Journal My Christmas - December 8th

Do You See What I See




Right now the snow outside and the pictures of projects that I am currently working on are the signs of the season. The weather is so cold and you just want to stay home and keep warm. I am excited about the season and all it has to offer. Jesus was born to save us all and that is all that matters. I will work to put more pictures of the scenes from our special town when the roads are snow free and easier to travel.

Journal My Christmas December 7th

Organization ~

Getting organized - yikes!! So much is going on this month it is easy to get overwhelmed. Aside from Christmas and all that goes with that we have to get ready to move. I am sure that I am not the first one to move during December / January but it is still a big job.

So in an effort to get organized, I will keep a list here of the things that need to get done and when the month is over, I will print this up and put it in the album.

1. Keep this journal going - it really has been fun so far.
2. Do Christmas letter
3. Get Christmas cards out
4. Order mom's coffee for Christmas
5. Try and finish mom's quilt
6. Do Angela's wine journal
7. Figure out what to buy Dave for Christmas and do it
8. Get room ready for Michael
9. Copy Disney pictures for Mike and Matt's books
10. Buy Mike and Matt Christmas presents
11. Get Matt's presents mailed
12. Get the stuff out of the garage and into the storage unit
13. Pack at least 4 boxes a day
14. Figure out what is going to storage and what is going to mom's
15. Make Caramel Corn for gifts
16. Bake some goodies too
17. Keep my eyes on Jesus and celebrate His birth.
18. Shop for my family
19. Enjoy Christmas day
20. Keep things stress free.
21. Take pie orders for Christmas
22.
23.
24.
25.

Journal My Christmas - December 6th

Memories

When we were younger my grandpa would give each of the kids a can of Planter's Peanuts on Christmas morning. We always knew that would be waiting for us at Grandpa and Grandma's.

Christmas morning we would go to Grandpa and Grandma's for a southern breakfast. Ham with red eye gravy, biscuits and all the other goodies.

My grandma made date nut rolls and they were soooooooo good.

I came home from college and that Christmas my grandma had crocheted a beautiful afgan in pinks (my favorite color) It meant alot to me and I still have it.

One Christmas Santa gave me a beautiful bride doll. I just loved her and she was one of my treasures. She is still in my cedar chest. I always kept her there and no one ever played with her.

One year my mom kept claiming poverty and said that Christmas was going to be bleak. She was being very sly, that year she gave each of us a camcorder and all the supplies. She was so proud of herself that she had us fooled.

We started having family Christmas brunch instead of a big dinner. It was great cause we could open presents and eat our fun brunch. The rest of the day was stress free and was awesome.

One Christmas in Washington the whole Warriner crew worked together to create a quilt for "mom" Warriner. It had personalized squares from each boy, all 3 wives and the grandchildren. It seems ironic at this point because we had only been married a year and had no kids yet and unfortunately never did, so no squares ever needed to be added. Since mom passed away - Maria now has the quilt and will pass on to one of the girls eventually. It really was a blessing to make and even though mom kept it in a dresser drawer, she was truly blessed by it.

I coaxed the Cahill clan to do the same and we created a quilt for mom with all of us and her friends. It turned out awesome except the fact it has never been finished. I need to work on getting it done. Good project for 2010.

Journal My Christmas - December 5th

Advent~
Count down to Christmas ~ So many times I forget to look at what's around me and take in the blessings from each day. I will make my advent for this Christmas to list the 25 blessings that come my way this season. It will be a true blessing to look back and see all the great things God did this very special season.
1. Love of my family
2. Friends
3. My pets whom love me unconditionally
4. Great night with mom and Dave watching "A Christmas Carol"
5. Worshipping God freely
6. Snow
7. A warm house to live in
8. God provides what we need
9. A special time with family
10. Fun decorations and beautiful lights
11. Memories of those we have lost and loved.
12. A sense of calm and peace
13. Prayer
14. Laughter and my brother
15. Gift of encouragement via friends kind words
16. Creativity
17. My nephew Michael
18. Shopping for family
19. Being at church with my family
20. Spending time with friends
21. Reflecting on the year
22. Sending cards to friends and family
23. Candlelight service with family and friends
24. Spending the day with Michael
25. A great day with family

Journal My Christmas - December 4th

Perfect ~
Is there really the perfect Christmas? It is so easy to get caught up in all the hustle and bustle of just being busy, overwhelmed and not enjoying this really special season. The pictures of our tree in our living room and our front yard with snow make me smile. So is that perfect, not really. It just makes me smile. Life is extremely difficult this year. Dave lost his job, we are struggling to make ends meet on his very part time job at Michaels, we are going to lose our home to foreclosure or to a short sale and my mom is mourning the loss of her long time love , Bill.
We are going to make some changes in our living situation. We are preparing to move in with mom and Jodi, which will be great but will be tiring at best to get everything combined and so on.
Our home will not decorated this year, any gifts given or received with be minimal and you know it would be very easy to feel sorry for oneself.
But we have the pleasure of having one of our nephews with us for 2 plus weeks, which will be so much fun. We have family who we love and who love us and most important this celebration called Christmas is a celebration of the birth of our Savior and King, Jesus Christ.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever shall believe in Him shall have everlasting life - John 3:16
So things may not be perfect, the fact is they never can be, we have the greatest gift of all from God our Father. Material things will come and go, God's love is there forever. So my goal this year for my perfect Christmas is to concentrate on the beauty around me, take care of my family and focus on the true reason of the season: Jesus.

Journal My Christmas - December 3rd

Cards ~
Every year I wait till the last minute to get my cards made, the letter written and the cards mailed. Some years the cards go out in January. Last year we found these Disney cards and paper on sale and since we love all things Disney, I thought "why not" So this year our friends and family will receive our special Disney touch and if all goes well they will go out before Christmas. Here's hoping!!!! I also thought it would be fun to add the names of all who are getting cards this year. So I printed up the address list.

Journal My Christmas - December 2nd

WEATHER.............The weather is up and down during December. One day could be in the 50's or 60's and the next day we could have snow. Sometimes we have a white Christmas and other times it is warm as can be. The weather chart for the next week shows that snow is on its way. Going to be cold this weekend. Time for hot tea. I love the snowy / rainy days because I can stay home and bake, scrapbook or whatever I want as it storms outside.

Journal My Christmas - December 1st

The Reason..............
This has been a project that I have been involved with for 3 years. My dear friend Kathy Mills purchased the class for me as a special gift. Once you have paid for this class, you can take it again and again.

I thought I had many roadblocks in the years past that kept me from keeping up and this year is no different. There are so many issues that are affecting the whole spirit of Christmas this year, that I need to do this to bring me back in focus for the Reason of the Season.

This seems to be a season of losses. We lost Bill, Dave lost his job, we are losing our house and through it all I don't want to lose perspective.
We are planning a big move so decorating is out of the question. We are just trying to survive.

There are couple special events this month, so I look forward to sharing about them and trying despite the adversity to just enjoy the month.

At the end of the day, God is still in control and there is much to rejoice about.
Celebrate this season with me, because it is the birthday of our Savior and King Jesus Christ.

Journal Your Christmas 2009

This is the link to a fun excercise in Journaling Your Christmas. My friend Kathy Mills gave this class to me as a gift 2 years ago and each year I hope to do the class.

Well this year when there is the possiblity of the most bizarre Christmas season I have ever experienced, I am going to go for it.

This will be my attempt to journal all the happenings of this month. I will add entries each do to my blog too, more info later, but I promise you won't be board.

Creative Escape Circle Journal

I have always heard about Circle Journals, an album you pass around with friends. I sort of did one with my cropping buddies but this is the first one I am doing with non local friends. My book left my house today. Won't see it again till August, 2010. I am excited to see the other books and participate in this great journey.

Bootiful Charms

Had to show off these fun little ghost charms for a Halloween Charm swap with my friends from Creative Escape. Thought they would make you smile. Made 4 extra and have special plans for those cuties LOL

I Won!!!!

Last week, I had an awesome mail day. I was fortunate enough to win two contests. The first one is from Piggy Tales, I won their entire spring line. I actually won this in May and it finally made its way to me. Lots of bright colors and lots of fun. I also won a great one year subscription to an awesome scrap magazine.



Then off of Margie Romney Aslett's blog for her new company The Girls Loft I won the great new tape runner Glue Glider. You need to visit her website, she has a great monthly kit.


It was a great day with lots of treasures.