awesome and it was great hearing Colty tell us about the animals and how things work and how you have to set it up :) He's really learned a lot about animals and their care.. for a 4 year old to know this much about them is awesome! This truly feels like Christmas to Corey and I because it's bringing the Family together and teaching the kids all sorts of things! 


I will post pic's of the tank fully set up later on after Christmas.. and picks of Colty and the girls with it.. 

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Ramblings

As we get ready for the Holiday where we are often prompted to share what we are Thankful about I honestly have to pause and take a minute. It's been a wild ride this year. Job ups and downs,  starting our frugal living (which has by no means been a piece of cake) Alzheimer's has played a prominent part and so have major and sometimes scary surgery's for my Best Friend/Grandfather.

Like most first year marriages Corey and I have had our ups and downs, learning to live together again after so long apart has been interesting. We've come through so much and yet there is so much further to go.

Family dynamics, as always for us. never fail to throw us for a loop at least once a month.. As always life progresses at a pace we are not always fond of. Yet, it still moves.

I love to find life's small blessings every day and "God things" you know those things that can only be explained as awesome and amazing in our lives. And yet there have been times I've struggled this year to find them... I pray next year that I can find the time and the strength to look for those everyday instead of when I'm having a rough go of things...

So as I sit here and write feeling sad at the slow loss of my best friend, I need to take this time to truly count the blessings that I see in our lives.

We are blessed with AMAZING Friends! If I haven't told you recently how wonderful you are I'm sorry!  We are abundantly blessed with amazing people in our lives that love us and care about us, who lend a hand or s shoulder with out even asking they just do.. they see a need or that we are overwhelmed and they fix it.. and I can't thank them enough!

I am blessed with the oppertunity to help take care of my Grandmother who has Alzehimers.. This doesn't feel like a blessing at some times but when I look outside of the disease and how it makes her act.. I am blessed to be able to do this to serve a servent... It's not easy but on those days that there is clarity it's wonderful.. I also know that looking back on this I will be happy with myself and that I did my best to help instead of runing away from it.

I have been blessed that my Grandfather is still with me. Though seeing everything and going through everything has been hard I am blessed that he is still with me for yet another Thanksgiving. This is truly a God thing to me!

I have been blessed with an amazing husband who makes it so that I can go and help take care of my Grandparent's. A man who will laugh and cry with me and is more understanding then I give him credit for. We may have our ups and downs.. but the support I have from him going through all this has been amazing.. i don't think I could do all of this with out him.

I have been blessed with a new start and new relationship with my Mom.. this to me is a huge blessing that I hope continues.. For everything there is a reason.. This year has brought us closer together then even I could have imagined ever possiable.

I am blessed with a Brother who can and will make me laugh :) This has been a huge help this year.. and when the bug hit's him he even shows movement.. those moments spent with him just being us has done wonders for me this year.

I am blessed that Corey has a job... this sometimes feels less like a blessing when things are all screw up and when they are aggravating.. but it's a blessing all the same.

I am blessed that we were finally able to get PeeWee in with a specilist and she's doing better with the ADHD....

I am blessed that Little Bit is becoming her own person and is very helpful with my grandmother.

I am blessed with a wonderful 4 year old son who may worry about Great Grandma stealing his food but is more then happy to talk to her and give her hugs. Who acts like the perfect gentlmen at resturants and knows just when mommy needs a huggey.. He's also been so wonderful at adapting to the strange way our lives wok right now.

I know there is more but these are truly the things that stand out to me.. Life's small blessings that I often take for granted..

May your Thanksgiving be Blessed  and may we all see Life's Small Blessings everyday and not just on the Holidays!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Chrsitmas Family Style...

So the year before Hubby started Trucking we did a family Christmas.. This year we have decided to bring it back and it's here to stay.. We will no longer have a consumerism Christmas in our family. Yes Santa will exsist but he will be there to bring us closer as a family.

Our last family Chrsitmas brought us the Wii.. with only kid freindly games allowed and movement of course encouraged it has brought us some wonderful family times.. and the adults and kids love playing together.. I don't regret it at all..

While this is still being played with.. last years toys were broke within days, lost within hours or taken away after a few months.. Are we teaching our kids anything? Are we wasting money? Are we becoming closer as a family?    The family Wii Christmas my answers were yes, no and yes... Last years Christmas answers were   no, yes, and no...

So the family Christmas has been adopted and will be here to stay. This years theme is Terrarium.  Yes an odd theme but after thinking about it a good one. Instead of spending a bunch of money on junk we are buying a bigger aquarium and expanding our family of tree frogs, lizzards, fish, and Fire Belly Toads. With a 90 Gallon tank that will fit on a tv stand my parents gave us almost 5 years ago that was of course theirs first, we can save a lot. Then with the sale at our local shop and the deals they are having it will still be cheaper then what we would have gotten for the kids.

Each child will receive in their stocking one small item tailored to them, such as flash cards for Colty, a doll outfit for Kyera  for her AG doll and Knee socks for Pewee. They will also have bright pictures of a few animals.. such as a tree frog or anole or fire belly toad and that child will tun one picture in and they get to pick out one of that animal at the pet store. Since we can only add 3 new animals to the tank at once this will make it so each gets to pick something different every time :)

How does this add to my family? Well instead of watching TV were watching our guys, were talking about them and were learning about them, we ALL help feed them.. and yea mom is the one sticking her hands in their to clean it LOL   But we are spending time as a family and building memories with our kids..

I was so happy when Corey suggested another "Family Gift" from Santa.. because Christmas is not about the gifts but about the time spent as a family being a family and showing our love, it's about the sweet children and their smiles and about the true gift of love...  This to me is no small blessing but an abundant one! 
r

and update on the goings on here

A semi quick post...
Things have been progressing a lot around here. The more I read the more I learn. Home made soap is curing fast, we've made a new compost about 5 foot across and 3 foot deep! Out of recycled fence pieces from a friend, and have enough left over to make raised beds with. The Jungle is cleared and the land tilled. The weeds are burned, and the worms are producing TONS :) of Compost on our 7th bin full! I found the Garlic that had been lost in the jungle and replanted :) It's all coming together  even during this hectic time of family surgeries and Alzehimers. We WILL be Ready for next planting season.

My husband has realized the enormity of Gardening large scale and has consulted a local produce farmer for dates to plant things :) I've also heard the grumbles about his friends not always understanding that it's not "easy or fast" work and they don't get that there truly is 3 seasons to gardening, the prep/plant, Harvest/plan, Healing/action... A lot of people thing it's till and plant but there is SOOO much more then that. And i'ts so worth it!

Things do suffer here and there. I have dust on my shelves, there is always a small pile of dirty dishes to do and yes large piles of laundry.. but I have hugs, kisses, giggles, and shared "family" time :) Yes my bathroom has been under renivation for 4 months do I care? no! I have a sink and toilet in it that works... yes it needs mudded and the other peices of drywall up.. do WE care? Nope..

Watching the family grow and work together in a day and age where age separation is a constant where children do not fully participate in families... seeing my kids work and play along side myself, my husband, my brother and my surrogate brother, and the little boy down the street that begs to help.. is worth every minute of Green Board showing... I thank God everyday for my husband that puts our family time as a priority and not showing off and making ourselves look better.. a man who understands and does not question frugality but embraces it hole heartily... who puts his family first in his time..  I truly am Blessed! With out him I would not be able to help with the family issues. I would not be able to go 3 days a week and more on the weeks there is a hospitalization... to be with my grandpaesnts and help my mom cope with Alzehimers in their lives. I would be working full time and not teaching my kids the value of family that I feel they should have. THANK YOU HONEY!!! We may never be rich with money but we will always be rich in love :)