The most wonderful time of the year...

Wow, what a busy few days! It wasn’t planned that way, but then again most things aren’t.   I have come back with lots of ideas for the next few posts.  In fact, I debated tonight what to post since I have a few ideas and decided to discussion and share how my family enjoys the Christmas season.  

                                         My beautiful family meeting Santa and Mrs. Claus

As a kid, the moments I remember the most from this time of year have nothing to do with material gifts.  It was spending time with family and making memories.  We spent the weekend of Thanksgiving break decorating our house for Christmas, the inside at least.  My mom would bring down the Christmas decorations from the attic and we’d spend the weekend decorating as a family.  Then, we’d spend the Monday after Thanksgiving with my aunt and cousins at Kraynak’s, a local store with a beautifully decorated lane for Christmas.  We’d have lunch, go to Kraynak’s and our final stop was Daffins, a local candy company.  The only money spent for these memories was for lunch and anything we could afford to buy at either store.  These places are free to visit and as a child, we looked forward to going every year. 

I could tell of so many memories I had as a child this time of year, or any time of year.  My parents made things special for us growing up.  I will be/am doing the same for Hayden.  He’s at the age where he doesn’t know what much means, but by the time he understands, it’ll be ingrained tradition.  For instance, he’ll know that I still decorate for Christmas Thanksgiving weekend and that we always go out and cut down our own Christmas tree.  Wild Christmas trees are magical and the journey to find it is a large part of that magic.  The first year we did it, Hayden was 2 months shy of 2 years old and he walked alongside my husband, as my friend and I searched for our tree, and he kept up the whole time.  As he gets older, he’ll be tagging along more and hopefully, in the future he’ll carry it on with his kids.  

I'm sharing a few pictures of our house at Christmas time.  I love this time of year and the magic it brings.

 

                                                         Part of our outside decorations

                                                                    Our front door

                                                                 Inside our kitchen

                                                       The entrance to the living room

                                                               Our beautiful wild tree

What I’m getting at, is that many of us at this time of year are overly stressed with decorating, baking, gift buying and regular life.  Do yourself a favor and take a step back.  If you still have kids, ask yourself what fun, free or cheap activities you can do with them.  I plan to take Hayden out to build a snowman should we get this lake effect snow storm today and tomorrow.  I have plans to bake gingerbread cookies, make salt dough ornaments and make a gingerbread house with him and my husband.  I want Hayden to remember that making memories is more important than getting gifts.  I don’t remember many gifts I got as a child, but I do remember the time my family spent together.  

Much of this is true anytime of the year.  Never let yourself get so bogged down that you forget what’s important – friends and family and if you are religious, as I am, God.  These individuals will see you through and when you look back on your life, time with them will be what you remember. 

I want to take this time now to wish you all a Merry Christmas/Winter Season! Remember to be the change and shine your light brightly for all to see!

                                                                                                                      Always,

                                                                                                                       Sheri

Stay tuned tomorrow for a recipe on Steak Fajitas with homemade guacamole, pico de gallo and cilantro lime rice! It was delicious and so satisifying!

Be the Change

A long time ago I decided, or rather it's just the way I am, to always help others whenever and however I can to make life a little easier.  I can admit it hasn’t always turned out good and it’s blown up in my face, but for every time it’s gone wrong, many times it’s gone right.  If something I did, no matter how little, made someone’s day a touch better, then I was successful.  I strived for the big improvement, but would settle for slight improvement because that gave the person renewed hope in the world and started a spark that they would pass forward. 

We all need hope that someone will be there with a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand, a hug, or even a smile in reassurance that it will be ok.  Life is hard and it takes everyone working together to make it better. It shouldn’t be limited to people we know.  A lot of our worlds’ problems are because we stopped being there for our fellow man and started worrying about ourselves and those closest to us. That is important too, believe me! But, what about the single mother that lives in your neighborhood struggling with life? The elderly couple next door that never have any visitors because their family is gone? How well do we know our neighbors these days?  I’m glad that so many people help on a global scale, and believe me it is needed, but I think we forget about things a little closer to home.

Let me be clear that I am not just talking about monetary donations or giving of items to a charitable cause or buying gifts for a child in need, it’s the little everyday things.  Many of you give so generously in so many ways.   I’m talking about taking your time and offering it to someone else.  Even if it’s just simply getting up and holding the door for someone coming in the waiting room at an office.  

Let me tell you a story of what I mean:

Today as my husband and I were waiting for Hayden to get done with his therapy session, a mother came in with two boys around the same age as Hayden and both full of as much energy.  They were new here, as told by the clipboard for new patients full of forms to be filled out.  She had the one boy on a child safety tether attached to her wrist and was carrying the other boy.  She set them down to get off her coat and to detach the harness.  Immediately both boys took off for the window that looked into the main therapy room, while she sat down to fill in the forms.  Every minute the boys would come over and need something or be doing something they shouldn’t.  After about 5 minutes the oldest boy noticed my husband and me.  I was researching ideas on Pinterest for Hayden with a Kindle.  The boy immediately wanted to “play”.  His mother told him he couldn’t and I looked up and told her it was ok with me with a reassuring smile.  The relief on her face said it all.  The older boy sat with me for the remaining 20 minutes playing around on a game I play and the younger brother joined as well.  The mother could finish the paperwork, go out to the reception desk and get settled before they had to go back.  She thanked me over and over and all I said was, “I’ve been here and if I can help you out, I will do it.” 

There have been times, particularly since Hayden was born, where I could have used that same kindness towards myself when I’ve been out.  I am amazed at those quick to judge and the disapproving looks as someone struggles.  As Hayden has gotten older and his tantruming got worse, the looks and whispered words were more.  In the beginning, we didn’t know why he tantrumed like he did, but now we do.  I could have used someone stepping in and telling me I’m doing fine and to keep going.  Even a reassuring smile, instead I felt judged, a lot! I never would want someone else feeling that way and it made this mission I’ve been on that much more important. 

I’m reminded of a quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.  It is my mantra a lot of times.  As well as a great line from a wonderful Disney movie (I am an avid fan of Disney), Mulan, “A single grain of rice can tip the scale.  One man can be the difference between victory or defeat.”  While the emperor was talking about getting soldiers for physical war, I’m talking about emotional war.  Be the difference for someone today.  This time of year, especially, is difficult on so many and your encouraging words or deeds could change a person’s life. 

                                                                                                                                                                                Always,

                                                                                                                                                                                Sheri

A Shot in the Dark

Raise your hand with me if you have had a hectic, crazy weekend, where more has gone wrong than right.  I blame it on the Supermoon.  Every month during the full moon, my household goes off balance, especially my 3-yr-old.  This full moon wasn’t much different.  I will say that he acted better than I anticipated, but when he had a moment, HE HAD A MOMENT!  Not to mention sleep patterns being interrupted and eating habits being off – it was a wild time.  Oh and on top of all this, the specific noodles he only eats were out of stock at our local Walmarts.  Nothing sets a toddler off more than when they don't have their favorite foods.  Waffles proved to be a viable solution, for now.  I ordered the noodles off Walmart's website for site-to-store; they'll be here Wednesday. 

On top of this, the electricity to a large portion of our house went out Saturday afternoon.  My husband went down to check the breakers and all seemed fine, but still no power.  Since we rent, we gave the landlord a call, only to find out they were in Ohio and wouldn’t be back until very late and would come by in the morning.  We went back and forth as to whether Hayden and I should stay and opted to stay since it affected the kitchen mostly and we still had power and heat to both bedroom and the living room. 

I posted about our dilemma briefly on my Facebook page and a friend reached out to me about a similar situation that happened to her.  Her house caught on fire, but luckily, they were there and got it taken care of.  Needless to say, I slept restlessly that night and on the couch close to Hayden’s room in case of a fire.  Of course, adding to this situation is the fact that my cell phone isn’t working and can only reach people through Facebook and email.  My husband was at work, so throughout the night he would email me to make sure we were ok.  I had to promise my mother to Facebook message her as soon as I woke up, so she knew we were ok.  The biggest kicker is that after all this, it was just a breaker that had tripped, but was easily detectable.  All that worry for not.  The weekend proved to be less restful for me and by Hayden’s bedtime, I was exhausted too!

I hope this Monday finds you in good spirits! I realize it’s a Monday and all, but I’ve been trying to find some good in everything. 

I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things after the last few days, so while tonight’s post is short, tomorrow’s will be better.  We’re doing apple painting with Hayden tomorrow, as part of our letter of the week activity. 

Again, a very happy Monday to you! Here’s to a wonderful week!

                                                                                                                                                                Always,

                                                                                                                                                                Sheri