{being okay to let it go}
i was in the middle of writing a post about not getting everything done this christmas~
like.. sending.. out.. cards! {there. i finally said it outloud}
though really, i’m secretly still trying to come up with a brilliant plan to make the 85 i usually do…
get them addressed. mailed. and sitting all unrushed looking in mailboxes by monday!!
when a friend sent me this link –
assuring me if the owner of a custom card company wasn’t sending cards, i shouldn’t fret over it either!
so i thought you could just read her words instead and imagine my voice in it’s place.
same exact everything.. right down to the health nut best friend.
except we did take family pics because hey, that’s in our wedding contract ya know…
husband will take family christmas photos each year happily and without complaint. 
running back to the van after our pictures because we were freezing. i think shayne might actually be skipping!
but letting go of some things is hard, isn’t it.
i struggle with it alot at the holidays because i have this vision in my mind of how it’s all supposed to go down~
and to me it seems so simple.
like, there’s absolutely no reason in the world why it shouldn’t all go according to plan.
i just forget minor details- like the fact there’s only so much time in each day.
and energy. and money. and kids that don’t always have Elf like attitudes..
“smiling is my favorite.”
i think all of us as women know we can’t do it all!
but that doesn’t keep us from trying.
or comparing to those women who seem to.
trust me, if there’s someone who looks like she is, there’s something slipping-
even if it’s just her sanity! {raises hand}
like the other night when we had a party and several commented on how my house always seems so neat and tidy..
i laughed and told them to look in the van on the way out –
that’s where they’d find the dirty dishes i didn’t have time to wash.
or go check the storage room downstairs to see the baskets of laundry.
that’s how i clean when company comes… shove it all where it can’t be seen..
so be cautious what closet door you open when you come to visit!
in the end, i doubt my kids will remember how clean the house was.
or the year we didn’t send christmas cards.
or make cookies from scratch.
or have a gingerbread house that stood up for longer than 5 seconds.
they’ll remember me.
what kind of attitude i had.
and if i crush their spirit because i’m cranky i can’t get the bow to look just right on top of a present..
or the kitchen is a mess..
or i need to make/glue/cut/tie/address one more christmas card..
what the heck does it matter if i get it all done and miss the very thing i should be doing most!
so.. i’m learning to be okay to let some things go.
and make sure what slips isn’t the something i’ll someday regret.
our gingerbread house attempt
what’s some things you’re letting go of this holiday season? {please someone else say cards!}
{what i want the connecticut moms to know}
i sat up late sunday night trying to put my thoughts here about what happened last friday.
fear for my own kids gripped me and i dreaded monday morning.
but no matter what i wrote, it all seemed so empty. so shallow. selfish.
atleast i still had my second grader to drive to school. to kiss goodbye.
to hug and smile and say i love you more than once because yes, don’t we all take a little more time for that now.
and still. several days later, i find myself still stumbling over the words.
words don’t line up well when nothing makes sense.
and i wouldn’t even try only, i keep thinking of you moms..
and my heart just folds right up imagining all you must be feeling.
i guess if i could tell you anything it would be just this..
your pain is not lost on us.
women like me. women all over. fellow moms.
it is more than just another news story. another tragedy.
any one of us could be standing where you are.
we are all affected.
we are all changed.
and so we move a little slower through our days.
hold our kids a little tighter.
react a little stronger to the superficial nothings that suck us in.
look around our broken world with a new soberness.
and see with different eyes, a bit more clearly, what matters in life.
i wish there were answers for such senselessness.
such unnecessary loss.
i don’t pretend to understand why the story often unfolds as it does.
but i do know what the final chapter holds~
and there will come a day when Light triumphs over darkness.
when wrongs are made right.
when wounds are forever healed. and no more tears will fall.
when mother’s arms are filled once again with the precious little ones they have missed and ached for.
i know i speak for many when i say, we love you connecticut moms.
you are in our prayers and we will not forget.
{a little spray paint. hot glue. button bling. and light!}
is it just me or is december flying.
so much so that we just started our advent book yesterday!
i don’t know why i thought it was only day 4 or 5..
so imagine my shock when the kids said it was the 11th!
but whether behind and trying to catch up.
or racing and trying to keep it.
the main thing i’m trying is, “let’s do this part slow.”
some of the in between parts though have had us getting our craft on round here~
one of my favorite things to use are plain ole sticks!
a little spray paint and ta-da.. you have a decoration.
which i stopped just now and counted up in my mind how many places in the house i have sticks and branches as decor..
i came up with nine! ten if you count the ones in the pots of greenery on either side of the front door outside.
and eleven if you count the little pieces of some on the back of the upstairs toilet!
ha. as i said. they’re favorites!
when my girlfriends and i went into the forest {as they call it here} to get some greenery..
we found some great branches too.
with some of the extras i bunched them all up. hung them upside down and put some snowflakes in.
nothing mind blowingly creative…
there was a version of something like this on pinterest my sis in law told me about, but i could never find the pic~
just makes for a nice little filler of something in the corner.
a few weeks ago emma and i saw these cute mushroom ornaments in a store~
she wanted to buy one for her teacher…
though i’m not sure what in the world mushrooms have to do with christmas other than being created by the Creator!
so, instead of spending the 9.99 on the store bought one. we made a few ourselves.
all i bought was the styrofoam eggs. cut them in half. covered them with an old sweater i cut up and glued them on a spool of thread wrapped in yarn.
the first sweater i tried to use. the one in the picture. was way too thin.
they ended up looking more like lightbulbs!
you need a thicker sweater to give a nice plump look. 
though they still look slightly like lightbulbs really.
but emma was pleased and wants to give them both to her teacher.
then. we always seem to have a gazillion buttons everywhere from various other projects and such i guess..
so when gluing the buttons on top of the mushrooms i was trying to think of what else we could do to get rid of a few more.
i wanted to do a popcicle snowflake and maybe glue some on..
but we didn’t have any popcicle sticks.
so i just took one of the snowflakes i did have..
like the pack of 4 you buy from the dollar store and we blinged it up, button style!
back in the summer i found this light at a garage sale.
the lady was asking 8, i told her i’d give her 5. sold!
i had been looking for a light for my bedroom and it wasn’t exactly what i wanted.
BUT. one thing was the reason i bought it…
our old church had chandeliers that looked exactly like this. only gold.
and i remember every christmas looking up at them and thinking how wonderful it would be to drape greenery from each.
so, yes. i bought this light totally with christmas in mind~
only, a few weeks ago i decided i’d rather replace the hideous green ceiling fan {that matched the hideous green counter tops} over the kitchen table instead~
i’m happy with the results…
though anything is an improvement over a 1970′s marbled green ceiling fan!!
i’m thinking of leaving our christmas decorations up till spring!
i love the coziness it brings to the house..
and with all my sticks, the whole nature theme fits right in!
what have you been working on this week?
if there’s a fun project or great recipe post it in the comments if you want to share…
or invite us over to your blog to have a look!
we’ll swing by and say, hi. so go get your hair combed!. 
inspiration is like christmas lights .. there’s no such thing as too much!!! ~
