Tea Time ~ 12/7/2023

 

Grab a cup of tea, coffee, hot chocolate or your favorite drink
while I share a few things about my life lately...

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~Before the "sickness" hit the household, we went to a Christmas tree farm to get our Christmas tree. It was so strange picking out our tree in unseasonably warm weather.  Laken's boyfriend, Nate, came along for the experience with us.  We haven't put the tree up and decorated it yet but at least we have it for when we feel up to decorating :)

~I don't think I've posted about Nate, the boyfriend, here on the blog yet.  He and Laken have been together for well over 8 months now and we adore him!  He treats Laken like a queen.  He plays soccer and is an actual honest-to-goodness Eagle Scout!  Here are some pictures:)

~Kaylee and Shawn are doing well.  This is a picture of them from our summer trip to Black Water Falls in West Virginia.  They've been married for over two years now and are the absolute cutest :)

~I have gotten very little (almost no) Christmas shopping done at this point :(  To be honest, we're giving gift cards to a lot of people this year.  I don't really like doing that but I'd rather give a gift that is going to be liked and used than something that is just going to sit and not be used.  We weren't very creative this year.  I do plan on getting some Christmas cards sent out before the weekend though :)

~So much has happened since I've last shared a Tea Time post that there is no way to catch up on it all.  I basically wanted to give a little update on the family.  My mom and dad are doing well even though under the weather a bit right now.  Hopefully, I'll be posting more often and staying up-to-date better with the happening as I do enjoy looking back at our adventures and misadventures.

So, what's new with you?

 

Colletta

Christmas Cards 2020 ~ An Invitation

I saw this on facebook and thought it would be nice to extend it to my blogging friends as well :)

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I want to restart a tradition. Send me your name and address to collettaskitchensink@yahoo.com and I'll send you a Christmas Card.  Let's bring back Christmas Card sending; good old fashioned paper cards to display like when we were little. 🌲

Come on guys!!! Tis the season!!!! 🌲🎅🏻 🎄

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Colletta

Coffee Date ~ 12/7/12

Won't you come meet Alissa (above), me and the girls for a coffee date,

or in my case, hot chocolate with whipped cream or maybe a chai tea?

Hello, everyone!  I hope you're having a good week.  Here some highlights from my week:

~It is December!  Are you excited?  I am because I could get my Christmas music out to listen to.  Also, I can force ask my hubby to watch Christmas movies with me.  I watched a really cute Hallmark movie last night called "A Bride for Christmas".

~Last Saturday evening after all the housework was (kinda) done, the girls and I sat done and wrote our Christmas cards.  I signed the inside of all the cards but let the girls write the names on the front and draw pictures to decorate the envelopes.  Well, not on the ones I was mailing but the ones we would be handing out to family and Church family.  It was a really fun project to do together.

~I committed to "13 in 2013".  That means I will be trying my absolute best to complete 13 5ks in 2013!  I've already signed up for a few virtual 5ks and have some actual 5ks in mind.  I have a tab at the top of my blog where you can see more info.  What have I gotten myself into?  yikes!

~I kept Laken home from school yesterday.  She had been running a slight fever for a few days and I wanted her to have a whole day to just rest.  Her fever was gone this morning but she tried her best to talk me into letting her stay home again today.  It was not a pleasant morning, to say the least.

~This has been Kaylee's 3rd full week of Basketball practice and she is still enjoying it.  Her first game isn't until December 18th.

~It is almost vacation!  We'll be putting the shop into "Vacation Mode" on December 12th so that we can get finished up on orders and have some time to just relax and enjoy Christmas.  Things have been really hectic lately so I'm looking forward to some down time to bake cookies and work on some fun projects for gifts.

~I used Wal-Mart's online photo shop yesterday to print some pictures for a birthday present.  It was easy and fairly cheap.  I'll have to see what the prints look like when they come to really judge it fairly though.

~Tonight is Family Movie night.  We'll order a pizza and find a movie to watch together.  Any suggestions?

So, how was your week?

I Remember Christmas ~ Christmas Cards ~ 12/4/12

December 4 ~ Christmas Cards

 

Did your family send cards?  Did your family display the ones they received?  Do you still send Christmas cards?  Do you have any cards from your ancestors?

My Mom has always sent Christmas cards to the entire extended family even to 2nd and 3rd cousins across the country that she has never met.  It is very important to her to show that they are in her thoughts at Christmas time.

I, however, have streamlined my list over the years.  I now only send cards to "immediate"-extended family, if that makes any sense at all.  We also give Christmas cards to all of our Church families.

This past Saturday, the girls and I sat down with our Christmas cards and lists and they helped me pick the cards and then decorated the envelopes with drawing and artwork.  We had such a nice time working on them together.  They were so excited to be a part of the tradition.  Sunday, they had such fun handing them out to our Church family and saying "Merry Christmas" with each card they gave.

We have always displayed the Christmas cards that we receive for the year.  We usually will tape them around doorways and windows or arches throughout the house.  I always end up picking up the ones that fall and stick them back up.

We've also used Christmas cards from past years to make ornaments, decorations and even name tags for Christmas gifts.  I enjoy looking through the cards from previous years.

My Mom has a tradition of getting the cards she received out sometime during January to sit down and take the time to appreciate them all again and reflect on each person who took the time to give her a card.  It helps her with her Post-Christmas blues.

I really like this idea and think I'll do it this year also.  I might even get them out a few times through the year and enjoy them.
What are your Christmas Card traditions?

Christmas Card Prayers

I've been enjoying getting Christmas cards at church and Christmas Cards in the mail.  I have them on a pile on my desk at the moment.

Usually, I tape them around the arches in my house, but they inevitably fall down one by one and that can get very aggravating.

My mom has a great tradition with her Christmas cards.  After Christmas is over and things settle down she gets a little blue that the holidays are over.  So, she takes an afternoon and sits down at the table with all her Christmas cards that she received and reads over them one by one.  Really taking the time to appreciate each one in a way that she was unable to do when she received them.

I just discovered another way to put our Christmas cards to use during the entire year.  Put them in a basket and everyday pull out one card and pray for that person/family.


I  got this idea over at Lessons Learned, Lessons Lived, and Lessons Still to Come.

I love the idea of having those Christmas greetings around throughout the whole year to help keep the Christmas spirit going and also as reminder of family and friends who cared enough to give me a card.

I might keep them on my bedside table and each night along with my devotions and journaling, pull a card and take some extra time talking to God about that person. 

Or maybe once week, pick one card and send that person a note or card of encouragement as well.

Don't you just love that idea?  Christmas all year long...