Christmas Eve!

Just cleaning up to set off over the river and through the woods. Dirty dishes, piles of dirty laundry and messy rooms are not the welcome committee I want when we come home after our Christmas break at mom and dad's. Getting things tidied up for all the new fun things that will come home with us. Already cleared out the too small clothing and donated two big bags of toys. Since I was a kid I have LOVED the calm after the storm of presents. Looking at all the fun things in the calm of the evening. It's different now as an adult. I find myself looking at and putting away mostly presents for the kiddos, but it is still one of my favorite times. We are all packed up and ready to get going. Stocking have been taken down and are ready to be hung up at Grandma and Grandpa's so Santa can find them there and fill them with wonderful little goodies. Our presents are bagged up and ready to be delivered Christmas morning. I'm filled with anticipation to get up to mom and dad's. The warm crackling fire, the smell of the amazing food cooking, being with those I love most, the pile of presents and the look on the kids face when they see the stack and try to figure out which one belongs to who. Their excitement is contagious, not that I need any encouraging! I'm still excited about presents too! But knowing that no matter what the difficult circumstances are in my life right now, there is JOY! Isn't that what the holiday's are really about.

I wish you the warmest of holiday's. Merry Christmas. I love you!

Can I Borrow $25.00?

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'

DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.

SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities. '

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's question. How dare he asks such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.

Snow Pics

Here are some pics from our snow days. The snow angels are from mom and dads house. Isn't it just like a big brother to be at the ready with a huge snow bomb. The others are from our shut in days with inches of snow. Coco even had fun in the snow!

Cabin Fever!

We are on day three of our weather induced shut in. The kiddos had moments of serious stir craziness without their buddies today. All the neighborhood kiddos had school as usual today and we were still snowed out. I got some much needed deep cleaning done. You know those spots you look at so often, just let out a sigh of resignation and walk away, back to the daily tasks at hand. Those are some of the spots that I tackled today. It does feel really good to address them and not feel like I'm supposed to be doing something else or not wanting to get it started knowing I'd be in a time crunch to get it finished before I had to be somewhere else. Don't get me wrong, I did not move any mountains today. Just a couple of annoying mole hills!

We gave away some of our goodies today too! It felt so good to package them up and send them off with my little ones who were so excited to be the courier of the yummies. We had another program cancel, this one at the church. Some disappointment from the kiddos for missing the festivities this week but it looks like they will be back to school in time for their classroom parties Friday which is great consolation for them.

Beef stroganoff for dinner tonight. Another warm comfort meal for the freezing cold weather. Perfect and yummy. Warm cozy evening! I have to mention this one little funny from reading tonight. We try to sit down and read in our nightly routine. I don't always get to sit down and read with them, they often end up just reading silently. Tonight however, we read a ginormous Berenstain Bears book. It started off just Chloe and I sitting on my bed reading each story in the collection book. We had read two or three when Trin joined in after finishing her own reading. We got to a fun story called, "The Messy Room". Right off I was excited to read this one to them. They share a room that is not quite big enough for the two of them and all their stuff. They are girls after all. (Can't wait to get bunkbeds!) But, I knew this story would be applicable to them and on a level that they might relate to. I began reading the story and did not get very far before I realized that I was the one who was relating. If you have never read this story and have ever had a frustration moment with your own kiddos and the mess in their room, you need to find this book. Anyway, I was reading along and came to the part of the story where momma bear gets out a big box and starts indiscriminately throwing the toys left on the floor into the box that's headed for the trash. All the while the cubs are screaming objections and crying. I instantly saw a mirror in the book and was looking at myself! I started laughing and laughed so hard that I was crying! I couldn't stop! First Chloe tried to get me to stop, then Trin. No use. I was spent. I was a mess of laughter. All this time, every time I've had one of those moments with my kids in their rooms. I would later reflect and think I was the only one that ever acted this way. I was such a terrible mom. What was I doing to the psyche of those poor children. Tonight I realized that it's not just me. After all, this author had never been in my home. Had never spoken to any of my kids and still managed to write the script for this scenario, without me. I conclude that I am not the only mom to go crazy and lose my temper over the mess! I also got a really good ab workout from the laughter.

Thanks God! I need those little moments!

Be warm, be safe and breath!
Love you!

Snowed In!

We are home bound today! Made it to church last night and the blizzard came while I were there. The drive home was very blustery, slippery and snowy. We made it home and cozied in for the night. No school today and the kiddos are LOVING it. They woke up first thing and wanted to go outside and play in the snow. We have about four inches on the ground and it is really chilly out there. the sun has broken through so it is just beautiful. They have been in and out all day. Playing with their pals, coming in to warm up, have cocoa and toss the cold damp clothes in the dryer for a bit. I have just been enjoying my down time. Haven't even made it out of my jammies yet. Just putting around doing the usual picking up with a bit of extra cleaning mixed in. Loving my warm house, hot coffee and faint Christmas music in the background. Not sure what the weather will allow for school and program tomorrow. It will be so sad if the kiddos program gets called off. Well, I'm off to bag some goodies and make some yummy Zuppa Toscana with Pioneer woman rolls for dinner! The perfect snow day dinner.

Hope you have a blessed day! Love you!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Oh what fun it is.......! The kiddos and I ventured up to mom and dads for our annual pre-Christmas baking and crafting. We usually gain inspiration to make some fun little ornament that we have seen on a tree at one of our favorite Christmas shopping spots. This year we were a bit saddened to not have the same opportunities to see those pretties as our very favorite inspiration spot is now closed, joining many of the others that had fallen previously. We decided that we would each make a sock monkey as a holiday keepsake for this year. A friend of my mom's, that died much too young, made one for her years ago. My kiddos have loved it nearly to pieces. It seemed logical to let them make their own and maybe now leave mom's alone. We had a few goodies in mind to make as well. I think we were much too ambitious though. There seems to be a strange paradox at mom and dad's, as though time moves much faster yet moves much more slowly. Our time there is so fun and relaxed but we never seem to get much done. We made a few of the goodies and got our gingerbread house done but did not get our monkey or any of our other crafts made. We watched "Horton Hears a Who", snuggled up by the fire and just took a breath. We awoke to a blanket of white outside and the kiddos headed straight out to play in it. They are beginning to think it snows every year and if it's snowing it must be Christmas. It was wonderful, as it always is.

Came home for company to come over. We NEVER have company over. Complicated circumstances don't really allow for such social times. This however was a couple that we have spent much time with in the past and are around quite a bit with work and church. They are completely in the loop of all the crud and were still willing to come over. They brought over their little boy that is about 10 months old and my kiddos couldn't get enough of him. We let them play and hang out while kiddos took turns with showers and getting ready for bed. We got all the kiddos down for bed and put in "The Dark Knight". Yikes! What a dark movie. I'm not a huge Batman or superhero movie fan but I really wanted to see this one. It was a blockbuster at the box office, has tons of award buzz and with all the hype about Heath's Joker. He really took it to another level. It was really long though. I was ready to fall off to bed by the time it was finished.

Today again we woke up to a dusting of snow. We headed off to church and we have a few little tings to get together for the week's parties and programs. Today is mostly about church and rest. I'm planning to head back to church this evening, as I was teaching in Sunday school this morning. Hope the weather allows it!

May your day be Merry and Bright!

Love you!

A Very Close Second

I love these cookies! They are so cute with their pink icing dripping down the sides. I love the sweet surprise of the cherry inside. These are a family cookie as well. They are a very close second to the filled cookies. Interesting that they are both filled! I have so many holiday cookies and candies that I love though.

My house smells so yummy today. This little elf has been busy today! I started the day getting some chicken taco soup going in my crock pot. It smells SO good. A little shredded cheddar, a dollop of sour cream and some corn chips and I will be set! I have made lots of little Christmas goodies and today it went into full swing. I went to the grocery store yesterday and got all my supplies. I started off with these Cherry Bon Bon's, made some caramel corn, and some plain fudge. This is in addition to the peanut butter balls that I am required to make every year, meringue cookies with pecans, soft peanut butter brittle, holly cookies from a recipe that Trin made in class (so we had to make more at home) and the filled cookies. Wow! I still have a few more sweets to make and a couple savories, but I love every minute. I have had Christmas music in the background and today I put in my ALL TIME favorite Christmas movie, Irving Berlin's White Christmas! I actually got to watch a bunch of it while I rolled, frosted and stirred. It was wonderful just hearing the music in the background though. I have seen this movie so many times I can quote the entire thing. Pathetic, I know, but I love it! Hope your day is bright and you are enjoying the season as much as I am.

The Search is Finally Over!

All these years and I finally found the answer! Not quite sure how this is going to fix all the problems or fulfill all the needs but apparently.....This is all I need!

Christmas Cookies

These are some of my very favorites. They scream Christmas to me. They wont win any easy bake titles or any glamour or beauty contest, but they make up for it in yumminess. Our house growing up was always filled with so many wonderful, beautiful cookies and treats that I adore, but these are the ones that just mean it's Christmas. They were my Grandpa's favorite and his mom would make them for him every year for his birthday instead of cake. They have been around in our family forever.

Filled Cookies:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 cup milk
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Cream together butter and sugar. Add remaining and stir together. Roll very thin, cut and put a tsp. of filling on bottom half. Top with second thin cookie and press edges together.


filling
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs flour
1 cup hot water
1 1/2 cups ground raisins
Cook and let cool. (This is what the recipe reads. Cracks me up. No fussing with the details.)

I usually cook it about 30 mionutes on medium heat in a large stock pot. A 2 lb bag of raisins yeilds about the right amount of ground raisins with the hot water. My Cuisinart works perfect for this process.

Bake @ 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Oh how I love this time of year. It is just my favorite time of the year. The crisp cold mornings that have just been so beautiful. We get to see the sun come up every morning on the way to school. The Christmas carols playing, the coziness of the warm house that's filled with beautiful bits and pieces from Christmas' past, the memories and making of new ones, the baking of once a year yummies, the precious time with those I love, the finding and giving of gifts, the wrapping, the aroma of the tree when I walk through the front door, the twinkle of lights......I could go on and on! I've decided not to get caught up in being so busy that I miss what I love so much. Just watching the joy and excitement in the kids as I unwrapped each ornament to hang. Seeing them sit in the twinkling lights looking at the village under the tree. I just love it!

So blessed! I am so blessed. When you wonder what you are going to do. When you aren't exactly sure how something is going to get done. God steps in and uses someone to bless you! Today was one of those days. I am so blessed!

The Early Day

Today is our early day. Up and at 'em in the dark and off to the school at 7am. Ugh! We do get to cuddle in the cold morning air though. I LOVE being out at the school with my kiddos. It's so nice to be able to pop into classrooms or spy on them in their classes and talk with teachers...... just to be involved and know the every day goings on. Wouldn't trade it. Even though it requires me getting up at an awful hour. I was awakened this morning by my sweet littlest one who was bright eyed and happy at 5am. She was ready to go and thus, I was ready to go. I am so ready to come home by the end of the day. Tired and needing to unwind. We are having an ironic dinner, upside down day today, so breakfast for dinner! YUMMY!!! Up too early to fix breakfast, so we get it for dinner. Homework for my big kids, baths for all and falling into bed early. Tomorrow is a running morning, hopefully get some groceries, Trin has an evening playdate, a friends Cookie Lee party (hoping to find a stocking stuffer or two), then church. Busy, Busy.

We have to get together again soon. Australia? Not sure when you'll see this, but tell your sweet girl Happy B-Day and give her a big squeeze from us!

Love you!

Gorgeous Morning!

What a beauty it was this morning. Even for a Monday! I have not seen a prettier blue. The sun was breaking through the fog. Beautiful!!! We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. What a great time to share with the kiddos all the things we are thankful for. Mom and dads was warm and cozy, amazing food and a warm fire. So great to spend the time with grandma and my brother. We had a sleepover and came home just in time to see a long lost friend. One of our dearest friends from Texas came up for The War and spent the evening with us. It was just as if no time had passed. I love friendships like that. You can have so much history and love and not see someone for ages and it is just like you saw them the week before. The kiddos were so happy to see Uncle Roddy! Got up on Saturday morning and drove up to pick up my brother to go to the War. Healing! Got to see Ann, Chad and Jay at the game too. Talked to my softball coach from OSU (not that I'm thankful for him, but I'm thankful for the time I was allowed to have there). How appropriate that during Thanksgiving week I was able to spend time with so many of the people I love. I think in this week I have seen the nearest and dearest to my heart, those I'm really thankful for. What a blessing! I wish the game would have turned out better, but the time spent with my brother is priceless and long overdue. We have years to make up for! I wont mention any more than it was a hard day yesterday, but here I am. Looking up at the new beautiful morning. God's mercy is new every morning, but it's easier to feel on mornings like this! Had to do some hard business today and took back a dress that I had gotten for Christmas and an upcoming wedding. I had to drive all the way to Portland and wrestled with myself all the way. Throwing my toddler fit inside all the way. I just can't justify being told yes to a dress knowing where we are financially. I refuse to consciously make that poor of a decision. It was a tough drive though!

Hope your holiday weekend was wonderful!

LOVE YOU!