Skip to main content

Oh Christmas Tree, Dead Christmas Tree!

As Thanksgiving rolls around, we start to get really excited about Christmas here at the Rhodes abode. This year we went to Arizona to spend the holiday with my parents, but despite the trip--- we still got the tree up on Thanksgiving weekend. I have insisted on a real tree the past few years, mostly because we had a fake one that we used in our condo- FOR FOUR YEARS-- when we first moved to SoCal. So! Practical or not, we put up a real tree every year now. Every year, I am romanced by the wonderful smell, the ritual of getting the tree, pulling out all of our cherished ornaments. But now, even I must admit-- it was really, really, dead a long time ago. It's kinda brown, very droopy, and really doesn't smell like much of anything anymore. Maybe, just maybe, I'll go for a fake one next year--BUT IT HAS TO BE A REALLY CONVINCING ONE! Farewell Christmas Tree 2010, you were beautiful while you lasted.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New season of renewal & refinement

I am a girl with strong faith.  Strong, blind, childlike faith.  My atheist friends are bewildered by it.  They cannot understand how such a smart woman would believe such "nonsense".  I have no explanation other than, I just do. I preface this post with that statement because, you won't find me quoting scripture here.  Though I would if I were more confident in my ability to do so competently.  I do not have that confidence, never have.  I am a believer.  My belief has been nurtured by life experience, by answered prayers, by constant evidence that God cares about me.  I see his hand in big things and small. I look to him for guidance and help in all things.  I am not a Biblical scholar.  I have always been somewhat insecure about that.  I am bolstered up by the words of a Godly woman much wiser than I who assures me that "I am living my walk out loud".  My faith is not in my knowledge of the scripture, but in the...

Quiet days of Summer- Ha!! Lol....

Summer is a wonderful time if you have the luxury to stay home with your kids and enjoy the slower pace.  Lazy days, pool time, reading, outings, and spending time at the beach is good for the soul.  If you are a parent who keeps your kids home with you vs. sending them to camp--- there is also a dark side to the lazy days of Summer. I know many Moms who say loud and proud, "I can't wait till Summer!! Oh yeah! Only 3 more weeks!!, Oh no! It's over already! We need a few more weeks!!" Are you one of those? Do you say it with a straight face? Ok, maybe you are sincere.  Bully for you, you win the Mom medal. Those are NOT my people.  I love my kids, don't get me wrong, I really do.  I love reading time, and lego time, and swimming, and picnics at the beach-- as much as any other Mom.  Let's get real for a minute though.  We can't play down the other side of life with kids. The constant fighting The whining The meltdowns (yes one of our guys st...

To get something good, first we have to tolerate chaos.

I am swirling in chaos! Our little remodeling projects, ie: painting the boys rooms, have resulted in a whirl of mess, mess, mess. My husband has been diligently painting walls, repurposing furniture, meanwhile all of the clothing, shoes, toys, junk, furniture we are no longer using, etc... is lining the hallways and rooms of my house! We have tried to engage the boys in this project, but it has somehow eluded them that they have any responsibility for putting the house back together, so it it a painful exercise of command and whine. Today, we must put it back, we cannot start the week in madness. So my day, is going to be interesting. They need to help, a lot. I need to figure out how to motivate them to help, without them feeling like they are being tortured. Wish me luck, at 10:30, video games, and NFL TV go off, and cleaning commences. I'd better have another cup of coffee, and pray for the next half hour, I'm gonna need it.