Happy New Year!

If it didn't bring you joy
just leave it behind
Let's ring in the new year
with good things in mind

Let every bad memory
that brought heartache and pain
And let's turn a new leaf
with the smell of new rain

Let's forget past mistakes
making amends for this year
Sending you these greetings
to bring you hope and cheer
Happy New Year! 

Snow!!!

It finally snowed here

(the front range of Colorado)

Christmas Highlights - Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve at Our House

Kiddos waiting patiently for orders to start unwrapping...

 Opening presents...

Miss L and JEM playing with their Tinkerbell Light Tables...

J and AJ playing with AJ's new circuit set...

Christmas Eve Service - Jules, Di and I sang "Light a Candle" and
Miss L came up and sang the last part of the song which was the first verse of "Silent Night"...

How cute!!!

Christmas Highlights - Cookie Day

Cookie Day on the 23rd at Andrea's house

KC...

 my daughter, Di and her daughter, Miss L

my daughter, Jules and her nieces, JEM, KIM and KC...

 my daughter, Supermom and her youngest, SAM...

and this is what was happening while we were in the kitchen...(he! he!)...

Blessings of Christmas

'For to us a child is born
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.'
Isa 9:6

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas Gift Suggestions...

To your enemy - forgiveness...
To an opponent - tolerance...
To a friend - your heart...
To a customer - service...
To all - charity...
To every child - a good example...
To yourself - respect.
--Oren Arnold

Patterns, and Fabric, and Scissors, Oh My...

Last year, there was a sale on corduroy at JoAnn's, so I bought several yards in 4 different designs planning to make jumpers for my Grand-daughters (ugh!  I spent $60 on fabric - does sewing really save money?).  The jumpers never did materialize (no pun intended).  So, this year, I decided to make Mother-Daughter aprons for my two older daughters and their girls.  I decided this on September 24th, after going to the annual Quilt-a-Fair.  That weekend, I made a cute apron for my youngest daughter who has a cooking blog, A Delicious Melody.  I intended to make the other 7 aprons before Christmas.  That hasn't happened.  I did, however, just finish 4 skirts for 4 of my 5 grand-daughters (my oldest grand-daughter is really picky and I know she won't wear anything I make for her).  The skirts are made out of some of the corduroy I bought last year.  I will post pictures after Christmas when my models are wearing them.

So, now, on to making 5 kiddo aprons, 2 mommie aprons...oh, and then 2 "chef" aprons for the boys...

I think I'll check Facebook...maybe I'll play Bejeweled Blitz...

Afterall, tomorrow is another day...

So Sad...

All my grandchildren have been sick.  Last week my sweet little grandson in Kentucky had the 24 hour bug and this week his sister had it.  Meanwhile, at the beginning of this week, 2 of my grand-daughters here were sick with high fevers and lethargy.  Their 2 little sisters just had colds.  Yesterday & today, their brother has been sick and tonight he was supposed to test for karate taekwondo.  It has been so fun following his progress.  It is such a disappointment for all of us that he is sick.

Here's my little ninja...this was his Halloween costume...

A Concert & Some Trivia

Yesterday I went to the Holly & Ivy 2010 Concert presented by the United States Air Force Academy Band.  Apparently, (but unbeknownst to me) this band performs every December in our hometown.  Furthermore, it is a free concert!  There is a matinee and evening performance.  They performed about a dozen Christmas songs in just about every genre of music (complete with vocalists and an Irish dancer) and closed with a brief sing-along!!  The Air Force Academy Band is one of 12 Air Force bands that maintain a rigorous schedule performing all over the world for troops as well as the public.

Now, for the trivia...did you know that in 1955, there was a typo in a newspaper ad that invited children to phone Santa.  The phone calls ended up going to the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) operations floor.  In the spirit of the season, the CONAD staff answered children's queries about when Santa would arrive.  Thus began an annual tradition.  These days, NORAD carries on the custom using four high-tech systems to track Santa on his yearly journey: radar, satellites, jet fighter aircraft, and Santa-cams.  Now millions of children each year join NORAD as they track Santa - and you can too!   

Thanks B for inviting me to the concert!!

My Birthday...

This past Friday was my Birthday.  Since 2 of my daughters live thousands of miles away I decided to spend the day with the woman who birthed me (and raised me).  I have one daughter who lives about 5 minutes away and we spent some time together on Wednesday along with her 5 (soon to be 6) kiddos.  They treated me to lunch from Chipotle (one of my faves) and the kiddos sang a memorable rendition of the Happy Birthday song which I captured on video (along with the 2 oldest slugging each other...).

My husband and I drove to my Mother's house (about 35 miles away) and picked her up and headed to a suburb of Denver where there is a Krispy Kreme doughnut place.  Since it was my birthday I wanted a raspberry filled doughnut.  We insisted that my Mother go in with us to witness the making of doughnuts.  Fortunately, they were making some of the filled-type doughnuts (sans holes).  My Mother was fascinated!!  We bought 6 doughnuts and since she was with us we got the senior discount (I'm sure we would have qualified w/o her, since my husband is 60) - should have gotten a dozen.

We ate lunch at chili's and then went to a nearby World Market.  I love those stores!!!  I found the cutest little hand-painted jewelry/trinket box made in India.  My mother bought it for me for Christmas (since she had given me a check for my Birthday and she never knows what to get me).  Here is a picture...

We also went to a few other stores like Target, Michael's and I bought some different kinds of coffee to try from Sunflower Market.  I'm especially excited to try the White Chocolate/Peppermint - just in time for Christmas!!  All-in-all it was a good day and I got tuckered out as well as my little 86-year-old Mother.

Did you ever wonder...

Did you ever wonder why there are really strange words like akimbo?  e.g. She stood with her arms akimbo (a human body position in which the hands are on the hips and the elbows are bowed outward).


Or, did you you ever wonder why there are words like laughter and daughter, and cough and dough - words that are spelled the same, but pronounced differently.  And then there are words like read, that can be pronounced 2 ways...e.g. I would like to read today's newspaper because I haven't read  a newspaper since Sunday.


Then there are palindromes, those silly words in the English language that can be spelled the same forward and backward...like level and Dr. Awkward. And then there are people who make up entire sentences that are palindromes...Was it a rat I saw?


And then there are the words we can no longer use because their meanings have changed.  Have you noticed how many Christmas Songs use the word gay..."Don we now our gay apparel" and "a turkey and some mistletoe help to make the Yuletide gay".  I mean, really...why can't we use that word anymore to state that someone is happy?  And pasties.  We can't mention that food item without eliciting snickers.  Pasties are meat turnovers which are sold at little Pasty Stands all over Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.


And last of all, why do people in Australia have really odd terms for things like a willy willy is a tornado, a barbecue is called a barbie, men's Speedo-type swim trunks are called budgie-smugglers...you can Google that one...


And one more thing...did you ever wonder how we got along without Google?

Memories...

Here is a picture of my three daughters about 25 years ago on the little boat ride at The North Pole.  At the time, I thought they were awfully cute, but now I think they are just about the cutest kiddos I've ever seen...and now they are all grown up and they are beautiful Christian women.  I love you, A, D, and J !!!