There's No Place Like Home For the Holidays

That's the title of the song covered by many artists and groups, but my favorite version is the Perry Como one.



The lyrics go like this:
Oh! There's no place like home for the holidays,
'Cause no matter how far away you roam,
When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze,
For the holidays you can't beat home sweet home!

I met a man who lives in Tennessee, he was heading for,
Pennsylvania and some homemade pumpkin pie!
From Pennsylvania folks are travellin'
Down the Dixie sunny shore,
From Atlantic to Pacific,
Gee the traffic is terrific!

Oh! There's no place like home for the holidays,
'Cause no matter how far away you roam,
If you wanna be happy in a million ways,
For the holidays you can't beat home sweet home!

Take a bus, take a train, go and hop an aeroplane,
Put the wife an' kiddies in the family car!
For the pleasure that you bring when you make that doorbell ring,
No trip could be too far!

For me, the fun part this year is that I'm in the song!

"From Pennsylvania folks are travellin'
Down the Dixie sunny shore,"

I've been alone, with my friends, or with family in a variety of different places, but this year it's off to my parents' home in Gulfport, Mississippi. I love to spend time with them!

Some people find time with family stressful.



So, let's break it out... Wherever you're home for the holidays.

There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays - The Good Things Version.

Brian (good things also come in twos)

2) Brothers: I have two brothers. I could count them each as good things, but then I'd have no room for more things. We are as alike as we are different from each other.

We enjoy each other's company and make each other laugh. I'm also putting my sister in-law in there. She's awesome. She's not "one of the boys" but she's awesome.

3) Nephews: I have two of those too! They are also awesome, and quite frankly much cuter than my brothers, and it's not creepy when they sit on my lap.

1) Parents: I have two of those! My mom and dad are precious to me. Yes, I could have just written "Family" instead of the pairs of good things, but then I wouldn't have this fun theme now would I?


Sue (Also sponsored by the number 2, or I'm-too-lazy-to-come-up-with my-own-theme so I'm rolling with Brian's)

2. Two cute kids : We've got 'em. They fill our lives with joy and happiness, and make Christmastime merry, bright, and expensive (especially now that they are tweens!)

3. Two sisters : We enjoy each other's company and make each other laugh. Wait, that's what Brian said about his brothers, but it's true. My sisters are awesome aunties who help me carry on festive holiday traditions with the kids like baking cookies*, and passing around presents from the youngest to the oldest or vice versa, which makes gift opening an epic event, or what my hubby T would call an all-day affair.

1. Two parents : I've got them too! They are "Nonnie and Papa" to my kids, and the inlaws to T. My mom and dad are the ones who started many of our family traditions like passing Oplatki around the Christmas table or the aforementioned gift opening ritual. One of my favorite traditions is when Santa (shh . . . it's really my dad) gives a special gift to each of his girls. This year's Christmas soiree will be at my parents' house, which is good because it takes just 10 minutes or so to get there from here. What's even better is that the day will be filled with eating, drinking, laughing, and love!

* Read my post about one of my favorite family cookie recipes and more in this free holiday ebook. Merry Christmas!

Oh Snap! Mother's Day Recap

Mother's Day has come and gone, and everyone and everything is back to usual around here as in someone needs help with this, someone needs a ride there, and someone (oh, that would be!) needs to prepare that for dinner! All in all it was a pleasant Mother's Day. I did not have to cook, I received some thoughtful and useful gifts, and I had the chance to relax a bit on a Sunday afternoon. Sometimes the day can be overrated as far as holidays go, but all and all it was a good day. Here's a recap:

2. Good eats!

T and Miss O baked some homemade scones for breakfast, and there were leftovers for me to enjoy for the rest of the week too! T also made dinner - a shrimp, tomato, and orzo dish, and a homemade chocolate cream pie for dessert. The pie was quite tasty, much different than this chocolate "fruit" pie Brian posted on his FB page the other day.

3.Good gifts from the heart! Cards and stories from the kids, and a really sweet necklace made by Miss O. I proudly wore it to church that morning, and the next day too.

1. The two best reasons to celebrate the day! Without these precious gifts from God, I would not be a mom today. OK, T had a little bit something to do with it!

You might be wondering what Brian did on Mother's Day (Hopefully, he called his mom) He visited a brand new mommy! His good friends welcomed an adorable bundle of joy earlier in the week. Congratulations ~ welcome to the wonderful world of parenthood!

Good Giving

Well Charlie Brown, the Christmas season is just about wrapped up with the exception of the Epiphany, or the day of the Three Kings, which is this Friday, January 6. Most of us know the story of the Magi - they came from the east by following a star to bring gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Jesus.

While I didn't give any of those three things as Christmas gifts this year, I do believe I did present some good gifts to some special recipients. Here are three of my favorites:

3. Giving Tree Gifts: Each Christmas, we choose two tags from the Giving Tree at our church to provide gifts for families in need. This year, we chose a five-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl. We bought some toys on each of the children's lists, and we also purchased warm and cozy pajamas for them both. I believe all kids should have a pair of warm and cozy pj's for our cold Chicago winters.
* A bonus good thing about this year's Giving Tree tags - Miss O designed the winning tag for her age-group.

2. A handmade ornament: Because I like to think of myself as kind of crafty, I made an a special ornament for my friend and blogging partner, Brian. I wrapped it all pretty-like, enclosed a thoughtful message, and sent it off in the post. I do believe he liked it, no loved it, a lot! Well, maybe not as much as the Giordano's pizza delivered directly to his door, but just as awesome without the calories.



1. 2012 Calendars: Another gift giving tradition. Each year for quite some time now, I have made photo calendars of the kids for the grandparents, the aunties, T, and me, too. The photos feature the kids with witty captions, and generally capture the kids in all their cuteness during the 12 months prior. It's my hope that the calendars will make up for the fact that in the past decade I haven't completed the kids' baby books, nor have I documented their lives in creative scrapbooks and/or photo albums. (Don't judge me . . . you too, most likely, have photos tucked away in boxes, or since the dawning of the digital age still stuck in your camera.)

Giving tree gifts, a handmade ornament, and photo calendars . . . three good gifts this holiday season. Did you give or receive a special gift this Christmas? Do share in the comments section.

Christmas Jesus

It's Christmas time and I would be remiss if I didn't go off on Jesus!
So - here we go - three good things about God-Jesus-Holy-Spirit at Christmas.

Let me start by saying I'm not anti-Santa. I think that Santa is very cool and a really fun traditional part of Christmas. He looks way better on a Coke bottle than a polar bear does. Having said that, I do think that sometimes we get confused about what Christmas really is all about and confuse the unconditional love of God with being good for Santa. So - love God, and I think Santa is cool.

If you don't want to keep reading - at least watch the Charlie Brown Christmas video here.



2) Who gets gifts?
While Santa Claus gives gifts to the good little girls and boys, God’s gift to us is for everyone.
John 3:15 Then everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life. [CEV]
http://bibles.org/CEV/John/3/15


3) What kind of gifts? and why?
While Santa Claus gives us toys that break, socks that wear out and candy that is gone in minutes, God gives us Jesus and eternal life.
John 3:16 God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. [CEV]
http://bibles.org/CEV/John/3/16

John 3:16 God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. [CEV]
http://bibles.org/CEV/John/3/16
Santa Claus is making a list and checking it twice making note who is naughty and nice, God gives us his gifts out of his great love for us.

John 3:17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! [CEV]
http://bibles.org/CEV/John/3/17
Santa Claus gives bad girls and boys lumps of coal, God wants to save us.


1) How do we respond to gifts?
John 3:21 But everyone who lives by the truth will come to the light, because they want others to know that God is really the one doing what they do. [CEV]
http://bibles.org/CEV/John/3/21
Children write letters to Santa Claus asking for things up-front but with no thank you afterwards. We respond to God’s gift to us with thankfulness for his love and personal change to be better for him.

I know that the idea of a God with no conditions on his love seems strange to some. My hope is that if this does seem odd to you, that you'll see that it's in the Bible - that I believe is God's word to us - and feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

And Merry Christmas!