I realize that we are in the middle of the Christmas season and Thanksgiving is past, but I believe my thoughts and recollections can be great mental preparation for enjoying Christmas traditions, and I want to create some memories! Besides, today is my daughter's birthday, and she wanted me to spend it with her instead of writing about her, so I have decided to go ahead and share a couple of Thanksgiving memories and thoughts with you today which I already wrote about (One of the memories really brags a bunch about her!. ;)
Thanksgiving wasn't my favorite this year. My favorite tradition didn't go as it usually does; my stomach ached from only 2 bites of turkey, and I was falling asleep by 7:30... However, I have learned NOT to expect things to be "a certain way" anymore. Life experiences just aren't cookie cutter perfect. Life isn't predictable, and there is so much awesomeness to enjoy if we don't get caught up in expecting experiences to be "exactly as we planned" or "exactly as it was in 1982." I enjoy life so much more when I do this... :)
So, despite everything that wasn't this year as compared to past years... there were a couple of incredibly wonderful things that were; these came to mind...
*One wonderful thing I was thankful for happened the day before Thanksgiving. It all started because I thought a charity organization was coming to the house to pick up donations that day, so I decided to take all the yard sale items out of the shed and place them in the entry way of the house for speedy and curious pic-up.
I was in a hurry to do this before the donation truck arrived, so I petitioned to my family to help me out, telling them it would only take 15 or 20 minutes if they would all help me. Then I went outside and started working, hoping a few of them would hear my plea and quickly come help me before the truck arrived (Yeah, we had a lot! :o).
Honestly, teenagers don't get as excited as they did when they were elementary age when asked to help out. :o So I was delightfully surprised when all the family came out to join me...
Not only did everyone in the family come out to help me... Dausen and Devry (the 17 yo twins), seemed to have noticed that I didn't have enough boxes set aside for all 6 family members to haul in an efficient manner, so after a few minutes they both grabbed rakes of their own accord and proceeded to rake the back lawn since more leaves had fallen since the last raking (honestly, I didn't ask them to do that! :o :). Levi soon joined them.
And though I didn't ask them to do it, these three awesome sons of mine stuck with it until the yard was not only raked up but the leaves were also in bags.
What would have been a15 45 minute work party (everything takes longer than you think it will! :o) turned into a couple hours of work... which was completed - voluntarily - Wow! :D And Miles and Mindy ditched work of their own that they really wanted to do that morning to help me. See why I love this family so much! ;D
*The next thing that came to my mind when asked about my Thanksgiving was the surprise I woke up to early in the morning. Actually, I woke during the night hearing the sound of a sewing machine in the background, but ignored it and went back to sleep. Eventually though, I couldn't sleep, so quite early in the morning (around 4 AM) I came out to hear my daughters plea, "wait mom... Please don't come out here yet." I was looking down the dark hall as she spoke and saw her covering up something she obviously didn't want me to see. "Just give me a minute mom..."
"OK" I replied, "No worries, I'll just go read a book in my bedroom. Could you please bring me a drink of water?"
And so I spent the early hours of the morning READING (instead of cooking turkey :o) :D. That was a really nice way to start the day, but it isn't the part I told people about, or the part I am excited to tell you about;
This is...
When I was finally given the word that it was OK to come out, Mindy had a box on the dining room table and a big smile on her face.
"I have something for you mom... :) I wish I had wrapping paper. I hope this box is OK. :D"
I figured out that she was doing something for me by her display of secrecy, and yet, it was as if I had just heard it. She wanted to wrap it! This was something special!!!
I choked up a little just feeling the love she was displaying for me. Before I even looked into the box I hugged her. "Thank you, Mindy! Of course a box is OK. :)"
And then I opened the box. In it were two beautiful, home-made aprons.
"I was going to give them to you for Christmas, but decided you should have them for the holidays... since you will be doing so much cooking and baking."
My eyes started to tear... I couldn't speak. I just stood there looking into the box in disbelief. She waited until I had gone to bed to start this huge labor of love.
"Try them on, mom!" She encouraged me with enthusiastic delight.
I hugged her again and as tears slipped from my eye lids (I know, I'm such a baby!) then proceeded to pull them out of the box and examine them.
"This one is SOOOO elegant! I'm wearing it TODAY! :D"
"I know! It is elegant, isn't it?" Mindy was beaming... :) "Bring the tie back around to see what it looks like tied in front. I think it would look good that way."
I brought the tie around the front, examining it as I looked down upon it while also admiring the apron and bow through the big dining room mirror in front of me. I would turn and look at the side profile and spin around a little to get a good view. "It looks awesome!" I love it!!!"
Mindy reiterated my words with her own, "Wow! That turned out really good! I really like the bow on the front!"
After a few minutes I took off the apron and ran over to the box to examine the second apron more closely...
"Oh my gosh! This one has snowmen on it!! I LOVE snowmen! And bows! I love bows too... it is so cheerful and cute!"
I tried it on as Mindy shook her head, "You look SO GOOD in it! WOW! I'm so happy!!! I really hoped it would fit you right and look good; I wanted you to like it not just because it was from me, but because it looked good, and it does! :D"
We continued to talk about the apron and decided the tie looked best in back on this one.
Can I just tell you how thankful I am to have thesekids amazing youth for my own? I am incredibly blessed!!! :D
Thanksgiving wasn't what I thought it would be this year. It was totally different than in years past. But there were also blessings I didn't dream of, blessings which I have come to treasure and cherish no the less than the memories of times which did go as planned... And you know, I'm glad life isn't "cookie cutter" the same... It is the newness, contrast, and surprises in life that make such beautiful memories! Thank God for the adventures of unpredictability!!!
PS. these photos were taken tonight. ( know... It would be so cool if they were taken the morning my daughter gave me the aprons! :o I have waited on posting this just so I could add the photos that had not yet been taken! Tonight, I was in my pj's when I remembered again, and decided that pj's would be just fine for these shots! LOL - So pj's I'm in! :D Seriously though, they are super cute! :) I probably should have taken a photo without the aprons as well just to show off the pj's! ;o
TTFN!
Corine :D
Corine :D
Thanksgiving wasn't my favorite this year. My favorite tradition didn't go as it usually does; my stomach ached from only 2 bites of turkey, and I was falling asleep by 7:30... However, I have learned NOT to expect things to be "a certain way" anymore. Life experiences just aren't cookie cutter perfect. Life isn't predictable, and there is so much awesomeness to enjoy if we don't get caught up in expecting experiences to be "exactly as we planned" or "exactly as it was in 1982." I enjoy life so much more when I do this... :)
So, despite everything that wasn't this year as compared to past years... there were a couple of incredibly wonderful things that were; these came to mind...
*One wonderful thing I was thankful for happened the day before Thanksgiving. It all started because I thought a charity organization was coming to the house to pick up donations that day, so I decided to take all the yard sale items out of the shed and place them in the entry way of the house for speedy and curious pic-up.
I was in a hurry to do this before the donation truck arrived, so I petitioned to my family to help me out, telling them it would only take 15 or 20 minutes if they would all help me. Then I went outside and started working, hoping a few of them would hear my plea and quickly come help me before the truck arrived (Yeah, we had a lot! :o).
Honestly, teenagers don't get as excited as they did when they were elementary age when asked to help out. :o So I was delightfully surprised when all the family came out to join me...
Not only did everyone in the family come out to help me... Dausen and Devry (the 17 yo twins), seemed to have noticed that I didn't have enough boxes set aside for all 6 family members to haul in an efficient manner, so after a few minutes they both grabbed rakes of their own accord and proceeded to rake the back lawn since more leaves had fallen since the last raking (honestly, I didn't ask them to do that! :o :). Levi soon joined them.
And though I didn't ask them to do it, these three awesome sons of mine stuck with it until the yard was not only raked up but the leaves were also in bags.
What would have been a
*The next thing that came to my mind when asked about my Thanksgiving was the surprise I woke up to early in the morning. Actually, I woke during the night hearing the sound of a sewing machine in the background, but ignored it and went back to sleep. Eventually though, I couldn't sleep, so quite early in the morning (around 4 AM) I came out to hear my daughters plea, "wait mom... Please don't come out here yet." I was looking down the dark hall as she spoke and saw her covering up something she obviously didn't want me to see. "Just give me a minute mom..."
"OK" I replied, "No worries, I'll just go read a book in my bedroom. Could you please bring me a drink of water?"
And so I spent the early hours of the morning READING (instead of cooking turkey :o) :D. That was a really nice way to start the day, but it isn't the part I told people about, or the part I am excited to tell you about;
This is...
When I was finally given the word that it was OK to come out, Mindy had a box on the dining room table and a big smile on her face.
"I have something for you mom... :) I wish I had wrapping paper. I hope this box is OK. :D"
I figured out that she was doing something for me by her display of secrecy, and yet, it was as if I had just heard it. She wanted to wrap it! This was something special!!!
I choked up a little just feeling the love she was displaying for me. Before I even looked into the box I hugged her. "Thank you, Mindy! Of course a box is OK. :)"
And then I opened the box. In it were two beautiful, home-made aprons.
"I was going to give them to you for Christmas, but decided you should have them for the holidays... since you will be doing so much cooking and baking."
My eyes started to tear... I couldn't speak. I just stood there looking into the box in disbelief. She waited until I had gone to bed to start this huge labor of love.
"Try them on, mom!" She encouraged me with enthusiastic delight.
I hugged her again and as tears slipped from my eye lids (I know, I'm such a baby!) then proceeded to pull them out of the box and examine them.
"This one is SOOOO elegant! I'm wearing it TODAY! :D"
 |
| We didn't have our tree up that morning... We took these tonight... shhhh ;) |
"I know! It is elegant, isn't it?" Mindy was beaming... :) "Bring the tie back around to see what it looks like tied in front. I think it would look good that way."
I brought the tie around the front, examining it as I looked down upon it while also admiring the apron and bow through the big dining room mirror in front of me. I would turn and look at the side profile and spin around a little to get a good view. "It looks awesome!" I love it!!!"
Mindy reiterated my words with her own, "Wow! That turned out really good! I really like the bow on the front!"
After a few minutes I took off the apron and ran over to the box to examine the second apron more closely...
"Oh my gosh! This one has snowmen on it!! I LOVE snowmen! And bows! I love bows too... it is so cheerful and cute!"
 |
| Photos taken in my adorable pj's and apron... :o |
We continued to talk about the apron and decided the tie looked best in back on this one.
Can I just tell you how thankful I am to have these
Thanksgiving wasn't what I thought it would be this year. It was totally different than in years past. But there were also blessings I didn't dream of, blessings which I have come to treasure and cherish no the less than the memories of times which did go as planned... And you know, I'm glad life isn't "cookie cutter" the same... It is the newness, contrast, and surprises in life that make such beautiful memories! Thank God for the adventures of unpredictability!!!
PS. these photos were taken tonight. ( know... It would be so cool if they were taken the morning my daughter gave me the aprons! :o I have waited on posting this just so I could add the photos that had not yet been taken! Tonight, I was in my pj's when I remembered again, and decided that pj's would be just fine for these shots! LOL - So pj's I'm in! :D Seriously though, they are super cute! :) I probably should have taken a photo without the aprons as well just to show off the pj's! ;o
TTFN!
Corine :D
Corine :D
Posts
I love aprons so that sounds like the perfect surprise gift to me!
ReplyDeletewow! That is really awesome! you have great kids :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet daughter! She did such a great job on them. You are both so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAnd what great kids you have to help you all afternoon. You are a good mom, raising some wonderful young adults. :)
What a sweet daughter you have, they are super cute!!
ReplyDeleteOh those aprons are great!
ReplyDelete