“Let us be very sincere in our dealings with each other and have the courage to accept each other as we are.”
-Mother Teresa

with no words.

The End

This Christmas there were- oh so many blessings, too many to count…but I’ll do my best.

~Blurry, shaky giggles at seeing all those presents around the tree.

~Sweet little cousins, becoming sweet little friends.

~Finally, finally–Uncle “Bald Kid” dolls. Wondered if they’d ever get finished! Phew…

~That sweet little surprise we’ll be adding to our baby collection soon.

~ Realizing that even little folks can appreciate really good chocolate…from England.

Thanks Sarah!

~Sharing Christmas day joy with our new little sweetheart, Kortney.

~Hugs from the best little Aunt in the world.  :}

~ The calm, easy, comforting pace that gift sharing is taking these days.

~ Talking to and seeing my dear boy in far away Siberia–for one whole hour! Thank you, thank you– Skype! More on that later.

~ Christmas day secrets.

~Speaking of which–look at the best kept secret on earth, from my sweet kids–to ME! My friends, things are about to become much…ummm…clearer around here. Hee, heee!

~ Just in time to help us remember the reason for all of it.

What are some of your Christmas blessings?

:}

“Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight: always try to be a little kinder than is necessary?”
― J.M. Barrie

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
~Walt Disney

on “Smile for the camera, honey.”

Sheesh.

If you’ve spent much time at all with us here–then it’s quite likely, you know that I’m crazy about these little finger puppets from WeeKnit.

I’m so nuts, in fact that I use them for all the Gracious Rain Premiers. I can’t help myself. I LOVE THEM!!

But it’s not just me–Miss Chompy loves them too–and I can prove it–right HERE.

So, of course, I’m freaking out over all the adorable holiday sets…

well, at least the ones that I don’t already have.

Heh, heh.

So, if I were you–I would whip right on over there and grab some of these cuties up–just in time for Christmas. Oh, and if you use the coupon code “GRain10″ you’ll even get 10% off your order–just because you’re a Gracious Rain reader. Hurry though–this offer is good until October 15th.

See–it pays to know people…

especially, clever people.

505

“Certainly there are times when getting the family together to read the scriptures does not stack up as a spiritual experience worthy of a journal entry. But we must not be deterred. There are special times when the spirit of a son or daughter is just right and the power of these great scriptures goes down into their heart like fire. As we honor our Heavenly Father in our homes, He will honor our efforts.”

Neil L. Andersen

When I saw this commercial on TV the other night–I admit, it made me laugh, but then I realized that it really did have a valuable message. In fact, it is the same thing that I tell the couples in my Childbirth Classes–“It is your body and your baby so you have the right to ask all the questions you need to.”

Period.

Sadly, even in this assertive age, there are still people who are too intimidated or shy to ask questions about medications, tests, procedures or even their own symptoms.

When my third daughter, Jillian was a baby we came home from her immunization appointment and I noticed that she was acting…funny, nothing huge, but she just wasn’t herself and wasn’t responding normally for her. I called my Pediatrition, Dr. Phil Freestone and told the receptionist about it, expecting her to brush it off as nothing to worry about. But instead, she put Dr. Freestone on the phone and he told me to bring her back immediately.

Turns out that she was having a full blown allergic reaction to the DPT shot and needed medical help right now. It turned into a huge 2 week ordeal to get her back to her regular old self, but she survived. My point is that if I’d have been afraid to ask questions of my Pediatrician–even if they sound silly–we would have ignored a very serious situation, that could have had awful consequences.

I actually love the new AHRQ campaign to encourage better communication between patient and doctors. I hope you’ll check out the site and watch some of the videos. Perhaps they’ll help you be brave enough to ask all the questions you need to next time you’re at the doctor’s office.

Because having all the facts is the best way to take care of ourselves and the ones we love.