Inspiration Friday Party No. 11 and...

...My poor confused children!

When you have an entire side of the family (mine) that lives out of state, you have to get very creative about celebrating Holidays.

We have had Easter Egg Hunts weeks before or weeks after Easter, Birthday celebrations MONTHS before or after, trick-or-treating where you dress up your 3 year old son, take him out the back door of Nonna and Poppa's house and walk him all the way around the house to the front door just so everyone can have the experience of him ringing the doorbell at THEIR house and saying "Trick-or Treat!" He was very baffled but he got candy so he didn't really care!
Here is a classic example...

"Uhhh...guys? Why did you make us change into these stuffy clothes while you all sit there in your Sweats taking our pictures?"

"Didn't we already have an Easter Egg Hunt?"

"Oh, wait...there's candy? Never mind!"

And at least every other year we celebrate "Christmas" at Thanksgiving with my side of the family, thus adding to the confusion.
Which also means, that the decorating starts early around here.
And, I used to kind of keep it under wraps from other folks.
But, not this year!!
I proudly declare that I am going to start decorating next week! Not all at once, just a little bit at a time.
You know why???
It takes A LOOONNNGGGG time to decorate a house with little ones under foot. And...it is A LOT of work...too much work to only enjoy it for 3-4 weeks...and, well...when it is cold and dreary outside, it just makes me feel good!
So there.
I've also been listening to Christmas music since the week before Halloween...just Instrumental mind you.
And to all of you seriously Loyal Christmas folks who don't break out the music until December First, I say...
It makes me happy!
And isn't it better than me turning to "the bottle" to lift my spirits?
So there.
This year, once again, my kiddos will be celebrating one Holiday two times, but as long as there are treats and presents involved, they don't care. But, if one of my kids marries one of your kids and they come to your house at Thanksgiving and wonder why you don't have gifts for them, don't blame me...blame my out-of-state relatives!

And, just so you know, this is from LAST year.
Not that I need to justify myself!

Okie Dokie! Let's move on to some great Inspiration from last week's party.
I'm going to do things a little bit differently this week and share with you 1 story involving 2 different bloggers.
Lynn over at Blue Skies contributed a post to Inspiration Friday that literally brought tears to my eyes and really showed the true heart of the Blogging community.
She and her daughter Brenna love to cook together but due to some visual impairment, Brenna has not been able to read the recipes herself and has to just "trust" that Mom is getting the instructions right!
Well, Susan at Susan deGeneres Studio heard about this and took it upon herself to bless the socks off these Mother and Daughter Chefs! She created a recipe book for her delicious Pumpkin Pie where every single step had been photographed and each photo came with instructions in BIG BOLD TYPE. 

Lynn said Brenna just poured over each page.



She wrote, "how does one explain kindness like that?"



I think I need to go get a tissue...
Ok. I'm back.
If that isn't Inspiring, then I don't know what is!
I'm so proud to be among a group of women, who not only share their home decorating, cooking and crafts. But, who also share from the overflow of love and generosity in their hearts!
Thank you Lynn, for sharing this story with us. And THANK YOU Susan, for being an example of the blessing and kindness that we are called to share with those around us...including those in blogland!

So, what have you all been up to this week? I know I have seen some Christmas decor and crafts already (makes me feel better!) and some great Thanksgiving and Harvest themed tablescapes and decor. Not to mention, an overwhelming amount of yummy recipes that make my thighs jiggle just looking at them!
Link 'em on up my friends!
And have a blessed weekend from
this Southern Girl at Heart,
Vanessa

P.S. I know it says this in the linky instructions below, but PLEASE be sure to make some reference to the Inspiration Friday Party in your post or just grab my button over in the sidebar. Thanks!
Here is how to link up...
1. Add your Permalink to your entry but not your General Blog Address. To get your Permalink, click on the title of the blog post you are wanting to submit and copy and paste the address into the URL box. You will also have to add your address but it will not be visible to anyone else.
2. Do not try and Link up until you have actually published that particular post on your blog.
3. Please link back to the host blog, Southern In My Heart, so that those who visit your blog will be able to find some wonderful Inspiration from everyone else!