Last day of 2012

Tomorrow starts a new year, and I'm praying it will be a good one for Bob and I, plus our family and friends. Good health, prosperity and happiness to all. This past year has brought hard times for some of my family, but hopefully good times are waiting for them this coming year.

For my friends in the south.... here's what the last storm gave us (5½ inches!) with another 1-3 inches possible tonight. It's pretty from the living room window, but when I have to get out in it, it's not as pleasant. I do like the way it muffles all the outside noise and everything seems so peaceful. This snow is heavy which makes the branches on the pine tree bow down.

We have no plans for this evening except the usual. We'll be watching TV and depending how tired I am at midnight, I may watch the ball in Times Square. The show hasn't been the same tho' since Dick Clark's not there. I can still hear his voice doing the countdown.

With the new snowfall tonight, slippery roads expected, and people partying, I hate to think of the possible results. I hope everyone is extra careful.

So far today I've played with my iPhone, finished 2 loads of laundry and that's about it. We still have the Christmas decorations to take down, but I don't feel like doing that today, and neither does Bob. Later I'm making a meatloaf for our supper. Tomorrow's dinner is still a mystery. There are numerous traditions for that first new year meal and I've done the pork roast a few times. Is there any tradition that you follow year after year?

On my iPhone I've been searching for an app that would make uploading my pictures easier. I've tried a couple but didn't like the way they worked. The reason I'm doing this is because of a project I'm thinking about doing this next year. It's a picture diary. Each day I would take a picture of something that would represent my day, or my mood, or the people I interacted with, anything like that. It sounded like fun. I've tried to do a written diary, even one on the computer, but always lose the desire or don't have the time to sit down and write an entry. I can't even keep up with a daily blog. But my passion is photography, so I thought I might try this starting tomorrow. I wonder how long I can keep up with it. We'll see. :)

Wishing you a very Happy New Year.

May God bless you richly.

A new year with the Lord

2012 is almost gone and a new year is about to begin. I'm not sure why, but each new year's eve has brought a sad feeling to me. After I grew up and left my parents house, at the strike of midnight, I always called my mother, to not only wish her a blessed new year, but I knew my voice was the first she heard each new year.

Now my mother is gone and I've become an old woman, but I still want to reach for the phone at midnight. Bob and I watch the ball drop in Times Square, if I feel like it, and instead of feeling good things, I feel like crying. This year, however, I'm trying to feel better and have good thoughts for the coming new year.

A New Year With The Lord
- by M.S. Lowndes
A new year is about to unfold
With new opportunities to explore
Doors will open for new experiences
New adventures with the Lord

Remember not the former things
The things of this past year
The Lord will do new things in us
Much more than we are aware

For He will make a way for us
As we put our trust in Him
And He will guide our every step
By His presence we have within

What God has placed within our hearts
We find we'll be able to do
If we look for the opportunities
We'll see the door to go through

We mustn't let anything hold us back
But rise up and take our place
And be all that God wants us to be
With a fresh touch of His grace! 

♥

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas with your loved ones and friends.

I had a great Christmas Eve. Our 3 daughters, their husbands and all 7 grand-children were here. As usual, we had so much good food, it was hard for anyone to dig into the desserts until later. We all had to wait awhile for our dinner to settle.

We had one grandson come late because he was spending time with his great-grandmother Ruth (on his dad's side of the family). Ruth is 98 yrs. old and Curtis is such a caring boy, he never gives up a chance to be with her. Each year he prays the Lord will give him one more year with her.

After Curtis got here, we did our gift exchange. Bob and I got presents for the 3 youngest grandsons to open and the rest of us did a white elephant/Chinese exchange. It's the first time we've done that, but it was a lot of fun. One of our son-in-laws, Mike, is a clown. He was making everything funny. We all had a great time. And we know what he's bringing next year for the exchange. LOL

By this time, everyone was ready for their sweet treats. We had all kinds of desserts and a lot of it was left in my kitchen when everyone went home. I'm going to just have to pitch most of it or I'll be eating it. That's my weakness... the pie, the cookies and the fudge.

Today, Christmas Day, Bob and I spent a quiet time, just relaxing. We picked up and straightened up, but tomorrow I'll be sweeping, mopping and doing laundry. Since we had a buffet last evening with lots of finger foods, I thought I'd fix Bob a real meal today. I cooked a turkey breast with mashed potatoes, gravy and dressing.

We are currently under a winter storm warning. The storm is moving in from the south and south-west heading our way. It's suppose to start snowing tonight. My brother in TX has had some severe thunder storms in his area, but when it reaches Ohio, it's turning to snow with high winds. 'They' are saying we could get up to 9" with blowing and drifting. If this is true, I may keep all the sweets in case we get snow-bound, we'll have food to survive. Can't worry about the pounds in a case like this.

Wishing you well.
Take care.
God bless.

Not Only on Christmas Day

Not Only on Christmas Day
 

Lord, this is my prayer
Not only on Christmas Day
But until I see You face to face
May I live my life this way:

Just like the baby Jesus
I ever hope to be,
Resting in Your loving arms
Trusting in Your sovereignty.

And like the growing Christ child
In wisdom daily learning,
May I ever seek to know You
With my mind and spirit yearning.

Like the Son so faithful
Let me follow in Your light,
Meek and bold, humble and strong
Not afraid to face the night.

Nor cowardly to suffer
And stand for truth alone,
Knowing that Your kingdom
Awaits my going home.

Not afraid to sacrifice
Though great may be the cost,
Mindful how You rescued me
From broken-hearted loss.

Like my risen Savior
The babe, the child, the Son,
May my life forever speak
Of who You are and all You've done.

So while this world rejoices
And celebrates Your birth,
I treasure You, the greatest gift
Unequaled in Your worth.

I long to hear the same words
That welcomed home Your Son,
"Come, good and faithful servant,"
Your Master says, "Well done."

And may heaven welcome others
Who will join with me in praise
Because I lived for Jesus Christ
Not only Christmas Day

My miracles

Dec. 21, 1970 -- it was my 24th birthday. Bob and I were busy planning for the birth of our first baby in February.  However, nature had other plans for us. I can remember it all very clearly.

I woke up around 3:00 am, not feeling quite right. Bob had to go into work that morning, so I went out on the couch so I wouldn't wake him. I sat there for the next 3 hours, listening to the wind blowing outside, and wondering why I was having contractions.

I heard Bob's alarm go off at 5:45 and when he didn't see that I was in bed, he came looking for me. I told him what was going on, then I went to the kitchen to make his coffee and wondering if I should start his breakfast. When I doubled up in pain, he thought maybe he shouldn't leave me. Good decision.

For the next couple hours, he sat with me, holding my hand. When I got scared, thinking this can't be right, the baby isn't due for another 6 weeks, Bob said he was going to call the doctor. He picked up the phone and it was dead... total silence. That's when we looked outside and saw the blizzard!! Snow was blowing so hard we couldn't see the house across the street. Now my Husband got scared. I hurried to get dressed so we could drive the few blocks to my mother's so we could use her phone, hopefully.

We made it and her phone was ok. Bob got ahold of the doctor and he told him to get me to the hospital asap. We headed out. The hospital was out on the edge of town, but to get there we had to take Washington Street which had a sharp curve in it. When we got to the curve, there was a bad accident and we couldn't get through. Bob turned around and we took an alternate route. The streets were so slick, it was very slow moving.

We finally made it to the hospital, they checked me out and I was admitted right away. They said the doctor would be there shortly. Right. I didn't see him until 2 hours later. He kept reassuring me that even though it was early, he was going to take good care of both of us... me and my baby boy. Back in 1970, all the doctors had to work with was measurements. He kept telling me, by the size and all, he was sure I was carrying a boy.

Around 5:00 that afternoon, everything went into slow motion. I was so tired, the contractions were getting so fierce, coming closer together, I kept falling asleep. Around 6:40 pm they wheeled me into the delivery room. At 6:46 my baby girl was born and the nurse took her across the room. I was so out of it, I tried to sit up so I could see her. That's when the doctor yelled, "get her down.... there's one more"!!! One more??? I was feeling no pain and wanted to laugh. I thought my doctor was joking with me.

There was a second baby, but she was coming feet first. She kept him busy for awhile, then I heard her cry. Or was it baby #1 over in the incubator? No, baby #2 was born at 6:49 pm. When they showed me I had 2 babies, my first thought was..... where am I going to get another crib?

My baby girls weighed 3 lbs. 3 oz. and 4 lbs. 1 oz. They had to stay in the hospital until their weight was up to 5 lbs. before they could go home. That was the hardest time in my life. They dismissed me after one week, so I drove out to the hospital 3 times a day to hold them and feed them a bottle. Baby #2 gained faster than her sister. She was 4 weeks old when we got to bring her home. Baby #1 didn't gain as fast so she was 6 weeks old when she was released. Even though it was hard, knowing I still had a tiny little infant laying out in the hospital, when I think back now, it was a blessing to have her sister home first. It gave me time to concentrate on her and get used to being a new mother before the second one came home.

So.... as they say... the rest is history.  Meet my baby girls, Lisa Marie (baby #1 on the left) and Lori Ann (baby #2 on the right). Of course that's Daddy holding them. Yes, we were doubly blessed. They are our miracles. Thank God He made them strong and healthy.

Forty-two years later, Dec. 21, 2012, they are still strong, healthy, beautiful young women.

Baby #1 is on the left and Baby #2 is on the right. These are my miracles and I couldn't be more blessed.

Dec. 19, 2012

Only 5 days, 1 hour, and 16 minutes more. 

There's not much to write about today.  It's been rather quiet.

Bob and I ran an errand uptown plus I had to go to the post office. I had one more Christmas card to get in the box.  It was to someone local, so there shouldn't be any worry about them getting it late.

When we got home, I took care of a load of laundry while Bob gathered up our collection of aluminum cans and took them out to the recycling center.

Yesterday we went out to WalMart to get the ingredients I needed for my fudge and cookie recipes. I'm hoping to get started on them tomorrow.

I just saw a commercial on TV for an upcoming episode of "Super Nanny".  I usually don't watch the show because I get too upset. I can't believe there are families out there that have such horrible kids. It's awful watching those little hellions' run the house, talk like that, destroy things and physically take out their frustrations on their parents.  But I think I've seen some of those kids at WalMart.  It's just un-real. Society has made parents so afraid to punish their children for fear someone, or even their own child, would turn them into authorities for child abuse. They are now raising a generation of angry, violent citizens.

Question:  Bob and I are very fortunate to still receive many Christmas cards in the mail and I love getting each one. The number is dwindling down, what with the costs involved, but I cherish each person that still sends one to us. I've been standing the cards on the mantel but it's looking cluttered. My question is …. is there something special that you do with your's? Do you have a favorite way to display them? I'm looking for ideas.

We are under a winter storm advisory until tomorrow night. They're watching a storm west of us that could hit us. Well, afterall, it is December. And we've been lucky with the weather so far.

Hope everyone has a great Thursday.

Take care.

God bless.

Monday Dec. 17, 2012

I'm still working on our Christmas plans and I can see that my time is running out. The days are going by too fast for me. I am more organized this year than I was last year at this time. I'm working on my grocery list now, the things I need to pick up for our family gathering on Christmas Eve. I'm doing a buffet so most of the cooking will be done early, with several crockpots.


I did get 2 more gifts purchased today. They were for our twins birthday on Friday (which is also my birthday). I was hoping they could come see me like we always do each year, but one daughter has to work. She's the one that has the 3 hour drive to get here. As it looks right now, we won't see her until Christmas eve.

My boss came in today to finish up some work I was doing for him. He took the final print-outs I had done  and gave me a Christmas present. He's such a nice guy, and so easy to work for. He does this every year and the card always says "for all the things you do to help me".

Bob and I did go out to eat supper at Orchard Tree. It's our favorite local eatery with a full salad and hot bar, plus the best homemade pies around. It felt so good just to relax and let someone else cook and serve me.

I hope everyone has a great day tomorrow.
Take care.
God bless.

Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012

The weekend has just flown by. Time will do that when we're busy. Yesterday was nothing special except for Daughter #1 and her family coming in last evening. They were here a couple hours, but my migraine prevented me from enjoying their visit.

Today's chore was cleaning the bathroom... taking down the shower curtain, replace the liner with a new one, and throw the outer curtain, bath mat and rug in the washer.  I just got that finished when Daughter #3 and her youngest, Bryan, came in.

Teresa and I then ran out and picked up a graphing calculator that Curtis, her oldest, needs to take to college with him when he leaves next month. He's majoring in computer engineering and it's a requirement that he have one. Those things are so expensive, she needed help getting one for him. It's going under the Christmas tree.

While we were gone, Grandpa and Bryan played games on the Wii. They stayed and ate supper with us but I had an awful time trying to get the 2 of them away from their game to come to the table. Bryan was so sad when she told them they had to leave. He was having so much fun. Don't tell him I said this but I know Bob was having fun too. I should have taken pictures. It was fun just watching them.

Tomorrow's plan is to hit a couple stores in search of 3 more gifts. Our twin daughters' birthday is Friday the 21st and I have to pick up their gifts. And something for grandson #5. We hadn't decided what to get him until last night. Bob said we may eat out when we're finished shopping. I'm looking forward to that. 

Wishing you a good week ahead.
Take care.
God bless.

Our Christmas decorations are up

We finally got the tree up today. What a relief. That's such a chore for us old folks. I read the other day where someone referred to her "remembrance" tree. That's kind of what we have here. Every single one of our decorations we hang on our tree have specific memories attached to them. We both have ornaments that were our mothers. I have a special ball that was my gr-aunt's.

There are several little porcelain characters that our daughters painted when they were teenagers. Several little odd decorations were made by our grandchildren and given to us. There's no way I can part with them. I have some my sister gave me as gifts that have words on them about sisters. Plus I have 7 homemade yarn circles with each of the grandkid's baby picture in the center. Each time one of them was born, I made an ornament for our tree representing their first Christmas at Grandma's. Each ornament is a story and when we put up the tree each year, our minds wonder back to the "good ol days". Our Christmas tree means a lot to us and I always feel good when it's up.

I have a Christmas village that I usually put on the mantel each year. I didn't do that today. I wasn't sure if I wanted to bring it all out, but I might yet. I'm still thinking about it.

Well, I hope everyone had a great day. I'm calling it a night.
Take care.
God bless.

Thurs. Dec. 13, 2012

I had a good day. Busy, but good. The sun was shining so bright and I could even feel the warmth from it. We've needed this. It's been so dark and gloomy lately. The sun does a body good. My sister sent me a text message that she was even "laying" on her back deck, soaking up some rays. I had to laugh. I could just imagine her, sitting in her deck chair with her heavy coat on.

I had written in an earlier post about putting together a genealogy book for my 8 year old grandson. During that time, I wrote a cousin hoping to get some information on her father, my dad's brother. I haven't seen her in over 50 years. Well, she answered me back and we've been exchanging emails with pictures and lots of information on our families. It's been good talking to her. I never figured we'd ever get to this point. She sounds like she's changed a lot. We never used to get along when we were kids, but now that we're both "old ladies", it's time to make another attempt. Maybe we could actually become friends. (now, Carol, don't count your chickens before they're hatched.)

I worked most of the morning, finishing some paperwork for my boss then emailed it to him. Then Bob and I ran out to the grocery store to pick up some things we needed, plus some things we didn't. By the time we got home, I had to start supper. We had beef and noodles with mashed potatoes. We had planned on putting up our Christmas tree today, but by the time we got back home, I was tired and out of the mood. Hopefully tomorrow.

While we were eating, I got a couple emails from my boss. I have them set to come through on my cell phone. So after we got the supper mess cleaned up, I went back to work. I just finished up the last of it, so now my brain is ready to relax. I'm going to be seeing numbers in my sleep.

Hope everyone had a good day.
Take care.
God bless.

Danger ahead.... new movies

I have something I want to rant about, so if you want to leave, I'll understand. I was just watching TV and they showed a preview for a movie coming out in the theaters. It upset me.

I'm showing my age here, plus an example of my morals, hopefully, when I write about my down-right disgust at the statement....  "to be released in theaters for the "holidays"!!!

Oh no!

For example, we have the movie  "THIS IS 40" …..

Storyline: After years of marriage, Pete lives in a house of all females:  wife Debbie and their two daughters, eight-year-old Charlotte  and 13-year-old Sadie.  As he struggles to keep his record label afloat, he and Debbie must figure out how to forgive, forget and enjoy the rest of their lives…before they kill each other. "

In the preview, he asks for sex and the language is horrible. Now is that any kind of "holiday move"??

Then we have "TED" …

This one came out in the theaters last June, but it's now available on DVD "for the holidays".

Rated R…  "for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, and some drug use."

At first, it looked like they had a cute movie with a talking teddy bear. Oh, yes, he talks, but ..!!

Storyline:  "Follow John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), a grown man who must deal with the cherished teddy bear who came to life as the result of a childhood wish… and has refused to leave his side ever since." That is one nasty bear. Vulgar. Horrible. Another 'holiday' movie?

And coming to theaters near you on Christmas Day(!!!)  …. "Parental Guidance"

This movie does look like it could be cute …. sort of, if it weren't for the fact that body parts on Grandpa seem to be always getting hurt by the adorable grand-children.  Billy Crystal can be very funny, but at the same time, his language isn't.

So, there you have 3 examples of our society/Hollywood view of new holiday movies.

It makes me sick.

A quick post

Happy 12/12/12! I was going to write this when the clock also said 12:12 but I'm too late. When you think about it, this will be the only day we can say that in our lifetime. Now, the big question.... does that make you feel good or sad?

I've only got a few minutes to do this. My boss has sent me so much work to get done for him today so I have to get at it. Plus Bob is going through the Christmas lights to see if we have enough working strings to put on the tree. We've had a pre-lit tree for years and loved it. Until the lights started going out. So last year we sat on the living room floor for hours, cutting the strings off. Now we have just a big 'fake' tree.

Yesterday was busy for me. I met my sister for breakfast at Orchard Tree. We sat and talked, laughed, etc. for 2 hours. When we left there, I had errands to run. I got home around noon. I then spent the next 2½ hours working for my boss. I got that paperwork done and emailed off to him but I was too tired to start on the next batch. I told him I'd have it ready by this afternoon. So I better get at it.

Hope you are having a good day.
Take care.
God bless.

Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012

This gloomy weather is getting very depressing.  More rain and cold wind today. But I'm not complaining, really I'm not. I'm thankful I can SEE it and I'm thankful for another day.

Several years ago we lived in the country, not far from a turkey ranch.  Besides dealing with the stink, I learned that a fungus was spread in the air from all those turkeys and their droppings. It's common in our area and a good percentage of people had it but never showed any signs of it. Well, I was one of the unlucky ones. One day I noticed my eyesight wasn't right. The doctor ran some tests and they found histoplasmosis, also called Ohio River Fever. 

"Histoplasma fungus grows as a mold in the soil. You may get sick when you breathe in spores produced by the fungus. Soil that contains bird or bat droppings may have larger amounts of this fungus. The threat is greatest after an old building is torn down or in caves."

Pasted from <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002073/>

I was treated with steroids when they found it in my eyes. When it was under control from spreading any further, I had to have laser treatments on my eyes, which left scare tissue. There are parts of my vision that is lost, so when I say… "I'm thankful I can SEE it" I am. I've learned to never take my vision for granted. 

Another bad part about this experience…. I was currently studying photography. I had to drop out. 

Well, that was one long story you probably never thought you'd hear. For some reason I felt like sharing that bit of me. Sorry for my rambling.

Today I worked on a little something special for one of my grandsons. He still believes in Santa and my daughter wants him to keep that as long as he can. I have to agree with her. This politically correct stuff of not letting kids have fantasies, to throw them into the truth all the time, is bologna, if you know what I mean. 

Anyways, for the last 4 years, ever since he was old enough to know about Santa, Marxen has written a letter to Santa and the letter always manages to come to our house. :)  One of the things he asked for this year was for a photo of Santa. I thought that was so cute. So I found a good picture online, printed it and wrote him a letter from Santa on North Pole stationery.  Grandma loves to treat them like this because they grow up too fast.  One other grandson I used to do things like this with him, is now 18 and going off to college. He doesn't believe in Santa anymore. :(

I think I'll enjoy an afternoon of Christmas movies and another hot pot of coffee.  I hope you have a wonderful day.

Take care.

God bless.

Sat. Dec. 8, 2012

Today is definitely a chili day. Yep, I mean chili. I mixed up a batch and put in the crockpot this morning. It was good and all I had to do was call him to the table. I love those kinds of meals. 

 I've been working all day around the house. It's too nasty to go out anywhere. I took care of 2 loads of laundry plus a few other minor things. I worked on the Christmas cards but don't have them ready for the mail box yet. Each year I cut the list down a little more. 

I've felt pretty good today. I got a full night's sleep and that helped a lot.

Only 16 days until Christmas! We haven't gotten the tree up or any decorations out. I know I'm going to have to do something, get some of the decorations out, and maybe give him a little boost, or Hubby won't do anything.  We'll be sitting here Christmas eve with no decorations.  He hates getting the big box down from the attic in the garage, and I don't blame him, but we have no other place to store it.  I have to stand by while he's on the ladder. Makes me nervous.  He's not as steady as he used to be.

I didn't have much to post tonight, my brain is empty, so I'm going to shut down and get ready for bed.

Take care.

God Bless.

Friday Dec. 7, 2012

71 years ago today, we were attacked by an enemy which set off a string of horrible deaths. My father got that letter from the president.... "Greetings..." Thankfully, Dad came home. Or I wouldn't be sitting here.  A chill goes up my spine whenever I see pictures of Pearl Harbor. And we thought we'd never be attacked on our own soil ever again. How foolish.

Our weather today was another one of those cold, dark and rainy days. Hopefully the rain is over for awhile.

Bob and I went out to WalMart today and picked up 3 more Christmas gifts. I always get something for my boss, and I mustn't forget my beautician.  Now, unless we've forgotten someone, we have only one more and he's hard to buy for. Our #4 grandson. He's 12... too old for toys and too young to be in on the adult exchange.

I got my new cell phone yesterday... yes, the one I've been so excited about. When I explained to Hubby that it was an early Christmas gift FROM HIM, he liked that. I knew he would. So I've been playing with it, setting up my connections, emails, texts, ringtones, etc. etc. I made my first call tonight... to my daughter.. and she said I sounded clear. Now I am that "child with a new toy". LOL

I'm going to cut this short tonight. I'm shutting down and going to bed. I've been up since 5:30 this morning, with an upset stomach. It got better as the day went on, but I sure need some sleep.

Take care.
God bless.
-- Carol

Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012

It's cold today. The clouds have moved in again after having a sunny morning, and the wind chill is only 28°.

Bob and I were just talking about our family Christmas exchange. The girls want to do a 'recycle' exchange. Passing on something we have, gently used, and want to give to someone else. I'm not having a problem with this. I have lots of things I can pass on to my daughters. Bob, on the other hand, is having trouble finding something. This will be interesting. He could let me handle it. I know I can find lots of things. LOL

I'm anxiously waiting for the FedEx truck. He should be bringing my new cell phone today. Last night I read the manual online from front to back. No problem. I backed up all my contacts on my current phone and took things off my SD card that I don't need. I'm all ready. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. Isn't that awful? I'm telling Bob it's an early gift from him. That lets him off the hook to go shopping for me.

I stepped on the scales this morning.... OH NO!! I have to stop this increase right now. I've left no room for all the holiday sweets coming up.

Wishing you a great day.
Take care. God bless.

Another rainy day

It's so dark, gloomy, rainy and cold today. Not even fit for ducks. Bob and I had to run an errand and I got soaked. Now I'm on another cup of coffee, trying to warm up.  This time of year can be so depressing. Everything outside is brown and dead. Yesterday was so nice. It got up into the 60's but the temperature has been dropping ever since.

Last evening we drove out of town to our daughter's for our 2 youngest grandson's school Christmas program. I always love to watch the little ones on stage and they always do so good. Occasionally we get some funny, unexpected, entertainment from a few of them. Last night we watched a little guy, at the end of the row, stick his arm into the front of his shirt, between the buttons, and got it stuck. Instead of opening a button, he kept trying to pull his arm out. We could see in his face how frustrated he was getting. It was funny. 

I've been having trouble with my cell phone lately. My daughter suggested looking for a software update. So last night I went online to Verizon to find out how to do it. While I was there, I did some shopping. I knew my contract was up and I was eligible for a new phone. I found one ... an iPhone .... and it was free! I ordered it. I hadn't intended on doing that, but I love "free". Now I'm anxious to get it. I've never had one, but I have an iPod and I love it.

I should get started on my Christmas cards. We got more in the mail today from family and friends. I used to enjoy doing it, but not so much anymore. It's become an expensive chore.

I have a little challenge for you... a QUESTION OF THE DAY:
What's your favorite Christmas food?
Mine is my homemade fudge. I have a few recipes that I only make at Christmas. For some reason, I just never make fudge in the summer. :) I'll start making them next week. I can't do it too soon or there won't be any left by Christmas. My will power is so weak when it comes to holiday sweets.

I guess we're having a very UN-healthy supper today, at Bob's request.  I try to keep us on a healthier diet, but occasionally I will fix Bob one of his favorites..... in moderation, so he doesn't get bored. Tonight we're having sausage, gravy, biscuits and fried potatoes. 

I hope you're having a good day.
God bless.

Rainy Sunday

This is how I feel today. Not sure why.....



Outside my window, it's dark, gloomy and rainy. Definitely not my kind of day, especially when the headache come with it. But I'm trying to cope. The day is still young.

I did have a good day yesterday. I got the laundry done.... worked on my genealogy research... and a bit of nothing. Then I heard from my daughter Teresa that she was coming to town with the boys. I hurried, made some last minute tweaks on my grandson's family booklet, designed a cover page, got it all printed out and put it in the report folder.

When they got here he was so anxious to see what information I had for him. I brought out the booklet and he was thrilled. I started showing him the information I had in it when he surprised me with questions. They just came pouring out of this little guy. I have to explain something here.... to Grandma he's a baby, by the calendar he's 8, but by his actions, speech & mannerisms he's maybe 15 (at times)!

For the next hour or so, we talked about his ancestors and the questions kept coming. Were any of them on the Titanic? Did any of them die in any of these wars? Did any fight in the War of 1812? He knew a lot about that one. Come to find out, he's been studying that one in school. If I had known that, I might have found something about it. But I told him it wasn't done. I'm always finding more information about our family and when I do, I'll call him so he can bring his folder back to me. He then told me he might take it to school for show & tell. His teacher would like seeing it. :)

After I finished talking to him, Grandpa had some things to show them. He brought out his medals from when he was in the service during Viet Nam. And his hats & helmet covers. Then both boys had a really good time.

 

This is Marxen Jr. The one with the questions

 

His little brother Bryan

 

 Bryan put on Grandpa's "shower hat" and his ascot. He tried to explain to him that was not a shower hat. LOL

Not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of my day. I'd like to just rest, but we have to run out to WalMart to get some things we're out of. I hate going out there, especially on a Sunday. Teresa went out last evening while we had the boys so she could pick up a Christmas gift without them. She told us later that she ran into several of the guys from the motorcycle club doing their annual shopping for their local version of the "Toys for Tots". And of course they were all in their leathers and the store was crazy busy.

Today's devotional: "So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter." – 2 Thessalonians 2:15

The church in Thessalonica was going through a very difficult time. They were battered by persecution from the outside and false teachers from the inside. This caused the apostle Paul to exhort them to return to the source of their faith—the Scriptures. We can be thrown off course by the challenges of everyday life or audacious claims made by spiritual people, but we see much clearer when we stand firm upon what has been given to us in the Bible. It truly is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

Well, I better get off here and get something done, whether good or bad.
Have a good day.
God bless.

A "flash-mob" with a good message

This is so great. I was blessed looking at the children paying attention to it all, even getting on their knees and singing along. It did my heart good. I saw it on Facebook and wanted to share it with you.