You wanna do what?!?

We've been cleaning out the basement the past few days in hopes of getting rid of some extra 'stuff' that we moved here. When we packed, several boxes could easily have been marked "pack for now 'cause I'm not sure we're gonna to use this in the new house or not." Those are the boxes we're sorting through. It's easy to get rid of some things...extra dishes, clothes, decorative items etc. but things from our past...things that remind us of growing up or that have been handed down to us...are often difficult to part with. Those are the ones we keep.

We're getting there, slowly but surely. Lionel has been bugging us to complete our job. You see, he's got an ulterior motive. He wants desperately to start building his big huge Lionel train layout. Last I heard it was going to be something like 12' x 20'. He's been working on the layout plans. Oh boy...it's going to cost us our retirement to build this thing!! Maybe I should add a 'Donation' box on my blog...anyone care to donate money for the layout can simply Paypal us the money. Just kidding!

Anyhow, we got to the section in our basement where the Christmas stuff is. We went through it all before we moved which was great, but we decided to rebox it all into nice plastic bins. It's much nicer now! As we're moving the boxes, Edward looks at me and says (very seriously) "We should pull the Christmas stuff out and start decorating since we can get to the boxes now."

My response: "You wanna do what?!?"

Is he out of his mind? ha ha Probably...I hope it's just temporary. =) In his defense, we really lost out on celebrating Christmas like normal last year. Because of my Dad's death, and the fact that our house was on the market, we didn't celebrate a whole lot and we certainly didn't decorate like we usually do. We really missed the holidays. So...I'm thinking he wants to make up for lost time. Personally, I don't like to see Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving is over. If he wants to decorate that evening or the next morning, go for it! I jokingly said that when my family comes over for Thanksgiving dinner, we'll simply put them to work decorating for us. ha ha! (Hey Nancy & Patty...if you're reading this...I'M JUST KIDDING!)

I'm still enjoying fall this year. The autumn leaves are just starting to hit their peak. The colors are gorgeous and I am soaking in every minute of it this year. It's been so long since I have had time to appreciate the things around me. I had been consumed with caring for my Dad, that things I normally love simply slipped by without my notice...pretty sad, huh? One day at a time...one moment at a time...that's how I'm living now. I no longer am thinking about how stressed I am feeling, wondering when this season of my life will pass. I am thankful though for the tough years we had in the past...it only made me stronger. It made me appreciate the people in my life more; made me learn to love better; made me trust in God more and it made me understand that everything we do has a purpose.

So...our tree will NOT be going up any time soon, but when it does, I can assure you it'll be big, it'll be exciting, and it'll be enjoyed more this year...especially by Edward.

Have a blessed day and live it to the fullest!