Our Charlie Brown Christmas

    We had an unusually warm day yesterday so I decided to clean up the yard and sweep the porch. The kids and I transplanted mint into planters to bring in for the winter as houseplants. Then we got the Christmas bug.

    We decided to cut a branch from an overgrown pine in the backyard and make a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. We brought it in and put in a tree stand. the kids found a blue towel to wrap around base to symbolize Linus' blanket and one solitary red ornament. It was fun to recreate and now sits in our dining room as a fun decoration.

Looking for the Silver Lining



    They say every cloud has a silver lining. As I grow older and life happens, I find it harder and harder to find that elusive silver lining. I'm not saying my life is overly hard or trying, but I do find myself at times to be less than lucky.

    Today was a very productive day. My husband and I were able to take down some unwanted cabinets and remove the doors of the remainders to ready them for painting. Not a small task. We felt great that we were able to accomplish it.

    Having finished, my husband went to take a shower. Moments later he calls to me and says the water isn't heating up. The heater is working so maybe the pilot light went out on the water heater. We venture downstairs. The pilot light is out. It is out because there is about 8 inches of standing water in our basement. Apparently the sump pump hung up and the water from outside seeped in. The smell is awful and the mess is disheartening. He wades over to fix the pump and we head upstairs to wait for it to drain. He takes a cold shower.

    We now need to paint cabinets and clean the mess from our small flood. So what could possibly be the silver lining in all this? We were battling fleas in our basement. The water took care of the pest problem. Now to battle any upcoming mold.

   

Adultery: As Defined by a Child

    The seventh commandment says "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Most of us understand what that means. Plain and simple, unless you're married to or dating a person stay away from them romantically. It's not rocket science and pretty clear cut.

    My children are learning about the 10 Commandments in Sunday school. They were taught that adultery is when you are not loyal. No explanation. Just a quick cliff note as they are so young. It seemed sufficient.

    So Sunday night we attended a youth group meeting. We were told to break into small groups. Another father was in my group. My 10 year old daughter came up to me, pointed her finger in my face, and yelled "that's adultery!"

    So many things go through your mind when you are publicly called an adulterer. First, you want to kill your child. Their is some degree of embarrassment for both yourself and the other party. Finally, you have a moment of incredulity. Why does my child think this?

    I pulled her aside and asked her who, what, where, why. I discovered the preacher's wife had taught that if you were with someone else you weren't loyal. She thought just because I was near someone else that counted. I explained it to her better and found the pastor and let him know his wife may need to retouch the subject or teach it differently in the future. The group got a good laugh and I now have a new title to add to my resume.

My Accuser

Homemade Christmas

     This year money is tight. Rather than whine about the state of my financial situation I decided to celebrate a homemade Christmas this year. I have enough excess around the house and lots of creativity. So why not?

    I started with my dining room. It used to be used as a daycare room but was recently converted into a formal dining room. This room needs work as this is where Thanksgiving and Christmas meals will be eaten. I found some robin eggs blue paint and lightened up the dark navy blue walls. I had white curtains and cloth shower curtains that I repurposed by adding a band of yellow fabric to the bottoms. I had some old, icky frames that I gave new life by painting the colors of the walls and adding extra yellow fabric as the matting. These hang on a white wall on my stairwell. I also painted three old terra cotta pots the wall color to hold silverware. The room looks light and fresh.

    The kids will be painting toilet paper tubes white with red stripes to be used as napkin holders and a fun way to deliver Christmas letters and drawings. They also collected pine cones from a nearby park for other holiday crafts. I have been using my TV time productively by crocheting scarves for Christmas Presents.

    It has been nice recycling old things into new and teaching the kids new tricks along the way. The money saved is also invaluable.

    "Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... (he thought)...means a little bit more." The Grinch