Other

Because I know you’re dying to know, here’s the current status of my Christmas decorating. I have unpacked three Rubbermaid totes. The stockings are hung by the chimney with care and there are various nativity sets scattered around the house. I’ve also filled the large dough bowl I keep on the dining room table with a multitude of ornaments.

And Caroline helped herself to a few items in an attempt to create some festive holiday accessories.

She always goes for a subtle, understated look.

The original plan was to go pick out a tree on Monday afternoon. But it was 85 degrees here and I was wearing flip-flops and the thought of having to worry about mosquitoes while picking out a Christmas tree just seems wrong. So we made the executive decision to postpone the tree shopping process until Thursday afternoon after a cold front is scheduled to arrive. It just feels like that’s how Jesus would want it. Why else was he born in December?

So since we have no tree at this point, I’ve had some time to re-evaluate some of my Christmas decorations. Last year we were in the middle of having built-ins installed in our living room and painters painting walls and then Caroline and I went to New York with Mimi and Bops and we didn’t end up putting up a tree or any decorations until the week before Christmas. I didn’t have time to really think about all my decorations other than to make the decision to not put most of them out since I’d have to take them down a week later.

But this year I’ve had time to examine them and arrived at the decision that I needed some new stocking hangers along with something else to put on my mantle besides the tired fake green garland I’ve had for one hundred years.

(I haven’t really had it for one hundred years. Just since P and I got married. Which sometimes feels like one hundred years.)

(Oh I kid. It only feels like forty-two years.)

On Monday afternoon I casually mentioned to Gulley that I was contemplating a trip out to Hobby Lobby (Hob Lob) to peruse their Christmas decoration inventory and she said she needed to go too because her preschool class needed some craft supplies to make flowerpot nativities.

And so that’s how we ended up skipping our normal Tuesday lunch in favor of walking the aisles at Hob Lob. It’s like we didn’t even know ourselves.

I sensed we were in over our heads when we pulled into the parking lot and discovered it was packed. Who are all these people and what are they making? But it made sense once we walked through the doors and saw signs everywhere declaring 50% off all Christmas merchandise. I get excited when things are 25% off so the thought of 50% off made me almost delirious.

We grabbed a cart and began to look around. And it was at that point that I had to have an honest, internal talk with myself, reminding my inner optimist that I am not a person prone to make a craft. I want to. I want to look at all those glittery, sparkly things in the fake floral section and immediately think of all manner of arrangements I could make. I stared at the burlap ribbon for a good ten minutes just willing my brain to figure out what it should do with all that burlap because, according to people on Pinterest, burlap is the IT fabric of the 2013’s.

Of course it was also the IT fabric of the 1813’s. So maybe I’ll be ready the next time it comes around.

I looked at all the discounted wrapping paper and ribbon and knew that I should probably buy some, but it all short-circuited something because do I want chevron ribbon or chevron wrapping paper? Do I want to tie up brown paper packages with string like Maria’s favorite things?

I DON’T KNOW.

This is why I buy my wrapping paper at The Container Store. I can look at all their sample packages and the guess work is done for me. Nothing there makes me feel the pressure to hand stamp some gift cards and fill them out in calligraphy letters.

I finally made my way to the checkout line with merely a few tubes of paint in my cart for a project Caroline is working on and some red chevron ribbon that I’ll likely regret. I’ve never felt more like a failure.

Because here’s the honest truth. I wish I could look at a grapevine wreath and imagine the possibilities. I want to pick out that mesh-y glittery stuff that everyone is using to make wreaths and garland and turn it into something fabulous.

In fact, I was on Etsy the other day because I decided I wanted a garland made out of felt balls. I looked at a couple and thought to myself that I could just make one. It’s just some string and some felt balls and how hard could that be? But then I looked at the price on Etsy to have one shipped ready-made to my door by someone who knows what they’re doing and probably didn’t end up curled in the fetal position in the process, and hit PURCHASE so fast it would make your head spin.

It’s one of life’s bitter facts. There are those who craft and there are those who buy those crafts. There are folks who go to Hob Lob and are filled with all kinds of fabulous, creative inspiration and those who immediately feel themselves in the beginning stages of a panic attack.

And I think I’ve finally accepted that in my heart of hearts I fall into the latter of those categories.

So I read somewhere that today is Giving Tuesday. I don’t know if that’s a real thing or not, but I’m going to go with it because it makes me feel better about living in a world where people fight each other in the aisles of Walmart for the last flat screen T.V.

Fa la la la la – la la la la

And if there’s such a thing as Black Friday and Cyber Monday and Smallpox Saturday, then there should absolutely be a Giving Tuesday.

(I just made up Smallpox Saturday. I have no idea what that would actually entail but feel free to explore the idea further.)

Over the last few years we’ve reached the point in our family where we buy the kids presents and then make donations to various charities for the adults. I like this. It’s a way to give back at Christmas and considering that I am constantly cleaning out cabinets and closets in an attempt to have less stuff, I would so much rather spend money somewhere that can make a difference.

So in case this is something you do or might want to do this year, I thought I’d share three different organizations that I know are putting their resources to good use to help vulnerable children all over the world. I realize there are many other great charities and ways to give available, but these are a few that I happen to know about from the inside out.

1. Justice and Mercy International

My dear friends, Mary Katherine and Kelly Minter, are deeply involved with this organization. I have been so moved by their stories of traveling through the Amazon and seeing lives of children being changed.

Justice and Mercy International exists to mobilize the church to help the poor and the orphaned. They use their resources to provide services to rescue those who are often forgotten and vulnerable to dangers like human trafficking, diseases and extreme poverty.

JMI is currently working in Moldova, the Amazon, Haiti and South Africa. There are child sponsorships available, but they also would love any one-time donations.

2. Compassion International

Compassion International partners with local churches all over the world to help children living in extreme poverty. I’ve had the chance to travel with them to two different countries and have seen first hand the difference this ministry makes in these children’s lives.

You can sponsor a child for $38 a month, make a one-time donation to help the children in the Phillipines affected by the typhoon, or choose something to give from the Compassion gift catalog.

3. Arise Africa

My friend Alissa started Arise Africa several years ago after visiting Zambia. Since that time they have built an orphanage, developed a child sponsorship program and are actively working to make life better for these children and equip them for the future.

There are child sponsorships available or you can make a one-time donation through a gift from their Christmas catalog or their general fund.

Giving to any of these organizations would be a great gift for the people in your life who already have everything they need.

On Sunday night we read the first passage in our copy of Ann Voskamp’s advent book The Greatest Gift and these words have stayed with me:

“The theology of the Tree, of the Cross, always seeks the presence of God in the belittled gifts of the world. The small Babe of Bethlehem, the dismissed Son of God, the stripped and beaten Messiah hanging exposed on the Tree – He begs us to spend the attention of Advent on the little, the least, the lonely, the lost.”

So, yes, I’m a fan of Giving Tuesday. Because that’s where we find Him. Among the little, the least, the lonely and the lost.

I realize that what I’m about to tell you makes me a small person, but I’m going to share it anyway. You know how I consoled myself after the Aggies lost to Missouri on Saturday night? With the thought that I wasn’t even half as despondent as all the Alabama fans.

Because you know what’s worse than losing to your biggest rival? Losing to your biggest rival in the last second of a game that was all set to go to overtime on a play that most people didn’t even know could happen.

That’s rough.

But as someone who didn’t have a dog in that fight, I have to say it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in all my years of loving college football.

Truthfully, I know a lot of Aggie fans are disappointed that we’re 8-4 at the end of the season, but those are people with short term memory loss. It wasn’t so long ago that we would have jumped up and down at the thought of going 8-4 in the SEC. We got spoiled with Johnny Manziel emerging on the scene last year and forgot that we’d just gotten rid of a coach who didn’t know how to recruit defensive players and that we might have to pay for that at some point.

But we’ve just signed Sumlin for six more years. Our recruiting class is ranked #2 in the nation. And we’re making Kyle Field better than ever. The future is nothing but bright. And, for me, football is just a small part of why I’m proud to be an Aggie. So, win or lose, I love my team. And it helps to keep in mind that these are all a bunch of 18-22 year old boys playing a game.

Also, I don’t really blame our loss to Missouri on our players. I blame it on this.

How is anyone supposed to concentrate on football with that thing driving around the field? I want to know how I can get one of my own.

Dear Santa, please bring me a golf cart disguised as an A&M football helmet. Thank you for your consideration.

So Thanksgiving.

It has just been the best week. After our time in Bryan we came back home to San Antonio and pretty much did absolutely nothing. We stayed up late and slept even later. Stayed in our pajamas until unacceptable hours. Built a lot of fires in the fireplace, watched T.V. and read books. It was glorious.

We spent Thanksgiving Day with Mimi and Bops and loved every minute. It’s so nice that our Thanksgiving travels consist of a two minute drive down the street. And then Thanksgiving night we watched a little Harry Potter and some football and ate leftovers even though we’d sworn earlier that we’d never eat again.

On Friday morning Caroline and P left for the ranch and Gulley and I decided to go see a movie that wasn’t animated. Like a real, live movie for grown ups. We chose Catching Fire and it did not disappoint. In fact, it might have been even better than the book. I have big plans to spend this week dedicated to figuring out how to braid my hair in all manner of configurations, thanks to Katniss Everdeen. Because while I do not care for being placed in a large arena to fight to the death, I do appreciate a good hairstyle.

Saturday, Caroline woke up with a sore throat and was running a little bit of fever so we laid low all day. I honestly changed out of my pajamas to shower and then put on new pajamas. It was that kind of day. And of course we watched football. Although I’m not sure she was paying that much attention because ten minutes after the A&M game was over, she turned to me and asked, “Did we win?”

Obviously she has learned to tune me out. And P wasn’t any better because he’d fallen asleep on the couch. I don’t even understand.

Then yesterday I made myself go to the store. Mainly because we had nothing to eat that wasn’t a Thanksgiving leftover and, well, I’m over it. Plus it’s back to the real world of packing a lunch which requires things like lunch meat and bread.

A little later in the afternoon, P got down all our Christmas decorations at my request but then I felt overwhelmed and just sat and stared at all the Rubbermaid containers which did nothing to get our house decorated. I decided to channel Scarlett O’Hara and think about it tomorrow.

Or the next day.

Or maybe on Friday when the weather is supposed to cool off again and make it feel a little more like Christmas.

I’ll keep you posted.

How was your Thanksgiving? Are your Christmas decorations up?

Listen. Between family pictures and the faux cinnamon smell at Michael’s and getting ready for Thanksgiving break, it’s been a busy week. And I think I’ve used most of my words. For now.

So here are five things I thought you might be interested in:

1. Examining Truth and Twitter by Samantha Steele Ponder

Sam Ponder is a sports broadcaster for ESPN. And I absolutely loved this post she wrote about social media. I was already a fan, but now I’m an even bigger one.

2. How to host Thanksgiving and Enjoy it by Edie at Life in Grace

I would like to go live at Edie’s house for about two weeks. It would be like fantasy camp for people who enjoy delicious food and beautiful spaces.

I’m not hosting Thanksgiving this year, but I know many of you are and thought you might find some of her tips helpful.

3. handknit stockings from Sundance

I just saw these in the catalog and thought they were so darling. I feel like they’re a little reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie. Remember the Christmas Laura got that doll with the porcelain face? Good times.

4. A Scandal-ous Update by Sophie on Pioneer Woman

I believe I have established that I am slightly obsessed with Olivia Pope. And even though Sophie and I have discussed most of our thoughts via text and telephone, I still loved reading her post on Scandal.

5. Little Black Sheep: A Memoir by Ashley Cleveland

This book. I’d known for some time that I wanted to read it and then I finally ordered it because about six different people had told me how much they liked it. And it did not disappoint. I’m a sucker for a good memoir and this one is a beautiful story of God’s never-failing love and redemption. It’s hard to go wrong with a book written by an award-winning songwriter. She just uses her words like I would like to when I grow up.

And there you have it.

See you tomorrow for Fashion Friday.