Christmas Potpourri

I've been feeling a little domestic lately and decided I would make a few Christmas presents this year. Here is a wonderful recipe I found on pinterest for potpourri. I tried it out and my house smells so good. I'm planning on making a few of these for the girl’s teacher gifts.

 

This is super simple. You'll need:
1 pint jar
3 cinnamon sticks - dollar store
3 bay leafs
2-3 Tbs. whole cloves {these will cost you the most}
1 lime slice
2 lemon wedges
2 orange slices

Place ingredients in jar and fill with water. Attach a label or tag that reads:

Christmas Scent
Pour contents into saucepan
on stovetop and simmer on low heat.
Add water as needed.

 

Seeking God

It has been a sad and disappointing day for our Country.  Despite what I guess the majority of Americans believe, I am the minority struggling to understand what went wrong.  I’m totally confused... How have we become so blinded by the truth?  How has our conscience become so misguided that our opinions are disconnected from the truth? We have moved further and further from our creator who is the source of all truth.  Saint Teresa of Avila said it beautifully "Christ does not force our will, He takes only what we give Him.  But He does not give Himself entirely until He sees that we yield ourselves entirely to him."  If we aren't advancing our way of His perfection and His will we will fall as a nation. 

This life passes so quickly, we are just pilgrims working out our salvation.  Tonight as I offer up this day, I pray that the Lord will bless this nation and that He will touch the hearts of all leaders.   I pray that He will make His presence known.    

Good Enough

 

It was a beautiful night for carving out memories with our little ones last night. Kinley was a beautiful ballerina, Bailey was a cute fairy and Colson was a roaring giraffe. I decided this year I wanted to craft something for each of the girls outfits so I made Bailey's head band and Kinley's skirt. The skirt was definetly leaning more toward ghetto looking but she loved it. It's character over perfection right? I don't think of myself much in tune with my crafty side, so it made me proud to see that little piece of work added to their costumes.

Halloween wasn't much of a holiday we celebrated growing up. I don't remember carving pumpkins or doing much as a family to celebrate the "fun" in the season.  But as a mother, I’m becoming a little bit more sentimental about these events and I’m realizing just how important it is for my family.  

 

I’m not saying I should get caught up in the hoopla that surrounds this time of year by trying to measure up to what my neighbor is doing.  (That’s a slippery slope that I don’t want to bury myself in and I know there is no way I could ever keep up for that matter). But I do admit it's hard  not to get caught up in measuring my success as a mother by the amount of pinterest ideas I can accomplish when I find myself gettting wrapped up in the "pinning"world. But deep down we all know that's not what it’s about or even the goal.

What really matters is creating memories that hopefully carry value for our children as they get older. I want my children to look back at their childhood and remember these moments and feel a warm happy place spring up in their hearts.  I want them to remember the silliness of sharing life with their siblings and laughing at the moments that make each year so special. 

 

So as I enter into the hype of this season, and when I start getting down on myself for not being what I want to be or start hating myself for not having the perfect decorated house or the perfect decorated children, I'm going to try being kind and gentle to myself and keep in mind that my good is good enough.