These are a few of my favorite things... and a Rant About Oprah

Did anyone see Oprah's "Favorite Things" show this week? I found it to be a little depressing. There's nothing like being reminded (repeatedly and relentlessly) that our economy is in trouble and the purse strings are tighter this year..."I'm dreaming of a thrifty Christmas" just doesn't have a nice ring to it. I watch Oprah to escape reality, not to wallow in it, and each year I look forward to seeing that crowd of people go into cardiac arrest as they open their millions of dollars worth of loot during the "Favorite Things" show. The gratitude boxes were nice and thoughtful, I guess, but come on--I just saw cocoa mix in a plastic bag shaped like a cone at Walmart earlier today--give us a little credit, please. And I have it on a higher authority (Donna's MIL) that preparing an excellent turkey is not nearly as hard as and requires far less basting than Ms. Ferrare's method. (By the way--who is Cristina Ferrare? Wasn't she famous for some reason years ago? And why is she suddenly a cook on the Oprah show?)

So, I propose we make a new law: The word "thrifty" is NEVER to be used in the same sentence as the word "Christmas." I mean, really, is anyone else insulted by this? Why must we always put a price tag on a holiday that, at its heart, celebrates something (Someone, rather) that was a free "gift" to us in the first place? I also propose that we all have an extravagant Christmas, and by extravagant I do not mean expensive--one that is so full of joy, love, merriment, and light that when we wake up on the 26th we say, "Whoops! We were having so much fun that we completely forgot to open the gratitude boxes and cocoa cones!" A Christmas so festive that we order pizza because we just don't have time to baste a turkey every fifteen minutes!

You know, as I'm typing this I remembered something--do you remember the scene in How the Grinch Stole Christmas where the Grinch has taken all of the town's gifts and he's waiting to see the townspeople's devastation? What happens? They all go hold hands and sing around a Christmas tree. He took their gifts but he couldn't take their spirits nor could he dampen the Spirit of the holiday.

Did you read Karly's blog this week? I totally agree with her--we are trying to re-evaluate our traditions and re-focus our attentions this year, too. For us, we don't want the tone of our holidays to be set by the amount of money we spend (whether it's a lot or a little), and we don't want our son to judge the success of our endeavors by the number of gifts he receives--thrifty or not!

(breathe)

All right, now for the fun stuff. To start this joyous Advent season I'm reflecting on some of my "Favorite Things" during the holidays. Here's my list:

• Favorite Christmas Movie: The Night They Saved Christmas (Jaclyn Smith plays a mom who lives in Alaska? with her family. Her husband works for a drilling company that is drilling too close to the North Pole for Santa's tastes. Santa invites the family to join him at North Pole City, and the unbelievers--in Santa, of course--learn a little about themselves and the meaning of Christmas along the way. It's a wonderfully cheesy Christmas tale that I would love to watch over and over if they would just release it on DVD!)
• Favorite Christmas Movie that My Family Wishes Would Disappear: Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory (It's really a sad story in the end, but I'm just riveted watching them make those fruit cakes. It was a quite accurate adaptation of one of his short stories.)
  
• Favorite Christmas Beverage: Boiled Custard (This may be more popular than eggnog in my neck of the woods, but if you grew up somewhere else you've probably never heard of it. My great-aunt used to make it from scratch every Christmas morning.)
• Favorite Christmas Song: O Holy Night (Sung by Josh Groban. "Chains shall we break for the slave is our brother, and in His name, all oppression shall cease..." chills)
• Favorite Christmas Candy: Divinity (My Mom's, of course!)
• Favorite Christmas Special: "Shrek the Halls" (I can't help it--the Gingerbread Man's story is hilarious--"You weren't there!"lol)
• Favorite Old Christmas Tradition: I haven't done this is several years, but I used to love driving around with my sister at night with huge cups of coffee and hot chocolate to look at the Christmas lights.
• Favorite New Christmas Tradition: Turning on the Christmas lights. My Little Guy says, "Whoa!" and grins every time.

Of course this list could continue for days, and I could get very deep and philosophical, but I want to hear your list! Happy Christmas Season!

Light It Up! Our Advent Wreath

On the eve of the first Sunday of the Advent season, I am reflecting on this "Great Light" God shone upon us when he gave to us his only Son, his Prince of Peace. I've read Isaiah 9: 1-7, which has gotten me into an anticipatory mood.

I'm one of those who doesn't have a clue what anyone is talking about when they reference scripture. I have to actually hear the words or read them, then I realize I've read it enough times that I should know it, but I just don't remember the reference. Isaiah 9: 1-7 is the one that starts, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light..."

How can we make this light shine in our home, upon our family during this busy holiday season? Kids love candles. They especially love blowing them out after watching the flame dance around a few tentative test puffs from across the table. Cause and effect in action. The Light is what it's all about, so I'm thinking I need to fashion an Advent wreath, with one candle for each of the four weeks leading up to Christmas, then a fifth to light on Christmas Eve, symbolizing the birth of Jesus, the light of the world. Nothing fancy. Just five tapers or pillar candles, set in a circle on the table with some greenery.

I think lighting the Advent candle each night at dinner will be an opportunity to reinforce the true meaning of the season. Even if all they get out of it right now is "Jesus is the light of the world," this will become an important and expected part of Advent, helping them see the growing light leading up to Jesus' birth.

So as we "green the house" this week, preparing our hearts and our home for this ultimate birthday celebration, I think we'll add some extra greenery to the table for our Advent wreath.

For ideas about how to use color in your Advent wreath and other general Advent information, go here.

This blog gives lots of ideas for making a wreath, along with great photos of her family's homemade Advent wreath and the symbolism of the things they used to adorn it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Food

Football

Turkeys

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I did :).

Happy Thanksgiving Eve

I'm grumpy right now. Grrrr.

My kids woke up first and asked to go downstairs. I said "OK", but I didn't add the usual "But make good choices..."

Well what I got was them eating the ice cream I bought yesterday. They are in their rooms right now. Did I do the right thing? What's the big deal, right? No one got hurt. Are they being naughty or normal? Maybe it's just normal for them to be naughty?

Parenting for me usually is like all of these rules I impose and then when they are invariably broken, I think "Well, should I even enforce that?". Am I making sense? My brain hurts.

I fully intended to write something deep and whimsical regarding Thanksgiving that's tomorrow. For the life of me, I can't come up with anything. I sat at the computer last night for an hour trying to write something, and .... nothing.

So, here it is.

I really am thankful for all that God has given to me. My life is the best it has ever been. For real. As a girl, I never really dreamed of how my life would turn out. I imagined a husband, but after that, nothing concrete. My life now is great. Thank you, God.

How has your life turned out? Did you dream big dreams, or let life just carry you along like it did me? Are you truly thankful for where you are at today, or do you constantly wish for more? Yes, I know life is not perfect, but is your heart and soul settled into a place of content?

Well, I wish for all of you readers, a truly wonderful Thanksgiving. In the midst of all the preparations, I hope you can take just a moment to take stock of all that you could be thankful for.

Ok, I think I can let them out of their rooms now. Should I let them have their ice cream after breakfast? That's what I'll do. Am I too easy? Too harsh? Heck, I don't know. I'm just a mom trying her best every blooming day. What I do know is that I'm thankful for those two little gems and hope one day they will also be thankful for what God has blessed them with.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

The Hangover

Today was a great day for an adventure. No school, no work. We were free as birds and didn't have a care in the...

Not really! We made homemade Christmas cards this morning and made a HUGE mess in the dining room. But we got about 50 cards made and even the King of the Jungle was able to help! I try to have a fun "project" for us in the morning after breakfast when we don't have school. It helps to avoid venturing toward the TV where I have a tendency to barter my way into watching the Today Show for 30 minutes in exchange for a "movie." [In our house it's normally a Mr. Rodgers rerun.] It's a sucky deal for me, because THE Princess asks me every 2 minutes, I swear I am not making this up, if it's time for the movie yet. "Excuse me mommy, is it time for my movie yet? Is your show over?" So much for my 30 minutes.

So, I gave up on that a long time ago. Now I plan an activity. Smart, right? Generally it's an artsy thing that values process over product. That is mostly so that I can linger over a second cup of coffee and read my TIME magazine. But, not today! Today we crafted with purpose. My purpose was clear, we were going to make our own art that we could send to friends and family to kick off the holiday season!

THE Princess, too, had a purpose. And that was to put glitter glue on pretty much everything we own. Not exactly what I was envisioning, but I kind of just followed behind her smearing the drips onto more paper and miscellaneous artifacts so that she could do her 'thing.' Even, KOTJ got in on the action by drooling and swiping wet fingers all over our art. I think it adds to the whole effect.

My job, other than janitorial, was to frame each masterpiece when it was deemed complete. I had precut the frames to fit, that made it pretty easy. Then I trimmed anything hanging over the edges so that I could lay them flat to dry and finally press them in my huge dictionary so they would lay flat in an envelope.

We worked diligently. THE Princess glitter gluing, KOTJ drooling, and me trimming. I got to have a nice little pile of the stuff that was hanging over. Like a sandwich bag sized amount. Some but not a ton. So, I did what everyone would do in this case. When we finished our art, we picked up everything, swept the floor, wiped the table, put our supplies away, and I bagged up the hangover and smashed it all into a zip lock sandwich bag. I probably should have used two bags, but why waste the bag, right? Smash it up! Then, because I was now trying to get the kids ready for a new and exciting adventure, I sat it on the table and forgot about it.

Until we got home from the aforementioned adventure. As we entered the house I realized that Sammy the One Eyed dog had discovered the hangover and was doing some Christmas decorating of his own. In the midst of my sweeping up the mess with KOTJ in the sling, THE Princess started chasing Sammy and attempting (unsuccessfully) to get him to pull a card, sit in time out, and think about his bad choices. I just stifled my laughter. Until Sammy started to hide and howl from under the couch. KOTJ started to cry, and THE Princess started to yell over the commotion to us that we were all making bad choices! This rather funny situation was now not as funny as before. I had hangover stuck all over my very awesome and expensive, but not very cute, shoes. Not cool.

My phone rang. RM called to see how our first day of vacation was going. My response, I thought, was very logical.

"You see, it started with this stupid hangover this morning." By this time, I had stepped out onto the back porch, so RM and I could hear each other. "I just couldn't get rid of it."

RM, the darling that he is, says, "Honey, I know the kids sometimes drive you crazy, but I didn't realize it was this much of a problem. You know hiding it could be a serious problem."

"Yes, but the problem today is that I didn't hide it. I left it out on the table and the dog got into it. It was all over the floor. THE Princess was trying to discipline the dog and KOTJ started crying. Then, KOTJ was crying and I got it on my shoes. Things are better if I hide it. Much better. Now it's on the floor, on the kids, it's pretty much everywhere!"

"How much is there?"

"I would guess 5 or 6 cups if I had to measure. But, don't worry, I'll get it cleaned up and everybody calmed down."

"Why don't you throw it away?"

"I can't WASTE it! That is so, like, wrong. I can use it, probably even tomorrow. I'll need it and be mad that I got rid of it! Sometimes I don't think you know me at all. I have this handled, don't worry. Will you be home at your regular time?"

"No, I'm gonna leave early and come home and help you. Do you want me to call your mom to come over and help you until I get home?"

"Why would you do that? No. I don't need help. I'll have everything under control in a few minutes. See you tonight I have to get back in there. Love you!"

My mom called me about 10 minutes later that she got a frantic call from RM. He thought I was drinking and the kids were getting into it. He wasn't sure what would make me upset enough to drink. Could she please come and check on me?

I told her about what had happened with the hangover. She started laughing. Then I started laughing. Then I called RM and told him what happened. I was still laughing. Laughing so much I was crying. Laughing so much I was even snorting (but don't tell anyone, okay?) He didn't think it was quite as hilarious. He thought I was playing a joke on him. I kept telling him I wasn't. It was an honest mistake. He grumbled that it was okay and said he would be home at his usual time.

I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Seriously. And, just for added measure, I had an empty bottle of sparkling grape juice that I left on the table for him. Just to be funny.

Guess what? Now I am in time out with a red card. IT. WAS. TOTALLY. WORTH. IT.

Postscript: If you get one of our beautiful handmade cards, please enjoy it fully. And, when RM gets over being annoyed with me, it will be a great story to tell. Probably next year. Or the next one.

What I Love about Thanksgiving

A few years ago, I was asked to host the Davis Family Thanksgiving (my Dad's family, not to be confused with Sammy Davis, Jr.'s). I was happy to entertain, but I wasn't so thrilled about Thanksgiving. Easter or Christmas would be far more fun to host. After all, Easter has soft fluffy bunnies and fuzzy baby chicks. Christmas has sweet Baby Jesus mangers and jolly round snowmen. Thanksgiving only has turkeys, which are not very cute or decorative. In time, I grew to love Thanksgiving, and here are some of the things I love most.

The one true God who gives me everything else on this list and more. The one true God who loves me as I am because he made me that way. He has adopted me as his own, and I am a friend of God even though I don't deserve it.

Underdog and all of the other gigantic balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Ribeiros – we met the Ribeiros when adopting Alex from Russia. Thank God he paired us up with them. They have been more help to our family than they will ever know. They are angels on earth!!

Kinfolk – my wonderful friends and family. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. I am especially thankful for my loving and supportive parents, my brothers and their families, and my husband’s family. Our family is extra blessed this year with a new niece and a new nephew.

Everything chocolate! I have tasted chocolate from all parts of the world and have yet to try some I didn’t like. My favorite was purchased in the Astor Mall in Astrakhan, Russia.

Y didn’t come – Norah Jones sang this on Sesame Street, and it is one of Alex’s favorites. Y is for this song, and Sesame Street, which is probably my all time favorite show.

DH – chat lingo for Dear Husband. Just yesterday, I was listening to the Amy Grant song, “Oh how the years go by” and thinking of our marriage. My Aunt Mary sang this song at our wedding, and it fits our lives. “When the storms came through, they found me and you back to back together.” There is no one else I would want to face any storm with besides my wonderful husband!

Alex, you are a precious gift from God, and I am so thankful we are a family.

Yams, cranberry relish, pumpkin pie, turkey, hot rolls, noodles and warm cider - these are always on the menu at our Thanksgiving dinners.



What do you all love about Thanksgiving?

Turkey Laughs

With Thanksgiving just a few days away and the last minute rush looming in the distance, I thought we could take a few moments to relax and laugh a little. I found this cute (um, I mean incredibly cruel) story online.

Pregnant Turkey

Last year at Thanksgiving, my mom went to my sister's house for the traditional feast. Knowing how gullible my sister is, my mom decided to play a trick. She told my sister that she needed something from the store.

When my sister left, my mom took the turkey out of the oven, removed the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen, and inserted it into the turkey, and re-stuffed the turkey. She then placed the bird(s) back in the oven.

When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the turkey out of the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing. When her serving spoon hit something, she reached in and pulled out the little bird.

With a look of total shock on her face, my mother exclaimed, "Patricia, you've cooked a pregnant bird!"

At the reality of this horrifying news, my sister started to cry. It took the family two hours to convince her that turkeys lay eggs!

Do you have any funny Thanksgiving stories? Please share! Have a great week!