Enjoy

During the Christmas season, I enjoy…

Sounds of Christmas music
Fragrance of the Christmas tree
Baking and eating sugar cookies
Holiday light displays
Playing in the snow
Shopping for the perfect gift
Warm, cozy fire
Dance Gala
Visit with Santa
Children’s excitement
Time with family
Hanging the Stockings
Lighting the Advent wreath
Mass

REST

Today, I did NOT intend to rest. Today, was supposed to be all about work. Working to get the house picked up, working to get the gifts put away, and working to sort out the old toys for the new.

Unfortunately, my body decided it was time for some much needed rest. After three days of hosting and celebrating Christmas, I got SICK! I caught some type of 12 hour stomach virus, and I slept the entire time and would only awake to run to the bathroom.

Luckily, the Ryan family took the boys to the Museum of Science in Boston and they were gone for the entire day, and Ryan took care of the girls for me.

It felt so good to sleep. My body must have just decided…enough is enough. It took me a full day to recover, but all is well. The work was still waiting for me the next day, but for today I needed some much deserved rest.

HOPE

When I think of Christmas and the birth of Jesus, I think of hope. His birth brings hope to all who believe. Well this Christmas, Ingrid shares this hope.

She is trying to save the environment and the Polar Bears. She collects trash off the ground, and always recycles. She gets very angry with people who do not do their part to save Mother Earth. She has collected 300 juices pouches over the past few months. With these pouches she has made these fabulous purses and tote bags as gifts for friends and family. Today she is giving Auntie Robin her environmentally friendly gift.

In return, Auntie Robin has planted a tree in Ingrid’s name. This tree will be in the National Forest and will preserve the habitat. Through the kindness and conscious of these two incredible ladies, there is hope for our future, the environment and of course the polar bears.

Christmas Day has Arrived

Yippee!! Christmas has arrived and Santa has left lots of toys and goodies for the good little girls and boys. The Christmas tree is sparkling, the gifts are beautifully wrapped and the children are just bursting with excitement to see what gifts Santa has brought for them.

In a matter of an hour, all of the hard work that Santa and his little elf have done in the past month will quickly come to an end. Wrappings will be all over the place, and the toys will be ripped from their boxes, but the smiles on the children’s faces prove that it really is worth all the hard work.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve has arrived. The children are anticipating
Santa’s arrival, the cooking is done and it is time to share the
love and joy the season has to offer. Family and friends gather, and we reflect on the many blessings God has given us this past year.

My favorite part of the day is Midnight Mass. I just love how Father Roy has decorated our beautiful house of worship. The music just takes your breath away, as a trio of opera singers rejoice in song. The message of hope that Father brings to us
is the real meaning of Christmas. As Christ enters your heart,
you are renewed and truly blessed.

As you leave Mass in the stillness of the early morning, all is
right with the world. God has truly blessed us with peace.

made with love

Our Christmas is filled with lots of love. Every where we go, we are surrounded by the joy and magic of the season. One of the biggest signs of love, is our Christmas
stockings.

These stockings were hand made by our family friend, Mrs. Faith Johnson. The tradition began when our first child was born. She hand knit the stocking for a gift, and with the birth of each child, we received another stocking. We cherish these stockings, and the kids love to hang them from the mantle.

On Christmas morning, the stockings are always the first presents we open. While Mom and Dad enjoy their coffee, the kids take turns one at a time, opening their stocking gifts. This is so much fun, and I hope we continue the stocking tradition when the kids are all grown and have families of their own.

cookie to do

One more day until cookie day!! This is one of my favorite days of the year. The kids and I bake all of the goodies for Christmas, and have fun together. We have our old standbys that we make each year, and we always try one new treat. This
year it is peppermint bark.

Lots of ingredients go into these treats. The most important one…is lots of love!

Right Now

we are being hammered by the year's first storm. A foot of snow fell on Friday, 3 inches on Saturday and now today another 4 inches mixed with ice.

tale of the unexpected

This is a tale of a fair haired girl. She was only three years old, but she caused quite a commotion one Christmas day. You see, her grandparents had the fairest tree in all the land. It had hand made ornaments that they had brought with them from Germany, sparkly lights and beautiful hand blown glass balls. The tree was beautiful, and people came from all over to see this tree.

Grandma and Grandpa also loved their beautiful little girl very much. They searched the land far and wide for the perfect gift for her. They found it…a hand made rocking chair.

She loved the chair so much! She had so much fun rocking back and forth that Christmas morning. Unfortunately, she did not realize that the chair kept sliding back…until she knocked the beautiful tree over and she landed on top of it.

Grandpa was very angry with the little girl, but Grandma came and gave her lots of love. They cleaned up the broken ornaments and put the tree back up. It was still the prettiest tree in all the land, and the little girl was forgiven.

How do I know this story?? Well, the fair haired little girl…was me!

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

It has been quite some time, since I have written to you, I am so sorry, but I have been a little busy with my six kids. Thirty five years has passed since the original photo was taken. Although much has changed, some things remain the same.

Yes, I want a wonderful Christmas filled with love and joy. I do want to spend time with family and loved ones, and of course I want peace on earth.

However, there are a few frivolous things I would love. Remember the Barbie corvette I wanted? I would love a Cadillac CTS (in red of course). The moon boots…how about a pair of chocolate Uggs? Oh and the robin egg blue eye shadow, I prefer MAC cosmetics now.

I do still BELIEVE, and I have been a very good girl. So I hope you can
find it in your heart to share the magic with me.

With love,

Dawn L Lindstrom

made with LOVE

Dinner at the Lindstrom house, is a very casual affair. You do not have to dress up, there is no fancy china place setting or crystal stemware.

There is however, lots of food! Again, casual being the theme…it is served buffet style and there are a variety of main dishes.

The desserts are always made by the children. Frosted cookies, kongobars and cakes, too!

The secret ingredient…Lots and lots of LOVE !

the Perfect Gift

I love buying and giving gifts. The best part of giving is seeing the look of joy on the recipient’s face when they are opening their gift. Their eyes light up, their cheeks glow and a big broad
smile spreads across their face.

This is when you know you have given the Perfect gift, and there is no better gift to receive.

grateful

Yes, I am thankful for my beautiful family,
My husband, my home and good health, but with six kids it is sometimes life’s little
pleasures that you NEED to be grateful.

Peace and quiet * A beautiful summer day*
Diet Coke with lime * my morning walks
with MOM * the sound of the ocean *
scrapping with the chicks * my children’s
smiles * church * a good book * a great pair
of shoes* piano music played by the kids*

home

Since Chris and I have been married, we have always opened up our home to friends and family on Christmas Eve. It is open house, come as you are and bring your appetite. Although the guests may change over the years, one thing remains the same...the love that we share for one another is the reason why we come together to celebrate!

the wait

Today's prompt: "think about a tiny tradition in your family: passing
out the presents. They're underthe tree, it's time to openthem...how do they get delivered at your house?"

My entry: As a child you wait with anticipation for Christmas. The excitement of opening gifts is just too much to handle, you feel like you are going to burst.

Well Auntie Carol made out wait even longer! She would hand out each gift one at a time and we would have to wait until it was opened and then we would move on to the next person. As a kid I HATED this process, I just wanted to tear through my gifts.

Funny thing is, I have carried on this tradition with my family. We hand out a gift and watch as the child opens it with the same excitement as I did as a kid. I love this process, because it allows us to see the look of joy on each child's face, as well as we know who the received gift is from.

This photo is circa 1974 and it is (left to right) my cousin Raquel, Anutie Carol, cousin David, my sister Robin and yes that is me standing in the funky red pantsuit.

Christmas Music

Let me begin by saying that last year I started a Christmas journal. Unfortunately, my life is hectic and I never finished the journal. I am going to pick up from where I left off last year and move forward. Here is today's entry.

I love Christmas music!! Yes, I will say it again... I love Christmas music. There is nothing better to get you in the holiday spirit than the sounds of CHristmas.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved the song "Silent Night". I have fond memories of going to church on Christmas Eve with my parents and this would be the song that was sung. The lights would be dimmed and we would light hand held candles and sing this beautiful song.

The lyrics are simply beautiful, and they always bring a tear to my eye.

Baby it's cold outside...

it is a very raw, rainy day here in the northeast. We are preparing for a winter ice storm that will begin this evening into tomorrow morning. The kids are hoping school will be cancelled, and Mom is praying there WILL be school.

PJ the dog is ready for the cold. Wrapped in his winter scarf and a bed by the fire, he will be warm and cuddly. Enjoy your holiday season and safe traveling in the inclimate weather conditions.

All for the Polar Bears

In my previous blog post, I told you the story of Ingrid's quest to save the polar bears. Well, after saving and recycling the juice pouches, here is the finished product. She did all of the sewing herself (with a little help from Grandma Tere). This mini purse is for her friend Lauren. She also made an LL Bean style tote, complete with gorgeous ribbon trim and handles for her teacher Mrs. Rossetti. Unfortunately, we were so excited to wrap it for her, that I forgot to take a photo. I will get a photo, because she is making one for Meme too.

We can all learn a lesson from Ingrid, and that is to reuse and recycle. A few simple steps will help Ingrid to save the polar bears.

Santa Claus is coming to town!

You better watch out...Santa is packing his sleigh for all of the good little boys and girls. He made at stop at the annual Christmas Gala, and watched the girls dance the night away. After the show he took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to find out what the girls want for Christmas. Number one on the list...Nintendo DS. Let's hope they have been good!

Who's been naughty...

and who's been nice? I think Santa has all the proof right here.

It's beginning to look a little like Christmas

With the help of my little elves, we slowly began to decorate for Christmas. The stockings are hung, the front door wreath is up and each day we will add a few holiday touches.

I have finished all of the kids shopping and must begin the tedious chore of wrapping. I have made 2 handmade gifts and need to make a few more.

This year's Christmas is going to be all about family. No need to spend lots of $ on gifts, but time together as a family.

All for a Good Cause

Ingrid is a very sweet and caring child. Her love for others runs very deep, and she has great concern for the enviroment. She is absolutely devastated whenever someone litters. She cries, and says that people are "killing the polar bears." She has even convinced me to use reuseable bags at the market. She has made it her mission to save the polar bears.

She began saving capri sun pouches two months ago. She shared this with her teacher, and Ingrid was featured in the school newsletter, that she was saving the polar bears. Her classmates have decided to help and she has collected over 200 pouches and will now be recycling them. She will be making Capri Sun purses.

She and Grandma Tere will be sewing the pouches together and making gifts for friend and family. In the layout below, she is learning to sew with Grandma and will be ready to start her purses.

Through Ingrid I have learned that it is very simple to recycle and do our part to save the enviroment and the polarbears. I hope you will do the same.

Get Ready!!!

For all of my lady friends who have been harrassing me, GET READY!! I will be posting new photos and my kids antics very soon! Now stop bugging me.

Mister Sun, Sun Mister Golden Sun

Boy, it felt good to scrap today. I could not wait to use my new Scenic ROute/Sonoma paper that I received from House of Paper. This paper is absolutely divine!

I decided to use this week's topic over at category stories about the sun. I had a completely different idea as to what I was going to do, but once I saw this photo of Annaka, I had to use it.

This was taken this past Sunday at Nantaskett Beach. She was just standing at the shore soaking up the sun and her little personality just shines through.

Still Crazy After all These Years!

My in-laws Paul and Harriette Lindstrom are still crazy about one another after sixty one years of marriage. They are like two teenagers in love. They have a secret handshake, pet names for one another and they still sneak in a little kiss every now and then.

They have had a rich and wonderful life together. They have suffered loss, they have celebrated joy and through it all, their love has remained strong. They are a shining example to us all, that love will definitely prevail!

It's a beatiful day!!

In the boys' eyes today is definitely a beautiful day. After many years of Christopher asking his urologist if he can play football, and always hearing him firmly say, "no", we were quite surprised with his answer today.

Dr. Hopkins gave Chris the thumbs up to play, as long as he wears a kidney protector. When he heard the news, it was like Christmas. The doctor just handed him the gift he has always wanted...football.

The boys wasted no time, we called the South County Pop Warner to find out if they could still sign up and they were off to practice. They came home glowing and they absolutely loved it.

Of course I had to take their photo, but Alec explained they could not smile, because football players are mean and nasty. Looking at these two, I would have to disagree. They are just too darned cute.

Every day is a beach day!

New England is the perfect place to live. We experience four very different, yet beautiful seasons and in a matter of hours we can be at the mountains, beaches or fabulous cities.

On Saturday afternoon, we took a ride down to Hull, MA on the south shore and took the kids to Nantasket Beach. This is the same beach that as a child, Chris spent his entire summer soaking up the sun and waves. The kids have heard many stories about the beach and today they got to share Daddy's beach.

In New England, we have a saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes." Today was that type of day. It was pouring rain on our drive down to Weymouth. When we arrived at Pop's and Grandma's the rain stopped and the skies brightened. When we arrived at the beach it was perfect. Cloudy, low tide and no people. The kids body surfed, collected shells and even chased the seagulls. You do not need sunshine to enjoy the beach, because everyday is a beach day!

Stylin'

Eda is a total diva, fashionista and queen of style. Here she is in her PAJAMAS totally accessorized. Although she is going nowhere, she must look fab, because you never know who may pop in for a visit. She never leaves the house without her jewels and handbag, and hats are her favorite accessory.

Here sense of style started when she was one year old and just gets better and better. She loves to pose and prance around the house. When Mom whips out the camera, she is always ready with her million dollar smile. Maybe some day we will see her on the cover of vogue, bazaar or WWD.

Together

With six children and two dogs, life can get crazy. You can sometimes miss the every day things that make life special as well as the big events. I can not remember the last time we went out on a "date" together. I can not even remember the last time the two of us were alone.

The great thing is that it does not matter to either one of us. We have made the choice that family is what matters most. We get more pleasure watching our children play baseball or soccer, than watching a movie. Friday night pizza with the kids, tastes better than a night out at a swanky restaurant.

Here is a rare photo of the two of us. This was taken on July 3rd, another night of family fun and festivities. It was special, because it was also our 12th wedding anniversary. What better way to celebrate our special day than with watching fireworks with our family!

PRIDE!!

I am so very proud of my 2 little guys. Yes, they are typical brothers and fight and argue, but they also love each other dearly. A Mom came to me the other day, and said she just had to tell me how polite and kind my boys are to adults and each other. On different occassions, each boy sat and watched the other play baseball. They both got so excited about their brother's successes and felt their losses as well. She said you could hear and see the love they had for one another. That makes me so proud, because Chris and I work very hard teaching them to love and respect one another. That family is the most important thing, and you should always be there for one another.

In this particular photo, Christopher had just hit a Grand Slam, and by the look on their faces, you can not tell who hit the homerun, because they are both beaming with PRIDE!!

TUTU cute!

Can you believe my master is embarassing me like this? Posting a picture of me on the worldwide web dressed in a pink tutu!! In case you have forgotten, I am a male dog. My name is PJ, and for some reason my Daddy calls me "peaches". What is with these people?? "Hello, I am a boy!!" Now those crazy little girlies think I look "cute" in this pink frilly thing. I hope the boys down at the kennel do not get ahold of this picture. I will be banned for life!! Oh well, it is a dogs's life.

Together Again

Well here we are together again!! It has been far too long that the four of us have been together, but it seems just like yesterday. My cousins, Bill and Karin, myself and my sister Robin had a blast at the fireworks on the 3rd of July.

We had a tail gate party as we awaited the spectacular. The best part was that the cousins' kids were together again. They played games, shared stories and lots of laughs. We are truly blessed to have this time together.

Preparing for the madness

I am so very excited, because my house will be rocking starting this Wednesday. My cousins Bill and Karin and my Uncle Bob will all be arriving with their spouses and kids. I have so many wonderful childhood memories of our summers together, and love the fact that now our children can make memories for themselves.

It may be crazy and hectic, but there will be lots of fun. Lots of activites planned for on and around the fourth, as well as a family picnic at my house on Saturday.

Hope you all have a fun and safe holiday week.

He's Back!!

My cousin, Major William Jakola is back after 18 months in Baghdad. We are so very proud of him and his service to our country. He and his entire family will be coming up North to visit us for the fourth of July. What better way to celebrate Independence day. God bless America and thank you Major Jakola!