Christmas Cards 2010

I just finished gathering together the Christmas cards that I received from this past season.  I reread each one and looked at the pictures that were sent with them.  The notes that were jotted on the cards were loving and meaningful, but now the season was over, so what should I do with them? 

What should I do with  these Christmas cards?  Before, I would just toss them, or use them for a craft project, something like that, but now the cards that I am receiving have more meaning.  

Some are handmade with special messages.  Some are greetings with family pictures.  Some have special notes written on them.  Some cards are so elegant that they are a beautiful picture in itself.  So what should I do with them???

I think I should combine the ones that are special in a book, maybe make a scrapbook of them and add to it each year.  This way I will have a visual record and an up date of family members...   Good idea, now I'll just have to think on how I'm going to implement this.

All the cards that have meaning to me are special.  My niece Dina loves making greeting cards, she evens has her personalize stamp on the back, plus they always have a personal touch.  Many send  family picture greeting cards, which is always good for updates.  Some grandchildren send beautiful cards with a family picture included.  The cards are always a joy to receive and a joy to display.

This year I received a special Christmas card from my granddaughter Cara.  It was a picture greeting card, designed by her.  It picture's Cara, her loving husband and her three children.  The setting is: their standing in a kitchen, she's dressed in a dress, with an apron, high heel shoes, looking at and holding a apple pie in one hand and holding her baby in the other.  Her husband is standing next to her, all dressed up in nice pants, white shirt and tie, leaning towards her, kissing her on the neck.  Her daughter and son each sitting on the floor.  Connor, her son is holding onto his Daddy's leg and her daughter Eden, is holding onto her leg.  The greeting on the card says:  "May your holidays be as classic as Mom and Apple Pie."

I think why this card was extra special to me, was that it let my mind, go back in my memories, to my childhood.

When I was being raised, woman never worn pants.  I remember my mother always wearing a dress (called house dresses) and an apron and even high heel shoes.  She did her house work in this attire.  She did the laundry, the sweeping the floors, the cooking and cleaning, always dressed like this.  She had her lipstick and makeup on, and her hair was combed and styled the first thing in the morning.  Mother was a good cook, but she left the making of apple pie to my Nannie.

Cara's card was designed in a Retro style and I know she has received many complements for this Christmas card.  She did a beautiful job in designing and executing her idea, but I am most grateful to her for her creativity, for it triggered in me, sweet memories of my dear mother and memories of a loving home and of a childhood, that I hadn't thought about for many, many years.

Yes, I think I will make a scrapbook of my special Christmas cards and I'll also ask my Cara if she will send me an 8x10 picture of this card as I would like to frame it and put it in my red room.

Welcome To My World

My oldest daughter Marta came home for a visit just recently, now I say "Home" and that's because that's where her Mom and Dad live, not the home she was raised in, but home is home where love and memories are felt and seen. 

I have two rooms that are Guest Rooms in my new home, one is the Red Room and the other is the Blue Room.  My guest have their choice in which room they would like to stay.  My husband calls the Red Room the Hot Room and the Blue Room the Cool Room, I'm not sure why he says that, but we smile and have a little laugh and a tight squeeze.  I love the Victorian Style with a nostalgia flair and my home has this feeling.

I told my daughter she could stay in the room she wished.  She looked them both over and then chose the Red Room.  After a few days she told me how much she was enjoying this room, she said it was because she had her family all around her, you see, I have vaulted ceilings in my home and in my Guest Rooms I have a shelf  running around, above the windows, of the three walls and on the shelf I have pictures and keepsakes. The pictures in the red room are of her children and her grandchildren, she felt loved, she was wrapped with warm, cozy and happy feelings, it just felt good to her.

We had a wonderful visit, went many places, saw many things, did lots of visiting with family and lots of talking and sharing.  She said to me "Mom, you need to do a Blog."  A Blog?  What is a Blog????   She told me she has been doing a Blog, in fact, she has been doing it for over a year and all her children are doing one too.  You need to do one, she said.  It's like writing a journal, just talking to yourself.  You can write about your memories, your dreams or just your thoughts and your feelings. It's fun.  She pulled up her "Blog" and I started to read. It was fun, to read how she felt about things, about events, about life and about what makes her happy.  OK, Sweetheart, your Mama doesn't know that  much about this ole PC, so you'll have to set me up and teach me a few things, and then we see what we can do and maybe your Mama will have a Blog too.

So here it is.  "Life's Peaceful Moments"  This will be my Blog.  My daughter Marta has gotten me started and my talented and artistic granddaughter Cara has done all the art work, I hope you like it, I know I do, in fact I love it, love it, love it, thank you Cara.....Sooo... Welcome to my World......