The Christmas Season....

The Snow Globes

The month of December is slipping away ever so quickly. It is amazing how time flies by. Before it is gone, I'd like to share with you some highlights of the month that make me smile. First on the list of sharing is our snow globe collection. I won't go into the whole story right now but will instead encourage you to read here for a laugh. Go ahead, I will wait.

I must admit that this year has caught me stopping in the stores to pick up snow globes and ponder the idea of adding to my collection as I watch the snowflakes swirl to life in my hands.
 

While trusting that you will "link away" to read my previous snow globe story, I do want to take an extra minute and share this picture with you. A couple of mornings ago the sun was shining so brilliantly through the windows that it made everything sparkle to life. Pippin grabbed my camera and snapped a few clicks. This shot made me pause when I downloaded everything. I love the sparkle of the sunlight and am intrigued at the secondary image of the angel in the orb of the sun reflection on the glass dome. I love how God gives us extra delights all the time. He is so very creative.


Now for the Christmas Tree

A couple of weeks back we went to pick out to our Christmas tree. As is usual for us, we made great sport out of the whole thing. Our girls both have a quirky sense of humor and continuously challenge me to "think outside the box". In picking out a tree, they always look for the best oddball in the lot. Their philosophy is why have something in a perfectly full and normal bell shape when it can have its own character of life to proudly shine in our home.

This year they picked out a tree that had multiple tops to it as well as an assortment of extra long branches to stick out and hold our array of ornaments. There was no cutting off of branches to make things uniform, for uniform is boring.

Instead of our angel tree top being perched on the tip top branch that is 'tradition', she is nestled in between 3 top branches perfectly balanced.



 This branch that sticks out to almost touch the china hutch is holding a beautiful crystal ballerina. I imagine that it is as if both ballerina and tree branch are bursting with the joy at the Good News Of the King.


 





My Unique Elves

These mischievous elves are another oddity in our home. A friend made them for us as a gift a couple of years back. Standing each at a good 3 feet tall, their oddball presence actually brings a chorus of "Mom those are so creepy". I gotta admit that they are a little odd and 'not normal'. Even Kekoa sits and growls at them from time to time. Maybe they wink at him when I am not looking. It doesn't matter to me though. For some reason I think they are so odd and gooney that they are positively adorable and I can't wait to put them out for all to see each year. 





 Our Birthday Celebration

Each year I look forward to a special event in the month of December. Smack in the middle of all the hubbub of Christmas preparations is the joy of being able to celebrate my shared birthday with my mom. Not everyone can say that they have the same birthday as another family member. I have the joy of being able to share my birthday with my mom on the very same day (and actually before her dad went to be in heaven his birthday was also on the same day with us). It wasn't planned that way. It is just when God chose us to be born. 

After Hubby and I retired and moved back "home", Mom and I began the tradition of spending the day together. Family can plan parties and what-not in the evenings and weekends but we get the day for just each other. And in that tradition I get to surprise her with a special new place that she has never experienced. As traditions go, she makes sport out of trying to guess and pull the surprise location out of me and I always invent new ways of being two steps ahead of her in loving sarcasm and whit.
(By the way, Mom made those leis we are wearing)

This year, in honor of her island heritage, I picked a local Hawaiian restaurant that I had heard great reviews on. Oh my the 'ono grinds' (good food) we drooled over. Everything brought back so many memories for her and we couldn't decide which good things on the menu to have.

With the air outside being chilly and wet we opted to go simple and comfy. We started with appetizers of lumpia and manapua.  I could have been happy and content with just that but we got more.




 We both ordered medium 'auntie size' bowls of saimin with char siu pork, fried egg, green onion and cabbage. It was the real kind with home stock and everything. None of that pretend Top Ramen with a billion grams of salt.






Then when we thought we could eat no more, we were presented with birthday candles Hawaiian style. Our waitress had put a candle in our heavenly concoctions of coconut sorbet and mango sorbet. Again, they were the real things with frozen coconut milk in the half shell and frozen tropical island mango served in it's own skin as the bowl.


 It was all such a wonderful day, such a memory filled weekend and I am grateful for every ounce of it.

Thank You God for memories and joys, celebrations, family and friends. Thank You for loving on us and taking delight in creating big and small all the things that make us smile.

December 29, 2010 11:34pm

Thank you for our birthday well wishes! Mom and I had a wonderful day together enjoying one another to ourselves. We had a quiet lunch at Bob's Red Mill and stuffed ourselves silly before topping it all off with a chai from Starbucks. That night we took the family out to roam a farm a few miles from here that decks out the whole property with lights and fairy tale story scenes. It was all a blessed day for everyone.

The passed couple of weeks have been filled with visits and friends from out of town. Precious Rixxi (the girl that used to room with us) came through town for a visit as well as other Gaggle members Raph and Harper. Having my home filled with giggles, smiles and girls everywhere I turned brought joy to my heart. They are always such a breath of fresh air for me.

For Christmas, I never could quite get into all of the things I normally do but I did bake for everyone something like 60 dozen cookies of my recipe for chocolate toffee cookies. Humbly speaking, I heard over and over again that they need to be sold because of their goodness. It just blesses me that something so simple brought smiles to people.

We bought presents for the grand kids (thank you Lord for Toys R Us being online and shipping everything for me). And then we also did presents for our 3 girls (our 2 being Pippin and Puddin as well as our "adopted" girl who now lives with us and delights in her new nickname of Icca) here at home.

Hubby and I vowed to not buy one another things for under the tree. Instead, we celebrated the fact that this past spring we became debt free. While that not so small feat enabled all of the traveling between here and Texas this last year and covered so many emergencies; it also made us able to buy one another much needed new (used) cars for Christmas. Yeah really.

We weren't set on doing right at Christmas time but I got up one morning hearing the words Craig's List again and again in my head and I figured why not look. We ended up with a couple of amazing deals that enabled us to package together this beautiful '06 Kia Sorento for me as well as an '04 Jeep Liberty for him. We turned in his beaten up car that kept trapping him inside the vehicle because of a broken door lock and we gave my old car to Pippin for her to use 100%. We are both too excited at our new toys.

Now with New Years around the bend my mind is starting to dwell on what the new year will bring. What are my goals? Where does God want me to be? What will my new plate of responsibilities look like?

As I am stepping out and putting my toes in the waters of events, I find that after a couple of days of usual stuff I definitely need a serious nap and feel very overwhelmed. I can't do like I used to do. Is it because of .....you know....everything and I must give myself time? Or is it because I am now 40 years old? Now isn't that dramatic? (Silly girl. It is only a number and you have never paid it the slightest attention before.) Or just maybe my routine from a year ago was way too much and I never slowed down long enough to figure that out.

Thank you God that I don't have to figure it out on my own.

Belated Merry Christmas To You!.....

The snow kept on coming and coming. I know if I was living in a place like Michigan, North Dakota, or Alaska then the snow we had in Portland would be nothing to speak of. But for our area....2 feet was a lot to deal with. It basically shut down the city right before Christmas. Hubby and I ventured out a couple of times in the thick of it to get groceries and fresh air. Silly I know but for some reason being couped up made me really want to have Chinese food. It was so hard to find a place open with all of this snow.


By Christmas Eve the city had gotten control of things enough that we decided that nothing would stop us from being with my folks for Christmas. Our home is at an elevation of something like 400 feet while they are at 1100 feet on the top of one of the larger buttes in the countryside. The snow that we had in the city was nothing compared to what they had. We loaded up the car with presents, groceries, and overnight clothing and our faithful 4x4 got us most of the way there. Putting our belongings on the sled and hiking the rest was easy enough since my dad had shoveled a path for us.

Most of our extended family was unable to get out there but my brother and his wife were able to trek out for a few hours before another layer of snow hit. We had a wonderful evening together making memories, playing cards, and sharing stories. Christmas day began with our traditional Portuguese breakfast of vingadalsh, rice, and eggs and became a snuggle day for the rest of the time we were there.

Here are just a couple of highlights of Christmas for us.
One of the large trees in my parents yard fell under the weight of snow and ice. It landed on the roof over my Nana's bedroom. Praise God that no one was hurt and from what we can tell around all the snow there is no real structural damage aside from one limb poking through the porch eave.

News of all news!

My sister-in-law is going to have a baby!

I am going to be an auntie!

There is much more to tell but for now I must go.

Blessings to you and I hope you had a wonderful and joyous filled Christmas.

The Saga of Snow Globes...

The first Christmas that we had here in Portland after retiring from the Air Force was in 1995. Unknown to me at the time, amongst the many memories of family visits, fun dinners, celebrations, gift exchanges, and weather watching......a new collection was to be birthed in our home.

My brother-in-law had given us a snow globe. It was a sweet and thoughtful gift. It held a simple nativity scene and when shaken, large snowflakes danced around much to the delight of our young girls.

It was the first snow globe we ever owned.

In 1997, my mom and Nana dropped by for a surprise visit after conquering some serious store shopping. Excitedly they showed us 2 large snow globes that they had purchased for us. One was an intricate nativity scene and the other was a joyous Santa. Fanciful glitter floated around the 2 scenes while Christmas music played from secret compartments underneath and a carousel of detail spun around the outside bottom stands. They had purchased both because they couldn't decide which would bring more delight to our girls.

I thought it was a nice gesture and absently wondered, "wow what am I going to do with 3 snow globes?"

The following year it started getting interesting. Our oldest boy decided we would appreciate his collection of 6 little trinket snow globes....since we already had 3. Then my mother-in-law stopped by with yet another little globe that plays music and holds a picture frame inside. She said that since she noticed we COLLECTED globes, she was sure that this one would make a happy addition.

Then we acquired another from a gift exchange.

Last year, as we unpacked the Christmas decorations, I realized just how many snow globes were in the box. Eleven orbs of sparkling glass looked up at me seeking to be shaken and admired. From big to small, fancy to simple...there they were all saying, "We are your collection!"

I started laughing, for while I had always thought snow globes were an interesting craft and certainly pretty.......I had never felt the need to own any.

Last Christmas, our oldest daughter and her beau were here for a few days to celebrate. As I unwrapped a gift from them........I found..........a silver angelic snow globe looking up at me from the box. Our daughter exclaimed, "Do you like it? I told him we couldn't go wrong with a snow globe because I know you collect them."

I smiled and gave them both a hug of appreciation. It was a pretty globe and a thoughtful gift.

I must admit that last year I made comments and jokes to my husband about the irony of collections and the idea that globes were something I never thought much about or wanted to collect and now everyone has decided that we collect them.

This year though,as I look around at our Christmas decorations, I have found myself shaking the globes.....admiring the globes......enjoying the globes......and wondering if we will have an addition to our collection this year.

Boy am I goofy and fickle.

This And That...

My head was on my pillow, all ready to settle in for the night. I had been fighting off a cold and refused to admit that it might be winning it's temporary lodging status. I looked forward to the 1/4 dose of a sleeping pill I swallowed to take effect. That dose usually proved to be just the right amount, not enough to make me zombee status but enough to take the edge off my muscles and thoughts.

Heavy sigh....my coughing was proving more victorious. So I lay there thinking, and as thoughts do, mine were all over the place. I thought of writing and time travel, wonderful french gardens and how cool it would be to find a bag of money, unspoken resolutions and the blessings of moving on. I even had my new french music cd running through my head. Since they don't have the lyrics written out, I absently wondered if I was singing the words correctly by ear. Wouldn't it be funny if instead of singing, "I would like some green sun in my winter garden." I was really saying something absurd like, "My cow wears red boots in the night air."?

Eventually my thoughts fell back to blessings and how they turn up in places where they are least expected, like running into an old friend on the corner. Like this for example...

Yesterday, we finally checked our snail-mailbox and I found a thank you card and gift card to my favorite bookstore from our dentist and his secretary. When we were last in for our check ups a few weeks ago, they were learning a new (to them) program on their computer and it was causing much headache. I happened to know the basics of it and offered my help. I didn't think I was doing anything majorly important, merely a friend helping a friend. And frankly, it was the same morning I had found out about my step-mom dying, so it was a nice mental distraction for me to leave my thought circle of emergency flight plans and re-arranging Christmas tradtitions.

I don't know....I didn't expect anything and it shocked me.
Maybe that is what makes it so special.
It was a nice thing to fall asleep to.

Life Goes On....

Christmas was wonderful! It was so good to be with family. My flight back from San Antonio came in just in time for me to drive up to my mom's for dinner. What a different atmosphere I sat in than what I had left behind just a few hours earlier. Ladies swapped recipes at the table, cousins sat around the karaoke machine, and children played with the four dogs that vied for attention. I simply sat in the corner and soaked it all in.

My husband surprised me with the navigator device that I had been hoping for. I was thinking I could get it after Christmas, but he surprised me with it all wrapped up in a bow. Wonderful! That will make my volunteer times so much easier.

Side note...I had a wonderful conversation with an elderly gentleman on the last part of my flight home. He too was flying from San Anantonio. He said that he was relocating to our part of the world so that he could live with his daughter and her family. Being on a fixed income was difficult and he wanted to use this time to make wonderful memories with his grandchildren. With excitement in his voice, he asked me question after question about the area...sight seeing to economy, mass transportation to housing development and fly fishing. He viewed the whole idea as a wonderful adventure. His thrill and excitement was infectious to me.

For a small moment I found myself wondering.....what will my father do when things settle down? ...............
Nah, the climate change alone would be too hard for his arthritic knees.

Well, we are off on a new excursion now. We will be spending New Years at the beach with friends. It is a new way of celebrating for me. I have always been around that family table...swapping those recipes with aunts and cousins.

Late At Night...

I am starting to get sleepy now. Everyone is sleeping, the laundry is finished, and I think I am all packed. Now I am sitting here with a bit more detail coming together in my mind and I feel overwhelmed at the amazing way things have transpired.

Yesterday was my birthday. I am now 37 years old. It is just a number to me. It is fun to have celebrations, no matter what the focus is. I just always love being able to share it all with my mom. I don't expect gifts...not that I am a perfect unselfish person....having a December birthday usually means that one's birthday gets lost in the Christmas festivities. Anyone that has a mid to late December birthday can testify that they receive birthday boxes wrapped in holiday Santa wrap or a Christmas box that is labeled "also birthday". Truly it is okay and funny. It is a great and humbling way to keep pride in tact. (giggle giggle)

Usually I can predict what is going to happen in the "surprise" catagory of my birthday. Yesterday was differnt though and so amazing. Spending the evening with my mom was too perfect already and I would have been blessedly content. However, when I came home, more was waiting for me.
Without my knowing, several people from my church had taken up a collection and blessed me with a new dishwasher. The one that came with my house had been broken and un-fixable for the past 3 years. (Now, washing dishes by hand is not a big deal. I promise I didn't complain.) Their goal was to collect enough funding to purchase and install a basic model while I was out for the evening and unaware. But oh how God worked. Such a collection was taken up that they purchased a deluxe model and still had a sizable amount of money left over. They all signed a beautiful card and placed the money inside with the statement that I could do whatever I saw fit with what was left.

I was so shocked and overwhelmed.....still am shocked and overwhelmed. I am sitting here thinking about how much I have wanted to be with my dad during this time and how perfectly God provided the means for me to get there. I know I mentioned something in the previous posting, but waves of comprehension are washing over me. The left over money was only $20 shy of a complete round trip ticket for me. It blows my mind.

Decisions...Decisions....

The Christmas letters are ready to be sealed. I just want to put a little card into each envelope with our contact information on it....you know snail mail, current email, the phones.......
I am wrestling with putting this blog in that list as well.

Should it be such a big deal? I don't know. I have decided and undecided 20 times already. You must be wondering why it should even be a questionable thing. A blog is a easy way to keep everyone in the loop with daily happenings. Just a year ago, I thought blogging was a strange new fad and waste of valuable time for 21st century people. That was my opinion at least until my long time friend encouraged me to look bigger and not stifle the creativity. It certainly is fun to comment and visit. I am meeting people I never would have met otherwise and it is really great. I do love to check out how my blogger friends are doing and see what new things they have been inspired to create. I look forward to evenings when I can sit down and be creative myself. So why should I hesitate at throwing my blogger address out there to everyone when it already is available to the entire world?

I think it all has to do with the way I write. I started this site to give myself a small place to be me. Not that I am not me in every other place, mind you. It is simply a place where I can give myself the freedom to write for myself, to be creative and air out my thoughts....whatever they may be. I don't bash or degrade. I just breathe.

There are only a handful of people in my daily life that I have told about this place. Why? Because I have learned that for good and bad....I tend to be a people pleaser. I knew that if everyone knew, I would pressure myself to write with my "Childrens Pastor Hat" on or my "Teacher Hat", my "Mom Hat" or "Wife Hat" on....and so forth........
I felt that the pressure I put on myself would cramp my desire to write.

I know some people would visit and have fun with it while others would use it to degrade and pester. Do those opinions matter so much? No they don't. I am still me with or without those comments. (Funny how there has been discussion here about the idea of sharing comments and opinions.) Comments and opinions are encouraging, eye opening, and broadening. That isn't why I hold back now. I think I hold back because I am finding a small part of me and I don't want me (that pleaser me) to stifle me.

What to do? What to do?....................

It Is That Time Of Year....

As I have said before in times past, this can be a pretty stressful time for me. As glorious as this season is, people can sure get ruffled the wrong way if they are not careful. I really am having fun though. As we wrap up these next couple of weeks of school, I have cool things in the works that will change things up.

Hmmm....."Change it up"...... That line always brings to my mind a scene from D2 Mighty Ducks where the teacher, Michele MacKay, is filling in as coach. She says to the team, "We look tired. We need to rearrange people."
A team player says, "Say Change it Up....no, yell it."
Michele yells, "Change It Up!", like nobody's business and everything and everyone miraculously falls into place with relief.

Falling into place.....along with school, working up the next batch of Sunday school lessons, and my other regular stuff; I am crafting gifts for a long list of treasured people. It is too much fun.

One of the best things though that I really get a kick out of before Christmas morning is planning a birthday....two birthdays as a matter of fact. Seven days before Christmas is a very special time for me because it is my mom's birthday.......and mine. Mother and daughter on the same day. No, it wasn't planned. It just happened that way. And if that wasn't cool enough, her father, my grandfather, also shared that exact same date of birth. When I was little, I remember we would always have a giant chocolate sheet cake with a fish for Grandpa, a rose for my mom, and a ballerina for me. As a child, I always thought I was cursed with a mom that had special ESP. I just knew she could read my mind and find things out BECAUSE we had the same birthday. Of course, now that I am the mom, I know the smarts comes from the fact that I can say, "Honey I been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt before it was even a nano thought in your mind."

So, I am planning our birthday date. Now that my husband is retired from active duty and we live back in our home stomping grounds, Mom and I spend the day together doing whatever we want. We eat and shop and giggle the day away. Every year, I have fun planning some new surprise for my mom that will beam a shinning example of how special she is to me. This year is no exception. I have special reservations made and everything. I am so excited. She is going to flip. I called that place over on......

Well now, I can't say, because that would ruin the surprise. Mom stops by this blog every now and again to visit. So, I will just have to keep it a secret.
Right about now, as she is reading this, she is mumbling something about me being a little (@#*) and then giggling about the apple not falling far from the tree.
See, along with our special day and my special planning, her special job is to try and trick me into divulging precious information that would give the secret away.

I'll just have to tell you about it AFTER it happens.

I love you Mom.

No Scrooge Here....

I have a sparkle in my eye and the beginnings of a song in my heart. I am so grateful.

Last year, Christmas found me in not a happy place. I was so stretched and allowed myself to get completely over worked and drained. This caused me to want to hide in the back corner of the closet and never come out again. I didn't send out cards to anyone. Harsh to say, but I didn't even care at that point if anyone would be offended. I baked only what was required and did a few gifts out of self guilt...knowing that if I didn't, I would hate myself later. The girls and my husband decorated the house. The only thing I participated in was picking out the tree, and though there was a factor of it being a family tradition, I must admit that it had a lot to do with control as well.

It is not that I wasn't honored to live in a place where I have the freedom to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is not even that I didn't want to bless people any longer. I was just so terribly tired.

This year is proving to be different. I have already started the shopping (Some would be shocked that I say starting but in my home and limited budget...that is simply the way it is for now.) I have almost perfected the Christmas letter and photo collage that will be sent out to everyone. We are talking about getting our tree in a few days and it doesn't make me shudder in horror. I began making gifts over the weekend in between TIP calls and didn't feel stress or pressure. I started playing Christmas music yesterday and even sat down to watch my most favorite Christmas movie of all time.

Here is a clip from the best part.....

(I know, that part has nothing to do with Christmas. It is just so romantic!)

So, I am asking myself, "Why the change this year?" I certainly don't sit around eating bonbons on the couch while the world spins by. School and administration still consumes my life. I guess over the last few months I have been learning fresh, what apparently is God's life long learning lesson for me, that I matter. My opinions, wants, and desires are valid and shouldn't be shoved aside and buried. That is what I attribute the change to. Though it is certainly not a new thought, it is amazing how thought perspectives can change the good fortune around us. It is taking months to whittle away at the protective wall I put around myself to survive, but there are cracks in the mortar now.

I feel a glimmer of my old self returning....remembering and taking joy in the fact that it is not about the 10 parties, the shopping list, the baking and crafting. It is about the memory making. All the other stuff is just icing.

Hmmm...now I hear Tiny Tim Cratchit smiling at Ole Mr. Scrooge and declaring in his sweet little voice, "God bless us everyone!"

Are You Kidding Me?...

We all know that as the elderly discuss times gone by, they comment at how quickly it all goes. I remember that my Grandmother Davis would occassionally do that as she told us the amazing stories of her life. At 36 years of age, I can feel on any given day that time is whirling past me at an alarming rate and I can lose track of it all together if I am not careful.

But do I really need media and propaganda to encourage that mental process?
My radio station is now playing continuous Christmas music!

It is still October 31st right?