Happy New Year!

NO...I have not abandoned my blog! I had gotten so bogged down with everything that I've been doing for the last 4 months that I pretty much crashed...not a joy filled experience. So I've taken the last couple of weeks to bite off on piece at a time in an effort to get back on track. The blog is one of the last pieces! And because I like to finish what I start, I'm post one last Christmas post before I convert my blog back to it's original format.

Here is a slide show with a few photos of our traditions like the annual ornament for the kids, Christmas eve jammies, Christmas morning, etc. I've included photos of the Santa Claus collection.
For those who have asked, Dave, the official church and family counter and accountant, has conducted an accurate census of the Santas. The official count....drum roll please...177! And I packed them away in record time...less than 4 hours! That's only because I took photos of the contents of every tub and box as I unpacked them and taped them to the lids!

Another item to complete in the promised Christmas posts is the story of My "Thing" about the Three Wise Men. I want to preface this by saying that I am not legalistic!!! However, we all have things that bug us, and for me it's the Wise Men....they WERE NOT there in on the night Jesus was born! So...in my house, they do not appear to be there on ornaments, cards I send, "Nativity Scenes" etc. I was aware at a very young age (thanks to my Jewish Grandmother who was a Jehovah's Witness...another story...) that the Biblical account makes it pretty clear that the Wise Men showed up a couple of years later. When I began to attend church again as an adult, I was attending a church whose members, I thought, were pretty "up" on their Biblical knowledge. Well one Christmas time, we were decorating the church sanctuary, and one of the "pillars" of the church had made silhouettes of the Three Kings approaching the life size Nativity scene we had set up behind the pulpit. I complemented her artwork, and said something like about the tradition of it even though they really weren't there the night Jesus was born. She said, "They weren't!?!" I was quite surprised to find out how few people there had read the Biblical account of Jesus closely enough to see that there is no mention of the Three Kings/Wise Men being in the stable on the night of Jesus birth.

SO....from then on, the Three Kings that came included in the Nativity set I had were set out in another room to make that point that THEY WEREN'T THERE! When we moved into our new house, I couldn't find a good place to put them, so I put them on top of the TV in the TV cabinet. I guess I didn't watch much TV in the living room at that time, because I forgot all about them found them in March! Now, my new set doesn't include the wise men, so it's not a problem for me anymore.

As I said, everyone has their "thing" and that's mine!

I want to wish all of you a Happy and Healthy New Year. Someone recently called it Divine 09 because we need to go into this year with an optimistic attitude. I agree. I also hope that all of the hardships turn into the blessing of bringing believers closer to God, and non-believers to embrace God. So have a JOY-FILLED DIVINE 09!!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Okay, as you can see, I've not kept up with this blog as planned. I knew this was going to be a hectic Christmas season for me with everything else I had going on during the fall, but it's been a bit worse than I had anticipated. As a matter of fact, there hasn't been a whole lot of JOY going on here for me! I've been downright cranky the last few days. Dave said I spend four weeks getting ready for this, and I'm lucky if I enjoy it for a week. My response: I'll be happy if I get a whole week of enjoyment! Normally, I enjoy the preparations, not just the day or week alone. I like shopping for gifts, I like wrapping, writing the cards, baking the cookies, decorating...etc. But this year hasn't been like that at all. I've been so busy the past week that the couple of times I had an opportunity to go to a Christmas program or party, I've missed it. So I'm cranky because I'm not enjoying what I usually enjoy. We had some friends over for dinner the other night, it was the first time I got to actually relax at all and enjoy some of the fruit of my labors.

I could go on and on here, but I won't because this blog is supposed to be about joy, not complaining. One of the things I tried to impart in my joy "class" a few years ago was that it's times like these that it's important to pause and find the joy in the little things. So I'm going to pause and find some joy!

1. I am done gift shopping! Okay, I have two more gift cards to pick up, but that's easy. And I've stayed within budget! YIPPIE!!!

2. The Christmas cards are out! A bit late, but they are done. I like to personally write in my cards, even if only to write out the names of the recipients inside the card, sign all our names and wish a Merry Christmas. I like to specifically think about the people I'm sending them to. Dave does the stamps and the return address labels, and we get to reminisce about people we haven't seen in a while.

3. The gifts are wrapped! Now that's something I haven't had done before Christmas Eve lately, so I'm ahead of the game!

4. My family is healthy and my husband has a new job. God is good! No, God is AWESOME!

So for the next two days, I'm going to shop for food, bake cookies and make candy, make some meatballs, and clean up my house. I'm not going to enjoy all of that, especially the food shopping and cleaning! But I'm going to take my own advice and find the joy in all of the little things where ever and when ever I can. Hope you can do the same!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Christmas is a time of family traditions. Think of some of yours...are you smiling??? I'll bet you are!The first tradition that comes to mind when I think of my own childhood are the pj's Santa would drop off at our house on Christmas Eve. I guess I got those until the time I was 12-ish. Well like many things, that tradition as snowballed with my kids, nieces and nephews. Pretty much from the time my son was born, Christmas Eve was at my Dad's house. So when Steven was 1, Santa personally delivered his jammies. After that, my dad was concerned that his very dark beard was not being sufficiently covered by Santa's white beard, so Santa would knock on the door, the reindeer would jingle their bells, and the pj's would be waiting at the door. My son is almost 20, and my daughter is 16, and Santa will still be delivering their jammies to Amma and Pop-pop's house this year! My daughter has informed me that Santa better keep bringing those jammies as long as she lives at home. Knowing the Santa who lives in my house, it might continue after that!

One of Dave's family traditions is that you have to guess what you gift is. This was hard for me because I really enjoy being surprised. But over the years it's gotten to be more fun. For years Dave's uncle would guess "toilet paper." So one year we wrapped some up and gave it to him. Dave's brother was such a good guesser when he was younger that one year I wrapped up a brick with his gift to throw him off. I've also been known to wrap really small gifts in really big boxes! When the entire clan used to get together there were so many people and so many gifts that it would take HOURS to get through it! We'd eat, open for hours, and eat again. This isn't something that we do on Christmas morning in our own home. But we really enjoy it when Dave's family gets together to celebrate Christmas.

Something else Dave's family does that we've adopted is the orange in the toe of the stocking. I had never heard of it before the Perines came into my life, but apparently it's a pretty common thing.

Another tradition from my family is that the mom hands out the gifts one by one on Christmas morning. That's because Santa always whispers what each gift is into the mom's ear when she is sleeping. To this day, my kids are amazed that I remember what is in each package. Truth be told, it's getting harder to remember by Christmas morning!

Up until I was about 7 or 8 years old, Santa brought our Christmas tree. It would show up on Christmas morning with the gifts. I told you my family is Christmas crazy! My parents did it again for a few years when my younger brother and sister were born.




A completely new tradition I started with my own kids is that every year I get them an ornament that represents something from the year. (Sometimes it's more than one ornament!) When I couldn't find what I wanted, I made them. Steven now has 20 Christmases of ornaments, and at this point he's really not that into decorating the tree! Since he's at college now when the tree goes up, I put up most of his and leave a few for him to put on when he gets home. I like that when my kids leave home for good, they will take a big box of ornaments with them that are full of memories.

Dave and I have always bought ornaments from anywhere we've traveled. Sometimes he will bring them home with him when he's been on a business trip. I also collect "nativity ornaments." But they can only have Jesus, Mary and Joesph...NO wisemen! I'll tell you about that in another post!

I could go on and on, and maybe some other time I will. I would really love if you would comment back to me and share some of your favorite traditions!

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town!

I'm back...again! Okay, now that the Women's Retreat is over, I can really get down to the business of Christmas.

Now before I go any further, I do want to say that I do appreciate the spiritual side of Christmas. Even though there is no proof that it's the actual birth date of Jesus, I enjoy celebrating the arrival of our Savior here on earth. When my kids were little, we often had a birthday cake for Jesus. Yes, I'm aware of all of the "pagan" customs that influenced the way we celebrate Christmas. I have been very careful with my kids, as well as with myself, to know what is of God, and what is man made, and I enjoy those man made customs just for the fun that they are.

I do love all of the traditional things that go along with the Christmas season even though most have nothing to do with Jesus . And one of those things is SANTA CLAUS! The older I get, the more I love Santa, I think because of the childlike wonder that goes along with the myth. I DO believe in Santa, not as a person, but the spirit of giving that goes along with it. There's just something about Santa Claus that makes me happy.

If you don't already know, I collect Santas. I probably have about 150 or so, I haven't conducted a census yet this year. I gave Mallory that job a couple of years ago, because it seemed important to her to know how many there were. But Mallory does a "preacher's count" and counts each individual little Santa, even if they are a set. I consider a set as one. So being the wife of the man who takes the official counts at church, I can't do a preacher's count and feel good about it!

I purchased a few this fall, so when we went to Lancaster last weekend, I hadn't really planned to get more. But I came home with two...Dave just hugged me and said, "We have to form a support group for you."

Unpacking all the Santas and placing them around the living room takes a few hours. I enjoy it because I get to look at each one and remember who gave it to me or where I got it from. I like to look at all the little details that make each one special and unique. Packing them up again after the New Year is NOT fun. Every January I say "Enough!" And then I buy more!


Santas have their own storage closet. There are a some boxes of other things in this closet, but last year I had to relocate a couple, and this year a couple more may come out as well.

The first out of the closet every year is "Nick." He's my tallest Santa. I bought him in North Carolina. He was going to take up a seat in the van, so we told the kids we were picking someone up and bringing him home with us, his name was Nick, and he was an older man. They believed us, and thought it was pretty funny when we picked up "Nick" from the store. It's become a tradition that he gets to the living room first each Christmas season. Nick gets packed up with care, I "set" the curls in his beard and spray it with a fresh coat of hairspray each January.

Here are all the boxes of Santas in the living room ready to be unpacked!

I've been asked when, and why I began to collect Santas. All of Dave's family members are into collections. Coins, lighthouses, pewter figurines, stamps, Christmas Village, etc...the list goes on. I'm not much of a collector. But the Christmas of 1991 I noticed that I had about a half dozen Santas sitting together on a shelf in the kitchen, and it just occurred to me that this would be a neat thing to collect. I always loved Christmas, so it made sense. I figured it was a good idea because it would only be out for about a month each year, so I'd only have to dust it once before I put it away again. I never imagined that it would grow into what it is now, or that I would have such an affection for Santa Claus!

These Santas bring me joy. Sometimes I see one that I like and it makes me squeal with joy. Like the teapot Santa I spotted before I was in the door of the gift shop at Willow Valley. I actually squealed! I got some funny looks, but I didn't care, I was just completely infatuated at first sight. In another post I'll take you on "tour" of my Santas. And maybe it will bring you joy too!

JOY TO THE WORLD!!!

I'm back!!! Mal's play is finished. She did fantastic. I have to say, in spite of being her mom, she is a great character actress! And even though I still have a week of craziness ahead of me to prepare for our women's retreat, I plan resume blogging.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I always enjoyed Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, in the last 10 years or so, it seems that society sees Thanksgiving as a necessary interruption in the Christmas shopping season, a day to rest up and plan before Black Friday. If you know me at all, you know that I am an admitted Christmas-aholic. Even if I begin shopping before Thanksgiving, (which I haven't had time to do the last couple of years,) even if there's a nice weather day and we hang the lights on the house before Thanksgiving, Christmas does not begin for me until after Santa has ridden into Herald Square, NYC, in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and the turkey leftovers are in the fridge! The lights don't get plugged in, the Christmas music doesn't get turned on, and the Santas don't come out of the boxes until the day after Thanksgiving. (I was going to write that the Santa's don't come out of the closet, but that would start another whole Santa controversy! And if you don't know about the 150 Santas in my closet, you will soon!)

So...you may have guessed it already, for at least the next 28 days this blog will be about what I find joyful about the Christmas season!

A little background...I am 3rd generation Christmas-aholic. My Nanny (my dad's mother) prepared for Christmas from Dec. 26th on...I am not kidding. My Nanny was the original crafter. As the parents of FIVE sons (take that Andrea Olley!) they had a house with 3 finished floors (including the basement) and an almost finished attic. As the sons moved out, the craft supplies moved in. When she passed away, it tooks weeks to clean out the house. I learned what a "gross" was from my Nanny...12 dozen of something...ususally artificial flowers (plastic...it was before "silk" flowers!) We were making homemade Christmas tree decorations in the 1960's...elaborate beaded balls...I had sore fingers for weeks from pushing straight pins into foam balls. She made centerpieces, wreaths, ceramic trees and figurines and candy dishes, crocheted Christmas doilies,...you name it! She and my Pop-Pop knew every wholesaler from New York City to Englishtown, NJ.

My Dad also loves Christmas. He says it's for kids. Really all he means by that is that kids get the biggest share of the presents. He loves Christmas, the music, the lights, the shopping, the food, having family around. He too decorates no matter what. My father and step mother travel between Thanksgiving and Christmas every year since they were married 27 years ago. He's had major surgeries right before or after Christmas. But no matter what the decorations go up, and they go down. He loves to shop for toys, and even though he has a hard time walking long distances, he will track down what he wants. He's even said more than once he would give us all the money to shop for our kids for him, but he never does. My Dad has a cathedral ceiling in his living room, so there's almost always a big Christmas tree. He's gone out an bought at least one, if not two, table top trees, only to go back to the 9 or 10 footer!

And then there's me...I can't tell you why my Nanny loved then, or my Dad loves now, Christmas the way they do. I never thought to ask. But in the next few weeks, I'm going to tell you why I love this time of year, why it brings me so much joy, and what some of my best memories are. You may have no interest in any of this...so if you don't want to read, I'm not insulted. I'm going to get joy just from writing!