Any Suggestions?

Irv called me from work on Friday and asked if I would want two chairs. He said someone had made them for a play....they are wood.....they are painted funky colors.

Okay....someone made them. I'm real happy with that. They are wood....that's super because I love wood. Funky colors.....they can always be repainted. No big deal.

I said, "Sure, we'll be able to do something with them."

Then he said, "They look kind of like thrones."

HUH??????

HAHA!! Any suggestions?

Made With Love

Those of you that have been following my blog for a while know that some of the members of our family had decided to have a "toned down" Christmas this year...a more meaningful holiday. We wanted to keep our traditions, but eliminate the over the top gift giving and the waste.

I made my Christmas cards this year using a beautiful snowy mountain photo that my son, Matt had taken, and I wrote a personal message inside each one. I made a special card for my 4 siblings using a photo of our Christmas dinner from 1954.

I purchased less gifts, but I purchased gifts that were needed and wanted. In that same spirit, Matt, my 25 year old that lives in Colorado decided to make gifts for all of us this year.

Matt is very conscientious when it comes to recycling and not wasting. He hates that people run out at Christmas and buy, just to buy, with little care as to whether the gift they are buying is really needed or wanted. Many of those unneeded, unwanted gifts don't get used and end up in our overflowing landfills.

When Christmas came, I couldn't wait to open Matt's gift. He is a very creative young man. He can draw, take wonderful photos and writes amazing poetry. His gift to all of us was a 18 X 22 inch framed print. He had cut and pasted words....lots and lots of words....things like "magical, forgiving, friendship, optimistic, faith, love, thankful, promise and dreams with the word FAMILY in larger, bolder letters throughout. Then as if that wasn't beautiful enough, when you look at it closely, each of our names runs vertically within the words....Kathy, Irv, Tresa, Michael, Matt, Bernadette (Michael's wife) and Chris (Tresa's fiance)! You can see my name in the close up on the far right side....Kathy.

We were all so touched. Matt's gift will be loved and cherished forever. It will hang in a place of honor in each of our homes and it will never, ever end up in a landfill.

I received many wonderful gifts for Christmas this year. Everyone really took the time to find things I had asked for that I truly needed. It made the holiday so very special.

Have you ever received a handmade gift that made your heart melt because you knew how much love went in to it's creation? I would love to hear about it.

Deck the Halls with.....

What do you deck your halls with or more specifically, what do you deck your tree out with? After my kids grew up and moved out, I decided it was time to go from my "kid" tree to a "big girl" tree. My kid tree was decorated with the same decorations year, after year, after year...now I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but I was at a point in my life where I was ready for a change. A change from the ornaments that I had made over the years, and the ornaments that the kids had made way back when to a more grown up looking tree. I had a vision of the decorations I wanted and they were nothing like the decorations I had. (The green beaded ornament on the left was made by my mother-in-law. She use to buy the satin ornaments and a ton of beads and attach them to the ornaments with straight pins. She enjoyed making them so much. I have a couple that I always put on our tree. They make me happy and sad at the same time. She's been gone for 26 years.)

So last year I talked Irv into all new lights and new ornaments. I went with mostly clear glass ornaments, with some red ones thrown in for a bit of color. The tree was beautiful! There were a few really special "kid" ornaments that still had a spot on the tree, but everything else was new. Even the kids thought the tree looked great, except for maybe my little traditionalist, Matt. Matt would be happy if nothing changed...ever. (The little felt angel is Matt. He made this with the help of his preschool teachers when he was 3.)

I always loved the ornaments that the kids made. Each one was so unique. Their teachers were very creative. Each one was so special and they were always so proud of their work. (The red and green stocking was made by Michael when he was 7. It's a wood ornament that he painted.)

Well, a funny thing happened this year....and I have not yet mentioned this to anyone....I've decided that want my old tree back. I want all of the handmade ornaments on it, and I want to make new handmade ornaments. I want my old sequined felt ornaments of Santa and Mrs. Santa, and Holly Hobby, and cookie monster, and Paddington Bear. I want them all on my tree again. I want the big old fashion lights back. I think I want to string popcorn again and have some ornaments made from nature like I use to. Am I crazy or what? Irv usually reads my blog at work...I can only imagine the e-mail I'll get when he reads this one!

There is one ornament that is always on our tree. It is a white styrofoam boot that Tresa made in 1981 in her religion class at church. The kids got to pick a plain ornament and then decorate it. On it they were to write, "I Pray For....and fill in what they pray for. In December of 1981, Michael was about 19 months old. It was his name that Tresa wrote on her little ornament. See, Michael was born a very sick little boy. We almost lost him when he was 4 days old and he had 3 surgeries by the time he was 14 months old. I'll write about it another time. It just always touched my heart that Tresa, who was 7 at the time thought of her baby brother with such love.

Every year when that ornament comes out of the box and gets hung on the tree, my tears start flowing. When the kids were a little older, they always knew it was coming. All eyes would be on mommy. It was a very difficult time in our lives and that little boot reminds me not just of the difficult days we had, but also just how very fortunate we are.

Last but not least is the most beautiful BLUE angel in the entire world. In fact, she is probably the ONLY blue angel in the entire world. Don't ask me how I ever thought this little angel was cute....but way back about 30 years ago, I did. Over the years, she has lost her halo, but basically, she still looks about the same. It was quite an honor in our house when it was your turn to be lifted into the air by daddy, so that you could place the beautiful little blue angel on the very top of the tree! The kids took turns each year, and it was the last thing we did after decorating the tree.

This past weekend Michael was over and we were all sitting in the living room. I had placed the little blue angel on the shelf when I decorated the house, since she doesn't really go with the new decorations on the tree. I happen to look up at the tree, and Michael had placed her on top of the tree! We all had a good laugh. I might just leave her there and see if Tresa and Matt notice when they are here for Christmas next week!

Well, the "big girl" tree will have to do for this year, because it is already up and decorated....but look out Christmas of 2009, I think it just might be time for a change....again!

Christmas Cards to Remember

When my kids were little, I always let them make our Christmas cards. I had them draw a beautiful picture and then we had the cards printed on red or green cardstock. We always put their name on the back to make it an "official" card. When they got a little older, they lost interest in creating our card. That's when I started purchasing them. For a long time it was Hallmark, and then I transitioned to the cute line of cards at Target. I never thought about making my own cards...until this year. I own a card shop! There is no way I am going to the store and buying cards this year.

I mentioned in a previous blog that I had selected one of my son's beautiful mountain photos and I am making our cards. They are turning out quite nice. I scanned one to show you. It's done on white cardstock, and I chose to use black photo corners to attach the photo. The picture itself is so gorgeous, that this way people can keep the picture and even frame it if they like.

While I was making my cards, I thought about how fun it would be to send my brother and sisters a special card this year. So, I started digging through my old photographs to find ones that would be special.

My sister Karen is a few years older than me. She lives in Tennessee. I see her a couple of times a year. I found a "very posed" picture of her and me that I am going to use for her card. I will write something about sisters and friendship and love and make it very personal. I just love her pants!!

My sister Kay is a few years younger than me. She lives in South Carolina and I see her every few years. I found a cute one of the two of us dressed in our little coats and hats. I'll write something very special for her as well.

My sister Ann, or Sis as we have always called her lives in Arizona. She and my brother Jack who lives in Georgia, are a bit older than my other two sisters and me. Their dad died when they were quite young. Mom remarried and had Karen, me and Kay. There is a 10 year gap between Sis and Jack and the three of us. Do I have you totally confused yet?

Anyway, in my digging for photos to use for cards for Sis and Jack, I came across a Christmas dinner photo from the early 50's. The photo was obviously taken by my dad, since he isn't in the picture. The only other person missing from this picture is my little sister Kay, and I am guessing that my mom was pregnant with her when this was taken. The picture has three of my grandparents in it, my grandma's "boyfriend", my mom, Karen, me, Sis, Jack and my brother Bob who died in an auto accident many, many years ago. I just love this photo! I plan to write something about family in their cards. I don't get to see either of them very often, so I want to make it very special.

I think I will get the pictures ordered and start thinking about what I want to write in all of them. Christmas is about family and the love we all share for one another. It's about traditions and special memories. I wonder what special memories we will be making this year....