All that's left

This is all that is left of Christmas 2007 -- atleast in the home decorations department. I love, love, love getting Christmas cards! When I was a little girl the mailman used to come TWICE a day to deliver the mail because there were so many Christmas cards sent out. I can remember running to the mailbox and being so excited to see it jam-packed with cards from friends and family far and near! Back in those days I don't remember very many photos or family-update letters included but it was so nice to see a little handwritten greeting from the sender.

I can't bring myself to put away these little glimpses into the lives of our friends and family members that have been sent to us. I'm so glad to know that these people still think of us as friends even though we haven't physically seen some of these people for at least 15 years (ie, the Roberts and the Archers) but when I get their cards it brings back a lot of good memories from our friendships and interactions and associations that are still meaningful to me and I guess to them too.

About 8 years ago I started keeping all the photos in a Christmas binder after I have taken them down and it is so fun to look back and see how our friend's families have grown and changed (I wish I'd have started that binder sooner). Alot of our friends have gone from having kids at home to now being emptynesters but continue to include their kids and grandkids in their updates and photos. I'm truly grateful for those who keep sending cards to us each year. And I love getting cards from new friends -- people who have come into our lives this year... hopefully, we'll make the cut and stay on their lists in the future.

This Christmas has been a very special season this year. Lots of changes but in all the important ways of love and family and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, everything was still the same. It has been so enjoyable to take each day and each get together one at a time and enjoy it and relish it to it's fullest. Now I mostly have just memories to store away but they are precious to me and easy to access. I have posted some of the highlights of this Christmas season in the following posts... nothing like doing it all at once. But I wanted to document it all for myself as well as sharing it with each of you. I hope that your holiday season was everything you hoped it would be and that you can look back with joy and satisfaction but at the same time, look forward to the New Year with contentment and anticipation and high expectations for another great year.

Here's to 2008.... see you then!

Pink Christmas

Back some time last summer I think it was, I read on a friend's blog about a gift exchange that she was organizing called "Pink Christmas". It included raising some money for a 2 year-old niece of her's that was going through a kidney transpant as well as exchanging handmade gifts with someone unknown to the gift giver. Well over 100 women signed up as well as myself. I love a good surprise -- both giving one and getting one. We all filled out a questionaire about our likes and dislikes, i.e. favorite colors, hobbies, interests, families, favorite foods, just random information. Soon afterwards I received a pink package in the mail that told me who I would be giving my homemade gift to. I knew immediately what I was going to make for my "new friend".

I was also sent her blog address so I began getting to know her. I enjoyed reading about her life on a daily basis... I've never met anyone either in person or virtually with as many friends as she has...she even belongs to a book club that took a trip to Paris, France together! Now, that's the kind of book club I'd like to be in! I had no idea who had my name but I assumed they were probably reading up on me and getting to know me via my blog as well.

I had my gift made before Thanksgiving and sent it off the first part of December and then I started to wonder who I would be getting a gift from!?!? Then about the middle of December I got a package in the mail with a "Pink Christmas" label attached. I put it under my Christmas tree and tried to resist opening it before Christmas morning... which I succeeded in waiting (I believe in playing by the rules). It added a really fun aspect to my gift giving and receiving this year. I felt like a little kid wondering what was in that box just for me!

My pink christmas pal turned out to be a sweet, beautiful woman who lives in Mesa, AZ and in her note that came with my gift, she explained several connections that we have even though we've never met. Her family lived in the same ward as Heidi and their 8 year olds had been friends before Swapps moved to China. She said she even went to a dance with Eric back in high school... how blizarre is that!

She put a lot of thought into the items she included in my package. She sent a handstamped bookmark because I love to read, she sent lots of chocolate and that fun plate because I love all things chocolate and she made lovely paper "quilted" ornaments because I love to quilt (they are now hanging in my sewing room). Thank you so much Janae... you added so much to my Christmas! And thanks to you Kristi for putting together such a successful and enjoyable event!

We are family...

Every year I kind of struggle with what to give my parents for birthdays and Christmas... seriously, what do you want when you are 86 and 89 years old? You just want good health and visits from your family... at least that is what they always tell me when I ask what I can get them... not much help. But this year, I came up with a couple of fun surprises.

I had gotten a sweater for my dad and a nightgown for my mom but I wasn't all that excited about those things. Then I remembered a conversation over the Thanksgiving dinner table when my dad was telling us about some books that he read as a child. He said he used to read these burgess books and he loved them. He ended by saying "I would love to get my hands on some of those books again". I had no idea what a burgess book was so I googled it and I found out that a man named Thornton Burgess had written a series of books starting in the early 1900s. He used animals as the main characters and the stories always taught some good value or important moral. They were similar to the Tales of Peter Rabbit and Tom Kitten and Benjamin Bunny that were written by Beatrix Potter. There were about 150 books all together.

I wasn't sure where to find any of these books but I knew where to go to by anything... EBAY! Yip, there were Burgess books for sale. I lost about 3 or 4 bids but I ended up getting a book because there was a "buy it now" button. Then I found one at a local used bookseller here in town. They were both in amazingly good shape for books published in 1911 and 1926 respectively. Dad was so surprised and thrilled to be holding those books again. He opened one up and immediately began reading us a few paragraphs. You could tell he was reading something familar and beloved to him. It was a very sweet moment.

I also came up with another great idea at the last minute... actually 2 weeks before Christmas I read on someone's blog about a woman who makes beautiful family trees. So I went to her website www.cynthiajan.com and was very impressed. I emailed her all 130 names and she put it all together and got it to me with 4 days to spare. Mom and Dad were so thrilled with it. It was amazing to watch them read every name with love and affection. I think it was so rewarding to see there whole posterity there on that huge, full grown tree. They actually got a little teary and knew immediately where they wanted to hang it! Those were really special gifts that I enjoyed giving because of the sweet reactions more than a sweater or a nightgown would ever produce!

Pickin' and Grinin'

With no kids at home, Christmas is REALLY understated! Last year, Cam's family was living with us and the year before, Collin spent Christmas eve with us because Cam & LaRane had to speak it Church Christmas morning so we helped out by keeping the 2 year old home with us. This year we were on our own! It was still really nice but just a different kind of nice. First off, not so many presents under the tree when we woke up and we skipped doing Christmas stockings but we did get to sleep in and shower first thing.

I have been sooooooooo excited about the present I had for Paul! Ever since going to the Blue Ridge Parkway last fall, I knew that I wanted to get him a BANJO! Back when he was 19 or 20 he began playing the banjo (he is also an excellent piano player). He spent hours in his room, "strumming his old banjo". He even took it with him when he went on his mission to Austria (I don't think he'd get away with that these days). He ended up selling it to an Austrian guy. Shortly after he got back home, he bought himself a guitar and spent alot of time learning songs from groups like "The Kingston Trio" ("Hang down your head Tom Dooley", "MTA", "Merry Minuet") and "The New Christy Minstrels". He learned one of their songs called "The Preacher and The Bear"and his Mom loved him to play and sing that song every chance she got... he still plays it occassionally. When we were first married, he would keep his guitar behind the door in our apartment and one day someone came in and pushed the door open too far and it smacked a hole in the guitar. After that he bought a really nice 12-string, steel-string guitar and he still has that one. He doesn't pull it out very often; it is a real treat when he does. I have wanted him to play it for our grandkids so they will know that about him but it tends to stay in storage.

Then when we were in North Carolina last fall, he got very excited about folk and bluegrass music again and that is when I decided that I wanted him to have a Banjo again. I found the most amazing shop here in our city that I had no idea even existed! It is just a rare jewel of musical history. I think it has been in the same location for 30 years or longer. It is called Intermountain Guitar and Banjo. The walls are covered with vintage and collectible guitars, banjos, mandolins, dobros and ukuleles. There are rooms and showcases with rare and new and used instruments as well. It is open by appointment only. I can hardly wait to take Paul back there and show him this unique shop.

Paul was totally surprised when he opened his present! But it only took a couple of minutes for him to start strumming -- pickin' and grinnin' (banjos totally make you grin; even if you are just listening)-- like he'd never been away from his banjo! His fingers have been kind of sore but he's working on getting his calluses back. Who knows, maybe we'll have a Hootenanny here real soon. It will be something the grandkids will never forget!