Good bye to 09

Relishing in the peace and quiet in front of the fire, smelling cinnamon rolls in the oven and fresh brewed coffee... so grateful for my life, God, my fabulous husband-my soulmate-best friend, my 2 beautiful children, my parents, Ralph, Char, My brother, Tiffany & Jason all my family and friends. Thank you for the journey of 2009. GOOD TIMES ! GOOD TIMES !

I look forward to sharing a blessed 2010 with each of you !

Have a very HAPPY & SAFE NEW YEARS !

Christmas far from"Normal"

Christmas was far from Normal this year.

For a month, we had tossed back and forth what we were going to do for the Christmas holiday. We just had a hard time making any sort of decisions for what ever reason.

This year was going to be be very different on so many levels... Our 16 year old and our 9 year old were going back to Denver for the holiday, one set of parents were going to be on a cruse ship on the open sea half way across the world, the other set of parents are over 1000 miles away.

We tossed a few ideas around... Let's go to Florida to see our 85 year old grandmother. Washington DC is to be quite spectacular this time of year...

With our kids safely in Colorado and our parents safely half way across the world.

The question still remains unanswered WHAT THAT HECK ARE WE GOING TO DO?

Christmas Eve morning the conversation went something like this.

ME: Good Morning! Merry Christmas Eve.
My 29 year old: So what are we going to do today?
ME: I have no idea, what do you want to do?
My 29 year old: Well, I guess any out of state travel is out.
ME: Why it is just raining, we have no snow.
My 29 year old: Yeah well there is a blizzard every were else around us.
ME: Well let's go to church tonight.
MY 29 year old: OK... What time is the service?
Me: Well we have a choice 5,6,7 or 10:00.
My 29 year old: OK lets go to the 5:00 and the 7:00 and then go have dinner.
ME: Just looking at him, wounding if he realized it was Christmas EVE.
My29year old: Tomorrow we will go to Chicago to spend the day with Tiffany(DOR)and Jason(Silor). and then come home.
Me: OK, sounds like a plan(YEAH WE HAVE A PLAN)!


We left to go to the 5:00 church service. Great service, with a great celebration for the birth of Jesus and lot of Christmas carols we sang with packed house. It was beginning to feel like Christmas !

We made a quick stop and then my 29 year old really did wanted to go to another service. So we went, it was a candle light service it was very nice. We lit our candles while singing Silent Night. Then I felt a fuzzing next to me... It kind of sounded like OH, AHH SHHII..... I looked over and started laughing hysterically! My 29 year old had HOT dripping wax all over his hand and could not do anything about it other then sit there and look at it.

We got out of there quite quickly. While still laughing running to out vehicle in the rain. I got in and asked him it we are going to make it to the next service. My 29 year old looked at me and said NO, we are going out to dinner.

Again just looking at him, saying you do realize it is Christmas Eve ? He said yep everything will be open ! I gave him the good ol'emm~hmmm.

Well needless to say, NOTHING WAS OPEN....
Then we pulled into a lot with two cars and the sign said ....



I felt like I was living in the movie "The Christmas Story"
I could do nothing but laugh, I guess that we are making this night as far from normal as we can get. LET'S GO !

All in all we had a great time! Just the two of us, as far from what is Normal to us both. We had each other to bring in good cheer and I would not have changed a thing!

If I had to spend Christmas with one person, God new who that one was to be.
Thanks for the the wonderful Christmas Eve memories Nathan !


Merry Christmas Eve !

Christmas Magic

So do you BELIEVE ?
I'm 33 and the magic of Christmas is absolutely wonderful !

Over the years we tend to have so many different Christmas tradition...
We try to keep them going each year and some get lost in the hassle and bassel.

We stared this new charming tradition this year. For most families they started it when there children were very small. Like most children and adults through the ages, they wanted to know how Santa really knew who was naughty or who was nice.

When you have a child the doctors do not give you an instruction manual so you just have to go with it. That is what we have done here.

STICK WITH ME AND JUST KEEP READING.

So to help us with that answer few hundred year old question we officially adopted a pixie elf. We gave him a name(Max). Each year he will arrive around the holidays, usually at Thanksgiving like he did this year. His sole responsibility is to watch over the kids and Nathan too. Max will report there behavior to Santa each night. Each morning after we awake, we all discovered the elf had returned from the North Pole and was now resting in a new and different place.Max has been in our bathroom, on book shelf's, in the fire place, the Christmas tree and many more places. So far we have found him each time.

Each day we all have raced each other out of bed to try and be the first to spy him in his new position


There are a few rules to better preserve his mystique the kids are not allowed to touch him but talking to him well this a different matter all together. Nathan and the kids have shared many secrets with the elf (Max) my guess would both good and bad... but that is why they call them secrets, and while he was under strict orders not to talk to them, the elf (Max)was under no such orders where I'm concerned (Nathan does not like this rule).

Unwittingly, this tradition provided an added benefit: it has helped the kids and Nathan to better control themselves. All it took was a gentle reminder that the "elf (Max)is watching," for errant behavior to be modified.

This new tradition has lead to so many fun treasured Christmas memories for our entire family.

This Morning we had a bit of hard time trying to locate him. We thought that someone was bad and he did not come back from the North Pole. Well that is what I blamed it on. Needless to say that caused a emotional break down from both our 9 year old and the 29 year old. (What was I thinking when I hid this dam elf (Max)... I thought someone would find him... Sooner then later. I had to think quick.)

Then right before it was time to eat breakfast ... I asked for our 9 year old to get the milk out for the oatmeal.


There he is my 9 year old said.
He in the refrigerator Mom !




(I found myself thanking Santa...Made it threw that one.)

All you have to do is BELIEVE !

3 or 33 or 103 keep the magic alive !

Turkey Day Quiz

How much do you know about the turkey?


When was the first Thanksgiving celebration?
1492
1567
1621
1777


Where was the turkey first domesticated?
Canada
Mexico and Central America
New Zealand
India


What is a female turkey called?
a rooster
a cuckoo
a chick
a hen


What is a male turkey called?
a larry
a clark
a harry
a tom


What great American statesman lobbied to make the turkey the national symbol?
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams
Andrew Jackson


What sound does a female turkey make?
gobble
cluck
chirp
peep


What sound does a male turkey make?
gobble
click
chirp
peep


About how many feathers does a mature turkey have?
1,500
2,000
3,500
5,000


Which state produces the most turkeys annually?
Kansas
Ohio
Arkansas
Minnesota


How fast can wild turkeys run?
5 mph
15 mph
25 mph
45 mph


How does Arkansas rank among the other states in turkey production?
first
third
eighth
fourteenth


What Native American tribe celebrated the first Thanksgiving with the colonists?
the Wampanoag tribe
the Sioux tribe
the Choctaw tribe
the Arapaho tribe


Can wild turkeys fly? If so, how fast?
No.
Yes, up to 25 mph
Yes, up to 40 mph
Yes, up to 55 mph


Approximately what percentage of American homes eats turkey on Thanksgiving?
49%
67%
82%
90%


Approximately what percentage of American homes eats turkey on Christmas?
34%
50%
67%
89%


What is the name of the skin that hangs from a turkey's neck?
snark
wattle
garble
swag


Which U.S. president specified that Thanksgiving would fall on the last Thursday of November?
Martin Van Buren
Andrew Jackson
William H. Taft
Abraham Lincoln


Which president attempted to move the Thanksgiving holiday to the fourth Thursday in November to create a longer Christmas shopping season?
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Harry S. Truman
Gerald R. Ford


Which country consumes the most turkey per year per capita?
The United States
Israel
Spain
The United Kingdom


What is the best way to defrost a turkey?
with a hair dryer
in the refrigerator
in cold water
in the microwave oven




Here are the results of the trivia quiz: When was the first Thanksgiving celebration?

When was the first Thanksgiving celebration?
1621

Where was the turkey first domesticated?
Mexico and Central America

What is a female turkey called?
A hen

What is a male turkey called?
A tom

What great American statesman lobbied to make the turkey the national symbol?
Benjamin Franklin


What sound does a female turkey make?
Cluck

What sound does a male turkey make?
Gobble

About how many feathers does a mature turkey have?
3,500

Which state produces the most turkeys annually?
Minnesota

How fast can wild turkeys run?
25 mph

How does Arkansas rank among the other states in turkey production?
Third

What Native American tribe celebrated the first Thanksgiving with the colonists?
The Wampanoag tribe


Can wild turkeys fly? If so, how fast?
Yes, up to 55 mph

Approximately what percentage of American homes eats turkey on Thanksgiving?
90%

Approximately what percentage of American homes eats turkey on Christmas?
50%

What is the name of the skin that hangs from a turkey's neck?
Wattle

Which U.S. president specified that Thanksgiving would fall on the last Thursday of November?
Abraham Lincoln

Which president attempted to move the Thanksgiving holiday to the fourth Thursday in November to create a longer Christmas shopping season?
Franklin D. Roosevelt


Which country consumes the most turkey per year per capita?
Israel

What is the best way to defrost a turkey?
In the refrigerator

Have a safe and woundful thanksgiving !
Gobble, gobble

Happy Anniversary To Ones We Love.

We never know
Or fully realize
How sweet and kind our parents are,
How gentle and how wise.


We simply take for granted,
From day to passing day,
Each sacrifice they make for us
In their own loving way.


But then we grow and finally learn,
The way that children do,
How much their love has really meant,
How thoughtful they've been, too -


And so this comes with all the thanks
You both deserve and more.
For there aren't two dearer parents
Than the one this post's for


Happy Anniversary!
All our love.

Let's Be Thankfull All Year Long.

OK I admit, I have been completely neglecting my blog...
I could tell you 100 different reason why
I have not been posting. Each of them would be true.
So I will just go with what I have been
thinking about the pass few weeks.

I have been doing allot of studying
and reading the pass few weeks.
My brain has felt like it wants to explode!

We are coming to the time of year,
were all the stress kicks into high gear.
I thought it was a great time to
reflect and to be thankful.


Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.
It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

Have a great week !

Happy Birthday !

I know, I have so many great things to post about, it has been so long ago since my last post.... I have been with out a PC for sometime and you don't need to tell me how frustrating it is.... I think I have covered all the four letter words in the book on this subject.

Today I had to make sure to log on to someones PC to put up a special post.
This one is to some one new in my life.


MY FATHER-IN-LAW !
HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

We once again are wishing you another year
Of laughter, joy and fun,
Surprises, love and happiness,
And when your birthday’s done,


We hope you feel deep in your heart,
As your birthdays come and go,
How very much you mean to us,
More than you can know.

LOVE YA !
Have a great day !