holiday dread....err joy

I swear every year that I won't let it happen......that I won't hear the Christmas music playing in the stores, and see the decorations going up, and immediately feel PANIC! I tell myself that I will be more organized this year, that I will start the decorating early, that I will have the cards ready to send by Thanksgiving, that I will sit back and bask in the SPIRIT of the season rather than getting caught up in the flurry to buy, buy, buy.

But this morning, I felt it all rushing back...... that familiar sense of panic, that feeling that there is NO WAY I am going to get it all done. Instead of feeling JOY, I felt what could only be described as dread, and I felt the urge to cry right there in the Starbucks line, with Christmas music playing in the background, fake snow on the windows, and cranberry bliss bars on the counter.

I stood there knowing that I had allowed myself to veer off course, that I was getting caught up in all the things I had vowed not to, and that if I didn't put a stop to it, I would be looking back on this Season with regret. So today, I am determined to put an end to the madness, to get back in touch with the holy in the holidays, and to figure out a way to dwindle my to-do list down to only those things that truly matter......that add sparkle and magic and meaning to this busy time of year.

I am going to take my time. I am going to light a fire in the fireplace. I am going to make hot chocolate for these 2 little angels. I am going to select a few gifts that I know they will love. I am going to pull out the decorations that make our home merry and bright. I am going to capture the small moments. I am going to give of my time to those that are in need. I am going to enjoy our time in Mississippi with family. I am going to fill the basket with our favorite Christmas stories. I am going to write in my journal. I am going to crank up the Christmas playlist in the car. I am going to pray and give thanks.

2 on Tuesday

1. I am going home today to make a Christmas binder......a central place for storing recipe ideas, decorating ideas, traditions, shopping lists, receipts, etc... All you need is a simple 3-ring binder, some page protectors and a few tabs to keep the categories separated. I love the idea of having all things related to Christmas in one location!

photo and idea via Marta

2. I was so excited when I clicked on one of my very favorite blogs this morning, and saw that I had won the little giveaway contest I entered yesterday!! Go here and check out what I won.....so very excited!!

the comfort of traditions

I love traditions! I love that my children are still so very young, yet they already look forward to some of the things that we do each and every year. Things like going to the Pumpkin Patch as a family, having the Christmas Eve party in our home, going to Mississippi for Thanksgiving, making an ornament to give out to friends and family at Christmas, drinking green milk on ST. Patrick's Day, and going to the 4th of July parade in our little town.

Traditions are an important part of my parenting, because they are comforting to me as well as to my kids, and I am always on the lookout for ideas to incorporate into our yearly or even daily traditions.....simple, yet meaningful ways to celebrate the everyday. Hmmm, maybe I will start a little binder to collect all the ideas I come across :)

For now, here are few I plan on putting into practice this year:
1. This is not technically a "tradition" but it is something I have started doing to showcase our Halloween photos from each year. I have found that I take a TON of photos during the month of October, and I like having little mini books from each year to set out when October rolls around. I am planning on digging back through my Halloween scrapbook stuff tonight so I can make an album for our 2010 photos like this one a la Ali Edwards

2. I really like the idea of starting a "Book of Thanks" for Thanksgiving this year. It basically consists of having everyone write or draw what they are thankful for that year, and then pasting in a photo of the entire group. Such a simple idea and so fun to pull out each year and look back at everyone's entries.

image via eighteen25

3. We are down to mustard in the fridge, so I MUST make a trip to the grocery store today!! While I'm there, I will definitely be picking up a box of wax in the canning section so the kiddos and I can make waxed leaves sometime this week. Seems like a fun, relatively easy craft that the kids will enjoy AND can be used as decoration for the mantel!

image via Clover Lane

I would LOVE to hear about your favorite family traditions!!

October Highlights

November is here, and the weather in Texas is finally starting to feel a little Fall-like, but before we move into full-on Holiday mode, I wanted to take a little time to look back at some highlights from October.

Celebrating Kaleb's 6th birthday

A sleepover with the cousins at GaGa's house

Grant's pumpkin patch party at preschool

Sienna's pumpkin patch field trip

Fall Festival at church

Sienna's first soccer season completed

Our family's annual visit to the Patch

Pumpkin carving night at Papa and Tracy's

Trunk or Treat

Fall Festival #2 at Sienna's school

Scare on the Square

Trick or Treating

Whew.....I hope our November is as memorable as our October!!

Happy Halloween!

I think everyone in our house is suffering from a bit of a Halloween Hangover today....we filled the weekend with candy, pumpkin carving, fall festivals, hay rides, candy, trick or treating, caramel apples, family, friends and more candy!! The kids were on a high the entire time and never wanted the weekend to end.

The weather was perfect on Halloween night, and I loved walking around our neighborhood catching up with our friends and neighbors, and watching the kids race to each house to fill their treat bags. This was the first year that Grant really caught on to the whole "trick or treating" thing, and he could not have been more proud of his loot. He stopped anyone that would listen to show them his bag full of candy.......he just couldn't believe it!

This was definitely one of our best Halloweens to date! I took hundreds of photos, and I can't wait to get started on a little Halloween mini book for 2010 :)