Today marks four full weeks of our new life... four weeks of uncertainty in some areas but four weeks of nothing but love from those around us... four weeks of the most heart warming people you could ever wish to have in your life... there are still moments where I don't feel like we deserve all that we've been given but it is a testament to the spirit of God... sometimes we go through life unaware of how our actions affect one another... a smile to a stranger... holding the door... helping a friend and neighbor with a mundane chore... listening to each other... I guess along the way I've been nice enough to elicit a smile and a wave... I've managed to score a few invitations to some of the coveted parties in the neighborhood... nothing that I have done I would find extraordinary for what I believe friends should do for each other but here I am in total awe of these women around me... they've pulled together and I truly feel the love... they have loaned us their husbands for odd jobs and have made meals... everything that we could need but never would dare ask for... and so I'm finally getting around to doing all of my thank you notes that I hope to have out by next week... how do I thank these wonderful people with words? I'm not sure but I hope that they all know how much I appreciate each and every one of them...
On a side note, I first must apologize for making anyone feel that they're behind... yes, Halloween was a couple of days ago and yes, my Christmas tree is up... no, I'm not joking... it is actually up... our first Christmas in this house was my opportunity to get one of those prelit trees that I wouldn't have to mess with too much and I loved it... I loved it for three years until all of the lights stopped working and left me with a sad tree that I couldn't untangle the prelit lights from so this year I thought I would make a fresh start and get a new tree... I found one online that suited my needs and ordered it... I figured it would take a while to get here so I was very surprised when it arrived on Halloween... I was left with two choices... put the box in the garage and forget about it or put it up now and have ten weeks of Christmas... I love everything there is about Christmas... it's the one time of year you can be annoyingly cheerful and bake cookies and make homemade ornaments and be crafty... yes... all of that stuff you always said you would do when you became a mommy and have never gotten around to doing... I do it all... I should say that the reason I do it all is my family didn't have much in the way of traditions growing up so when I had a family of my very own, I made a few up... we do our bluebonnet pictures in the spring, we go to the pumpkin patch in the fall, and every Christmas we do our best to keep up with Martha Stewart... so yes, I took plain wreaths and garlands and decorated them by myself... I did not pick the pine cones that I used but my mother did... she knew I was looking for some big ones and there were tons by her work... no sense in paying good money for things that fall from trees... and so I have about ten weeks of Christmas cheer ahead of me... it's the time that I'm partially dreading because this is the first year on our own and I'm afraid of how we'll be as a family... I'm starting to get the hard questions about how and why Daddy died and maybe the kids will break down when they fully realize that he is truly gone... so now I'm shifting the focus to Christmas and hope we can get by as smoothly as we did for Halloween... Cornish Game Hen Day (formerly known as Turkey Day) is not as big of a deal for our family and now that I can't have turkey, it'll just be another day for food and family and I get to sleep in... I've put the kids on a kind of scavenger hunt for ornaments this year... we generally make a few but I like to buy a few to add to the others that we've collected... I started a new ornament collection when we moved in since that was our first real tree as a family and all we've been buying are wooden ornaments... Jack wasn't very big then but I knew it wouldn't take him long to break the glass ones... so their task is to find a country style wooden cross ornament... maybe something a little swirly as long as they adore it... I want them to remember how much we have been blessed as a family in this time when others have not been as fortunate... I think about how Chris' family has taken this heartbreak and they have a much longer road than we do... they have far more guilt and issues to deal with that we were fortunate enough not to be burdened with... I am thankful every day for all of those that hold us in their thoughts and prayers and have shown us God's grace and mercy... I just pray that there are as many people helping his family through as have helped us... so forgive me, dear friends, when you come to the door... the tree is lit and I'll be trying to get into my Christmas cheer... hopefully the smile will be 100% genuine instead of the half genuine smile I've been walking around with... every day has been a little better and I have great hope for tomorrow...
On a side note, I first must apologize for making anyone feel that they're behind... yes, Halloween was a couple of days ago and yes, my Christmas tree is up... no, I'm not joking... it is actually up... our first Christmas in this house was my opportunity to get one of those prelit trees that I wouldn't have to mess with too much and I loved it... I loved it for three years until all of the lights stopped working and left me with a sad tree that I couldn't untangle the prelit lights from so this year I thought I would make a fresh start and get a new tree... I found one online that suited my needs and ordered it... I figured it would take a while to get here so I was very surprised when it arrived on Halloween... I was left with two choices... put the box in the garage and forget about it or put it up now and have ten weeks of Christmas... I love everything there is about Christmas... it's the one time of year you can be annoyingly cheerful and bake cookies and make homemade ornaments and be crafty... yes... all of that stuff you always said you would do when you became a mommy and have never gotten around to doing... I do it all... I should say that the reason I do it all is my family didn't have much in the way of traditions growing up so when I had a family of my very own, I made a few up... we do our bluebonnet pictures in the spring, we go to the pumpkin patch in the fall, and every Christmas we do our best to keep up with Martha Stewart... so yes, I took plain wreaths and garlands and decorated them by myself... I did not pick the pine cones that I used but my mother did... she knew I was looking for some big ones and there were tons by her work... no sense in paying good money for things that fall from trees... and so I have about ten weeks of Christmas cheer ahead of me... it's the time that I'm partially dreading because this is the first year on our own and I'm afraid of how we'll be as a family... I'm starting to get the hard questions about how and why Daddy died and maybe the kids will break down when they fully realize that he is truly gone... so now I'm shifting the focus to Christmas and hope we can get by as smoothly as we did for Halloween... Cornish Game Hen Day (formerly known as Turkey Day) is not as big of a deal for our family and now that I can't have turkey, it'll just be another day for food and family and I get to sleep in... I've put the kids on a kind of scavenger hunt for ornaments this year... we generally make a few but I like to buy a few to add to the others that we've collected... I started a new ornament collection when we moved in since that was our first real tree as a family and all we've been buying are wooden ornaments... Jack wasn't very big then but I knew it wouldn't take him long to break the glass ones... so their task is to find a country style wooden cross ornament... maybe something a little swirly as long as they adore it... I want them to remember how much we have been blessed as a family in this time when others have not been as fortunate... I think about how Chris' family has taken this heartbreak and they have a much longer road than we do... they have far more guilt and issues to deal with that we were fortunate enough not to be burdened with... I am thankful every day for all of those that hold us in their thoughts and prayers and have shown us God's grace and mercy... I just pray that there are as many people helping his family through as have helped us... so forgive me, dear friends, when you come to the door... the tree is lit and I'll be trying to get into my Christmas cheer... hopefully the smile will be 100% genuine instead of the half genuine smile I've been walking around with... every day has been a little better and I have great hope for tomorrow...
posted by Sarah at 6:18 PM
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