Have You Started To Make Your Shopping List For Christmas Yet?

Have you started to make your shopping list for Christmas yet? As the holiday are fast approaching us stores like K-Mart and Wal Mart are now opening there layaway department.  Using layaway it allows customers to pick up what they want now for the holidays and pay a little on it each week. This in return lets customers get all the items they want on their list before the rush starts, and allows them to pay for them over time making it alot easier on families.

As my family grow and my daughter has married this year we have had to add a few names to our shopping list for Christmas. I start each year by making and list and deciding on how much I have to spend  total. I then decide if we are buying just for the kids or for everyone depending on the finances for the year.

This year gifts at my home will be home made. As finances are very tight here since my husband has stage 4 cancer there is nothing coming in and I have MS.  We are struggling like so many other families in the US but we are still together. 

My family a few years ago gave me a wonderful gift of some crochet yarn some crochet needles a few books about crocheting and a container to place my yarn in. This gift was very special to me as my mom used to crochet when I was young.  I had learned a few stitches when I was in my teens.  Back in February I had a stroke and ended up in the hospital and then for almost a month in a rehab facility. My sister in-law brought me a needle in and 2 skeins of yarn.  My hands were not working correctly my left one hardly could hold anything at all and I could not move it over my head, much less up in the air to much.  I went and started pulling out the yarn and started to try rolling it in a ball. I would do this over and over making my fingers and hands work.   Using my fingers to grasp the ball of yarn as I used the other one to roll it on the ball of yarn. I can't tell you how many times I dropped this yarn or the ball of yarn.

This year my children that are grown are getting some hand made crocheted afgans. I have been taking my yarn every other week with me to the hospital as my husband goes through cancer treatments and crocheting afgans for Christmas gifts for the family.  Once I finish  with this last one I am working on now I will start a few poncho's for my granddaughter as well as a scarf and hat set.  I also already finished a single blanket that is all crocheted for her bed.  Her favorite colors are pink and purple so I found some varigated yarn that was purple and pink and I used a dark purple to off set it. Her blanks is just beautiful.