Christmas Eve 2009

Merry Christmas from my hubs and me. Happy New Year too!

Here's my kiddos with their auntie at her house.

My sister and I. We posed for this picture several times. One or the other of us was having a problem or looking silly everytime we tried it. In a non-digital camera world we wouldn't know or care until we got the prints.

My lovely daughter.

My handsome and happy son. He got a gift card to Best Buy which helped him to purchase his new IPOD.

Silly Sally and my parents as they open their gift.

What did they get? Thet had never heard of Snuggies. It was kinda funny.

Here's mom & dad in their new Snuggies. They also got a gift card to a very nice restaurant.

This would be my sister's very fluffy cat. Would ya look at those eyes...wow!

My son with the cat. He kept trying to get a good picture of the cat. This one is for him.

My sister and BIL. My BIL was gone almost all day doing his police chaplain work. Unfortunately this time of year is rittled with deaths and homicides. He meets with families of those who have been killed or died in an accident usually soon after the incident has ocurred. Sometimes he has to deliver the sad news of the death. Christmas Eve was no exception. He was pretty tired as was my sister who had cooked and prepared all day for us to come to their house.

I have a wonderful family. All are servants of the Lord and work very hard to take care of family and serve God.

Award from Christie Rose November 2009

I just found this in my drafts and I want to thank Christie Rose for giving it to me. So many of you add sunshine to my day and I thank you all for being a part of my blog world.

Feel free to grab this award for you. If you are reading and commenting you deserve it. Have a sunshiney kind of day.

A Visit to the Big City

Every year for the last 5 or 6 years my family has joined my friend's family for a trip to the big city for the Christmas season. We love the sites and sounds and food that we experience when we go. In this picture you'll see my cookie decorating friend and her two girls and my kids (J in the way back) and my hubs waiting in the new transit station for the new light rail train. Some of my family were not aware that I was taking a picture, LOL!

Here's our ride. It was a neat experience. Parking was free and no one had to drive all that way and find parking which we would have had to pay an arm and a leg for.

My daughter and her friend sat together here.

My friend and my hubs sat across from me and my son. There were heaters by our feet and we could see out the large windows. There was a large digital reader board telling us what stop we were at and a lady's voice telling us where we were and which side of the train to exit.

Once we arrived we started going into the stores and taking pictures and window shopping. Aren't these hats funny?

We ate lunch and then we rode the carousel. I don't know the young man smiling at our camera, but he's a cutie isn't he!!

HI EVERYONE!

Next we walked to a hotel that hosts a Gingerbread display every year. This year the line was pretty long. My son looks so excited. He really isn't a depressed, boring child he just doesn't smile for pictures much.

This year the theme was Christmas movies. This picture is something to do with a Sesame Street Christmas. I forgot to observe the name.

This one is obvious.

Charlie Brown's mail box. There were two letters in it. One from Snoopy and one from Woodstock to Santa. Charlie Brown's Christmas tree is here too.

This shows the Who's down in Whoville from the Grinch. As you can see these displays are all candy, cookies and gingerbread. They are huge and take months to create.

The other half of the Grinch display.

The leg lamp and flagpole from A Christmas Story. I love this movie. It reminds me so much of the years I was a child.

More of the Christmas Story. Each display has so much detail it's hard to capture it all.

And lastly here is the Polar Express. Very cool! And then my camera batteries died and the ones I brought (brand new ones) wouldn't work.

So I do not have pictures of the horse and buggie ride, but it was fun. The kids went in one carriage and us adults went in another. We sang some carole's and looked at window displays. We ended our day with a trip to Border's Book store.

This was such a fun trip. If you ever consider coming to our big city you should come during Christmas. There is much more to do than we were able to fit into one day.

Annual Cookie Day 2009

Before Christmas each year my daughter and I get together with some girrrrrllllfriends and decorate home baked sugar cookies. This year there were ten girls. We joined the group when there were four little girls about five years ago. Friends are added every year. This year the high school aged girls group expanded tremendously.

It was so much fun and the girls all got along well. They decorated, sang, ate, goofed around, got serious at times and got wild at other times.

A good friend of mine so graciously hosts this event each year at her house. It's a warm, inviting home with lots of room and great people live there.

We start with lunch. Each family brings something for the lunch. We start with sharing who we are and a prayer and some simple directions and rules.

This is the middle school aged and younger group. They have started decorating one of their first cookies. Great young ladies and great friends.

The highschool girls are definitely having a blast. Great teenagers to have around. God bless them.

Taking a break to pose for a picture.

A little silliness. Have you tried the decorating frosting in a bottle? Neat stuff. I'm not sure how much the girls consumed...

Here's the assortment about half way through. We bring prebaked favorite cookies and the sugar cookies. When all of the cookies are frosted the girls walk around the table taking 4 or 5 cookies each time they go through the line. At the end they have quite an assortment and a lot of cookies to take home.

Taking a break on the big cumfy couch.

Four moms stuck around to help. That's me on the left and my friend and the hostess is third from the left. The gal next to me is a friend from when our sons were in preschool about ten years ago.

After cookie decorating, we had devotions, sang Christmas caroles as the hostess' oldest daughter played her viola. She and her friend also sang Carole of the Bells and The Christmas Shoes. It was awesome!

We posed for a group picture.

Then a silly group picture.

Then we get ready for the flour fight. Yes, I said flour fight.

Each girl gets one baggie of flour, they get some type of covering on if they want to, they go outside and start throwing flour at each other. It's no worse than paint ball. It's over in five or ten minutes.

Some girls get pretty covered in flour, some manage to escape the worst of it. We strive for no face shots. Flour in the eyes hurts I'm told.

They're all still friends at the end and if you add some eggs you'll have some more sugar cookies to bake.


Have a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas 2009

There may be disagreements about how, when & where our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ came into the world, but there's no denying that He lived and walked on this earth.
Happy birthday, Jesus! I hope we are pleasing you with our celebrations.
"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'" Luke 2: 10-11

Joy sa mundo, ang Panginoon ay dumating! Joy to the world, the Lord has come! in Tagalog (Filipino). My nativity from the Philippines. Good memories of my coming to Christ.

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Isaiah 7: 14

Merry Christmas and God bless you all!!

A Different Way to Decorate For Christmas

So we set up the tree as usual and someone was very curious. This would be the indication of things to come.

He looked around and all through it. He peeked from behind it. Oh, the things he would do to this green growth in his living room.

The family was jolly and filled with Christmas cheer as the four legged critter lurked in the rear.

Little Matt got in on the fun investigating the lighted house he thought could be home.

This ladder is mine too, said Jack as he glared.

I'll get you back for this he sneared.

Some more jolly folks posing in front of their tree while Jack was conspiring to wipe out that green debris.

A few days later this was the scene while Jack sat back looking so serene.

For the next several hours there it did lean. Jack thought,"You people aren't serious about this tree thing." If so I've got news for you, while you're not looking...

This is what I'll do.

Take that you grren monster in all your decor, if it's up to me you'll be out the door.

Dad came to the rescue and took the tree all apart and restrung the lights and re-decorated it...

While Jack looked on again. Now what are you thinking, Jack?

The tree is still standing this time. Jack has removed a few decorations, but has left the tree alone for the most part.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.