After Christmas, and perhaps after-Christmas shopping, it is good to take stock of exactly where we are. We have done some weeding and have a large box full of items to donate. These are gently used clothes and other items that would be useful in some other household. Making some space in the closets and drawers is a nice way to start the new year.
I also want to make some space in my inner world as well. I've been doing housecleaning there as well. In reviewing some of my goals for 2007, I see where I've made nice progress, other places where I need more work. I don't make specific resolutions to change, but instead set goals for growth where I would like to see improvement. Many years ago, I set a goal to work out almost daily. It is now habit, but as I review, I recommit to this important health goal. I set goals to read uplifting thoughts daily and am selecting from among my many 'thoughts for the day' books to choose the two for the upcoming year. One will be from a favorite author that died in 2007, Madeleine L'Engle. This start and end to my day help keep me posted on the positive and uplifting when it would be easy to look at the negative all around me.
Think about the evening rituals in your family. One we have is to pray together as a family. This helps us to think about the needs in our family and voice our love and support for each other. Reading aloud a chapter together in an engaging book is a great evening ritual-it brings more closeness than watching tv together, promotes literacy, and reading aloud is a great skill to have. Children are more inclined to read if their parents do.
Make an effort to allow unstructured free time for your children-and let them direct you in playing with them. Most of us allow our imagination to wither away as we get older. There are treasures there if we will allow them to surface. This is a great evening activity, maybe right after dinner for an hour or so. One game that our grandkids love is making huge piles of all the cushions on our couches. They like being hidden in them, stacking them to push them over, and building houses with them.
Envision the world you would like to create within your home and then set achievable goals to build that world. I wish you the happiest of new years, filled with love and satisfaction.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Menus December 29-January 5
- Sunday
Oven barbecued chicken
Baked sweet potatoes
Broccoli
Pear cobbler - Monday
Vegetable soup
French bread - Tuesday
Ham
Black eyed peas
Spinach - Wednesday
Pasta with cheese sauce, vegetables, and ham - Thursday
Bean soup with ham
Rolls - Friday
Leftover bean soup
Green salad - Saturday
Tomato soup
Broiled ham sandwiches
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Preparing for Christams
One thing about with kids is that there are usually already too many toys around-and then we give them more. This is a great time of year to go through old toys with our kids and have them select ones they no longer play with to donate. If your kids are old enough, this is great to do with them to help them understand about those less fortunate, about how fortunate they are, about the joy of giving, and about sharing. An added benefit is the space it clears for the new things they will be getting for the holidays.
When I was a child, we had 2 trees in the house-1 for the living/family room, 1 for the kids. The main tree had some glass ornaments and we could not touch. Our tree had only non-breakable ornaments, was about 2 feet tall, and we could decorate it ourselves. I'm sure it never looked like a decorator had been involved, but we sure enjoyed it. I've usually had 2 trees as well. Lately however, I'm back to just the smaller tree. Now I have lots of extra ornaments to pass on to the rest of the family. I have quite a collection, as usually each year we got a special new ornament with the date on it. These are great memories to pass on through the family.
When I was a child, we had 2 trees in the house-1 for the living/family room, 1 for the kids. The main tree had some glass ornaments and we could not touch. Our tree had only non-breakable ornaments, was about 2 feet tall, and we could decorate it ourselves. I'm sure it never looked like a decorator had been involved, but we sure enjoyed it. I've usually had 2 trees as well. Lately however, I'm back to just the smaller tree. Now I have lots of extra ornaments to pass on to the rest of the family. I have quite a collection, as usually each year we got a special new ornament with the date on it. These are great memories to pass on through the family.
Menu plans Dec 16-22
- Sunday
Baked fish
Baked potatoes
Broccoli
Pudding - Monday
Homemade chili
Cornbread
Green salad - Tuesday
Cream of tomato soup
Broiled cheese sandwiches
Vegetable sticks-carrots, celery, broccoli - Wednesday
Leftover chili - Thursday
Chicken soup
French bread
Green salad - Friday
Broiled tuna sandwiches
Green salad - Saturday
Oven fried chicken
Oven fried french fries
Green salad
Saturday, December 8, 2007
More December activities
Create a wreath with your family. You can buy an undecorated real or artificial wreath, or buy a wreath frame and gather your own greens. Wire them onto the wreath frame.
Themed wreath
A fun project is to have each family member create a custom personalized wreath. Spend some time at the craft store to pick up items that represent the interests of each family member: sports, flowers, books, music, bikes, cars, hobbies, etc. Each family members attaches their interests to their wreaths. Or create one master themed wreath for the family that represents all the hobbies of family members for the front door. Add a large Christmas bow. These can be a great conversation piece with visitors to your house as they will probably notice a wreath full of miniature cars or motorcycles.
Christmas crafts
An alternative to the hobby themed wreath is a more traditional wreath. At the craft store, or from your yard, pick up holly, mistletoe, poinsettia, pine cone, berry picks and various bows, bells, and other ornaments. Attach these to the wreath with craft wire.
With spray adhesive and glitter, you can make very fancy pine cones-either for a centerpiece or for your wreaths. Spray the adhesive on the tips of the pine cones, then shake glitter over the (over a large piece of newspaper). Attache a wire at the base, or loop fishing line around the base and tie to create a loop for hanging the cone. You can attach ribbons or bows at the end to make the hanging even more festive. Even little children can decorate this way-and it comes out looking very nice.
For even less trouble, pick up a pretty holiday basket. Line with Christmas-themed paper. Fill with pine cones of various sizes. Insert a couple of holly, poinsettia, and mistletoe picks. Instant centerpiece.
With careful packing at the end of the season, these can all be re-used and can become part of your Christmas traditions.
Themed wreath
A fun project is to have each family member create a custom personalized wreath. Spend some time at the craft store to pick up items that represent the interests of each family member: sports, flowers, books, music, bikes, cars, hobbies, etc. Each family members attaches their interests to their wreaths. Or create one master themed wreath for the family that represents all the hobbies of family members for the front door. Add a large Christmas bow. These can be a great conversation piece with visitors to your house as they will probably notice a wreath full of miniature cars or motorcycles.
Christmas crafts
An alternative to the hobby themed wreath is a more traditional wreath. At the craft store, or from your yard, pick up holly, mistletoe, poinsettia, pine cone, berry picks and various bows, bells, and other ornaments. Attach these to the wreath with craft wire.
With spray adhesive and glitter, you can make very fancy pine cones-either for a centerpiece or for your wreaths. Spray the adhesive on the tips of the pine cones, then shake glitter over the (over a large piece of newspaper). Attache a wire at the base, or loop fishing line around the base and tie to create a loop for hanging the cone. You can attach ribbons or bows at the end to make the hanging even more festive. Even little children can decorate this way-and it comes out looking very nice.
For even less trouble, pick up a pretty holiday basket. Line with Christmas-themed paper. Fill with pine cones of various sizes. Insert a couple of holly, poinsettia, and mistletoe picks. Instant centerpiece.
With careful packing at the end of the season, these can all be re-used and can become part of your Christmas traditions.
Menus Dec 9-15
- Sunday
Tarragon chicken (make extra for Tuesday)
Broccoli
Brown rice
Cranberry bread pudding with orange sauce - Monday
Tuna casserole
Green salad - Tuesday
Hot chicken salad with leftover chicken
Green beans
Whole wheat rolls - Wednesday
Leftover tuna casserole
Green salad with pears and blue cheese - Thursday
Split pea soup
French bread - Friday
Chili on Fritos topped with cheese
Green salad - Saturday
Leftover split pea soup
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Start of December activity
A great activity for the 24 days leading up to Christmas which will allow you to help focus on a giving spirit. Take a couple of pieces of yellow construction paper. Cut into strips just long and wide enough to contain a short sentence. Create a 'haystack' next to where you will be setting up your creche (if you have one). If you have a larger set, you will be creating hay for the baby Jesus to lie on. If not, you will be creating hay to cover the ground in the stable and surrounding areas.
Each time a family member performs some act of service, write it on a piece of hay and place it in the manger or creche. By Christmas Eve, you should have moved all the hay into the manger or creche, creating a nice soft place for Jesus to be born. Christmas morning, read all the acts of service in the hay-these are your family's gifts to Jesus for Christmas.
If your family enjoys this, you may want to save the haystacks to review again, perhaps next Thanksgiving, as blessings your family has shared. This will also help you get in the right frame of mind for the service for next Christmas.
Each time a family member performs some act of service, write it on a piece of hay and place it in the manger or creche. By Christmas Eve, you should have moved all the hay into the manger or creche, creating a nice soft place for Jesus to be born. Christmas morning, read all the acts of service in the hay-these are your family's gifts to Jesus for Christmas.
If your family enjoys this, you may want to save the haystacks to review again, perhaps next Thanksgiving, as blessings your family has shared. This will also help you get in the right frame of mind for the service for next Christmas.
Menu planning Dec 2-8
- Sunday
Roast chicken with potatoes and carrots
Green salad
Banana cream pie - Monday
Cheesy potato soup
Green salad
French bread - Tuesday
Chicken pot pie using leftover chicken and veggies from Sunday - Wednesday
White bean and sausage soup - Thursday
Oriental chicken salad - Friday
Leftover soup - Saturday
Tuna and rice casserole
White bean and sausage soup:
2 cans white northern beans, drained and rinsed
Smoked sausage, sliced into bite sized pieces
1 Quart broth
About 3 leaves of chard, chopped
Mix together beans, sausage and broth in slow cooker. Cook on low all day, about 8 hours. 30 minutes before serving, add chard.
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