Christmas is Over... Where'd it go???

I know some people are excited the holidays are winding down. They are ready to get their routines back. They are ready to get their house back in order. They are ready for normalcy to return.

Well, not me. I have to be myself and be open and honest for a minute. I feel like Christmas got taken from me. Yes, I celebrated the best I could but... I was in a lot of pain. I mean really a lot of pain. I have a pinched sciatic nerve in my back. I went to the chiropractor a few times and to be honest, the last time I went was worse than the rest.

I am slowly getting better now but this Christmas will definitely not be one of my favorites. I feel like I missed everything. I feel like I missed the Christmas lights with my kiddo, shopping, watching movies and being silly. I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm complaining but this is real.

Pain stinks. There's no nice way around it. For those who live with chronic pain, I don't know how you do it. I don't know how you can get up each day and face the day like everything's okay.

I'm thankful for an amazing family that helped fill in the gaps where I couldn't. I'm thankful for an amazing son who understands, hopefully, and is very supportive. I'm thankful for an amazing unbelievable hubby that has stood beside me, behind me and up underneath me at times to help me get through the day.

So excuse me if I ask for a do-over. :) I may not take my tree down for awhile. Thankfully the pain is getting gradually better so I can enjoy the lights and sounds. When asked, my son says he had a good Christmas. That's what matters.

I'm not here to complain and whine, although I have done a lot of that at home the past couple of weeks. I'm here to say thank you to an amazing family and group of people I'm blessed to have in my life.

Thank you for listening to me complain. Thank you for supporting me through the pain. Thank you for making Christmas special for my guy. You're amazing!

So, here's the smiles and happiness that reigned on Christmas.

 

Here's the crazy girl with her boy and her new blankie.

So, I guess we're on to New Year's and a totally brand new beginning. Praying it's a blessed one for you and yours. Praying it's a blessed one here as well.

I'm Determined...

I'm determined. I'm determined to make this Christmas a beautiful and happy one. No matter what happens. It will be awesome. Do you know why? Because of this right here...


                               


This year has been quite odd. I found out all my decorations from the past years were gone. While that was a tough lesson to learn, I caught it and was determined to move past that hurt and disappointment. I learned things were just things and that people and memories make the difference.

Then our friends got sick and we had to reschedule our Christmas get together. These are some of our best friends and we haven't seen them in awhile. Nobody's fault but disappointing the same, for all involved.

Then my husbands grandmother had to have surgery and we had to cancel/postpone that Christmas get together. Needless to say that smiling face up above has been quite disappointed that everything seems to be getting put off. Not sure why but we know these things happen for a reason.

Then... yes there's another then... My parents who were coming down for Christmas had a postponement to their trip. My father got sick and it has been quite an emotional weekend. While we are praising God he is better, we still all sit back and shake our heads thinking, what is up? What is the lesson we are missing here?

My husband is used to celebrating on different days than the actual holiday. Part of his growing up. Me? Not so much. So after last years first Christmas without my family, I was really looking forward to this one. It's just kind of been a shock to the system as what in the world is happening.

I know my kiddo, my husband and many friends have told me it doesn't even feel like Christmas.

So I'm determined. I'm determined to remind my hubby, myself and my son about the real reason we celebrate Christmas. I'm determined to see smiles and laughter on Christmas morning no matter if it's just us or if we have family around.

I'm determined to listen to Christmas carols and thank God for sending His only son to die for me. For my sins. For my disobedience and sometimes (okay a lot of times) hardheadedness. I'm determined that we will remember this sacrifice and remember to say thank you.

I'm determined that whether we celebrate with family on the day of or the week after that it will be awesome, amazing and a Christmas to remember.

What Losing My Decorations Taught Me...

Recently my husband and I celebrated our 11th anniversary. 11 years of ups, downs, ins and outs. 11 years of exciting adventures and sometimes scary events. 11 years of tears, laughter and emotions I never even knew existed. That means 11 years of Christmases together. 11 years of building up that box of tree decorations that meant so very much to me.

See, this time of year is my absolute favorite. I start decorating as soon as I can sneak it past my hubby. He thinks Christmas carols shouldn't be played till Christmas eve and that the decorations don't come out till the day after Thanksgiving. ;-) He's really not a Scrooge, he just doesn't think it should come out till December . I get that. Some people are that way. Me? I'd probably start after Halloween if he'd let me.

So a few weeks ago I just had a thought hit me. I need to go through our stuff and start seeing what I want out. It's a new house and our first year here so I'm super excited about all the ways we can decorate. I have a fireplace now and a big front porch. You know, the key decorating spots.

So Boo Bear and I start pulling things out to go through them and check on them. Also to let them air out because I do NOT want to bring any spiders or creepy things in the house WITH the decorations.

Well I go through a few boxes and find that somehow one of my globes got broken and my homemade tree skirt is absolutely ruined. I was a little upset but ok. These things can be replaced. Gives me a reason to sew again, right?

After going through all the boxes, I realize I can't find the actual ornaments that go on the tree. I sort of panic but realize there's a tote on the top of the shelf that my sweet hubby will have to get down when he gets home. I'm sure that's where they are.

They weren't. I turned this entire house upside down looking for that tote. I KNOW we got things out of our house before we moved. EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING else for Christmas is here. So where is that box?? Why is that the one box missing?

Needless to say, I was extremely upset and heartbroken. I cried most of that day. It was 11 years of memories wrapped up into little tiny items that we remembered as we put them on the tree. It was ornaments made for our wedding. It was ornaments that we got for our first Christmas and Boo Bears first Christmas. It was ornaments we bought on all our trips we had taken as a couple. One like this one that, thankfully, my mom had a copy of.

While it was extremely upsetting, it taught me a lot. Things I think I knew but really got a good lesson on it when this happened.

1. Things are just that. Things - It's not a person. It's an object. It symbolizes memories but the memories are what's precious. While I have all those memories, I can make new ones too. Keeping those memories alive is in telling them and passing them down. I have them in my heart and they can never go away from there.

2. My son is a compassionate and kind soul -. I honestly knew that but what he did still amazes me. He knew how upset I was. I took some time and went to the store by myself so I could just let it all sink in and get downtime. When I came back this child had been busy. He was making me ornaments to put on my tree. Handmade ornaments were something I lost and he was trying his best to replace them. Those paper ornaments are on my tree now and I will do my best to protect them. He also got his Mimi to pick out an ornament from him so he could give it to us for our anniversary.

3. Make New Memories - Yes I knew that but still. We are making new memories with each day. Like our recent visit to Chattanooga. We got an ornament to start our new collection with.

4. Sometimes you have to let go.- No I won't bust out singing the Frozen song but it does kind of fit. I had to let go of what I was holding on to. Christmas isn't about the ornaments on the tree. It isn't about how many I can fit on there or the object itself. It's hard. It's not fun and it can hurt. But letting go can be the best thing sometimes.

5. It's ok to start over. - That's exactly what it felt like. I had to start all over. And that's okay. Thankfully my mom is as much a Christmas addict as I am and had plenty to share with us. :)

6. It's all about the manger. - That's really what it all boils down to. It's about the most precious gift that was given to us. That amazing baby born to save the world. No matter how many decorations we have out, it's about Jesus and his coming to this Earth to save us. The peace I have only comes from Him. His voice came through loud and clear in the middle of this moment.

So, we have started over. Our tree looks beautiful and new memories are being made. New ornaments or passed down ornaments from my parents, have taken over and made it a beautiful tree once again.

So I'll smile. I'll enjoy the season and all it means. I'll pass on memories to my son of Christmases gone by and what they mean. We will keep those memories alive in our hearts and enjoy these new memories to come.

Our Christmas Adventures... Wordless Wedneday

 It's been a while since I've done the Wordless Wednesday post so I thought why not end the year with one ;).

Here are a few shots of our Christmas adventures this year. While we started it off kind of rough with a trip to the ER, we did end it with lots of laughs, fun and joy.

Even our dog Molly got to open some presents too!








Here is a shot of Boo Bear with his grandparents and great grandparents for one of our visits.

 Here's another shot of our adventures with Granpa....

 So how was your holiday? I hope you had a blessed one. Remember to link up your Wordless Wednesday posts below!

What A Week!!!

Wow has this past week been a whirlwind. And it doesn't really show signs of slowing down! It has been a blast for us. We have had Christmas plays, caroling, parties and more parties this weekend. Have I ever mentioned I love this time of year? It is so much fun to just gather with friends and family and enjoy the time together. Forget the presents under the tree, the best presents are those around the tree!!



This year will be quite different for us. For my entire life, I have always, always seen my parents on Christmas. This year it will not happen. Basically life and work has made the schedule kind of crazy and it just wasn't possible this year. I have been through a gamet of emotions. Sad, depressed, down, not Christmassy you name it. Then I had something click. Yes it is tough to be away from family on Christmas. No I do not like it one bit but the reason we celebrate Christmas is still the same. We will be video chatting and while that's not the same it is better than nothing :) . I was reminded that we are celebrating Jesus's birthday and that our traditions have to start sometime. I honestly have a hard time letting go of MY traditions and remembering we have to make some of our traditions together. So we are this year. :) Not sure what they will be yet but it should be fun right? ;-). We will mix some of both of our traditions and add in some of our own.

So here's a couple of shots from our week... First our week started on Sunday with his school Christmas play. They did awesome and it was a great event to watch!

Here he is getting ready to sing Christmas carols with our Cub Scout group. They did an awesome job. I have to share that my son was the only little guy who went and talked with the residents. I was so proud that he wasn't afraid and asked to go chat. He said yesterday he wanted to go to another nursing home to talk with them. He has such a compassionate little heart and I love watching it grow and develop more everyday.

We ended the week with more caroling with his school and a fun class Christmas party. I'm so very happy that he has such wonderful teachers that care about him and his fellow students. Here he is before the sugar rush that was about to commence.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and remember to cherish the time with your family and friends!!

Russian Tea Cake Cookies

**This post contains an affilliate link. I post affilliate links from time to time to help support my family and this blog. **

So it's that time of year ya know. The time when everyone (or most everyone) gets into baking overload. I already love to cook so this time of year makes me go into overdrive. ;-) I love to bake and share goodies with others. Yesterday I tried a new recipe. I had seen this recipe all over Pinterest and any time I looked up Christmas cookies. Well, that just means I had to try it right ??

First I have to say that my absolute favorite kitchen appliance is my mixer. I can cream butter and sugar and walk away to get other ingredients ready. The Kitchen Aide mixer took me 8 years of marriage to finally get it ;) LOL. That's a running joke between my hubby and I ;-)

If you don't have one you should definitely check it out. They last forever and are soooo worth it when you are baking.




Back to the recipe. It was really easy and I liked them. They are not as sweet as other cookies so that's a plus. My kiddo liked it and I was kind of surprised he did. Hubby said they were good but dense. So it's all in what you like in your cookie.

Russian Tea Cakes

Adapted from All Recipes 

1 cup of butter
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
6 TBS of powdered sugar
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup finely chopped cashews
1/3 cup of powdered sugar for decorating

Preheat your oven to 325.

In a medium bowl cream together your butter and vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine flour and 6 TBS of sugar. Stir this into the butter mixture just until it's blended. Stir in your nuts. (you can use 1 cup of walnuts, pecans etc. I used what I had) Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Once they cool down a little roll them in powdered sugar to decorate. I put a few of them in a bag at a time and shook them up.

Enjoy!

What is your favorite Christmas cookie recipe?

My How Life Changes...

**Check out the giveaway still going on!! **

Yesterday we put our Christmas tree up. It's been a few days in the making as it was just not the right timing. So yesterday I finally just got up and said, today's the day! I love decorating for Christmas. This is absolutely my favorite time of year. People are nicer, gentler and more fun to be around . ;-) I get to hang out with family and friends more than usual and it's just an all around great feeling. I honestly am one of those that wish those feelings stayed that way. It just seems like such a nicer place to be during these months. For just a little while people think of others first before themselves. I am guilty of not being that way all the time so maybe I can try more to keep that spirit around myself.

As we put up our Christmas tree last night Boo Bear was super excited. Of course he wasn't alone. I was ready to see the lights and ornaments and all the memories that flood back with each new piece we take out of storage. Christmas truly is a walk down memory lane. There's the handmade ornaments your children bring home from school, the ornaments you got for your first Christmas together. Then there are ornaments that your family has passed down to you through the generations. They all have their special place on your tree and in your heart.

I have a confession to make. I used to be quite weird about my tree. I wanted things just so-so and in perfect place. I didn't like holes or gaps and boy was I frazzled if ornaments got bunched together. That was in years past. Viewing Christmas through a child's eyes is completely different. It doesn't matter where the ornaments are if those little hands are putting them on the tree. It doesn't matter if there are holes or even bunches of red and white striped balls in one place. What matters is the memories of them decorating the tree with you. The memories you are making of Christmas goodies baking, wrapping presents, shopping for daddy and watching every single Christmas movie you can find 100 times. Singing Christmas carols at the top of your lungs on the way to school and not caring who sees you. That is what matters. The memories that will always last. No one will remember if the tree was perfect or if the ornaments were in the right spot.

To my old perfectly placed tree, I say goodbye. You were great while you lasted but I wouldn't change what I have now for anything.

So have you decorated yet? I hope you have a wonderful day!