1000%. Christmas Eve has always been my favorite for all the reasons you listed. My father was the church organist and choir director, so all the busy leading up to church, THEN Christmas Eve became magical. The church service, then home and the lights and the fire and the anticipation. One Christmas Eve it snowed and we had actual carolers come to the door. I’ll never forget it. Love it all.
Your are absolutely right. I started realizing that in my 50’s. I’m 67 now and retired. My peace has come at the disappointment of many friends, colleagues, and family including my three children. 😊😊😊
I am very happy that you had a good visit with your mom. We are at the beginning of our journey with my mom and her dementia. She only lives 20 minutes away but I feel that I am always looking after so much i never really spend quality time with her. She is now not taking her meds properly, definitely needs to be out of the house but has dug her heels in. Love all your wisdom, everything rings true.
I’m sending you all the love and positive thoughts - there were moments I thought we would never see the day when we could say she was safe and in the right place. Hang in there!!
@@JoyfulLivingwithJenLefforge Can I add that we each handle dementia of a loved one in our own way. And really we are all just doing our best as we learn about the process. Keeping loved one safe is absolutely essential Sending prayers for all those afflicted by any kind of dementia and their families❤❤❤❤
Yay you’re back! I’m so glad your visit with mom and family was good and happy. Don’t be sorry about a long video… we love it, it’s like visiting a friend.
Jen I was meant to find your channel. My mom has dementia and today has been such a challenging day for her. I am listening to your advise w my heart. One day at a time.
I love how you speak about your grown children. I have a 12 and 9 year old and I keep enjoying each stage more than the last. I love seeing their personalities really shape. You have made me so excited for the future.
I found with my mum she would plateau for a while and then her health would decline, and then she would plateau again. It is very unpredictable. You never know which mom you’re gonna get when you visit. Just savour the good times, and breathe through the bad. Hugs for you and your siblings as you go through this journey. It’s not an easy path.
Loved this video! You're such a great advice giver and that final question and answer, chefs kiss!! It's great that you were able to have such a good visit and enjoy your family, especially with everything that's happened in the last year. I have to agree with everything you said, My daughter is in from college and we will be hitting up the last winter farmers market in my area to browse but no intent to buy. I loved the gingerbread man from Grand Californian! I bought one to bring home it was so good. Very disappointed the next year with the Grand Floridian one. So glad you were able to find that snipper and get the full value out of your Voluspa calendar. I'd also like to welcome you to the ambivert club :)
Thank you for answering my holiday food question! I also love savory appetizers. Our family enjoys to graze on the shoulder days to the holidays. Makes for a fun and stress free time while family and guests arrive or depart from out of town and we can try new recipes too. Merry Christmas 🎄
My favorite Xmas memory is baking with my mom and then delivering the cookie packages to friends/neighbors. I definitely miss her most this time of year. I'm so glad your mom is starting to feel settled at the assisted living. Love the Q&As. Thanks for always being so open and candid. Have a great day, Jen!
Jen, i’ve thoroughly enjoyed your Vlogmas videos and so happy you had a good visit with your family. Christmas Eve is also my favorite part of Christmas. For over 30 years i did Christmas dinner for both sides of our family. My husband worked 12-14 hour days so it fell mostly on me. 11 of those years I also managed a retail store for my in-laws. When it was time to leave for Christmas Eve church, finished or not, I was done. That peaceful time with my family finally brought me the spirit of Christmas, which was, honestly, the first time it appeared many years. This is a perfect example of needing your advice to not worry about disappointing other people. I got into the Christmas dinner rut because my husband couldn’t bear to disappoint his mother which meant I was always disappointing mine. Having it at our house didn’t disappoint anyone…except me. It turned my favorite holiday into one I would just as soon not have. Wishing you a blessed Christmas and new year.
Your mom looks amazing! (so do you!😊). She has a beautiful head of hair and looks much younger than 85. Merry Christmas. We will celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas this year. ❤ Love to all mankind!
WELCOME BACK! Glad you had a wonderful trip. I was singing along with you to "Merry Christmas Darling". It's one of my favorites. Thanks for the reminder of keeping things real during this time. I've got two adult children and their spouses and two grandchildren. Let me tell you how disappointed my 32yo daughter was that Mom just could not manage stockings this year. She was slightly, no REALLY disappointed.🤣There's always next year! One of my joys this year is seeing our 3yo granddaughter and her excitement that Santa will be coming to her house.❤
Glad to have you back, but even more glad that you spent the time you needed with your mom and siblings! SOMEHOW I’ve just picked up my steam cleaner to take care of the the kitchen cabinets and here you are 😅🙏
Well Jen, once again I relate to pretty much everything you said today! What you said about it being okay to disappoint others in order to take care of yourself is particularly meaningful in my life right now. I've made major life changes this past year that affected other people, and it took me months of therapy to be able to make the decision that was best for me. Hearing you drop that little nugget of wisdom today is helping me to more fully absorb the importance of allowing myself to disappoint others when necessary. I still fully believe that it's important to be considerate of others, but not at our own expense. ❤
I am glad to hear your mom is settling in. Sometimes a change like that can be hard and all they want to do is go home. I am also an inverot and even through married I love my alone time and am very independence. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Another fantastic video Jen! I resonate very solidly with the introvert that can be an extrovert if you really need me to be. My alone time is so precious to me and it is really where I get my restoration time, especially when I can share that with my dogs. I’m so glad to hear that you had a good visit with your mom. I could feel the anxiety that you had leading up to the visit, through my phone screen. That last question was a doozy! I think I’ve been following you for over four years now, a patron for 2/3 years and, you are definitely a part of all of your followers lives. I hope you have the very best Christmas with your family, that you get some peaceful alone time and that we see so much more of you in the new year! 🎄❤️
Gosh Jen…I’m so like you. I love my husband,kids,grandchildren and family……but I love my “ Me Time” as I call it. I get really grumpy if I can’t have it or something/ someone turns up when I’m suppose to have it. Again your so right,it’s lovely not being in charge of everyone but so nice to be able to help them with advice and experiences… Im done with gift shopping it’s just the food to get now,which will be Monday…it’s crazily busy at work now..( Sainsbury’s) I’m so tired. Finish on Tuesday.. I love the catch up with advent calendars….. Please don’t say you won’t be doing RUclips….your my sanity giver,and relaxation guru!! I’m SO glad you trip and especially the time with you mum went well. Such a relief for you and your siblings/ family. Loving blogmas…thank you for doing it….👍🇬🇧 Ps I love the long videos…gives me time to drink my lemon and ginger tea…and chill out ready for my nap after the video….
Merry Christmas Jen. Thank you for the reminder that I don’t need to fear my kids growing up and to cherish them now. I got my 7 year old twins Lego advents. They have been waking up early and taking them into the bathroom (idk why) and opening them. All I hear is them whispering about what each other got. Good reminder to look for the moments instead of getting cranky about the noise in the morning.
Welcome home and I'm happy you had a good trip and a good visit with your mom and siblings! So important this time of year! We have so many wonderful family traditions that we follow at Christmastime - I look forward to them every year!
Love your advice for a first time homeowner. I bought my first home by myself in 2022 and I was absolutely unprepared 🤦🏼♀️. I’m in a better place now but it was overwhelming.
PS.... I love Scottsdale mall. Yes, very "posh". But my funniest memory of Scottsdale is going to a horse ranch and getting on a horse for the first time in my life. She was the only mare and she had a mind of her own. I'm pretty sure the entire valley heard me screaming in complete fear that day. I was so happy to get back to the ranch!!🤣
Re Andiamo- there's a Puppy Dog Pals episode (Disney Jr Cartoon) where the pups go to Uraky and they sing a song, "Andiamo, Andiamo, in Italy it's how we say let's go." So we all know what Andiamo means in my house. I write this as I'm cuddling my son while he drinks milk and watches puppy dogs pals and I watching you. 😊
If you like tuna fish sandwiches but are concerned about the mercury, switch to a quality canned wild caught salmon and make a "salmon fish" sandwich instead. I don't eat tuna much anymore since I discovered Wild Planet brand canned wild pink salmon. I add diced red onion, dill pickle and kalamata olives, a little bit of mustard and salt/pepper into the mayo. Try it!
Oh my gosh.. A neighbor just dropped off a gift and I am sitting here staring at it wondering what the heck can we give him without going to a store. Thanks for the advice.
Another wonderful and thoughtful vlog! You gave such great advice about being ok with disappointing people. I am 59, and have lived my entire life trying to please everyone, and coupled with anxiety, it has been very challenging. I will try to remember your words in 2025, and start to make decisions that are best for my husband and I first. I am so glad that you enjoyed the time with your mom and family. It’s another afternoon of wrapping for me, and you’ve been good company.😊 Thank you!
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
If you want to get caught up on all the vlogmas videos, head here! ruclips.net/p/PLygBsukzpH64jx6iUNNx9BIoRMrEDF9tE&si=LOJdCDB3gk8YJBPq
1000%. Christmas Eve has always been my favorite for all the reasons you listed. My father was the church organist and choir director, so all the busy leading up to church, THEN Christmas Eve became magical. The church service, then home and the lights and the fire and the anticipation. One Christmas Eve it snowed and we had actual carolers come to the door. I’ll never forget it. Love it all.
Your are absolutely right. I started realizing that in my 50’s. I’m 67 now and retired. My peace has come at the disappointment of many friends, colleagues, and family including my three children. 😊😊😊
I am very happy that you had a good visit with your mom. We are at the beginning of our journey with my mom and her dementia. She only lives 20 minutes away but I feel that I am always looking after so much i never really spend quality time with her. She is now not taking her meds properly, definitely needs to be out of the house but has dug her heels in. Love all your wisdom, everything rings true.
I’m sending you all the love and positive thoughts - there were moments I thought we would never see the day when we could say she was safe and in the right place. Hang in there!!
@@JoyfulLivingwithJenLefforge Can I add that we each handle dementia of a loved one in our own way. And really we are all just doing our best as we learn about the process. Keeping loved one safe is absolutely essential Sending prayers for all those afflicted by any kind of dementia and their families❤❤❤❤
Nice to see you back!! Missed the daily videos. I hope you enjoyed the time with your family.
Yay you’re back! I’m so glad your visit with mom and family was good and happy. Don’t be sorry about a long video… we love it, it’s like visiting a friend.
Jen I was meant to find your channel. My mom has dementia and today has been such a challenging day for her. I am listening to your advise w my heart. One day at a time.
I love how you speak about your grown children. I have a 12 and 9 year old and I keep enjoying each stage more than the last. I love seeing their personalities really shape. You have made me so excited for the future.
I found with my mum she would plateau for a while and then her health would decline, and then she would plateau again. It is very unpredictable. You never know which mom you’re gonna get when you visit. Just savour the good times, and breathe through the bad. Hugs for you and your siblings as you go through this journey. It’s not an easy path.
I think this vlog is the perfect example of why I love your channel!!
Ohhhh thank you!!!🥰🥰🥰
Loved this video! You're such a great advice giver and that final question and answer, chefs kiss!! It's great that you were able to have such a good visit and enjoy your family, especially with everything that's happened in the last year. I have to agree with everything you said, My daughter is in from college and we will be hitting up the last winter farmers market in my area to browse but no intent to buy. I loved the gingerbread man from Grand Californian! I bought one to bring home it was so good. Very disappointed the next year with the Grand Floridian one. So glad you were able to find that snipper and get the full value out of your Voluspa calendar. I'd also like to welcome you to the ambivert club :)
Thank you for answering my holiday food question! I also love savory appetizers. Our family enjoys to graze on the shoulder days to the holidays. Makes for a fun and stress free time while family and guests arrive or depart from out of town and we can try new recipes too. Merry Christmas 🎄
Safe, dry and warm is all you can hope for! Wishing you, your mom and all your loved ones a happy and safe holiday season.
My favorite Xmas memory is baking with my mom and then delivering the cookie packages to friends/neighbors. I definitely miss her most this time of year. I'm so glad your mom is starting to feel settled at the assisted living. Love the Q&As. Thanks for always being so open and candid. Have a great day, Jen!
Yet again Jen you speak a lot of good sense & I feel you are speaking to me with many of the things you say. Thank you. Xx
(Jane) Glad you had a fun trip and that you made it home safe. Six more days-wow!
Jen, i’ve thoroughly enjoyed your Vlogmas videos and so happy you had a good visit with your family. Christmas Eve is also my favorite part of Christmas. For over 30 years i did Christmas dinner for both sides of our family. My husband worked 12-14 hour days so it fell mostly on me. 11 of those years I also managed a retail store for my in-laws. When it was time to leave for Christmas Eve church, finished or not, I was done. That peaceful time with my family finally brought me the spirit of Christmas, which was, honestly, the first time it appeared many years. This is a perfect example of needing your advice to not worry about disappointing other people. I got into the Christmas dinner rut because my husband couldn’t bear to disappoint his mother which meant I was always disappointing mine. Having it at our house didn’t disappoint anyone…except me. It turned my favorite holiday into one I would just as soon not have. Wishing you a blessed Christmas and new year.
Also thanks for what you said about your kids growing up. 😊
Your mom looks amazing! (so do you!😊). She has a beautiful head of hair and looks much younger than 85. Merry Christmas. We will celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas this year. ❤ Love to all mankind!
WELCOME BACK! Glad you had a wonderful trip. I was singing along with you to "Merry Christmas Darling". It's one of my favorites. Thanks for the reminder of keeping things real during this time. I've got two adult children and their spouses and two grandchildren. Let me tell you how disappointed my 32yo daughter was that Mom just could not manage stockings this year. She was slightly, no REALLY disappointed.🤣There's always next year! One of my joys this year is seeing our 3yo granddaughter and her excitement that Santa will be coming to her house.❤
Your mum looks in good health all things considered.❤
love what you said about your grown kids…mine are 42, 40 and 37 and it is thrilling to see the people that they have become and to interact with them
So glad your trip to see your mom was great.
Glad to have you back, but even more glad that you spent the time you needed with your mom and siblings! SOMEHOW I’ve just picked up my steam cleaner to take care of the the kitchen cabinets and here you are 😅🙏
I knew . . . .I'm like Santa.
Well Jen, once again I relate to pretty much everything you said today! What you said about it being okay to disappoint others in order to take care of yourself is particularly meaningful in my life right now. I've made major life changes this past year that affected other people, and it took me months of therapy to be able to make the decision that was best for me. Hearing you drop that little nugget of wisdom today is helping me to more fully absorb the importance of allowing myself to disappoint others when necessary. I still fully believe that it's important to be considerate of others, but not at our own expense. ❤
I am glad to hear your mom is settling in. Sometimes a change like that can be hard and all they want to do is go home.
I am also an inverot and even through married I love my alone time and am very independence.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
So happy to see posting a video and to see that it’s 40 minutes! So happy to see you back and glad you had a good trip!
Had fun, thank you!!
Another fantastic video Jen! I resonate very solidly with the introvert that can be an extrovert if you really need me to be. My alone time is so precious to me and it is really where I get my restoration time, especially when I can share that with my dogs. I’m so glad to hear that you had a good visit with your mom. I could feel the anxiety that you had leading up to the visit, through my phone screen. That last question was a doozy! I think I’ve been following you for over four years now, a patron for 2/3 years and, you are definitely a part of all of your followers lives. I hope you have the very best Christmas with your family, that you get some peaceful alone time and that we see so much more of you in the new year! 🎄❤️
Your description of Christmas Eve is just so spot on. Gave me chills. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Jen🎅🏻🤶🏻⛄️ thanks for all you do and for who you are! Bring so much joy and peace to me and many others.
Gosh Jen…I’m so like you. I love my husband,kids,grandchildren and family……but I love my “ Me Time” as I call it.
I get really grumpy if I can’t have it or something/ someone turns up when I’m suppose to have it.
Again your so right,it’s lovely not being in charge of everyone but so nice to be able to help them with advice and experiences…
Im done with gift shopping it’s just the food to get now,which will be Monday…it’s crazily busy at work now..( Sainsbury’s) I’m so tired. Finish on Tuesday..
I love the catch up with advent calendars…..
Please don’t say you won’t be doing RUclips….your my sanity giver,and relaxation guru!!
I’m SO glad you trip and especially the time with you mum went well. Such a relief for you and your siblings/ family.
Loving blogmas…thank you for doing it….👍🇬🇧
Ps I love the long videos…gives me time to drink my lemon and ginger tea…and chill out ready for my nap after the video….
Oh thank you, Friend!!
@ You called me a friend…I LOVE that ..
Thank you mate! 👍🇬🇧
So glad you had a nice visit. I totally missed you while u were gone. That’s really nice to make the neighbor girls a treat bag. 😊❤😊
Welcome back! We missed you!
Merry Christmas Jen. Thank you for the reminder that I don’t need to fear my kids growing up and to cherish them now. I got my 7 year old twins Lego advents. They have been waking up early and taking them into the bathroom (idk why) and opening them. All I hear is them whispering about what each other got. Good reminder to look for the moments instead of getting cranky about the noise in the morning.
Welcome home and I'm happy you had a good trip and a good visit with your mom and siblings! So important this time of year! We have so many wonderful family traditions that we follow at Christmastime - I look forward to them every year!
Welcome back! I missed you! Happy Vlogmas!!! 🎄
Great advice Jen, glad you had a nice trip.
I use the Beekman products that you showed today. Remarkable
I’m so glad you had a good visit with your mom. ❤ Did you go to the Sugar Bowl? ☺️🍨 I’m an introvert too and I really enjoy my time alone at home!
Love your advice for a first time homeowner. I bought my first home by myself in 2022 and I was absolutely unprepared 🤦🏼♀️. I’m in a better place now but it was overwhelming.
You are funny, smart and entertaining! ❤️
PS.... I love Scottsdale mall. Yes, very "posh". But my funniest memory of Scottsdale is going to a horse ranch and getting on a horse for the first time in my life. She was the only mare and she had a mind of her own. I'm pretty sure the entire valley heard me screaming in complete fear that day. I was so happy to get back to the ranch!!🤣
Jen, you put day 16 on the first calendar back in the box. Don’t want you to throw it out! Happy Christmas. 🎄
Lemon verbena is the common name of a plant- Aloysia citrodora. It’s a great garden plant and makes delicious tea (and great smelling lotion) :)
Re Andiamo- there's a Puppy Dog Pals episode (Disney Jr Cartoon) where the pups go to Uraky and they sing a song, "Andiamo, Andiamo, in Italy it's how we say let's go." So we all know what Andiamo means in my house. I write this as I'm cuddling my son while he drinks milk and watches puppy dogs pals and I watching you. 😊
Jen I missed you!!
If you like tuna fish sandwiches but are concerned about the mercury, switch to a quality canned wild caught salmon and make a "salmon fish" sandwich instead. I don't eat tuna much anymore since I discovered Wild Planet brand canned wild pink salmon. I add diced red onion, dill pickle and kalamata olives, a little bit of mustard and salt/pepper into the mayo. Try it!
Do you have links to the advent calendars somewhere? Would love to plan for next year! 😊
Yes! In this video I link all of them ruclips.net/video/Sr9yMhVaDWw/видео.htmlsi=x7DOlY4RPg61NGaE
Oh my gosh.. A neighbor just dropped off a gift and I am sitting here staring at it wondering what the heck can we give him without going to a store. Thanks for the advice.
Your mother is a beautiful woman. Looks right with it! 🙏🏽❤️🌲
On a side note… what is the sweatshirt and pants set you are wearing? So cute!
Thank you! The set is from Vuori!
Another wonderful and thoughtful vlog! You gave such great advice about being ok with disappointing people. I am 59, and have lived my entire life trying to please everyone, and coupled with anxiety, it has been very challenging. I will try to remember your words in 2025, and start to make decisions that are best for my husband and I first. I am so glad that you enjoyed the time with your mom and family. It’s another afternoon of wrapping for me, and you’ve been good company.😊 Thank you!