A Time to Get Busy Making Memories

By Maria (Ehma) Porpio

Last weekend I felt extremely blessed that I thought my heart was going to burst…

 

I worked the night shift!

You think I’m being sarcastic but I’m not. Maybe, it’s nothing more than the ordinary for some but for me being able to see my awesome colleagues again, to earn more than I thought I deserve and to be given the time and opportunity to sharpen my skills are just a few reasons why I love to work available hours anytime there’s no conflict with family’s schedule.

So because night shift can be tough sometimes and I’m getting old to be deprived of sleep (LOL), I felt I had to plan my schedule and differentiate “IMPORTANT and URGENT” tasks from the “IMPORTANT but NOT Urgent”.  Here’s what I came up with:

IMPORTANT but NOT Urgent – Their lack of urgency does not make them less important but getting them off of the list and forgetting about them will eventually move them to be urgent. So they have been assigned a day to get done…

1.       Exercise- There’s no point in going to the gym when there’s only some energy left to even move. I like to maximize my work-out and the only time I can do that is when my body has fully recovered.

 

2.       Blogging- It’s good to write but not when my brain is fried. That’s why I started writing fewer posts this month. I was on break sharpening my saw.

 

IMPORTANT and URGENT- These are tasks that need to be done. Otherwise, my world will be a total mess…

1.       Cleaning, organizing and classifying extra stuff to SELL, DONATE or GIVE, THROW or SAVE- I woke up the next day after not sleeping the two days prior and I felt LAZYYYY. It is only through tackling very important tasks that would give me energy, and cleaning is one. I am glad I did because I certainly discovered so many treasures:

 

a.       I found good old love letters that made me laugh, cry and certainly sparked that beautiful feeling of being loved once again.

b.      I found valuable gifts like books, homemade trinkets and photographs that made my kids scream with joy like they have discovered hidden treasures from a cave.

c.       I found time to bond with them as they settled, sometimes in reverie waiting for another treasure to behold.

d.      I found a more peaceful and breathable home as all the excess are either already given or waiting to be sold.

e.      I found real treasures as I will literally sell them on Craigslist soon.

f.        I found an excuse avoid shopping.

g.       I found this is the best way to pave the birthday of our Savior and to welcome the New Year!

2.       Fulfilling Christmas Family Traditions- I can imagine how disappointing it is for my kids if I have but forgotten to lighten the mood of our household with our good ‘ole Christmas festivities and traditions. In other words, I can’t just simply skip decorating the gingerbread house activity because quite honestly, having done so with them was my biggest de-stressor.  At first we planned on doing the 12 days of Christmas but since there are more than 12 days of December before Jesus’ birthday, we kind of stretch the activities for fill the days, repeating some activities twice or thrice. The opposite of so-heavy-to-be-accomplished-that- ultimately-give-us-more-stress-than-merriment…  these are my-kids-approved activities:

 

 1.) Decorating our store-bought ginger bread house

 

 

2) Reading Nativity books to each other

3.) Singing Christmas songs

4.) Christmas baking night (on weekends)

 5.) DIY craft night (on weekends)

 6.) Driving around town to see decorated houses

7.) A family walk in the park (weather permitting)

8.) Snow sledding then soup for warm fuzzies and tummies (weather permitting, again)

 9.) Random Act of Kindness

10.) Christmas movie and popcorn (on weekends)

11.) Watch Angelica’s Christmas concert

 12.) Midnight Mass 

 … Some books explained the legends behind a Christmas recipe of a 12^th-night cake. There must be a connection between that and the “12^th Day of Christmas” song. It was written that the Christmas cake is made from yeast, which according to legend is a gift of the Christ Child. The Holy family trying to escape from Herod’s soldiers knocked on the door of the woman who was kneading bread. The woman wrapped her child in her dough. When the soldiers burst into their house and searched for the Child, they were unable to find Him. After they left, the woman gave the Child back to His mother. Suddenly the dough began to rise, and there was no end to the amount of bread the woman could bake from it.

 

 

We established our Christmas family tradition based on practicality of time, money and ability. Time- if it consumes too much preparing the activity then it’s not practical. Money- of course, it has to be within budget. Ability- there’s no point in making intricate decors if the kids do not possess the ability to use the glue gun. By keeping everything simple, there’s more room for joy and laughter.

 

So go ahead and grab your family around the table and start making memories. This is the time to get busy for it… the spirit of Christmas is a time to get busy with the important people in our lives, not stuff that overwhelms us.

 

An Attitude of Gratitude Goes a Long Way

by Maria (Ehma) Porpio

Gratitude as perceived by the receiver:

After a long day of therapy and no sleep, Luke's weakness finally gave in. From having a difficulty transitioning to being sensitive to what triggers him, he then had a meltdown. It was already quite a battle to deal with this behavior at the comfort of our own domicile, let alone at the Therapy Center. His misery couldn't wait for us to even get to our truck. Others perhaps call it a struck of luck but I rather recognize it as a blessing when during his loud cries, hard kicks and seemingly helpless emotional decline, Dr Rydell, the owner of the Center led him to the floor to give him a massage and to aid him with the right breathing technique, without saying the words breathe in and breathe out. After only a couple of minutes, he calmed down and in front of me and the two therapists surrounding him, he said words we never expected he would say considering his prior tenor. He stood up and said, "Thank you, guys!" Those two simple words were positively unprecedented and there was not a dry eye in the house.

Gratitude as a blessing to the giver:

When I used to work for my dad, I had two different assignments for different reasons: one, as an Accounts Collector for clients whose debts are due and two, as Santa’s elf as I was tasked to deliver calendars, T-shirts and Christmas wishes to all loyal clients. Along with the latter is my opportunity to be able to deliver, aside from T-shirts and calendars, but also rice and canned goods to the outskirts of our city for our less fortunate neighbors.

The first job was the hardest and most draining of all as people tend to get defensive facing me with their rants and raves. Or worse, they fell into the cowardice to avoid me at all cost. Although, there were many I know who didn't wait for the end of the month to settle but there were also a handful clients who were unimaginably irresponsible. It is only during Christmas time when they opened their homes as the delivery of Christmas cheer was expected. These were the people who had no satisfaction as they long for more instead of feeling grateful for what they already had.

However, as I finalized my task, delivering goods to the outside community, I felt overwhelmingly blessed as I saw these less fortunate among us whom after receiving the packed rice and canned goods had the most genuine smiles and sincerest “THANK YOUs”. While the other group of people I mentioned above usually demanded for more, like a bigger calendar or more shirts, these poor community felt we gave them more than enough waving all the way until we couldn’t see them from afar. It was indeed heart-warming and until now, that memory still finds me blessed and compelled me to give not just abundantly, but also intentionally.

Treasure in intentional giving:

Dave Ramsey, one of my favorite authors of financial freedom and America’s trusted voice on money explained the value of purposeful giving very clearly. We are only stewards of God’s creation, including wealth. All our money are God’s; we are simply managers. Then if we have the knowledge that everything isn't ours, we will then manage whatever we have on our hands according to God’s plan. God’s plan doesn't include indulging the whims of the complainers because they can never be satisfied no matter how much you give them. They might perhaps need some enlightenment as opposed to money which will lead them to mismanagement and more sorrow since if they're not healthy to take charge of small amount, how much more if entrusted with abundance. God’s plan doesn't support the lazy so they don’t need to work. God is not happy when we give everything without knowing how His wealth was used, either for His glory or not.

Matthew 25:29-30

“For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (From the parable of talents)

That attitude of gratitude is a prerequisite to contentment. Only when we possess that ability can we feel we have more than enough because blessings outpour to anyone who has the trait of first, recognizing the gift. 

Make that attitude of gratitude go a long way:

The two virtues are indeed married to each other. It is also when we feel contentment that we are most grateful. When we don’t want anything else but feel we already have everything we need, that’s when we find ourselves the happiest. And because we have that overwhelming joy, we can hardly contain it, we are then compelled to give and give and give. It is only when we give that we find Christ within us. That's what the spirit of Christmas is all about.

         

My Frugal Finds to Fabulous Favors

It's beginning to feel and look a a lot like Christmas. In my household, preparations were set even before December started because I think there's no point on getting rushed for this most important celebration. After all, Christ is the reason for the season. 

We have done mostly DIY gifts. They don't cost so much. All of which average only to $5 or less but because they're all made with time, talent and much love, they are priceless:

1. GIVE-SAVE-SPEND Jars for 5-12 year olds-

The concept of teaching them how to manage their wealth at a very age is a gift for life.

2. Starter Emergency Fund for tweens- 

I found this idea on the internet and I can't begin to tell you how much I love it. It teaches older kids to keep an emergency fund and not rely on credit cards forever. Those old frames that has been collecting dust in your basement? Use those to for creative gifts like this:

3. Vanilla Sugar Scrub for awesome co-workers-

I found this recipe on Gooseberry Patch and made this last year to give to my friends. They love it. It leaves the skin so smooth and moisturized.

Recipe:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup sweet almond oil ( I bought mine at Sprouts for $9.99 which I was able to make 5 jars out of it. So that leaves approximately only $2 for the cost)

2  vitamin E capsules ( I got mine in bulk from Sam's)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a mixing bowl combine sugar and oil. Cut capsules with scissors and empty their vitamin E oil into the mixture then discard capsule. Add vanilla and stir well.

4. Winter Survival Kits for visiting guests-

These are products of the Tin Can project we made a month ago. Here's the link to that:

http://treasuresinthemundane.blogspot.com/2014/10/diy-tin-can-project.html

In this beautiful tin crafts, I am then adding: Lip moisturizer, Hand lotion, Hot coco, etc for my loved ones to not only survive winter but cherish the season as well.

Love much,

Maria (Ehma) Porpio