Saturday, December 19, 2009

Full Circle

You ever have something happen and you think about sharing it with someone, but then life gets hectic and time slips by and you just kind of push it to the back of your mind, so far in the back that it just gets lost with all of the other stuff piled up back there? Well, that is what happened to me.

I know I told you already that it took me awhile to actually commit to starting and maintaining a blog. Actually, I thought about it for quite a long time. One night while lying in bed, I decided to start listing ideas for a blog name. It was while doing that, that my mind began to wonder and a series of thoughts entered my mind. Afterward, I felt compelled to write them down. So, on the same piece of paper that my ideas for a blog name were written on, I jotted down the following thought.

I don't believe that time heals all things. Sure it helps. But heals? I disagree. While lying in bed, I was thinking. It went something like this: Cold weather...Christmas...Christmas shopping...buying Tyler a gift...Tyler so handsome and sweet playing with Kru, smiling his warm smile...just like his dad...Uncle Moose...I miss Uncle Moose, I wish he could have met Kru, Matt, Noah and Wyatt. And it hit me. Just so hard. Out of nowhere. The hole in my heart so big. Tears pouring out. The hurt so heavy and raw. Out of nowhere. Maybe it helps, but time does not heal.

At first I thought that this should be my first blog entry, but then it got pushed to the back of my mind as I have already mentioned. What is funny, is how it got thrown right back to the front and center of my thoughts yesterday. It seems that this blog post was just meant to be.

Yesterday, I rushed home from my mom and dad's house (where Kru and I had spent the night the night before just to spend a little time with Nana and Papa) in order to meet the Quinn Family, so that they could view Flannery's senior photos. When I arrived at the house, I checked the mailbox and was excited to find a package from Rhonda Mason (she has a fun blog! Check it out here.) containing my copy of the book, The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans. You see, I was a winner of her give away stemming from a fun project she and her family are doing this year called the 12 days of giving (again, check out her blog, it is a great idea! And thank you Rhonda for a great book!).

I was so excited to receive this book for two reasons. First, I am an avid reader and I am always looking for something to read. Secondly, I had never even heard of this book, so I was excited to see what it was about. After meeting with the lovely Quinn family, it was nap time for Kru. While lying down with him, I opened up my new book and began reading it. It was such a great story that I continued to read and read until I finished it! It is a great, easy to read book. You should check it out. The part of the story that reminded me of my unpublished blog post/thought was this section located on pages 68 and 69...

Another Christmas season has come. The time of joy and peace. Yet how great a void still remains in my heart. They say that time heals all wounds. But even as wounds heal they leave scars, token reminders of the pain. Remember me, my love. Remember my love.

I guess it isn't too hard to see how the book triggered the memory.

The other day, my friend Jamie Stein, posted a memory on facebook about our friend Sara Davis who was killed in a car wreck when we were in high school. Her memory of Sara, began a domino effect as others posted their memories of Sara. Before long, there was a whole list, which I am sure everybody enjoyed sharing. So that is what I encourage you to do now. Share a memory of a loved one you have lost. Memories are ties to the past. Ties to the ones that we love who have passed away. While remembering can be sad, it can also spawn happy thoughts of the time we were allowed to share with those loved ones. Cherish that time, no matter how little or how long.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Success

Well, the costume was a success! It all came together great. Noah was very pleased with the result. And the Nutcracker musical was awesome! Noah did a fantastic job on his speaking part. I am so proud of him! A huge 'thank you' to Noah's music teacher, Mrs. Savage, who once again wowed me with her ability to pull off a flawless program!


Morning performance for school


Staying in character


Kru loved the crown


Mrs. Savage working her magic


Evening performance for families


Noah the Nutcracker Prince


Wyatt and Noah

Monday, December 14, 2009

A Core Tradition

We have a Core Tradition every year at Christmastime. We Travel to Rudy, Arkansas and visit Lollis Christmas Tree Farm where we sort through hundreds of trees until we find that special one that fits into this crazy family. This year was Kru's first year to participate. It was quite an experience for him. He loved being able to just run wild, stomp in the mud (and even eat a little when I wasn't looking), and trail after his big brothers.

First look at the tree farm.


Playing in the mud.


Noah and Wyatt


If you've never had the chance to experience a tree farm, here is how it works. When you arrive, they give you a big stick/pole with measurements on it so that you can find the right size of tree. Size is usually the tricky part. When your outside an eight foot tree looks a little wimpy. Naturally, Noah and Wyatt are drawn to the 14 ft tall Christmas trees, which leads to the explanation that it actually has to fit in our house. Or they find the classic "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree and want to take it home.

Kru decided that he needed a
stick like Daddy.


Measuring a tree.


Noah and Wyatt with the
"Charlie Brown" Christmas tree.




Once you locate the perfect Christmas tree, you simply flip over the pole, neon orange side up and wait for someone to come cut it down for you. Easy. Peasy.

Holding up the pole.


Cutting down the tree.


Watching it fall.


When you arrive back at the parking lot, the friendly staff already have your tree bailed up and waiting for you. They also supply the kiddos with yummy candy canes for the trip back home. Our approximately 8 foot Christmas tree cost $30. Well worth it in my opinion.


The result:






Gas to Rudy, AR and back home: $12

Real, live Christmas tree: $30

Core Family Tradition: Priceless



Wednesday, December 9, 2009

How hard can it be?

Noah has a 3rd grade musical coming up on December 10th. They are preforming songs from The Nutcracker. Therefore, he has to dress as a Nutcracker. At first, I was going to order a used costume online. However, I hesitated and when I went to order it, someone had beat me to the punch. So, I decided to make him one myself. I mean, how hard can it be? I assured Noah that he would have an awesome costume for the musical.

I quickly decided that I could just use a long-sleeved, red button-up shirt and some navy blue pants as the base for the costume and just embellish it a bit. Noah, however, had a different idea. He quickly vetoed the navy blue pants (that I had already purchased), saying that it just didn't look like a "Nutcracker Prince." I asked him to explain exactly what a "Nutcracker Prince" was, but he didn't really know what he looked like, only that he was called the prince in the songs he was singing for the musical. We googled "Nutcracker Prince" and agreed that the costume that we were going for was somewhere between the following two images...


This image is not mine. Click here to see where I found it.



And neither is this one, click here.

I asked Noah if he was going to wear ballet tights for the pants since he didn't like the navy ones that I had purchased and he seemed to consider it until Wyatt died laughing saying, "You are going to wear girl tights?"

Noah quickly changed his mind, but insisted that t
he pants needed to be white. I remembered Noah had white baseball pants from the summer season, and we decided that those would probably work.

I started my hunt for the long-sleeved, red button-up shirt last we
ek thinking it shouldn't be too hard to find one. Boy, was I wrong! After going to Wal Mart, Target, Once Upon a Child, Khols, and every kid's store in the mall I was doubting that my grand idea to make a costume was going to pan out. Out of desperation, I bought a maroon shirt from Wal Mart since it was the closest thing that I could find to red. Noah quickly informed me that it wasn't exactly what he had in mind since it wasn't really red and proceeded to find the exact color of red that he did have in mind just so I would understand what he meant. After a little contemplation, I remembered seeing a long sleeved, white button-up shirt at Once Upon A Child. After going back to the store to take a closer look, I decided it was just what I was looking for. It was a brand new, (with original tags) White, Gap, 100% cotton shirt just in Noah's size. I bought it for a whopping $8. I really love Once Upon A Child! I also made a trip to Hobby Lobby (also love that store!) to pick up some red fabric dye, glitter, rubber cement, poster board, braided gold cord, and liquid stitch. This is what Kru did at Hobby Lobby...



After Hobby Lobby, it was home to dye the shirt.



Unfortunately, it turned out more of an Orangeish-red.



So back to Hobby Lobby. Another dye job later...



It was finally the color of red Noah had in mind! Then I bleached the baseball pants. I doubt Nutcrackers have dirt stains on the knees.



Finally, I glittered the poster board crown that Matt so cleverly designed.



Now all I have left to do is apply the gold braid to the shirt, make a belt, and buy white gloves. Let's hope the gloves are easier to find than the red shirt.




Tuesday, December 8, 2009

It's about time!

Well people, it has finally happened. I have joined the blogging world. First, I would like to thank my awesome husband. Without him, this blog would not exist. Really, just ask him. I am a master at creating disasters on the computer. Luckily, he is a master at fixing them. If I wasn't married to a computer genius who can fix anything, I would have destroyed this computer long ago.

Next I would like to thank Jamie Hiryak. She doesn't know it, but she convinced me to start blogging. Within the first twenty minutes of hanging out with her for the first time, she proceeded to tell me all of the benefits of blogging. I can't really recall what she said, but I do recall that she said it very passionately. I have been considering starting a blog ever since that night. I have finally found the time and a blog title. (Who knew creating a blog url could be so hard? I thought I had all of these great ideas, but apparently other people had them before I did!)

Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends. Hopefully, you all will stick around to read this thing. :)