Holidays Recaptured

We spent the early hours of Thanksgiving Day at the Mini-Cassia Turkey Trot. Let me tell you- it was FREZZING COLD! My thermometer in my car said 11 degrees on the way down. Mikayla and Brad went with me since everyone else wanted to sleep in! Stephanie called the night before and wasn't sure if she was coming since it was so cold, but she and Brooke and Lindsay all came down to trot with us.

Stephanie is a runner and she decided to run with the group. I did not get the running gene so I walked. Sally took pity on me and walked with me and the kids were all right behind us. Stephanie finished her three miles in about 33 minutes so she came walking back to find us. Good thing she didn't wait for us because I think we finished in 50 something minutes!

Mikayla and Brad posed with the mascot for the Turkey Trot before the race. The whole trot is put on by some of my cousins and I was really excited to take part in it this year! All of the proceeds go to a local fire department and other local causes and it was really fun to do something that was good for our community and also good for my health!

MIA

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. There is so much going on this time of year that it's all I can do to keep up. It seems like I run and run all day and just get home in time to fall into bed and do it all over again the next day.

Chelsey turned 14 on Wednesday! Since it seems like she always gets ripped off (her birthday so close to Christmas has always been bad), I planned a night out at Doc's Pizza for our family and her grandparents. On the way there, she got sick and threw up all over outside the restaurant. She was so miserable, she didn't even look at the food much less eat any! I felt so bad for her. She got lots of great gifts, though, so hopefully that made her feel better. I told her she will never forget her 14th birthday!

The flu that got Chelsey also got the rest of us. One by one, we get it for a day or two and then we pass it on. It's horrible! I felt like I was run over by a truck! Every muscle and joint ached. My lower back was the worst; I truly wanted to die the other night! Poor Treven is taking his turn today. He just keeps telling me, "Mom, I feel yucky. Can't you do something?" I wish that I could get sick again myself so he would be his normal, happy-go-lucky self. He missed the best day of school ever!

Sally came and helped me get all of the secret santa things delivered yesterday. It sure made me appreciate how hard my husband works so we have a nice, warm home to live in! Sometimes I take for granted that most of us are all a paycheck away from being homeless...

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their holiday season! I probably won't have much time to blog next week, so please know that you are all in our thoughts and prayers and we love you!

Family Give

Most of you already know that my family has been doing a series of gives each month for the past year. I can't tell you what a difference it has made; not only to others, but to me as well. It was really hard for me to quit working and go back to living on one income. I was so used to having some of my own spending money and doing pretty much whatever I wanted, that it was quite a reality shock. All of a sudden, I had to wait for payday to take the kids to the movies or out for lunch. Doing these gives has helped me see that there are those that don't get to wait for payday because the only payday they get is unemployment checks that don't even really cover their rent and utilities. There isn't money for McDonalds because there isn't money for shoes for the kids. There are people that don't have a nice warm home to come to at the end of a long day; they get to go to a soup kitchen and pray there is still food left. When I get to see my family and share holidays with them, there are elderly people in homes that dont have anyone but the workers to share their holidays with.

I am so proud of everyone in my family that has joined us month after month on this adventure. It has truly blessed me in so many ways and it has helped teach my kids that life isn't about getting the newest electronic or material things we want. It's about helping others, feeling compassion for fellow human beings, doing whatever little bit that you can to make the world a better place. That's what this life is about! About 10 years ago, the WWJD thing was really big. I believe that this is What Jesus Would Do; help others every single day of his life! He lived His life for others and in the end gave the ultimate sacrifice. None of us have ever been asked to die for anyone, so really...is it any trouble to visit old folks who have nobody or to donate a toy or a new coat now and then? I think not!!!

Blog Hop Update

Ashley did some really cute packaging ideas for the December Blog Hop. Click on A Creative Day on the blog list to the right to see her fun projects!

December Blog Hop Projects

This is a box that I bought several years ago from Papertrey Ink. I filled the bottom with candy cane Hershey kisses and then tucked a gift card on top. No one will guess what's inside! I covered the box with some of the new Christmas paper from Stampin' Up.



These are some of the tags I created to match my tree. I picked different colors this year and I couldn't find anything that matched, so I made my own! Love them and it only took about 2 hours to make 80 tags. I used the same Christmas paper that I used on the gift box.

Check out Forever Lois' blog and see what fun things she came up with this month! The theme for the January 1st hop, is "ALL THAT GLITTERS!" With a new year fast approaching and all the glittery snow we've had dumped on us, there is inspiration for this theme everywhere!