1 hour ago
(This week I want to share a few posts that have been sitting in my draft folder for a couple months. I wrote these a while ago, but just didn't feel like I was ready to share my thoughts yet. But as I am looking at making some big changes regarding my personal use of social media, I thought this was a good time to share the things that have been stirring around in my mind. This post was written in October.)
Instagram came on the scene right when blogging was at it’s heyday, and the general advice at that time was that every time a new social media platform came on the scene, you snagged up your username. So when Instagram arrived, I did the thing that good bloggers do - I jumped right on and snagged up my personal username, and my blog username. Instagram seemed like a good platform for connecting with readers in a new, personal, and instant way. It was fun, at first.
But over time, I don’t know…it seems like Instagram, in combination with other social media platforms, kind of killed blogging.
I get why it happened. Instagram was so…easy. At a time when all the bloggers who seemed to know what they were doing recommended that you needed to get away from free platforms, buy a domain, set up a custom website, make sure your content looked professional and had pinnable images…Instagram required so much less effort and technical know-how to get started. People started “blogging” on Instagram - it was quicker, and you didn’t need to sit down at a computer or know html code to do it. That’s where the readers, old and new, seemed to be.
Anyway, fast forward ten years, and here we are, where it almost feels like an old-school blog is obsolete, unless it’s accompanied by a much-more-active Instagram account.
And I hate that this is the way it is now.
Those of you who follow my blog account might have noticed I was putting more effort into my blog Instagram account for a few weeks there in September. I’m not sure what prompted me to do this, aside from thinking that maybe I could get people to hop over and read my blog if I put a little more effort in. But I think there was a part of me that was also trying to figure out if Instagram was the new blog world - if spending a little more time interacting on Instagram might bring back that old sense of connectedness that I had previously found with old-school blogging. I wanted to see how much effort it took to reach new people on Instagram with my public account, and if it was a good medium for finding that reciprocity that we bloggers used to enjoy. You know, returning comments, reading each other’s blog, linking to each other in the sidebar - all that was so fun back in the day. I guess it was an unconscious experiment for me.
After two weeks of complete dissatisfaction with the amount of time I was spending on my phone, my sweet husband took time to listen to my discouraged ranting about Instagram. I was discouraged because as much time as I was spending on Instagram, something was missing for me, and I always left it feeling dissatisfied.
Derek’s social media philosophy is “this is why I am not on Facebook/Instagram!” But he took the time to hear me out and listen to my struggles. While I got Facebook under control last year, I wasn’t sure what to do with Instagram. Because it seemed to me Instagram is necessary for bloggers these days.
As I started to talk with Derek about it, though, I started to question my own assumption about that. People say if you’re a blogger, you need to be on Instagram, but I’m not sure if that’s always true. Maybe it’s necessary for bloggers who want to earn an income through sponsorships - a lot of the sponsorships are on Instagram right now. Maybe it’s necessary for bloggers who need the numbers to show to sponsors. Maybe it’s necessary for bloggers who want a big following to achieve other goals.
But I’ve never really blogged for the numbers, and that’s kind of what I hate about Instagram. No matter how much you try to connect, in the end so much of it is just a bunch of people chasing numbers - numbers of likes, numbers of comments, numbers of followers. Numbers of dollars that you make off all that.
Don’t get me wrong, I know and follow plenty of girls who I think want to use their influence on Instagram to truly connect with people and bring glory to God. I admire some of those Instagrammers I know, and I don’t think there is anything wrong necessarily with putting in the effort there if that’s what you want to do.
But I’ve realized I don’t want to put the effort into Instagram. I’m not trying to earn money. I don’t need a big number of followers to feel significant. And likes are nice, but I don’t want that to be what I write for.
I have met many friends on Instagram over the years that I appreciate, that have turned into connections outside of the platform, and for those girls I am grateful! But unfortunately that doesn't happen very often. And fortunately there are other places to keep up with people online (like...blogs).
So is Instagram really necessary for bloggers today? I guess it depends on what your goals are. If your goal is to try to reach the biggest number of readers possible, you might do well to focus all your energy on Instagram.
Or you might dig into your stats like I did and be surprised at what you find. While I might get a few new people reading my blog through Instagram, the stats show it’s not a significant number. I stepped away from trying to earn money from this blog a long time ago, because it sucked the joy out of it for me. Because of that, gaining Instagram followers would just be an exercise in obtaining bragging rights, at the cost of time I could spend doing something more fulfilling.
I just want to write, and I believe the people who really count will still come around to read.
And even if they don’t, I enjoy writing on this blog - I’ve always enjoyed it, just for the sake of writing, and sharing my thoughts with people who care to read them, and having a space on the internet that feels like it’s only mine, without it demanding my constant attention. It’s okay to do something completely disconnected from the numbers, for no other reason than to enjoy doing it. I think we forget that sometimes.
“What is the instructive lesson to be learned from this first syllable of the angel’s song? Why this, that salvation is God’s highest glory. He is glorified in every dew drop that twinkles to the morning sun. He is magnified in every wood flower that blossoms in the copse, although it live to blush unseen, and waste it sweetness in the forest air. God is glorified in every bird that warbles on the spray; in every lamb that skips the mead...Do not all created things extol him? Is there aught beneath the sky, save man, that does not glorify God? Do not the stars exalt him, when they write His name upon the azure of heaven in their golden letters? ... Do not all things exalt Him, from the least unto the greatest? But sing, sing, oh universe, till thou hast exhausted thyself, thou canst not afford a song so sweet as a song of the incarnation. Though creation may be a majestic organ of praise, it cannot reach the compass of the golden canticle – incarnation. There is more in that than in creation, more melody in Jesus in the manger, than there is in world on worlds rolling their grandeur round the throne of the Most High. Pause Christian, and consider this a minute. See how every attribute is here magnified. Lo! What wisdom is here. God becomes man that God may be just, and the justifier of the ungodly.”
-Charles Spurgeon
On Monday, we trekked to the darkest corner of our mountain town, the darkest place we could think of, so we could get a look at the Christmas star. Every twenty years or so, Jupiter laps Saturn as they hurtle around the sun, and to the naked eye they look like one bright star.
The sky was pitch black, and the stars showed their faces one by one, outshone by a waxing moon and two planets skipping through the sky. And as I looked at all that, I couldn't help but remembering the words of silent night in the quiet.
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord at They birth.
For all the glories of the night sky, all the praise they pour forth night after night to their Creator, more glorious still is this - that God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ. That He humbled Himself to an undignified birth in a stable, and to a hideous death on a cross, to reconcile us to Himself. As Spurgeon says, all of God's great attributes are on display in the manger. His justice, His mercy, His love that we could never deserve.
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation."
Romans 5:8-11
This is the beauty of Christmas. This is true peace, the peace with God that is offered to us through the God-man whose birth we celebrate. This is love, that while we hated Him, He offered us Himself, even to die in our place, to take the punishment we deserve for our offenses against Him. What mercy is that! This is hope, that He conquered death by coming back to life, alive on His throne forevermore! He reaches out His hands to us now to give us eternal life in Him when we trust in Christ alone. And this is joy, that when we turn, repent, trust in Jesus for our salvation - that we are reconciled to our Creator, that we are rescued from wrath, that we are forgiven and washed clean, that He now calls us friends.
"In faith, there is joy." As Spurgeon would say.
I hope you find that joy and feel it more strongly than ever this Christmas, even in this dark year. Like the stars and planets showing off in the inky blackness of the sky, the light of His birth shines always bright into our darkness, if we open our eyes to see it.
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined."
Isaiah 9:2
Just in case I don't get a chance to say it again before Friday, a joyful and Merry Christmas to you, friends!
Over the weekend I deleted Instagram from my phone.
Honestly, even aside from the privacy policy changes, this has been a long time coming for me. I have found myself moving away from social media in tiny increments over the course of this year. That's probably another post for another day.
One thing I will miss, though, about Instagram is being able to jump on and chat through video to those of you who I've connected with over there. It was nice to be able to speak out those little thoughts or random topics that I want to share, but that aren't worthy of a whole blog post yet.
So, I decided find a replacement - I'm going to try something new on the blog and post an occasional chatty video. In this one I ramble while wrapping a few Christmas presents. If you have some wrapping left to do yourself, we can pretend we're wrapping presents together!
Topics covered:
-My present wrapping system, and how I organize the present opening on Christmas Day.
-A little musing about 2020, and how we should really be counting our blessings, because there have been MUCH worse years in the past. See the first half of the 20th century.
-Books, of course! Including why I always get bogged down in the middle of The Two Towers, and other random books I'm reading or hope to read soon.
Let me know if you watch the video or if I should skip these in the future, and also tell me:
(1) if you have a present wrapping system,
(2) one good thing that has happened to you this year, or
(3) a book you are reading!
For our school in December we took a really laid-back approach. We lightened up on the "have-to" subjects like language arts and math, and we did more of the "want-to" projects and books. We finished out science book, we listened to audiobooks, and we did some advent activities from this Gentle + Classical Christmas school resource.
One of the suggestions in that resource was to read Night Tree and make a fruit garland. That sounded like something my kids would like to do, so I bought some extra oranges and planned to use those dry wrinkly pears and cranberries leftover from Thanksgiving.
We finally got around to it last week! I dried out the fruit in the oven, and then the big kids and I spent the afternoon stringing them into a garland. Then we decorated a tree outside.
Apparently this is something a lot of people do, but it was our first year decorating a "night tree", and the kids loved it! They told me we have to do this project next year too, so it may become a new tradition for us.
The next morning after we decorated the tree, I noticed about fifteen deer gathered out there. Before long all the fruit was gone! The kids were happy that the animals enjoyed their "Christmas present".
Have you ever decorated a "night tree"? Do you do any other Christmas crafty projects with your kids?
I had grand plans to finish all my Christmas to-do's this week, since we are finally on Christmas break from homeschooling. I was going to wrap all the presents, send out Christmas cards, finish baking, write Christmas letters, mail Christmas gifts...everything.
Instead I find myself reading a lot of books, and now sitting down to write this. Procrastination? Yes, I suppose so. I did get my Christmas cards mailed, and today I hope to mail a Christmas present and start the wrapping. I'm justifying taking a time out to write this because I can't really wrap until Derek is finished with work for the day, and I miss my blog.
I've been thinking a lot about changes I want to make in the new year, and one thing I keep mulling over is how I can tip the balance away from social media and toward this blog again. I've been struggling with social media for a long time, because while I think a lot of it is a waste of time, it is also the main way to connect with people online these days - including all of you, my blog buddies. So what to do? I don't know, but I figure just getting back in the habit of writing is the first place to start. My writing motivation has derailed big time in the wake of the election, but it's time to get back to the little things, simple habits that anchor my days. Blogging is one of those.
Anyway, what are you all baking for Christmas? We have our Christmas favorites, but I always find myself wanting to branch out and try new goodies around the holidays. My ideal holiday treat would be relatively inexpensive and basically fool-proof, which unfortunately rules out a lot of cookie recipes. I live at a high altitude, and can basically trust no cookie recipe ever. If you find a high altitude baking blog, send it my way, will you?
(One of the gingerbread houses we made with friends.)
On our list so far are the following: gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies, Christmas fudge, snowdrop cookies, and chocolate-covered pretzels. And wassail on Christmas Day, of course. Believe it or not, I used to make more Christmas goodies than that, but these are our favorites. I'll probably just round it out with an experiment or two.
Instead of baking this week though, I've spent a disproportionate amount of time reading, which I do not regret at all. I've finished several books, and am hoping to still make my reading goal of 48 books this year, even though I'm woefully behind! I'm especially enjoying re-reading Lord Of The Rings during these winter months. Those book are winter books to me. I just got past the creepy marshes in The Two Towers, so basically we're getting to the good stuff now.
Despite everything going on, December has been as busy as ever for our family, with dinners with family and friends, Christmas light trails, and weekly Awana night dates for Derek and me. We went out to one of our usual places last night, but there was no room for us in the outdoor-seating tent, so we sat under a heat lamp on the patio while drinking our root beer and cream soda. We couldn't take our coats off (so I guess my careful outfit selection was a little pointless), but it was romantic sitting outside in the cold, eating our dinner and watching the traffic lights "blink a bright read and green". I enjoyed it very much. Sometimes things aren't ideal, but you make the best of them and find joy in it anyway. Hasn't that been the story of this whole year?
I hope you are finding the little joys this week, friends! I'll try to be back soon with photos of the fruit garland project I did with the kids, and hopefully a book post and some Christmas reflections in the next week or so!
Nature study is something I want to make a more consistent part of our homeschool. I've been saying that for a while actually, but I've also found nature study and nature journaling a bit intimidating. What was I actually supposed to be looking at? What are we supposed to be learning? How do I nature journal if my drawing skills are limited?
What Is Nature Study (And Why Should We Do It)?
First thing first, for those of you who might be new to homeschooling, nature study and nature journals have been around for a long time, but in this modern homeschool world you'll most often see it associated with the Charlotte Mason educational philosophy. Simply Charlotte Mason is a good website for a deep-dive into Charlotte Mason and her methods, but for my purposes here, the definition from dictionary.com is:
n. the practical study of plants, animals, and natural phenomena as a school subject.
I personally love the idea of nature study as a way to introduce scientific skills to kids. True science is all about observation and experimentation. As far as observation goes, nature study is a wonderful way to practice that scientific skill in the real world. Nature journals are a way for kids (and adults) to keep track of their nature observations so they can begin to notice patterns in the natural world.But How Do I Do Nature Study?
While I know all this with my head, the actual nuts and bolts of doing nature study is the part that becomes intimidating. If you do a simple online search for nature journals, or if you purchase any nature-journaling books or resources, the level of skill these artists possess is amazing. No matter how hard I try, my nature journal is not going to look so detailed or impressive.
Thankfully, I've begun to realize this year that a nature journal doesn't have to look like that to be worthwhile. You don't have to have any art skills at all to keep a nature journal, really. The point of nature study and keeping a nature journal is to develop the habit of observation. The point is to be still in creation, and notice things, and then keep some sort of record of it.
There are a few things that have helped make our nature study and journaling a little easier and a little richer, and I wanted to share a few thoughts on that today. These small encouragements are coming from me, remember - a very amateur and non-artist homeschool mom. I'm hoping that means these tips will be actually useful for the average person reading this. Let's dive in!
Tip #1 - Just get outside a lot.
This tip seems so obvious as to be ridiculous, but what I mean is - try to practice just getting outside regularly before you add nature journaling into it. If you and your kids are mostly homebodies, getting into the great outdoors more is the first step. Go outside and enjoy your surroundings without the pressure of studying anything first, especially if your kids are young. Go on a hike, do schoolwork outside more, have a few picnics. Perhaps after you've developed the habit of getting outside as much as possible, taking the jump to actually studying the things around you will be a more natural step.
Tip #2 - Do a botany study.
Despite living in the mountains for most of my life, before this year I knew surprisingly little about plants. I've never had a green thumb, and any botany knowledge I gained when I was in school had long ago faded from my brain. I wasn't even very excited to do a botany program with my kids for homeschool science this year, but it turns out knowing more about plants makes nature journaling a whole lot easier!
If you think about it, the main category of living things that you will see ever time you step outside are plants. They are also the best thing to draw and observe for nature study because they don't move much. I don't know why we didn't do a plant study sooner - it would have helped us so much with nature study from the beginning.
Knowing more about the plant kingdom has made me feel more equipped for nature study - now instead of just staring at my surroundings, wondering what things are worth writing down, I have some specific things to look for when I'm looking at plants. And because I feel a bit more knowledgable about plants, I'll be able to help my kids with remembering what we learned and developing their skills on a part of creation that is easy to observe and draw.
(We used Apologia's Young Explorers Botany curriculum - it is a good level for mid elementary aged kids, I think.)
Tip #3 - Don't judge your own drawings (and don't let your kids judge theirs either).
We just finished our botany curriculum yesterday, and the last chapter in Apologia's Botany was on nature study. I found everything in that chapter really helpful and encouraging, and some of the following tips are things I gleaned from there.
The book made a point that I thought was well worth remembering, and it is this - no one starts out nature journaling as an expert. You start wherever you are, and as you get in the habit of observing and writing things out in your journal on a regular basis, your skills will grow.
Consistency is something I want to work on with nature study, because consistently practicing observing and recording nature is what will lead to really useful learning. But I'm also applying it to my rather simple drawings - no one starts out drawing as a developed artist, we hope to grow with practice.
I think it's also important to realize that our drawing skills may never improve to level we would hope, but that doesn't mean nature journaling isn't worthwhile. It's okay if your drawings are never impressive. The point is to learn how to observe and document accurately. Drawing is just one way to do that. Which leads to the next thought I had...
Tip #4 - Don't draw at all.
If drawing is what is holding you (or me) up from enjoying nature journaling - well, who says we actually need to draw at all? We could just write out descriptions of what we see instead. We could paste an actual specimen from a plant into the pages of our nature journal. We could even take a picture and slap that in! This is a very fresh realization for me, so I'm going to have to think about different ways we could do nature journaling aside from just drawing.
Tip #5 - It doesn't just have to be about the observation.
This is something else that I read in Apologia's Botany that I never thought about before - nature journaling doesn't have to be just dry scientific observations about living things. We want to write down what we observe, but this is a nature journal. It's okay to include poems or Bible verses that come to mind, to write out something fun that happened while you were outside, to play around with different ways to describe with written language the beauty that we see. I've always come at nature journaling from a scientific bent, but the thought that I could include...anything I want, really...makes it a little more exciting.
Tip #6 - Help your kids write what they see.
This tip is more about making nature study something that your kids can enjoy. If you have really little kids, don't make nature study turn into a frustrating writing practice session. Let them draw a picture, ask them what they would like you to write in their journal, and then write it for them. Our family is at a stage when most of my kids don't have the endurance to write out a bunch of information, and I want us all to enjoy getting outside and recording what we see. I want it to be a sweet memory. Helping my kids with the writing is one way to make the experience less frustrating while we are developing the habits of nature study.
Tip #7 - Find some resources that inspire you at your family's stage.
When I first started trying to find resources for nature study, all I could find was this really intimidating book about nature journaling. Since I'm not an artist, I couldn't imagine myself ever being good enough at nature study for that book - much less my young elementary kids! I searched a little more, and these are a few resources that have made nature journaling seem more doable for my limited artistic abilities and young family.
Apologia Exploring Creation With Botany - The same book I mentioned above, this is a great curriculum for gaining meaningful knowledge to use in a nature study. It'll help you know what to look for when it comes to observing plants. Comes from a creationist Christian perspective. I'd say 2nd Grade and up!
Note: I'm hoping to do their Flying Creatures book this spring to add more bird knowledge to our nature study attempts. I'll update once we get through that book.
Exploring Nature With Children - If you need some inspiration for how to integrate nature study into more homeschool subjects, this is a great resource! It has a different nature study topic for each day of the year, and includes poems, nature walk ideas, book lists, and other activity ideas. Could be adapted for any grade.
100 Easy And Fun Creative Nature Walks - I love this ebook for ideas on how to involve younger kids in nature study! It'll get you looking for different types of things each time you go out. Good for preschool through elementary at least.
Raising Up Wild Things Nature Journals - Raising Wild Things is a blog and shop with many nature study resources - I just bought her winter nature journal and I'm excited to use it with the kids. She includes basic information that would be useful for winter nature study, along with journal pages and worksheets to get you started, and website and book lists for further learning. And all beautifully illustrated in a. non-intimidating way! Good for elementary ages.
The Nature Connection by Clare Walker Leslie - If you are not sure what to record when attempting nature study, this book has a bunch of information and ideas of what kinds of things you may want to write down. I think this book has a lot of great inspiration. I forgot I had it until I was writing this post, and I am going to pull it out much more this spring. Comes from an evolutionary and environmentalist perspective, so be aware of that. Good for elementary school and up.
Nature Anatomy and Ocean Anatomy by Julia Rothman - If you are excited to jump into the artistic side of nature journaling, these books would be good inspiration! They are basically a published nature journal, with lots of good information included! Some mentions of evolution and millions of years. Good for elementary and up.
That's all I have, friends. I'm still figuring out nature study as I go, but I hope some of this was helpful!
Okay, all my homeschool nature study experts (I know there are some of you reading), what tips would you include? And if you've never done nature study with your kids, have you found it as intimidating to start as I have?
Aren't my kids so cute decorating the tree?
Over the last couple years I have started to make a Christmas list for myself to give to Derek. He always picks me great gifts, with or without a list. But he asked, and it's fun to be able to pick out things that I would like but probably won't buy myself! I thought I'd share my list today, just for fun. Maybe if you aren't sure what to put on your Christmas list, it'll spark some ideas!
Washi Tape
I found this website that sells gorgeous Washi tape a while back, and I've been eyeing a few of their sets! I use Washi tape in my bullet journal or on letters, to dress up the page and add some sparkle. I use it in a really basic way, but some people really decorate their pages or letters, like my penpal Felicia (her envelopes are always so pretty!). It's just fun, and I'd love to get a little collection started.
Books
These three books are on my Christmas list! The first two I have read before and they were excellent - to the point that I would like to own a physical copy and re-read them.
Eve In Exile is about feminism, it's negative effects on women, and the purpose for which God really created women. I feel like that makes it sound a little boring, but it was so good.
Glory In The Ordinary is about the value of work, and the biblical purpose of our work, and I remember finding it really encouraging especially as it relates to the struggle many women have with feeling...perhaps less-than for working outside of the home OR for not bringing money in for the family. It was great.
Black Coffee kind of intrigued me, because...well, coffee, but also because I read in the description that it is a Hercule Poirot play that Agatha Christie wrote which was adapted into a book by a different author. Hercule Poirot is my favorite of her characters, and I'm really curious to see how it is!
Psalms Scripture Journal
I have one of these scripture journals for the book of Hebrews, and I love it! It has the biblical text on one page, with a dot grid for notes, decorating, or whatever you want on the opposite page. I write about things that stood out in the passage, or bits of commentary that I've gathered from other places. I usually don't fill up a full page, so I am thinking they will be useful for going through the books of the Bible multiple times until it's full. I'd love to have another one to work in, and Psalms felt like a good place to start!
John MacArthur Study Bible
I have the digital version of MacArthur's study notes, and I really appreciate his study Bible notes - it is always helpful and clarifying when I come across a tricky passage. I would really like to have a physical copy of the MacArthur study Bible, so I can highlight and read the notes a little easier. I found a damaged copy on this website for cheap, so I'm hoping Derek snagged it for me!
Rings
I used to love wearing "costume jewelry" rings in my twenties, but I haven't for several years now. I think my fingers got a little fat for my collection while I was pregnant. I'd like to get back to wearing pretty rings, but I'd also like some that won't turn my finger green (hopefully). Even though these are the priciest thing on my list, they are relatively inexpensive and I think they're pretty for a little extra shine.
Art Prints I’d Love To Have Framed
Okay, I am a little hesitant to show you actual pictures here because I don't want to reproduce the artist's work without her permission, but if you click through on anything in this post you have to check out these prints. I'm linking my three favorite prints below, but Lore Pemberton's art just speaks to me. All of her paintings are wonderful, but these three are my current favorites and I'd love to get a print of one of these.
This one brings back the feeling of rocking my babies against my chest in the middle of the night.
We go on a fall hike every autumn, and this one just reminds me of traipsing through the woods with my children. I can almost smell the leaves.
This one brings to mind the stargazing nights we've done with the kids, and the wonder we are hoping to inspire in them by introducing them to the night sky.
Makeup
What can I say, I like my makeup! I've particularly enjoyed Colourpop's eye products for a while, and this cool-toned palette caught my eye (which is currently sold out, so I might not be getting it after all!). The single shadow is one of their super-shock shadows, which I've heard good things about and would like to play around with. And I've been wanting to try one of their lip glosses - this color looks pretty.
Perfume
I realized early this year that I've used up most of my perfumes, and a lot of the ones I've liked over the years are no longer produced. Don't you hate when that happens? You find a scent you like, and then they just stop making it. Tough luck. I smelled a sample of this one a while back though and I remember liking it, so I put it on my Christmas list just in case Derek needed one more idea. Time to find a new perfume I guess!
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That's it! I was trying to put a wide variety of things on my list so Derek would have a lot to choose from. I obviously will not be getting everything here (budget, you know), but I wanted to give Derek lots ideas so if he ends up only buying from my list, I'll still be somewhat surprised!
What sort of things have you put on your Christmas list? Do you and your spouse make lists for each other?
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