Savoring the memories, captures the joy

Yep. It's true. You are seeing Christmas photos in February. In a culture that speeds ever forward, I am tempted not to post these pictures. The voices in my head say: 'This is not current. This is not what we are doing today. Social media is about the ever-present now.Who is interested in this?'

As it turns out, I am.  I'm posting these pictures of our recent Christmas celebrations to capture joy. It brings me great joy, not just now but long into the future, to reminisce about special celebrations. Not only is it easy to move on in the technological world and not post pictures of something that seems like old news, it is easy to speed on in life. The next item on the agenda comes so quickly, begging to be checked off the list. It makes it hard to savor the good times.

Since it will be awhile before I put them in a book, I will savor these memories in a blog post. It was a special time. I live 1,000 miles from my family. I used to take for granted that I could get to see them whenever we had planned. Then, my husband lost his job. Our situation changed. The first Christmas that I didn't make it to Minnesota to see them I cried hard.

But it taught me a great lesson. Don't take it for granted. So in the that spirit. Posting these Christmas pictures is also about being thankful and grateful that we were able to go. 

I asked my kids what they liked best about our Christmas trip. We saw our cousins and went to a basketball game, pizza party, went ice skating, and snow tubing. I assumed that those would be at the top of the list. But they really enjoyed the time being able to read at Grandma and Grandpa's house and play games with them. They liked the events, too. But they also liked time to just hang out all together.

So enjoy the trip of getting to know us a little better and the highlights of our Christmas. Perhaps you can also think of ways to remember and be thankful for the good and perfect gifts that you have been given.

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I met two new members of our family: our great nephew (yep, it's true: I'm a great aunt!)  and our newest nephew. What joy it is to welcome new members of our family and also play with younger members of the family.

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We enjoyed some winter activities: snowman building, snow shoveling, ice skating, and tubing!

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We enjoyed extra family time: we watched my nephew's basketball game with a pizza party at my brother & his family's house, and a sleep-over at my sister's house. We played board games with Grandma and Grandpa.



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We enjoyed traditional Christmas celebrations: looking at a Christmas photo album of my mom's that highlights 50 years of Christmas, eating our traditional polish sausage & poppyseed bread for Christmas eve dinner, conversations, and gift exchanges.

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We enjoyed time with my extended family. We had a chance to join the annual Christmas party so I was able to see aunts, uncles, and cousins that I hadn't seen in 6 years. My children hardly remember meeting any of them so for them it could count as meeting my relatives. Santa even makes a special appearance every year for my relatives. See how special they are?

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We had time to enjoy sleeping in, reading, playing games with my folks, and I even slipped away to see just a couple of girlfriends. So good to have down time to breathe.

Upon our return, we celebrated  our Christmas here back at home. The glow sticks were one of the biggest hits of the night. Truly it is the little things that turn out to be our favorite thing of all. It is so good to take pictures. It is so good to stop and savor the memories. It is so good to be grateful. I am thankful that pictures help me remember the good things in my life.

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Here's to the joy of creating and the joy of remembering!

What have you created or remembered lately?

Christmas cheer: It's worth it!

My nine-year-old son has been initiating Christmas cheer around here. Not the teenagers. Not the parents. It has been the joy and wonder of the youngest that has motivated us to put up our tree, to read our Advent calendar, to decorate our house, to bake Christmas cookies.

I am thankful for this encouragement to find Christmas joy in the nooks and crannies of our home and our busy lives.

I get stressed at this time of year -- what mother doesn't? Yet, I don't always realize how much my children know that and dislike a stressed out momma.

During the past few years when life got a bit more topsy-turvy than usual (read about that  here and here), I haven't had the drive to create all of our usual Christmas traditions. This year the kids were asking to bake cookies again since we hadn't done it in a few years. My oldest noticed the look on my face; he said that he would rather not do the cookies if it was going to stress me out.

His comment caused me to pause.

I know that the look on my face was partly due to the sigh in my heart at letting traditions, such as the cookie decorating, fall to the wayside. I love the rituals and the traditions. I want to be able to say that we decorated Christmas cookies: Every. Single. Year. But... I can't.

So part of my look was that disappointment and part of it was wondering: 'How can we fit it all in?' My oldest took the look to mean: Mom is stressed by this request.

I'm glad he spoke. It got me thinking.

First, I realized this: Life is stressful.There is a lot to do in this season, a lot of which hinges on the momma. But taking out the meaningful or fun parts will never reduce my life to being completely stress-free. Therefore, I must make time for joy. We must do I the activities that give our lives meaning.

However, this is where discernment is needed. These 'must-do' activities are not to be confused with pressure, or the obligations or the images I have of  'just how things are suppose to be.' They need to be the essential ones we really love.

I need to examine in order to reduce how much I need to do; having less to do also helps to reduce my stress level. Keep it simple. Keep the list short. Then, I need to be sure to keep the activities that give meaning and energy to our lives do not fall by the wayside because I am too stressed.

Secondly, I realized this: not only do I need to do those important, meaningful life giving activities, such as decorating Christmas cookies. I also need to participate in them with a non-stressed look on my face. It would be best if I would be light and free spirit and truly enjoy the moment. 

It helps if I remember I have chosen this moment and it's worth it. I can do this by remembering that the fun, the memories, the traditions, they are not what add stress to my life.  Life is just stressful.

So instead of throwing out all of the fun we're making time for a few of our favorite traditions this year: Christmas cards, birthday parties, and cookie decorating. We are filling our lives this season with opportunities for joy, laughter, and memories due to a momma listening to the desires of a nine-year-old boy and letting it inspire her to keep on, keeping on the very best things in her world.

How is this season going for you?

In this busy -- often stressful -- season:

Which activities bring you and your loved ones energy & joy? 

Could you reduce your list to a small core of the 'most meaningful'?

What activities are the most important to keep doing for you and your family?

Merry Christmas

Thanksgiving Day 2011

Merry Christmas from my family and I.

May your days be filled with peace and joy
due to the baby boy that was
"born so that man no more may die."

-- Kathleen

Christmas Rambling Randomness

This nativity set was a gift from my folks to Kip& I on our first Christmas as a married couple. It sits upon the piano. Baby Jesus and the manager live out all Advent long. Some (such as my sister) are adamant that Jesus be placed in the manager on Christmas day. It seems like something that I would feel strongly about it, but I never have. In our set Jesus is attached to the manager, so we have just always set them out when we set it up.

On the Day of Decorating the House for Christmas we begin by hauling the boxes out of the attic, turning on Russ Taff's Christmas CD, and donning Santa hats. Then the work of transformation begins. And if I have remembered, the family will drink eggnog to boost their energy.




The kids decided to repeat their house decorating performance of last year and do it by themselves again. Hubby was engaged in a sewing machine project. So, I immersed myself in the taking of many photos -- on our new digital camera.

Assistant Mom directs the youngest and prepares the ornaments to be hung.

I was glad to be taking lots of photos for I needed a job to do. Next year, I do think I will get in on the ornament hanging at least since I miss reflecting on the ornaments and the stories associated with them.

We've hung our stockings on our bookshelves because we don't have a chimney.

We put our advent wreath together and have lit it and have sung Christmas carols. (This is a tradition that I felt empowered to begin due to the blog post on Like Mother, Like Daugher HERE and also on The Simple Wife HERE.) Begin, start. Do something. It is often better than nothing and better than never getting around to it. As I heard at a recent organizational seminar "Sooner is better than perfect." And I did it that year...when I read about...not necessarily at the beginning of the season.

The tree before it has been fluffed or decorated.

It doesn't have to be perfect but do it. Make a decision. Go for it. I think I often get caught in the trap of making special holiday memories for the other adult's in my life that I think are critiquing (but no one is -- who has time for that in all the holiday busyness?!) and I tend to forget about the desires of my children -- wanting a happy mama, the wonder of the season with creating some anticipation. So it is not the most perfect Advent wreath but it is a tradition we have begun to do. (Interested in the first year that I did that? Read HERE.)

Our advent wreath a few years ago.
The base looks the same; we just have different colored candles this year
(always with one different).
We lit them during dinner and do our other Advent things after dinner
during Storytime with Daddy (when we're home).

We have an wooden advent calendar that we use each year. And now I see that my children really do know the details of the Christmas story. The repetition of a deeply layered story helps us peel it back each year. And as we read the The Living Word that is active to divide between our soul and spirit, each of our hearts can have something freshly revealed each season, each day -- if we are able to quiet ourselves and allow ourselves to hear it.

I love this plate my sister gave me a few years ago.
And in an unprecedented design move for me
I bought this stand for a Thanksgiving plaque that I bought.
And now, behold, it also holds our Santa plate!

And so it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas again around our house. It was a lot easier again this year because we have a 6, 10, 12 and 13 year old. They are all here. They like being here and contributing and helping and giving their strength to our home. And I benefit. It is a beautiful thing. So different from the years of all babies and toddlers all of the time (which were beautiful, too, in their way, just more physically demanding.) We have been here for awhile now. But, we are still adjusting to this new place of young men and women at our house (with youngest still full of energy, wonder, antics and loudness to keep us not so wondering where we are in this loud and sticky life.)

We have even purchased a few gifts, I have the Christmas photo for the letters ready, the envelopes purchases. I have started on most things. Done something on most of the Christmas lists. I have sent off my Christmas wish lists to others. I am ahead of where I usually am at this time of year, but without an exploding sense of "I need to get this!" And that makes me a little nervous, actually.

Because it is December 9th and we do need to ship gifts. And we are far from having all the gifts purchased and wrapped. Far from having Christmas cookies baked, much less frosted, and other special seasonal treats prepared. Next week is crazy busy with lots of festivities which really begin with a full, fun day tomorrow.And at least one -- if not two events -- starting on Wednesday through next Sunday. (I do love the parties and events, though, it is certainly part of the spirit of the season for me.)

This week seemed peaceful enough. Yet, I don't know that I have accomplished enough of the to-do lists to navigate next week without feeling overwhelmed.

Favorite ornaments that also look like the figurines in little advent sets that
a dear woman from church gave to me on the birth of the third child.
They each love to take their own set of figures to play with each year.
Since we pack them up with the Christmas stuff, it helps them to be more special.
Each child puts them in their own box that they decorate how they want.
(Each child has been through more than one box and the child that is into wood-working has made his own stable out of wood.)
Thankfully I found a fourth set after the child was born at Hobby Lobby six years ago.
I haven't seen them since but also haven't searched for them either.

But I would rather choose peace. Choose to walk peacefully through the potentially chaos of events. I cannot go back and do more preparations for the days ahead. I can only walk in this moment. And as a friend often reminds me, Do the next right thing.

So I will sign off this blog post and hit publish (because sooner is better than perfect.) And attend to the needs of the children.

And a special welcome to the Company Girl Coffee folks -- I have missed you!

May we all navigate this season with peace with the Prince of Peace as our guide who came that He may abide with us all of the time.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here and I didn't really have anything to do with it. Oh, perhaps you could say I had one teeny-tiny thing to do with it. You must not blink, though, or you just might miss it.

While I was scrubbing the bathroom floor (on a Sunday afternoon), I could hear my husband strum a guitar. He was playing some music while he waited. I didn't know he was waiting for me. He didn't know I was cleaning.

(I don't usually work at all on Sundays much less start deep-cleaning projects so why I felt compelled to get on my hands and knees to scour the bathroom tile is hard to say -- except that it was WAY over due and that I had folks coming over on Monday. But, I didn't really remember that I had company coming before I started disinfecting. At some point the dirt simply screams to be eliminated and I oblige. But I digress.)

So, while I am scrubbing the bathroom tile, the Hubby finally comes to find me instead of just waiting. He asks if I want to set up the Christmas tree. I say, "Sure."

And that was the extent of my involvement. That is all I did. I said, "Sure."

This is a true statement.

The Hubby and Sweet Number Three -- who is nine -- brought all the boxes down from the attic. Then, while the Hubby and I were discussing where to displace the trunk that lives in the corner so that we could put the tree in the same spot as last year, the Youngest ran by us and said in a loud voice, "Don't look in the living room or the dining room."

Hmmmm. Could they really do this all by themselves? The Youngest came by again, delivering the same message, "Don't look in the living or dining room."

But the Hubby, who has always been in charge of setting up the tree, had had to modify the tree last year. He needed to go help. He couldn't just let them do it. (He is not, by the way, a control freak. He just wanted to prevent Disasters of Much Greater Harder Work for us later on.) He walked to the living room. The Twelve-Year-Old First Born Son said, "You made a diagram last year, dad. It's clear. I'm following your instructions."

They had moved the trunk from the corner. This capable young man, who builds all-of-the-time, was doing just fine. They were all working together, pleasantly. The Firstborn said, "We'll do this. Put your feet up. "

And so we did.

The Hubby made popcorn. I made hot cocoa. We sat down on the couch, drank cocoa, ate popcorn, and watched the children do all the decorating, including the lights. After we sipped our last sip, we drifted off to a quick cat-nap.

I was thrilled because I had wanted a nap and I wasn't really up for decorating the house. (Though I had been up for scrubbing bathroom tile? As the Hubby said when he found me cleaning on a Sunday afternoon, "You are a strange creature.") But things are a-changing around here. The children really are helpful and able to do. And I was able to nap.

So on Sunday: The children set-up the tree, the nativity scene, the outdoor lights, and the various Christmas knick-knacks around the house. The Hubby strummed a little guitar. I removed the dirt from the bathroom and kitchen floor. (The kitchen floor mopping came after the Christmas decorations and before the movie.) The Hubby & I took naps. We all watched Prince Caspian, which I had checked out from the library. (Which was another first, by the way, because usually the DVDs from the library are so scratched up they simply just do NOT play.)

Life is changing around here. It's not all bad. Actually, it is quite good and it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, too.

D is for Derby Races

D is for Derby Races or another crazy Jaeger tradition. Who else celebrates Christmas by racing pine wood blocks transformed into cars? Every other year we celebrate Christmas in Tennessee with hubby's family. At the past three gatherings, we have raced pine derby cars.

At the beginning of the Christmas weekend, each willing participant (not all participate) receives a box with a block of pine wood to transform into a racing car. It is cut, painted, wheeled, weighed, and entered into the contest. We have a double elimination tournament, a 30-foot track, an official car starter, a flag ceremony,

a line judge, and a

head race official and master of tournament, weight qualifications, judges for the most creative, lots and lots of fun and...

.... trophies.
Because there are trophies, there are

show car winners and

the speed winners of the race. Yes, that is me in the middle. The second place trophy is on my book shelf in my dining room. (Yes, there are bookshelves in the dining room and almost every room of the house.) My brother-in-law Klay deserves the credit for my place since he helped me with every aspect of building my car named Moo-Moo. Thanks Klay! And thanks to all my fun Crazy Jaeger relatives for the great memories!

Overflow from the Dining Room Table

I like traditions. Both my husband and I grew up eating dinner every night around a table. It was a non-negotiable event. No music. No TV. Everyone who was home was seated around the table. Still when we gather with extended family, much reminiscing and laughter happens around the table. We do this now with our four children -- dinner every night around the table.

I like tradition. I grew up in a liturgical church that celebrated Advent with candles. Occasionally the church I attend now does an Advent wreath. When I saw Leila and Joanne celebrating Advent around their own dining room table, I knew I wanted to implement this, too. (Okay, I know that Christmas is done but my blog was just born!)

So I put together the Advent wreath above with supplies from home and what I couldn't find at home, I found at the Dollar Store. Whenever we were home for a regular meal during those four weeks before Christmas (there seem to be a lot of non-normal meals throughout the season), we would light the candles, sing O Come, O Come Emmanuel and read the suggested Scripture (from a bookmark I downloaded from Joanne's blog). After reading the Scripture, we would sing another Christmas carol or two based on the passage.

One night we read the familiar Luke 2:8-14 passage. And the obvious song choice was Joy from the Seeds Project that put Luke 2:8-14 to music. As we listened to it, tears began to trickle down my cheeks. I looked at my husband. He had tears, too. The song emphasized the joy and the peace that was ours because Jesus was born. We sang this song several times during Advent.

Then, the kids decided they wanted us all to sing the song for the extended family on Christmas eve. So we did. Kip learned the guitar chords. We played and sang from the overflow of our dining room table. Nothing fancy. Not the best performance in the world. Not for the stage. But six hearts praising God.

I heard the Christmas message in a new way this year. At my own home. At my own dining room table. We meditated on the Joy that will be for all people and peace to us.

Not that it happens all of the time. Most of the time the dining room table is loud. Requests for more food, not for this food. Squabbles between the siblings. My table is like your table. I just took a few moments do something else here and there. It would get late. The kids would complain and ask "Why are we singing this?" "Do we have to keep singing this?" But as I am still treasuring this Christmas moment from the overflow of the dining room table, it makes all the meal efforts worth it.

It encourages me to keep pressing on in the midst of the squabbles, the complaints and the mundane. To add a sparkle here and there. We didn't do all of our Christmas traditions. We didn't keep up as well with our usual Advent calendar or make Christmas cookies.


But we did sing as a family from the overflow of our dining room table where the praise started. And somehow that seems right and worth it all.