Are You Smiling Yet? If not- You will be!

No one's looking, it's safe. Go ahead- Smile & have yourself a little giggle as you read about my life and the thoughts that come spilling out of my head. (Watch out for flooding though- my head's not as near as empty as my husband claims it to be!) If my ramblings don't make your day a little brighter nothing will! I promise I won't be offended if you laugh at my expense- I consider it an honor to spread happiness. Besides- if I can laugh at myself you certainly can too!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

PIF 12 Gifts of Christmas

While doing my morning browsing of Facebook I stumbled upon a link to the most wonderful thing:

A Pay It Forward Christmas Project called "The 12 Gifts of Christmas."

Put the focus on the true meaning of Christmas this season- Giving. Not the giving of expensive toys & electronics or what-not. But the Giving that really counts- the giving of your time, of your thoughts, of your love, of yourself. Here is an opportunity for you to give the greatest gift of all this holiday season- the gift of Kindness.

Starting today & for all the remaining days till Christmas join me & many others as we gift RAOK's. It won't take hardly any time or money for you to participate. Every day has a great suggestion- but if it doesn't work for you- then do something that does. It does not matter what you do as long as you GIVE.

If you're on Facebook and want to join the event there- here's the link. Facebook 12 Gifts of Christmas Event. But you don't need to be on FB to do this- comment here and share your gifts that way! If you blog it I'd love to read it there too!  I'll do my best to share my 12 Gifts of Christmas with you daily- but I might have to play catch-up on some days because life does tend to keep me busy.  :o)

PS- There's a printable of the 12 Gifts of Christmas I found on the FB event page to help you remember. If you would like the link I can send it to you- I didn't want to post the picture here b/c it's not my creation.  :o)


Friday, December 9, 2011

Just call me Happy

Happy. Smiling. Content.

That's what I am this morning. I feel peaceful inside and and a great amount of simple happiness radiating from within.

A Few Suspected Causes:
  1. Big, fluffy snowflakes.
  2. Sweet little boys who make their mommy breakfast toast
  3. News stories about Kindness 
  4. Christmas music.  
  5. Email from my husband simply b/c he wanted to tell me he loved me.  *love*
  6. Silly country songs on the radio 
  7. FB tags from friends (J- you're so sweet!)
Today is going to be a *Great* day.  :o)


Secret Santa Pays Off Layaways

This is the news I love to see & read- uplifting stories about people doing good. A woman in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area paid off 3 Christmas layaways at a Kmart store for people she didn't know. And her kindness has spurred others- there now has been at least one other "copycat" of goodness. Love it. Just imagine the amount of happiness that has been spread and the possibility that so much more can be paid forward!

Here's the article & one of the video clips:

Secret Santa pays off Christmas Lawaway bills for families




Monday, December 5, 2011

The 4 Gift Rule & My Own Expanded Version

I seen this posted on FB by one of my best friends:


I've always believed this gift-giving rule is great. It keeps things simple and prevents over-buying (and spending), curbs the "gimmes" and helps not fill up your house with a bunch of over-priced, poorly-made, going-to-be-broken-or-forgotten-about-within-a-week junk. It helps us re-focus on what this holiday season really is about. Whether that is religious or spiritual beliefs or simply a focus on kindness, giving and family & friends.  :o)

While I think this rule is great- I've never been able to go quite that simple. We do something along these lines- but I couldn't cut back to just 4 gifts. I guess have the expanded version of the 4 gift rule. LOL


  1. Something they Want (usually a toy or video game)
  2. Something they Need/can Wear (Eldest always needs clothes since he grows so fast & the Littles always get a new shirt b/c ALL of their clothes are second-hand and I think they deserve something new at least once a year. Usually socks & undies show up too.)
  3. Something to Read (a new book)
  4. Something to Play (a board or card game)
  5. Something to Do (usually a jigsaw puzzle or a word search/puzzle type book)
  6. Something to Create (like a coloring book, drawing pad, art supplies)
  7. Something to Watch (a movie)  This one isn't a must- but it usually is included b/c I find great deals on new or used DVD's and we love having family movie time.  :o)
 Then of course there's the gifts Santa brings. He brings 1 or 2 gifts for each boy off their wishlist, depending on what they are. Momma had a talk with Santa a few years ago and asked him to cut back on his gifts and he was nice enough to agree. Mommy also is in contact with Santa each year to let him know what items are ok to bring and what ones she requests be vetoed. ;o)

Santa also takes the time to help fill the stockings. He decided to make Mom's Christmas morning a little less hectic by putting an orange in the toe, along with a small juice bottle & mini donuts for us to munch on while opening gifts. He's usually pretty thoughtful and sticks a new toothbrush in there as well. And he never forgets some cool fun-flavored chapstick for the boys either. If the boys were extra good that year then he puts in a small candy treat & small toy (like matchbox car or new earbuds) as well. Mom sometimes will sneak a few things in the stocking before Santa comes too- especially in Daddy's stocking.

Now I'm curious as to what all other parent's gift giving ideas/rules at Christmas are. How do you control the craziness of this gift-giving season frenzy? Or do you not even try? Please share with me in the comments. No judgement here. :o)  Just curious. While I admit I'm not able to go as simple as this rule- our tree is nearly as over-loaded as it once used to be years ago.

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