TAP into REWARDING TRADITIONS!

"When we give what we can and give it with joy, we don't just renew the American tradition of giving, we also renew ourselves."
-Bill Clinton


"He who enjoys doing and enjoys what he has done, is happy."
-Goethe


"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."
-Kathy Davis

A Scrapbook page out of Jana's years of dancing!
This is our CHRISTMAS PRODUCTION from 1998.
That year we did a Christmas show to raise money for the
CHILDREN'S HEALTH FOUNDATION.
AVERY REWARDING MEMORY. 

Here is the news paper clipping from the fund raiser show.
This was worked into a collauge which hung in my old dance studio. 

This is the little collauge from that REWARDING
Christmas Show in 1998. 

Here is a little TRADITIONAL wreath...
I made this about 5 years ago, but the pics on it
are of my kids from 1981. 

Here is a picture from that wreath
Colin is nearly 3 and Jana is nearly 1
in this photo...
How cute are they?! 

Some special little traditional Christmas things!
The big snowman I still hang from my mail box outside...
Jana made it at school in grade 7.
The little marshmallow snowmen... Colin made in kindergarten!
The reindeer Jana made at school one year,
 the jar lid tree ornament was made by Colin in grade 4 .
The small snowman was made by me at a craft party!
The baby block teddies were from a
very early Christmas of my kids!

OH... the traditions...
Many of these fridge magnets were from avon,
 but some from dance students as gifts.
There is one with a Christmas photo in it of Jana
from her first Japan contract.

Last year I created a CHRISTMAS MEMORIES book
on my computer of the previous Christmas...
(which was my mom's last year with us .)

On the cover is Shuffle in Christmas attire,
some traditional Santa cushions,
along with the adorable TEA SET I got
from Mariah that year for my Christmas gift!

An important page in my book is one with this photo of
Jana, Mom and me on Christmas day of 2009
wearing our special necklaces  made by Mariah!
The opposite page were photos of Brian,
 his sisters and niece Rowen at our traditional
Boxing Day open house.

Here is Mariah keeping another TRADITION alive...
Yesterday's stop for a "PINK" cake pop at STARBUCKS
 on route to her dance lesson. 

Mariah was a bit "TAPPED OUT" at her dancing yesterday
and decided to spread out her blanket in the studio office
for a wee rest before her lesson! 

Mariah continuing to make more traditional crafts
in Grammie D's messy crafting area yesterday after dancing.


Today as I sit to write my blog, I am feeling rewards of traditions and memories of this season from days and years gone by.
This morning I packaged up 3 large boxes of excess Christmas stuff including a tree and lights to go with it, and took them to a local charitable organization called EGADZ.
You can look up that organization
 by going to www.egadz.ca/

It did my heart good to help out people in need at this season of giving. I have been saying for years I want to give back to the city in a way to make some one else's Christmas brighter.
It is truly a WIN-WIN for me too, because when I go to put away my decorations this season... there will be way more space in my
Christmas cupboard to do so!

I was reminded how I gave a big contribution to the city back in 1998 by raising over
$5000.00 for the
"Children's Health Foundation of Saskatchewan."
I put on a Christmas show called
"A CHRISTMAS DREAM"
including all of my students performing to festive tunes in costume.
I was SANTA in our production number called "Happy Holidays".

I had always wanted to do a Christmas Show, and the fact it was my studio's 25th season,
I thought that was a good reason to do something special in honor of my
silver anniversary season.
The ENTIRE PROCEEDS of that SHOW
went to the charity.
This was absolutely the most rewarding
thing I EVER did in my
entire dance teaching career...
for sure!

I am reminded of many traditions each year as I get out the Christmas stuff.  Some of the traditional things continue to have a prominent place not only in my heart, but on my shelves and or tree as well.
I keep thinking one year I'll do a tree up in a theme... but for now I still enjoy the
 VARIETY theme it has!
Each little ornament has a
memory attached to it in some way,
adding to the many traditions of the season.

Yesterday I took Mariah to her dance lesson, and we have pretty much made it tradition to stop at STARBUCKS on route to her lesson.
She TRADITIONALLY likes to have the "PINK" cake pop sucker! Yesterday she was feeling a little less energetic than normal and
actually laid right out on the office floor
for a quick nap before her lesson!!!
She felt "TAPPED OUT" before
she even started to dance!!!

When we came back here afterward,
she did some crafting and we watched
some of her favorite TV shows.
She is a girl after my heart with her
love of CRAFTING...that is becoming
a really rewarding tradition
for us together!

Last year I created a book of photos
from the previous Christmas.
I called the book
"CHRISTMAS MEMORIES 2009"
-Family Times to Cherish Forever-

My main purpose for making it
was to put the final memories of
mom's last Christmas with us
into a book that would come out
each year and be reviewed and
remembered fondly!
The book features 69 pages of
color photos of events leading up to
and in and around Christmas
that season... I have enjoyed
browsing it once again this year,
and I know with each passing year
it will only become more special
along with the memories of that year.

Each year December is such a
 busy and fun filled time  ...
and I want to remember what
 this time of year is really all about.
This time is really about giving and sharing
 the love we all have in our hearts!

As I grow older in life I have grown
to realize the importance of giving back.
It truly does my heart good to give back... because the more I give away the more I get back in return in
REWARDING MEMORIES.

"A good teacher is like a candle- it consumes itself to light the way for others."
- Author Unknown

On that quote... my rhyme of the day...

When I dig down deep into my heart,
I find lots of stuff to give away and to part.
By giving love away I get more in return.
As I grow older...this is something I learn.
The biggest rewards come from
helping out others,
And also traditions,
from our fathers and mothers.
The things we cherish for so many reasons,
Come out at this time and at special seasons.
They fill us with joy in our heart just to last,
To remind us the memories of our sweet past!
To cherish forever within each new edition,
While carrying on every heartfelt tradition.