Are you there God? Its Me.

Yikes! I did not realize how long it had been since I had posted. Time sure has a way of getting by you really quickly when you are not looking. I apologize for being away so long.

There are a couple of reasons why I have been MIA.

The first one is because I have been working on the launch of my latest website, Our Deals to Your Meals. I wanted to get this blog back to being more of a personal blog and take away some of the couponing, deals, giveaways, etc. and put it on this new blog. It was a lot harder then I expected to get it going, but it is now up and running. I started the “soft launch” right before Thanksgiving and I will be doing a relaunch sometime after the holidays. Go HERE to check it out.

The other main reason is because I have been trying really hard to slow down during the holidays and treasure the little moments. I have tried to cut back on my busyness and tried to be more mindful about how I am spending my time each day. I want to make memories for my children. I want to spend time with them enjoying their presence and enjoying the spirit of the season. I do not want to spend my time searching for that “perfect” gift.

I had about 98% of my Christmas shopping done by the time Black Friday and Cyber Monday were over. I wanted to have that out of the way so we could really focus on the Christmas season.

This year we have started a new tradition called 25 Days of Christmas.

I got this really awesome kit from Stampin’ Up. It came with all the boxes, the outside decorations, the rope and clothespins to hang it up.

I sat out and planned one activity for every day. Each day, we open a box and it will have an activity for that day. Some of them are things we only do around Christmas time, but some are things that we would normally do. The whole point of the Advent calendar is to be mindful about what we should be focusing our attention on during the holidays.

The kids have really enjoyed this so far and they are begging me to open up the box every morning.

I missed taking pictures of Day #1 which was writing a letter to Santa and writing a letter to Jesus.

Day #2 was making paper snowflakes.

Day #3 was a visit to see Santa.

Day #4 was making Gingerbread Santa Sleighs

Day #5 was popcorn and family game night.

So there you have it….that is what I have been up to lately, along with quite a bit more. I will show you more pictures in the future.

I hope to post a little more often then I have been, but I do still plan on not being tied to the computer completely and enjoying the holiday season with my family.

What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?

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~~My mother-in-law is doing so much better. She is healing a lot faster then the doctors had thought she would.

~~I am so far behind on my blog because of last week’s happenings. I have a couple of reviews to do and so many posts rolling around in my head that I want to share with you. Not to mention a new project I am working on as well as trying to get caught up before the holidays are upon us.

~~I want to know what they put in Cool Ranch Doritos to make them so addictive.

~~It is really disappointing when you try a new flavor of coffee and you do not like it. At All. Then you either feel guilty for throwing it out and wasting the money or you sit and drink the entire cup even though it is gross.

~~I know that fall has officially arrived because my eczema is starting to flare up.

~~Why does it seem like I can never get enough sleep no matter how early I go to bed?

~~I am trying to get the kitchen cleaned up, decluttered and organized before the holidays and winter time cooking arrive. It is not an easy task when you do not have much storage space. It is also hard to decide what to keep and what to get rid of because you might need that kitchen tool for some random recipe once or twice a year.

~~I am now remembering again why I dislike daylight savings. It really is not right that it is already almost dark by the time Jayden is getting off the school bus.

~~I am normally not ready for Christmas to start so soon after Halloween. However, this year I seem to be ready to just skip over Thanksgiving, put away the fall decor and start getting Christmas out. I guess I will just have to be satisfied with my Starbucks red cup and some Christmas music.

~~I am trying to clean out the pantry so I can do some organizing in there before the stores start the winter stock up sales. This is making for some creative combinations for dinner.

~~I am REALLY loving Beth Moore’s Daniel study. It is exactly what I have been wanting; to learn more about the actual history and study of the bible, not just life applications. I am definitely very excited and it makes my heart pump fast to be learning all of this awesome stuff.

~~I really dislike how fast the wind is blowing outside right now and the fact that the lights keep flickering.

~~I am wondering if my readers enjoy these random thoughts postings every once in a while. Maybe I should do another reader survey. Maybe I will get more participation this time.

~~I am so glad I have an awesome husband who helps clear out the Halloween candy bowl by taking handfuls to work.

~~I am really excited about our Sunday School class and the direction I think it is headed. I feel God will be moving in great ways through the families in our class.

~~Dakota has her second ballet class tomorrow morning. Perhaps I will remember to bring the camera this time.