Merry Christmas!

Since I can't go home for Christmas, I am sending my Christmas Cheer to all my family. I miss the Christmas' I had as a child. The family would get together on Christmas Eve for a very important meeting. The only item on the agenda.... Deciding what time we were going to get up on Christmas Morning to open our presents. Once, we got up at 5:30 in the morning! One of my favorite Christmas traditions was going caroling and then coming home and drinking hot chocolate and eating goodies. Before we opened any presents we would give a gift to Jesus--My parents set out an empty jar and we would fill it with however much money we wanted to contribute. My dad would then give it to the Bishop to use however he saw it needed to be used. As kids, some of us would sleep in the same room on Christmas Eve, actually we hardly got any sleep at all because we were singing about how excited we were. It was torture trying to fall asleep, it just wouldn't come. Christmas morning there would be presents under the tree and we would take turns opening presents. My dad always hated it when we were finished, he wanted the excitment of Christmas to last alot longer. So did I! Have a Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving with Aunt Sharon

On Thanksgiving this year I got to go and have dinner with my great Aunt Sharon and Uncle Kim. My grandmother died before I was born so it was so much fun to visit with her sister and get to know what my grandma would have been like. She is so cute! She just took us all in and hugged us to pieces and made us feel like one of her own.
After dinner, Uncle Kim hooked up his wagon to his tractor and took us on the bumpiest winter ride I have ever been on. Even though our rear ends hurt by the end of the ride, we had a great time! I got teary eyed when we hugged good bye. She didn't want to let me go so she kept on hugging me, it was so sweet.

Peek

Here is a sneak peek at our family Christmas Picture Page. I won't be the family slacker this year!!!!

Thank You Plumbing Angel!

The last week has baffled me. My kitchen sink area had been producing a wretched stink that no amount of bleach could get rid of and my new washing machine was leaking each time I ran a load of laundry. Not being one to wait for my husband to find time to fix the problem, I set out to find a solution myself. After coming up emptyhanded in all my searching into the problems, I decided to pray for help. I asked Heavenly Father if he might send an angel to help me out, preferably one with plumbing expertise. It was not more than a few minutes before He answered my prayer. I was guided to look under my kitchen sink one more time and wouldn't you know it but I found the leak that was causing the smell. The pipe was not even connected with any type of glue so all the water and food was going straight into my wall. I now have water damage clear down into my basement laundry room. I don't know how to fix it just yet, but at least I know where it is coming from. Not long after that, I looked back in my washing machine and as I lifted up a rubber water stopper(that is what I call it because I don't know what it is called) I found that the drain holes were plugged by candy wrappers and a blistex(better check pockets next time). The washer runs with out leaking now and that leaves me very Thankful to my Heavenly Father for answering my prayer. After so many prayers that seemed to go unanswered or the answer was no, I just have to tell HIM Thank You!

Timeless

So life moves on. It is wierd how time seems to pass by so quickly the older you get. And yet, so many things that happened years ago don't feel like they were all that long ago. As for our spirits, as old as they may be, they never really age. That fountain of youth we all seek is only a few years away....we just have to pass through death to get there. I once read that if we want to have a beauty that surpasses all description we can achieve it by being righteous. The more righteous you are the more beautiful you become...the brighter your aura. Just think about it. Christ is literally the LIGHT of the world. His perfectness is what makes Him so bright and beautiful. I am sure you all know some one who to you seems so Celestial. Aren't they beautiful? Of course they are. And you are attracted to that person and like to be around them. So, move on, move forward, and try to be more rigtheous today than you were yesterday because we aren't getting any younger and time is flying by... The fountain of youth is getting closer and who wants to be stuck ageless looking ugly?

Mother Daughter Night

While the boys were off to the Father and Son camp out we partied! My girlfriends and their daughters came over around 6:00 for a potluck dinner. After stuffing ourselves with all the yummy food we pulled out our craft ribbons and flowers and got started making hair bows and flowers. If you look real close on Princess First Grader's head, she has a hat that I strung ribbon through and then clipped a flower on it. It turned out really cute! We made lots of cute bows and clips, the table was crowded with it all. My friend Renae brought a boat load of cute ribbons and embellishments. The little girls even had a blast designing their own hair bows and I had fun chatting with the ladies. Around 10:00 that night we decided to call it quits.

I was attacked on my 34th Birthday!

Today is my birthday! Yesterday we celebrated with Strawberry Shortcake, which just happens to be one of my favorites. TallMan and the kiddos got me an intercome system for the house. Now instead of standing at the top of the stairs and yelling for someone, I can just push a button to get their attention. It is awesome. The kids even sang me happy birthday on it before they went to bed. I also got a gift card to DownEast Basics, which I will be using right away!

Later that night I was attacked! I got hit right in the stomach! It hurt so bad I wanted to throw up. I got a headache and decided to hit the sack by 9:00 p.m. hoping to make the pain go away....Darn flu bug! I woke up today still feeling sick and managed to get the kids ready for school before plopping back down on the couch. ( I Hope they made themselves a lunch.) When I finally felt like getting up, I tried to open a package wrapped in hard plastic and stabbed my hand. Tall Man asked me if I felt old today. And my response was, "Oh yeah!" every bone in my body ached, even my jaw. Might as well been 90! I am feeling a little better now so things are looking up. Tommorrow I will be back to feeling like I am 18 again. Oh what a day!