December Happiness Project Resolutions

December 5th.

I am thinking about so many things today...I'm feeling so scatterbrained.  

At this time last year, I had just seen this:

  
I took that test one month to the day after we lost Therese.  What a roller coaster ride of emotions!  Rather than revisit all of that, you can read what I wrote about the roller coaster last year.

Now, we have our perfectly healthy and happy Harold Fulton!  He is such a blessing to our family.

I was making dinner last night and asked Jane to grab a toy for Harry to hold.  What did she grab?  A Barbie with a missing leg.  

I thought I'd quickly dive in to our December resolutions.

December Happiness Project Resolutions

1. Say "no" so that you can say "yes"
2. Celebrate Advent and the 12 Days of Christmas

We're taking a month off from all the rest of the resolutions so that we can really do our first resolution this month:  say "no" so that you can say "yes."  There's a popular post going around by Lora Lynn Fanning called, "To The Mamas of Littles During the Holidays."    It's about how us mamas with little ones need to choose to do less this season.  Here's my favorite part:

If baking cookies and watching your kids sling sprinkles all over the kitchen is going to make you yell today? Then no. Don’t do it. Always choose the relationship with your kids over the Advent activity that makes you scream. Always choose the Simple over the Pinnable.

Listen, the only person who expects you to accomplish All The Things on that list? Is you. You must extend to yourself the grace that others are already extending in your direction.

Her article is the inspiration for our first resolution.  We are saying "no" whenever necessary this season so that we can say "yes" to resolution #2: celebrate Advent and the 12 Days of Christmas.

We are slowly building the anticipation of Christmas this year.  Rather than get all of the decorations out the day after Thanksgiving, we are bringing them out little by little.  The only signs of Advent around our house are the Advent wreath and a few little decorations throughout the home.  There's still no Christmas tree and no lights on the house.  We are trying to emphasize to the kids (and ourselves!) that we will celebrate BIG TIME during the 12 Days of Christmas (the time spanning from Christmas to the Epiphany).  Until then, it's a time of prayer and preparation around these parts.  

Since we're doing our best to say "no," the blog will likely continue to be quieter than usual. 

"Adoration of the Shepherds" by Gerard van Honthorst, 1622

 Quiet is good.