It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

The countdown is on. It is The Most Wonderful (and busiest)  Time of the Year!

“And the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people;’” The Bible, Luke 2:10

Celebrating Jesus. Come to earth as a baby. For me and you!

Over the years, our celebration has come to include SO MANY things……..family and friends, meals out, gift giving, serving others, evenings in, shopping, cleaning, decorating, baking, cooking……..and the list goes on……….

In the midst of it all, life doesn’t stop. So, HOW DO we fit it all in?

Plan 1st. Do 2nd. You have heard it all before. Make your list. Check it twice.

I think we are skipping a very important step………..

Make your list. Simplify your list. Then check it twice.

Most of us shop too much, bake too much, cook too much, EAT WAY TOO MUCH, plan too much, commit to too much, and generally wear ourselves out. At a time when we want to slow down and appreciate all Christmas  means and the people in our lives, we are bogged down with our “TO DO LIST”.

Absolutely, spread joy, celebrate, shower those you love, shop, bake, cook, decorate………

Just go about it as simply as possible.

As you look forward to and plan for the the holiday season, take a few minutes to make a list of everything you do to celebrate……..all your traditions………from baking and cooking, to decorating and Christmas caroling, to service opportunities and giving. Then ask your family members what is important to them. You may be surprised! Finally, simplify that list.  Pick those things that have the most meaning. Be realistic and be kind to yourself!

Check back during the next few weeks as I give you practical hints on Gift Giving, Holiday Meals and Baking, and Cleaning and Decorating.

Happy Holidays!

Cheryl

The Inept Scrapbooker and 13 Years of Photos

The Inept Scrapbooker and 13 Years of Photos

I’m not an “official scrapbooker”, and yet I have been working on my children’s scrapbooks for the past 13 years. 

 

Two of our four children graduated from high school this past June – a bittersweet time. Sweet, as we look back over their accomplishments and individual growth through the years and see the fine young man and young woman they have become. And sweet, knowing we have done all that we could have to prepare them for this next stage of life……….life away from home. Bitter (actually not bitter, just a bit sad) as they are both heading out of state for college very soon………..In opposite directions of the country. Realistically, life and relationship with them will never be the same. Not bad, just different.Someone failed to inform me how crazy busy high school senior year is! The last few weeks of the school year included 3 proms, 2 graduations, college prep, 2 senior capstone service projects, end of the year banquets and celebrations and 4 kids completing sports seasons. In the midst of it all, I wanted to complete a memory book for each of our graduates, spanning the 13 years of their time in school. I also wanted to create a photo gallery frame with sweet memories of their high school years, to be on display at their graduation party, and to pass on as gifts for the graduates.

This task was a joy, not a burden, in large part because I had taken a few simple steps to collect and document their memories and accomplishments over the years.

Of all the organizing projects we might undertake, tackling photos can be the most overwhelming. But on the other hand, it can provide the biggest payoff in terms of joy, satisfaction and freedom. Our photos simplify this by providing memories without having to keep all the “stuff” associated with those memories.

Here is a simple tip to get started. Keep only the best ones! If you hold on to EVERY picture, the volume becomes overwhelming and you won’t be able to enjoy any of them. The idea is to pick the most special, organize those beautifully, and toss the rest. That way, you can actually access and enjoy your memories.

As each of my children began kindergarten I started a school age scrapbook for them. I intentionally purchased spiral bound scrapbooks, which limited the number of pages that I had to fill for each of their years of school. Basically, I had about 5 pages per year………….not so overwhelming for this inept scrapbooker! Then, as each school year began, I simply put a manila folder in the back of each of my children’s scrapbooks to gather pictures of that year.

I began this journey into the “scrapbooking world” before the time of digital photos and cameras. I actually had to bring my film to a store to be developed and pick them up a few days later!

Next, I sorted through all of the pictures, discarding all but the best, and saving the rest in an acid free photo box arranged chronologically. I then pulled out any exceptional photos for each child and slipped them into the envelope for that child’s book. At that time, I also decided if I needed to order additional copies of any photos for the family photo album.

By the end of each school year, I had gathered highlights of each child’s year, which generally included their first day of school, highlights of the year, special activities and sports, and summer fun. In addition, I had collected all of our family photos in a photo box, which were arranged chronologically, and eventually slipped them into sleeves for a simple family album.

I then spent a few hours arranging the photos and memories that I had collected for each child into their scrapbook. Despite my inaptitude as a “scrapbooker”, I enjoyed these hours. It was a time to reminisce and review each child’s year. I didn’t try to “tell a story” on each page, as a seasoned scrapbooker may. Instead, I simply mounted the best pictures that I had for that year, along with a few colorful die cuts, photo-safe stickers, cardstock, and a few captions or funny sayings.

As my children head off to college, this non-scrapbooker is thrilled to have a picture story to remember the past, as I look forward to their exciting years to come.

Times have changed, and over the years, so have my photo habits. Even this old girl has gone digital, ordering and storing pictures online. Many people now create their scrapbooks completely online. The entire process has been simplified, making it easier for us to be the keeper of the memories!

 

The Keeper of Memories

“There is no childhood home to return to for holidays or long weekends. My mother long ago packed my bedroom items into a box marked,”Amy” ,and brought it to me in Birmingham. Letters from old boyfriends, photos from school dances, moody poems I wrote at 13-I keep them safe. I am the caretaker of my own past.”

Excerpt taken from “Going Home Again” By Amy Bickers Mercer,

Southern Living Magazine, April 2008

Parents, you are the caretaker of your child’s past. How do you accomplish this without being overtaken and overwhelmed by mounds and mounds of memories, which when out of control, become clutter rather than keepsakes?

The answer really is simple: You save the BEST and the MOST special keepsakes, photos and memorabilia. If you save everything, it diminishes the value of those SPECIAL items. They will get lost in the shuffle, and you will be left with clutter, not keepsakes!

We tend to start out strong, with the first many pages of the baby book (for the 1st child, at least!) filled out completely. But then, life takes over and we might pile papers in the back of the book for a rainy day. The “rainy day” becomes the “rainy years”, and before we know it, our children are ready to launch out on their own, and if we are lucky, we have boxes of “memories”, which may or may not be clutter, to pass along to them.

So, how can we reign in the clutter and sort through the toys, books, clothes, artwork, school work, and photos? Will we, like Amy’s mother, be able to pass along a wonderful, handpicked history of our children’s development and memories?

First, think LONG TERM and SIMPLE.

Think through the “categories” or stages of your children’s lives. Possible categories might be Baby, Pre-School, School Age and High School.

Secondly, think through how YOU operate.

Next develop a “system” of saving memories for each “category” based on your own personality. Are you a detail oriented person who will actually fill in the blank spaces in the baby book? Lovely! Then simply set aside a few minutes each week or month, depending on your child’s age and rate of development, and do it! You know yourself and your life. If you are not someone who has time, energy or motivation to fill in those blank spaces in the baby book, then come up with a plan that will work for you. You can choose to use a calendar to record the milestones of your child’s development along with cute and funny sayings and incidents. You can hang the calendar in whatever room you spend a significant amount of time, so that it is often accessible and you can record your child’s milestones “on the run”, as they occur. An alternative is to simply set aside a photo box, clearly labeled with your child’s name and, using dividers that come with the photo box, simply slip in the memories you jot down, photos and memorabilia in chronological order. Look how simple it can be!

The same system can be used to record the preschool years.

As your child approaches school age, consider purchasing a file box with 12 dividers or a banker’s box with 12 large envelopes. Then as each year slips by, keep a plastic or cardboard crate accessible and toss in all your child’s potential treasures……….., all the sweet cards, pictures, awards and brilliant writings. At the end of each school year, sort through and save the best and most meaningful. Then transfer them to the appropriate file or envelope. By the end of high school you’ll have a wonderful, handpicked history of your child’s life and development (with very little effort).

To borrow a phrase from Nike, “Just do it”! You’ll be glad you did (and so will your child)!