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Thanks For The Xmas Memories

Monday, December 15th, 2008 by Alyice

When children are young, they yearn to get their hands dirty. They want to try new things, they want to build things, they want to take things apart, they want to make things, and they want to explore the world. It’s such a fun and amazing time, isn’t it?

When my children were little, every holiday seemed more magical because of them. We sang holiday songs, watched holiday movies, decorated the house, and made yearly ornaments and/or holiday cookies—together. And the best part was that they were excited and thrilled to do those things!

Oh, how I miss those times.

Now that my kids are older and have lost their child-like innocence, the holidays just don’t seem as magical. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy the holidays; just that I wasn’t ready for them to grow up so darn fast! Why can’t we keep them young longer?

I remember the year “The Santa Clause”, starring Tim Allen, came out. It was the year my son began to question Santa’s immortality. We had always explained to the kids that Santa had many helpers—helpers who made it possible for him to deliver billions of Christmas presents around the world in a single night. Now, we had an explanation for Santa’s immortality—when he died, a new Santa took his place. We watched it every year, for the next five years.

One year, while living in California, we even went as far as to invite the neighbor’s kids over. We turned the air conditioner on so that it felt like we were camping out in the snow. We turned off all the lights, wrapped ourselves in blankets, and sipped hot cocoa while eating warm popcorn as we watched the movie. The kids thought it was the “coolest” thing.

And when they were little, every year we’d freeze baking soda. Then right before the kids were woken up to find Santa’s been at our home, my husband and I would grab our Santa feet and reindeer hoof templates. We’d place the templates on the floor, poor the baking soda into the templates and make a path from where Santa entered the house to where Santa delivered the presents to where Santa ate the cookies and drank the milk to where Santa took a sneak peek into the kids bedrooms and left a present on their dressers to where Santa finally left our home. The kids would wake up and touch the white powder and scream, “Santa’s been here! Look at the snow he left behind.” And of course, the reindeer would make their way to the carrots we left them, then back out of the house they’d go.

And one year, when my daughter had her doubts, my husband dressed up as Santa Claus then stood close to the front door as he jingled his bells and said, “Ho! Ho! Ho!” as loudly as he could. My daughter got up just in time to see Santa leaving. She talked about that experience for years.

While these memories cannot be displayed each year, they will remain in our hearts forever and through remembrance tools like family photos and Christmas ornaments, such as the ones you see below, we can relive those memories.

Give thanks…

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Thanks For Handcrafted Gifts

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 by Alyice

When my children were younger, they had remarkable teachers. Their teachers not only took an interest in their schooling, but in their character and personal well-beings. They also tried to instill the art of appreciation and gratitude.

One of the things their teachers liked to do is make sure their students had something special to give their parents every Christmas and every Mother’s or Father’s Day. We were lucky because my children’s teachers put in a lot of effort to make sure that the gifts their kids brought home were gifts the parents would proudly display in their homes for generations to come.

Here are just some of the trinkets I proudly display in my home.

And kids, if you’re reading this…I’d love more! I know you’re older now and think store-bought things are cool, but this mamma yearns for more handmade, handcrafted, gifts—even if it’s just my son’s famous chicken and colorful mashed potatoes or my daughter’s compositions in poem or song or story. I’d even settle for a day of game playing and laughter.

Give thanks…

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Thanks For The Music

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 by Alyice

This is a photo of my daughter listening to her iPod. On most days, you can find her on the computer listening to music through venues like Yahoo! Music or blaring her radio. You’ll also find her crafting lyrics to new songs—in which she hopes to set to music one day—and practicing dance moves. She says that as long as there is music in the world, she’ll never be bored.

According to the American Music Therapy Association, music is very therapeutic. Music helps us manage our stress levels, release pent up emotions, express feelings, and even exercise our brains to retain memory. And I couldn’t agree more.

I know that on the days when I feel extremely happy, old hymns just pour out of me and on days when I’m feeling really down and on the verge of tears, I tend to sing through my emotions. And I am discovering that when I am really stressed, music calms my insides, helps me focus on the here and now, and keeps me rational and sane.

Then there’s my husband. On days when my husband is really ill-tempered, I can put in a particular Christian CD—dedicated to men and their struggles—and his mood slowly begins to transform back into the man I love.

My family and I may not be able to carry the best tunes in the world but I can honestly say that when I hear someone in my house humming or singing a capella it instantly puts a smile on my face because I know that at that very moment they are happy and content with life.

Give thanks…

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