Make Me Smile Monday

On Saturday we woke up and went downstairs to see if Santa had eaten his cookies and to see if any new presents had made there way under the tree, which of course they had. This in turn resulted in much squealing and jumping up and down. Before opening our stockings however, it's tradition at our house to a couple of Christmas stories. We like to really take our time and savour every moment. This year we read "God Gave Us Christmas" by Lisa Tawn Bergren and "A Fruitcake Christmas" by Max Lucado. Then we read the story of Jesus birth from "The Picture Bible" (our copy has a plain red cover):



After reading we opened our stockings and then enjoyed some Bacon and Potato Breakfast Pizza with some fresh fruit and orange juice for breakfast.

What really made my heart sing this Christmas was how appreciative each of our children were when opening their presents. A few years ago we began a "one person opens one present at a time" policy (as a way to help ensure we were able to really soak in all the excitement and make it last). They did such an incredible job! It was so nice to see them show appreciation and give thank-yous and hugs with little to no reminders. It really was such a fun and relaxing time. And such a great learning experience!

A highlight of the morning for me was when Jason and I were explaning the significance of the Learning to Read gift we bought through World Vision. We shared how some children don't get the chance to learn to read and write. This really hit home to our 7 year old daughter. "That's horrible," she said "reading's the greatest!"  There was so much sincerity and compassion in her response. She was so happy we could be giving these gifts; I thought it was beautiful.

Santa Claus and Egg-Nog

So, now after sharing my thoughts on celebrating Christmas, I thought it would be fun to share what role Santa plays in our lives.

When Sarah was 2 years old I deliberated about what to tell her about Santa. I had such a hard time telling her he's real because - well - he isn't! At the same time I worried that it might steal some of the excitement and joy from the season if we didn't. I wasn't sure what to do. In the end Jason and I decided to tell her the truth - that Santa's not real. To us this never meant boycotting Santa, we just simply hoped to avoid the potential heartbreak of eventually discovering the truth. It was a question of do we tell her now or later? It's been interesting to see how things have developed since then.

***As a side note: we've made sure to be very clear that this is something children need to find out from their parents - not their friends - so they know not to "break the news" to anyone.

One thing I've been happy to see is that much the way kids love princess movies and superheroes (all the while knowing they're pretend) our kids have enjoyed a lot of excitement over Santa. We go visit him every year down town where he sets himself up in front of the post office. They are more than willing to tell Santa what they would like for Christmas. Every Christmas Eve, we set out homemade chocolate chip cookies and egg-nog for Santa (did you know Santa loves egg-nog?) to eat when he fills the stockings. They know that it's really their daddy who eats and drinks the snack, and giggle with excitement each Christmas morning when they run down stairs to make sure he really came. Children have such great imaginations!

This is the second year I've ordered gifts through World Vision (Agriculture Packs, Hygiene Kit and Literacy for Children) to go in the kids stockings and I plan on making this an annual tradition. I love the fact that we can talk openly with our children about these children who are in need without wondering why Santa doesn't have it covered.

I've also noticed that knowing he's not real has allowed them to focus more on giving to the rest of the family and appreciate what's been given to them, knowing that someone who loves them picked it out with great thought and care.

Anyways, that's what we do at our house. I'd love to hear what you do at yours!!! :)

Make Me Smile Monday

There's a sound I hear around our house multiple times a day. It's an everyday sound and there's nothing  especially pretty about the sound itself. It's the sound of our front door. Specifically it's that metallic sound the door knob makes when someone reaches out, gives it a turn and pushes the door open. We come and we go and the front door opens and closes as any good door should. It gets a lot of use. Usually, I don't give it too much thought.

Five days a week however, this same "everyday sound" takes on a life of its own. At the end of the day when Jason gets home from work the sound of door opening is like music to my ears. It reminds me of the excitement I felt 10 years ago when we were first dating. I love knowing that he's home safe and sound. I love knowing we'll be sitting down to have dinner together as a family. I love the sound of squeals and laughter as our children run and jump into his waiting arms.

I thank God for the muscial sound of our front door when my husband arrives home from work, the even more frequent sounds of a busy young family in their comings and goings and especially for safe arrivals!

Is Christmas a pagan holiday?

Have you heard the news that Jesus wasn't born on December the 25th? And that Christmas is really just a pagan holiday? I keep hearing this come up different places and find it interesting, because for the most part I'm hearing it from people who don't celebrate the birth of Christ. The message being sent is loud and clear: there are those who feel Christ shouldn't be made a part of Christmas.

My learned response is simply to allow myself the question: Should I stop celebrating Christ's birth at Christmas because he wasn't born December 25th?

There's nothing magical about December 25th and there would be nothing magical about the day of the year Jesus was actually born on - if scholars could actually find a way to pinpoint the day and not just the time of year. It feels a little bit like someone telling me that celebrating my daughters birthday a few weeks early is not a valid time to celebrate. Last year a few of her friends weren't able to make it because they were having Christmas get-togethers with their extended families. So this year we moved the party back a few weeks and avoided that same problem. It's not about the day, it's about the life! And for Chistians celebrating Christs birth it's even more importantly about the reason he came. The focus shouldn't be put on the date itself but on the celebration; especially if being concerned about it causes us to give up entirely on the celebration!

Christmas has been celebrated in December for hundreds of years (and along with that the birth of Christ). Christmas is such a huge part of our North American culture. And although each family is different with their own unique traditions most families at least have some. These kinds of family traditions are fun, healthy and help build security in our children (by letting them know we have long term - as in life long - plans of being together as a family).

If tradition isn't enough of a reason on it's own, consider once again my daughter's early birthday party. This was the first time we'd ever planned it a few weeks early and yet all parents and children involved were very understanding. They recognized the need for being practical. In the same way, it makes a lot of sense to keep it at a time when our children have a school break for the holidays and most of us get at least some time off work.  

Winter Solstice was a pagan celebration filled with pagan traditions and superstitions. People were putting their faith in something other than Jesus Christ. (We all put our faith in something.) Somewhere along the line when Winter Solstice was such a prominent part of the culture, somebody decided it would be a great time for Christians to celebrate the birth of Christ. It became a new reason to celebrate for those who didn't "share the faith" of those celebrating winter solstice. How great is that? And now in North America, at the "darkest" time of the year we take time to celebrate the birth of Christ, give to the people we love and spend time with our families.

A few weeks ago I saw a "discussion" beneath a public figure's status update. This person was sharing their frustration towards people who use the term "Happy Holidays". I was amazed at the anger shared by so many people who agreed, insisting that Christmas "always has and always will be about Jesus". As much as I respect the individual who posted the orginal remark, I couldn't disagree more! Christmas isn't about Jesus for everyone. For some it's about getting together with family, Santa, and presents. If they don't share our faith why would we expect them to make it about Jesus at Christmas time? I think it's naive and potentially even destructive to think that way. It builds an us versus them mentality.

I don't think we need to shy away from celebrating the birth of Christ at Christmas but we do need to be careful in our attitude towards others when we do. Jesus came for everyone. He came for people of every race and every faith. I don't think we're making that clear to anyone by insisting that everyone should be celebrating Christmas like we do, getting angry at people for saying Happy Holidays or by pretending other religions don't exist.

What if we start allowing our belief - that God is love and he's filled us with his love - to transform our everyday lives including the way we celebrate Christmas and the way we think and deal with others? Maybe that will be the thing that causes people to believe that the birth of a child thousands of years ago truly is worth the celebration!

Clean and Tidy

The past year has been one of change around our home. And I mean in a very literal sense not at all figuratively. At the same time it has impacted our family life in a very positive way and has developed in me a passion for all things organized! Since I'm pretty sure I've been driving my family and (some of  my) close friends crazy with this new interest of mine I feel as though I need an outlet. So, in addition to "Make Me Smile Mondays" I'm going to start up another weekly entry dedicated to organization. I'm in the process of coming up with a name for it and I would love to hear any ideas you might have. Please keep in mind I can only pick one, so I might not be able to use it. If I am able to, I will happily give you full credit when I first introduce the name. :)

For today I'd love to share my "story" with you!

Last year I was beginning to feel really overwhelmed by our home. Well that's not entirely accurate. I was feeling overwhelmed by the task of keeping my home clean and tidy. We bought our first home (a semi-detached, 3 bedroom home) in summer 2005, so we've lived here for just over 5 years. When we first moved in it was just three of us: Jason, myself and our 2 1/2 year old little girl. We felt incredibly blessed to be first time home owners and we still do. Moving from a 2 bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom home we couldn't believe the space - it was incredible! But, 4 years and 2 additional children later and things were feeling pretty cramped. Jason and I were suddenly feeling like we didn't have enough space even though we hoped to get a few more years out of our house before selling it. I was determined to make the time we had left as comfortable as possible.

Now don't get me wrong - this wasn't like an episode of "Hoarders" or anything. But keeping my house clean felt a lot more like a roller coaster ride than a walk in the park. I would work really hard and get the house nice and clean and then in a matter of a couple of days every thing was messy again. Then I'd have to work really really hard to get it clean again only to have things fall apart in the matter of a few days. Round and round it went.

At the time I couldn't figure out what I needed to change. Until I went to visit a friend one day in her new home. She, her husband and their 4 children had just moved into a bigger house. For as long as I've known her she's always been one of those women who makes taking care of her house  look easy. Her house always seems to be not only clean and beautiful but welcoming. And now in her new (bigger) house, she still managed to make it looked that way. What was her secret? I wanted to know! Leaving her house that day I left with a very valuable piece of information: everything - no matter how small - needs a place.

That was in November. Somewhere in between that conversation and Christmas I got the flu really bad. Jason's mom watched the kids for me for two days and I took off babysitting so I could recover. Just as I was on the mend we had a few people drop by for a football game. I can't even tell you how embarrassed I was with the state of my house. I knew that even after a couple of days out of commission things didn't need to be quite so bad. It was the final straw!

On boxing day of last year, I began the process of de-cluttering the entire house. And I mean the entire house! The closets, dressers, shelves - everything. Bags and bags of stuff went to goodwill, got recycled and thrown in the garbage. Taking time wherever I could get it, the first major overhaul took me one whole month of very intense work. I went to Canadian Tire and bought a couple of shelving units for my storage/laundry room and bins (everything seemed to be on sale)  for our toy closet. After that I spent the next few months going back over these same areas fine tuning what I'd already done.

What started out of neccesity has now become a passion.  Decluttering was the first (most crucial) step. Since then I've been discovering how organizing my home not only makes it easier to clean and more peaceful to live in, but it also helps make my home more beautiful. What I used to think had to do with the size of a home or expensive furnishings can easily be accomplished with a little organizing. The use of  every day items like baskets, bins, vases, and even decorative magazine files and paper trays have worked there way into my heart as I've seen them transform my house.

From my own experience I can look back and see that it ("it" being focusing merely on the cleaning aspect of keeping my home and not the so much the organizing/clutter control) wasn't so much an issue in our first apartment and didn't really become an issue until we had a few children and had been living here for several years. When I first discovered the importance of these thing I remember wondering why no one had ever told me before. So this is why I share my "story". I imagine there must be someone out there who can relate. Whether you've been feeling like all of a sudden things are catching up to you (like I did) or you're just starting out I hope that by sharing what has been helpful to me it may also be helpful for you!

Make Me Smile Monday

Every once in a while as I'm working about the house I see something that makes my heart sing. My busy little 2 year old boy being read to by one (or both of) his older sisters who are 7 and 5. It paints the sweetest picture. He sits there snuggled up close listening contentedly as they read away. When my oldest first started to read and was fluent enough that she could read simple stories out loud I began to encourage her to read to her younger sister. It didn't take much and before long it was a common thing. I can hardly believe that only a few years later and now they are BOTH reading to their younger brother.

What a blessing to have books to read, a comfy couch to snuggle up on, eyes that can see, books to hold and the ability to read. I am so incredibly grateful! I love the sound of their voices and the sight of the togetherness they share over the love of books.

Make Me Smile Mondays

Something I really love that I've seen on a number of different blogs are days of the week that have been designated to a specific topic. For example someone might decide they have a lot to say about sweaters and they'll make posts on Saturdays call "Sweet Sweater Saturdays". (Of course I'm making this one up!) In time I'd like to share some of them with you, but being new to the blogging world I'm not quite sure about the proper way to go about this. Once I've had the chance to figure that out, I look forward to sharing them with you. :)

In the mean time I've decided to start one up here on Life's Journey called "Make Me Smile Mondays". I'm going to start sharing one "little thing" every monday that makes me feel incredibly happy and blessed. You know those times in life when just for a few seconds everything seems to slow right down and you're overwhelmed by a sense of gratefulness for the people (and sometimes even places and things) in your life? Well, I'd love to start sharing some of those moments. Keep an eye out for Monday's post, I can hardly wait to get started!

Recipe Keeper

When it's time to make up my menu plan for the week (and the accompanying grocery list) I don't usually feel very inspired. I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes but I don't like how long it can take to come up with six meal ideas (I reserve one dinner a week for leftovers. My mother-in-love calls this "best of the week" and I've chosen to adopt the term.) while I'm also trying to mix things up a bit week after week. I sometimes find myself trying to remember our family favourites off the top of my head in an effort to avoid searching for them. This is because they're located in three different places: online, in my cookbooks and the 1" binder where I store my printouts and hand written recipes.

Enter this beautiful recipe keeper my mom gave me a while ago.

Knowing it would take a ridiculous amount of time to transfer all of my recipes into it at once, I've slowly been writing out my favourite recipes from the binder I was just talking about onto the fresh new pages of my recipe keeper. As part of the process I went through the entire binder and got rid of the recipes I don't use or know I'm never actually going to try. This cut the number of recipes I had in half. I've been really enjoying how uniform all of my recipes look written on the same pages all the way through, and the fact that it's divided into sections like this:



So today when it was time to meal plan I had a great idea!

I can use this little binder to keep all of my favourite meal ideas in one place. All of my favourite recipes from those 3 different locations! That way, when it's time to sit down and meal plan I can pull out my binder and simply look through it. It will be so much easier to mix it up if I have a large group of favourites to pick from instead of trying to remember them on my own. This makes it seem so much less intimidating to me to try and come up with 1 or 2 new recipes each week just for fun. As new recipes become true favourites they will be added to the binder. If it gets full enough that it becomes too time consuming just to flip through it I'll simply make a reference sheet at the front of the binder listing all of the meals in the binder so I can give it a quick scan.

I imagine this is not a new concept for many, and it's a pretty simple one - but I'm really excited about it! I can hardly wait to get all of my favourites in one place!