Christmas Lessons

On Christmas Eve we go to my Grandmothers house on my moms side of the family.  It takes a good hour or more to get to her house form here and the girls are never loving the car ride, I think we hear a lot of "are we there yet's" from them even though we make that trip a lot and I am sure they know where they are by what they see out their window.  This time, and I blame it on the holiday that had my mind crazed, but we left the house around 1pm and 1 mile down the road I realized I had yet to feed my kids lunch.  I knew they would be complaining before we got there about how hungry they were and since we wouldn't be eating for another 4-5 hours, I knew I had to stop.  So, we stopped at a grocery store out in town and then hit the road.  The snacks I picked up weren't as big of a hit as I thought they would be and 2 out of 3 girls were passed out within 10 minutes of driving down the road.  I sat with a bag of flavored toasted crackers within my grasp and was not happy.....I am trying to eat better and lose weight, those will not help.  I proceeded to only eat a couple and was pretty happy with myself but kept wondering why on earth I even bothered to get snacks if no one was going to eat them.  This normally does not go through my mind because with 3 kids, I know things will eventually get eaten.  Yet, that thought kept coming to mind.
And then it happened.  We pulled off the freeway at the exit to my Grandmas and there was a homeless man standing there with a sign that read "anything will help".  I knew I didn't have any cash on me and was quickly wondering how I could help.  Not only because I felt compassion for him but for goodness sakes it is Christmas Eve and no matter what has happened in someones lives, they don't deserve to spend that day on the roadside watching happy families who are more fortunate drive by.  That's when I saw the snacks, the snacks that were not getting eaten.  We rolled down our window and he came over.  I told him I was sorry I did not have more but that I hoped that he had a blessed Christmas.  He said that was more than enough and thanked me.  As soon as we started driving off my girls asked me why I did that and I got to explain about giving to others and those who are less fortunate.  I was so happy that on such a blessed holiday, I was able to speak this lesson to my little ones.  And then it hit, not until Christmas night, but it hit me.  I know some of you may not be religious but I believe that God disguises himself as people in our lives and tests us on how we will react.  He can be a poor person on the side of the road or he can be a sales person having a hard day.  You never know but I believe he tests us to see how we handle those situations and how we can be blessing others in our lives.  Now I am not saying I know that God was standing there on the side of the road disguised as a homeless man just to see what I would do.  But what I do know is that I have never been upset that I bought food and that no one was eating it right then and there and that 45 minutes later we got stopped on an exit right next to a man who needed food, that to me is a sign.  We all need to show some compassion to one another.  I don't believe that it can fix the world, there are people out there who would much rather use violence or harsh words instead of kindness, but I do believe that if everyone showed one another kindness and stepped into there shoes every now and again, the world could be a much nicer place.  I pray you were all blessed this Christmas with family, good friends and memories that will last you a lifetime!!!

Christmas Happenings

I don't plan on being on this computer for the next couple of days and because of that, here is my 2010 Christmas post.
We have had a filled December I tell you that.  I don't know if I just didn't realize so much goes on around here last year but holy moly, a lot goes on here this time of year!  It could have been that we had our oldest recently diagnosed with Epilepsy and I was a little weary with taking her out with all the lights and sounds and business, I think I was putting her in my bubble and staying home!  But staying home this year, we have not done.
We started with choir performances and church gatherings and Girl Scout parades and that led into parties.  We had parties for the EFMP here on base.  And if you are curious, EFMP stands for Exceptional Family Member and that's what our Cass is.  The girls were pretty excited, this would be the first time they got to sit and actually talk to Santa (we stopped by for a quick 'hi' at the mall but knew we would see him numerous times over so we just did a walk by and high five).

We also attended a Christmas party for ENOC, the Epilepsy Network of Orange County.  The girls had a great time, there was plenty to do.

We also went to a kids Christmas party for Will's command and the girls yet again saw Santa.  I was starting to wonder when seeing Santa would get old since they saw him at least 4 times prior but each and every time they let our squeals when the big man would walk in the room with his hearty "ho, ho ho".
We also had more choir performances and some school plays as well.

We ended all of our festivities with Girl Scouts baking in my kitchen and our local fire fighters getting a basketful of goodies.  So now, it is on to family celebrations and eyes sparkling and mouths dropped open.  Our smallest one is more than thrilled and has tried to open many presents so far.  Good thing I was smart enough to put them in unmarked boxes first, muahahahaha.
I do have to admit, as much as I love this time of year with everyone getting together and the warm fuzzies that come with it all, it gets me thinking of the ones who will not be with us this year.  It will be the third without my amazing brother and the very first without my Papa.  I know I will have my moments when I will have to walk away from the joy of it all to have a moment and wipe away the tears.
And lets not forget the reason why we celebrate.  I don't tell people to have a 'happy holiday' because we celebrate for one reason and one reason only.  We celebrate the birth our Saviour Christ Jesus.  We make our birthdays special each and every year and no one tells you not to celebrate or to say happy birthday in a different way as not to offend anyone.  Well, be offended.  I am offended that people are taking this holiday and making it into something politically correct.  So, just know, if you tell me to have a good holiday, I will make sure to tell you have have a Merry CHRISTmas!!!!!!!!!

Weekend Events

This weekend was tiring and fantastic all in one.  It started out Friday with me getting a little shopping done all by myself, peaceful as that may be, I have to go back today to return and exchange things, I guess trying to get some shopping done super fats before you need to be somewhere does not always pay off.  Anyways, from the mall I went to my Aunts church for an event called Shebrews.  It is a woman's coffee night with gifts and scripture and music, it was a great time!!  I ate way too many sweets and think I need a sugar detox but it was wonderful!!! 

After it was over I stayed at my Grandmas house because at 4am I needed to be up and out the door with my Aunt and cousin to volunteer at the Gladiator Rock N Run.  The proceeds go to help Epilepsy so I knew it was something I needed to volunteer for.  However, 4am comes quickly and it was maybe 40 degrees.  Did i mention I forgot a sweatshirt so I got to wear a super thin cardigan?  Yay!!  But in all honesty, it was a lot of fun.  I got to meet some amazing people, talk about Cassidys story and witnessed men in outfits I am sure they normally would not be caught dead in.  I am very thankful for my wonderful Aunt and cousin who came out as well.  They braved the cold and massive amounts of people but they did it in the name of Epilepsy and for that I am ever so thankful!!!! 
Do I end there?  How would it be a crazy weekend if it ended there?  After spending 6 hours at the Rock N Run, I drove home to get my girl ready for her very first choir performance.  She was performing at a local church with her other choir members and the San Clemente Choral Society.  My mom came out to see her as well.

The performance went longer than expected and since we had to be on the road to our next event for the day, as soon as our girl came off stage, we left out the side door.  I did feel guilty, I did not want the others thinking I did not enjoy their singing but we had other places to be.  I felt better once I saw at least 4 other families doing the same thing, lol.  So, with that being over with, we were off in the car to Fallbrook for the Christmas parade that my Girl Scouts were in.  The drive on base to the Fallbrook gate was typical but as soon as we exited into the town, it was sheer madness, cars were everywhere and roads were blocked.  We were told not to park in the grocery store parking lot but Cass started to not feel good (she tends to get hot in the car and proceed to throw up, we are used to it but it is never fun).  So, we pulled into the forbidden parking lot and as the man with the clipboard started towards us to tell us how we were not allowed to stay there, he saw my sweet one bent over a bush and decided to let us stay.  The good part of it all was that we were then able to park in the parking lot and have good seating for the parade.  So, my mom, Will and the 2 small ones sat and watched while Cass and I joined our other Girl Scouts for the parade.  It was a great time, I loved seeing all the little kids so happy, waving and yelling "Merry Christmas".  Our girls would wave and yell back, some sending out a cheerful "Happy Hanukkah" (yeah, that was my child, she wanted to make sure she had everyone covered, lol).  After it ended, we decided dinner would be a good option, the kids were cold and hungry.  Cass got even more sick on the way to the restaurant and even sicker on the way home.  Needless to say, she was happy to be home in her bed.  As was I, being up at 4am and not getting to bed until 11pm is not fun.  I feel like I got hit by a truck today, how did I get so old?  Now, off to the mall and hopefully not needing to go back for quite some time.