For God loves a cheerful giver.

"Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me."

This past week has been full of all sorts of special days. Thanksgiving Thursday (who calls it that?) was followed by Black Friday, and then Super Saturday. Sunday didn't have a catchy name, but you might as well call it Sale Sunday because people were still shopping (particularly online) and preparing for Cyber Monday. The past five days or so have been so incredibly focused on money. Consumerism. I have friends who started shopping at dinnertime on Thursday (which makes me a little sad, but ok.) I have friends who shopped for twelve hours. I know people who stayed up late to buy things at certain times from websites offering super deals. People are shopping for gifts, they're shopping for themselves, they're shopping for their kids and their homes. And I can say that there are some good things about this shopping focused weekend. The crazy sales meant I was able to buy a new coat which I really needed since mine had rips and tears, a broken zipper, and was the wrong size (I got it straight out of high school!) My point is, people have dropped a lot of money in the past few days- money on stuff. Good or bad, it's all stuff.

And then someone came up with the idea of Giving Tuesday. I wonder if it's a sort of palate cleanser- what can we do to feel better about the insane amounts of cash that we as a nation have spent this holiday weekend? People like giving to charity around the holidays, anyway. Things like Angel Trees start popping up in our malls and shopping centers, charities start mailing out wish lists (I get them from children's homes, animal shelters, the zoo, and just about everyone else that is charged with taking care of living creatures, human or otherwise.) I think Giving Tuesday is a pretty neat idea, though part of me wishes that it took priority over the "me" centered shopping days. Then again, if we did Giving Tuesday before all that other stuff, people might give less because they'd be afraid of using too much money and not having enough left over for shopping!

So now Giving Tuesday is upon us, and Compassion is doing something really neat. Instead of just a generic push for donations today, as many other ministries and charities are doing, Compassion is concentrating their efforts on fundraising for a brand new Child Survival Program in Gujarat, India. If you followed my trip to Tanzania, you may remember that I visited a Child Survival Program (CSP) in Tanzania. That's the extra program Compassion does for moms and babies- they make sure the  moms enrolled in the program get proper prenatal and postnatal care, job training, advice and support from other mommas, good nutrition....and the babies get their immunizations and check-ups and visits from social workers and playtime with other babies- all these things that are so important to a child's development and that we in the industrialized world totally take for granted. The babies in the CSP are fat. Healthy looking. Average-sized in areas when it's impossible to guess a child's age because they're all smaller than what we're used to seeing. They're healthy and happy. Their moms are making plans for starting businesses with the skills they've learned. Their families are smiling and hopeful. Compassion's CSPs are genius and vital and amazing.

We have a goal today- we want to raise $25,000 this Giving Tuesday to start a brand new CSP in India. India was chosen because those babies need an extraordinary amount of help- statistics show that almost 2 million littles die in India every year- that's over 2,000 a day. Most of them don't make it past their first year. And so, so many of those deaths are preventable. Babies are dying from dehydration, malnourishment, and preventable diseases. Compassion's Child Survival Programs work to knock those out.

Please consider giving to Compassion's campaign today. Let's make this thing happen. You can view the giving page and find more information here.

Looking for more ways to help? Consider tweeting about the campaign, or share about it on your facebook or Instagram. Compassion has some great ideas for sharing here!

The seventh seven days.

June 29: Today my coworkers and I met for lunch to say goodbye to my friend Laura, who is retiring. I am sad that Laura is leaving, because she has been a part of my library experience since I was a small child, and she was even the one who told me about the open position right as I was finishing up my junior year of high school. I hope that she is able to come and visit us pretty frequently. Today I am happy that I have such good relationships with some of my coworkers, and that I got to go out to eat (I took my mom as my date since Brandon wanted to stay home!)

June 30: A letter from Tasya arrived today! It was a nice surprise in my mailbox- and I'm thankful that the letter got to me, because it had been written 4 months ago! After that long, I guess it's lucky that it didn't get lost in the mail! Tasya lives in a very remote area, so I always expect her letters to take a while to get to me- they have to travel on boats and planes and more boats and everything else. So each letter from her is extra special!

July 1: Someone stole my antenna topper over the weekend- which is a really dumb thing to steal. I really liked it because it was cute and pink and Disney and cupcake-shaped. I posted on facebook asking if anyone was planning on going to Disney this summer, so maybe they could pick up a replacement for me. My cousin's wife found a link to buy them online, and my father in law ordered one for me! I got it today, and was able to put it back on my car. Now I can find my car in parking lots again. It was really thoughtful and I'm happy to have it!

July 2: I don't know that "happy" is the precise word I should use to describe this, but I am thankful for a prescription today. I am having some problems with my mouth, where my wisdom teeth used to be. This is part of the reason I've been to the dentist so often lately. They said I had a few spots of infection back there and last week I had it all cleaned out and got some antibiotic shots. Things have only gotten worse since then, and it's so bad that the pain wakes me up in the middle of the night. I called yesterday begging for a last minute appointment, and they saw me this morning. Unfortunately, it looks like something a little more complicated than an infection may be going on, but I did get a prescription for pain pills. They worked really well for a few hours. I'm happy to have them (even if they aren't providing total, constant relief- it's definitely better than it was) and the medicine was very affordable, too!

July 3: A friend of mine came by the library today with her daughter, her friend and her friend's granddaughter. This friend of mine used to be my Sunday school teacher, and I don't get to see her too often anymore- and visiting with her is especially fun since she has an adorable, sweet daughter now! It was a really long day, but I was happy to have a visit from them!

July 4: We had such a wonderful day today!! Since visiting the Jones family farm back in late May, we have had the intention of spending Independence Day there...Brandon planned to have the day off and everything! I made a cake the night before to share with everyone, and we packed up our backpacks and hit the road not too long after a late breakfast. The ride down there is over an hour long, but Brandon had the fun idea of bringing along our world atlas and quizzing him as he drove, to entertain him. I had my doubts at first, but it was actually a lot of fun! Unfortunately as we got close to the farm I started feeling a little car sick (apparently I can read in the car, or talk, but not both) but I recovered quickly after we got there. We had fun talking about different countries, and I also threw in some questions about our sponsor kids ("What is the capital of Brazil? And how many kids do we have there?") Several family members were able to make it to the farm- Brandon's parents and two of his brothers had been staying there all week, but we were also joined by a few aunts and uncles, some cousins, and Mamaw Jones. I brought bubbles and sidewalk chalk and had fun drawing a gigantic (like, 8 feet long) brachiosaurus on one of the driveways. We also had an Uno Attack tournament (I won, for the first time ever) and Brandon played lots of games like badminton and basketball. My mother in law grilled up a bunch of stuff for lunch, and everyone loved the cake that I brought (which made me happy because it was a recipe I hadn't tried before!) We made a journey down to a creek on the property and looked for geodes- we didn't find any (after cracking open several sparkly, promising-looking rocks) but did find one rock with two fossils in it. Then we went back to the house and I watched some classic TV (the only thing the antenna picks up) with my youngest brother in law before we ate leftovers for dinner, followed by a walk down the road, and then a popsicle break! When it got dark, some of the guys set up a little fireworks display, and we all sat outside to watch. I was a little nervous because I am extremely sensitive to the noise, but Jonathan found some noise-cancelling headphone things he uses for shooting, and that really helped! The fireworks were so pretty- I was able to get a few good pictures with my phone, some of which I attached to the letters I sent to our kids talking about the holiday! We got home a little after midnight and were really tired, sore, and a little sunburned, but it was a wonderful day. Here are some of the pictures I took!

Out in the middle of the woods, I looked up and it was so pretty! The sun was gorgeous in the trees. 

We headed out for a walk just before sunset. 

July 5: Since we were at the farm all day yesterday, we missed my family's informal Fourth of July celebration (a KFC dinner at my grandparents' house.) With my cousin out of town and my mom at work, we weren't the only ones missing. Tonight, we went to my aunt's house for dinner- my dad had fun playing with her new grill, and fixed up some barbecued chicken and grilled corn on the cob (which is my go-to food this summer, for some reason!) And my aunt made homemade vanilla ice cream and extra chocolate-y brownies for dessert. My mom was able to be there, too. The food was really good and I was glad to see my aunt and spend time with my parents. I also came home with quite a few cards and stickers for my kiddos- my aunt is a very generous person, and is involved with many charities. So she gets tons of those free greeting cards, address labels, notepads and stickers that those organizations send out. She has quite the collection of stuff to share! My mom and I both picked out a whole stack of cards, including Christmas cards to save for the fall, when Compassion collects them for the unsponsored kids!

December Letter-Writing Topics

And just like that, the year is done! If you have sponsor kids, I hope that you've been able to write to them at least a few times this year. Our letters mean so much to our kids, even if they aren't able to write back as frequently as we hope. Letter-writing is the most valuable part of sponsorship, and has the most lasting impact!

Here are some final letter-writing ideas for the year!

1. Christmas. Of course, the biggie should be listed first! There are SO many things you could write about Christmas. I always like to tell my kids how I celebrate Christmas with my family. They usually give me a rundown of how they spend Christmas day in return! I'll tell them how we visit Brandon's grandparents (his mom's parents) on Christmas Eve, and visit with that side of the family. Then Christmas morning last year I made breakfast for my parents, my brother, and my grandparents. As a child, my grandparents always came to my house to eat breakfast (and open presents) with us, and it was so much fun playing hostess in my own home! For lunch we go to my grandparents' (my dad's parents) and see that side of the family, then go to Brandon's other grandparents' (his dad's parents) and see all the Joneses. And we tend to finish out the night having dinner or snacks at my aunt's house. I don't put this in my letters, but this is a tradition left over from my childhood- after lunch, the family would come by my house and show proper excitement over the present my brother and I received, then we'd have a nap (or a break to play with toys!) and go to my aunt's house to see my cousin's presents and have dinner there! Christmas as a married couple is VERY busy (I do include that part in my letters!) because of all the family that we see, but I love it all! And then there is the most important part of Christmas- Jesus! I like telling my kids about the Christmas church services we have, and ask them if they go to church on Christmas. I also ask them how they celebrate at the projects they attend- every child who has written to me about the holiday has mentioned a party at the center! I wish I could go to those parties! It would also be great if you can send some holiday photos of your family along with your letters- this year I plan on digging up some Christmas pictures from my childhood and putting them in some online letters! I know Tasya loves seeing pictures of me when I was little, and I hope the other kids do, too. : )
2. New Year's. Will you celebrate New Year's in any special way? Do you stay up late to wait until midnight? New Year's celebrations can be a fun thing to write about- just use discretion when talking about the festivities (don't talk about alcohol, and you can probably avoid the subjects of Ryan Seacrest and the ball drop, because there's no way that's going to make sense to anyone who doesn't live here!) You can also talk about the topic of New Year's resolutions. Are you going to make any? You can even ask your child if there's anything he or she wants to accomplish in the new year. Just don't put too much pressure on them (or yourself.) You could say something like "the new year is a time of new beginnings. It is a good time to set goals for ourselves! Next year I am going to try to read my Bible more! What would you like to do in the new year?"
3. Family. A lot of people spend more time with their families in December than any other time of year. This would be a fun time to write a little introduction to your family and send it to your sponsor child. You could make simple family trees with pictures, send family portraits (especially if you do photo Christmas cards) or even make a little photo album to send! If you want to make a photo album, you will need some card stock for a cover, a color printer for the pages inside, and a stapler! Simply make a little booklet full of printed pages- you could do a page for each member of your family, for instance. Be sure to leave a little room for the translation of your caption! Anything you make to send your sponsor child has to be less than a quarter of an inch thick, be a bendy paper product (for example, you couldn't send a children's board book) and fit in a 9x12 envelope. Don't forget to label whatever you send with your child's name and number, and your name and number as well!
4. Snow. I am praying for a white Christmas! We haven't had very wintry weather yet this year, and we hardly had any snow last year. If you live in a region that experiences cold weather this time of year, you can talk about the weather in your letters. For most of us, talking about the weather means we don't have anything else to talk about. But telling your sponsor child about snow, ice and frost can be fun! You can talk about snowmen and snow angels, or even snowball fights. You can share how the frost on windows forms pretty patterns, and maybe send a picture or two of some impressive icicles if you have any this year! My city was hit with a big ice storm in 2009, which is the year before I started sponsoring children, but I have used some of the pictures I took during the ice storm in my letters to illustrate just what kind of crazy weather we can get here!
5. Generosity and love. 'Tis the season for giving. While our sponsor kids don't have the same kind of resources we have, nor as many opportunities to give, we can still talk about generosity and giving with them. Share a Bible story about giving or kindness with them; some examples could be the story of the good Samaritan, or the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people after a boy gave up his lunch to share with others. If you have an older child who reads English, it's entirely possible to find a copy of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol that fits the requirements to send through the mail (a thin paperback copy would be perfect!) Tell your child that it's important to share what we have with others out of love. I was so happy and humbled when Victor recently wrote me a letter saying that he hopes to help other children as I do (through sponsorship and letter-writing) when he grows up and gets a job! 

Outgoing Mail

Last week was payday, so it's time (according to my own personal schedule) to send out letters to my kiddos once again! : )

This time around, the letters I'm sending are written on this really pretty printer paper I found at Hobby Lobby. It's regularly priced at $2.49, but was half off since it's "autumn." I really recommend their stationery department and holiday sections for pretty paper! I picked up some Christmas paper while I was there, too.

I'm sending out Thanksgiving letters this week, since it's almost Thanksgiving and I have the paper to match! All the kids are getting the same letter, because it's age-appropriate for all of them. Here's what I wrote, using Victor's letter as an example: 

Hello Victor!

I hope you and your family are doing well. How is your schooling? I am praying for your studies! My family and I are good. I was sick with a cough last week, but I went to the doctor and he was able to help me. Now I am doing better!
We are getting ready for a fun holiday here in the United State. On November 28, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. This is a day for families to get together and remember we have a lot to be thankful for. Many families celebrate this holiday while sharing a meal together. Often, this meal includes eating turkey! Do you have turkeys where you live? This year, my church has made a goal to bring Thanksgiving dinner to 300 families in our community. I am glad that we are able to help in this way. Brandon and I will be having Thanksgiving celebrations with my family, and then with his family! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. 

I think it's good to try to find something to be thankful for every day. This is a good time to practice doing that. I want to tell you some things I'm thankful for. I am thankful for Jesus, that I can have a relationship with Him and be with Him in heaven one day. I'm thankful for my church. I'm thankful for my family, and for Brandon's family. And I'm thankful for Brandon, too! I'm also thankful for you, Victor. I love you so much. You are a very big blessing to me, and I thank God every day for bringing you into my life. What are some things you're thankful for?

I hope to get another letter from you soon! Your letters are precious to me- I save all of them! I love hearing from you and learning about your life. I am praying for you every day!
Lots of love, 

Jessi

I think that it's important to be sensitive about certain issues while talking about celebrations (and meals) with our kids, but that doesn't mean we have to avoid the subjects altogether. I was able to write to my kids about how this holiday is traditionally celebrated without saying "I will have such a big lunch that Brandon's grandparents will be disappointed when I don't eat any dinner when we go to their house." And I didn't even say what we'll be eating- just that many families traditionally eat a turkey. Hopefully I will hear back from some of the kids on this turkey issue- I really am curious as to how many of them have turkeys in their countries. : )

Along with the letters, I am sending a Thanksgiving poem on some cute little cards I found at the Dollar Tree. They had them in the teaching supply section- a packet of 10 cardstock cards on autumn-themed paper (I got a pack of each design), and they also came with envelopes. I printed out a Thanksgiving poem and glued it to the cardstock, then laminated it at work. 

The envelope also provides a handy delivery method for some other extras I'm sending to the kids this month. Here's a list of what everyone's getting:

• Mary and Victor are getting little Christmas devotional books that Billy Graham wrote. They were just published this fall. Having English-speaking older kids means I can send them cool stuff like this! : )
• Mishel is getting a pink notepad with a picture of a puppy and a Bible verse on it, which I found at Lifeway for an amazing price. The verse is in Spanish. I don't know what it says, but the puppy is cute!
• Carlos is getting some Kentucky postcards and a cross-shaped bookmark. 
• Said is getting a pocket-sized Bible-themed word search book (again, Lifeway!) Though he doesn't speak English, he can still search for the words. Each page has a theme (such as a chapter in Acts) and then the words are based on objects, places, and characters in that passage. It's fun and it encourages him to read his Bible!
• Tasya, Prayer, Bonifas, and Jayid are all getting fall-themed sticker books
• Elisha and Brenda, who are 7 and 6 years old, are also getting sticker books that are geared toward younger kids. All the sticker books came from Michael's and cost $1 each. They have great sticker books for all the holidays!

Oh, hello, 2013. I hope you are better than your predecessor.

Happy New Year!

We didn't do anything special to celebrate New Year's Eve last night, but we did have our anniversary dinner a few days early (carry-out with a gift card we received for Christmas.) I started the new year off this morning by having breakfast with my husband (something that rarely happens), and writing letters to my Compassion kids. My family is going to have lunch together later at my grandparents' house. Mammaw is making fried oysters. I'm pretty excited about that- they're delicious and we usually only get them once a year. My evil reflux has been acting up lately, though, so I hope lunch goes ok in my tummy and doesn't make me feel bad for the rest of the day.

Did you make any resolutions for the new year? I did. I'm not going to be mad at myself if I mess up, or whatever, but I think it's good to set goals, and what better time to make a life change than the new year?

This year, I would like to do the following:

1. Do one kind thing each day. This world desperately needs more kindness. Every little bit helps.

2. Clean out my house, top to bottom, giving away as much as I can- and making a point to not collect a ton of junk throughout the year. My money can be spent on better things.

3. Eat more vegetarian meals. I'm still contemplating going vegetarian full-time. The fact is, eating lots of meat is bad for you, and we should all be eating more fruits and vegetables anyway. Plus, eating animals can make you sick because of the poor way we treat the animals we eat.

4. Read 1000 books. This actually shouldn't be that hard, but I do want to also make an effort to read more Christian non-fiction books this year (for example, I have a few by Priscilla Shirer checked out from the library that I want to read in the next few weeks.) I also want to read more non-fiction, too. I kind of slacked off on that. I've got a huge list of stuff to read on Goodreads, and I've already got some great stuff picked out on all kinds of topics.

5. Pay off my smallest student loan. Getting rid of it will lower my total loan payments, and it will be nice to get rid of a chunk of debt. The smallest loan I have is a little less than $900. It may not seem like much, but when you make minimum payments (or even a little more than that), it takes forever to whittle down, because they apply the payment to the whole group of loans, plus the interest. So my goal is to continue making my regular payments, but to also specifically work on knocking out that one loan- which, like I said, will lower my total loan payment (at least, one of them. I have six.)

Not a creature was stirring, except for the rats.

Belated Merry Christmas, everyone! Our holiday was extremely busy, as both Brandon and I have lots of family that lives in town. We had a good time, though, and were very happy to see everyone. It was nice to actually feel Christmas-y this year. Last year we didn't put our decorations out because we were preparing to close on our house, and we spent all day (until about 4 pm) on Christmas Eve moving in! The family festivities were kind of a blur because of everything that was going on at the time.

This year, though, I got to take time to enjoy everything. I hosted my group of friends' annual ornament exchange at my home, which was a nice evening. I also cooked Christmas breakfast for my family (my parents, my brother, and my grandparents)- and even wore heels and an apron. Picture of domesticity, right there. We had a good time visiting three sets of grandparents, attending an open house, and eating lots of yummy food.

I made stockings for our pets this year, and we tried to take pictures of them opening their little gifts (two dog cookies and a rawhide chewy each), but they were excited and fast, and having a photo session proved a bit difficult at times. Never the less, here are our fur-kids opening their Christmas presents!

Monster's stocking

Monster was more interested in her stocking than the contents. We had to empty it out for her. 

Monster grabbed a cookie and ran to her cage to eat it, but we had shut the door so the other little beeps wouldn't bother her!

Glitter's stocking

Glitter sniffed her stocking and ran away. She was afraid of it!

While Brandon chased Glitter down, I watched Monster try to eat the frosting off her cookie. We put her in a box so she couldn't hide her presents around the room. 

Brandon caught Glitter and tried to get her to chill out long enough to look at her stocking stuff. 

Cupcake's stocking. We gave up on Glitter. 

Cupcake immediately grabbed a cookie and ran, very fast. 

She ran into the cage, backed into her igloo and tried to take her cookie with her!

Cupcake checks out her rawhide candy cane. Merry Christmas!

Blog Challenge: Day 11

Today's theme is: New Year's Resolutions

I've never been super interested in New Year's resolutions. I'm also not very good at following through on things...I have thought about making some resolutions for next year, though. Here's what I've come up with so far:

1. Read at least one book a week

2. Be more diligent about reading my Bible

3. Cook more meals from scratch, instead of buying frozen stuff like chicken tenders and tacquitos

Blog Challenge: Day 10

Favorite Christmas Songs/Carols

I have lots of songs I like to listen to during the holidays. I will select a few of my favorites and post videos from youtube. They may just be slideshows, but the music is what's important.

The Peace Carol- John Denver and the Muppets

I have this weird love for both John Denver and Jim Henson. I miss them, even though I never met them. Anyway, John Denver made a Christmas album with the Muppets, and I have listened to it approximately six billion times since it was released when I was very small. I can't embed the video but the link will lead you to a video of one of my favorite songs from that Christmas special.

Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth- David Bowie and Bing Crosby

I promise I would probably like this song even if David Bowie didn't sing it. :)

Breath of Heaven- Amy Grant

This is a very pretty song. I don't care who covers it, the best version will be Amy Grant's.

Anything from that old Michael W. Smith Christmas Album

I just linked to one of the songs. Was there anyone cooler than him in the 90s? I think not.

It Feels Like Christmas- from A Muppet Christmas Carol

I could write a book about how much I love this movie, really.

Spirit of Christmas - Ray Charles

I don't know why, but I like it. It's great.

Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid

Bono! George Michael! Um...Duran Duran! Good stuff, even though it's cheesy. Also, Sting still had hair.

Listen to them all!

Blog Challege: Day 6

Today's theme is one that I don't particularly care for. I'm supposed to tell you, whoever you are, what I want for Christmas. Now, it's one thing if you ask "hey Jessi, what do you want for Christmas?" But to just come out and tell you (whoever you are) is just awkward. I've never been a big fan of publishing wish lists on the internet, or big lists of whatever you get for your birthday or Christmas. So today's post will be short.

One thing that I've kind of been wanting is some gift cards to go out to eat. Our anniversary is a week after Christmas, and it would be neat to go out to dinner for our anniversary someplace a little nicer than, say, Moe's. Or Taco Bell (where Brandon would want to go. )

Blog Challenge: Day 5

Today's theme is kind of a fun one!

Favorite Holiday Movie/TV Special

There are several great Christmas specials that are now out on DVD, like the classic Rudolph and Frosty specials. Another great one that I haven't seen in at least a decade is the Claymation Christmas Special. The DVD is like $20 so I haven't bought it yet, but portions of it are available on youtube, including the ice skating walruses!

There are a few movies that we always watch during the holiday season, and have for as long as I can remember. I will list them here.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Forget A Christmas Story, this is the funniest holiday movie ever. There's nothing I don't like about it. It's HILARIOUS. Chevy Chase is awesome, and there are so many crazy things happening in this movie that could happen to any of us: squirrel in the Christmas tree; terrible relative that just won't leave; old people and the weird things they say; lame Christmas bonus; getting sap from the tree on your hands and not being able to look through a magazine without accidentally ripping the pages. Oh, how I love this movie. Sometimes I watch it in the middle of the summer, just for fun.

The Santa Clause

When this first came out, I think it was kind of a big deal. Tim Allen was still super popular and the premise was fun. I think it still is. The sequels were lame, but this is a classic and we will continue to watch it every year.

A Muppet Christmas Carol

I think this is my favorite. We saw this several times in the theater when it came out (my family has a deep appreciation for the Muppets). We bought the movie as soon as it was available. I even had the sheet music from the songs for my keyboard. The movie honors the original story while bringing in the expected Muppet zaniness. The music is really great- when Brandon and I were in Disney World for our honeymoon, they were still piping holiday music throughout the parks. I was thrilled when we heard the song that the ghost of Christmas present sings: "Wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas!" Such a great movie. I actually just watched it last week. :)

Those are some of my favorites. There are others that I enjoy, like Elf, and Santa vs. the Snowmen. But I think these are my top three and they are the ones that I will continue to love and appreciate in the years to come.

Blog Challenge: Day 4

Today's theme is:

Tips and Tricks for a Budget-Friendly Holiday

My middle name is "Budget". Actually it might be more accurate to say that my middle name is "poor". Haha. Being money-conscious during the holiday season is very important (because money doesn't grow on trees) but Christmas is my favorite holiday and it also involves my favorite hobby, which is buying presents for people.

For a budget-friendly holiday, I'd suggest making a list of how much you'd like to spend on each person, then trying your best to stick to it. Since I have been doing my shopping over the last several months, that's worked out pretty well. I was able to make a plan for my paychecks (since I get paid every other Friday, I know when that money will appear in my bank account) and say things like "ok, this week I will buy the presents I'm getting for my mom, then two weeks from now I'll get dad's presents" and so on and so forth. I also went through my address book early to see who we would need to send Christmas cards to, so I know how many stamps I need to get the first paycheck of December. My shopping list has morphed several times since I first wrote it down however many months ago, but the important thing is, once I purchased a certain amount for a person, I didn't keep buying for them just because I would see something they'd like. I think it's important to have a plan when shopping for anything- whether it's Christmas, wedding presents, birthdays, whatever. If you just go to the store and wander around until you see something you just have to get for that person, you'll probably end up spending too much. I'd love it if I could buy everything I thought my parents would like for Christmas, or everything that I think Brandon would enjoy, but my bank account doesn't work that way. Most people would agree with me, I think.

I have one more tip, if you can call it that. If you want to get gifts for your coworkers for the holidays, there's nothing wrong with being "budget conscious". Many people don't expect anything from their coworkers for Christmas. You can show your appreciation for them without spending a ton of money on personalized mugs filled with imported chocolates. Most grocery stores (and places like Target) have really cute cellophane bags on the shelves right after Halloween. They come in packs of a few dozen for less than two dollars. Fill them with Christmas candy when it's on sale or you have a coupon (like 2 for $5 with an extra $1 off coupon from the Sunday newspaper). I like to get those tiny ornaments made for miniature Christmas trees and loop them around the tops of the bags- one year I had snowmen, another year it was penguins. That way they have a tiny, cute gift that will last (in other words, it's not candy so they won't eat it and forget about it).

So there are my tips, as helpful as they may be.

With a thankful heart

Happy Thanksgiving! The blog challenge is on hiatus for today, but I would like to list some things that I am thankful for, in the spirit of the holiday.

I am thankful for my husband! He makes me laugh and is generally a nice person. I like to spend time with him. He works very hard to support us and I'm thankful for that, too.

I'm thankful for my family and the fact that they almost all of them live close by so we can spend time with them during the holidays.

I'm thankful for my job and the opportunities I have at the library to brighten someone's day.

I'm thankful that I have a church home (two, if you want to get technical) and I live in a country where it's not illegal to worship Jesus.

I'm thankful for my pets- though we have a lot fewer than we'd like, they are fun to spend time with and they keep me company during the day.

I'm thankful for my friends. Life would be rather dull and yucky without them.

I'm thankful for Tasya, the child I sponsor through Compassion International! Being her sponsor has brought such positive change to my life! I'm glad I have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of her and her family.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Blog Challenge: Day 3

Today's theme for the blog challenge is:

The most meaningful/best gift I've received.

I'm ashamed to say that I'm having a hard time thinking of the "best" gift that I've ever received. Most Christmases the bulk of my presents end up being movies and books, which are honestly two things I love. I have been blessed with family members that are (for the most part) really good shoppers. You know those relatives you might see on movies that just go to the mall and buy something random and put it in a bag without putting any thought into it? I don't think I have relatives like that. Everyone really tries hard to get something that will mean something to the other person, whether it's something they really want, or something that just completely fits their interests that it makes a wonderful surprise.

I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything by not being able to think of one particularly awesome gift. I think that each year, the Christmas presents I receive (and the ones I give, I hope) are really appreciated because they're very thoughtful.

The most recent example I can think of is what my aunt gave me last year for Christmas. Most people who know me know that I love animals, and my favorite animal happens to be the walrus (weird, I know). Walruses are so hard to find in merchandise (toys, Christmas ornaments, etc.) that when one is found, it's a cause for great excitement. Like when I found little poorly constructed plush walruses in the "Dollar Spot" at Target a few weeks ago. I was thrilled and quite proud of myself and bought two, one for me and one for my best friend. Anyway, my aunt knows that I love walruses so she came up with a really cool gift. She "adopted" a walrus in my name from the World Wildlife Fund. It's cool enough that a donation was made in my honor that will go to helping and protecting my favorite animal, but I also got a stuffed walrus with it. She also got Brandon and myself a zoo membership so we can go see animals in person (we love the zoo!)

So there's an example of a thoughtful, meaningful gift that made my Christmas pretty cool. I'm blessed enough to be able to say that every year my friends and family put a lot of work into making my Christmases happy. :)

Blog Challenge: Day 2

The theme for today's post is Black Friday Tips and Tricks, or something along those lines. I am not very serious about Black Friday, so I'm afraid this post is going to be a bit more boring than the others.

Black Friday usually means a day for me to get some cheap DVDs. Seriously. That's about it. Last year we bought our mattress at Big Lots for a hundred dollars cheaper than regular price, but do I need a new mattress every year? No. And I start shopping early for Christmas so it's not like I'm out there looking for gifts. That would be too stressful for me. So if there's something I really need, I'll check the ads for it. I do like going out shopping because I think it's fun, but this year I won't be going because I have to work that day. Which is fine with me because I get the whole weekend off. :)

I think my biggest shopping tip (really my only one) is for people who have money management issues, like me. Every time I save money for something, another bill comes along and takes my money away from me. I think it's a curse. So I start shopping really early. This year I technically started in July because I found something somewhere that I just couldn't pass up for Brandon. I started seriously shopping for things in September, spending about thirty dollars per paycheck. It's worked out really well. All I have left to get is two gift cards and the charity stuff I'm purchasing (like for the giving tree at church, and the senior I "adopted" from the tree at Walmart). And stamps. I need stamps, since we are sending out so many Christmas cards this year (now that we are married and need to send them to our family members in addition to friends and coworkers.)

Well, that's about it for today, I think. Sorry that wasn't more exciting, but I'm just not that stoked for Black Friday this year.

One more tip- if you live in Louisville or will be shopping here the day after Thanksgiving, we have usually found more success with businesses in the Bashford Manor area. The Walmart and Target over there were not crowded at all the last few years. Last year they were a bit more crowded but still less so than other Targets and Walmarts in the area.

Labor Day Weekend

This past weekend was pretty busy!

Friday night after work we went out to eat at Tumbleweed for my father-in-law's birthday (which was actually Thursday- "the family" went out that night to Golden Corral but some of us were working...). That dinner was my first real meal since I got sick with the stomach bug on Wednesday, and it went fine. I had a chimichanga. I hadn't had Tumbleweed in FOREVER, and it was soooo good. I'm glad we got to go!

Saturday we went to a wedding at 11 a.m. I've never been to a morning wedding before. We were supposed to have a "brunch reception" but we weren't able to eat until after 1 p.m.! When the bridal party finally arrived, they had a few dances before we were released to the buffet. The food was delicious, though. There were all kinds of breakfast foods- hash browns, biscuits and gravy, etc. There was also a waffle bar and a few omelet stations. It was all very yummy. By the time we got home it was almost time for the big football game to start, so we changed out of our fancy clothes and headed over to the in-laws to watch the game. My mother-in-law and I left during the first half to make a trip to the library and to Kroger. We had pizza for dinner (it made my tummy upset) and then everyone played badminton while I stayed inside and felt bad.

Sunday we went to the farm (Brandon's grandparents' place in Breckinridge County). I was kind of afraid to go at first because I hadn't felt well, but I went and had fun. I did not get much sun, unfortunately. Brandon had fun playing games with everyone. We didn't get back until about 10 at night!

And then there was Monday. I spent some time cleaning up the apartment before we went to dinner at my Mammaw's. I started feeling a little yucky before we went, but I felt better and ate a little bit while I was there. Apparently I ate too much because when I got home I felt really, really bad for about two hours. When I eat too much that hernia in my esophagus bothers me and makes me feel like I'm gonna puke even though I'm not. It was quite distressing. But I had a good night's sleep and I don't plan on eating much today. I work 4.5 hours this morning. The bookdrop will be atrocious because we were closed today and everybody still brings their stuff back even if we aren't there. We are supposed to have our last Bible study meeting tonight, too. You know, the 8-week study we started back in January. A lot of stuff has happened this year that has prevented us from meeting- bad weather, illness, injury, etc. Hopefully the next time we do something we will be able to finish it in a more timely manner. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day. Have I told you how much I love and appreciate my mom? Well, I do. I have been acutely aware of this especially over the past six months. She has been helpful and been there every time I needed her as I've been dealing with moving out and getting married. I miss her lots. She is an amazing mom and I hope she has a great day- even though her back still hurts!

Easter

Easter went pretty well this year. It wasn't much of a struggle trying to see both our families (unlike Christmas...). Easter morning we got up and went to church, and had to park in the Kohl's parking lot and take the school bus shuttle over to the church, which was a little fun. Apparently some people thought it was more fun than others because I heard rumors of parents shouting "HEY! ISN'T THIS EXCITING? WE'RE ON A BUS!!!" in their kids' faces. After church we had lunch at my Mammaw's and spent time catching up with family. My brother was sick so he didn't eat lunch, which was disappointing, but what are you going to do? The kid had a 101 degree fever. Anyway, after that it was off to Brandon's aunt's house. The Jones clan does holidays pretty interestingly, to me, anyway. Whereas my family gets together, eats a meal, spends a little time together and goes home, they set out lots of food and everybody eats whenever they show up. Then they spend several hours playing games and hanging out, and whenever your tummy feels like it's dinner time, you just go get more food. We got there a little before 3, and were still stuffed from lunch, so we didn't eat. I brought our wedding pictures and those got passed around, and by the time pretty much everyone had seen them, almost everyone had left the house and gone across the street (to Brandon's cousin's house) to either watch or play badminton. This was a little less fun for me because of all the trouble I've had with my allergies and lungs lately...I had to use my inhaler a few times, and all I did was sit in a lawn chair and play with my phone. Then my wonderful mother-in-law asked if I wanted to play Scrabble (I had brought it but Brandon said no one would want to play!) and we played a round. We were eventually joined by my probable future sister-in-law Emily, and then more family members. By the time we were on round three or four I was getting a little antsy and ready to go home- it was after 7:30. So Brandon packed up a plate of food for his dinner and we left. All in all it wasn't a terrible day- not that I was expecting it to be. I'm not really sure when the next family get-together holiday is, but hopefully it will go as smoothly as this one.

V-Day

We've never really been ones to go all out for Valentine's day. I don't know why. But even though it was our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, things have been pretty low key. We started out the day by being awoken at 2:30 a.m. by our inconsiderate, imbecile neighbors downstairs. I think they are starting a garage band, sans garage. The music lasted until at least 5 a.m. Of course, I was furious. Around 4:30 I even went and got my personal CD player and found a CD that usually puts me to sleep, and turned it almost all the way up. I could still hear the music from downstairs. During the fun and exciting time I spent awake in the middle of the night, I wrote another formal complaint letter to the superintendent and left a message on the answering machine (because it has time stamps) letting them know what was going on. This is the eighth or ninth time we have been bombarded by noise from below, but we officially complained for the first time on Thursday. We were told by the lady working in the office that day that after we dropped off our complaint letter, they would send a notice to our neighbors, and if that didn't accomplish anything, they would "take things further". Bring it on, I say. I've tried giving them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they really are stupid enough to not see anything wrong with playing drums and the bass loudly in the middle of the night in an apartment. But we can't take it anymore. We have jobs and responsibilities and in order to perform them competently, we need some sleep. Also, this whole ordeal is seriously stressing me out.

Anyway, once it was time to get up for real, we opened presents (I got a book, Brandon got a DVD), went to church, which was pretty good. It had nothing to do with Valentine's Day. Then we came home and had leftovers for lunch and read or played video/computer games until time for Brandon's basketball game (they just lost.) After that I picked up dinner from Outback, using a gift card we got for Christmas. If we didn't have it, it would have been leftovers again.

So all in all, Valentine's Day has been like any other day. Except we got to have carry out. We will probably spend the evening doing laundry and dishes (ok, that is how I will spend the evening) and watch a movie from the library later on. Even though there wasn't much special about today, I was glad to spend it with my husband!