2010 Rewind PART 3 ~December~

This year for Christmas we decided to do a few things differently. More on that in a minute...
December brought with it a few challenges including the whole family getting the flu and staying sick until a week before Christmas, and alot of unexpected expenses. It felt like we were under a spiritual attack of some sort. Just thing after thing happening. God saw us through and we were able to go up to our parents' for Christmas. We didn't get the kids any gifts though. We decided to do our family Christmas celebration at a later date because if we did it in December there would be no gifts, no feast, and more stress than peace. No time to reflect on the true meaning. Due to many more unforseen circumstances we still have not had our Christmas.
Back to what all we're changing this Christmas! ;) Firstly we had considered the idea of three items per kid before, in honor of the three gifts presented to Jesus. We had never actually implemented it before though as it's hard to do it the way we wanted to before they are a few years old. You'll see why... We want the three gifts to represent Jesus' 3 gifts. Check out THIS article for a better explanation, but basically Gold would be represented by something expensive in cost or in value to the child, Myrrh represented by something for the physical body, and Frankincense represented by something to feed the child's relationship with God. Before they are old enough to want anything in particular or to understand a physical object's spiritual meaning it's kind of difficult to fit their gifts into these categories. So we decided that it was hard enough fitting Bug's (age 2 years) gifts into those categories, we'll just do Babykins' 3 gifts without the representations. Anything that causes one to panic or stress out over a material item is not worth it. And trying to find baby gifts for those categories was going to be difficult enough to take the focus off of where it belongs. So our new gift rule is 3 gifts per kid, and they represent the 3 gifts of the magi for anyone OVER age 2.
Another thing we did differently is that last year we had our Christmas "late" also and we have decided to make it a permanent tradition to have our family Christmas in January instead. It just takes so many kinds of stress out of it and the less stress there is the better the focus stays where it belongs. We don't do Santa, I know I've mentioned it before, so there is no stress from the kids over which Christmas Santa will leave gifts for. Money is tight for about everyone I've ever met in December with all the friends and relatives to buy gifts for so waiting for our own takes a big bit of money stress out of the picture. We buy the relatives and friends gifts in December, then our own in January. It's nice to take advantage of after-Christmas sales and clearance too. More time to prepare is a plus too. Doesn't it sometimes seem like the end of the year is a runaway train? School starts and you have to shop for that and sort/switch the summer clothes for the winter clothes and then there's helloween to prepare for or prepare an alternative for or prepare to avoid depending on your perogative and before you can catch your breath you're making travel or meal plans for Thanksgiving and then you realize it's Black Friday and you have less than a month left to do all your gift shopping and you have umpteen people to buy for not to mention the food and the travel plans again and the packing and the laundry and the decorating and the tree and this and that and the other thing and by the time you get halfway through December you realize that you've just spent the past 4 months running around like a 2 year old who just drank a whole soda himself after eating all the cookies in the cookie jar. *gasps for air* After all that, seriously I have no idea how anyone can relax and ENJOY Christmas!! It's seriously awful. I have sensory issues- I get overloaded really easily and shut down. I can't handle it. I can't remember anything. I can't finish a project. It's really awful. So delaying the celebration until late January is a humongous blessing to us. There are other perks too like how much I LOVE having the tree up for 2 months, and how the late Christmas cards still get displayed for a while and how it puts something to look forward to in the first part of the year since we don't really do anything for New Year's except stay up late watching a movie until we can groggily say to each other, "Hey it's January! Time for bed. Good night... *snore*" and we don't romanticize Valentine's between children either. Enough run-on sentences for one day? Yes I thought so too. I shall refrain from it for the remainder of this post now! ;)

So after deciding this about our traditions it took the pressure off and we got gifts for the relatives, travelled to visit family, and had a pretty good time. Except that everyone forgot my birthday. But that's another pout. I mean post. *ahem*
It was wonderful as always to see our families. Especially my mom. Especially after having just lost Nana.
Chicklet got a sweater from my sister and Fuzzoodles from my husband's brother and his wife. Hubby's mom got her a Madame Alexander doll.
Bug got a shirt from my sister and some toy cars and a train bank from hubby's family.
Babykins got a lovely sweater from hubby's brother's wife and some onesies and pants from my MIL and and my sister got her a sweater and pants.
We had dinner at my sister's house which was nice except for her kids were sick so of course my kids woke up on my birthday, the 27th, throwing up. Again. Just got over being sick and now sick again. For my birthday. *sigh*
My hubby did the sweetest most romantic thing for my birthday though! He gave me this super mushy card and in it he had a flower made out of gift cards with a pipe cleaner stem. It was perfect. I cried! He's the best! ♥♥♥
And so ended our year, not too terribly eventfully, sick again, but still looking forward to our own "real" Christmas.

Handmade Gifts- Soft Block for Baby

For Christmas this year I'm hoping to go as homemade as possible. Store bought gifts are fun, for a while, but homemade ones are heart to heart! Homemade gifts are sentimental, personal. They just mean more. :)

My nephew just turned 1 and I made him one of these for his birthday. He had a ball (pun intended) tossing it around, and since it is soft there were no bonked noggins and no sad faces. :) Now I'm thinking of making these for Christmas for all the babies on my list.

Step 1. You'll need to cut out 6 squares of your selected fabric.

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Make sure they are as close to perfectly square as possible. You will have to zigzag or serge the edges of each square so it doesn't unravel if you do not use pinking shears. It doesn't really matter how big your squares are, as long as they are all the same size. You probably want them to be at least 4" though. 6" would make a nice big block and be easier to work with.

Step 2. Sew ONE side of each of 4 of the squares to EACH side of 1 of the squares, leaving the 6th square unattached for now, as shown:

The square in the middle will be the "bottom" of your block and the 4 attached to it will be the "sides."

Step 3. Sew the SIDES of the SIDE BLOCKS to each other to form a box:

Remember to always sew with the right sides of the fabric facing each other so your pretty seam is on the pretty side of the fabric.

Step 4. Now you're going to put the "lid" on. You can press open the side seams to make it easier to work with.

Now sew your 6th square onto your "box," leaving one side open:

Step 5. With block right side out, iron all the seams as shown to make the block more square.

Then iron under the edges of the open side to make it easier to sew up later.

Step 6. This step is optional, I just like to do it because it helps the block to be more block-y looking and then I can use the machine to sew the hole closed after stuffing instead of hand slip-stitching it closed. It also re-enforces the seams to help prevent them from coming unraveled with rough play.

Sew as close to the edge as possible along all the seams as shown in the picture above. Do not sew the block closed accidentally or you won't be able to stuff it! ;)

Step 7. Stuff your block with polyfill, making sure to arrange the stuffing in the block with your fingers as you go in order to make it most block-like. Don't stuff it too full if you plan to machine sew it closed! In fact, if you plan to machine sew it closed, leave enough room near the hole for the block to fit under the sewing machine's foot. You can pinch and squish the polyfill around to "fix" the empty spot once the block is sewn closed.

Step 8. Pin the hole closed and sew it closed as shown.

If you skipped step 6 then you'll want to hand slip stitch it closed instead.

This was only my second one so the seams are not real pretty... I need more practice! ;) It didn't help that my 2 year old kept reaching up and pushing buttons that would adjust the tension, needle placement, etc. as I was trying to sew. Lol! I'm sure it would look a lot fancier if I didn't have any "help"... hehe... But it's cute in a handmade toy sort of way anyway I think.

This post is linked up to the following where you can find more handmade gift ideas:
4 Moms, 35 Kids; Christmas Craft Linky
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Raising Homemakers; Homemaking Linky

The Heart Of Christmas ♥ Homemade Gifts ♥ Keeping CHRIST in Christmas!

Every year as the weather gets wetter, the leaves get brighter, and the air gets a bite of chill to it, I start thinking about my favorite time of year: Christmas! I remember my childhood Christmases. We were poor in money but rich in love and what I remember about Christmas isn't Santa or Presents, it's the SMELL of cinnamon and pine, the beautiful nativity set, the inspiring music, the sound of family gathered, the taste of cranberry sauce, and laying underneath the tree looking up through the branches at the lights and just soaking in the joy. That's what I want to pass on to my kids! Not greed or materialism. Not Santa-worship. Not cartoons and movies that have no foundation on The Rock. Every year I want to make homemade things as gifts but get distracted and then don't get anything finished in time. Every year since becoming an adult, despite my best intentions to keep the focus where it belongs and not get lost in the stress; somewhere along the line I loose my focus and have a panic attack, start resenting the to-do and to-buy lists, forget what it's really all about. I always need a reminder to get me back on track. I need to make it a point to not get caught up in worrying about making everything perfect and forget that the things aren't what makes Christmas CHRISTmas. What makes Christmas CHRISTmas is keeping our eyes on Jesus.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33
Last year I decided what better way to stay motivated and focused on the TRUE heart of CHRISTmas than a fun interactive bloggy carnival with all of you! What do you say? Want to join the fun?

Welcome to The Heart Of Christmas 2010 link up! There will be ONE linkup for the whole season here in this post, at the bottom. Every time you have a relevant post you may link it here, any day from now until January 7th. You must link back to this post in each of your participating posts. You may link back in text, or by including the button in the post. You may add the button to your blog's sidebar if you would like to help draw more participation, but it's not required. You may link up old posts, even posts you linked up last year, as long as they contain a link back to this post: i.e. the updated button code (can't use last years- it goes to last years linky which is closed! Must use this years from this post!) or post link to get visitors back to THIS 2010 linky in case they wish to view the other entries and/or participate.

What to put in your posts (you can use any one, several, or all of these ideas in each post):
-Something about how you stay focused on Jesus.
-Something you have bought/made as a gift for someone, or a link to an idea for a project you would LIKE to make for a gift. Don't forget to give credit where credit is due for patterns, ideas, tutorials, etc.
-A Christmas recipe.
-Talk about one of your family traditions, why you do it and what it means.
-A sweet Christmas memory.
-Anything else that is related to the HEART of Christmas, having a sweet and thankful spirit, handmade with love, giving, helping the needy, avoiding getting stressed out, avoiding focus on money and gifts, seeing Jesus as the bringer of every good and perfect gift, etc.
-Check out last year's entries for more ideas!

We want to avoid posts that encourage complaining and stressing, focus on money/Santa/gifts (commercialism), and "keeping up with the Jones'."

INSTRUCTIONS:
I will try to post a Heart of CHRISTmas post at least once a week and link it. You may link a post every week, or every day, or just once or twice. You know I'd love it if you linked often of course... Lol! But I know you can't post if you don't have something you feel like posting about. ;) So just join in when you want to. :) There is not a specific day of the week to do this. Just come here and link up each time you have a qualifying post.
1. Write a post that falls within the guidelines above. (Or you can use an old post of like a Christmas craft or recipe or gift idea.)
2. Include this button (or a text link back here) in your post. If you would like, you can put it in your blog's sidebar too to draw more people to share with us. Use the code provided which links the button back here so people can browse the other participating posts.

<a href="http://everypreciousjoy.blogspot.com/2010/11/heart-of-christmas-homemade-gifts.html"><img alt="Click to see other posts in this blog carnival or add your own!" src="http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s157/MamaMirage/Blog/THOChristmas.gif" /></a><br />

3. Add your post to the MckLinky below so others can find it from here! :) Please include the name of your blog and most importantly the title of your post in the "Name" field when linking. LINK DIRECTLY TO THE SPECIFIC POST, not just to your blog in general. For example my first link will not go merely to http://everypreciousjoy.blogspot.com/ - it will instead be a specific link to a specific post; http://everypreciousjoy.blogspot.com/2010/11/heart-of-christmas-1.html. Make sense? Link to the post, not the whole blog.
4. Browse the other posts in the MckLinky list to see what others are doing for CHRISTmas 2010. We all love comments so if you'd like to leave some love for the other participants we'd be ever so excited! :D

The Heart of CHRISTmas: It isn't Santamas...

When my mom was a child, she knew her mother to be the most honest person in the whole wide world. So when the kids at school told her there's no such thing as Santa Claus, my mom declared with utmost conviction that her mother told her Santa was real and "My mommy would NEVER tell a lie!"
She went home and told her sainted mother what the kids at school had had the NERVE to say- that Santa wasn't real! Her mother broke it to her that Santa really was just a tall tale and it crushed my mother. It shook her confidence in everything for a long while, that the one person she knew would never ever tell a lie had deliberately lied to her for years about Santa, the tooth fairy, and the easter bunny. Her mom assured her that Jesus was really real but I'm sure you can imagine the doubts and heartsick feelings my mom had to deal with for a long time thereafter. She vowed to NEVER do that to her own kids. And she didn't.

When I was a kid I never believed Santa was real. I actually always felt very sorry for kids whose parents would lie to them and tell then Santa was real! I thought it was terrible that proclaimed Christians would propogate Santa because
1. It's an outright boldfaced lie and it's wrong to tell lies,
2. It hurts kids when they find out the truth that their parents have been lying to them all along,
3. It takes away from Jesus because kids are so busy trying to please Santa so they get material posessions that they forget their real goal should be to please Jesus and gain eternity in heaven, and
4. It makes a mockery of a true historical character.

Then when I was a little older, probably 10 or so, I learned the story I told above, how my mom came to opt out of the great Santa conspiracy with her own kids. That was the cap on a conviction I'd been formulating throughout my childhood up to that point- to continue the herritage of TRUTH with my own kids instead of propogating the Santa myth.

My husband believed in Santa as a kid but his parents didn't push the myth and he figured out the truth quite young. He didn't have a traumatic experience but believes that it's wrong to lie to kids about Santa etc. because then they won't know when to believe you and when not to. They won't know if you're telling them the truth about Jesus or not. So even though he had Santa as a kid with no traumatic results, he as an adult believes it's wrong.

So that is the story of why we don't preach Santa to our kids. My 3 year old knows presents come from loved ones. She knows Santa is some guy in a red suit. She has not connected either thought with "Christmas" yet and when she does we'll be here to make sure she is (and later our son and any future kids are) connecting the right dots and Truth is the verdict. We have not allowed her to learn any Santa songs or watch any Santa tv shows or movies because we want her to know the truth before she knows the lie. Santa Claus is the god of xmas commercialism. When she knows that CHRIST is real and the reason we celebrate, then she will be able to see the Santa pop-culture with the knowlege of what is real and what is not.

Here are a couple other bloggers' posts regarding whether to promote Santa or not:
Cheryl @ Adventures of a Somewhat Crunchy Mama: Why We Don't Do Santa Part 1
Cheryl @ Adventures of a Somewhat Crunchy Mama: Why We Don't Do Santa Part 2
Tiana @ God Made, Home Grown: Real or Pretend?


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If you want to share how you're keeping the heart of CHRISTmas where it belongs this year, or read more from other bloggers on CHRISTmas, please click the button below to see how you can link up! :)

The Heart of CHRISTmas: O Christmas Tree

The Origins Of The Christmas Tree

Throughout history, many cultures have decorated trees ceremoniously. This has sparked many debates as to when and where and why a decorated evergreen became the Christmas tree as we know it and use it today. Depending where you look and who you ask, it may have pagan roots and was later Christianized, or it may have been a Christian symbol to begin with. One place I was reading states:
"An interesting tradition, part history, part legend and very popular in Germany, claims that the Christmas tree dates back to the eighth century. This legend is based on a historical figure, St Boniface, and even a historical event, the destruction of Odin's oak. St Boniface (675-754) was the English Bishop Winfrid who went to Germany in the eighth century, to Hesse to be precise, to preach the Christian faith as a missionary from the Church of Rome. After a period of apparently successful Gospel preaching, Boniface went to Rome to confer with Pope Gregory II (715-731). After a long absence, he returned to Geismar, Germany, for Christmas 723, and felt personally offended on discovering that the Germans had reverted to their former idolatry of pagan divinities and were preparing to celebrate the winter solstice by sacrificing a young man under Odin's sacred oak tree. Fired by holy anger, as was Moses by the golden calf, Bishop Boniface took up an axe and dared to cut down the oak. This courageous, historically documented act meant the triumph of Christianity in Germany over the pagan divinities.

All this is historically documented. The rest belongs to the legend which tells how, at the first blow of the axe, a strong gust of wind instantly brought down the tree. The astounded Germans fearfully recognized the hand of God in this event and humbly asked Boniface how they should celebrate Christmas. The Bishop, the legend continues, pointed to a small fir tree that had miraculously remained upright and intact beside the debris and broken branches of the fallen oak. Boniface was familiar with the popular custom of taking an evergreen plant into the house in winter and asked everyone to take home a fir tree. This tree signifies peace, and as an evergreen it also symbolizes immortality; with its top pointing upwards, it additionally indicates heaven, the dwelling place of God."
Another website I stumbled across had this to say;
"Legend has it that Martin Luther began the tradition of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. One crisp Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of a group of small evergreens. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with his children. He decorated it with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth."
Today the Christmas tree is more of a traditional decoration, mostly a glorified gift receptacle, than it is a tribute to the CHRIST in CHRISTmas. I believe that as Christians we need to be careful of traditions that take away from the true meaning. If you have to work too hard and force a tradition to fit in the God box, then perhaps it's time to find a new tradition. The key to giving MEANING to a tradition is repetition I believe. That is why the Christmas tree is no more than a gift holder for most people- yearly repetition of ignoring it as anything other than such! Perhaps decorating the tree together is a great family time tradition. Honestly though I think that if we don't bring something more to the table regarding the Christmas tree, then it's still just a glorified gift holder. Granted, a family tradition to decorate this glorified gift holder, but still devoid of any personal meaning that portrays Christian beliefs. So let me share with you a few symbolisms I've heard of over the course of my life regarding the Christmas tree. Perhaps a yearly tradition of sharing these Christian symbolisms with our families as we decorate the tree together will plant in our children's minds a deeper meaning for the tree than merely a gift-holder...
-The Christmas tree is an evergreen because it is the symbol of everlasting life by salvation through Jesus.
-The Christmas trees triangular shape represents the Holy Trinity.
-We decorate our tree with lights or candles to symbolize Christ being the Light of the world.
-The star at the top of the tree symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem which led the three magi to baby Jesus.
-The angels, which alternately may top the tree or just be used as decorations or other ornaments symbolize the angels which appeared throughout the story of Christ's birth, particularly the one who told the shepherds the news of Jesus' birth.
-Candy canes we hang on the tree have a beautiful story!

Many years ago, a candy maker wanted to make a candy at Christmas time that would serve as a witness to his Christian faith. He wanted to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry and death of Jesus. He began with a stick of pure white hard candy; white to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus; hard to symbolize the solid rock, the foundation of the Church; firmness to represent the promise of God. The candymaker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. He thought it could also represent the staff of the Good Shepherd, with which he reached down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received, by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life. Unfortunately, the candy became known as a candy cane - a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the true meaning is still there for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Author Unknown

Do you know of any other symbolisms related to the Christmas tree and decorations we hang on it? In Christmases past have you done anything with your family to specifically keep the Christian meanings of the Christmas tree in your childrens' minds above the gifts that wind up under it? When you were growing up what was your view of the Christmas tree? What do you want your kids to grow up remembering about it?


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If you want to share how you're keeping the heart of CHRISTmas where it belongs this year, or read more from other bloggers on CHRISTmas, please click the button below to see how you can link up! :)

The Heart of CHRISTmas ♥ #2

Focus:
It's almost Collection Week! But there is still time... For a wonderful way to get the kids involved in giving this Christmas season, check out this post;
http://ontheoldpath.blogspot.com/2009/10/only-8-weeks-till-christmas.html
I'm afraid mine would not be as interesting this year due to my oldest being only 3. My kids wouldn't really be able to get into it because they won't understand what is going on. Next year when my daughter is 4 though I think she will really enjoy helping with Operation Christmas Child! She's a giver at heart - loves to give gifts. :)

Gift:
I am afraid this week's gifty project is under wraps (hehe) due to the possibility of the family member it's FOR reading this blog and spoiling the surprize. *wink* Rest assured I will take pics and save them to show you after Christmas.

Something handy:
We have a SuperyardXT which we got years ago when Chicklet was crawling. It fits around a Christmas tree so perfectly to keep the babies out of the gifts and tree water. They can still somehow always find a way to reach the ornaments though. *sigh* I'm all for teaching the kids not to touch the tree and not to open the gifts before Christmas, but this makes it a little (okay a LOT) easier because you can open it up for those character training lessons when everyone is in the same room, and then when you have other things to do and can't supervise as closely you can close it so they can't get in there. Very nice. I've been repeatedly impressed by the durability of this product too.

What helps the Christmas season to go smoothly at YOUR house?

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If you want to share how you're keeping the heart of CHRISTmas where it belongs this year, please click the button at the top of this post to see how you can link up! :)

The Heart Of Christmas ♥ #1

Homemade:

I just finished up a knitted cotton burp cloth for my new nephew "Jellybean" who is 2 months old. :) Of course it's really for his mama since 8 week old babies aren't really interested in gifts. ;) And for his daddy, and anyone else that happens to be burping the little fellow. (Shhh! He's a spitter. But he's so cute you can't even mind!)

It's a variegated yarn in greens and blues. I really am a horrible knitter so I'm not sure, really, why I took this project on. Maybe because little Jellybean is just so stinkin' cute I just look at a picture of him and get the urge to make him crafty gifts! It took about 2 weeks to finish. And so I've proudly set aside one homemade gift in the "finished" pile! Woohoo! I just love that feeling of accomplishment from finishing something you lovingly made for someone you care about, don't you?

Gift:
I need ideas for a homemade project for a 5 year old boy - my other nephew who is Jellybean's big brother. Any ideas? I was thinking maybe THIS. I'm not sure if he'll like it. What do you think?

Focus:
The other day it hit me that it's almost November already and I felt that rising dread... You know the one. The dread you get when you think about all the people you "have to" get Christmas gifts for and how are you going to afford it, make it fair, get everyone something they like... STOP! Seriously I had to give myself a mental shake! This is not what it's about. Of course I have to find a way to show everyone I love and appreciate them, but dreading it and stressing over it is not going to express anything positive to them at all. How would you feel if you could hear someone's thoughts as they looked at you and thought, "Oh crud! I have to get you something for Christmas and I don't know what to get! This is going to cost too much money. I hate Christmas shopping." How would that make you feel? UNappreciated, that's what! Like the person thought you are costing them too much time, money, and effort. So instead of focusing on spending limits and making sure everyone has the expensive toy of their choice, let's remember the greatest gifts are LOVE-based and not guilt, money, calendar date, wishlist, or responsibility based. The gift of a new My Little Pony or Transformer will last 3 weeks if you're lucky. The gift of quality time together, treasured memories, and kind words will last a lifetime.
And lets not ever let ourselves forget the Greatest Gift... When we try to make Him revolve around our holliday instead of revolving our holliday around Him, it's like saying to Him that He costs too much time, money, and effort so we'll add Him in as an afterthought. He should be the reason and motivation for all that we do, not just at Christmas but always.
"Lord, help me to keep my eyes on You! Help me to deal with my worrying and stressing and to focus instead on the gifts of love. Amen!"


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If you want to share how you're keeping the heart of CHRISTmas where it belongs this year, please click the button at the top of this post to see how you can link up! :)

The Heart Of Christmas ♥ PLAY ALONG!

Last year, before I was a blogger, THIS blogger did something so wonderfully fun for Christmas! She is apparently not doing it this year, much to my extreme dissappointment! :( *sniffles* Well who says that has to spoil my fun? Every year I want to make homemade things but get distracted and then don't get anything finished in time. What better way to keep me motivated and focused on the TRUE heart of CHRISTmas than a fun interactive bloggy carnival with all of you! What do you say? Want to join the fun?

What to put in your posts (you can use any one, several, or all of these ideas in each post):
-Something about how you stay focused on Jesus.
-Something you have bought/made as a gift for someone, or a link to an idea for a project you would LIKE to make for a gift.
-A Christmas recipe.
-Talk about one of your family traditions, why you do it and what it means.
-A sweet Christmas memory.
-Anything else that is related to the HEART of Christmas, having a sweet and thankful spirit, handmade with love, giving, helping the needy, avoiding getting stressed out, avoiding focus on money and gifts, seeing Jesus as the bringer of every good and perfect gift, etc.

We want to avoid posts that encourage complaining and stressing, focus on money/Santa/gifts (commercialism), and keeping up with the Jones'.

INSTRUCTIONS:
I will try to post a Heart of CHRISTmas post at least once a week and link it. You may link a post every week, or every day, or just once or twice. You know I'd love it if you linked often of course... Lol! But I know you can't post if you don't have something you feel like posting about. ;) So just join in when you want to. :) There is not a specific day of the week to do this. Just come here and link up each time you have a qualifying post.
1. Write a post that falls within the guidelines above. (Or you can use an old post of like a Christmas craft or recipe or gift idea.)
2. Include this button in the post. If you would like, you can put it in your blog's sidebar too to draw more people to this meme. Use the code provided which links the button back here so people can browse the other participating blogs.

<a href="http://everypreciousjoy.blogspot.com/2009/10/heart-of-christmas-play-along.html"><img alt="Click to see other posts in this blog carnival or add your own!" src="http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s157/MamaMirage/Blog/THOChristmas.gif"/></a>

3. Link your post to the MckLinky below so others can find it! :) Please include the name of your blog and most importantly the title of your post in the "Name" field when linking. LINK DIRECTLY TO THE SPECIFIC POST, not just to your blog in general. For example my first link will not go merely to http://everypreciousjoy.blogspot.com/ - it will instead be a specific link to a specific post; http://everypreciousjoy.blogspot.com/2009/10/heart-of-christmas-1.html. Make sense? Link to the post, not the whole blog.
4. Browse the other posts in the MckLinky list to see what others are doing for CHRISTmas. We all love comments so if you'd like to leave some love for the other participants we'd be ever so excited! :D