Christmas, Part Three... and finally the end!

We finally made it for Christmas with Rich's mom on Rich's birthday... the day after Christmas!  Yes, he grew up with his birthday presents wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper and Christmas cards instead of birthday cards.  Poor little baby... so I try to make his birthday all about "him" even though he is 42.  Well, these were circumstances beyond my control, so he still had a good birthday/Christmas.

I just love this picture of Ryan, his eyes are so beautiful!  Now, the light 'stache that's going on... not so much!!  Anyway, he was playing around with his new hat and $$ he received from Mema.

The next morning, Sunday, we woke up and headed to Missouri.  Finally!  We met my parents in town for lunch, then headed to their house and opened our gifts.  Some family members dropped by to see us.  Even though ALL the family wasn't present, it was a very nice visit for those we were able to spend time with.  We played games and laughed so hard till way past midnight.  That's unusual for us on a week night!

We rang in 2010 pretty quietly.

Well... not too quiet, actually.  Our plan to get together with a group of friends was shattered by my kids' unruly behavior.  It was getting towards the end of Christmas break and they really hadn't been out of the house except for the two Christmas get-togethers.  They were WILD... to say the least!  I don't know what was going on with them.  I let them stay up till they couldn't stay awake any longer and let them sleep most of New Year day.  That day turned out to be a nice and quiet day.  Lol!  I guess they just needed to get it out of their system.  Whew!

With all the ice and snow we've had, we were waiting for a warmer day to give them their last present.  We knew it wasn't going to happen and they would be going back to school very soon, so we had to do it this day!  Please look past all the clutter (hopefully that will be our Spring project because it didn't happen last Spring!) in the garage, but I wanted to post this picture of them "closing their eyes".  I just love Robbie's expression... he's the little guy in the middle.  He's trying so hard not to peek!

Again, I love Robbie's expression in this picture as the other 2 are extremely excited.  Rob... he's not so sure...

...as this was their last present.

We had to take it for a spin.  So each child got one ride and then the older two got to drive a little bit.  We are going to take them and get their little heads fitted for helmets, but for this one time ONLY; I did allow them to go with bicycle helmets.

Not sure I'm too ready for this!!  Amariah is wwaaaaayy too young to be behind a wheel!

But this scares me more than anything else!!  In one year and three months... this will be a real wheel, a real vehicle, the real deal!!  I'm so glad I have God to sustain me through these years and not Prozac!

Robbie didn't like it.  We had to force him to get on.  He kept saying "Now go real slow Daddy, did you hear me?  Go real slow".  In the end, he loved it.  I don't know who had more fun?  Daddy or Robbie?

All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas.  There was no rushing here, rushing there, rushing everywhere, and not getting any sleep like our Christmas' usually seem to be.  This year it wasn't all about the presents like my kids like to think it is.  This year it was all about quality family time-- the way it should be every year!!

I am so very grateful for the love in my life, the family in my life.

Christmas, Part Two

After our presents were opened, we headed outside for fun in the snow!  Our first White Christmas since... well... a long time!

This is the only picture of Robbie smiling.  Poor 'lil guy wore himself out real quick with the snow being up past his knees in most areas.

We all love icicles!

I always take pictures of our pond behind our house in every season.  It's so serene to me, most especially on cold, frozen nights when the moonlight is reflecting on it.  I will just stand at my kitchen garden window and gaze at the beauty of what seems to be a sea of diamonds.  It sparkles so effortlessly, so magically.

We head out down our little country road...

Having a little snow snack

The big kids found a little hill to tumble down.  It didn't look very fun to me, but they sure enjoyed it so that's all that matters.  They tried to get me to join them-- I politely told them that is something a Momma shouldn't do.  They didn't understand this.  I didn't either... it was the first thing that came to my mind.

I adore my neighbor's log cabin.  It's so dauntless as it sits high on a hill with massive boulders underneath it.  It's a beautiful spread no matter what time of year you see it.

We enjoy our little country road all year long.  The bridge and creek make up for what we are lacking in acreage for the kids to run and play in.  Of course, the most fun time of year to be at the creek is in the summer when the craw dads are out and about.

Just because a Momma shouldn't tumble down a hill doesn't mean a Momma can't have any fun!  My husband grabbed the camera and practically took a still video with all the pics he snapped of me making a snow angel.  The real humor came when I was trying to figure out how to get up without messing it up.  Don't worry; I'll spare you the rear end shots!

Unlike most normal people who head straight for the fireplace and hot chocolate after being out in the cold, we head for the snow ice cream!

I was extremely excited when I discovered the recipe a few months back.  As a child, I fondly remember ending my Christmas Eve with a batch of snow ice cream.  Over the years, my family had forgotten the ingredients.  It has a home-made ice cream taste to it, yet there is something special about it that I just can't put into words.  I so enjoyed making this treat for my kids (and they enjoyed it too!).

How fun it was to have a white Christmas... To take our time with no worries to the clock... To not rush here, rush there, rush everywhere... To truly enjoy each other the way God intended for us to.

I am grateful for a fun and loving family that I enjoy and desire to spend my time with making wonderful memories that will last our lifetime!

Christmas, Part One

Well, the Christmas tree and decorations are all taken down and put away.  My house is once again clean... finally!  Christmas 2009 was definitely a Christmas to remember!

I had to work Christmas Eve till 2:30 PM.  The original plan was for me to come home, throw everything and everyone into the Suburban and head to my parent's house in MO for Christmas with my family.  As I was walking out to my car, I was sliding everywhere on the wet pavement.  Then when I reached my car and it was covered in ice, I called home and broke the bad news that we weren't heading out in this ice.  It was dry when I went to work that morning.  It started to rain early morning and by that afternoon, it was sleeting.  By 9:00 that evening-- everything was covered in snow, the Governor had called a state of emergency and major interstates were closed down.  Tulsa, OK was receiving a third blizzard in its 25 year history!  I had never been in a blizzard.  I didn't know what it was.  I'm here to tell you that I am so fortunate that we stayed home that night in a warm and safe home!  I kept thinking about my co-workers that were still at work, hoping they made it home okay.  It was neat to watch it, but scary to think of the people that were stuck in it.  It looked like smoke just blowing all around...

The drifts were huge!  We got 8" of snow, but some of the drifts were almost as tall as my 4 year old!

That night was only the second time in my life that I had been away from my family at Christmas Eve.  The other time was because of snow and ice storms.

I was deeply saddened.  I sent them pictures of our blizzard.  I called a few times to talk and hear all the fun that was going on.  Rich told me that when we were able to get out, we would head up there and stay a few days.  That made it easier, but I knew it wasn't the same.  When our family gets together to celebrate Christmas-- it is a celebration!  There are 6 kids + 4 spouses, 19 grandkids + 11 spouses, and 23 great-grandkids... with 2 more on the way!!!  Including my parents, that makes the sum of our immediate family 65!  Soon to be 67!  When my parents built their most recent house, a huge basement was planned for all the family gatherings because that was the only place to hold us all.  My Mom insists that she sees everyone open their presents.  Since she's the matriarch, we oblige.  But the past couple of years we had to change it up since it was taking 3+ hours to watch presents being opened.  Would you believe it never, ever got old for me??  I would continue that, but my sisters say enough is enough!  So now we go two at a time opening presents.  It's cut down to a little over two hours.  But, oh what joy!!  I LOVE Christmas madness with my family!

Christmas morning, we woke at 9 AM.  I wish I could say that we have a nice, big breakfast or even a muffin, cinnamon roll tradition... but we don't.  Our tradition is to skip breakfast and head straight for the presents!  I am just as bad as the kids!  Lol!

Blurry, but the only picture I have of my favorite gifts of all time...

In a nutshell, that is how we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.  I'll be back later with the rest of the story of our Christmas.

I'm extremely grateful that I belong to such a large family that loves, gives, cares and serves God!

Even though ALL Christmas plans were shattered, I believe this Christmas of 2009 was a most memorable and enjoyable holiday for me and my family!

This Christmas...

5 days till Christmas!  Wow!  Where has the time gone?  Where has the year gone?

My Holiday tree that is kept up year round in my dining room is decorated with cookie cutters, homespun, a few fabric hearts and a Christmas present from my dear friend, Donna-- the adorable Gooseberry Patch Cookbook ornament!  I LOVE it!  It's so cute!  Thank you Donna!

A few things sitting on my husband's grandmother's hutch.  I decorated with fresh greenery all over this year and I love the pine smell!

My very favorite Christmas piece was made by my mom in 1986.  She made six of them!  One for each of her children!  Although it would be a decade later before I married, I have treasured it because I know how much love and time was put into this beautiful village!

I am so very thankful for this Christmas compared to last Christmas. Last year I had to work more days at my part-time job. I was working four days a week. This year I am only working two days a week. It has been so wonderful to accomplish so many things I wasn't able to last year because of time restraints. Even though my job is part-time, working retail at Hobby Lobby is hard work! Most especially at Christmas time and the month following it! I work in the Seasonal department and it is ever evolving! Constant change is going on. Right now we are in the process of setting out garden and spring items. Valentine's has arrived also! As much as I despise pink (sorry for all you pink lovers!), I am always so delighted to see some pink after all that red and green!

Anyway, it has been a most enjoyable Christmas for me this year. I have been able to focus more on Christ and share more of Him this year. That is always such a thrill for me! My most favorite thing about Christmas is spending time with family and friends. I had a wonderful weekend full of these! Some of my girlfriends and I had a cookie swap Friday night hosted at my home. We had a most enjoyable time... staying up till 1:35 AM catching up on each other's lives! We finally divvied up the cookies at 1 AM! Haha! It was fun and such sweet fellowship. Saturday night, we hosted the main course of a progressive Christmas dinner for our church youth. It was a house full! I was worried about 50+ people having room to sit down and eat dinner, but it worked out. Good times for sure!

After a week of baking and partying, I am ready to focus on a week of my kids being home on Christmas break. Together, we are going to build a gingerbread house (that was actually bought last year, but we never had time to put it together), make jelly and mini bread loaves to share with our family, wrap presents, watch Christmas shows snuggled up on the couch eating popcorn and nestle by the fire drinking hot cocoa. Now that is a Christmas I can enjoy instead of being wore out from working so hard!

Thank you Lord! I am most grateful for the joy in my heart this Christmas!

Wishing you and your family a most warm and blessed Christmas surrounded by lots of love!

My Wednesday List

Wow!  It seems like all my friends are getting snow but me.  My poor nephew and friends in the Denver area are dealing with -8 degree weather!  Can you imagine living in below freezing temps?  Yikes!  I don't know if this old body could handle that.  Lol!

I made my "Wednesday list" on Monday, so it's a good thing it's a cold, cold day here today.  We are sitting at 18 degrees, windy.  Whew!  I always feel so sorry for those that have to work out in this kind of weather.

I just printed off a recipe from the Taste of Home website for Cinnamon Apple Jelly http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Cinnamon-Apple-Jelly.

  My dear friends Katie and Alissa made some a couple of months ago.  I did get a taste of it, and it is delicious!

Well, my Christmas decorating is almost officially done.  I just need to venture down by the pond to get some greens.  I should have done that last week when the weather wasn't so frightful.  I think Robbie and I will pursue that this afternoon if the temps go up a tad bit more.  The Weather Channel says we will get up to 27 degrees.  Maybe we can head out then.

Thanks to my dear hubby for fixing me a nice, toasty fire in the fireplace before he headed off to bed this morning.  At least he didn't have to work out in the cold last night!  He was also sweet enough to put some biscuits in the oven while I was delivering kids to school.  Too bad that cinnamon apple jelly isn't already made.  Mmmmm... That would be so good right now!  =]

Well, it's time for me to head downstairs where it's cozy warm!  On my list today:  finish up Christmas cards (83 done, 49 to go!), cut out and sort coupons, get my Christmas recipes out and make my shopping list, and figure the checkbook.  Gotta get ready for Friday-- shopping!  So glad my activities today will be near the fireplace.  Now I just need to put a pot of water on for some delightful hot chocolate.

Today I am grateful that I can be home to take care of some household chores.  For those that have to work more than two days a week, I know it can be stressful trying to carve out a little time to accomplish these things.  Stay as warm as you can today.  I wish for you a grand week/end~

Going Home

What a grand weekend I had "going back home".  Although I have been gone from Bruner, MO for almost 14 years-- it will always, always be home to me.

My boys and I arrived Friday evening just in time for dinner with my parents and my brother Daryl at China House.  Love their cashew chicken!  Ryan loves their crab legs that are only out on the buffet on Friday nights.  Needless to say, he was quite happy about the restaurant choice.  We stole Mom away and headed to Branson to see the Silver Dollar City lights.  You would think that living there for 25 years and going back numerous times over the past years that there would be one season in the past 40 years that I would have made it to see the SDC lights.  But no...  This was my first year!  And boy was it magical!

You just gotta love a twinkling parade at night!

The stores were all decked out in beautiful Christmas displays.  Robbie had to have his pixie stick from the candy store with him at all times.

The next morning bright and early I met my dear girlfriends, Donna and Jeanna, for breakfast.  Time spent with those two are truly priceless!  Why does time have to fly by so quickly when you just wish it would stand still?  I guess that's just a daily reminder for us to enjoy what we have when we have it.  There is always so much to talk about and never enough time to get it all in!  I am blessed to have been re-connected with them this year!

From there, I went to my niece's home to watch the small town Christmas parade with lots of heart!  My little great-nephews were in it and they were oh so proud to throw us lots of candy!  After the parade, we all gathered in her home for homemade cinnamon rolls, brownies, hot chocolate and cider.  It was nice to relax and fellowship with my loved ones!

That evening was our family Thanksgiving dinner.  We normally have it the Saturday after Thanksgiving but my parents were going to be out of town then so they moved it back.  I'm glad they did.  It was a very nice and enjoyable weekend for me!  As always, their home was full of family and love... and food!  With 6 kids, 16 grandkids, 15 great-grandkids, and all the spouses... we most definitely have family gatherings full of love!  For Rich growing up with one brother, he gets a little overwhelmed at times.  But I wouldn't have it any other way!  =]

To celebrate one of the two new additions that will be added to our family soon, we celebrated with a baby shower on Sunday.  What a nice way to end the weekend full of family and love!

I am grateful for a large family that truly loves one another, helps one another and gets along so well.  When I only get to go back home once in awhile, I miss them so.  Thank you Lord, for such a sweet and loving family!

Soup for the Soul

Our church had its Ladies Christmas Party Tuesday evening.  "Soup for the Soul" was the theme.  The whole evening revolved around this theme.  Our Women's Activity Team is awesome!  As always, they put together a wonderful evening!  We had a delicious smorgasbord of soups, salads, breads, and desserts!

Needing something to label my soup, I came across a very cute little soup label in one of my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks.  So I sat down one night and went through all of the 28 GBP cookbooks that I own and found tons of cute labels for us to use!  I copied them onto cream colored cardstock.  Then the real fun began!  I used my scrapbooking chalk and watercolor pen to color in the pictures.  It took longer than I anticipated, but I enjoyed doing it.  Robbie wanted to color and chalk with me, so I got his coloring books and he joined me.  I asked him if we should get his workbook and work on some pages.  He LOVES his workbook!  He said "No Mommy, I'm having fun coloring with you."  Ah, too cute!  =]

As the ladies came in the door, the labels were sitting on a table for them to write what they brought and tape to it.  There were so many mouth-watering dishes-- I'm glad we had the labels!  I was so excited about getting a night of sweet fellowship with my sister friends that I forgot to take a picture of the food tables before.

My favorite soup is "Granny's Potato Soup".  Funny... We don't have a Granny in our family.  I'm not even sure where the recipe came from.  But she sure made some delicious potato soup!

 

It's so delicious... I think I'll share with you:

• 6-8 medium potatoes
• 6-8 slices bacon
  
• 2 can cream of chicken soup
  
• 2 cups milk
  
• 1 stick butter
  
• 1 pt. sour cream
  

Dice potatoes and boil until tender.  Fry bacon until crisp.  Crumble bacon and put into crock pot.  Add 2 cans cream of chicken soup, milk, butter and sour cream.  Put drained potatoes on top and turn crock pot on high.  Cook until bubbles and well mixed.

Yum!  Only I cheat a little and use real bacon bits instead of taking the time to fry up some bacon.  I also leave out the sour cream.  And it is still very yummy and creamy!

Our leader of the Women's Ministry had a devotional for us about the different kinds of soups of our life and everything that we put into our soup.  I enjoyed the lesson and it touched my heart.  Amanda had a powerful way of presenting her message and she gently reminded us of the many, many blessings that we have!

 

We were blessed to hear the testimony of one of our youth girls.  The microphone was open to any others that wanted to partake.  It was a wonderful time of sharing.  Following this was a very compelling prayer time. 

To end the evening, we had a craft.  How fun!  There were tables set up with enamel paint and markers.  We painted on soup bowls!  It was hard to decide what to do, but I ended up painting a lime green and pink one for Amariah to use in her bedroom.

I am grateful for:

• my husband for encouraging me to attend this event
• my oldest son for watching his younger brother so I was able to attend
  
• my sister friends who are so fun to be with even when I'm dog tired
  
• my daughter who loved her bowl painted just for her
  
• my God who loves me, bestows His great mercy on me especially when my soup is scorched/burnt
  

Fluffing, fluffing and more fluffing

Whew!  Fluffing, fluffing and more fluffing!  I'm tired of fluffing!  This is what I've been doing most of the afternoon/evening.

First, our family Christmas tree.  This beautiful 7.5' Mixed Colorado Long Needle tree will have a prominent place in our home as it will be decked out in all the family heirloom treasures and precious handmade ornaments from the kids.

The next tree is a 7' Mini Canadian Pine tree.  This is my 3rd Christmas tree to put up this year.  It's reserved for my snowmen only!  I'm not much on Santa, so I tend to buy more "snowmen-oriented" items.

Lastly, this is something new for my home.  I've always wanted to wrap garland around my staircase, but have never found what I wanted.  Well, last year I got fortunate again at the Hobby Lobby after Christmas sale!   I bought four garlands at 80% off.  They were $24.99 each!  On top of that, I was able to use my 15% off employee discount!  So you can imagine how happy I am!  =]  But goodness sakes, what a bear it was to work with.  It didn't want to bend very easily.  I'm satisfied with the way it turned out.

I'm thinking about buying strands of battery operated lights to intertwine in the garland.  I'm not quite sure yet.  Hmmm...

Well, not much Christmas decorating was accomplished today.  Just lots and lots of fluffing.  At least that part is over with for right now.  I still have 2 little trees to put up.  My family loves to joke about all the Christmas trees in our home, but deep down I just know they love it almost as much as me!  I'm grateful they put up with me!  =]

Good finds

I don't have any Black Friday good deals being as I had to work today.  But I do have a couple of good finds that I'm pretty proud of.  So proud, that I want to share.

I have wanted a cardinal Christmas tree for a few years now.  I've been searching for just the right tree.  I'm so happy to say that I finally found it!

The tree was originally $393.00.  I got it at 80% off last year after Christmas.  On top of that, I got another 15% off because of it being an employee purchase since I work at Hobby Lobby.  It is a gorgeous 7.5 foot snowed mixed pine tree with red berries and pine cones.  How perfect for a cardinal or two!!

This is the only Christmas decoration I had in my house before Thanksgiving.  I am a very traditional kind of gal.  I wait for Thanksgiving to be over before I retire my fall decorations and bring out the Christmas.  I just couldn't wait for this tree any longer!  I love it so!

I am so excited about adding another object of affection to my ever-growing list of goodies to watch out for when I'm antiquing.  You know... that 'thrill of the hunt'.  The glass balls are in place; now to add the cardinals.

While shopping in Colorado, my sister wanted to stop at a Home Goods store.  I had never heard of it but as always, I was anxious to see what goodies I could find.  Boy, did I ever come across a couple of good finds!

This candle holder was only $3.  I was so excited about the price that I didn't even think to see if the light actually worked!  Haha!  I rubbed some black paint on it to age it a little more.  I took off the sad looking homespun and added my own homespun that has a touch of Christmas colors.  The light works!  So exciting for me!

This little crock light, that I paid $2 for, also needed homespun to make it cozy.  I stopped by Wal-mart's fabric dept. one day while grocery shopping and was so joyful when I realized they carry homespun for $2 and $2.99 a yard!!  I went a little crazy (he he!), but I have lots of fabulous homespun to add to my collection.  And this light works too!

It's cute, but lacking.  I came across this sweet little wreath made of pip berries and rusted tin stars.  I really like it now, and I like its new location better too-- right next to a couple of small crock jars that I purchased for $2 and $3 at Gordman's.  They are sitting on top of a candle box that I bought as unfinished wood about 9+ years ago.  I painted and sanded it and use it regularly.  I like my things... but I also like my things to be functional!  The adorable little sign is "the cherry on top".  =]

I am grateful for the things in my home that I call my 'treasures' and that bring simple joy to me.