zombies in the stuffing

its cold outside again & its getting to be that special time of year... you know that time of year kids LOVE & parents LOATHE....the holidays silly! much like birthdays this coming couple of months is highly over rated & needs to be rethought. 

i remember as a kid getting those butterflies in my stomach counting down the school days that were left until thanksgiving & then the BIG holiday...CHRISTMAS....i just couldn't wait. we always made calendars to count down the days we had left until holiday break & posted then on the side of our desk. it seems like our goal for the year was to see how quickly we could get from one holiday to the next. we never counted the days until we went back to school after holiday break or wished the days would fly by so we could go back to class. the holidays were our main priority & we loved every minute of them. now it seems like as soon as school started we were counting down the days we had for thanksgiving....we proable did since haloween decorations are being put out in the stores while we are still going swimming & the fall decor is not to far behind that with christmas sprinkled in the mix. when you are a kid it can feel like there is only a 2 week delay in between the holidays.

when i think back  i remember gathering at my grandparents house to eat with all of my family on thanksgiving & how as i got older that large number of family slowly dwindled to just a few.   we had so much fun running & playing outside waiting on the food to be ready. there was nothing better than that time we spent together.

as an adult i miss the times shared with family members both good & bad...you never really know what you had until its gone.  when   was a kid it was less about the commercials of it all & more about that quality time. thanksgiving was about being thankful we had each other. now you spend so much time making sure you have the right brand turkey to go with your perfect brand stuffing that you are going to sit on your uptight brand table runner that you forget you already have all that you need to be thankful...your family & friends!!!
this year at my house people have to work & it is going to be hard for everyone to squeeze this holiday in but i hope we can still have tine to remember how thankful we are to have each other & what the day REALLY  means to us all. turkey & dressing & pie is not what it means....love & family & the fact that we all woke up that morning is what is all about.

one of my favorite holidays has always been christmas. i love putting up the tree...yes the actual act of having to put it together...yup you got it the labor intensive part is my favorite. i like going & looking at other people's christmas lights....driving slowly through strange neighborhoods can actually be relaxing. as a kid i my favorite part was waking up & seeing all of my presents under the tree....as an adult my favorite part is seeing my daughter's eyes when she sees her presents under the tree. 

we all have different ideas about christmas. if you are a christian (like me) you honor this holiday as the birth of christ ....most people however just like the idea of getting presents in an elaborate fashion. in my family we try to fit in jesus, presents & giving to others all in this time....it can get CRAZY sometimes. 

when i was a kid my mom always had the tree you didn't touch....& touch you did not for fear of her breaking you before you broke her ornaments. this is the first year we have had an actual christmas tree at our house since the monster has been born. the last few years we have had mini trees & had them up where she could not touch. now we have a big tree that was my mom's & it is going to be decorated in child friendly decorations. the monster is making her own ornaments this year! yup...our tree is flammable so keep 911 on speed dial...oh wait...i am not putting lights on it...so never mind its safe....i hope.

the craft time ornaments are part of my plan to keep her out of the commercial end of christmas. i want her to realize at an early age that christmas is not about getting but giving  & being thankful for what you already have. we might even start doing one of the shoe boxes for a needy kid or a christmas angel. we get her very few gifts & try to tell her the christmas story many times over the holidays. we really wan to avoid the problems so many parents have with kids expecting certian gifts on christmas morning & then being rude when they don't get them.

i really hope that we can raise a kind, generous & loving monster instead of a gift hoarding video game lover.

faith, hope & charity are grounded & can't play with you!

faith, hope & charity have died. america killed them a long long time ago. i can hear you saying "oh gosh, she is nuts!", "she is soo unpartiotic!", "she must be a foreigner!"....nope i am none of those things...well except the nuts part maybe.

just because we adopt poor starving babies from africa, donate to the ASPCA of germany, send money to that last place that was flooded or send socks to the people of whosawhatickstan does not make us good. if we were really & i mean really good (not the good that we do for show or just on sunday at church because we are supposed to) we would feed the poor kid we saw at the texaco begging for change to get a soda on thursday. 

in my opinion its more  important to help your neighbor that is in need & then help the people in other countries. charity starts at HOME people!

chances are you know someone that is having trouble with the everyday things like bills & groceries....help them & then see if you have enough left to adopt that african kid or to send to whuckwierdistania for that toxic mold thing.

i know many families that could use a little help here & there. not lazy people that just want a free ride like so many that are sucking up the government assistance & still driving big gas sucking SUVs with shiny new rims & eating steaks.  if you live with your momma & drive an escalade with 30 inch rims you need to get outta the food stamp line & let the single mom with kids & full time job & bills to pay get in your place! quit lying to get help you don't really need...you are helping destroy the country.

oh, did i mention you have no idea if that money you send that poor starving kid in whichever country you picked is even being used for that child...sure you get a sweet little picture of some hungry looking child of that nationality & a cutesy thank you letter & short biography about them...i could be send you that crap & you wouldn't know it was from ME....that money could be funding terrorism! you have not been to duckdarnistan & don't know how the people live...what if you took a trip there & saw that kid you "adopted" from the tv eating a steak & chugging a beer & really being 30 or 40 years old with a good job & 4 kids...wouldn't you feel silly??

now, i am NOT saying you shouldn't want to help people from other countries & all that...thats not it at all. i just want you to see the need in your community FIRST then help the other people of the world. wouldn't it feel better to know your hard earned money was helping someone you actually knew & could see & speak to in person than someone you will never be able to meet?  times are hard for a lot of people still & will continue to be for quiet some time in the future....help someone on your street, in your town, or your state. if we all helped each other there would be no need for government assistance programs like food stamps & housing & energy assistance. treat your neighbors like family...the family you invite to thanksgiving not the ones you "forget" to invite.

there are many churches that can't keep enough food in their food panty to help the community & keep those few people going for that month....donate some can goods to help them out. volunteer someplace or something crazy like that. help the old guy across the street rake his leaves & see if he has something to eat for dinner tonite.