A Very Lucky Girl

Christmas is my very favorite time of the year. I love shopping for gifts for the people in my life and decorating trees with those very same people. And this year was the mecca of tree-decorating for me. I participated in not one, not two, but FOUR tree trimmings. In my world it is perfectly acceptable to erect a tree immediately following Halloween. Fuel up on candy corn and march off to the attic to lug down the yearly accoutrement. So I texted Kirsten, one of my housemates, in the beginning of November, asking when we could decorate the tree for the little grey house. I was met with a flurry of texts about "IT'S NOT EVEN THANKSGIVING YET" and "I LOVE CHRISTMAS BUT WE MUST NOT TAINT THANKSGIVING." I personally believe that a Christmas tree only enhances the beauty of the thankful season, but I acquiesced to Kirsten's request to wait until after Thanksgiving.  Lucky for me, Leeanna also conforms to the same Christmas/Thanksgiving meshing together...

To be frank, this is weird. I haven't taken this long of a hiatus from A Very Lucky Girl since..well, ever. And I don't really remember how to write like A Very Lucky Girl. I turned in my final paper to dropbox less than an hour ago and here I am, still with phrases of Paradise Lost  swirling in my head. The last time I wrote here it was almost three or four full months ago. A lot can change in three months. They've been good changes and hard changes and just plain changes. Where do I start? How do I begin? Well, there's this boy...whom I love and adore and admire with all of my being. I did not plan for this and Tanner's presence was most unexpected, but strangely welcome. I smile to think of how far we have come in only three months and what a precious blessing he is in my life. It all started with our two friends, Megan and Marshall. I know I've mentioned Megan plenty of times in A Very Lucky Girl, but Marshall is her boyfriend, who also happens to be o...

Christmas used to be my very favorite time of the year. I would start playing Christmas music in October (maybe late September), and begin my Christmas shopping as early as August. But this year is different. Christmas 2012 was the last time for "Cajun Night Before Christmas." The last time Oakes and I would watch movies together on Christmas eve and actually want to go to bed kind of early. The last time we would be antagonized about waiting to open presents and stockings. The last time for Chinese food after the candlelight Christmas eve service. The last time for holiday baking. If I had known Christmas 2012 was the last time I'd feel whole, I would have never wanted a new year.  And now Christmas just makes me sad and I kind of can't wait for it to be over. Part of what makes it so horrible is that me and my future holidays and celebrations were at the mercy of other people's decisions. I didn't choose this brokenness, I was told to think fast while it ...

The presents have long been torn into and the wrapping gathered into trash bags and I'm left with wonderful blessings from a thoughtful family.  Several monetary gifts that make my journey to Scotland in Spring 2014 much less a dream and much more a reality. A beautiful pearl necklace. A new (stylish) pill case to hold my necessary drugs. Make up that will greatly aid my face. Socks to warm my toesies. Gloves to heat my handsies. Jewelry to decorate my ears and my finger. Garments to clothe my body. And one of my favorites, words to warm my heart.  I unwrapped a box from Sharbear that contained a slim, green notebook, sturdy envelopes, stamps, and a set of pens. Inside the journal I found an entry with instructions. Mother-daughter journaling by mail. One of the sweetest ideas I've ever heard and I almost want school to hurry up so I can write her back immediately! Sure, my school is only about forty minutes away from home. But that doesn't mean life doesn't...

Nothing puts me in the Christmas Spirit like some NSYNC. The entire album is a gem of the 90's. Christmas is my favorite holiday, hands down. The decorations, the food (we've made 3 batches of caramel corn in a single week), the family, and the generosity. I can't get enough of the season that celebrates the birthday of the ultimate Giver.  Traditions sweep over our home, like a familiar quilt, when December rolls around. Decorating the tree and wrapping presents with Sharbear ornament the days leading up to the magical 25th. Christmas Eve is spent at the candlelight service, followed by a meal at a Chinese restaurant. We've done that for at least 10 years now. A tour of the city Christmas lights and a reading of the "Cajun Night Before Christmas" come to fruition before setting out goodies for Santa ("you know, I think this year Santa is craving a cinnamon bun and a diet coke!") and skipping to bed, only to lay there for hours, anticipation crowd...

"I'd really like it if the Mexicans would keep the oil lids on more tightly so nothing would spill out into the Gulf of Mexico and kill the animals"--musings from Brother For those of you that missed out on the shenanigans of Brother and Sister from my summer full-time nannying experience, you can catch up here . There .  And here . Okay shameless blog promotion stops now. I'm scheduled to work for them only 6 full days during this break (the kids start school again on January 4th!? What is that madness?!), but those days already promise to provide fresh entertainment for me. And consequently, you. I walked in their door this morning (fueled with a java chip frappucino) and was immediately handed a large Christmas present. "Our elf on the shelf left this for you!" Oh no. They're one of THOSE families... (I'm still not sure where they stand on the whole is-Santa-real situation, but this wasn't a good sign. Neither were the "top secre...

Tyler and I are literally THE WORST at giving presents on the actual day of celebration. I think it's becoming more of a tradition than a faux pas. Who knows, we may end up celebrating Valentine's Day on February 1st or something equally ridiculous. I gave him his birthday present (originally designated for June 18th) around June 10th and he reciprocated by presenting me with my birthday gift weeks before my twentieth year of life. I had been working on his Christmas present since October and that's a really, really long time to keep such an epic secret. So I knew I wouldn't last much past Thanksgiving, when I completed the project. My gift to him was also time sensitive so I told him I needed to give it to him before Christmas. He caved to peer pressure and agreed to exchange gifts at the beginning of December. The plan was to decorate the tree at his house on November 29th, switch presents, and then watch Elf. We did all of that, except we opened presents on Novem...

Forever, regardless of age. Sharbear and I typically shop for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes this time of year, but life is changing. So when Tyler suggested we grab Christmas Wishes from Life Church a few Sundays ago I was definitely on board. I scanned through the names and requests and landed on one-year-old Isaiah, figuring he'd be easy to shop for.  Except then I got in the car and couldn't brainstorm a single age-appropriate toy. So I texted Sharbear, since she had a one-year-old ginger at one point in life and I figured they are pretty similar to real babies, and asked her opinion on what to get Isaiah for Christmas. Our conversation went somewhat like this: Me: What do one year old boys like? Sharbear: Their mommies Me: Okay, well...he's a foster kid so...next best thing? Sharbear: Things that light up and make noise. Buttons to push. Trucks. Soft things to hug. Me: Older boys like those too.... The observation is completely true. Boys of a...

I love holidays that involve presents. Not because of what I could potentially receive but because of what I can give! I love love LOVE to give people presents. It honestly makes me really happy. You could say it's an unselfish trait...but I love the feeling I get when I surprise someone with something that makes them smile. I crave that high. So, in that sense, I give selfishly.  That being said, I most love to give gifts with meaning. I hate Oakes' birthday because he has zero emotions and only wants cash. That's not fun to present. I try to make the card personal, but I'm fairly certain that my words go unread every year. But I thrive on holidays like Christmas and the birthdays of my friends, because they appreciate the thought I put into what I give them. For Christmas last year I gave Megan and my grandparents a memory jar. I compiled 52 specific memories that I have with them, wrote them on little scrolls of paper, tied with a ribbon, and spilled them all into ...