Two years ago I had no idea what a blog was. I just had some foggy notion that it was something that technogeeks did in cyberspace. About the same time, I became overwhelmed with my beloved hobby of scrapbooking. Although I absolutely loved doing it, I was trying to slap together five different books for three different kids and running about 2 1/2 years behind. I would rush to a scrapbook night and sweat like a crazy woman trying to get as many layouts done as scrapbookingly possible.
Then, (cue the piano music) my friend Kelly introduced me to digital scrapbooking and blogging. It was like we had won a big game. I felt elated! I felt free! I felt released from the scrapbooking dungeon. Since then, blogging has become a near-daily treat. Like a yummy Merritt's cupcake, I look forward to my blogging time. I know some people think it's strange; after all, I don't live in Dubai or have parents who live in a different town than I do. I really don't care what they think though... because when it comes down to it... this is for me! Blogging is a way for me to record the daily fragments of life that would otherwise get lost in the grind. You know how when you try to recall a moment from the past, you find yourself remembering pictures that were taken of that time? (At least that's what I do...). I am steadfast in the belief that I am rescuing memories from the shuffle of time. I have the vision that years from now, 5 years, 10 years, more, that we will be consulting this blog as a way to recapture our past, not only looking at pictures, but reading my personal thoughts as well. It is precious to me and I can only hope that in the future it will be precious-precious to my kids. With scrapbooking, I was always trying to catch up and had to squint my eyes trying to remember the specifics of the particular scrapbooking moment, but with blogging, I take 10-15 minutes to record something that happened that week or even THAT DAY! One final benefit... like scrapbooking was a creative release for me, so is blogging something that I enjoy. I get my creative writing fix, I guess you could say. Finally, although h-is-4 is for me, I am happy to know I have my faithful readers out there. I love it when out of town (or in town) family and friends check in! And comments, well, comments are always appreciated! All this to say that I am proud a new baby blog has been born. It is so big and beautiful, you might not know it is a baby at all, but please check in on my friend Chere, who has recently begun her blog. Oh, and one more thing... I had to chuckle when I walked in on Kami, who was creating her own blog. She had it all set up herself and only needed me to help her with the images. My own little technogeek! Ha! Check out Kami's first post here.
The season kicks off with the decorating of the gingerbread houses. We do it in early or mid-December, and it is traditionally held with our cousins at Granny's little gingerbread house of her own. We love going over there, making memories for our kids, just like ones we have of growing up. Same house, same granny. Unfortunately, this year, Grandma I was out of power for EIGHT days. It didn't seem to get to her though. She said, after all, she didn't even enjoy the luxury of power until her third son was born. Good point. Anyway, Kim sweetly offered her house, and Granny came over to join us. It is definitely one of our favorite things. 
