Out with the old and in with the new...

It's hard to believe that in just a few short hours we will be beginning a new year. I remember thinking this time last year "what will this year hold?" Not exactly what I had expected it. But I am not the Author or Perfecter of my life. I only see the here and now where my Father has the Eternal picture. Now I wonder what that looks like? Would I want to have it revealed to me if possible? I think not. I think I will just take it one day at a time.

Living each day with God's Grace.

Here are some final pictures of 2008 enjoy and may all of you have great Blessings in the New Year!

Stocking time, our favorite Family tradition. Please note that we do not use traditional stockings for they seem to limit the creativity of filling them. We now use burlap sacks!! And even then we overflow!!

Rockin' out!!

Gifts from Gran and Pop.

Love my new candle!!

Annie enjoying her new bone!

Have I mentioned the very YUMMY Christmas dinner?

My favorite thing... MacKenzie-Childs!! I think the waffles even tasted better.

Oh, and I feel a project coming on!!

"In the beginning God..." Genesis 1:1

What better way to end the year than to reflect on the beginning of another...

Just another day on the Bay!!

It's all over but the clean-up...

...I so hate for Christmas to end. I love the smell of the fresh greens. I love the twinkling lights. I love the boys anticipation of what is under the tree and what Santa will bring. I love for family and friends to come over and celebrate. I love ALL the sweets. This year we made gingersnaps, two, yes two Peppermint Red Velvet cakes, & garbage.

On Christmas day, we didn't have the traditional ham with the obligatory casseroles, but made the most DELICIOUS steaks!! Oh my gosh, my mouth waters just thinking about them. Fillets stuffed with blue cheese and sauteed mushrooms... WOW!!! I think we will have that EVERY year!!

As the boys get older it is harder for Santa to make gifts. But this year did not disappoint...

Number 1 son got a "bluetooth" for his cell phone {he was ALWAYS borrowing his dad's}, a new lunch box {I guess Santa took pity on him having to take a Wal-mart plastic bag to school everyday... Hey, it was free advertisement and little clean up on my part} and the traditional stocking stuffers...

Number 2 son got a game for his PSP, he too got a lunch box with a thermos so he can take soup to school {He has already requested TACO soup for the first day back to school}.

And Santa brought them Rock Band for the Wii. How fun is that!?! I love the guitar and the singing, the DRUMS.... NOT MY THING!!!

I think the best gift for Number 2 was of course his shotgun!! And for Number 1 was his Costa sunglasses.

Now the house is lonely, my parents left this am. So I guess I am obligated to get some cleaning done.

The Gals!!

"Sing to the Lord a new song," Psalms 149:1 For a new year is about to begin....

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

... And all through our house, every creature was stirring...
It was the annual soup and sneaky Santa night!! We love having our friends and family over on Christmas Eve. It has been our tradition for years now!! Even our first year here, we had neighbors and family over. The last 2 years we brought back Sneaky Santa. And this year did not disappoint!!

Not only were we entertained by the "exchanging" of gifts but Chris Farley made a guest appearance... "in a van down by the river!!" Om my gosh, I have Never laughed so hard!!

Now the annual watching of The Christmas Story... My favorite scene, when Ralphie gets his Little Orphan Annie decoder ring and finally reads the message.... "son of a nutcracker" {sorry had to use the Elf quote!!}
But we don't forget the true meaning of the SEASON, "He sends out His command to the earth;" Psalms 147:15 Into the little manger...

His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

May you all know the love of our Everlasting Father the giver of Peace!!


Soli Deo Gloria!!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

"I'm so exciting"

{Number 1 son used to say that when he was little!! }

It is Exciting because my parents are on their way!! The house is ready for all the hustle and bustle.

The boys and I are going to head out soon to do some last minute sneaky Santa gifts and they still need to buy a few gifts. I love the ideas they have for each other and their dad!! So thoughtful! I wonder what ideas they have for me, hmmmm.

So it's off to eat some breakfast, grab a quick shower and head out the door! And boy does it feel like Christmas around here! Brrrr...

"Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord." Psalms 96:12

Ahhhh...

... nobody is home except me!! One son is at his cousins, one son is with a friend and McSweetie is at work. All that adds up to me ALONE!! Of course I have BUNCHES to do but the Christmas music is cranked up and I am ready to knock it all out!! My parents come tomorrow so the house needs to be spic and span. And I need to go out and do a little more gift buying.

Last night we had Christmas with the cousins. The kids all enjoyed themselves. And I think all the gifts were a huge hit. I know I should take the time to post pics, but not today!! You can jump over to my SIL's blog to check out the festivities. I am off to get my chores done!!

How many more shopping days???

"Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it." Psalms 96:12 {I am going to be so sad when my calendar is over for this year!! Hope there is another one in my stocking}

VACATION!!!

It's finally here!! It's been a crazy week, but it is now over and the real fun can begin. Like getting Christmas presents bought, wrapped, and under the tree!!

A little sad because this was the last Christmas party that my "baby" will have at school because next year I will have 2 Middle Schoolers!! Yikes, let's not think about that right now!! So went to work this am, left early to go to R's party, then went back to work for the 3rd and 4th grade PE.

Last night had a girls night out and we went and ate at the Hibachi grill!! YUMMY!! We had the best food but food never compares to the conversations that we have!! The "grill master" just grinned and said, "I don't understand English." Funny!!

Here's a pic of the gals and me!!

Also took the boys to Tea Time at the Grand on Wednesday. Some young friends of mine were having an etiquette class and S just crashed the "party". Guess we flunked!! But we did get our Christmas pictures taken. Of course out of all the pics I took, I used the 2nd one!! Oh well, what would a Christmas card be without a little yelling, "Can you just smile and act like you like each other for just a moment??!!"

Looking forward to some time to relax!! I really need to get my house in order. Really did I just say that? Well I need to but doing it is a whole other matter!! I guess it will get done by Tuesday because that is when my parents are coming in town!! We are looking forward to their visit as always!!

"Let the heavens rejoice!!" Psalms 96:11 Even the stars sing along...

It's Nellie and McIntyre and we have hijacked the blog... Dancing Elves, how silly!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Because I have nothing better to do... I elfed our Family!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

It's a Post with Pictures

WELCOME!!!!

Come on in and see what we have been up to!

It seems that Nellie and McIntyre have arrived!!

What a cute tree they are decorating with my gumdrops!


My buffet in the dining room. The Holly Leaf in the frame

came from the Walter Anderson Museum.

This is the tree we didn't tell McSweetie about!!

This nativity belonged to my grandmother.

Notice that Jesus is not in the manger yet, one of

the boys will put Him in on Christmas morning.

This nativity was purchased by my mom when she lived in Italy. She gave it to me and McSweetie for our first Christmas. I have great childhood memories of rearranging the figures while sitting under the Christmas tree.

HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY!!

The Birthday boy with his Fudge Filled Cheesecake!

The "Party Crashers"

The dinner: chocolate chip waffles, scrambled cheese eggs, and bacon!!

Enjoying dinner!!

Party Gang!!

We have been pretty busy and are ready for a break!!

Only 4 more days of school~ 2 for me!!

"Your word have I hidden in my heart." Psalms 119:11 It's like a gift I give myself. ~ It's everything I could want!!

13 Years ago today...

... I was laying in a hospital bed wondering how long it would be until I would finally be able to see my baby!! Well, it was a LONG day but at 5:30 he entered this world!! He was so beautiful as most c-section babies are!! And he has been such a GREAT son!! I am so proud of him. He is turning into quite the young man!!



So today is his day... 13 things for turning 13 on the 13th. We have started the day with his favorite breakfast~ Cream Cheese Danish~ check that off the list!! I had forgotten the ingedients for the strawberry banana Smoothie so I asked if we would like to try an Orange Julius instead. He said sure! And he loved it. {another check off the list} It was one of my favorite treats when I was a little girl!!



He has opened his gifts from family~ The Dark Knight check that off the list of 13, 3 Musketeers bars- check, Dr. Pepper- check, clothes {aftco shorts~ check, guy harvey shirt~ check & American eagle jeans, shirts, and dress pants}. He is looking forward to lunch today, Ms. Jill's chicken pasta and his chocolate chip cheesecake {2 checks}. Later today he is having friends come over for dinner and movie watching.

Will post more pictures later!! Hope all have a great day!!

Pizza Pizza...

... is almost Over, Over!! A few glitches today~ truck arrived at wrong school and was an hour early. And how is it that the money totals work out yet there are still people who were short on their orders? Especially when they had a check out station so that nobody would leave with "extra" items or wrong items? Who knows!! All I know is that my service is almost O-V-E-R!!! And I will NEVER EVER EVER be fundraising chair again. Two years is PLENTY!!!

Baby it's cold outside!! I'm puttin' on my warm jammies and fixin' a cup of hot chocolate!!

It's almost Friday, y'all!! Hope it's a good one!! I know mine will be!!

"For He shall give HIs angels charge over you," Psalms 91:11 And boy did He today and her name was LIZ!!!

It's finally happened...

... a week with not a thing to do!! I know. I can't believe it either. So it is possible!! On Monday I did some Christmas/Birthday shopping. {Number 1 Son turns 13 on Saturday!!} Had fun just wandering around the stores all by my lonesome unlike some other people I know who shall remain nameless... Mom and Wendy!!! LOL My mom has replaced me with my best friend. They hook up and go shopping at least once a month it seems. It makes me smile! I just wish I could be there too!! While I was out Monday I bagged another Christmas tree {don't tell McSweetie... we are going to see if he notices} So the boys had to work together to get it out of my volvo, get it in the tree stand without it being crooked or tipping over. Then it was the task of untangling the lights from last year that we neglected to take off lasts year's tree properly. All in all I give it an A for a successful cooperation exercise with the boys. Then it was putting on the "fun traditional" ornaments. 'Cause you see I have a "themed" tree in the living room. So this one is in the dining room. Afterwards we ate dinner while watching Christmas with the Kranks! I love that movie!! If you haven't seen it go rent it or better yet buy it!! I could watch it over and over again.

Yesterday I hit the outlets with my friend Kim.... I too have people to shop with!! SLOL!! More Christmas gifts bought and the black pants, white button down S needs for his Christmas band concert next Tuesday night. Then as we were just starting to feel the hunger pains we got a call from Amy who said we must meet for lunch. Oh, ok twist my arm. So we met at Jesse's for lunch!! WOW!! YUMMY, yum, yum!!! And thanks to Kim she bought!! What a sweetie!! PTC meeting last night and then I worked on a Christmas gift. Finally got that worked out and then I went to bed only to wake to the most horendous sound of thunder and lightening. I just knew someone was going to end up in my bed but no.... I had no visitors.

Had to get Number 1 to band practice at 6:soAM!!! The weather was AWFUL!!! Then came back home and got number 2 son ready for school and took him. I had work today but my afternoon was cut short because they were practicing for their Christmas program that is tomorrow night. Cute!!

Came home from work and thought how yummy it would be to make some Christmas cookies so the boys and I made a double batch of Gingersnaps!! The house smell like Christmas!! WE have Church tonight so I guess I'd better go get ready. Hopefully I will get some pictures up soon! A post is so much nicer with pictures don't you think??

"THe Lord my God will enlighten my darkness." Psalms 18:28 December will always be the season of light and love... So much love to all of you!!

Home Sweet Home

Another weekend of traveling. We stayed with my parents and then we all drove to the State High School swim meet to see Number 1 swim. All that traveling for 1:08.45 seconds. But it was worth it. Hopefully next year he will qualify in more events. But he is only in the 7th grade!!

We were back "home" in time to see the Christmas parade and hang out with our friends. Saw lots of old friends in the parade. But it just didn't hold the magic that I had hoped. Was it because they weren't allowed to throw candy? Was it because I was just so stinkin cold? Or was it because that really doesn't feel like home anymore? I don't know. Glad that I saw it but wouldn't have to go back next year for it!! But I would go back just to hang out with our friends and eat her yummy snacks.

Of course we watched the SEC game. A little disappointing, I really thought we should have won. Oh, well. We did still beat AU!!

Afterwards we drove to my friend Wendy's house to spend the night. The boys all had fun together and Wendy and I got to play catch up until we were both so tired that we couldn't hold our eyes open!!

So this am we were back on the road. At our pit stop, I had a young man approach me and told me his name. I was like Oh my stars, you worked for me when I was the aquatics manager at our local fitness club!! I must still look like I am 25 'cause that's probably the last time I saw him!! LOL!!! He is now out in LA working as an emcee for live events. Pretty neat!!

Then it was to pick up Number 1 son and home to unload car, catch up on laundry, bills, etc.

Hope you all had a fun weekend. I don't plan on doing ANYMORE traveling for a while!! All must now come to me!!!

Oh and did I mention that I took custody of the 24x36 portrait of my boys with Santa. I keep it at my mom's for safe keeping 'cause of the hurricanes and last year she kept custody but I took it for this year. Will post a pic of it later. Need to go start washing clothes and really need about a 30 minute nap!!

"Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion," Psalms 112:4

Just a Few Pictures from Thanksgiving and a little Christmas too!!

Mom sets a pretty Thanksgiving table. The dishes my grandmother had! The silver is Buttercup.

This is how some of us spend the day after eating.

Other's spend it this way! R almost had Papa beat this time!!




The girls: Mom, me and my aunt! Every year at Thanksgiving before my grandmother died we always took a family photo. We didn't do it the first Christmas after she died because my dad had just had triple by-pass surgery and the following year we were in Disney. So we started the tradition again this year.

I wish I could say that this is the front of my house, but it is not! It's a house in my mom's neighborhood. I just loved it. Maybe next year mine will look this good!

I have an old wheel barrow that I put my gifts in. The bottom is now rotted out hence the white boxes on the bottom which hopefully will soon be covered up with packages if I could ever get out and SHOP!!!

My buffet in my kitchen. My SIL painted the sign for me last year for Christmas! And my favorite thing... Happy Everything plate; isn't baby Jesus just the cutest?

Outside by my backdoor! A huge lizard jumped on me while arranging this. It about put me right over the edge!!

So, here are just a few pics!!

Congratulations Part 2

Number 2 son is Student of the Month for November {sometimes I feel like he gets left out; he's just not as busy as Number 1 but his time is coming!!} He was also Student of the Month for September too. I think because they have had 2 teachers prior to their real teacher coming back this past Monday from her maternity leave that maybe they didn't know he had already been student of the month. But like my friend Debbie said, "He's a great kid and deserves to be Student of the Month as many times as possible." She's so sweet!!

"And bear them up forever" Psalms 28:9 As high as the Star of Bethlehem.

Congratulations..

Thursday night we have the All-County Band concert to attend because S made 4th chair Trombone!! His week is now cut short due to the practices for the concert and his going out of town for the State High School Swim Meet!! I never had weeks like that in school. I'm jealous!!

{Decorating tree, yipee!!}

What I'd Love MORE THAN ANYTHING....

... is to sit here and write an entry. I'd love to tell you all that I am completely decorated for Christmas. I'd love to have a relaxing morning in my pj's. I'd love to go out and do some Christmas shopping. But alas, I have a meeting and a luncheon to go to today. NOt that I mind the meeting or the luncheon, but I'd love to finish my Christmas decorating. I may be able to squeeze some shopping in this afternoon either before or after I work the Book Fair. {Hey, maybe that's where I'll do my Christmas shopping}

I just wanted to write and say, "hey y'all" to my faithful readers, {you know who you are!!} and also wish my little neice a Happy 3rd Birthday {Not that she reads my blog, LOL but her mom stops by some}

I promise one day soon, I will post some pics of the weekend and the decorating but until then...

Stay Warm and enjoy the Holiday Season... "Save your people," Psalm 28:9 A little Child could save us....