little by little

Little be little, inch by inch, by the yard it's hard, by the inch-what a cinch! Never stare up the stairs, just climb up the steps - little by little, inch by inch!

The first time I heard that song I thought it was silly. But as we sang it often on Wed nights, I began to appreciate the fundamental principles that it teaches - Never, ever give up. Or, as the Bible says, Be ye not weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. or at least it goes something like that.

Early Monday morning we will begin the never-ending journey to Alabama. Okay, so it's not really never-ending, but it feels a lot like it. And somewhere between Thanksgiving Day and the Iron Bowl on Saturday, my family will celebrate Christmas as we won't be together on Christmas Day. That means all Christmas stuff for my family needs to be finished by TOMORROW, and my Mom's birthday present (for Tuesday) also needs to be ready for departure.

Somewhere along the way, I got this brilliant (or not so brilliant) idea that I could duplicate a nativity set I bought at a craft show for my parents. Here's a pic of it unassembled:

Now, keep in my mind that one of my big sister's characteristics that always INFURIATED me growing up was that she thought she could do ANYTHING. The words can't, impossible, too expensive or too hard were NEVER in her vocabulary. Now, she would read up on things or talk to people for advice, but she would jump in feet first and tackle whatever it was. She failed in a lot of things, but she was also extremely successful in many things as well, SIMPLY BECAUSE SHE HAD THE COURAGE TO TRY. Unlike me, who would look at something, sigh, and think it was impossible because I didn't know how. Somewhere, somehow, I think I've adopted some of her characteristics these last ten years.
I convinced a skeptical someone to go with me to Lowe's, buy the plywood, then I hauled it home and traced around my pieces. Using my jigsaw, still new in the box from last Christmas, I hit my first snag. It didn't work properly. I sent an e-mail to the company, who told me to call a 1-800 number for tech support. Looking into the cost of postage to mail the thing back to them, I discovered I could buy a new one for almost the same price. So I head to Lowe's after work on Friday, and discover one slightly more (but with better instructions). Here's my new toy:
It cuts wonderfully (note: it does, not the cutter) I don't think my gift giver was thrilled that I purchased another one, but drastic times call for drastic measures. So I started cutting, and finished this afternoon. My pieces look great, though they don't exactly fit together very well

It's leaning toward the front and the back isn't exactly on the ground. oops! And I ran out of paint, so I guess it will go unpainted and finished, and my Dad can help me paint it this week. Won't he be excited?! (haha) And now, all I have to do is finish Mom's scrapbook for her birthday...

My Dear Understanding Hubby says that I have no concept of time. I like to think of it more in terms of climbing a mountain - little by little, inch by inch. And maybe one day I'll arrive.