To-do list? What to-do list?

Anybody else need to be doing something other than blogging this morning? I thought not. Go ahead and enjoy that cup of coffee before you take a deep breath and dive into your to-do's that should have been done. I'm not the only one am I?

I need to clean out my frig to make room for the various and hundred sides we prepare for our Thanksgiving meal.

I need to clean out my pantry to make room for the many ingredients needed to prepare those same sides.

I need to clean. Period. Or 'full stop' as they say in England. Sigh...they even make punctuation sound like something special.

I need to catch up on laundry that has accumulated due to our travels. What travels you ask? Well, I think I mentioned that my hubs was in China last week. He arrived home late Friday night to an empty house since I'd flown to South Carolina on Wednesday. Daughter2 had some minor surgery scheduled for Thursday and needed her mama close by. Or her mama needed to be close by...whatever. When daughters need me I scrap my to-do list and go, even if it is exactly seven days before a holiday that requires at least three days of cooking.

Her surgery went well and she is recovering nicely. We spent the weekend in R and R at my sister's house since she conveniently lives in collegetown. So thankful for my sister...she has a heart of gold.

I got home late last night. Okay, it was 9 pm but my kids can attest to the fact that 9 pm is late for me.

We seem to be on the go around here all.the.time. Full stop.

Today will be shopping and cleaning and a little bit of cooking in preparation for daughters arriving home tomorrow night, one with a boyfriend in tow. I am looking forward to the weekend which I'm gonna say officially begins around here tomorrow since hubs is taking the day and rest of the week off and my girls will be here.

Just writing that last sentence makes my heart happy.

Off to clean, cook, and count my blessings now...wishing you a week full of love and gratitude!

...they are precious in His sight...

Ever thought about participating in Operation Christmas Child sponsored by Samaritan's Purse? You'll find details on their website but essentially it involves filling a shoebox full of little goodies to be sent to a child in need somewhere in the world. They ask for a $7 donation with your box to cover the cost of shipping and if you pay this online you'll get a bar code to print and attach to your box. This way you can track it and see where in the world it ends up. There are collection sites all around the world and you can find the one nearest you by visiting the Samaritan's Purse website.

I finished my box up last week so I could drop it off at church on Tuesday morning. You're able to choose the sex and age category you'd like to buy for and I chose a girl, aged 10-14. My box included a pink toothbrush and toothpaste, a pink soap dish and a bar of soap, a purple washcloth, candy, stickers, an inexpensive pink watch, a package of colored pencils and a sharpener, a fun little notebook, a mini etch a sketch, and six pair of cute socks. You are limited by what will fit inside a shoebox. I also added a photo of our family with a note which is optional.

I have thought and prayed often about the recipient of that little shoebox jammed full of 'stuff'. I think about my own daughters too. I think about what makes them smile and how much love is showered on them all year round but especially during the holidays. So many friends and relatives who show genuine interest in their lives and plans, their hopes and dreams...dreams that can easily become reality with some hard work and perseverance. Can the same be said of the little girl who gets this box? I think about the fact that we get a free toothbrush every six months at the dentist and how I toss them in a drawer for guests without giving it a second thought. I think about a purple washcloth bringing a smile to a young girl's face.

I love the season of Thanksgiving...it is my favorite holiday of the year. I like the time we spend focusing on all that we have as opposed to all that we want. While the shoeboxes are intended to be a Christmas project we fill them during this season of gratitude. Adding toothpaste to a Christmas box certainly helps put things in perspective for me at what is now the most 'commercial' time of year.

It's not too late to fill a box...collections run through Nov. 21st and even if you can't participate this year maybe you'll keep it in mind for 2012. Somewhere in this world a child will smile.

Happy New Year in the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 53

I figure it's technically a new year around here since we're into week 53 of the Wednesday Hodgepodge. Everyone is welcome to join the party...if you're new you'll find the rules of play on my sidebar. Here are my answers to this week's questions-

1. What song reminds you of a specific time in your life and what is it about this song that makes you remember?

This question is almost impossible to answer because practically every song I know and love is associated with some specific time period in my life. I could write a whole post on this one but I'll refrain and will share just two. The first is Little Darlin' by Poco. Takes me right back to the labor room with Daughter1. This was the song we played over and over and over and over as I inched (centimetered?) my way to motherhood. Why isn't this video on youtube? I hear this song and I think of hubs and I so young and hopeful and the exquisite joy that poured down on me that day.

The second is Life is a Highway by Tom Cochrane. I know Rascall Flatts did a remake of this song but fyi-they weren't around in 1992. At less than two years of age our precious and precocious Daughter2 developed an affinity for this song. Whenever I hear it playing I can see her sassy little blonde headed self strapped into her car seat- sunglasses on, head bopping, feet tapping, lungs going full blast as she sang along. Picture this little munchkin-

rockin' out to this song at age 2-

I'd like to be back in that car for just one day.

2. What's something you've given up on?

Washington D.C.

Not the city itself which I love, but rather those who 'Occupy D.C.'

3. What's something you'll never give up on?

God's promises and His faithfulness to keep them.

4. If you had to cook something from scratch in the next hour what would it be?

Well I do have a whole bag of toffee chips and a jar of peanut butter so it might be Heath Bits Peanut Butter cookies. You'll find the recipe here.

5. Have you started Christmas shopping? Decorating? Listening to Christmas music?

Oh you people putting up your trees already!! I think its ka-razy! Have people always done this and we just didn't know about it pre-internet? I think not.

I start my shopping with list making. The aunts, uncles, and grandparents all want some ideas for what to buy the girls so I dole their suggestions around which is kinda like me helping them with their shopping, right? I've picked up a few little stocking stuffers here and there but haven't purchased any of the larger gifts. I am not decorating for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. I know people want to get a jump on it but why? It just feels waaaay too early for me. I'm not listening to Christmas music yet either. I love the fall and the season of Thanksgiving and want to celebrate that for a little bit first.

6. What do you know about your parent's wedding?

-It was simple...a small ceremony in my mom's big church in Albuquerque, her home town.

-My grandfather (dad's dad) was a Colorado farmer and because they married in July he couldn't leave the farm to attend the wedding.

-My dad had his mom there and a brother stood up for him.

-My mom had her sister as her only attendant.

-They had a quiet reception at the home of my dad's cousin who had introduced them.

-My dad wore sloppy striped socks under his suit.

-He was handsome....she was beautiful.

-Between them they didn't have two nickels to rub together.

-They were married over 40 years before my dad passed away at the too young age of 66.

7. I can't believe I___________________

'haven't finished off the left over Halloween candy while hubs was out of town.' Just keepin' it real people...believe me, I thought about it.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

We've had the prettiest sunrises this week...

You should know you miss a whole lot of amazing if you sleep in every day.

Questions for the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 53

So apparently last week was Volume 52 but until someone mentioned it in their post it didn't occur to me that we were at the one year mark in the Wednesday Hodgepodge. Happy belated birthday to us!

Here are the questions for this week's Hodgepodge...answer them on your own blog or facebook page and then hop back here tomorrow to add your link and share answers with the rest of the world.

1. What song reminds you of a specific time in your life and what is it about that song that makes you remember?

2. What's something you've given up on?

3. What's something you'll never give up on?

4. If you had to cook something from scratch in the next hour what would it be?

5. Have you started Christmas shopping? Decorating? Listening to Christmas music?

6. What do you know about your parent's wedding?

7. I can't believe I ___________________.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

As a Bee

So it's Monday. My to do list this week is long. Actually my to do list between now and Christmas is long and ever growing and I have to work hard not to let it overwhelm me. I mean that in both the literal and the figurative sense. I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night and think about my list.

anticipation-the act of looking forward; especially: pleasurable expectation

Hubs had a meeting in Phoenix most of last week. He got home late Saturday afternoon and left this morning for China. I wonder if he was awake during the night pondering his to do list? We had a one day weekend which essentially was spent on the sofa alternately napping and watching football. If we are going to carry on at this pace we need regular naps on the couch. I did laundry and sat with all of my recipes and cookbooks and planned Thanksgiving menus and shopping lists. I cooked a new and delicious recipe in my crock pot which is definitely a keeper (maple braised pork chops). Is it sad that the highlight of my weekend was a meal? Okay, maybe not the highlight but definitely a highlight.

joy-the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.

While hubs was in Phoenix I spent a few days at my moms. I had a birthday dinner with my brother and sister in law, a birthday breakfast with my sister and nephew and did some Christmas shopping with my mom. Her to do list more than mine but I did manage to pick up one or two stocking stuffers. Hubs and I both have big families so there is lots of shopping and wrapping and shipping to be done plus I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 5 or 7 and I'm hosting my entire family, all 13 of us, for Christmas this year, and did I mention I have two little trips between now and Christmas so I really need to bring my A game when it comes to planning and organizing. Those thoughts belong in a run on sentence don't you think?

peace-inner contentment; serenity

When did this season of the year become so busy? My mother decorated and cooked and shopped and maybe she'd say it was all a little crazy but somehow I think we've managed to amp the whole thing up a few hundred watts. These days we need more than one beautifully decorated tree, side dishes that dazzle to accompany our meals, guest rooms with pillows perfectly plumped, coordinated gift wrap and clever packaging, and on and on it goes. Our expectations are so high and right along with those expectations come timetables and expenses and stress that somehow contradict the wondrous simplicity of a baby born in a manger.

love-a profoundly tender affection for another person

To be honest I don't know anyone who would say they aren't busy this time of year. We're all busy and somewhere along the road from there to here we've allowed the secular to overtake the real.

This year I want the real. I want to feel the anticipation. I don't want anything as trivial as a to-do list to steal my joy. And I definitely don't want to be the short-tempered, impatient, tired, wife/mother/sister/daughter/friend who was too 'busy' to love the people around me.

Most of all, I want to wallow in the peace ushered into this world by a baby in a manger on a long ago silent night.

this post is linked with the One Word Blog Carnival hosted by Peter Pollack

A Walk in the Woods

The weather last weekend was absolutely gorgeous so hubs and I decided to get out and enjoy it. We donned hiking boots and warm coats and we loaded up the dog and some water and some snacks and headed to one of our favorite State Parks-Waywayanda. Who else likes saying that word?

It was a perfect day.

We walked.

We talked.

We sat.

We looked.

We listened.

We thought.

And we both agreed that we need to be outdoors more.

Do you know what else I wanted to do?

I wanted to sing.

There is something about being in the middle of creation that just fills my heart up to overflowing and makes me want to burst into song. I don't (usually) but I did add some music to a few of our photos which makes me very happy.

Another photo slideshow by Smilebox

music-David Crowder Band: Everything Glorious

Hurry Up into the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 52

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge...feel free to join the party. Answer the questions on your own blog or fb page and add your link at the bottom of my post. Here are my answers to this week's questions-

1. Of all the tools and gadgets you own, which do you most enjoy using?

I do love my label maker. There is something very satisfying about typing in letters and seeing words magically spit out the side. As far as the kitchen goes, my Kitchen Aid mixer is by far my favorite appliance but I will also give a shout out to my trusty mezzaluna -superb for chopping herbs and not fingers.

2. When (if ever) is impatience a virtue?

At first glance I'd say never but when I think about it as it applies to our life I might change my mind. Hubs could be described as somewhat impatient. ahem. He is a person of action and waiting around for life to happen is not his forte. Me on the other hand? Well, I might wait forever for something to happen that just won't happen unless someone demonstrates a little impatience. Enter the hubs. That old adage, 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease' is kinda true. That being said I sometimes get impatient with people who are always impatient.

3. What temperature do you keep the thermostat set to in winter? Do you have another way to heat your house besides a furnace of some sort?

68 degrees. I hate to be hot when I sleep but I hate to be cold when I get up. This is a nice happy middle.

4. Do/did you have a close relationship with any of your grandparents?

I started to answer this question and realized I have quite a lot of memories associated with my grandparents that I'd like to record. I think I might put those in a separate post so I have them written down somewhere.

For most of my life I lived a fair distance from my grandparents but I was always close to my maternal grandma. We lived with her for one year when I was about a year old and she helped care for me. My dad was overseas and my mom was distracted by my baby sister who was a wee bit difficult. My grandma also came to stay with my mom for months at a time in her later years so I really got to know and love her in my adult years too.

5. When did you last have a family portrait taken?

2005. We had a family portrait taken by a wonderful British photographer at the start of Daughter1's senior year of high school. The setting was the Windsor Great Park and the castle sits in the background. Can't really ask for a more perfect setting, can you?

The photographer had once even photographed the Queen (yes, the Queen of England) but I'm pretty sure we were way more fun. I imagine the next family portraits we have taken will revolve around a wedding someday. So glad we seized the moment back in 2005.

6. What does the word patriotism mean to you?

Loving your country is at the heart of patriotism but I think it goes deeper than that. Living in a foreign country made me realize that patriotism also means you personally identity with your home country. You worry, defend, promote, and act as cheerleader. You want to see her demonstrate all that is good and right in the world. Sometimes she lets you down but you love her anyway.

7. Do you like to play cards and if so, what's your favorite card game?

I think it has been established here that I like to play games and I guess my favorite card game would be Hearts. Now if only I could convince my family to play.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Today is my big brother's birthday. Actually he's my only brother but he's also older and since its his birthday that needs to be noted, right? Anyway, he is a good guy. A very good guy. I don't know anyone who doesn't like my brother.

I was looking thru my pics for one to post here today and I came across one that was taken on a trip he and my sister in law made to see us in the UK. We spent a day hiking out near Oxford and were cornered by some cows on our way to Blenheim Palace.

Such is life in the English countryside. It was such a fun, happy day. Hope your birthday is the same big brother!