~*The Best Gifts Aren't Wrapped*~

I've been stressed about Christmas--what should I do for gifts this year? Somehow, I got lost in the commercialism of the holiday.  I've been trying to get into the Christmas spirit but every time I turn around I'm hearing different things in the media, in the crowds at the stores, etc. about getting the 'perfect gift'. But as I thought about the 'perfect gift' I couldn't think of anything  material that I just had to have that would make me happy. Sure, there's things I think about I would like to have...esp. a toaster since mine is from our wedding--13 years ago!  I've looked at all of the top of the line toasters, ones that cook bagels and belgian waffles. It would nice to have one, but I think it's something I could live without.

Saturday Austin surprised me with decorating our entire Christmas tree by himself and Dylan folded the laundry for me. When I got home from the store, the tree was decorated, the laundry was folded and I was greeted at the door with a big hug. I thought, what better gift than to have my kids help me out and greet me with affection. It's those kind of gifts that are the best gifts--the ones that aren't wrapped. They don't come decorated with shiny paper and big bows. The best gifts are those things we do for each other to show our love and support for one another.

As a nurse I see alot of illness, pain, and suffering. I once took care of a sweet lady who was acutely ill and had a delicate health condition.  Her sweet husband stayed at the hospital day and night worried about her. He would get up in the middle of the night and check on her to see if she was ok.  He clearly didn't ever get enough sleep, but he stayed by her side until she was well enough to leave the hospital. It was sweet to see someone be there for his sweetheart in the most difficult of situations and not get frustrated and want to leave and give up on everything.  I believe in some way, his love and attention gave her the strength to keep trying and helped her get well enough to leave the hospital.  He gave her the gift of unconditional love--the best give of all.  It wasn't wrapped in pretty paper, it didn't shine and sparkle--but he shined. He sparkled. When he talked about her getting her better, his eyes lit up--his love made him sparkle.

The ultimate gift we have been given at Christmas was not wrapped in shiny paper in a big box with bows.  It was a child born in a stable, God's child, who one day grew to love God's children enough to sacrifice his life for us all. A Christ-child born in a manger, in lowly circumstances, grew to be a prophet, taught us that unconditional love was the 'pefect gift', and sacrificed His life for us. 

The best gifts definitely aren't wrapped in shiny paper, with big pretty bows. They are gifts of love, acts of kindness, and  sacrifice.  Sure, it's easy to get caught up in the Holiday frenzy about what are we going to get for this person or that person. But the gift of love--the gift that's not wrapped--is the best gift of all and the sweet  memories those gifts give us last far longer than any material gift we could ever give.

~*Angel Kisses*~

I'm remembering a time when my brother and I were young, he was maybe 6 years old and I was 11. I kept teasing him about his freckles. He was this little red-haired boy with a multitude of freckles scattered across his smiley little boy face. I was the typical older sibling, teasing him and making him cry numerous times a day while my mom kept scolding, "You're the oldest. You should know better." LOL I just kept teasing. One day my mom had finally had enough of me teasing and making my brother cry so she sits us both down and looks me directly in the eyes and says, "Each one of us are individuals--we are one-of-a-kind. There's not one person in the entire world that is exactly like us. We are unique. For your brother, his gorgeous freckles well, they make him uniqe. And besides, everyone knows that freckles are Angel Kisses. The angels love him so much that every night they kiss him while he's asleep and he wakes up with even more freckles. How lucky is he? Very lucky to have angels kiss him goodnight. And you my dear, with your beautiful blue eyes have the ability to see the good in people and make them feel at ease when they see the smile in your eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul and you have a big, beautiful picture window where people can look and see the sunshine that bounces off your window." I sat there quietly, not really knowing what to say, with tears in my eyes, turned to my little brother and said, "I'm sorry I was mean to you and made fun of your freckles. They do really look ok on you."

I felt so bad that I had been mean. But here was my sweet Mom using kind words and beautiful analogies to help us see with Heavenly eyes instead of Worldly eyes. Somehow Moms always know how to use love to smooth things over. I've been learning that slowly, but surely, over the past 12 years as I have had the opportunity to be a Mother and know what my mom truly felt like raising us children. It's not an easy task, but it's a worthwhile one for sure. I'm grateful for a mom who raised us with love and showed us that turning a fight back into love is remembering what Heaven is like, who we truly are and where we came from.......a place where Angels sneak out at night and kiss us on the cheek. ;)

How to love like a child......

I'm having a mom moment right now. I was going through boxes to find some pictures I was looking for to do some scrapbooking and came across a Mother's Day gift from May 2008 given to me by Austin, my 10 year-old who was 7 at the time. It always gives my heart a 'warm fuzzy' when I find these things. I still have things in boxes from our move to our house last year. But finding this today made me think about what makes a child love so freely. It's a picture that he colored of a little boy giving his mom flowers and this is what it says......

                                           Mom,
                                    I Love You Because...

You do stuff for me and your my only Mom. And you also take me on vacation. I love You bigger than the Moon. Your the best mom ever! (i love how he uses an exclamation point here :) Your also the nicest mom ever! (again, the exclamation point) Thank you for keeping this.

                                        Love, Austin

Wow, do kids really know how to make your heart flutter! How is it that they know how to love so Big, and so Deep and so Unconditional?  And how is it that as we grow older that innocence that made us love so Big, and so Deep and so Unconditional slowly fades? We start to get older, wiser (so we think) and start to become selfish and jaded. We start to knock off points when somebody does something we don't like. Oh, she didn't say hi to me, she's not my friend anymore.  He didn't say how pretty I looked today...I'm not kissing him goodnight.  Pretty soon the Love just goes away and we're left alone with our grudges. There's no one to laugh with or to kiss goodnight.  How is that kids still love us when we scold them, or don't buy them the toy they want, or make them go to bed early? They never stay mad too long, they still laugh with us....they still kiss us goodnight... they tell us "I love You bigger than the Moon." I want to remember what it's like to love so Big, and so Deep and so Unconditional. How to love with an Exclamation point! How to love like a child......

Motherhood....LOL

Since this is my first post, I might as well tell a little about myself. Most of you reading this probably know me well enough (umm, no laughing :P) but I will torture you once again with the details for those who don't know me so well (I know you want to :)  My name is Roxy (um, no it's not, but that story comes later. you'll just have to wait. haaa haa) I am a proud single mommy of 2 gorgeous boys ages 12 (Dylan) & 10 (Austin). The days they were born were the best days of my entire life.

Ummm, let's see, Motherhood...LOL. Ya, nobody prepares you for the day you meet these little people, look in their eyes (through a drug-induced haze due to the fact that they just ripped these cute little buggers from your terrified body), and saw Heaven.  It's a precious moment indeed. Although, by the same token, nobody prepares you for the day you take them home and they cry incessantly and you realize you have no clue why they are crying and where the heck is the nurse! She could figure this out...why didn't she come home with me dammit!  Are they hungry, cold, sleepy, colicky. wth??!! And you are too embarrassed to ask your Mom because you know she will say..."Well dear, you'll figure it out eventually. Every mommy knows their baby's cry and what he wants." LOL Where the heck did she learn THAT!! I guess it does come with time. And by the time they are 5 years old you know....oh wait a minute...you STILL don't know why they are CRYING!!!! Ahhhh, the joys of surviving Motherhood. Now you know why there are things like MOMMYPALOOZA where they sing songs like "Eat your Damn Spaghetti" and "I just want to Pee Alone". OMG.

Don't get me wrong, Motherhood isn't that horrifying...it's this cRaZy, WoNdErFuL, haPPy, eXausTinG journey of Love, Patience, Hope, Joy, crusTy BooGeRs & SuPeR gLuE. Can you tell I'm a BoyMom? Ya, the boogers and superglue are a daily occurence at my house. LOL Oh, and don't be surprised if I say LOL, LMAO, ROFLMBO, or just sometimes even !@#$% while describing Motherhood moments. Hey, venting is my therapy, ok. Isn't this why some totally AWESOME person created blogs in the first place? :P

More Mom adventures to come.....Stay tuned. :)