Finding Krissi

Christmas has come and gone the final hours of 2010 has began. I'm sure that I have a 2010 reflection post in me somewhere. But! Our 2010 is ending with family, friends and the baptism of my baby. It is so hard to type that sentence even harder to believe that we are baptizing our last little one. So the end of this year is going to come and go without a reflection post. I have chili to cook and family to visit and.... I did want to share with you a quick look at our Christmas We spent Christmas Eve at Grandma's house. At 80 years old she keeps the party rocking and we enjoy the time we get to visit with everyone. (A quick picture before we left. I try to get this picture every year on Christmas Eve.) Melting snowman was our little Christmas Eve joke since all of our Christmas snow had melted. (The stockings after Santa's Visit) This year we enjoyed a brown Christmas. The snowflakes all disappeared and the hopes of a White Christmas were in vain. ...

In just a few short hours Jolly St Nick will make his annual appearance. It is just a bit of sadness that I write this post knowing that the holiday season is wrapping up. I hope that you and yours are all having a wonderful Christmas. I wish for you a new year full of hope and blessings. May this holiday season remind you of the true meaning of Christmas. Merry Christmas Hugs and Prayers Krissi

Fifteen years ago Brent and I were preparing to spend our second Christmas together. We were also preparing to welcome our first child into this world. Looking back I can tell you we were blissfully naïve. Talk to any women with children and she has a birth story. The ups the downs the event of bringing a baby into the world. I too have a birth story. I have four of them in fact but this post isn’t about labor but about the beautiful baby girl who came into our lives. S. was born at 3:59am on December 19th, 1996. Exactly 5 days past her due date. She came into this world at 8lb 15oz just barely missing the 9lb mark. She had the longest fingers and everyone swore she would play the piano. I can’t tell you that she was a dream baby because the truth is those first few weeks are a blur. I’m not a naturally calm person to begin with and now all the sudden there was this tiny person who depended on me. The Lord in is infinite wisdom sent me S. first because he knew I needed a chance...

I have every intention to get to the braggy post that I promised. However, in the meantime you are going to have to bear with me through a not so merry post. Each year we send out Christmas cards to friends and family far away. I love sitting down, reviewing the year, and having a chance to say hello to people we don't see nearly enough. It is also a time for me to remember how blessed we are to have so many people in our lives. Over the years my husband has collected a eclectic group of friends. Most of his friends are old enough to be his grandfather. A couple of years ago, after sending out Christmas cards, we had a Christmas card come to us from the widow of one his friends. It was sad to learn of his passing. We spent sometime remembering our friend Smokey. Who was the nosiest neighbor a person could ask for. However, he made us laugh and he loved our little babies. Even if he did tease Brent that maybe someone should explain to Brent how babies are born because we see...

Hello Friends, Welcome to my blog.  For the past three years I have looked forward to participating in Marg and Kalina's Advent Tour. I love reading everyones post and the many ways that you all celebrate the holidays. I love those things that are the same the traditions that tie us all together. I also love the traditions that are different the ones that make us unique. I am an avid reader but this is not a book blog. Let me just take a moment and thank all of you devoted book bloggers. Because of you I have found some fantastic authors to read and enjoy. Please keep up all the good work. As I pondered about my post this year my thoughts kept turning to the first year that I posted on the advent tour. I told one of my favorite stories and the more I thought about it I decided to once more to share with you why I believe in Santa. Merry Christmas Everyone! By the time I was thirteen the magic of Christmas had all but been lost to me. I had definitely entered that sta...

Today is December 17th? How in the world is it DECEMBER 17th?! Someone must be messing with my calendars because there is no way it is December 17th. What? No one is messing with me? It is actually December 17th! Well then that means I'm running behind. WAY behind. Look at my to do list. Kid's Dentist Al School Choir Performance Al City Choir Performance Al Basketball Al Piano A. Court of Honor A. First Radio Appearance S. Swim H. Class Performance H. Student of the Week Reflections Assembly School Work Teacher Gifts Hey, wait a minute all of that stuff is done. Today was the last day of school/work. I'm done! birthday treats check, school gifts check, and all of the above check. Believe me I have the hour and half of video to prove it. Want to watch? So with all that stuff done that means I get to kick back and relax. Except! There is only 8 days left until Christmas. Two days until number one's 14th Birthday (Holy COW!) 3 days until num...

I have been thinking lately about how many good things have to happen before I say, "Life is good!" However, one little, tiny, itty bitty, bad thing happens and I am yelling, "Life Sucks!" I was also thinking about how many victories I have to accomplish before I feel good about myself. However, one mistake and I am down in the mud thinking, "I suck, I suck, I suck." It seems to me that the victories in my life have nothing over the mistakes.  The mistakes I make are the Heavy Weight Champ of my self esteem. Which is really stupid for a number of reasons. Number one: I will always make mistakes! Even when trying not to make mistakes I'm going to make mistakes. Mistake making is one of natures laws. Number two: If every mistake is equivalent to thirty or forty victories the scales will never be balanced. There is no way to stay that far ahead of my mistakes. Especially, given the fact that the balance is probably more like 100 victories to one m...

If I was being totally honest I would confess to you that traditions are a little rough. In my mind traditions are restricting and exhausting. After awhile making sure you do the same thing in the same way as the year before starts to seem like more work than enjoyment. To me that goes against the reason you started the tradition in the first place. That is why traditions are not concrete in our home. Some years we do one thing and other years we do something different. Ironically, I think you would call that a tradition. :) One tradition that I do adore and means a lot to me is the Christmas tree. Each year I spend the weeks before we decorate the Christmas tree looking for the perfect ornament. Every family member receives one ornament that captures a moment from the year. Our Christmas tree has become a visual reminder of some of the best moments of our lives. Brent's and my first Christmas together ornament hangs next to, "Babies First Christmas." A Santa orna...

Today is already the second day of December. If I'm not careful the month is going to pass in a blink. Today is also the second day of Hanukkah. I watched the lighting of the National Menorah on TV today and realized how grateful I am to live in a country where we celebrate and embrace all different cultures, religions, and people. It is pretty awesome! I just wanted to pop in for a few minutes and say "Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!" Krissi