Happy New Year

I promise to start writing real stuff again very soon. Like, next week, at least...

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

... this should cover me for a while on this blog.







(all from Christmas at Mom's)

Christmas; in around 10,000 words

What he said

Judah Elliot Forshey, who made you?


Correct answer: Goh maaaymeeeee (big grin)

Response: That's right! God made you. You're special!


Today's answer: HEEE--HAAAW!!!

Works For Me Wednesday: Frugal, Earth-Friendly Gifts

I have discovered two websites this Christmas that are helping me change the way I think about Christmas gifts. I'm trying to focus more on the act of giving, and less on the shopping and the money spent and the quantity of gifts per person. I'd like to share them with you during this Christmas of deep economic turmoil in the hopes that you can also benefit from them.

Freecycle is a site along the lines of Craig's List-- basically people post classified ads and buyers respond and pick up the item. It's divided by county or region and you have to join the Yahoo Group in order to participate. There are moderators, so no worries about inappropriate items or listings. Here's the awesome thing. It's all free! That's right. People are posting items that they are giving away-- first come, first serve basis. It's awesome. Think of all the stuff you could get rid of! Stuff that you can't quite bring yourself to throw out, because there's still some use left in it. For instance, a lovely older woman came and got all our left-over dog supplies (worm meds, flea treatment, upholstery cleaner, etc.). AND, this year (drumroll please) we managed to be online at just the right moment as a woman from a ritzy upperclass part of town posted her sons' pre-Christmas toy closet clean-out stash! We cleaned up, people. Not only did we get Judah's Christmas gifts, we saved some out for his birthday! This is a sample of the few things we haven't wrapped yet. What you don't see is a gift bag full of matchbox cars and one full of knights and dragon figurines. I highly recommend you check it out.

The other site, Paperback Swap is one I've mentioned before, but a deal like this bears repeating. It's almost like an online neighbor with exactly your taste in books. You give him your books and he gives you his! The way it works.... You post books on your profile that you are looking to get rid of. They have a database of ISBN numbers that pulls up a cover photo, so you don't even have to worry about uploading pics of the book. When a member requests a book that you've posted, you print out a pre-addressed label, wrap the book and ship it out (average shipping cost for me has been right around $2). When the member receives the book, they comment and you are awarded a PBS "point" that allows you to request a book from another member. You begin your membership by posting ten books to receive some initial points (I think you might get three points to start with?). Here's one of Judah's Christmas books; as you can see, in mint condition.





As an added bonus, both of these methods of gathering gifts for my kids include recycling, in some way, products that have already been purchased and enjoyed by others. Things that might otherwise get tossed in the trash, or shoved to the back of the shelf and forgotten about.

To read some other hints and tips-- seasonal and otherwise-- check out Works For Me Wednesday at the Rocks In My Dryer blog.

PS. I'm not including any info or pics of Sofi's gifts because I simply don't trust the little bugger not to find out about it. She takes after her daddy...

The 2008 Christmas Tree Chronicles

Every year we drive over to Singer's Glen to the Heartland Christmas tree farm.

Somewhere hidden among the pines is a rare tree that bears fresh candy canes-- the best you've ever tasted!

Ah-ha! We have discovered it!

The reason I didn't film the whole trip back to the car is that they rescued us half-way back with an ATV and a trailer.

In the old creamery, there's another magic tree. This one grows ornaments for children to pick and take home.

And then, after a few false starts...

We got our Christmas card picture taken on the old sleigh!

Two bugs in a rug

The Girl Date

Last weekend, Sofi and I went on a girl date. We had lots of fun and bought Judah's Christmas presents. We had coffee at Greenberry's and wore matching red lip gloss. I am very sorry for people who do not have a little girl in their lives! If any of said people would like to borrow Sofi for a day on the town, let me know :)

Christmas Carnage

It was a quiet, peaceful winter evening in the quaint Southern town.



Shoppers wandered happily through the center square...



... calling out the occasional friendly greeting to their neighbors.



Little did they know what waited in store for their happy town.



I will spare you scenes of the attack, but view below the Christmas Carnage that met the eyes of passing strangers the next morning!

OH! The horrors!

Christmas is coming...

For the first time this year we are finally doing something we've wanted to do every year since Sofi was born. That is, celebrate Advent. We finally did it. We made a wreath, we researched the whole concept and all the various traditions surrounding it-- even ones in *gasp* different denominations! And it's really changed the whole Christmas experience for me in an amazing way.

Let me enlighten you. I am one of those people who goes hog-wild on a project, whips myself into a frenzy and then collapses from total exhaustion at the end. Moderation is just not one of my strong points. That is what I have J for. He has moderation. I have inspiration. So. Every Christmas, as soon as Thanksgiving is respectably behind us (like by one or two days), I start dragging out the Christmas Stuff. The lights, the wreaths, the greenery, the music, the movies, the food, planning parties, buying presents... And I go on this Christmas binge for, like, two weeks. So that puts us just barely into Dec, right? And then I totally burn out. I'm sick of it all! And it's still three more weeks till the actual day! Stupid, right?

But this year, because our whole celebration of Christmas is centered around Advent, all of a sudden, I find myself paced. Slowed down. Regulated. Wow! A whole new world has opened up to me. Now I have moderation forced upon me! And it is sweet, sweet. I find myself anticipating each new week as we light the next candle, read the next Scripture passage, contemplate a new aspect of Christ's gift to Man. Hope, Peace, Joy, Love. Each week we are adding something to our decorations. The tree is up, the lights are up, but no ornaments, nothing outside the house, no food, some presents are purchased, but none are wrapped. That will come, in time. I can wait. I'm enjoying the journey this year.

We. as a family, are walking slowly toward Bethlehem to Worship Christ, the Newborn King.

Prince Caspian and me

(Lewis always seems to get me blogging.)

We're watching Prince Caspian with Sofi this weekend. She went to bed halfway through and J and I stayed up to finish it-- even though we know we'll be woken at 6 sharp to finish it during breakfast tomorrow morning (the downside of having Family Movie Night on Friday nights is that we lose our Sat morning sleep-in time...) We just couldn't turn it off. Not that the movie itself is so riveting-- we spent a large portion of it moaning about how much better the book was. But these stories have always held for me a fascination unlike any other literature I've ever read. Although Tolkein's works run a close second. Every time I read/watch I uncover layer upon layer of meaning and teaching in them.

This time in particular I was struck by the final scene, when Peter reveals that Aslan has told him that he and Susan will not be returning to Narnia again. He says (in the movie-- can't remember exactly how the scene goes in the books) "we've learned what we can here and now we must go back". Then we see them walk through the doorway in the bright castle courtyard back onto the station platform in London. And there was this contrast I'd never noticed before. In Narnia there are epic battles and nobles Lords and Ladies and thousands of years of history during which they (the four Children) been revered as heroes and heroines. And in London there's fog and rain and soot and smells and loud trains. And they're kids. Just normal, ordinary kids. Wow. How just like life that is. We have our short moments where the veil seems to lift for a moment, like when we find our true loves, when our children are born and other times when God reveals Himself in unique ways. And then we must go back to Life. Ordinary Life. The long stretches of smog, smoke and smells in between those glimpses of glory. And yet those short glimpses give us hope that there is more to all this, more to hope for, something to long for.

How Judah feels about muffins

Don't you just love the cookie monster "mmmyummyummyummyummyummymmm....."?

Sofi, to Judah, during an intense clean-up-the-house-time before Cocoa and storytime yesterday...

"Just think about the chocolate, Judah, just think about the chocolate and it'll all be okay."

Exactly what I tell myself on a monthly basis-- a good motto for life. This is coming from the child who, at age two, when asked what she wanted form life, thought about it for about five seconds and then said, briskly and with confidence;

"Chocolate."