if we were to send christmas cards....

my husband is not a card person.  he just doesn't see the point, and slowly his views on cards have been wearing off on me over the years.  a couple of years ago we decided to forego cards in order to save some money.  when it comes right down to it, i'd rather spend that money on a gift for someone rather than 100 cards that will get thrown in the trash.

and this year since i have this tiny little corner of the internet to hold our friends' and family's attention, i will share with you what would be in our christmas card, if we were to send one.

May the joy of Immanuel bless you this Christmas!

Hope has come!

prepping for christmas.

ahh, the most wonderful time of the year.  it's here, and i couldn't be more excited.  but the fight to remain "un-busy" (that could be a word, right?) seems so much harder around this time, you know?  it's like a rule or something.  from thanksgiving until the first week of january, you must be busy.

period. not up for discussion. 

we are fighting the good fight, though, and trying to make the most of this holiday season and treasure the spirit of what this season means.  so, like a lot of families, we tried to start doing an advent calendar and activities each day to prepare for christmas.  however, two days into it, we discovered that with our schedule, it just doesn't really work.  we have a window of time between 11:30 am until 1:30 pm that is "free", where for the most part, we are all together under the same roof, but it just feels like too much to try to schedule some type of activity in there.  i tried really hard to organize it, creating a calendar of full of family activities for everyday, and on that second day when i was sitting on the couch all by myself, i realized i was going to have to let go of my advent ideals and just have to accept that it might have to be more spontaneous this year.  so when the opportunity presents itself, we jump on it.  it's a lot less stressful and way more fun!  the other night was one of those times.  we grabbed dinner out and as we drove home in the snow, mike drove right past the driveway and headed over to a house that puts on a musical light display complete with their own radio frequency.  it was such a simple activity, but to us it was so special to have a night where we could choose to live in the freedom of a night without responsibilities.

my heart's desire for christmas in our home is to protect the spirit of christmas and create fond memories for our kids.  i want eli and any future children to look back and remember the fun we had during this time of year, as well as to learn from a young age why we celebrate christmas.  but i'm thinking, this is really hard with a 2 year old.  we tried reading through the "jesus storybook bible" and you would have thought we were reading from encyclopedia britannica.  he sat through maybe a paragraph and proceeded to climb off my lap and locate the nearest toy to escape.  so, either our child hates the bible or he's just not quite ready for that level of reading material.  so, then i found a children's book, a golden book no less, about the christmas story.  perfect. this will be perfect.....until we come across sentences like "The streets were full of cheerful, jostling kinsmen." really? jostling kinsmen?  so that book will go on the shelf until next year or 5 years from now.  i guess for now we will stick to talking about the nativity set and try to focus less on the wise men bringing Jesus presents and more on baby Jesus.

and of course, what's christmas without some crafting? this time of year always sparks my desire to make all the things.  and naturally i want to impart my love for arts and crafts onto my son.

here's a recent conversation between mike and i after an arts and crafts session:

me: "so i feel like eli isn't going to love crafts like i want him to."
mike: "what do you mean?"
me: "well, i try to do crafts with him, and he he's done after like 2 minutes. he just doesn't seem to love it."
mike: "well, he is 2."

yes, there is that.  me and my high expectations.  i will keep trying though, don't you worry!

on a completely unrelated note, can i tell you what i can't get enough of this christmas season? candles!  i love christmas scents. my hands down favorite christmas candle is one i found at kohl's years ago called "white christmas".  i stock up every year.  but then there are so many other yummy smells.  i seriously have to restrain myself from buying a candle every time i go to the store.   there's just something about cozying up the couch with a hot drink and candles burning when there's snow on the ground and a chill in the air.

now if only those little elves would be so nice as to come keep my house clean everyday in preparation for christmas.......

how do you prepare for christmas at your house?

35.

in just a few days i will celebrate my 35th birthday.  if perhaps you just thought, "no way!" or "i thought she was like 28", i love you, you are my favorite and would welcome you to continue to believe me to be younger than i really am.  if you didn't, then just keep your comments to yourself and just pretend you did.  my gray hairs and rickety feeling body tell me that i am definitely not as young as i used to be.  rickety body you ask? yes, rickety body. a couple of weeks ago i dislocated a rib GETTING OUT OF BED.

what's the saying? "you're only as old as you feel"?  i've got some serious problems if that's the case!

anyway, i've been thinking a lot about my upcoming birthday.  even though my dad would call 35 a "non-essential" birthday, it feels pretty significant to me.  now, when i feel out a survey i'll be in the 35-44 category.  i'm now classified as mid-30's.  only 5 years until the big 4-0.  i remember very clearly my awesome 80's themed roller skating 30th birthday party like it was yesterday.  this feels like a big deal to me.

a couple of months ago i was talking to our pastor who i've been friends with since we were 16 and who happens to turn 35 just a few days after me.  as we were questioning how it was even possible that we could be turning 35, he commented that it was "all downhill from there."  i'm pretty sure he was joking, but it has really made me think about the life i have left to live.  i pray that i get to live a long life, to see my kids grow up and meet my grandkids, but i know that our days are numbered according to God's plan for each of us.  that being said, i want to make sure i am living each day on purpose and living out His plan for me, whatever that looks like.

each year as my birthday approaches, i sometimes think about who i was 10 years prior or even 20 years prior, so recently i've been thinking a lot about 15 year old and 25 year old shannon.

oh to be young again!  i definitely would not want to revisit high school, maybe only to let 15 year old me that the time would go fast and college would make up for any unenjoyable moments! but 25 was a good time.  single, unemployed, living at home, every 25 year old's dream, right?  i kid! i had no qualms about my life at the time.  every day was a new adventure. 

but here i am staring 35 in the face wondering what the next 10 years will be like.  hopefully we'll have a few more kids. (when my husband reads this, he will say, "you mean one more.") hopefully my husband will become full time at church and will only have to work one job. hopefully our food pantry will grow and be able to feed more people in our community.  hopefully i will be able to homeschool those few children and be somewhat organized again.  hopefully i will continue to make new friends and cherish living in community. hopefully dink dink will astound veterinarians across the globe and live another 10 years.

there are so many things i can wish for in the next 10 years, but most importantly, i pray that my life honors Jesus in all that i do. i pray that He will continue to teach me how to live freely so i can experience His best.  that i will love others more, give thanks more, celebrate Him in all circumstances and cling to Him, allowing Him to be my everything.

is it all downhill from here?
no, i'd say the best is yet to come!