12 days of Christmas Blessing My Husband

December is a fun time around our house with school, church, birthdays and holiday parties but it can also feel crazy busy with all our family activities. This year I really wanted to bless my husband with his own special gift of 12 days of Christmas. It was so fun to plan. The tricky part was when he surprised me with a trip to New York in the middle of it. Luckily the days we traveled were things I could easily take on the airplane and continue his surprise each day in New York City. He loved singing his own version of the song everyday...and it was so cute because he didn't know what was coming next so he just kept singing the days he already knew.
Day 1: on the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...an awesome golf adventure~ I printed out a gift certificate for Pebble Beach Resort wrapped it up and put it by his toothbrush in our bathroom. 
Day 2: two movie tickets~ I bought a gift card for movie tickets at our local theatre.
Day3: three handwarmers~ for the snow
Day4: four wooly socks~ gotta love Target
Day5: FIVE CHRISTMAS COOKIES~ he shared these with one of our daughters and she put a request into Santa for more.
Day6: six sexy emails~ I sent these throughout the day not realizing his emails may or may not be read by corporate IT dept. insert blushing face here!
Day 7: seven mistletoe kisses~ this was fun as he collected his mistletoe kisses throughout New York City... carriage ride in Central Park, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Christmas Tree, drinks at The Plaza, Times Square, Russian Tea Room, rooftop lounge looking out at the city lights.
Day8: eight romantic candles~ packed these in my carry on and set them out in our hotel room.
Day9: nine holiday candies~ perfect for airplane treats
Day10: ten post-it love notes~ I arranged these in the shape of a Christmas tree on our bathroom mirror. 10 things I love and cherish about him.
Day11: eleven songs playlist~ this was fun, I hand picked 11 songs just for him
Day12: twelve lacy goodies~ the finale on Christmas Eve...lacy lingerie 

Marriage might be a noun but what keeps it special is love and that my friends is a verb...effort, planning, listening, communicating, participating, giving, sharing, compromising, forgiving, protecting, learning, growing...loving.

Christmas morning I woke up to a beautiful letter my husband wrote to me. I will share this part with you, "on the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...twelve lacy goodies,eleven songs playlist,ten post-it love notes, nine holiday candies, eight romantic candles, seven mistletoe kisses, six sexy emails, FIVE CHRISTMAS COOKIES, four wooly socks, three handwarmers, two movie tickets and an awesome golf adventure. BUT, what my true love really gave to me this Christmas was...mystery, excitement, something new in our relationship, romance, intrigue, sweets, love, understanding, time alone with my true love, anticipation, mind blowing effort to keep me guessing and eternal love that we can share forever because of our love for The Lord and a reminder of what Christmas really is about."
Leave it to my husband to turn my attempt at blessing him into him touching my heart deeply with this letter. After 16 Christmas' together this will be one of my favorites to remember.




Sent from my iPad

ThanksGIVEing

Each November I usually make a list of what I'm thankful for everyday. This year I've decided to focus on the "give" inside of "Thanksgiving" and do something each day for someone else to "give" my thanks away through actions and words. The beautiful thing is this little project is making me feel even more thankful. Here's my acronym:

G = Gratitude changes perspective~

I = Impact the life of someone else~

V = Validate others~

E = Encourage kindness~

Day1: gave up my livescan fingerprints appointment at the police station to a man who didn't have one so he could go on his child's fieldtrip.

Day2: sent a message to a dear friend just to say "I love you."

Day3: sponsored an 8 year old boy in OtinoWaa Children's Village in Africa. We can write to him, send him packages and email him. I know the directors of this orphanage from our church. Our daughter has already declared she will go there and meet him. She's working on a list of questions for him and details about our family to share with him. 

Day4: got out of my car to take back a costco cart for a mommy holding a baby and a toddler trying to get into the car alone. Having twins I remember those days very well.

Day5: thanked and prayed for the tow truck driver that came to help me when my transmission went out. Pretty sure that guy was an angel. He said something to me that I needed to hear. Didn't even make sense that he would say it. 

Day6: let 2 cars cut in line in front of me during heavy traffic even though they cheated the traffic lane (they should have exited).

Day 7: ran after a bus waiving my arms and shouting "wait, wait" on behalf of a little gramma trying so hard to get to the bus stop before it left. 

Day8: thanked the staff at Stanford for always treating my daughter with kindness, gentleness and encouragement.

Day9: paid for the car behind me on the bridge.

Day10: took the time to teach my daughter the importance of paying tithing on money she earns. She had her first babysitting job this weekend. So proud of her!

Day11: donated 8 holiday meals to be delivered to elderly people so they can enjoy Thanksgiving Day in their home.

Day12: made cupcakes for the teachers lounge at our school. It's always hard to go back to work after a 3 day weekend. So thankful for the love they pour into our kids.

Day13: focused on "this moment" with my daughter without worry or distraction. 

Day14: donated $ to WorldVision Disaster Relief for Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

Day15: gave food donation to SF CityTeams Ministries.

Day16: shopped for Operation Christmas Child and filled 2 shoeboxes to the brim. Wish I could deliver them in person.

Day17: bagged up food for Santa Cruz Hope "Feed The Community Thanksgiving Outreach." 

Day18: gave cold beverages to carpet cleaners who had a really long day. Prayed for 2 families I don't know that needed prayers. Sent an encouraging email to a friend.

Day19: complimented sales associates on giving such great customer service. Welcomed and encouraged a new worker at the hospital.

Day20: did a drive by flower drop off at a friend's front porch. 

Day21: gave grace to the not so patient freeway drivers on our 10 hour road trip to Portland. I drove while hubby worked. Gotta love a mobile wifi hot spot for long road trips and work deadlines.

Day22: thanked the students who shared their day at school with S and L and made their experience fun and welcoming.

Day23: sent a thank you note to our dry cleaners.

Day24: prayed for a friend who doesn't know Jesus.

Day25: took Nonna's car and filled up the gas tank.

Day26: took the time to fill out a survey from a local Safeway to give praise and recognition for the cashier/employee who checked us out. People in Oregon are so friendly.

Day27: participated in "Push The Bag Forward" to support Lane county food donations.

Day28: cooked Thanksgiving dinner and made a thankful tree for everyone to write what they are most thankful for.

Day29: helped an 80 year old man who stumbled down the stairs at the Football game. Wish he didn't have to deal with those stairs. Loved his spirit. 

Day30: wrote an encouraging letter, made a call to lend a listening ear and gave almost all the drivers on our road trip home, grace and space, expect for one which I felt bad about later. Pretty sure a few bad words came out of my mouth. Holiday traffic was a pickle. 

My November of ThanksGIVEing has come to an end. I liked giving my thanks away through helping others. 

Gratitude changes perspective

Impact the life of someone else

Validate others

Encourage kindness

I will do this again next year~ 

I'm so thankful for the people in my life that love me, inspire me and continually impact my life through their words and actions. I will gladly praise the one who made me and choose to be His hands and feet. Bless someone today~