Laugh Out Loud

The Christmas season is upon us and every year I tell myself that I am going to enjoy this time of year with my kids. We are going to bake, we are going to play, we are going to make homemade gifts and just like always, the days passed too quickly and we haven't gotten to do any of that.



Custom orders for PaddyWhacks began stacking up in November, a house to try and keep up, children that must be bathed and fed on a regular basis, Christmas program practice and programs to attend, shopping to do, and just the regular hustle and bustle of the Christmas season got in the way of enjoying it once again.



This past week has been a whirlwind of activity from trying really hard to finish all of my orders and get them delivered, to baking cookies for cookie bouquets for teachers, to trying to gather all of the things needed for class parties. Today I vowed that the rest of the Christmas season was going to be about my kids. I have 7 days until Christmas and we are going to make those 7 days count.



I want to Laugh Out Loud and I want to Laugh Out Loud watching my children be children and enjoying the Spirit of Christmas and I want to see the joy in their little eyes as they discover it all. So starting tomorrow, there is no more baking, unless it's with my kids baking what they want to bake. There is no more cutting, painting, sanding and staining in a cold garage. There is no more screaming and yelling to leave me alone long enough to accomplish starting a load of laundry.



There will be plenty of food making for reindeer. There will be plenty of cookies made for the big guy when he comes to visit. There will be lots of looking at Christmas lights. There will be lots of Christmas movie watching. There will be lots of late nights and hot chocolate. There will be lots of time spent as a family. There will be family traditions made. There will be lots of opportunities to Laugh Out Loud!



So the countdown to Christmas has officially begun in our house and on Friday, December 18th we enjoyed:



Finding Elvis the Elf first thing this morning.

Mommy enjoyed having all of these cookies and the mess out of her kitchen.

This Candy Cane baby actually sat on Santa's lap today when he came to visit Reece's Christmas Party at school.

Santa read his "NICE" list.

Reece waited patiently to see if his name was actually on the "NICE" list......Happy to report that he squeaked by another year.

Caden's favorite Student teacher, Mrs. Henley celebrated her last day of being in his class. A few tears rolled down our faces and we wished her well and hoped that we would see her again soon. She is going to make an awesome teacher and touch the lives of many kids, just like she did Caden's. Caden had a lot of fun teasing her about being a YUCKY bird fan and she teased him by making him eat Jayhawk sugar cookies. We wish her all the best and we know that she is going to do great!!! Mrs. Henley, you rock in our book even if you are a Chicken Hawk!

We enjoyed so much fun food that our tummy hurt!

The class parties are over, the weekend is here and then only 2 more days of school and we our out for break. I can't wait! I'm ready for lazy mornings. I'm ready for great afternoons. I'm ready

for evenings where snuggled up on the couch with a blanket and a good movie is the best place to be.

I'm ready for moments when we just...

LAUGH OUT LOUD!!!!!

*Thanks Dina for my Christmas present and for reminding me that it doesn't matter the amount of presents under our tree, it doesn't matter our financial situation, it doesn't matter if something doesn't get done....What does matter is that we take the time to laugh out loud and truly remember what Christmas is all about! I love it and thanks for being one of the most amazing people I know!

Hey Becky!

Becky Hughes the great and wonderful CAMPUS HIGH SCHOOL band director that you are.....What night do you want to babysit?



Just thought I would ask you here since you are a daily visitor to the Bressler Bunch Blogspot!!!.....LOL!!!!

The Bethlehem Project

And Oh what a project it was!


Our boys made their first debut in a Christmas program at church and in front of a church full of people, Iya and Pa, Aunt Janet, and our Awesome friends Gregg, Melissa, Arie and Felix they managed to bundle up their nerves and give it their best shot.

They had to be at the church at 9:45 to go over a few songs, drink some hot chocolate, and get their "Bible Uniforms" on as Reece calls them.

Then the church grew dark, the stars appeared, and all of these children entered the stage to tell the story of Jesus being born in a manager.

There was Mary, Joseph, Bethlehem Kids, Angels and even a donkey.

There was singing, motions, concentration, lots of reasons for Mom to laugh be so proud.

There was country line dances Bible times style.

There was cleaning of a stable so that the Christ child could be born there.

There were a few tears because the older kids forgot we were there and elbowed us in the head.

There were costume changes

Practicing since September had finally paid off and their was a big sigh of relief when it was over and the clapping began. We could take off the "ROBE" that had been a big issue in our house and the source of many tears in our house for a week.

The Bethlehem Project and Oh what a project it was!

Thanks Miss Lana for a job well done and for touching the lives of my children.

This Candy Cane is...

sweet enough to eat love!

In 24 days...

It will be December 30th.

In 24 days...

We will be having a celebration.

In 24 days...

We will wake up to a little girl who will be loved a little bit more.

In 24 days...

This little striped baby girl will be turning ONE

Lets Leave England

was the line of the most handsome pilgrim that I have ever seen!

Reece started our Thanksgiving with his Thanksgiving feast at school and what a fabulous feast it was.

A little singing.

A little laughing and feasting with our friends using placemats with their Indian names on them. My pilgrim turned indian for the feast was Chief Basketball.

So we bagan our Thanksgiving vacation being thankful for wonderful teachers at Oatville who touch the lives of my children everyday.

We are thankful for Grandma's and PaPa's.

We are thankful for the church that my Great Grandpa Chalakee started and has been home to many family gatherings, weddings, funerals, church services, talent shows and lots and lots of Creek singing.

We are thankful for My Great Grandma Chalakee's Camp house where many meals with tables full of fabulous food have been prepared and lots of stories told.

We are thankful for Great Grandpa's who think the babies of the family are more his speed.

We are thankful for Aunts who love us, even if they don't have too.

We are thankful for Great Grandpa Reece and Pa Reece and Dear Lord please tell me there are not crickets in that bucket my ONLY baby GIRL is holding.

We are thankful for Mom who was glad we were home.

We are thankful for cousins even when you feel really old because you remember carrying them around as babies. Now look at them they are HHHUUUGGGEEE!

We are thankful for cousins who could pass for brothers.

We are thankful that our Uncle doesn't dress in pink and wear bows on his head on a regular basis.

We are thankful that Chelsea did the dishes and she seems to fit perfectly!

We are thankful that We have this crazy Aunt and Uncle (brother) that we have, we just wish they didn't live so far away.

We are thankful for the next generation of muscles. Did you see the boys in that picture above? 3 of those boys were this little guys uncles and one of them was his dad and the other 2 his cousins. Yep he's gonna be huge!!!

We are thankful for great weather and memories made with our brother.

We are thankful for root beer bottles full of grasshoppers that make good fish bait.

We are thankful that Pa is a catch and release kind of fisherman and we didn't have to eat this catfish that Caden and Reece caught in Pa and Iya's pond.

We are thankful that Santa sent us an Elf On The Shelf that was waiting for us when we got home.

We are thankful for Elvis the Elf who reports to Santa every night letting him know if we've been bad or good. Does fighting with our brother count as being bad? If so, we may be in trouble around here.

Nineteen Ten

My Grandma's Hands

By Melinda Clements

Grandma some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands.

When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK.

Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. "Yes, I am fine, thank you for asking," she said in a clear strong voice.

I didn't mean to disturb you, Grandma, but you were sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure that you were OK," I explained to her.

"Have you ever looked at your hands?" she asked. "I mean really looked at your hands?"

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up then palms down. No I guess I never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point that she was making.

Grandma smiled and related this story:

"Stop and think for a moment about the hands that you have, how they have served you well throughout the years. These hands though wrinkled and shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.

They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor.

They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to serve our country in time of war.

They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy as I tried to hold my newborn son. The left hand is decorated with my wedding band that showed the world that I was married and loved someone special.

They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and my spouse.

They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.

They have covered my face, combed my hair and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else works well, but these hands hold me up, lay me down, and continue to fold in prayer.

The hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life.

But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when He leads me home. And with these hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch his face."

I will never look at these hands the same again.

When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think of my Grandma. I know that one day she will be stroked and caressed and held by the Hands Of God!

**********

This piece was used by permission from the author Melinda Clements (c)

Hands across time

(Grandma Mable age 98 and her youngest Great Great Granddaughter Ellee Rae age 1 week)

Happy 99th Birthday Grandma Mable and may the Good Lord bless you and keep you.

Thank you for the lessons, the stories, and the life that you have lived in front of all of us.

All my love!