Scrooges

J.O.Y. has been filling our mailbox in the form of Christmas cards and letters. As I have mentioned previously, I am a huge fan of old-fashioned correspondence, so perhaps the joy of snail mail is even a little bit greater for me.

In spite of this, and my utter adoration for the giving/receiving of Christmas cheer in the form of cards, Matt and I will NOT be sending out Christmas cards this year. {gasp!}


There are three simple reasons for this:
1. Matt and I pretty much look the same; we have no children to show off/baby bump to announce; we have no house to display.
2. Most of our family and friends read this blog, so they pretty much are up-to-date on what is going on in the world of Matt/Deanne/Annabelle.
3. We are on a budget this Christmas {thanks to Dave Ramsey}, and with the aforesaid reasons, we have decided to put our money {which would be used for cards and postage} to give to those in real need this time of year. Our charity of choice--the Angel Tree.


So yes, we are {in a way} being Scrooges. You will not be receiving a Christmas card from us this year, but please, please, don't take offense, thinking we sent out cards to some and not others. However, we feel pretty certain that you understand in our choosing to give to the needy.


Also, very big kudos to all of you out there who have planned your budgets well enough to send out fun Christmas cards AND give to those in need! {I'm sure that's most of you!}

And just know how much extra we will enjoy receiving your Christmas greetings this year. {The cards all go on display!} Merry Christmas!

Little Patriots

Matt's mom, Jeannie, is a secretary at an elementary school in Greenville, Michigan.

One teacher decided to have her third grade class to write letters to Matt thanking him for his service as a soldier in Afghanistan. How cute is that?!?

Being eight/nine years old, these kids wrote some great stuff, from touching to hilarious. Following are a few of my favorite lines:

~"my prayers are with you" Taylore

~"You should be really, really proud of your self for joining the military." Kenzie

~"P.S. Enjoy your day! P.P.S. I like applesauce!" Kobi

~"I'm so glad that we have people that are willing to put themselves in harm's way to protect their country." Julia

~"Thank you for saving our city." Vicki

~"It's people like you that are my true heroes." Sarah

~"My sister and brother want to be in the army or military." Rosa

~"We have to fight for freedom and justice." Chandler

~"Thank you for risking your life just to save our country." AND "It makes me glad that I can sleep at night with knowing I won't have a bomb dropped on my house." Alexandra

~Jake signed his "A regular 4th grade kid, Jake"

~"You are a great American." Kaine

~"Do you have to get a bus cut?" Elijah

We're now thinking that "Mr. Perry" needs to make a special trip {in uniform} to meet these third graders in person! Matt doesn't have to be back to work for one more month, so we'll see if it's possible. I'll be sure to share about it if it does happen--I'm sure the kids will be FULL of cute questions!

Putting Pen to Paper

Speaking of lost arts {like being polite}, in this age of ever-evolving technology, sitting down to write a letter seems to be more and more of a rare thing.

Emails and facebook messages are great and convenient, but there is something more to be said for taking the time to sit down and put a pen to paper. It's more personal, thoughtful, and has a unique special-ness as hand-penned notes and letters are becoming a lost practice.

For me, it also has a certain nostalgia to it--sitting down to write {by hand} to someone. It was common practice for hundreds of years to correspond with loved ones by sending letters, telling of the latest news. It's how families connected and couples conveyed their romantic love. Husbands, wives, and families separated by war were able to correspond through letters only. I suppose it is this fact of history, combined with the romantic in me, that has made it so important to me to send Matt many hand-written letters during this deployment.

As you can see, I'm also a fan of the tradition of sending postcards. I sent a whole stackful of them earlier this week. It's such a fun way to let someone know that you were thinking of them while you were away.

I am also quite certain that I love writing letters so much because my number one love language is "words of affirmation." I have a large white shoebox nearly filled to the brim with cards and letters I've received over the years. I keep all the cards from my parents, my sister, my brother, and of course Matt, among many others. I've kept letters sent to me by my life-long best friend, Katie Kyle, from when we were little girls. The box is filled with all sorts of cards and letters from many special people at many different time periods in my life.

I hope there are others out there, like me, who love the tradition and romanticism of hand-penned notes and letters so much, that we are able to keep this dying art from fading away forever.