For Those of Us Who Don't Get to Go to the Caribbean this Winter

I've been feeling a little sorry for myself that I am not going on a cruise or a vacation to somewhere warm and balmy. Although some warm and balmy spots (Haiti) are probably a little less fortunate than here. OK, so no more feeling sorry for myself. I have a home that is still standing, a family that is intact, and I can brush my teeth every morning and have a hot bath. Life's not so bad. And today is National Pie Day. Just so you know.

I have a new goal for January. It is to write down every day things that have made me happy. Here are some things from my list so far:

*yummy food
*the weekend
*not using credit cards for my shopping
*delicious nap with a fuzzy blanket and the cat
*loyal friends
*no sugar
*rain boots for shovelling slush
*dependable children
*plowing snow this morning without crashing

And I'm pretty sure my Boston Cream Pie that I'm going to make will make the list as well. I've only done this for 3 days and my outlook on January is better already.

So to wrap it up, here are 2 happy quotes:



"There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the world." Robert Louis Stevenson




"I have two choices. I can choose to be happy or I can choose to be sad. I choose to be happy." Marjorie Pay Hinckley

So for today, I will choose to be happy and hope that it rubs off on the rest of the world. And if any of you are going on vacation to the Caribbean, I hope you bring me some vanilla. Because then I will be even more happy. The End.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Even though this is one of my new favorite books, I am not writing about the book. I am also not writing about pie. What I am writing about is niceness. Specifically, I am writing about nice people at the bottom of the pie of humanity.

I've been thinking lately about what makes really nice people. It is a mystery to me since deep down, I am not very nice. I like to pretend that I am and I keep trying to be nicer, but at my core, I am selfish and mean. So one of the hallmarks of a nice person, to me, is that when they talk to you, they like to talk about you. (This is why I like my nice friends.) First, they ask about all my children--and here's a secret: Doting on my children is something I simply can't resist. And nice people ask about things I'm interested in. They also ask lots of questions. Sometimes I play a game to see if I can steer the conversation topic to them so I'm not just talking about me the whole time. It's hard to do. And usually I'm quite happy talking about me. But that is because I am not very nice. There are other things, too, that nice people do--but this is the one I've been thinking about.

Believe it or not, I am trying to be a nice person. I have it on good authority that it's possible to change your very nature, which is good, since the one I came with is pretty self-centered. Luckily, I seem to have an inordinate number of nice friends to learn from. Some of them might even know how to make pie, which would be nice of them to bring me. It's just a thought.

And a Little Tutu

Project #2 has been Kendyl's tutu. I'm not especially impressed with it--I saw a tutu I was trying to copy and apparently in my mind my abilities are far greater than what they actually are. But it's done and it's just for dress up so hopefully she'll be happy.

On to Project #3.

Not a Moment Too Soon

Apparently the Jedi Robe will be arriving in the nick of time.

The Jedi Robe Master

Don't die of shock that I'm actually posting something again. I can't even explain the busy summer and apparently fall and wow, it's December already. I have something to share now, so maybe I'll make a habit of this again.

One of Garreth's current obsessions is Star Wars. He spent the summer running with the pack of neighbor boys, all of whom were brandishing their light sabers and wearing coats or bathrobes because they were Jedi's. Now my child usually wants to be the bad guy, but apparently his light saber is green which is the Jedi color so he had to settle for being a good guy this time. And it dawns on me. I could make a Jedi robe. How cool would that be? I have this awesome dark green fabric that I bought on sale one day and I vaguely remember buying a costume robe pattern too.

So I go in search of the pattern--only to discover that it's an adult size pattern. Why I thought I would need an adult sized Jedi robe, I don't know. Anyway--I tried to use it as a guideline to make a smaller size robe (with the help of another variety of robe pattern that actually was the right size) and it turned out mostly okay. The sleeves are a bit odd, but since it's supposed to be a big and drapey, hopefully it won't matter much.

Now here's the best part of the story. I bought him a new light saber (not a top of the line model, but a one-step-up-from-what-he-currently-has model) to go with the robe. Weeks later while we are at ShopKo looking for church shoes for Brenton, he disappears and I find him in the toy aisle lovingly fingering the exact light saber that I already bought him. I can't wait for Christmas morning.

I'm finding more joy in Christmas this year than I ever have before and I think it's because I've invested more of myself in my gift giving this year. I'm reminded of a quote my good friend told me, "To be a good gift giver, you simply have to be a good listener." This friend also told me to give more of myself in my presents. So that's my new goal--to be a better giver and to invest of myself. And ultimately that's what the Master Gift Giver does. He, whose birth we celebrate, listens and knows us, and his gifts are perfect. I am ever grateful for His birth, His life, and His everlasting gifts to us. Merry Christmas.

He Aint Heavy . . .

he's my brother.

There's No Place Like Home

Half my family is in China. OK, technically it's only a third. And while I'm used to my husband being gone on business trips, I am not used to my daughter being gone for 11 days. It's disconcerting. It's like a part of me is missing all the time. Anyway--that's beside the point. The real point is that you would think with less family here, I would have more time to blog. Sadly, this has not been the case. With her gone and my son on a scout camp, all the weeding, watering and lawn mowing was left to me today. I'm very tired. But apparently, also in need of some self-expression since I'm finally sitting down to add something new.

I just finished reading Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons last week. Very touching little book. It's about a little girl who is orphaned and the road she travels to find safety and love. One of my favorite quotes from the book is:

"I open the door to my house and look around for somebody to squeeze. And she is there each day in the kitchen and that is something when you consider she does not have to be there but she is there so I can squeeze her and be glad."

When our first daughter was born, our budget would not balance based on just my husband's income. But we both believed strongly in me being home so I quit my job and we reduced our outgoings to match our incoming. We have had to do without some things over the years, but we have never looked back.

The quote sums up just one of the reasons why I am home--so that when my little kids come home from school or from playing or from wherever they've been roaming, they'll have someone waiting for them. And while I could be somewhere else, I want to be there for squeezing and for listening and for feeding and loving. I know it's a hard thing sometimes for a family to do, and I know that sometimes there truly is no other choice. But for us, it's been a decision we have never once regretted, no matter the trips we couldn't take or the cars we couldn't drive or the houses we couldn't live in. I would never trade any of that for being able to squeeze my children when they come home and have them be glad I'm there.