keepsakes

I received a sale flyer in the mail (surprise) and the title on it was "What will you keepsake this holiday?". I think it was from Hallmark. There was something about that title that has stuck with me as I've been making my lists and checking them twice. I love Christmas and I love everything that goes along with it. I have this nagging thought though, that too many times I set aside the true meaning of the holiday for the imitation stuff that seems to become the pressing matter. I get side tracked with ornaments instead of adoring Him. Wrapping presents takes the place of being in His presence. The holiday parties crowd out the reflecting on the Holy. I guess that's true with so many things in life. The immediate often looms larger than the essential. So, I've been conscientiously trying to remind myself of the bigger picture. That the holiday we're in the process of preparing for is more than my gift lists and my to do list. It's about celebrating the coming of God's one and only Son for us. Christmas is about the most awesome present that we've ever been given.

While our friends were here for Thanksgiving, Kristyn brought with her a December Daily album that she had made. The original idea came from Ali. I fell in love with Kristyn's album and scraplifted her idea. (She was so gracious to allow me to be a copycat!) My original thought was not anything more than documenting the month of December and all that goes into the Spirit of the Season. However, as I've been thinking through each day and what I want to include on each page, the December Daily Album has become a keepsake album for me. It has caused me to look at each day and think about what tidbits I want to record and remember for the future. It's been a powerful reminder of "What will I keepsake from this day?" Working on the page for each day has caused me to celebrate the important in my ordinary days. So great! I'm going to start a flickr album where I'll add the pages as I complete them and if you're interested you can check them out. If not, I won't bore you with my keepsakes. But I encourage you to start your own. You can make one like mine (just cardboard covered pages and odds and ends) or simply get a spiral notebook and journal a tiny bit each day about the special in the ordinary. It's powerful...trust me.

To make your own December Daily album, just get a pack of Holiday scrapbook paper (or if you have a stash..use what you have). Mine is one of those packs that had some stickers with it from Joann's. I used this one. I used leftover cardboard, file folders, page protectors and assorted other things to make each page. Every page is different and each one has a number on it that corresponds to that date in the month of December. I decided to do a front and back for each date so I have 25 pages in my album. I might add some more after Christmas if I want to later. When I was done creating each page, I hole punched them and put them on binder rings. Kristyn found them in the embroidery section of Joann's (they're for your embroidery floss cards.) My front and back covers are heavier weight cardboard. (Almost all of the notepads in our house are now missing their back cover!) Anyways, that's it...if you create one, let me know how it goes. Enjoy your day and remember to look for the keepsakes along the way.