Wordless Wednesday

Our official Christmas card- Merry Christmas from our family to yours: 

 Click on the link to enter by rafflecopter to win a copy of My Memories digital Scrapbooking Suite - the software I used to create this AWESOME Christmas card!!!!

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Wordy Wednesday! FIVE I Caught Santa Photo Giveaways!!!!

I CAUGHT SANTA PHOTO GIVEAWAY!

I have in my possession, FIVE codes for a FREE custom photo of Santa in YOUR living room!!!!!

This is the most adorable thing ever! It's easy, it's fun, and it's super cute! 

 I'm a careful mommy when it comes to Santa. In our house, Santa is a MUST! We love him, and we love his portion of the spirit of Christmas!!!! I recently read the blog post of a fellow mom blogger, and I had to crack up because her 7 year old asked if Santa is real. Her reply was: "How about I tell you where babies come from?" HILARIOUS!!!! Now, I have a 6 year old of my OWN who is more observant than is good for her. And I don't believe I have many years of this magical  game left in her. When presented with this giveaway opportunity, I jumped at the chance to trick my kids into a couple more years of belief! 

And it was worth it- look at this DARLING picture I made by uploading a holiday photo of MY LIVING ROOM, and adding one of 20  different Santa poses! 

I really loved this Santa- even though there are many other cute ones, because I loved the idea of leaving it with a note for my kids that he was so tired, he just HAD to take a snooze before leaving presents beneath our tree- and what'd you know?! One of his elves snapped a quick picture! 

Also on www.icaughtsanta.com, you can order YOUR photo to pick up or mail to you from your favorite developing company- including Snapfish, Walgreens, and many others, for a VERY small price! OR, you can print your own picture. After that, watch a video of Santa Claus dancing around YOUR LIVING ROOM!

This is such a darling gift, and is the CUTEST thing to give a child that might be questioning the truth of the Guy in Red this year!!!!

Please enter via the rafflecopter below- and HURRY, because this giveaway ends Friday so that you have time to order and receive your photo by Christmas!!!!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Touchy Topic Tuesday- Skeleton Santa Nailed to Cross: Freedom of Speech?

Beholders: Insight GIVEAWAY ENDS TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT! LAST CHANCE TO ENTER! Do NOT miss this opportunity! It will make an EXCELLENT Christmas gift!

My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Suite This is my newest giveaway, and it's such a great product. SO fun to use and so easy too! Make all YOUR holiday memories last forever with this wonderful software!!!

More giveaways coming soon! Check back with me on Friday for Friday's Flash Giveaway, and a SUPER darling "I caught Santa" giveaway, as well as a new children's book review and giveaway! Lots coming up! You're going to love it!!!

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Touchy Topic Tuesday: Skeleton Santa Nailed to Cross: Freedom of Speech?

Last week, I read  this article Atheists Display Skeleton Santa Nailed to a Cross on MSN.

In short, the article is talking about how an Atheist mother and her son put a Halloween skeleton dressed in a Santa Suit up on a Courthouse lawn- the catch? He's nailed to a cross.

Of course, it's appearance immediately stirred discussion about Freedom of Speech.

Some say it's a work of art, representing the turn of Christmas from love and family and Faith to commercialism and greed.

Others see it as a personal offense on Christians themselves. In fact, quickly after the skeleton was displayed, one woman dismantled it because she thought it was offensive and crass.

Me? I agree- offensive and crass, for sure- and, I also believe it was INTENDED to be offensive and crass, rather than a social commentary made by someone who was deeply hurt by the over abundance of commercialism amid a holiday meant to be religiously based.

You see, the people who put it up were Atheists. This matters, incredibly, because the very definition of Atheist is a person who does not believe in a God or a religion to any degree. Atheists, IF they celebrate Christmas (and I imagine that most of them do, since it's just such a prominent holiday throughout the world and celebrated my many, MANY religions, including many of them that aren't even Christian at all.) do not celebrate it for the reason of Christ's birth. They very well may celebrate it in the spirit of love and family and generosity, but it is not, IN ANY WAY, a religious celebration for them, and therefore, would really mostly be based ON the very commercialism this pair is commenting on.

The problem I have with this speaking out is not that there is a skeleton Santa. I DO agree that, in many cases, commercialism rules Christmas (I am actually okay with that, but it will be discussed in next week's Touchy Topic Tuesday)  and you find commentary on this EVERYWHERE you look. However, I find it distasteful that a pair of people who do not believe in a God or a religion, or least of all Christ, who this holiday is entirely ABOUT, feel the need to lecture those of us who DO celebrate Christmas because of our deep seated religions, and to tell us that we are doing it incorrectly, that our hearts are not in the right place, nevermind that they, themselves, are not celebrating it for "the right reasons."  They don't have a rotted soap box to even stand on.

I am a big supporter of Freedom of Speech. Which is why, if it were me, I would ignore the thing, and walk away. Having a belief in the FoS, though, does not mean I can't have an opinion. When it comes down to it, if they're going to ban religious Nativities because they're "unconstitutional", and force religious opinions on those who do not desire them, then something like this should not be allowed either. Because it's religious commentary in addition to being social commentary. And if I, as a Christian am denied the right, then that same right should not be  handed to someone else simply because they are NOT Christian.


How do YOU feel about this "Christmas" display? What would you do? How would you react, and how would you explain this to a child?



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Beholders: Insight GIVEAWAY!!!

It's HERE! My very first giveaway that is not entirely funded by ME! The author of this excellent book is a friend of mine and has graciously donated a copy of the first book in a series of four, JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!!! 

Please scroll down to see a synopsis of the story, and to enter the contest via rafflecopter! Remember to come back every day, because the twitter entries can be made daily!

Beholders:Insight

By Terron James

Giveaway- Starts at Midnight Est. Time on Wednesday, December 7th, ends on Wednesday, December 14th

Synopsis: Rumors are surging through Appernysia that a Beholder has been born, the first wielder of True Sight in over a millennium.

Seventeen-year-old Lon Marcs discovers he has been blessed—or cursed—with this gift. He cannot control the power of True Sight and feels it killing him with each passing day. After months of desperate attempts to survive, Lon’s situation becomes more hopeless. He realizes that the only people who might possess the knowledge to save his life are the sworn enemies of his king. To obtain their help, Lon would have to leave behind his family and beloved Kaylen.

Although this is the hardest decision Lon has ever made, it is only the first of many that will test his strength and challenge his interpretation of right and wrong.

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This is the first of 4 books in the Beholders series.

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Touchy Topic Tuesday- Gift Cards For Christmas?

Touchy Topic Tuesday:

Gift Cards For Christmas?

Gift giving is the name of the season.

Many people love to scale the malls and the sales, searching for that perfect gift. A lot of people have something specific in mind when they think of a person.

In my family, we draw names each year. If I choose my mom, my sister, or my oldest brother, then I know exactly what to get them. If you asked me to make a list of things they might like, it'd take me just a second to jot down a page full of ideas for each of them. The HARD part is picking ONE.

If I pick out my dad's or my youngest brother's name...well, I'm at a loss. I know my dad is very practical. He'd prefer shoes. Or tools (if you can find one he doesn't already own) or a bill paid. It's very hard to be creative there. And it's also difficult to get him to tell you what, exactly, he needs. My brother is a great big dork- in the most entertaining and wonderful way possible. But he already has every single movie known to man downloaded to his computer. He already has just about every xbox game there is. Heaven knows what to get him.

Recently, I read a list of the 10 worst Christmas gifts you can get someone. On the very top of that list was a little piece of plastic, it can be as valuable as the buyer prefers, but only to precise stores, and, it's called a gift card.

Gift cards, according to MSN Today, were named as the absolute worst gift one can give. And cold hard cash actually came in further down the line. Apparently, a gift only is actually a gift if it took a lot of thought and knowledge of the person receiving the gift and their inner most desires.

So....basically, if you don't know a person well enough to buy them something specific, and be sure that it's exactly what was the main characters in their very own personal visions of sugar plums, then you'd probably better not get them anything at all.

All or nothin'.

Honestly, I just have to say that I disagree with this. Now, it's not something that I am very seriously passionate about, as I have been about some of my Touchy Topic Tuesdays, but I do still have an opinion, and as it seems to be something that people have viciously varying opinions about, it's up for debate.

I am not a hard person to buy gifts for. I'm sure that if any of the people I mentioned were easy for me buy for drew my name, they'd have a very simple time picking something out for me that would just make my heart flutter. Particularly my mom. And my oldest brother has a knack for getting me into fits of giggles.

But there are people who just don't know me that well. And when it comes down to it, if someone were to ask me what I wanted or needed this Christmas, i would tell them that I really need some clothes for after the baby is born. You know, like things I can wear that aren't maternity clothes? I need new jeans as I wore my old ones to threads. I need nursing shirts. I need things that are going to help me feel pretty and cute and stylish instead of frumpy mommyish. But if i were to tell someone that, I would probably be pretty terrified of what I might receive and have to wear in order to NOT make them feel bad. Not to mention, I have absolutely NO clue what size I'll be right after i have this baby. I'm HOPING that I'll do what I did with my last 3, and go back to being my old size 4 pretty quick. But there's no guarantee. And I want things in MY SIZE.

How to get around that?

A gift card sounds lovely.

Not only that, but I am a very very crafty person. I am always creating. If I am not making something, my life feels a bit empty. It's just a habit and obsession of mine. Would it be acceptable and even appreciated for someone to go out to a craft or fabric store and buy me supplies? Probably, because I'm really good at taking stuff that I had no previous affiliation for and throwing it into something awesome. (Yes. I have a big head about this.) BUT, it would, admittedly, be much more satisfying for me to be able to buy the things that I already had in mind for my ongoing projects.

Once again, a gift card would be delightful.

So, really, if you're one of those people who is just an amazing gift giver, and you seem to just always be able to foresee what someone would be thrilled to get, then DO THAT! Because it really IS always awesome to get something and think "WOW!!!! You really know me so well!" - and it's also such an excellent feeling to GIVE that kind of gift. When you can see on a person's face that you did so incredibly well that it left them speechless. BUT, if you don't have any clue, then don't shrink away from the gift card. It has much more meaning than just "I don't know you very well."

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Okay, everyone!!!! Let us all know how you feel about gift cards for Christmas, both giving and getting!!!

touchy Topic Tuesday- Have Yourself a Politically Correct Little Holiday Season

Oh man!!! My new Meme, "Mommier-Than-Thou Mondays" totally flopped yesterday!!!

Not only did NO ONE link up, I only got ONE comment!!! Awwwww!!!!

Come on mommies! Lets make it work next week- Grab my button from the side bar, and tell us why you're a better mommy than ANYONE else!!!!

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Touchy Topic Tuesday:

Have Yourself a Politically Correct Little Holiday Season

So, maybe it's just my pregnancy hormones that have gone haywire...I don't think so, because I can't really stand disrespect anyway...but I have really been rubbed the wrong way by those people who just can't handle the Christmas spirit and insist on being politically correct about everything.

First of all, there are a lot of holidays happening in December. Many of them are religious. Hanukkah for example, as well as Christmas. And don't forget Kwanzaa, which, admittedly, I don't completely understand as i have not thoroughly studied it.

As teachers of a group of girls ages 9 to 12 at our church, Brandon and I decided that, since we studied the Old Testament this year and will next year be studying the New Testament, our class Christmas party would be focused on learning about Hanukkah, the holiday that Christ himself would have celebrated, and the miracle that happened BETWEEN the Old and New Testaments.

On Sunday, we announced to our girls the theme of the party.

Now, in her defense, this girl was a granddaughter to a woman in our ward and is not regularly in our class, so she was not used to us, or the regular dose of culture, tolerance, and what my husband calls "Gee-whiz information" that we try to emphasize with our girls. However, multiple moments with her ten-year-old sass, crass, and disrespect eventually pushed me over the edge.

"But we aren't Jewish. I don't believe in Hanukkah...why in the world would I want to learn about it or celebrate it?"

*G*A*G*

Of course, we spent more time explaining why a Christian should care about Hanukkah, and from there, the conversation spiraled into another girl mentioning that Christ's birthday isn't even IN December, and why do we celebrate it then?

Okay, well, this is something i hear on a regular basis, not just from my 10 year olds. Yes, it's a holiday that derived from a Pagan holiday called Yule Tide. Yes, there is evidence that his birthday was actually in the spring. I really have to say that if this is really something that ticks you off that much, you need to look for something else to be passionate about because it's really not worth it. Christmas time is one of those times where people open their hearts, their pockets, and their minds to people who need them. Charity is rampant at Christmas time. Families reconcile and reunite to laugh and enjoy each other's company. People are coerced to think about others while they search for a perfect gift. I don't know anything that sets a bond between people the way holiday food does.

Have YOU ever celebrated your birthday on a day that wasn't your birthday? Like, for example, you had your party on a Saturday instead of the real day because it was a Wednesday and you were in school? Honestly, I don't see how this is any different. If Christ is really who Christ is supposed to be and I suspect he is, then doesn't all that joy, harmony, and charity mean a whole lot more in his eyes than celebrating on his actual birthday? I daresay that yes, it is more important.

As I've mentioned before, my Touchy Topic Tuesdays are posts from which I receive multiple private emails from people who don't care to face ridicule from other people, and I face a lot of virtual tongue lashings and snooty answers from people who email me. One email I received from my Touchy Topic Tuesday about Santa Claus was from a woman who insisted that if a person is the type who can promote Santa Claus, they cannot possibly be the kind who actually believe in Christ, therefore, she had taught her children that if someone talks to them about Santa, they are to reply with such things as "Happy Holidays" or "Merry St. Nicholas day" or the like, instead of Christmas, because Christmas implied that they were Christian, and, once again, a person who believed in Christ wouldn't promote Santa.

Radical? I think so.

Another woman, who did not respond in an email or on my blog, but instead replied to a thread I started about my TTT on BlogFrog said something similar to this woman who emailed me, minus the statements about the impossibility of believing in Santa as well as Christ, has taught her children to say the same kind of things in response to those who might mention Santa Claus: "Merry St. Nicholas day" or "Happy Santa day"- and she said that it left people speechless. The statement seemed like she meant it to be smug. Which stirred a bit of hostility in my own heart.

I mean, first off, I have NO idea why a kid saying something like "Happy Santa day" or "Happy Holidays" or "Happy St. Nick" day would leave anyone speechless or shock them. If a kid said that to me, I'd likely just respond with the same, or another holiday greeting- likely "Merry Christmas" because that's what I celebrate (and yes, I believe in Santa AND Christ) and think nothing of it. Never would it leave me speechless OR shocked. I mean, I suppose if I knew it was SUPPOSED to shock me, then I probably would be shocked, but not because this woman has any kind of a valid point- in my opinion, she doesn't have a broken leg to stand on- but because I just can't wrap my brain around this "sock-it-to-'em" mentality that some people relentlessly employ. Who the heck cares if someone celebrates something different than you do? Who cares if they're a different religion than you are? Who cares if they believe something else? Why is it so difficult to just smile and say something -heaven forbid- NICE back?

I haven't ever actually, in real life, been on the receiving end of any blown out of proportion conversation or lashing by saying "Merry Christmas" to someone, but I have seen many many discussions and debates on the internet about it. You'd be surprised by how many people are either 1. Irritated by religious greetings such as "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah", and prefer generic greetings like "Happy Holidays" or "Happy New Year" or "Seasons Greetings" because they feel that someone who spouts a religious greeting is forcing their belief on them (yeah- I think it's a stupid assumption too.) or 2. they always say the generic greetings when out and about because they fear that they will offend someone or they fear that they will receive backlash.

THIS IS WHAT OFFENDS ME THE MOST: When people get offended because I say Merry Christmas.

I'm sorry, but I'm Christian, and I celebrate Christmas. And newsflash: Even if you aren't Christian, even if you don't celebrate the holiday, it's still actually CALLED Christmas. And I still just don't see why it's such a horrible thing for someone to wish you a Merry Christmas in passing. Why must people adopt an offended attitude because they don't celebrate? Really? Is it so hard to just smile and nod and move on? Is it really so difficult to just wish THEM a Merry Christmas? I mean, obviously someone who wishes you a Happy Hanukkah is someone who DOES celebrate that particular holiday. Would it kill you to wish them a happy day in something they find very satisfying and joyous? I guarantee that no one who gives a religious greeting is doing so specifically to offend that person. On the contrary, a person who extends such a greeting is probably doing it because they are in high spirits and feel good at the moment.

Furthermore, I am NOT Jewish, and I don't celebrate Hanukkah, though I am a person who respects other people and other cultures and other religions very much. If someone wished me a Happy Hanukkah, I would very readily wish them the same, despite my religious preference, and go on without even thinking about it. Never in a gazillion years would I contemplate stopping the person to explain that they're being rude because I am not, in fact, of their same belief. Never in a millennia would I consider responding, instead, with a "Merry Christmas" with the sole intention of giving them a hint that THEY are wrong.

In short, I don't care what you say. I don't care what your religion is or what you celebrate. I think that the holidays, whatever that happens to mean to you, should be a joyous, happy time, and one cannot be joyous or happy when trying so desperately to be offended.

I won't ever be offended when someone wishes me any kind of Holiday greeting, be it religious or generic- but honestly, you probably had better chill out when i wish a Merry Christmas...and a happy whatever you believe in to you.

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Join in the debate, friends!!! Keep it decent, blatantly rude comments or personal attacks will be deleted immediately without discussion.

Touchy Topic Tuesday: Christmas Before Thanksgiving???

Touchy Topic Tuesday

Christmas Before Thanksgiving????

So, I love autumn. And I love Halloween. I love the crispness that comes into the air, the rain, the colors changing all over, lighting trees and bushes alight as though they were on fire.

As a mother, i have grown to love Halloween even more. I love watching the kids decide what they want to be, and choose their costumes. I love the details they come up with- like, Lilly insisting that she needed to have blue hair to be the corpse bride, and Mahone being too serious to join in the dancy Halloween songs we sang at one party because Indiana Jones would NEVER do the goblin-pokey.

And two days after Halloween, I walked into Wal*Mart to find a giant, beautifully decorated Christmas tree.

On Facebook, I am seeing more and more people brag about how they have accomplished their Christmas shopping already.

And in retaliation, person after person types exclamations of disgust about Thanksgiving not getting it's day.

Well, frankly, I hate Thanksgiving. I don't like thanksgiving food, and ever since I've been married, I have had to endure 4 different Thanksgivings every year because apparently it's just TOO important to miss, so I have to eat 4 versions of the same dinner.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm very THANKFUL, and I appreciate the intention behind the holiday, but I just can't stand the day.

Christmas, on the other hand, IS my favorite holiday.

And I don't just start after Halloween. I listen to Christmas music all year long. Every night, I play CDs of lullabies while my children drift off to sleep. And they're Christmas songs.

Seeing the tree at Wal*Mart didn't upset me at all. In fact, it only inspired me. I rushed right over to the seasonal isle, only to be disappointed (yes, I truly was) that they were still clearancing summer plants.

I, too, have already started Christmas shopping, and soon I will be finished.

For our anniversary on November 21, Brandon and I will be seeing a Christmas play.

I. Love. Christmas.

And it just can't start too early for me.

Now, I know that a lot of people feel that Thanksgiving deserves it's fair share of attention. And it does. To my knowledge, Thanksgiving has never been canceled. I've had at least one Thanksgiving dinner every year of my life. In fact, my youngest brother was BORN on Thanksgiving, and that was a particularly special Thanksgiving that I'll never forget.

But lets face it. Aside from meeting with family, which is always, ALWAYS a pleasure, there is nothing else TO Thanksgiving. There is no music pertaining to Thanksgiving, there aren't really any great decorations, and there is no gift giving, no exchange of sentiments.

I mean, of course, it's always wonderful to talk to our children about being thankful, and ask them what they are thankful for, and the answers are always deliciously sweet. But, personally, I find the whole thing tedious and drab.

I know, also, that the other common argument for the disdain for Christmas advertisement is the belief that Christmas is overly commercialized.

Well, Christmas most certainly IS commercialized. I am already starting to see commercials on television advertising sentimental jewelry and walking-talking dolls that pee when you feed them a bottle. I also, very happily, received some valuable Christmas decoration coupons from Tai Pan Trading Company advertising 25% off of any Christmas tree (which, I might add, were huge and gorgeous.)

I am a Christian mother, and when it comes to Christmas, it is a duty that both my husband and I take very seriously to keep my children's minds in the right place when the big guy in red comes to town.

It's a daily discussion at Christmas time, about how Christ was born in a stable, and that, as his birthday, we celebrate by giving each other gifts. This year, for Christmas, instead of buying our children presents from Mom and Dad, they will choose the name of a child their own age off of an angel tree, and we will be buying presents for that child. They will have no gifts to open from us at all. And they have known this since July, we have discussed it in length, and hopefully the idea and importance of charity and selflessness throughout the holidays will seep into their little brains and hearts.

And yet, I don't mind the commercialization at all. I love Christmas commercials advertising everything- especially when they're adorable or hilarious.

And, I just LOVE buying presents. I love going overboard. i love to see my kids wake up to Christmas morning and what Santa brought them, wrapped in colorful, metallic paper and piled high across the room. I love to sit and think about each recipient of my gifts on an individual basis to try and find the thing they love most. something that will inspire them. Something that will make them gasp- in the good, surprised way.

And it goes without saying, I love to get gifts too.

I think that there are two separate parts of Christmas. The spiritual kind and the commercial kind. And if you can figure out how to keep them separate, then in my book, it's all okay.

So, how do YOU feel about Christmas in November? Do you love Christmas? Or do you feel that Thanksgiving gets the back burner? Let us know!!!