Journey to Excellence

We had a really great Christmas. Did you? If you followed along in December you saw that the kids and I made an Advent Chain at the beginning of the month and did an activity each day of it. The activities ranged from doing something for someone else, baking/cooking, studying a tradition, and just having fun. I can honestly say that I felt more Christmas-y as the big day was approaching than any other year in my past, except for the year that we had an Old Fashioned Christmas . That was a good one. We fell off the Jesse Tree and Advent Wreath devotions and ornaments and such. And I just had to accept that we are not at that place in our lives. We love Jesus full-out. But we are more of a Martha kind of family instead of a Mary one. We do our love of Jesus instead of soak in our love of him. Maybe that will change in years to come, maybe it won't. At times I felt bad about it, like I was failing, but then I decided to give us a break and let us enjoy what we enjoy in the Chris...

Looking out my window  ... it's a beautiful, sunny day! Cold temps but not too cold. I am thinking  ... that I am going to get my Christmas stuff down and put away today. I am thankful  ... for such a great month of December. I am usually kind of a Scrooge when it comes to Christmas. But not this year! I think making an Advent chain and doing some kind of Christmas activity every day really helped to boost my mood. Plus, several of our activities were for others, and it's pretty hard to be in a bad mood when you are performing an act of service for someone else less fortunate. We are definitely doing that again next year. One of my favorite things  ... total peace and quiet, has not happened for well over a week. I have loved all of the holiday activity, but it has certainly wiped me out.  I am creating  ... a mental list of what I need to pack to go to Hawaii at the end of January. I am watching  ... When Calls the Heart, ...

This is the first year that we had no "believers" in our home. That meant no clandestine Santa deliveries, cookies and milk, and reindeer food. Actually, it was kind of nice! I've spent 21 years sneaking gifts under the tree. In fact, for many years, Rick and I stayed up half the night on Christmas Eve wrapping presents because there just wasn't a time or place to do it without getting caught. But with no belief in The Big Guy in Red , Christmas can lose its magic! How do you make Christmas special for big kids (and by "kids" I also mean those 6'3" ones and the ones who are married with their own babies)? Here are a few things I do to keep things fun ... The Christmas Eve gift. Each year for Christmas Eve we all get to open one gift, and it's always been the Christmas pjs. But some of us don't even wear designated pjs to bed anymore, so I decided to chuck that idea and come up with something else fun. I bought each member of our fami...

On Thursday we paused in our Christmas activities to celebrate Eli's 13th birthday. His wish was for the family to have dinner together at Applebee's and then go to the movies for a double header to see Rogue One and then Assassin's Creed. We had a great time honoring our sweet boy! Throughout the day I posted 13 photos of Eli on Instagram. I thought I would share them here, too. This year Eli turned into a young man. You can see the difference just one year has made between the photo of him holding the Millennium Falcon and the one of him sitting at Applebee's. The transition has been a difficult one for him, but he is pushing forward. He has started to talk about his future, to have dreams and plans and aspirations. But, mostly, he just enjoys hanging out in his room playing video games and with his Nerf gun collection. He is a true teenager in every sense of the word. We get a few sighs and some attitude these days, but ...

What's left to be done on your Christmas to-do list? Wrap Christmas gifts for two of the kiddos, cook lots of food, clean the house. The Hodgepodge lands on the first day of winter this year. What's your favorite thing about winter? I love when it's cold outside but warm in the house. My electric fireplace is "burning" all day long and it feels so cozy. That's what I love most ... coziness! In what area of your life are you immature? Feel free to elaborate or not. The official definition of immature is "not fully developed". In what ways do I still need growth? ... In being the daughter God wants me to be, a good daughter to my earthly parents, a good wife, a good mother, a good teacher, a good friend. I have room to grow in every area of my life, so I would say I am pretty darned immature. What was the most (or one of the most) important lessons you learned in 2016? I  have talked about this a lot on the blog lately. I have rea...

Tuesday Coffee Chat is on hiatus for a few weeks. So, let's Daybook instead. Looking out my window  ... It's sunny and pretty this morning after some gray, foggy days. This weekend's snow is ever-so-slightly melting. I am thinking  ... about how uncommitted people are today. If you are invited to an event and say you are going to be there, do not make other plans later and then cancel. It's rude! And then really don't post photos on your Facebook page of you doing something else besides what you said you were going to be doing. Put the event on your calendar and then show up like you said you would. If you don't want to do something, then don't say yes in the first place. It can actually be hurtful to the person you are standing up (especially if that someone is a child). It's just plain rude and inconsiderate. I am thankful  ... for brighter days ahead and an attitude to match them. One of my favorite things  ... is Christmas...

I do not think I am going to be able to limit my Word of the Year to just one word. There are just too many words to describe what I have gone through emotionally this year and where I see myself going because of it. I came across this quote today that pretty much sums up how I am feeling as 2016 comes to a close. I am praying for myself and giving myself permission to live the Created me to my fullest, unabashedly and fearlessly, understanding that the relationships that remain while doing so are the ones I was meant to have. The others, maybe not, and good riddance. Shine on!