Dream, Pray, Love Anyway

Christmas Journal - Days 6 and 10.... AND I'M A WINNER!!!

As I'm sure you've figured out by now - I'm a bit behind in my Christmas Journal.  Day 5 thru me for a loop.  It's all about a advent calendar we just don't do - not because I don't want to, I know what I want to do, it's finding it.  BUT I have an idea what to journal - it's still forming in my brain.  I did do Day 6 and Day 10 tonight.  Both were very quick without a lot of figuring out what to write.  I already knew.

Day 10 - Gifts and Gift Wrapping.

Gift wrapping.  I love wrapping presents, big and small.  I love all the pretty boxes under the tree.  Most of all I enjoy the giving.  I love giving the perfect gift and joy on the other persons face.  I'm all about it and it just might brake me where Haley is concerned.

Day 6 - The Great and the Not So Great.

Great:  my greatest Christmas so far is truly every Christmas.  Because every Christmas my family and travel thru snow, sleet, or rain to visit with the people we love.  No distance is too far and we always leave with a smile.  I have to admit the Christmas's with my Haley Jo are greater than any before.

Not So Great:  I don't recall a Christmas that was not so great.  Well, there was the one just a few weeks after Jason's Uncle Glenn passed.  My heart was sad that day.  And then the one Stacy hid my gift from Jason I had to find with a scavenger hunt and one 'fake' gift was a picture of a diamond ring.  How excited I got to see the box then the disappointment soon followed.

I WON, I WON, I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I never win.  Ever.  And Monday I ordered some fun socks from Little Miss Matched and rec'd an email today that I WON one of 12 sock monkeys - one of the only 12 sock monkeys in the US!  Didn't even dawn on my that my name would be entered in the drawing when I ordered, I just wanted the fun socks!  Whewwww Wwwhhhhooo!  I'll post a pic when I get the Monkey!  If you are a Stacy Julian fan you may have seen a picture within her 12 days postings on her blog.  Yeah Me!!  Makes walking into the garage door, not so bad:)

***EDITED****  Added pic of the sock monkeys!!!  Aren't they the cutest!!

Christmas Journal - Day 4

My Dream Christmas. 

Currently my daughter and I go to my parents house on Christmas Eve for Christmas with my sister Melissa who lives in Southern Missouri.  We open gifts with Melissa and her children and my BIL Mark and sometimes he brings his pesky brother Edwin.  We always enjoy ourselves - we rarely get to play with Sara, Chris, Jessica, and Donal.  Who all love showering Haley with love. 

Then on Christmas day Jason, Haley and I have our own family Christmas together, we are in the car and off to Hermann for Christmas with Jasons family.  Lunch, Presents, time spent with Jasons mom, his aunt and cousins and their families. A few hours with my girl Queenie (that's our former dog now Jasons aunts dog - forever my girl).  Then it's back in the car, careful to pack everything in - Haley requires lots of room - and back to my parents house (45 min drive) for another meal, and Christmas with my other two sisters - Sheri and Nicole.  By the time we get home, it's late, and we all usually have work/day care the next day.  I may have to ask off this year or at least a come in late free card.  Don't get me wrong - we have a great time every time. 

I took this next journal assignment seriously.  Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year!  I just want to spend it with Everyone with out a bunch of fuss.  I feel like we are always in a rush to get to the next house.   My page is simple but the journaling is long and from the heart.  And keep in mind - even the house is a dream:)

All my family, ALL my family together in my big white house with the wrap around porch.  Lights everywhere, on the house, in the trees, down the driveway.  Snow covering everything - white as far as the eye can see.  A big tree in the entryway - covered in ornaments, lights twinkling.  Family in the livingroom watching a game.  Family at the table playing games.  Mom in the kitchen telling us girls how to cook dinner...lovingly of course.  Kids running every which way.  After dinner - loud with laughter, lots of laughter.  We all pile in our cars and look at lights.  When we return Santa has left a mound of gifts under the tree.  As we unwrap, 'A Christmas Story' plays in the background.  Everyone leaves with a smile.  This is my dream Christmas.

On a side note - I failed to mention that Tuesday was a Great episode of Dirty Jobs.  It was all about Mike Rowe's favorites and now mine too - the shark episode where he tests the suits with a guy who make shark proof diving suits.  In this particular segment Mike was mostly in swimming trucks, no shirt, yumminess.  I know, how can I go from a family oriented dream Christmas to eye candy for lack of a better term.  I told you there was something seriously wrong with me but after he said the most sexy sound in the world is the snort a woman makes while laughing - now thats my kind of man!

Christmas Journal - Day 3

Day 3 - Christmas Cards

I've punched out 9 squares from past cards - and a little tree - to create my day 3 page.  It's amazing how quickly these pages come together when I just sit and do and stop thinking so much about every little thing.

The journaling reads:

Christmas cards.  I love receiving and giving cards (it actually says getting and should say giving - guess I'll be fixing that). Some years I make them myself, some years I don't.  I always include pics of Haley and keep the most precious 4 ever.

While I created my page - Haley created her own creation.  This now sits in our tree - surrounded by pretty lights.

As you can see - she too cut pictures from a Christmas card, used a little circle stamp, cut some shapes, and used my tape runner like a pro.  I am raising a future 'Family Historian', 'Life Artist', 'Scrapbooker'!

And yes - that is yuck on my table - the product of 4 year old projects going on for the Holidays:)

Shilmelle's Christmas Journal Class

I'm taking Shimelle's online Christmas Journal class this year and I'm really excited about it.  It's an online class - each day I receive an email with a prompt for that days journaling.  You can blog it, create a scrapbook out of it, or just write in your journal - it's up to you.  I'm creating a book.  Hopefully it will someday express to Haley just how much I truly love Christmas.

Day 1 - I Declare...

Right now Haley Jo is 4 1/2 and loving Christmas.  I've been reminiscing about my own childhood Christmas's and can only really recall 2.  I want my daughter to know how special Christmas is to me and to remember as many as possible.  To see the Magic and my own special feelings for the Holiday.

Day 2 - Snow

I love Christmas weather!  To wake up to a blanket of snow with the ice in the trees.  My favorite thing to do is to curl up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate, the lights twinkling in the tree and my favorite Christmas movie playing...White Christmas with Bing Crosby.  Warms the soul.

I've chosen to do an 8x8 album and yes - that is my own snowflake - I made it - just like in grade school - no truth that it was my third try:)  Why were these so easy then?  It's the Ugly Betty in me shining thru:)