Gratitude: Family Traditions – Duty or Delight

Tuesday, November 17, 2009, by Leigh Anne & Sherra

Leigh Anne and Sherra say…

We both know Loi Palmer from our homebased business. She is an active mentor to women in her church and she inspires people with her boundless energy, enthusiasm and creativity. We are delighted to introduce you to Loi…

I have been married to my precious husband for 24 years and the mother of three great kids ages 17-22. I have a degree in Biblical Education and I taught Special Ed for one year. I am a certified Lamaze teacher and birthing coach although I ended up with 3 C-sections! I have run a homebased business for 16 years and my favorite part of it is the amazing friends it has brought into my life. My passion is building deep friendships and encouraging women to love their husbands and kids…. life is hard and we need each other to pray us through the junk of life!

Favorite color:

Turquoise and white

Favorite food you associate with Fall:

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Pancakes topped with butter and Vermont maple syrup.

Pet Peeve?

Beds that aren’t made!

What is something that no one knows about you? (That you want to tell the whole Internet world)

My childhood home was an old Jewish synagogue – it is now a restaurant

One word that describes you:

Happy!

What’s your motto or mantra:

“Love God, live in truth and peace and pull your friends out of the ditch” Malachi 2:7

What are the top three things that are most important to you — the things you love to do and you are passionate about?

Slowing down life and watching the grass grow w/ family and friends
Making my faith real
Homemaking

Traditions: Duty or Delight

A wiry smile tugs at my lips as I reflect on the desperate attempt to intertwine the Palmer and Eggimann family traditions. These were “situations” that were not hammered out before we said, “I do”. The Eggimann’s put up an artificial tree the day after Thanksgiving. Gifts were wrapped and placed under the tree as they were bought. The Palmer’s decorated their live tree five days before Christmas. Gifts magically appeared on Christmas morning. I’m sure you have a similar saga – A Thousand Ways to Celebrate the Same Holiday.

Traditions are an expression of who we are as a family. Step back for a minute and evaluate your family traditions. You will discover that traditions stem from our ethnic backgrounds, family religion, and the region of the country we live in. Here is a bold question… “Does my family really enjoy our traditions or are they a bone of contention stressing us out. Thus negating the true meaning of the holiday we are celebrating?”

Dare to be counter-cultural…

Cut out the stress -factor traditions and add family bonding events.

This Christmas we are stepping out of our comfort zone; traveling with 12 members of our family, and spending two weeks at a children’s home in India. Not the norm… we are at a “freedom” stage … so before everyone gets married and grandkids come along we are going on an adventure. Bottom-line, we will be together celebrating the birth of Christ.

Here are some of our favorite family traditions that I am grateful for:

Create your Christmas card. As a gift to our family and friends Chuck paints an oil painting each year. Take digital picture and e-mail it to a printer. A child’s crayon drawing of the nativity or snowman makes a treasured card.
The Snow Village. Chuck and I decided to invest in one of the Department 56 Villages. But, which one? We took the children to our favorite Christmas Shoppe and observed them while they looked at all of the villages available. The Snow Village, captured their attention. Each year we buy a new building and add accessories. Chuck built a huge display stand that goes under our tree to hold the village. The pieces are unwrapped with care as memories of Christmas past flood our mind.
Sticky buns. The whole family gets involved rolling out the dough, sprinkling on the cinnamon sugar, nuts, raisins and rolling them up. There is nothing like waking up Christmas morning to the aroma of sticky buns and hot coffee.
Chili for Christmas Eve: Chuck and I were engaged on Christmas eve, at his grandparent’s farm in West Virginia. He proposed in the tractor barn. We had gone for a walk in the snow, just before dinner. The whole family knew he was going to, pop the question, and were waiting at the door to see if I had accepted. After hugs and kudos, we sat down to steaming bowls of chili. In memory of our engagement we eat chili on Christmas Eve… it is a culinary adventure to come up with a different chili recipe and toppings.

Learning to combine family traditions and have stress-free holidays creates magical memories. Being respectful and grateful for all of our different traditions means a holiday season full of delight. Gratitude for family traditions, especially at the holidays, is what makes our family unique and special.

What traditions are you looking forward to celebrating with your family this year?

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We have designated Tuesday as a day where we will have different women share “Moments & Memories” in their lives.

We plan to feature women from all walks of lives – it may be in the form of an interview or as a guest writer. The column on Tuesday will be centered around our word of the month. We’d love to feature you as a guest writer. Qualifications: No experience necessary…just be willing to share a great moment or memory with other women. Send us an emailand we’ll schedule a date. Our guest writers do not necessarily have to have a website or a blog as we want iLashGirls to be a place where every woman has a voice!