Wow, Back to the Real World...sort of....

Wow! I made it through another Christmas! The children's church skit is done. The special dinners have all been cooked. The gifts have been purchased, wrapped, delivered, opened and used..or returned.

It was a good Christmas for me. I wish I could say that about all the members of my family, but unfortunately, some of them got ill for Christmas Eve. It is possible that my daughter who is visiting from CA might have still been contagious from her bout with something the day before she arrived. But maybe not, since there had been no symptoms for over 18 hours, and only some family members who were around her succumbed to illness. No matter. Christmas is not a time to blame others. But I do feel so badly that they had to cancel the plans they had with other family. We had celebrated with them on Sunday, so at least we all got to be together then. Grandma Peggy came from CA to visit and so we had a great time. Hunky and Hansome were in the church skit and we all got to see them stare at the audience. (It was their first stage appearance!) It was great!

My husband surprised me with a special gift. I have a doll collection. About two months (or more) ago we were out yard sale-ing and I saw a beautiful doll but the sellers were asking more than I wanted to pay. I tried to talk them down, but was only partially successful and decided I could not justify spending the bucks. I did not know it, but my husband went back and got the doll and hid it until Christmas. What a thoughtful man!

This year, Santa arrived in a younger version (a co-worker of my husband's) and came to our house. After dinner we opened presents and went to church for a candlelight service and then to the downtown plaza of our town, Glendale. Every year the City decorates the park with thousands of lights on trees and buildings, etc. and has horse-drawn carriages, musicians, entertainment, food, etc. throughout the evenings during the Holidays. Last year we handed out candy canes to all the people and wished them a merry Christmas. This year we forgot the candy! But, someone from church left an ice chest full of real snow on my daughter's van, so we had a community snowball fight instead. Lots of fun! Mr. Boo and Baby Girl rode quietly in a double stroller fascinated by all the lights and people!

Christmas day brought a surprise for my visiting daughter...her husband, a first year intern, got off working at his hospital earlier than expected and flew out to meet her. It was fun pulling off that surprise!

I hope you all had a great Christmas. Remember to love and cherish everyone who means something to you...God bless...prayers and wishes for a prosporous and happy 2009!

I Love Christmas!

Christmas! It is a wonderful time of year regardless of the weather, the bustle of shopping, etc. I have my reasons for saying this...

I am watching television a little more than usual lately. Probably because of the specials of the season, along with the fact that even the commercials make a good atmosphere while decorating or baking, etc. Today I noticed several commercials about traveling to visit relatives that haven't been seen for awhile.

Christmas brings families together. It shouts that we should lay aside our differences and exercise forgiveness. I know there are many who will remain estranged during the next few days. But perhaps something about Christmas will entice them to reconsider. There will be children with tears because they did not get what they had hoped. There are some that will not have enough to eat or any new toys for Christmas. But compassion is rampant during this season. Giving is a message more heeded this time of year. Those who might not otherwise think about giving to certain causes, do so. It does amaze me, however, that those who can least afford to give, by some standards, seem to give the most. I think they know how it feels to need, and to want something really badly, that seems unattainable.

It is interesting how life's hardships can make us more caring individuals. One family in our church decided to forego giving each other gifts this year, as they have plenty...instead, they gave the money they would have spent to the church's benevolence fund! What a great idea! They know how it feels to not have the means for a great Christmas...in terms of stuff...and chose to have a truly great Christmas.

So,one can give to the food banks, or Salvation Army, or churches, or the fire depeartments who have charities, to hospitals, to homeless shelters, or any number of causes. After all, Christmas should be about giving and not getting. It should be about humanity coming together in love and peace. That is, after all, what the Christ child desired to accomplish by His birth and life. Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards men.

Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and may the Spirit of the Season bring out the best in all of us!

It is Looking a LOT Like Christmas!

Well, although I think daily...and sometimes more frequently than that...about what I want to write, I somehow get busied by the events of life and leave many thoughts roaming around in my head. I am sharing now with you the added projects besides homeschooling that have preoccupied my time...mostly a homemade decorated Christmas! MERRY CHRISTMAS if I do not write again before.

"Ya Gotta Love AZ!"

I do love Arizona! Not just the weather (It is currently rainy), but also the way we treat older people out here!

I don't feel old. I don't look at myself as older. Why here in AZ, I only qualify for the senior discounts at Ross, Denny's, and Savers. All others say I must wait at least another 5 years. I can qualify to live in Sun City, but I would be among the babies of the community. But I prefer Glendale, where the rest of my local family all live. I miss Mr. Boo and his mommy and daddy! (Boo hoo!)

Perhaps this feeling of youth stems from years of working with the elderly in care facilities, where I was the Activity Director. I am still young enough to be the child of most of the residents I served. I used to take one lady who was 102 years young on outings to museums, malls, and parks. She was remarkable! Except for using a wheelchair, no one could keep her down. She could still thread a needle and did her own mending. She had a fabulous outlook on life, even though it had dealt her some tough days. She was an immigrant from a communist country and lost not only her belongings and property, but her son as well, in her quest for freedom. Yet she had an unquenchible sense of humor.

I used to run exercise groups for people with an average age of 84. How can I be old, just in my fifties? (I must confess there were days when I experienced aches from that class, but please don't tell myself that!)

Perhaps this feeling stems from the fact that I still chase children all day long. And I do mean chase. Baby Girl thinks it is funny to get into something and then run!
I can still hit a ball. I can still carry two kids and three bags all at once.
I can jump on a trampoline (but there are consequences to that one if I don't have extra padding in the right place!) No further comment. I will also admit that I do have some ailments common to aging, and have difficulty removing the tops of sippy- cups at times!

I will also confess that I have a few gray hairs, but I also contend that those did not come from aging, but rather from parenting! Anyone who has successfully survived three teenagers and seen them into productive adulthood, deserves a gray hair or two just for proof of survival!

I don't know what constitutes "old". It has to be more than the amount of years we have walked this planet. It must be something about perception, wisdom, and desire. Maintaing youth has to do with learning from your mistakes, approaching life from the positive and yet accepting what you cannot change.
I learned a lot from my previous residents. Sometimes we really are as young or as old as we think.

Challenges and Changes!

Wow! There is a strange odor in the air! And it is NOT our fake snow. In fact, it is not so strange, just, fortunately, infrequent. Baby Girl has had the runs, to put it nicely, since last Wednesday...and Hunky joined the drama this weekend. It is still on-going...at least for him. She has conquered that end of things, but now is way off schedule with her sleeping habits. That would not be so bad in itself, but she desires to be held and the center of attention most of her waking moments. As one would assume, this makes homeschooling quite challenging! And with the bustle of the Holiday decorations, shopping, and already some visitors, all the children are in "challenge mode. Yeah! Just what I always wanted!

There are challenges in my husband's work as well. He sells on commission only, advertising specialties. Many of his customers are so tight, they cannot afford to buy any form of advertisement, and some are even going out of business. So, at a time of year, when he usually does very well, he is struggling at numbers he hasn't experienced in years. oh well. Life goes on. We will not starve. We will not lose our house over it. We will have a good, even great Christmas.

I was instructing the boys on the true meaning of Christmas. It has nothing to do with getting gifts. It has everything to do with giving, loving and sharing. I cannot imagine what it must have felt like for God the Father to send Jesus the Son down to earth in the form of a created human being. It seems to me that it would feel humiliating, except for His unconditional love. I like to make crafts and to write characters into stories. I cannot imagine how I would feel if I had to become one of those characters or, when of my own created objects. Wow! So, Christmas is about giving, not getting. There are many ways to give. I can give a smile, I can let someone go in front of me in a line, or cut in front in traffic. I can hold the door for an elderly shopper or carry a bag to their car. I can resist the urge to fight for the parking spot or last sale item. Think about it. These are all ways to give...not take. Simple isn't it? I wish I could do more than that. I wish I had money to give to Phoenix Children's Hospital and St. Jude's and other charities, but I don't. I wish I had the means to put a smile on the face of a poor child by lavishing them with lots of toys, but I don't.

So, I will have to smile, and pray and share whatever I can. Perhaps it is time to return to the old-fashioned Christmases which were much simpler. The ones where children did not have to have the latest fashion or electronic toy (or any toy for that matter) to feel good about themselves and feel as though they fit in with their peers. Where sharing homemade pies or knitted items or just good deeds was considered quite neighborly. And where you knew and could trust your neighbors.

Or perhaps it is time to go all the way back to Bethlehem and consider the sacrifice that was made for ALL humanity in a humble stable...full of love. Not competition, not gifts, not tinsel or ornaments or stuff...just love.

Perhaps.

Birthdays and Boys, Boys, Boys!!

Mr. Boo had a birthday party! He actually turned one early in the month, but his cousin, Lil Girl, turned one that week, so their thrifty parents combined the party and had twice the fun! We were privileged to attend, since he lives close to where my family Thanksgiving occurred.

Mr. Boo got lots of toys and exciting things to see. He was Mr. Busy-busy that day and has been ever since. His favorites seem to be the ride-on airplane that Grandpa Steve and I brought and the walker/busy box that Aunt Beth sent. He loves the blocks from Grandpa Rex and Grandma Betty too. His cousins loved his things as well!

Mr. Boo is a delightful young man who is attempting to walk...sometimes...after all, crawling is faster!!! And a guy has a lot of things to get into...I mean...get to...there is no time to waste by falling down and getting up again and again!
It was so nice to see my daughter...my baby daughter...all grown up and a mommy herself...and a great one at that! She seems to have a happy child who is smart and well-adjusted to the life-style they have. She is smart too. I am very fortunate in the children and grandchildren God has given me.

And now for the more boys...a week off had its toll in the education department and in the character training a bit. We have, however, managed to make a lot of decorations for the house, and gifts for the family and get back on track with school. I got some fake snow and the boys had a blast making it and playing with it. The only downside is it has an odd odor. Supposed to be non-toxic though, so oh well. We made snowmen out of styrofoam balls as the picture shows along with lots of tree ornaments and garland. Oh what fun it is to...be a part of this family!

Handsome is learning fractions now and will start double digit addition on Monday. He has learned about months and days of the week, money value (coins), and time as well recently. He is reading much better now and reads simple sentences without much help. We write our own stories now too and he writes them out in sentences weekly. We do use curriculum as well, but writing about our own stuff is a fun addition. Keeps him wanting to write and read.

Hunky can spell and almost write his name. He knows the Pledge of Alligiance and all his colors and shapes, and a lot of letters and numbers. He can recite the Alphabet but gets some actual letters mixed up. But he is only four so I think he is doing well. Now if I can only get him to color inside the lines! I suspect he is one of those people to whom staying inside the lines might be quite challenging all his life!

Baby Girl is learning where her nose, eyes, ears, and lips are. She is talking quite well now and is very inquistive. I do have my own challenges ahead of me!

Jomo had a school play on Tuesday and we enjoyed the acted out story of Stone Soup. He was so cute singing and making all the motions from the stage! Good job Jomo! He and TDH are playing ball every Saturday. TDH is a soccor player and Jomo does baseball with his dad as his coach. We enjoy each and every game that we possibly can attend. Life is good.

Oh there are situations less than great, even less than good. But if I choose to concentrate on those, I would miss the opportunities to enjoy the great moments, the good moments, and even the challenging moments that bring about growth. So, although I personally reared two GIRLS and one BOY, I am enjoying learning more and more about boys in my life. And hopefully, for my experience, I can help them grow from boys to men who make wonderful and happy choices throughout their lives! AMEN!

Thanksgiving Day and the rest of the weekend

I have a lot to be thankful for. I am relatively healthy. I have a happy marriage and a wonderful relationship with my husband and his family as well as my own. I have a home that actually has my name on the deed. I have furniture in that home, along with clothing and food, and everything I need.

There have actually been times last month when I was out shopping and could find nothing that I needed or even wanted, for that matter. Recently I have been asked by family members for suggestions for Christmas gifts. I seriously thought about requesting that they give to some charity in my honor. Knowing the ones who asked me, however, as well as I do, I knew that would not satisfy them. They may well do that, but would insist upon an actual gift being under the tree for me anyway. So, I hinted about gift certificates for massages or coffee, etc. That way, I can have a few moments for myself and not add to the clutter of my house.

I spent Thanksgiving Day at a park with over 30 of my extended family, cousins, aunts, uncles, second cousins and so forth. This is a tradition that my father's family has done on this day for over 60 years. Last year was my first attendance since I was in my twenties! I went again this year because my sister met us there and I am accustomed to doing at least one thing vacationy with my sister each year. That privilege alluded me this year, so I had to make the trip! We shared a motel room, she and I and our husbands. Then we tackled the Black Friday crowds of only one mall. I did learn something about my family. Something that I had known but forgotten to be consciously aware of. They are generous people. My uncle Mo came around 5:00 AM to secure our usual ramada only to find a homeless man sleeping on the slab table. He let him be for a short time and then asked him to leave, telling him to return later that afternoon. I did not know this at first. I saw my second cousin scooping a bean cassarole out onto paper plates at the end of our time together, as did an aunt and another cousin. I asked why they were doing this and they stated that they were providing food for the homeless people who frequent the park. They would return later, as they did every year, apparently. Some could argue that this encouraged homeless people to come to that park. And that might be true. But this is Thanksgiving. And they did not plan to be homeless. They are hungry and they have encountered the Stewart family!

And I shall blog further in another blog regarding the rest of the weekend...Mr. Boo's birthday party!