I felt bad after my last few posts about not sending out Christmas cards so...

Handmade vs. Store-bought

Piggy-backing on my Christmas post yesterday...I LOVE handmade gifts!  Knowing that someone took the time to think of me, what I would like and appreciate, spending the money and time purchasing supplies, and the care that went into the gift is so much more fulfilling than any store-bought gift, but then again who doesn't like a giftcard or cash ;)  Funds are always really tight around Christmas for us, it's not that we don't want to spend money on gifts for people, it's usually that we don't have the funds and we HAVE to be creative (which I love anyway :).  I usually start thinking in September about what gifts for what people and try to plan accordingly.  This year our kiddos got ONE big (use that term loosley) gift from us (we don't do Santa) and a stocking (coloring books, crayons, stickers, etc.).  They receive so much for Christmas that they were becoming very "un-grateful", simply not ok with us.  We also decided that although I love getting Christmas cards, we were only going to send them to close family and church staff, nothing against anyone who didn't receive a card, it just wasn't in the budget this year.  We also had to cut back on brother/sister and grandparent gifts for our own family, the funds just weren't there.  But the gifts that we did give were all "handmade" and VERY thought out (I had most of them since the beginning of November) even though some didn't appreciate them as I would have hoped and it REALLY hurt my feelings, it really is the thought that counts, well at least to me it does ;)  So if ever you receive a handmade gift from me/us, it's not at all because I/we didn't want to buy you a nice gift, but simply because we were having to be creative and spent way more time on your gift than purchasing it in a store!  AND we won't be offended if you aren't crafty and decided to purchase a gift (not saying that we deserve gifts either)!

Christmas is over

I LOVE Christmas, everything about Christmas, but this year not as much.  I didn't feel as "Happy" to put out all the decorations and decorate our home in anticipation.  It wasn't until Christmas was over did I really realize why...Christmas to the "world" is ALL about the presents and I was reminded of that so vividly this year.  We have tried for the past 8 years (since having Emma) to instill Christ-centered Holiday, but everything and everyone screams "gimme, gimme, gimme".  As our kiddos have gotten older it is becoming even harder to keep them focused.  Yes, there is the magic of the season and they are just kiddos, BUT it is our job as parents to raise them in a Christ-honoring way, why is that so wrong to so many people especially Christians???  We had so many people say "Your church is having church ON Christmas day???"  OF COURSE!  Aren't we as Christians celebrating Christ's birth?  I was so confused and bewildered that people would have such a negative annotation, like we should stay at home and spend time with family instead of the ONE and ONLY SAVIOR, the one who gave his life for us, just so we wouldn't interrupt lunch or the schedule???  I am a HUGE family girl and love spending time with my family, but there was the rest of the day...Do not confuse what I'm saying with legalism...yes I do believe as Christians we have certain things we should stay away from or abstain from and the bible is VERY clear on those things, but not because we are following rules, but because we are trying to be more like Christ!  I used this example the other night at Bible Study with our girls...we were discussing in Luke, a parable about a woman who was a hunch-back for 18 years and the Jewish people didn't want Jesus to heal her because it was the Sabbath, I am a rule follower, but in SOME cases (when you are being led by the Holy Spirit) it is ok to break the rules.  I used that in saying it's not ok to miss church because you had to do schoolwork or had to study for a test when you wasted the afternoon on facebook, texting or watching a tv show!  When you put God first in your life everything else will fall into place, this is not a reason to be lazy either.  One of our girls attends a Christian school, she was so consumed with her schoolwork last year and came occasionally to Sunday morning church and rarely on a Sunday night or Wednesday night.  But this year she was really convicted about putting God first in everything including her studies and hasn't missed a Sunday or Wednesday since the beginning of the school year AND her grades are the best they have ever been!  What an encouragement she was to the students as well as us leaders.  I tell you all this to challenge you in "choosing" to out God first in EVERYTHING you do and to do it because you want to, not because it's a rule.  

Always apologizing...

It seems I'm always apologizing for not blogging like I should, I would love to update you all on what's going on in our daily lives, keeping family & friends up to date with the latest pictures and stories, but right now it just isn't going to happen!  I'm busier now than I have ever been and our kiddos are still in elementary school.  After the Holidays were over, our house was a mess (which I despise), I felt like life was upside down and had no idea what day it was, Jody made me realize my most important role right now is to be a Mommy!  When we decided I would stay at home this became my everyday "job" and I NEED to do this "job" as well as I could before my kiddos are gone.  So many people look "down" on stay-at-home Mommies like we have no life ambition, absolutely NOT the case..what I've realized is a lot of those Mommies long to be at home and they actually feel guilty for not being there, so they put others down.  I am NOT saying by any means working Mommies are bad, everyone has their own situation and are free to choose.  We chose for me not to "work" or go to a 9-5 kinda job so that I could SEE our kiddos grow up and help SHAPE who they will one day become!  Working at the YMCA, so many parents would drop off their kiddos at 7:30am and pick them up at 6pm...for us we traded expensive cars, vacations, clothes and eating out for quality time with our kiddos.

I don't really believe in New Years Resolutions, it seems like most are unachievable, but I am trying to be more honest and more conscious of those around me and the impact that I have on them and in turn how that looks to my own children.  So, as I always say, I'll try to get back to blogging, but don't hold your breath ;)