Perfecting Imperfection

 On Friday - well...Nate and Danika spent the night at Grammie and Nunnu's.  So, the elves relaxed a little!



We have been having so much fun with our elves - every morning is like Christmas around here!  Nate's first words to me in the morning are usually, "Mommy - can we go see what the elves did last night?"  Then, "And can I open the next door on my Advent Calendar and eat the chocolate?"  hehehe

Oh what fun!

I am looking to meet some new blogger friends and thought that I would try to find a Friday Follow to do -

 I use to work with a woman who swore that their came a time in every woman's life when she realized that she needed to get out of her mother's house so that she could do things her way.  She use to tell me a story about a stool in her kitchen that she would put in one place and her mother would move to another every time she entered the kitchen.  They spent months moving this stool, until the daughter moved out and was able to do what she wanted with her own furniture.

I thought she was crazy until the Christmas my mother insisted that we put all white lights on the tree.  I LOVE tacky Christmas decorations.  I love lots and lots of color.  I'm not into the whole ribbons thing - give me colorful, sparkling garland.  I don't like pearls on trees or one color of ornaments.  Now - if you decorate that way, please don't be offended.  If you like it then it is perfect for your house.  I would probably think it looks beautiful, too, because it fits in with your decor.

The year my mother decided to put beads, ribbons and white lights on our Christmas tree, I protested.  I refused to help her decorate and I stuck this ET ornament front and center on her otherwise white and maroon tree.  She made sure that I took it with me when I moved out and I make sure she sees it front and center on my tree EVERY year!

 The two ornaments above also came with me when I moved out of my parents' house.  They are both ornaments that I remember hanging on our Christmas tree for as far back as I can remember.  They are from my Grandparents - one has my initial on it and the other has a handwritten message from "Grandma Fran".  I smile and think of her every year when I hang that one on the tree.


 This ornament was given to me by my Kindergarten teacher the year I was teaching Kindergarten.  The school I went to had a Craft Show every year.  They continued to have them while I was teaching there.  My Kindergarten teacher "Miss Stillwagon" bought this ornament and had it personalized then hung it on the little Christmas tree I had in my classroom.  It was such an awesome surprise when I got to school on Monday!  :)

 This ornament has no story...but isn't it cute?  hehehe  I told you I like "gaudy" Christmas stuff!

 I got this ornament from a student I taught in Preschool.  I LOVE this ornament because it reminds me that teaching is what I was meant to do.  I also think it is absolutely precious!

 Go ahead...count them...there are 6.  The snowbell bride and groom came from my cousin the year Jerry and I got married.  Then, she sent me the little snowbell boy for Nate when he was born.  Well...I just had to keep getting them ~ so I ran out and made sure I had a snowbell girl for Danika and then bought 2 snowbell boys last year for the twins!

 Last one for tonight...I know what you are thinking...it's pretty dingy looking, isn't it?  It's also super fragile and if I break it I will cry.  It is on one of the highest branches of our tree - even though it isn't heavy at all because I don't want any of the kids to touch it.

My great grandmother bought me an entire set of these.  There were 12 and this is the only one left.  When I was little, we would drive to the mall on Saturdays.  On the way to the mall was a Pool City and once they got their Christmas stuff out, we would always stop to look.  I don't know why - probably because I was a lot like my daughter and like all things pink, but I wanted these ornaments and she bought them for me.  This is the last one left.  All the other ones have broken.  I should probably put it away or something so this one doesn't break, too...but I like looking at it and thinking of my Gram.  It's one of those "Remember Whens".

Day 30: A letter to yourself: tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself


I have said from some of the very first "Truths" that I don't like to talk about myself too much.  However ~ this is the LAST one of these.  I'm all for moving on to posts about Christmas and Christmasy things.  :)  We even have a little snow on the ground this morning!  Nothing like the white stuff to put you in a winter/holiday mood!


Okay ~ here's my letter.


Dear Janene,


     Your kids are so lucky to have you as their mom.  It's amazing how much you love them and have enough love to share with all 4 of them!  I know that you were worried about treating them all the same but you do.  They are also really lucky to have a mom that realized early on that this is their childhood and you have to make it special.  It's up to you to make sure that they have great memories.  By creating special memories with them now and showing them how magical and wonderful everyday can be, you are helping them to cherish what is important.  Hopefully, they will continue some of their favorite traditions with their own families someday - but at least they will hopefully enjoy life when they are older, too.  


     Your husband is also really lucky to have you as his wife.  You aren't perfect and you definitely have some things that you could do better but you are willing to learn.  You want to make him happy and you try really hard to do just that.  You aren't the best cook - but he never really goes hungry (except on those days when you underestimated how much the kids were going to like your dinner...good thing there are almost always leftovers of what they didn't like the night before for him to heat up).  You understand that marriage is a team effort and that you have to work with each other to make it work.  He's lucky that he doesn't have a wife who is always complaining about what's wrong - but usually looks at what is right...sometimes more than he does.  You balance each other perfectly.


     Finally, the fact that you are so very nostalgic and sentimental makes you such an amazing person to know.  We will undoubtedly be breaking out Bing Crosby's White Christmas in the upcoming weeks because it reminds you of your Nunni at Christmas.  Jerry will fall asleep on the couch while we watch it...but you will wake him up at the very end to snuggle when it finally starts to snow.  We will also be watching Emmet Otter because it reminds you of your childhood.  You will probably force your husband to turn the TV off one night and listen to Christmas music with only the tree and other Christmas lights on and a nice cup of Hot Chocolate.  You will be planning your trip to the beach months before you actually go this summer because it is the beach you remember going to when you were little and you will want your kids to have the same kind of experiences you had...because those are the good memories that you have from your childhood, thanks to your amazing parents.  


Stay the way you are - and don't try too hard to become perfect because you are doing an awesome job at perfecting the art of imperfection.  :)


Love,
Janene


PS - Now that this is written...I kind of don't want anyone to read it.  I did say that I was going to do this, though.  I will be reading EVERY question from now on if I ever decide to do something like this again.