Love Was Born

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. "God Bless Us Everyone"

TerpThon

Hi all! I'm Savvy. Some of you may remember hearing from me a couple times before about Terp Thon. For the past two years, I have been a participant of this event. This year, though, I have been blessed with the opportunity to be more involved with this amazing organization. This is just such an incredible and worthy cause, and I can't even begin to imagine my life without it. So for those of you who don't know or remember, let me tell ya all about it.

Terp Thon is a student-run organization at UMD. We raise money and awareness year-round for the Children's Miracle Network, which connects us to a local hospital. All the money we raise goes directly to our hospital, the Children's National Medical Center in DC. The Dance Marathon is an event in the spring at which participants pledge to stand on their feet for 12 hours for those who can't. The 12 hours represents the typical nurse's shift at the hospital. The Dance Marathon is basically a celebration of all the money we raised throughout the year. We invite some of the kids from the hospital and just make them feel like rockstars for the day. It is an absolute blast, and it really is a life-changing event. In only our second year last year, Terp Thon raised nearly $140,000 - more than any Dance Marathon has ever raised in its second or third year! Terp Thon is one of the fastest growing Dance Marathons in the nation, and we continue to try to make it even better.

Everything we do is FTK, For The Kids. The kids in these hospitals deserve nothing but the best. Every year, I meet more of these kids, and every time, they make my heart melt. Everything they go through, yet they maintain such spirit and motivation. It just moves you. They are so grateful for what we do. And to think, for most of us it's as simple as turning down that one Starbucks coffee or putting down that extra skein of yarn in order to donate a couple dollars to the cause. These "couple dollars" add up so quickly and truly help save lives. Check out this video to see a little about what we're trying to do here. We are trying to make a difference in the lives of amazing kids like Ollie.

This time of year, I think it's really important to be grateful for everything we have. I think we often get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of everything that we forget the simple things in life. This holiday season, I just ask that you remember the real reason for the holidays and enjoy it.

If in the spirit of the season you're interested in donating to this incredible cause, please feel free to check out my donation page: www.helpmakemiracles.org/participant/smason . I definitely appreciate it, and I know the kids do as well…more than I can even express.

I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season, and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Final Countdown has Begun

Our Thanksgiving was a quiet one and we were stuffed for days. My 92 yr old grandmother was able to attend and we enjoyed her company. She engaged in a game of Who-opoly with the younger set. It was a hoot hearing her try to get out of paying rent and these people are ruthless and give no slack (they learned from her)....LOL She even tried (laughingly) to con her way by using old age as an excuse.

Mr. Bettis was quiet for the most part waiting anxiously for a bit of turkey to land on the floor.

The Black Friday shoppers spent hours watching the Macy's Day Parade and studying the sales ads. Remind me to post a picture of them after their shopping spree....lol

My dishes are Platzgraff and these were given to us as a wedding gift from my in-laws. I only use them on special occasions. Our table setting is country simple :).

The time passed much too fast and soon it was time to load 'em up and move 'em out as the DH says. Chem Girl was packed and ready to head out to her college home.

Every year we give her a semester exam box. There is a package to open every day for the Final Exam Countdown.

The little red booklet has a hint of each package to be opened per day. She doesn't have time to read the blog so I'll share a few of the goodies. Just to name a few: a can of make your own snow, erasers (to erase the next 19 days), chocolate (to ease stress), grow your own tree (miniature and of course it's a joke), and a bag of crocheted white 'snow' balls (to grab a friend and have a 'snowball' fight.

We receive a text every evening of thanks for each little prezzie. It's nice to know she has a little highlight every evening.

I participated in a Christmas jingle and whipped up this little ornament package tie-on.

The final countdown has begun here as well. We have opted for only homemade gifts with the exception of a few inexpensive gifts. The baking/candy making marathon is upon us and the decorating is almost finished.

How is it that we know this day comes every year at the same time and I'm always last minute?