Mom by Day
Christmas is my husband’s and my favorite holiday; it was one of the few common interests we had when we got married. So naturally, when this time comes around we made the most of it and it has rubbed off on our kids. Let me introduce them to you if I may.
Our oldest is “The Babes” as my husband nicknamed her in the hospital room quite naturally as a new father smitten from first site … or maybe it was the lack of sleep because she would not STAY asleep unless she was being held. That makes it difficult when you’re told as a new mom, never fall asleep holding your baby for fear of SIDS. Now she’s in middle school (sniff, sniff). Not only does she love Christmas, but she takes over decorating and baking more each year. I can be type A personality in many areas of my life, but thankfully I’ve relaxed in these pastimes and let her have fun.
A few years behind her is “Ding Ding.” Another nickname my husband gave him shortly after he started saying words. He learned the doorbell said, “Ding Dong” and after that everything he pointed to was “Ding Dong.” We have a hilarious video of him pointing to a boat on a beach calling it “Ding Dong” despite our coaching him that it was a boat. So my husband started calling him “Ding Dong,” which soon became “Ding Ding.”
This boy love Christmas too, but caught on to Santa questions a little too early. Coincidentally, that year I happened to snap a not-very-clear picture of Santa and a few years after that a video. Not only did it put his questions to rest, but he shared the video with his older friends who I was sure would tease him. Nope. They ended up getting re-conviced too.
After a slightly larger age gap, we have our Miss P. She has yet to receive an official nickname from her dad so for now, Miss P will do. I’ll give her this nickname that stems from her wonderful strong-willed personality that is a new challenge in our parenting skills, but we’re managing. She has just begun her schooling and must think wearing masks to school is normally on the back-to-school lists. Honestly, though, I’ve found the younger the child the better they seem to do wearing them.
“We have to do the Advent Calendar!”
Back to Christmas. We have often gotten so busy during the Christmas season that we miss several days of doing our Advent Calendars. Yes, I said that in plural form because I made a tree ornament one and later was gifted a beautiful wall hanging nativity one by a neighbor, Bobbi Jo, who knew how important my Christian faith is to me … but really we just needed extra candy. 🙂 It works out well because then with three kids they only miss out opening the advent door 1/3 of the time. This year, though, Miss P is on top of never forgetting to the point she will shriek at a random moment, “We have to do the advent calendar!” even though it had been done for the day already.
And those are my three kids. I love them and am excited to share how they make my husband’s and my lives more full, adventurous, educational, hilarious, surprising and overall blessed by God each and every day. I pray we are a blessing to them as their parents, and also look forward to sharing more about them with you in the future.
Graphic Designer By Night
“Thanks for helping to bring a little cheer to our town through your design.” This is what my very good college friend, now Recreation Manager of St. Joseph, MI , Carrie O, wrote me the other day after I designed her a simple sign. I have been so blessed to work with her for many years as she’s often found herself in director positions that require graphic publications both in print and web. Thank you Carrie for always searching me out to help
“We are receiving many compliments about our Christmas card and Kraig’s business holiday card!!
Thank you so much again!
Sincerely,
Karin”
I was privileged to design some Christmas Cards for clients this year. This is always just plain fun to do this personal creation for families. Thank you Karin!
You can see more samples and testimonials at my web site. http://www.kristalcleargraphics.com
Reading Nook
If you saw my video on my previous web site, you might remember me saying how I’ve never been much of a reader. I shared that even as a child, I much rather enjoyed being creative than spending time in a book, hence why being a graphic designer was such a natural choice of career for me. Back then, I would always choose to make a craft over read a book. Today, though, especially since having kids and getting to read to them, I have done a 180 on my view of books. As a kid I never discovered the “type” of book that pulled me in to love reading, but now I have – it’s any genre when I learn something new – and only wish that I had more time to read. I enjoy books so much now that I am adding a book recommendation to my blog and hope you can discover some new reads that would surprise you and help you grow.
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston and pictures by Barbara Cooney will be my first book plug. It’s a picture book, but don’t feel you have to skip this one if you don’t have kids of the stereotypical picture book age. One of the biggest surprises I have discovered is that picture books really are like their own genre. Actually, when I shared this concept with The Babes because I wasn’t too sure I could justify my new-found love of picture books, she confirmed that she had just learned that fact in her Literature Class at school. Cool, that’s good enough for me 🙂
So this book reminds me of the simple life you find in a Laura Ingalls Wilder book, but it’s set in the Appalachian Mountains. I loved this book first because of the pictures. Maybe it’s my graphic designer side that has learned to appreciate art. I feel like I’m walking through an art museum when I open up a good picture book, and this one is no exception. It’s a sweet story of a little girl named Ruthie at the end of The Great War whose family was given the privilege that year to provide a tree for the village church. This also meant she got to play the part of the Heavenly Angel in the pagent. The story takes you through the sacrifices the family needs to make and overcome as Ruthie’s dad has to leave for the war.
Mom by Day. Graphic Designer by Night 
Merry Christmas!
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Such sweet memories you have shared. Thank you.
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