Hey Venus visit Mars once in a while!

I have long ago stopped complaining about the toilet seat not being put down after one of the male species in my home has used it.  I came to this conclusion; when I get finished I don't put it up for the next time they use it so why would they think to put it down for me. 

Future wife of my little guy, you can someday thank me because I think I taught him pretty well!

This post is meant to be humorous. (hopefully I can pull it off without offending anyone) The statements are true and the names are not mentioned to protect those involved.  (You know who you are and that you are loved).

Men are just different, not worse, not better than women just different.  We are truly woven together with different thread.

I know that there is a reason for dropping your clothes next to the hamper instead of in it, I am just not smart enough yet to figure out what that reason is.

Why is it that picking up an item in the grocery store is so much harder when the man does it?  I mean there must be someone that goes in the store each night and moves everything around because NOTHING is ever where you tell them it should be, well at least until you get in your car after his return and go right back in- that fairy she moved it all right back where it was!

Thanks honey for cleaning for me today, when you were finished I picked up your Pepsi can from the bookshelf , your spots drink from the coffee table, your laptop from the chair, but hey thanks for folding that blanket that was awesome!

Men, putting laundry away is NOT carrying upstairs and putting it on top of the bed.  My clothes go in a closet and a dresser! 

None of these comments are at meant as a criticism, actually the opposite has occurred to me over the past several years.  Being married and happy trumps all the other stuff! You may not do the laundry like I do but boy have I relaxed about that over the years!

You go to the grocery store for me and may not always find what I need or get what I asked for BUT you offered of your own free will and went!

At the end of the day I know that everything you did do was an attempt to make my life easier, o.k not the leaving the t-seat up or dropping the laundry next to the hamper but even those things I know you do NOT do to irritate me.  I have learned it is just how you guys do things. 

I know that there is a laundry list of things I do different than you- no better, no worse just different! 

So let go of those tedious things that get your feathers all ruffled and embrace the differences that we ladies and men possess. life is so much easier.

Would you still wipe the dogs paws off please when they come in?
Thanks!

It's a Girl!

December 18th, 1960 the Cleveland Browns beat the NY Giants 48-34.

The Weather for December 18th, 1960 in the town I was born in was;

High Temp:	30F
Low Temp:	19F
Average Temp:	23.5F
Dewpoint:	16.1F
Wind Speed:	11.6 Knots
Precipitation Amount:	n/a
Snow Depth:	n/a
Observations:	snow and ice pellets I have been on this earth 18,627 days I took my first breath 447,048 hours ago or if you want to get even more specific 26,822,880 minutes. I prefer to use seconds- 1,609,327,800 I think I look decent for my age! In 1960 a new house cost $12,700.00 and by 1969 was $15,500.00 In 1960 the average income per year was $5,315.00 and by 1969 was $8,540.00 In 1960 a gallon of gas was 25 cents and by 1969 was 35 cents In 1960 the average cost of new car was $2,600.00 and by 1969 was $3,270.00 On December 18th, 1960, my mother went into labor for the 9th time, and for the 6th time heard the words It's a girl! Thank you to my late parents Eugene & Christina Huling for bringing me into the world, and Thank you Jesus for giving me life.

A new Gig

 With the birth of my Granddaughter only weeks away, I started thinking about my role as a first time Grandma.  Not only will I be a grandma but my little girl will be a mother.  With this thought I felt slightly out of step, my identity changes somewhat from active mothering to grand mothering, and her role changes immensely as she assumes a role foreign to her until now.  I have a different perspective when I look at my beautiful daughter preparing to become a mother.  I began to reminisce about the moment I became a mother for the first time, an experience you only have once!. 

After I catch my breath from the Earth Moving Announcement that we are going to be grandparents, I think about what this means, what will I be called, how will it feel?

My passage though, going from mother to grandmother (though I will forever me her mother) stirs entirely different emotions in me. It isn't just about Me becoming a grandmother.  I imagine my daughter cuddling with her baby and I have new images of her in my mind.  To see her love a child as she was loved, to watch her bathe her baby for the first time, to smile as she fumbles through the first days of this new role she has chosen.  I am excited to see the differences in parenting that the generations bring.  I am giddy to think of what momism's she will bring into her vocabulary as her child ages.

With these sentiments, however is does bring me right back to I am going to be a grandma. What kind of Grandma will I be? I want to be present, familiar, a comfort, but I want to leave a lasting memory for my Grandchildren.  I want to be a vibrant, active and healthy role model of aging.  I will do all the grandmotherly things for sure (I mean she already has her own apron) but I want to step out of the box if need be and create memories that will last for her lifetime, little moments and big moments.

If you are a grandparent and have already experienced this comeuppance, you likely have experienced these similar emotions, you know much like those we had when our own baby took the first step, got their first tooth, rolled over,we share that news as if our child was the only one to have ever accomplished those things.  It matters not to us that they are not ,they are still exceptional in our hearts.

So now I get to love on a little baby, play with a toddler, praise a preschooler, help an adolescent, cry with a teen, and be there for her when she is an adult and I do NOT have to pay for it! (well maybe a little) . I think I am gonna love this gig!


  

Yes Virginia there is a Jesus!

Today I was asked "what is your son asking for, for Christmas"?
This question had me think about the differences in the wish lists of children over the last 60 years.  It also had me think about why the list has had such a dramatic change.

In the 1950's- The most popular gift request among little boys, were skateboards.  These were not like the numerous models we have today but simply a box on 4 wheels and it was not an art or competitive sport but a way for little ones to go outside and have fun.  Matchbox was another favorite among little gents.  For the little girl in your life "ginny" dolls were all the rage, and the fashionable Barbie doll.
In the 1960's-
 #1 seller was Hot Wheels
 #2 Legos
 #3 GI Joe
 #4 Easy Bake Oven
 #5 Etch A Sketch
 #6 Super Balls
 #7 The game of Life
 #8 Sea Monkeys
 #9 Barrel of Monkey's
 #10 operation
In the 1970's
1971 - Space Hoppers
1972 - Mastermind
1973 - Magna Doodle.
1974 - Wombles
1975 - Slime
1976 - Raw Power. A handle that you added to your bike and 'revved' to create the sound of an engine.
1977 - Holly Hobbie
1978 - Star Wars
1979 - Space Lego
In the 1980's
 1980- Rubiks Cube
1981 - Lego Train. 
1982 - BMX Bikes, everybody went BMX crazy. .
1983 - My Little Pony
          He Man & The Masters Of The Universe.
1984 - Care Bears.  
Cabbage Patch Kids
The Board game Trivial Pursuit
1985 - Transformers
In the 1990's
1990 - Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael, the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles 
1991 - Nintendo launched Game Boy in the UK.
1992 - Thunderbirds enjoyed a re-birth this year and dads of a certain age across the land re-lived there childhoods with their children
1993 - Power Rangers
1994 - Magic Eye Pictures.
1995 - POGS, small cardboard disks stormed into playgrounds and became a huge craze
 Star Wars toys start production again after a short hiatus, 1970's kids are now adults and collect the toys out of nostalgia but a new generation of kids also embraces the saga.
1996 - Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear doll
1997 - The year of T, Teletubbies, Tamagotchi and TY Beanie Babies are toy shop best sellers.
1998 - The humble Yo Yo returns as the craze of the year, after last being seen in the 1950's and the 1970's. The ProYo II is the Yo Yo of choice. Just before Christmas the interactive pet, Furby arrives in toy shops
1999 - A board game based on the hit TV quiz show 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' is the best selling board game.
Toys and games based on Pokemon the Nintendo game

In 2000

2000 - Robotic Pets and Aluminium Folding Scooters are this year crazes.
2001 - Bob The Builder toys are big hits, 
2002 - Bratz Dolls
          Beyblades, customizable spinning
          Micropets, miniature robotic pets are the favourite crazes
2003 - Beyblades continue to be the playground craze 
2004 - Nintendo launch the ever popular Nintendo DS
2005 & 2006 - Nintendo launch the Nintendo Wii, which with the Nintendo DS has proven to be very successful in bringing families closer together through playing games.
2007, 2008 and 2009 - Some of the most popular toys in these years are in the electronics .
Ok so now that we have that bit of interesting information out of the way, is it easy to see the differences in the wish lists of today's children? 

A quarter of US kids aged between six and 12 want a 3DS this Christmas, making it the most desired dedicated games console on the market among pre-teens.
 25 per cent of the six to 12 demographic are interested in buying Nintendo's new handheld in the next six months.
The iPad came top with 44 per cent, with the iPod on 30 per cent, the iPhone 27 per cent and a computer at 25 per cent
However, the results for the 13 and above age group were markedly different. The iPad, computers and e-readers topped the list, with dedicate gaming systems proving much less popular.

That said is it clear to see how so many aspects of our lives are affected by the growth and progress of society and the need for immediate gratification.
Don't misunderstand me I think progress is great and I have nothing against electronics.  What I see is that the rapid growth and changes to all the gaming systems, phones, e-readers, computers, just make us want more. I mean really that laptop computer you got less than a year ago is no longer efficient because it isn't an ipad?  Is it really less efficient or is it more desire driven?  A child is obsessed with his x-box until suddenly there is a new x-box that may be slightly better AND does not take the same games so now you have to buy the same games but for a different system.  I think I have dizzy spells keeping up with all the new phones and each one has a better and different feature than the last.  Can't we just use our phone for a phone?  If you need that phone to take pictures then why is a camera on your Christmas list?
Trust me I am no scrooge and I like to "give" my point is not so much these items as what it says about the changes in "us" over the years.  We always want the better and different.

This brings me (I know finally) to my thought on all of this.  If we want more and better then think about this;

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS.

I read this and thought , while this is a warm and fuzzy for sure how much truer would it be if it read like this;
Yes Virginia, there is a Jesus.  HE exists as certainly as Love & Hope & Forgiveness exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life the greatest joy.  Alas how hopeless would be the world if there were no Jesus. It would be as sad as if there were no Virginias. (or you).

I will still do all the traditional Christmas things with joy in my heart, I can make a mad mess in my kitchen baking goodies, and I can create reindeer food having deer come from near and far.  I can hang stockings and I can get giddy with excitement for Santa to come and fill them.  I can still put out that plate of cookies and milk for that jolly man in red, but what I can also do is Celebrate the Birth of a little baby who came to this world so that I might live and live abundantly.  That gift right there trumps any gift you will ever have to pug in.

Give the Gift of Hope- Give Jesus

 Dear Blog,
I am so sorry that I have neglected to give you the attention you deserve.  Please don't think my absence is a statement that I have failed to find a good thing in everyday.  I have been so busy filling my days with good things that I failed to share them.

Lets move forward because I am smart enough to know that my memory would fail me if I attempted to recall everything I could have shared in all those missed posts.

We are fast approaching The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year however what constitutes the wonderful? Is it the twinkling lights that adorn our trees? I love to sit and look at the tree and squint my eyes and for some reason it brings instant Christmas memories from my childhood.  On my mantle sits two reindeer that Were in my family home before I was born and while this holds very dear memories for me it is not the most powerful memory I should have.

Is it the Holiday baking?  I use some of the same cookie cutters my mother once used and they are especially dear to me because she is no longer with us and using them brings forth a flood of memories of the endless cookie baking she did.  While that is a warm memory that can bring a smile to my face, it is not the most important memory I should have.

Let's not forget the the Christmas smells, the fresh scents of pine, cinnamon, wassail, and burning candles.  The nose is a powerful thing in that smells often trigger memories for us.  I can smell jello, and instantly recall that every Sunday morning I would waken to that smell and know that mom was in the kitchen preparing dinner before church.  The pine trees bring forth numerous years full of memories of prodding through the woods to cut down our tree.  These are great memories but not the greatest memory I should have


  The endless hours of shopping choosing that one gift that will be loved.
 The parties, choir musicals, children programs, Holiday traditions that may include a trip to the zoo to see all the lights, a production of Nutcracker, or The Living Christmas tree. 

Unfortunately we live as though the song is "The most busiest time of the year" when in fact it truly is "The most Wonderful time of the year."

Not because of the baking, lights, celebrations, or traditions but because of our Lord and Saviour. 

I understand that Christmas is a season of pure enchantment, where toy lands and fantasies fill the minds of our little ones and we find joy in fulfilling those dreams . Let us not forget though that it is a time of Hope, of new beginnings .  It is a time of angles announcing glad tidings of great joy to Shepherd's in a Field , and Wise men following a star to bring gifts to this child.  This memory, this here is the most powerful, the most important.

It is a time to focus on the importance of delivering this message more than delivering gifts, that when we are shopping for that "special" gift we think of the Christ Child because there is no greater gift to give or receive.

Can you balance family traditions with celebrating the Birth of this King?  Would your family celebrate your Birthday without you?

This season remember that long ago The Virgin Mary had a baby boy and his name is Jesus.
 
 The Birth of Jesus Christ
"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord". — Luke 2:1-11

May you have a Blessed Christmas