Seeing Green

How many of you remember these? I'm not sure why, but the past few days I've been thinking about S&H Green Stamps. I remember both my mom and my grandma collecting Green Stamps. It was loads of fun for us to lick the back of the stamps and put them in the Saver Books.

Every time we went to the grocery store or filled up on gas, we'd earn so many Green Stamps. I know Mom always went to locations where the S&H sign was displayed.

I also remember looking through the catalog. I positively loved catalogs when I was a kid. It was wonderful to turn the pages and discover different items you could get. Once an item was decided upon, we'd start saving up the stamps in the books. When we had enough stamps we knew we could either order from the catalog or go to the local redemption store. There was one just up the road from Grandma's house.

The stamps were found mainly from the 1930's though the late 1980's. Silly as it sounds, I looked forward to becoming an adult and collecting Green Stamps so I could "purchase" my own items with them. I did collect them in my very early 20's, and I may have even redeemed them for an item or two before the company stopped operations. It was sad to see them go. Just another memory from days gone by.

How Could I Forget?

Remember a couple posts back, I shared some of our new Christmas traditions. I forgot one! I was looking though pictures and realized one of the most fun traditions to begin was the arrival of Chick-A-Dee. She's our Elf on the Shelf. She had fun flying back and forth to the North Pole to report on the behaviors of family members. Santa must have been pleased with the reports because we received some wonderful gifts.

Sorry, Chick-A-Dee for forgetting to tell everyone about you. I hope you're having fun at the North Pole. Have a good year and we'll see you again on December 1st. Tell Santa we say hello.

Something's Missing...

There is something I've been missing. I missed it last year. So far I have missed it this year. What I'm missing is something that brings me a feeling of peace. I love watching it as it arrives. I love the quiet hush that accompanies its arrival. Everything appears fresh and new. It is pristine. For reasons I can't quite explain, when it arrives I feel refreshed and energized. There's a magical quality to it. Strange, but true.
So, what is it I've been missing?

SNOW!
When I lived in Arizona and Utah, we had enough snow that I got my "fix." It never seemed to get old. Perhaps I'm weird, but I truly do enjoy snow. I'm feeling a little antsy right now. I've been seeing news coverage about snowstorms out west and in the southeast, but nothing of significance has happened here in our area for a long time. I need a good snowstorm.

I want to make a snow angel. Who can't say that was a wonderful memory from their childhood?

And then there's the snowman. Everyone needs to build a snowman at least once in their lifetime.

One must take time to build snow forts as well. What would life be without a battle fought in the chill of winter?

 

When Emile and Brie were younger I used to read a lot of stories to them. Two of their favorites were about snowmen. Imagine that! Even I enjoyed the stories. Could it be the magic of snow I mentioned earlier?

 Last year I discovered another wonderful story. It's about Snowflake Bentley (I'll bet you couldn't figure that out by the title). I had never heard about him until I was in the library with my 3rd grade kiddos. What a wonderful story about an amazing man. 

I won't provide any more "clues" as to who Snowflake Bentley is. You won't be disappointed when you read the book.

For now I have got to continue to dream of my missing friend. Each time a snowstorm seems to be developing or approaching, I feel excited.... almost like I did when I was a child waiting for the first snowfall of the winter. I'm still waiting. Until the snow does arrive, I'll have to be satisfied with the next best thing. 

A snow globe.

How Can It Be?

How can it be that our society has come to a point where an armed gunman can storm into an elementary school and open fire on innocent children? How have we gotten to this point? What, if anything, can be done to curb the insanity going on around us? The slaughter (worldwide) of innocent men, women, and children (both the unborn and those who were born)? Is it too late to stop the pure evil we now see? I have hesitated to post this. It's terribly troubling, however, the subject needs to be discussed or nothing will ever change.

On Friday, December 14, 2012, 20 year old  Adam Lanza, entered Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, Connecticut. He was heavily armed and intent on doing the unthinkable. Why did he pick this particular school? We don't know. What caused him to do what he did? Again, at this point there are no clear cut answers. Was innocence lost? Yes! Tragically, too many innocent children and those who were trying to protect them, perished. Before all was said and done, a total of 26 people died. Twenty of those gunned down were children. The schools principal and guidance counselor were also among the dead.

Ironically, just a few hours earlier, I had joined with some of my co-workers for a few minutes to pray together. It's something we have been doing each Friday morning. We take a few minutes to pray for our students, teachers, administrators, families, and whatever else we feel impressed to pray about. The morning was crisp and cool. With the Christmas holiday rapidly approaching, there was a feeling of joy and anticipation in the air. Our time together felt especially good that morning. Then, shortly after lunch, I saw a news headline on my cellphone about the shooting at Sandy Hook. I was stunned. I looked around our classroom and couldn't wrap my head around what was happening at another school.

The rest of the afternoon seemed to move at a different pace. There was a somber feeling and those of us who had heard the news talked quietly so as to not let our kiddos know what had happened. It was so sad thinking of the hearts of parents and loved ones that were obviously breaking. In the blink of an eye, so much had changed. Lives were turned upside down and would never ever be the same.

Since the shooting there has been intense debate about gun control. Personally, I do not think that is the answer. You can not legislate evil intentions. The weapons used at Sandy Hook were purchased legally. Unfortunately, they were used by a very disturbed young man who ultimately turned a weapon on himself and committed suicide. None of this should have happened. I don't have the answers as to what to do to stop this kind of horrific tragedy from happening in the future. But at the same time I don't believe a solution isn't out there. If nothing else, I will be praying. I will pray for the families. I will pray for the children. And I will pray for hearts to be softened... for violence to be abhorred.... for this insanity to stop.

Holiday Traditions... 2012

Traditions... "a belief or behavior passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past." Interesting way to start off the new year and my post for today. As many of you know, I was adopted. Because of that, I've always felt a degree of uncertainty about where I fit in this vast universe. Some may argue that I was loved more because of being adopted. You would have to have grown up in my existence to know why I disagree with that position and question my place as I do. But that's an entirely different subject for a different post. Today I am focusing on traditions and why they are so important to me.

When Emile was a baby, I was flipping through her baby book. One of the pages was about holiday traditions. I decided at that moment to make sure there were traditions I adhered to... I wanted to be sure that when she was grown, and had her own family, she would have some memories and traditions that perhaps she would choose to continue with her family. I have done just that. There are things we have done each and every years since her birth. Some things have changed slightly, and new traditions have been added here and there, along the way. 
 
In addition to the pickle, which we hang on the tree every year, there's also the spider.

This year I added two new storybooks to my vast collection of Christmas books,

 A new Santa and Mrs. Claus set,

And the tradition of burning a Bayberry candle on Christmas Eve.

The Legend of the Bayberry Candle goes like this... "This Bayberry candle comes from a friend,
so on Christmas eve burn it down to the end.
For a Bayberry candle burned to the socket,
will bring joy to the heart and gold to the pocket."
My first Bayberry candle was hand made by a friend. He remembers his mother burning them when he was a child, and has continued the tradition his entire life. I am happy to add this new tradition. 

So there you have it. A wrap up on some special, new ways our family celebrates during the Christmas, season.