A good time was had by all!

The family 

 Christmas party was a

 big success! 

Before pictures-

Party pictures!

Only one more family party to go!

I love the holidays!

Family History Friday: Been awhile!

Family

I'm still here! Sorry, I haven't posted for a little bit. I worked 46 hours this week and I am bushed. I had a party tonight, and I am hosting a party tomorrow. You should see my house! It's gonna take a miracle to be ready for it. We are not really pack rats (I don't think), but we are all busy, and just don't put the first thing away before we get the next thing out. In fact, I'm pretty sure I have A.D.D. I am a cosmetologist, real estate agent, Mary Kay (whatever they're called), not to mention, I am a genealogist, scrapbooker, I sew when the opportunity presents itself, I volunteer in the church and community and work a full time job (which by the way, I absolutely LOVE). If my house was always perfect it would be a miracle. I've always said that at our house "it's 5 against 1", meaning I'm the only one who cares what the house looks like. OK enough of that! For FHF I want to tell you how much I love my life. Every messy, disorganized and busy part of it. I don't think I would be happy if I didn't do all of the creative and busy things I do. I also want to tell you that the most important thing in Family History is Family! I know our Father in Heaven gave us families so that we could love and support each other as we live and learn here on earth. I have learned to relax alot and enjoy my time making memories and loving my family. Try it, try to relax a little more when things aren't perfect around the house. I heard a poem that I love and it taught me this principle.

Some houses try to hide the fact 
that children shelter there,

Ours boasts of it quite openly 
the signs are eveywhere.

For smears are on the windows,
 little smudges on the door,

I should apologize I guess 
for toys strewn on the floor.

But I sat down with the children
 and we played and laughed and read,

And if the doorbell doesn't shine, 
their eyes will shine instead.

For when at times, I'm forced to choose 
the one job or the other,

I want to be a housewife, but first 
I'll be a Mother!

Let's all make lots of great memories with our families.

Some of these memories become the favorite stories our families tell for generations.

Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy

Lessons from the Mountain!

You may have read my post  from 10-6-09 about the time me and my darlinest climbed this mountain. Wow, it was an amazing, and hard, experience. I reflect on it from time to time. One lesson I learned was to
 keep a proper perspective. When you're up high like that, some things down below seem quite insignificant, while others seem amazing, beautiful and very important. You can't tell from up on top of the mountain that there are any problems in the world. You would think that everything is just moving along. The houses look so nice all lined up next to each other. The things in my life that tend to overwhelm me are not even important. I sensed the reality that we're all here together just trying to do the best we can.
I once heard an example of perspective from a teacher named Randy Bott. After climbing a mountain, his experience went something like this, while in the valley there were really rough roads, with jigs and jogs, pot holes and bumps. If you were to ride on the road you would wonder why those who made the road did such a lously job. You couldn't see more than ten feet past the road on either side. But on top of the mountain, he could see why the road jigs or jogs, there was a big boulder or a body of water or something there that couldn't be seen from the road. He said, "I could see, what I could not see from down on the road. 
There was purpose in the jigs and the jogs...it made perfect sense from 1500 feet in the air. And from 1500 feet in the air
you couldn't see the pot holes". 
I believe someday we will see our lives like I saw the valley below my beautiful mountain. And like Randy said we won't see the pot holes. The things in our lives that overwhelm or frustrate us will not be important.  We will understand why the road was bumpy or had jigs and jogs. I am glad, and am thankful when I'm reminded to look at life with the proper perspective.

What a great dude!!

This is Alex. He is my 3rd child and the most quoted.

 He is the one who taught me about going "slow and steady".

Here is the post from May 14th 2009:  "I feel like I have spent the better part of my motherhood very overwhelmed. I know I'm not alone, but it still bugs me. I want to be on top of all my responsibilities, all the time. Talk about unrealistic expectations!!! I learned a great lesson from one of my kids. When my son, Alex, was quite young, maybe six, he taught me the value of patience and perseverance. One day, while going through piles and piles of mail, school papers, bills and various other things that tend to pile up on our kitchen counters, I screamed, "I'm never going to get through all these piles". To which Alex replied, "Mom, remember 'Slow & steady wins the race!'" Now, most people know this phrase from The Tortoise and the Hare, the darling children's book about the race between these two animals. The hare races frantically along, then has to take naps because he is so tired from being frantic (sound familiar?). The tortoise moves along slow and steady. Of course the tortoise wins because he kept an even pace, and didn't wear himself out trying to be super turtle (or super mom). Ever since that day, I remember what he said and am glad for the lesson. I am much more patient with myself and my life. I am learning to perservere better all the time. Remember....Slow & steady wins the race!"

He is a senior in high school now and is such a blessing in my life. He is the type of kid you can always count on. I am so blessed to be his mom.

-Five Faves-

                                               on the 5th

#1 Twinkling lights

#2 Snowflakes 

#3 Family Parties and lots a love
#4 Christmas morning

#5 Sitting by the fire, drinking cocoa

Family History Friday (FHF): Let's go on a Trip!

When you plan your next family vacation, you might want to go to a place where some of your families history began. It might not seem as fun or important to your children as Disneyland or Sea World, but if you do, they will leave with a sense of appreciation for their ancestors.
About ten years ago, we had the opportunity to go to Boston. Both my husband and I have family roots near there. If you read my story of Thanksgiving about Suzanna White, you might be interested to know, that she is one my husbands ancestors. We traveled all around the area. We saw the Mayflower II, and the Plimouth Plantation. You can read about it here. The kids were amazed at how small the ship was, and they couldn't believe that half of the pilgrims died that first winter. I know it was the best vacation we could take at that time, and one of the most memorable.

Fairbanks Homestead

We also went to the Fairbanks home in Dedham, Massachusetts. It is the oldest timber framed home in America. Jonathan Fairbanks is my ancestor on my father's side. You can see it here. We were able to go through the home and see some the furniture and things inside. The Fairbanks home was built in 1637/8 and is amazing to look at. The home has old timber beams put together with what they call a "double bladed scarf joint", it is pretty amazing. It you want to, you can see it here. Maybe if more things were built with a double bladed scarf joint they would last, (like some marriages I know). Anyway, the home has seen a lot of history. When traveling to a place of historical significance to your family there are always other places to stop along the way. It's a fun way to travel, and we always tell the kids, we're having an adventure!! Plan your next trip to an important place, where your roots began, do it today! Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy

Christmas Time

I love it, Christmas time, that is!

I thought I'd share with you some of my JOY collection.

I have a joy collection, because my name is Joy
and every Christmas people give me Joys.
So here we go....Ode to Joy



My darling shelf with my snowman collection.
That way I can keep my decorations up until February. I'm a thinker!!!

My tree, not quite finished. And the little manger for the baby Jesus. We have a tradition that we have had since my kids were little. We add a piece of straw to the manger for every kind deed we do for each other. We are trying to make a soft bed for baby Jesus by Christmas morning, so the kids work on it all month. I think it's a great tradition, especially since Jesus taught us to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Happy Christmas time, everyone!! Love, Joy