Happy New Year!

Some Christmas kids would like to wish you a Happy New Year! Have fun tonight, and be safe! See you in 2010!

Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater

I have a confession to make.

I have talked before about my love for my momAgenda (not on this blog as it is new, but on my blog that I write with my friends...keep up, people!). I have used a momAgenda for about 4 years now, and it really keeps me in line. Which is saying a lot.

I am really hard to keep in line.

However, I was perusing the internet one day and found this:

The Lilly Pulitzer twenty ten agenda

It has a different format than the momAgenda:

It has a lot of fun colors and cute illustrations:

Even the tabs are colorful:

There are even stickers in the back for marking special dates or whatever other reasons you may have for using stickers (just please don't tell my children that they are back there.):

I tried to ignore this cute little agenda.

Then I bought one for our wonderful summer babysitter as a going-back-to-college gift.

Then I reasoned with myself that my momAgenda is wonderful and all, but it is a little bulky. I can't fit it in my purse when I am running in somewhere and don't want to actually carry my planner. So, I decided, I could use a small one to slip in my purse. That way I could use two planners! And, to me, that is just so exciting!

I know that last paragraph makes me sound totally crazy. I can handle it.

The only problem with the LP agenda that I got is that it isn't actually that much smaller than my momAgenda. It does fit in my bag better, so I am sticking to my original plan. However, it isn't small and discreet in my bag, so it probably won't be a permanent fixture in there.

I could have just ordered the Lilly Pulitzer Pocket Agenda. But I don't like to have to write small.

I could have just ordered the momAgenda Mini Daily planner. But it only has one day per page, and I find it too confusing to have to flip pages back and forth all the time. And, I don't like having to write in the crease where the two pages meet. It makes my handwriting look weird.

I know. I'm weird and quirky when it comes to my handwriting. You would think from reading this post that I am totally Type A.

I am totally not.

Anyway, there are pluses to both agendas. I still stand by my momAgenda and will continue to use it for many years to come. I will see how it goes with the LP agenda this year.

Don't worry, I will keep you posted! ;-)

But for now, if you are looking for a planner for this new year, I would highly recommend both!

Back to "Normal"

I am back at work today. Back to real life; back to the same old responsibilities. Blah, blah, blah.

No, I actually love my job. I work for my family's farm (not The Farmer's farm...it's confusing, I know) doing the books. I have wonderful employers (my dad and his siblings) who understand that I am a mom and that my kids need me, and I have a great, flexible schedule (well, at least for most of the year...).

It is just hard to go back to work after a wonderful bit of time off. Christmas was so fun -- even if a lot of it was spent hurrying from one celebration to another. And since Christmas, The Farmer and I have been spending a lot of quality time with our kids. We went shopping together. We went out to eat together. We all snuggled in bed and watched Playhouse Disney. We took the kids to see The Princess and the Frog. (It was Bubba's first movie, and he slept through the first half of it. The half of the movie that he was awake, Bubba spent more of his time chowing down on popcorn and Sprite than paying any attention to the movie!) We played with the kids' Christmas presents. We ate, and ate, and ate -- some leftovers and some not!

The Farmer and I also got to spend some time with some friends last night. We went out to eat and to see The Blindside. The company and movie were both great -- I would definitely recommend going to see it if you haven't already.

It was a great couple of days, and I hate to see it end (kind of sounds like my last post...). Luckily this is a short week since we have New Years Eve Thursday night. We are going very low-key this year with a cookout at our friends' house -- and that sounds just perfect to me!

I hope you are enjoying your time in between Christmas and the New Year, whether you are back to reality yet or not!

Sad

I think that the couple of days after Christmas are so sad.

Okay, I better rephrase that -- my sister's birthday is the day after Christmas, and we always have to celebrate her that day. So, the couple of days after the day after Christmas are always so sad.

I love Christmas, and I start getting excited about it well before Thanksgiving. I love how the radio stations start playing Christmas music 24/7 the day after Thanksgiving. I love to see all of the houses displaying Christmas lights. I love how everyone is so cheery this time of year, and I even love the busyness of it all.

But it all stops the day after Christmas. The radio stations go back to playing soft rock (um, yuck), people get a little less merry, and the world settles in to a gray, yucky winter. Christmas trees that were so pretty and festive a day before are tossed outside and discarded in sad little piles. And it is life as normal before there is really a chance to celebrate or an opportunity to really enjoy the season.

It is depressing.

And I know that I am not the only one to feel this way. I told Sassy to wear her dress with the Christmas tree on it on Christmas day because it would be the last day that she could wear it -- and my sweet little girl just burst into tears and said "I don't want Christmas to be over!"

So we are kind of holding on to Christmas around here. We still have our tree up and will keep it up a couple more days. We still listen to the occasional Christmas song. And, since it is still Christmas according to the church calendar, we even got to sing some beautiful Christmas hymns during our service last night.

I know that, before I know it, it will be next Christmas, but for now I don't want to give up on this one!

Do You Ever Wonder?

Have you ever really wondered about the birth of Jesus?

I mean, for instance, Jesus could have been born anywhere. He could have been born into the highest royal family; He could have had a palace, servants, or more material goods than anyone else had He desired it. He created the world, so He could have entered the world in any way He wanted. But he was born in a stable -- the Savior of the world was born in a barn, for crying out loud! He was born among smelly animals and smelly animal manure. He came to earth as a small, innocent, know-nothing baby. And He did all of that so that He could later die for you and for me.

Really, it is amazing if you think about it.

And then there's Mary. Can you even imagine being her? Can you imagine telling your fiance that you were still a virgin yet were pregnant -- and not just pregnant with any child but with God's child? Can you imagine what your fiance would say: "Yeah, okay, Mary. Whatever you say. I have heard excuses before, but this one really takes the cake...(until, of course, he got his own visit from the angel)"

Can you imagine what others said about her? I am sure that no one believed her story.

And then there's the whole birth in a stable. I don't know about you, but if I were Mary I would be having some conversations with God that are along the lines of "Okay, God. I am in Your Hands. I am doing Your work, bringing Your Son into this world. Do you think I could possibly give birth in someplace other than a stable? I mean, maybe a Holiday Inn or something? Please, please, please not in this smelly, stinky stable amongst these smelly, stinky animals. Really. Please!"

But that is not the way it was. God chose to send His Son into this world in the lowliest of ways. He was born into a poor, young family. Mary and Joseph did what God wanted them to do without hesitation or argument.

And thank God for that. Thank God that His ways are higher than mine because He gave us a gift that was accessible to us. He gave us a Savior who was one of us yet was perfect in every way. He did things exactly the way they needed to be -- exactly the way that only He could do them.

Happy Birthday, Jesus -- and thank You for doing things the way You did!

Scrooge Lives

I have been having a bah humbug day.

I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off (always a lovely analogy, don't you think?) for a couple of weeks now, and I am tired.

A string of lights on my tree has decided to stop working. And there are several strands that have had to be shoved back into the tree at least 3,213,546,543 times since it has been up because of little two-year-oldswho like to undecorate the tree. And three of our unbreakable ornaments have been broken since the tree has been up.

My oven also decided to stop working -- just in time for me to not be able to make the enchiladas or dessert for Miss Priss's class celebration last week. (They were celebrating different cultures -- enchiladas are not something we usually eat at Christmas!)

My kids are hopped up on too much sugar and not enough sleep and dreams of a big, jolly elf sliding down our chimney to bring them a whole lot of loot that they don't need and are acting like little devils. They are fighting, screaming at each other and at The Farmer and me, and acting wild.

I have been stressing out about the last minute gifts that I need to get -- including some things for my husband who is the hardest person in the world to shop for. And don't get me started on all of the gifts that we are obligated to buy for distant family members who we barely even know.

It is enough to make one want to cancel Christmas.

What I want is totally opposite of what I have been getting lately. I want perfectly baked cookies, cakes, pies, or whatever little Christmas-y treats I can concoct. I want a perfectly decorated tree and house. I want perfect little children who behave like perfect little angels and who get along all the time and who always use their manners. I want plenty of time to sit around by a roaring fire (we have not once built a fire in this house...) and our pretty Christmas tree and drink hot chocolate and cuddle with my perfect kids while watching White Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas.

I want a perfect Christmas.

But I realized tonight as I was getting some frustration out by vacuuming that that is not what I am ever going to get. That is the problem with the secular world getting on the Christmas bandwagon (or should I say Holiday bandwagon) -- it becomes all about the cooking and the buying and the giving and the outdoing others.

And that is not what Christmas is really about.

Christmas is about us getting the greatest gift ever given -- our God came to earth as one of us so that He could ultimately die to save us.

Yes, I have known this, but sometimes we all could use a little reminder.

As I sit here now and type by my imperfect but beautiful Christmas tree, I can feel the stress just slipping away as I refocus on the real meaning of Christmas.

Tomorrow I will try to wake up and face the day differently. I know that not everything will go the way that I want it to and not everything will get done that needs to get done, but that is okay. Because I will ponder with my kids the wonder of this magical time. And, yes, we will still bake cookies and look forward to Santa -- and we will probably still have some fighting, grumpiness, and yelling -- but we will do it all with our eyes fixed on the manger that was the first stop on the road to the Cross.

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be amongst you, and remain with you always. Amen. (from The Book of Common Prayer of The Episcopal Church)

(My apologies to those of you who already read this on my other blog -- I thought it was worth sharing here, too!)

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog!


Chances are if you are here, then you got here by way of my other, private blog. However you got here, though, thanks for reading! This new blog started from a post that I wrote on my old blog (I posted it on this blog below for you to read it if you haven't) that was the result of a sermon I heard in church one Sunday.


In short, those of us who are Christians are called to bear fruit for the Lord. We are supposed to do what we can to advance the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. We are called to witness both by word and deed about Jesus Christ and what He has done in our lives. Before hearing the sermon that Sunday, I knew all of this, but that day it really hit me -- am I doing all that I can do to bear fruit?

I realized that even if I was not doing all I could, then I could definitely start. I also realized that if my post on my private blog could make an impact on my invited readers, then it could probably also make an impact on others. However, I couldn't reach any others because my blog was private.

So why not just go public? Well, the main reason is for privacy. I had been public before, but I had too much information about myself and my family in the blog; the result was a phone call at home from a reader. The caller had totally innocent reasons for calling, but The Farmer (my husband) and I decided that someone with not-so-innocent intentions could just as easily find us. So, I went private right away.

In order to keep my private life, well, private, I will not be posting personal information on this blog. I will go by a nickname (which I haven't decided on yet...) as will all of my family members: The Farmer is my husband, Miss Priss is my six-year-old daughter, Sassy is my four-year-old daughter, and Bubba is my two-year-old son.

I hope that you will join me on this journey as I attempt to bear fruit for the Lord. It should be an interesting ride...