My Year End Review

Well most all our Christmas celebrations have come to an end.  We have opened our presents this morning.  It was fun.  I got it all on video but I do not know how to post video on my blog as of yet.  I'm sure I will learn at a later time. 
Now that the presents have been unwrapped (I received the serving set I wanted from Numero Uno) and family visited, I am itching to look forward to what lies ahead.  Isn't that what this time of year is for?  Before I make my resolutions which is inevitable, I will first look back at this year.

1.  How have I spent my time?  The first part of 2010 I spent my time planning.  Our first ever Disney trip was booked in February with all our specific dining and event plans booked in April.  I poured countless hours over travel guides and blogs.  Might I add that it was this year that I was introduced to Couponing to Disney blog which I love?

I also spent some of my time in sadness and worry.  We had a couple of conflicts with Uno's mom which always stress me out.  I do recognize that these issues are never something we will not make it through, they are simply uncomfortable growing and stretching times. 

My sadness this year came from not getting pregnant; however, I also recognize that I'm not sure how a baby would have played into our Disney trip.  I truly enjoyed every aspect of the trip because I was able to spend time with each of our kids in a fun way that would have been greatly limited had a pregnancy factored into the trip.
2.  What was I grateful for?  There has been a lot to be grateful for this year: my family, my family's health, our financial blessings, our big vacation, our camper which allowed us lots of great bonding time.  My heart overflows with all I'm grateful for.  We joined a church we love this year.  Our relationships with our extended family have grown deeper this year.  We love the small group we are in, the kids' schools are great.  I could go on and on on the areas of my life that I am grateful for.  One more and I will move on.  I am absolutely grateful for Numero Uno.  He is an amazing man of magnificent value.  God has designed us for one another.  Numero Uno is calm and kind, compassionate, faithful, hard working, and loving to each member of our family.  He makes me laugh and is a strong, stable force in my life.
3.  What were my sorrows and disappointments?  I already shared that my sorrow or disappointment was not getting pregnant.  I'm uncertain if the sorrow was not getting pregnant or being told that I have a syndrome that will make it difficult for me to become pregnant.  I think the biggest disappointment lies in the fact that a dream of mine was burst.  I envisioned myself being little Miss Betty Homemaker who could manage her house and spit babies out at will.  Life is never what you envision and I am learning to adjust. 
4.  What books, films, etc. moved me?  Crazy Love has moved me in the fact that I am uncomfortable with my current status in my relationship with God and I am moving toward Him not away with Hope.  I also liked Eat, Pray, Love but I mean it didn't change my life, I simply liked her quest to find meaning for her life and also I think I liked the fact that she could eat whatever she wanted and not blow up like a balloon ( I did remind myself that it was a movie and not real life - I will not look like Julia Roberts if I eat what was eaten in the movie). 

I also liked The Blessed Life which our small group did in the Spring semester.   

My year end review is a little lengthy.  To sum up:  it's been a good year!

My Family's Outta the House!

I have a moment all to myself!  Everyone is out to get a Christmas movie to watch.  Things are going really great for me right now.  This time of year is most enjoyable to me.  I get to pause and reflect and plan for the future all during this time.  One would think that this would be a stressful time but I don't feel that way at all.  My presents are purchased and wrapped.  We're together as a family.  No school obligations so I can focus on each task at hand plus plan for the upcoming new year.

I've been enjoying my December issue of Whole Living and there are some great topics I would like to post about.  There are also a couple of big issues in my life I would like to devote some posts to in the new year.  Whole Living poses some very good reflective questions to get me thinking about where I've been, where I am, and where I'm going.  Currently, I'm overall happy.  There are a couple of issues I'm unhappy with but have hope.  No hope is a bad place to be so with hope I can hang in there. 

We had Christmas today at Granny and Pawpaw's.  I can honestly say that as far as gifts go, this was the best year yet!  In the past I have received some doozy from the in-laws but the thought was nice.  I know that probably sounds pretty harsh but there were some things I've received that I just had no clue as to what to do with.  Maybe after seven years of marriage plus the two years of dating and engagement, my in-laws are familiar enough with my likes and dislikes.  I will give props to my mother-in-law for always getting me something practical that I would like to have but would not put the money into it (i.e. knife set, nice bed sheets, nonstick skillet). 

This year I got a complete set of Tupperware mixing bowls along with a complete set of lunch bowls with lids and cups with lids.  I tried to find a picture of the cups on the site but had no luck.  They really are great cups!  My kids feel like their big kids using them and I feel safe that they won't leak.  We also received half a cow!!  I'm very pumped about this:)  We will receive a minimum of 150 pounds of beef.  Do you know how much money that will save us over the course of the year?  Super excited about that!  Plus the biggie with the kids this year is they each got one big gift they wanted: Uno got a Bruder brand Catepillar Excevator; Dos received a portable DVD player (I stood in line at Target on Black Friday for this one); and Tres received a beautifully carved, sturdy wooden high chair for her baby dolls.  Granny and Pawpaw also gave them each a new set of pajamas (very cute and great gift).  It was a good day.

Holiday "To Do" List

I can not believe it is already the 17th of December!  We are down to the "crunch time" - the time that if you blink you will miss the entire Holiday season.  I did create an Advent Calendar for the kids and it has been a huge success.  The calendar does create an atmosphere of hope and expectation.  Through the calendar I've daily been able to direct and redirect focus on the true reason for this holiday celebration.

The kids have not been slack on reminding me each morning to pull off a new slip on their calendar and count down the days.  As far as my "To Do" list, I'm pretty much finished with gift shopping.  I have five gifts remaining and I already know what to get, it's just a matter of picking them up.  For Dos and Tres' classmate gifts:  I ended up buying large bags for each student to use to store their goodies from the class party.  Since that endeavor cost more than I originally intended to spend on classmate gifts, the bags replaced student gifts, "Ta da!"

I guess my list would look like this:
1.  Purchase remaining gifts.
2.  Clean my house for holiday entertaining.
3.  Make a list of any and all food items for upcoming gatherings.
4.  Make food items.

Finally, I'm really pumped about Numero Uno's gifts this year.  Normally, I do a poor job of finding him something and normally it's just one item.  But this year I got him three gifts.  Grant it, they are all small but I'm impressed with my planning.  I really think the Couponing to Disney blog has kept me on track.

Holiday Preparations

We have been busy, busy at my house.  Numero Uno has worked hard to get all my outdoor decorations up while I have worked on the trees inside plus I have already started wrapping presents.  With over 60 gifts to give, I have to start now.  My BFF will have a Wrapping Party in a couple of weeks but there's no way I would be able to get it all done.  I will admit I'm pretty pumped about being conservative on my spending for my decorations.  All three of my trees have been passed down from my mother-in-law and the ribbons and lights and ornaments have been collected over the years. 

Currently I am trying to make an Advent Calendar for the kiddies.  My biggest problem is I start looking at everyone else's ideas and over think what I'm going to do instead of just doing it.  Tip Junkie has a lot of great ideas.  However, I feel slightly overwhelmed when looking at the crafts that these ladies have made.  I am going to look in my scrapbook bag and see if there are any materials that I can use.

I head over to my mom's for the next couple of days to help her decorate her house.  I think I am actually ahead of schedule as far as where I was last year.  For some reason I didn't get my decorations up right after Thanksgiving last year. 

I still am looking for some more good deals for Christmas gifts.  I would like to find a couple of more gifts for Numero Uno plus I'm in need of gifts for his parents.  If any of you have any suggestions on good in-law's gifts, I'm all ears.

Couponing to Disney still seems to post the best and latest deals for me so far.  I got Dos and Tres suitcases from the Disney Store for only $12 a piece.  I got a couple of toys from Target the other day but I'm uncertain if I will say those are from Santa or use them as Great Granny's gifts.  Numero Uno's grandmother gives us money each year to buy the kids gifts, then we wrap them, bring them to her house, and let the kids open them in front of her.  It works out pretty well.  

I am so relieved to have the Auction behind me so that now I can focus on the Christmas holidays.  I think after Christmas my next major focus will be on Dave Ramsey.  I seriously need to incorporate some of his Baby Steps into my life!

Gearing Up

Okay, I'm sitting on ready making my final list of what to purchase tomorrow.  Unfortunately, I do not have a sitter for tomorrow but I do have a plan.  Early in the morning while Numero Uno and kiddies are asleep I'm hitting the Target sale then later in the day I'm taking kiddies with me to Wal-Mart.  Yes, that will be insane but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.  This trip will not be for the faint of heart:)  (Note to self: pack plenty of snacks)

So, I have purchased 21 gifts so far and I've done the count on how much I have spent thus far: $207.  I'm pretty pumped about that number considering 18 of the gifts I have left to purchase are little goody bags for Dos and Tres' classmates.  Plus I am making food treats for church and school teachers so a lot of my expensive gifts have already been purchased! 

By the way, thanks to my BFF I have found a good deal on Crabtree & Evelyn lotion.  I got five lotions for a little under $6 a piece that includes tax and shipping.  If you use it, enter promo code ebday1110.  Now I noticed that after I entered the code it said for November birthday.  Well I don't have a November birthday but somehow the code is out there floating around so I hope Crabtree & Evelyn doesn't mind that I used it:)  Shout out to my BFF for hooking me up!

My Mourning into Dancing

So, I have recently discovered I have PCOS.  I think overall if I do what I'm supposed to do then this will not be a big deal.  I believe the low down is all of my important hormone levels are off plus I am insulin resistant.  I am on medicine for the insulin and trying to lose weight.  There's the rub!  I'm always trying to lose weight.  The doctor says the medicine may help me. 

Anyway I have been feeling pretty low lately.  Like something is "off" in my spirit.  Feelings like I am doing the same things over and over, making the same mistakes, having the same results.  I have a subscription to Whole Living magazine and although a lot of its focus is on "mindfulness" which tends to lend itself to Buddhism, I can find the usefulness of applying it to my Christian beliefs.  The articles do have truth in them although they are slightly misdirected.  Plus the articles that are like this are limited.  Couple the magazine reads with this Thanksgiving season and I have purposely tried to surround myself with a mindfulness of gratitude to God.  A friend of mine and I like to swap magazines and she gives me Home Life.  At first I wasn't a fan of the read; however, the more I get them the better the biblical advice coming to me.  Last night, me and the kids learned the memory verse, "You've turned my mourning into dancing..."  Shifting my purposeful focus on God has helped me feel better.  Admittedly I have not focused a lot of attention on God lately because I felt like He would be too invasive in my life but I'm finding out over and over, I need Him.  I need Him.

Today is a new day, a holiday weekend.  So much hope and promise and I am excited about the time with family.

I Would Like To Think...

I would like to think that I am one of those moms that has it pretty much together.  I don't beat the kids, I'm not a hoarder, I spend daily one on one time with each of my kids.  I would like to think I'm doing okay.  Don't get me wrong, I do not simply want to do "okay" I want to excel but today I will settle for "okay".  My comfort lies in the fact that I can look at numerous other blogs written by mamas and their last post dates are similar to mine:  "4 weeks ago"; "2 months ago"; "13 days ago"; etc.  My list get so crazy - especially here lately - that blogging daily goes to the bottom. 

Let us take a moment to laugh at my attempts at weight loss.  Ha, ha, ha!  Yes, I would like to lose weight but more in the sense of it falling off my body without any effort on my part.  Guess the weight loss issue for now will live to die another day. 

The 2nd Annual Holiday Auction is over with for another year - yay!  And it was a success:)  Now comes the hard part: the follow through.  Now I have to get everything wrapped up before I move on to whatever is next on my "list".  I hate endings, much prefer the beginnings.  Aaahh, if one would like to pause and ponder that revelation you would have a window to A LOT of my issues. 

Would you like to know our crazy weekend?  We spent 10 hours on the road Friday to go to Auburn, AL which is a 3 hour drive, stayed the weekend, and spent 7 hours on the return trip Sunday which was to be a 3 hour drive.  On Sunday we sat in our vehicle for 4 and half hours only 12 miles from our home due to a truck fire.  Upon getting off at our exit we got a phone call from Numero Uno's mother informing us that Tres was sick.  Crazy weekend!  However, I still enjoyed it.  We took Uno to Auburn's homecoming game.  Although we are not Auburn fans (Uno is our only fan), we enjoyed every minute of it.  We couldn't even remember the last time we just spent time with just the three of us.  It will be a treasured memory for a LONG time.