Family pic

Family pic

Thursday, December 25, 2008

I will not feel guilty about not sending Christmas cards

At least that is what I have been telling myself over and over in my head, trying to convince myself it is true. This is yet another guilt trip I have allowed myself to take. Since motherhood, I have traveled down this road of what I think I should be doing, measuring myself against others and the "standard". (I think there may be a resolution there!) And at this time I feel like I should have sent a Christmas card to all of my friends and relatives. But the reality is that I did not. The desire was there, but I just could not make it happen. And Christmas came and it was absolutely wonderful. The children were happy, we had a great time with all of our family and it really didn't matter that I didn't mail out those cards. Really, most of the people I am closest to read my blog. So here is an online version of what I would have mailed to you! :





The Prevette Family wishes you and yours a very merry Christmas and a blessed new year!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Christmas Questionaire

I was "tagged" twice to do this fun, Christmas questionaire. So either my friends Dawn and Beth really want to know some fun facts about how I celebrate Christmas or they were giving me the kick in the rear I needed to finally post something!



1. Egg nog or Hot Chocolate? Definately hot chocolate!


2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? We don't do Santa at our house. We want to be sure that we are telling our kids the truth and that we are celebrating the real reason for the season. If our children are to believe in a man that they cannot see, I want it to be Jesus! However, we told Anagrace that people like to "pretend" about Santa at Christmastime and she said she wants to pretend, too. Pretending is fun and that is fine with us! But the presents are from mommy and daddy. We get the credit for that! And we (and by we I mean I) wrap them; it is just more fun to unwrap a gift, I think!

3. Colored lights or white?White.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Sometimes, I didn't find it in the boxes of decorations this year. Our decorations are simpler this year than in years past. Three children will do that....so, yeah, not hanging mistletoe is probably a good thing right now!

5. When do you put your decorations up?The Saturday after Thanksgiving

6. Favorite holiday dish?Hmmm, I like the sweet stuff. Sweet potato casserole and any dessert!

7. Favorite childhood memory? Celebrating Christmas at Disney World with my dad.

8. When/how did you learn the truth about Santa? Some little boy at school told me, in the second or third grade.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No, that's cheating!

10. How do you decorate the tree? We bought an artificial last year. It is one of those tall, skinny "pencil" trees. It is pre-lit (what a blessing). We put on the red wooden bead garland first. Then add our ornaments, which are a mixture of some from my childhood, some from our first year of marriage, and all of the "baby's first" ornaments.

11. Snow. Love it or dread it? Love it. I really hope I get to go skiing this year.

12. Can you ice skate? Kind of.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Yes, my engagement ring! Justin proposed Christmas of 1999.

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you? Celebrating the birth of our Savior with my husband and children!

15. Favorite holiday dessert? Tough choice, I love them all. I miss the spritzer sugar cookies my grandmother used to make. I make fudge every year.

16. Favorite Christmas Tradition?We started a couple of traditions with Anagrace that will be fun with all of the kids in the future. We read the Christmas story and set up our nativity scene on the mantle. And we bake a birthday cakefor Jesus on Christmas Eve to eat on Christmas morning...there is no other day of the year that cake is allowed for breakfast!

18. Do you prefer giving or receiving?I like both. Finances and indecisiveness cause some stress with giving, but I still enjoy it. And who doesn't enjoy receiving?

19. Favorite Christmas song? I'm not sure of the title, "Night Divine" maybe. It's the one that says "fall on your knees and hear the angels' voices, oh night divine, when Christ was born"

20. Candy canes. Yum or yuck? I'll eat them occasionally. It depends on my mood.

21. What do you want for Christmas?This is just a want in general, I know I can't get it for Christmas...I really want to close in our screened porch and make it a playroom.

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas party? Yes, we attend Justin's company Christmas party.

23. Do you dress up for Christmas Eve or wear P.J.'s? This year we will dress up because we will attend Elevation's Christmas Service.

24. Do you own a Santa hat? I don't. Anagrace has one.

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with? Most of our family live close. So over the course of the weekend, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we see parents, grandparents, brothers, aunts, uncles , cousins, neices,nephews, ...

I'm going to break the rules and not tag anyone. Instead, I'll invite anyone out there who wants to participate to post this on their blog! Let me know if you do! Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

A Post about Gratitude

I intended to post this at Thanksgiving, but you know how that goes. A bit late, but here it is:


Pastor Steven preached a few weeks ago about money, and how we all are rich. We are so blessed to live in America and live like we do. He explained that we are all rich, we just need to change our perspective. He gave a series of examples like:

"If the heat goes out in your house, that's a rich people problem. If your car is not the latest model, that's a rich people problem. If you lost money in the stock market...If you can't sell your house..." Just about every problem we have can be turned around to show how blessed we are if we can just step back and change our perspective. Here are a few that I thought about this Thanksgiving:


I am thankful that we celebrated Thanksgiving at 3 different locations, that means we have a large family that is close by. We can see them on the special holidays and all throughout the year!


I am thankful that I am exhausted, that means I have a small baby to care for, to hold, to nurse, to snuggle on the couch with in the wee hours of the night/morning. Some women are up at night longing for that very thing.


I am thankful for my messy, noisy house. The floors are covered with Cheerios, crumbs, books and toys. It is loud with the sounds of squealing and laughter (sometimes crying and whining), but that means I have healthy children that run and play in our home. They grow up too fast!


I am thankful for the pile of my husband's work clothes on our bedroom floor, that means he has a job to go to and is able to provide for our family. And when he gets home he is willing to change clothes and spend some quality time with his family. He is a wonderful husband and father!


I am thankful that my body doesn't look the way it used to, because that means I was able to carry and birth my babies. But I am also thankful that the jeans I bought a few months ago look horrible on me now, because that means my gym visits are paying off! And...


I am thankful that I am almost thirty, because that means I may be able to replace those jeans with some new ones for my birthday!


See, a negative attitude can be turned into gratitude! It really has helped me to put things in perspective.


I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that your heart was full of joy and gratitude.