Baby, it's cold outside!

I know we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet, but it's cold and there's snow in the forecast, so I'm breaking out the Christmas mug, turning on the holiday music, and moving along to the Christmas decorating. It's time to revamp the Christmas mantle. Here's some inspiration I'm pouring over.

(I swiped them all from the web, and have absolutely no idea who to credit for these images.)

And I'm also mulling over all the little elements in this photo, from this website my sister introduced to me.

Lists

I asked the girls about their Christmas lists the other day, and surprisingly they both had them already. (Amelia is usually slow with hers because she never knows what she wants. Actually she does. She wants candy, and whatever Maddie is getting.)

Here are their lists this year. They crack me up because they are so typical of their personalities.

Madeline--she always knows exactly what she wants, and this list will not change a bit between now and Christmas.

• Small sewing kit--brown w/ blue and green circles
• Choker necklace from Banana Republic (she saw it while shopping with Kolby)
• Waterproof watch
• Camera
• Lego Batman for Nintendo DS

Amelia--she had candy on the list, but then crossed it off. It really is her #1.

• DS game
• Pillow pet
• Clothes
• Fruit roll-ups

Clearly, she was desperate. This list will be amended multiple times, based on the items she sees advertised on TV.

Clarity

I just finished the biggest part of my mental health rotation working in-patient psychiatrics in the state-run hospital. (I still have a few days left working in out-patient clinics). One of the big predictors for how well these patients would do once discharged was the quality of their support system on the outside. Many of them had come from absolutely tragic upbringings and had only toxic relationships in their lives. Many of them will likely be back within months--this was the fifth or sixth or tenth admission for some. It was a tough rotation for me. It left me feeling beaten and defeated most days.

At the same time, it also left me with a huge sense of gratitude for the people in my life. My parents and siblings--how lucky am I to have nothing but happy memories of my childhood? My family is still an amazing support system for us. When Kolby was laid off a few years ago, one of the things that calmed my panic attacks was knowing that "the worst" that could happen was we'd have to pack up and move to Utah and live in the old house for a while. And that just sounded nice, living next to Mom and Dad and having Pammy and our siblings and nieces and nephews close. And after this rotation I realize what an amazing thing that is--going through life always knowing that you have a soft place to fall.

And the "family of friends" we have made up here in the Northwest have helped us raise our kids, supported me in so many ways while I've been in school, made the holidays away from family less lonely, and loved us and loved our kids like family.

There's an Eddie Vedder song that catches my attention every time I hear it:

I'm a lucky man, to count on both hands

The ones I love

Some folks they got one,

and others they got none...

After spending a few weeks with those folks who have one or none, I feel lucky. Very, very lucky and incredibly thankful for the people in my life. You know who you are. Text me if you're unsure.

Edited to add: I got a text from Kolby. Apparently my husband doesn't identify with the "we" I used in the post. Maybe he thought I was talking about me and the cats whenever I said "we?" I guess I can understand how you could make that mistake. Anyway, absolutely Kolby and the girls are also a very important part of my support system keeping me out of the looney bin. And so are the cats.

Team Spirit

Amelia's friends were signing up to do the mini cheer camp at the high school, so I signed her up as well, because I'm that kind of mom. If they were signing up to jump off a cliff, I'd sign her up for that too. (Not really. I don't think.) Actually, I signed her up because I just love to see what this girl will do. She was such a shy and timid kid up through preschool, and now she'll try just about anything that's thrown at her.

I did not expect her to love it as much as she did. All week long she practiced her cheers and kicks around the house. The camp was Monday thru Friday, with the "minis" cheering with the big girls at the high school football game on Friday night. Clearly all that hard work paid off. Have you ever seen a more skillful high kick? No, you have not.

I'm pretty sure she grinned like that the entire time she was out there.

Trapeze, with kids.

The girls have been begging me to do trapeze for months. Groupon finally put up another coupon for it, so we bought some and took the kids. They loved it, and have now added Trapeze Artists to their list of career options.

Accessorizing

Everything looks better with cats.

(I bet you thought I was done with the cat posts. Not even close.)

Love these little kitties so much, I'm going to try to grow some more.