Labor of Love ....

     This Christmas I wanted to do something special for my husband.  I wanted to make something myself, something that would hold meaning for him.  He is a football coach, and he coaches at the same High School that he attended and played football for.  He has been a part of the program there for around 20 years, first playing as a freshmen, then on through JV & Varsity.  He had some time in between while he was in the Army, then college and his first teaching gig in Oklahoma.  He came back to Oregon in 2005, gaining a teaching position at his old high school, and was also given the opportunity to coach.

     As you can imagine, he has quite the t-shirt collection going, dating back to t-shirts from his time as a player (including winning the State Championship in 1994 - undefeated!) and on through the coaching years.  While on pinterest, I noticed some t-shirt quilts that had been made, and I thought that would be a cool thing to do for him.  In our house, we all have our favorite blankies, including the adults!

     I was thinking of it as a "labor of love" because I only started sewing in September, when my Mother-in-law gifted me with a sewing machine.  To say I am a "beginner" is an understatement!!  Based on current experience, I knew it would be many hours of frustration, ripping out seams and starting over.  And over.  It actually went really well, not too many problems and only one seam had to be ripped out!  It isn't perfect, far from it.  There are some crooked stitch lines, some puckers in the fabric that I just couldn't get to lay quite right, but all in all, it turned out pretty well!  I was really proud of myself.

     Something changed however, as I was making this gift, thinking the labor of love was all mine.  As I spent several hours stitching away, I started noticing, and really paying attention to all of the names that graced the backs of those shirts.  Years of names.  Names of players, coaches, administrators, ball boys (and girls!).  Hundreds of names.  Then it hit me.  My husband had impacted the lives of most of the names listed.  He was a friend, player, coach, co-worker, teacher or mentor to each of those names. All of those lives, he touched in some way.

     He is the type of teacher that, after graduation, the kids come back to.  Each year on his birthday, he gets birthday wishes from people scattered all over the world.  Kids will call him up and ask advice on something, just to say hi or just to let him know what they are doing now.  He not only coaches football, he also coaches girls basketball and track.  The names listed on that quilt are not the only lives he has made an impact on, they are just a fraction.

     I hope he loves his Christmas gift, as much as I loved making it for him.  I hope it keeps him warm on cold nights as we watch a movie together, or at the beach when we have a bonfire.  I hope it is something he keeps with him for a long time to come.

     This quilt was indeed a labor of love, but I was wrong in one thing - it wasn't mine.  The labor of love that quilt represents belongs to the wonderful man that I am so blessed to share my life with.

The labor of love is his.

Deck the Halls.....

Mercury Glass Santa,
one of many Santa's that live
on my tree..

     I love decorating for Christmas.  When I was growing up in Oklahoma, we didn't have "real" Christmas trees.  The few lots around had some very sad specimens that belonged in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" special, not your living room.  We used the same, tired old fake tree year after year, but it was still magic for me.  My Mom would not let anything Christmas enter the house until Thanksgiving was done.  The second the dishes were finished and put away, we would start begging my Dad to get the decorations down from the attic.  Every year we would ooh and ahh over the same ornaments, the crude ones made by childish hands, the Life Savers dolls one of my aunts would make for us and my favorite, the teeny tiny nativity scene.

     These days, I have my own home, my own family, and like my Mom before me, I want no Christmas decorations until Thanksgiving is done.  The artificial tree that lives in my memories is a thing of the past and my girlies get to experience the lush scent and beauty of a Grand Fir, freshly cut.  Right now, we have a favorite lot we have returned to for the past few years, and next year the girls will be old enough that we hope to go out and cut our own tree.  I have one ornament salvaged from childhood, a plastic train I painted when I was five, but we have collected some beautiful and cherished memories of our own and our tree is populated with many little beauties, some fanciful, some made with little hands.  I just wanted to share some pics of what decorates our home and puts us in the Christmas spirit!

My Elf on a Shelf - way before the book came out!

The Claus's (and a photo-bombing kitty)

  One of my favorite things these days are the decorations designed by Anna Lee.  They remind me of the lighted elves my Mom used to hang in the front windows of our home growing up.  I have collected many over the years. 

Elf & Reindeer

Elf, Reindeer & Caroling Mouse

  I just love the painted faces!  They always make me smile!  I also have a few of Anna Lee's ornaments hanging around my tree:

Little Elf

Santa

     I love to collect Santa's.  I had an aunt who collected dolls.  She had one whole wall dedicated to different Santa's she had gotten.  She kept them up year round and I was drawn to those Santa's every time I visited.  I always knew that when I grew up, I wanted a collection of my own!

     My entryway is probably my favorite, second only to our tree.  The tiny porcelain wreath hanging in the center of the larger wreath is the first ornament my mother-in-law ever gave me.  It hangs there year round, and I always think of her for a moment whenever I see it.  She also gave me my wonderful Nativity Scene (Willow Tree).  The poinsettia "garland" that is around the mirror is made up of the pew decorations from our wedding.  We were married December 4, 2004, in a small historical church in Enid, Oklahoma.  I had always wanted a winter wedding!  By the way - the mirror ($10) table ($10) and lamp ($3) were all thrifted, as was the "Rejoice" picture ($3) hanging on the right of the picture.  I love finding great things and giving them a new home!!

     So that gives you an idea of what our home looks like for the holidays - I hope you enjoyed it - we sure do.  Our favorite thing at the end of the night, after the girlies are in bed, is to turn out all the lights but for the Christmas tree and the fireplace, and just spend some quiet time together.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Which came first - The Blog or The Successful SAHM???

    I'm back.  Scary - right?  When I started, my motivation was more of a kind of "virtual diary", just a place to put down some thoughts, with the ability to look back and see how things progress.  Then life took over, and I kind of got side tracked.  It happens.  Since I don't have any followers, I don't think anyone really missed me - lol!

    So this morning, I did my usual facebook perusal to see what everyone was up to for the day.  My friend Megan posted that she had started a blog,  Of Heart and Home (of-heart-and-home.blogspot.com), check it out - she just posted some great Christmas decorations!

     Well, Megan is one of the SAHM I'd love to emulate.  This girl has got it together.  After reading her posts, I decided to jump back on the horse and give this another try.

     I read a lot of blogs, mostly "mom" type blogs.  I started thinking, which came first?  I mean, these women are phenoms!  Arts and crafts with the kids, quality time with the hubs, cooking, cleaning, sewing.  Then, they have the time and energy to take some pictures and write about it!  So, again I ask, which came first??  Is the fact that they have a popular blog a driving factor?  I think when you know people are interested, you get a little "push" to keep going and find more interesting things to do and document.  A little bit of success and positive affirmation breeds the desire to continue.  Accountability and rewards, right?  I am definitely firmly in the second category.  The desire is there, but I gotta say, I need the "push".  And maybe, a not so gentle one.  It's fun to see my girlies faces light up when they make something pretty, all by themselves.  I get an inner sense of satisfaction when I try a new recipe and my family loves it.  Let me tell you, when Little Missy eats everything - I know it's a keeper.  Miss Bossy-pants isn't as picky, but she isn't afraid to tell me if something just doesn't work.  That's okay too.
I love creating something beautiful and being able to think "I did that - me!" - when usually I don't think I can do much of anything.  It's good for the soul.

    The conclusion I came to is this, and it isn't an earth shattering epiphany, just a logical observation.  I think for most of us, it's a little bit of both.  There are some women, who are just naturally inclined and good at the whole mom/housewife thing and would be doing their thing, blog or no blog.  Then, I think some maybe aren't as naturally inclined, but knowing that people are following you, gives them the impetus to keep it going.

And their family reaps the benefits.

That can't be a bad thing.

Why I Started This Blog...

      Hello to anyone who happens to read this.  I am new to the whole "blogging" thing, which I am sure will shortly become glaringly obvious!

     Hmmm....how to start.  I am about to turn 41, a fact my five year old, Little Miss Bossy Pants, trumpets gleefully whenever she introduces herself to someone new (really - I sometimes regret being so insistent on good manners!).  She always introduces herself by name and age, followed by the names and ages of whoever happens to be with her, which is usually me and her little sister.  Oh well.

     So to continue, I am about to turn 41, and have been doing the whole life introspection dance.  Who am I?  Where do I belong?  What do I want to be when I grow up?  To tell the truth, I still haven't figured any of it out.  I've always kind of just floated along, doing whatever happens to turn up.  It has led to some interesting turns in life, but as a life plan, it kinda sucks.  I started to think back to when I was a little girl, growing up in the 70's, and what I wanted to be when I was 7.  I used to love to come home from school, throw my book bag on the couch, grab a snack and watch the afternoon reruns.  Leave it to Beaver, The Brady Bunch, Little House, all the usual suspects.

     Man, those moms had it together.  Their houses were always clean, dinner beautifully prepared and on the table by six, with their families gathered around them.  They confronted every problem with a smile and a hug and were perfectly dressed and coiffed while doing it.  I am lucky to remember to shower and change my clothes on a daily basis!  But that is what I wanted to be.  I never really wanted to be a doctor, or a lawyer or a veterinarian.  I just wanted to be a mom.

     Well, fast forward a few decades and here I am.  A mom.  With a great husband, and a house, two beautiful little girls and the obligatory dog.  And I suck at it.  But, this year, I am turning over a new leaf.  I am going to try and get to the brass ring.  I may not be June Cleaver at the end of the year, but hopefully I'll get Little Miss Bossy Pants to preschool on the right day, at the right time.  Maybe even more than once.

It's a start anyway - right??