A "Christmas Blues" Poem

A Christmas Blues Poem by Tammy

Christmas is over...Little one has the croup
But she's just so picky and won't eat her soup.

Presents all openned and toys everywhere
The tree's shedding needles...
I'm too tired to care

No carols are playing
No more "Fa la la la"s
I guess you might say
I have post-Christmas blahs.

The temperature's dipping
But no snow in sight
The puppy is wild
and continues to bite

Did I say that Hawaii no longer holds charms?
Well, I guess I was wrong...
at least it is warm.

I can't help but wish, now that Christmas has passed,
that Spring would just hurry and blossom here fast.
But just as that song that Miss Andrews did sing,
I'll stop and just think of "My favorite Things"........

So, dreaming of beaches and palm trees that sway
Tulips and roses and warm, sunny days
Puppies that cuddle and dare not to bite
Children who share and never do fight
Houses that seem just to clean up themselves
Toys that are new -put away on the shelves.
Doorbells and sleighbells, no-calorie pie,
A day to myself just to read and to sigh,
A tummy so firm that never you'd see
Those candies and sugar plums hiding in me

So those are my post-Christmas wishes to sing
To cheer up my heart as I'm waiting for spring,
But now I must go, there are dishes to do
And puppies to chase and to walk and to "Shew!"

Reminding myself just how much God has blessed
As I think on the good...He'll take care of the rest!

Happy New Year!

Christmas morning through sleepy eyes

I'm just finding a spare moment to post a little something...

I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas!

We did...in spite of the fact that Mommy and Daddy were each up in the wee hours of the morning getting some last minute things ready. You know...those things you can only do when the children are fast asleep.

The girls had a wonderful morning, so it really was all worth it.


There were dollies and games and DVDs...including one of our favorite movies that the girls and their Nammy are watching right this minute...Curious George! I love it..."Up-side down...."

And out of all of the more expensive gifts under the tree, one of the favorites of Sweetiegirl was the simple pink scarf her little sister bought for her at the Dollar Tree...it was just what she wanted.


All in all, a very good Christmas with so much to be thankful for!

I did end up with a sleep-deprived headache that afternoon. And Hubby was a little lacking in zzzzzzz's, himself.


Can you tell by this picture of him openning his stocking that he was up until 2am?
But he's still pretty cute, anyway.

(Notice there's no pictures of me...I don't look cute with five hours sleep.)


Mandy, however, cannot help being cute...and she loved her new candy cane bone!

I don't know about some of you, but we're all still recovering a bit from everything. We still have upteen million little things scattered throughout the house. Their poor grandma can't sit down without moving a Barbie or package of socks over first.
But before I do, I must go finish watching that little monkey and the man with the yellow hat and have some more egg nog with the girls and my mom. I'll post again later this week...until then....

Blessings!

My 100th Post!

Well, I've reached the milestone at last! My 100th post!
So, as such as the custom around this land of blogville, I'm going to list 100 things about me. If you get through this, even during this busy time, then you will certainly get some Brownie points! (And here's a bonus #101- yep, I was a Brownie!)
Here goes...(deep breath)

1) I can't believe my 100th post fell right before Christmas
2) I don't have time to write 100 things...
3) and most of you don't have time to read them.
4) but I'll try...
5) I grew up as an only child.
6) I do have two half sisters, though.
7) My dad first got married at age 17 to someone before he married my mom.
8) Both half sisters are a lot older than me.
9) Only one has always kept in touch.
10) The one that doesn't, ironically has a son who was like a brother to me growing up.
11) He's three years younger than I am.
12) He's now in the ministry!
13) My childhood was a little lonely, though.
14) My favorite thing to do was play with my dolls or my dollhouse.
15) I also started writing stories when I was little.
16) But I also liked playing with the neighborhood kids.
17) In spite of the fact that I loved dolls, I also liked to build bike ramps with the boys.
18) But I did get crushes on some of them.
19) I also liked to watch a LOT of TV.
20) I can still tell you the television line-up from 1971.
21) I had several of The Partridge Family records.
22) When I was in grade school, I wanted to be That Girl and Mary Tyler Moore.
23) Funny, how they're both single...maybe that's why I didn't get married until I was thirty-two.
24) I married a great guy.
25) Sometimes he bugs me just a little.
26) But I think I love him more than the day I married him.
27) And that's saying quite a bit.
28) When we were first married, he had joined the Navy.
29) He was one of the oldest recruits...though he already had two college degrees.
30) But this post is about me....the Navy Wife.
31) Right after the wedding, I found myself living clear across the country in Virginia.
32) And four months after the wedding, my new husband departed for a SIX-MONTH deployment!
33) For the first few weeks, I wasn't sure how I'd make it through.
34) We had no e-mail access that first time.
35) Letters would sometimes take forever...then all come at once.
36) It reminded me of all the WW11 romance movies I always watched....only a little more real.
37) Because we couldn't talk often on the phone, we use to mail each other audio tapes where we'd simply "talk" to each other.
38) We would each play the recordings of the other's voice at bedtime, as we each drifted off to sleep...
39) My mom came and stayed with me over the holidays....I was so grateful.
40) And I prayed a lot!
41) So did my Honey.
42) After he finally came home, we got to travel around the east a bit.
43) But mostly, we were just glad to be together.
44) Eventually, we moved back to Oregon.
45) He didn't have a job yet, and we moved in with my mom.
46) And soon after, we found out we were expecting...
47) But God blessed us with a job and a new house...just months before our first baby was born.
48) The birth of my first baby was a scary experience, however.
49) I nearly died.
50) But thankfully, God was merciful.
51) However, I was as weak as a kitten for a month and had a hard time enjoying those first few weeks of being a mom.
52) But again, God helped me through.
53) And the birth of my second baby went exactly how I prayed it would go- it was truly a wonderful experience.
54) I love both my girls and am SO grateful for them.
55) They were born when I was 36 and 39...
56) I am getting old and I don't like it, not one bit!
57) Luckily, my husband will always be older than I am. ;)
58) I am a direct decendant of William Bradford of the Mayflower.
59) I'm a little bit excited by that!
60) We have antique photographs of our ancestors dating back to the 1860's.
61) Ever since I was a child, I was facinated by these.
62) I have loved writing fiction all of my life.
64) I have never officially tried to have anything published...yet.
65) I scrapbook, but only very occasionally.
65) Mostly, I blog.
66) I love, love, love old movies.
67) Especially from the 1940's.
68) My favorite Christmas movie is "It's a Wonderful Life"... (Before it became everyone's favorite!)
69) I also love old TV shows...like The Andy Griffith Show and The Dick Van Dyke show.
70) Even when I was a teen, I liked old and nostalgic things.
71) Can you guess that my favorite subject to teach in home school is history?
72) I learned to read when I was about 3.
73) When I was in Kindergarten, they sent me to the first grade room during reading time.
74) To fit in, I use to pretend to stumble over the words like some of the first graders.
75) I mentioned this to my mom....she told me not to do that anymore.
76) I can remember things as far back as age two and a half.
77) But not where I left my keys yesterday.
78) That's what happens when you get....old.
79) I use to want to move to Maui.
80) My husband and I went for the first time on our 10th anniversary.
81) We loved it!
82) Then we took the girls with us for the second trip this October.
83) It wasn't as much fun.
84) A lot of things sort of went wrong.
85) And the weather wasn't so heavenly, either.
86) We did have some good times, though.
87) But I no longer want to live there.
88) If I were extremely wealthy, I wouldn't mind a vacation home in Maui, however...
89) And spend the whole month of January each year playing in the surf with the family and reading under a palm tree.
90) We'd take our nanny for those alone-times under the palm tree.
91) As for the new dog, she'd be on her own...
92) I have a vivid imagination and like to dream.
93) I also love to read.
94) I'm very much a romantic at heart.
95) I always wanted to live on some acreage out in the country.
96) But alas, I've always been a suburbs girl.
97) I'm kind of a high-stress person, yet I don't want to be.
98) But I love Jesus with all my heart, and asked Him into my heart when I was five years old.
99) Both of my little girls have now asked Jesus into their hearts, too.
100) Although I'm guilty of sometimes forgetting...I am very, very blessed!

Whew! I made it! And let me take both this Christmas season and the occasion of my 100th post to tell all of my new friends I have met through blogging, just how grateful I am to have met so many incredibly giving, compassionate, and just plain wonderful people such as you!

I wish all of you- as well as my friends in person and family- a very joyous Christmas!

Family Doin's News...the Late Addition

Well...it's crunch time! If you're like me (read: not Martha Stewart) you are right now scrambling to finish all those last minute things, on top of special get-togethers...on top of blogging. Oh, and then there's also all the other million and one things we normally have to do- especially if we're moms.

So...I won't keep you. I'll make my updates quick and painless, so you can begin making those ten dozen sugar cookies with red sprinkles and start wrapping that huge pile of presents while they bake... or not.

So here's the condensed version (of my Sunday update that I didn't have time to write):

Some of you asked about the windstorm we had here. Well, it wasn't quite as bad as a famous one that I always hear about, but it was a bit wild. The next day we saw a tree with a huge wide trunk overturned right around the corner from our house. There was damage in various places, and several areas had no power for days! But we were so blessed to only have ours go off for exactly 5 seconds that night.

Saturday: Went to hubby's office party at the zoo. Wonderful food, but I was glad the girls and I had gone to see the lights there earlier that week...this time it was freezing! It wasn't exactly inviting to stroll around and leisurely enjoy the beautiful lights.
But luckily, inside the banquet room is was nice and warm. And their annual white elephant gift exchange game was a lot of fun. Typical gag gifts along with really nice ones, and everyone "stealing" the best. We had our first gift taken, but hung on for dear life to this guy...


Isn't he neat? He's actually fairly tall...about two feet. We didn't have anything like him, so we were happy to take Old World Santa home.

(He hands down was better than the bottle of hot sauce or the recorded Mr. T sayings, don't you think?)

Sunday: Hubby and the girls got to help deliver presents, a Christmas tree and food through our church. It was the first time we actually participated in this actual process. We were assigned a family, and though I couldn't go as planned, the three of them all had an incredible experience delivering to the family. I know it's not something any of them will forget...and hopefuly the memory will stay with our girls always.

Meanwhile, as my previous poem suggested...I've been trying to clean, cook, shop, and decorate...all around a very rambunctious puupy dog. I took her for her first official walk today...she was a little unsure of it all at first, but began to catch on towards the end. She play bites a lot, but it slowwwwwly starting to learn not to chomp on us when she gets excited.

This is good, because she is growing like crazy.

Here she was when we brought her home Thanksgiving weekend....







And here she is this afternoon....





Notice the twig in her mouth as she poses on the deck? Twigs, sticks, blocks of wood, furniture legs...and unhem...an occasional people leg....these things are all good chewing toys if you're someone like Mandy. But we can't totally overlook a good ornament or child's toy. And there's nothing tastier than good old-fashioned newspaper...preferably the kind that hasn't been read yet.

Anyway...I promised not to be long, and here I am keeping you, afterall!
But before I sign off, I just realized that my next post will be the famous 100...can hardly believe it! I hope to get to it later this week...

But for now, my eye lids are drooping. Everyone's in bed (or crate) and I need to do the same.

Hope everyone has a good week!

Blessings!

'Twas A Week Before Christmas...

By Yours Truly...With apologies to Clement C. Moore...

'Twas a week before Christmas and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse
The stockings were hung with the chimney with care
And even the puppy's new stocking was there!

The children were watching Christmas movies in bed,
while visions of Barbie dolls danced in their heads.
While hubby lie snoring and I read some blogs,
We had just settled down with our mugs of warm Nog.

When out on the kitchen there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my chair to see what was the matter.
When what to my wondering eye should appear
But a minature pup, and an ornament near...

She was covered in fur, from her head to her foot,
Her paws were all tarnished with wet, outdoor soot.
She held to her prey of the ornament dear
And I knew in that moment that our tree was in fear.

Her eyes, oh how merry- a right mischievious elf
And I smiled when I saw her, in spite of myself
She looked up and eyed me, then went straight to her work,
She pawed it, she bit it- then turned with a jerk.

My smile quickly faded as I soon followed suit,
but this only made puppy pounce hard on my boot.
Then wagging my finger up close to her nose,
She gave it a lick, then up the staircase she rose.

I followed the culprit right up to my room,
certain that I would find messes and doom
Instead, she was snug in her own little crate,
Walked in by herself- without any bait!

I gave her a pat and lie down on my bed,
Snuggling in with the girls as I rested my head.
The children were drowsily watching a show,
Starring Rudolph, Cornelius, and plenty of snow...

As I blissfully drifted to dreamland so sweet,
So close to that place where deep sleep and I meet...
I heard it exclaim from somewhere nearby,
"Move your foot!" "No, scoot over- Mommy, she bumped my eye!'

I sleepily led my two children right out,
Put them each to their bed- as they fussed all about.
I kissed them each soundly and went back to my room,
Lay back on my bed, too tuckered to fume.

Soon, I was back to my wonderful state
Of being so restful that sleep was my fate
When hubby came in, just as tired and beat,
We both settled in towards those dreams that are sweet.

Rudolph had ended...a new show began...
One with a grouchy and stingy old man...
The TV played on as we rested so fine,
But soon in the distance, I heard a faint whine.

I sleep-walked the puppy right out to the lawn
To do all her business, and turned with a yawn.
I stepped on the ornament which puppy had caught,
And now it looked worse- which is saying a lot.

I crawled up the stairs, with puppy in arms
She licked at my chin as if there was no harm.
I fell into bed, pulled my covers up high
Turned off the TV, then relaxed with a sigh.

But I heard it exclaimed just as sleep came once more...

"Move over, please, Mommy. Oh...and try not to snore!"

Christmas Tour of Homes!

WELCOME!
Please come on in...


What? You say that the pathway leading up is a little dark? Maybe it's due to the big storm we're having right now in the Northwest (truly!) That, and the fact that my flash was acting very tempermental!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edited to say, I just realized that my main Nativity scene photo was missing at the end!...I just fixed that hopefully! I'm not sure how that happened...other than that I was posting this at 1 a.m. last night (with the wind howling at our door....)


But please...you must be so tired from braving these 50 mile an hour winds we all are having here...
Let me take your coat. I can hang it up...or throw it over here on the hooks with the kids' coats. What's that boot doing on the windowsill? Oh...no, it's not a Christmas tradition here. It was thrown up there to save it from becoming a new version of puppy chow. (Yep, if you look very closely, you can see my boot - and a sandal- taking refuge on the sill.)Now, if you simply look right here near the little coat rack, we have my "It's a Wonderful Life" village. My mom and I each began collecting our own before I was married. Then my sweet husband gave me an official Wonderful Life train a couple years ago! But something needs to be fixed and it isn't running this year...so I set it here with the village.Oh yes...the tree....it's right here, in our livingroom...


Pay no attention to that tilted star... it will be alright by Christmas Day, I promise! But besides that, I kind of like this little corner. It's very cozy. And I know it's dark, but see the little blankie draped on the arm of the love seat? That's an early Christmas present for Lil Cherub...she was wanting a special blankie like her big sister, and since it was suggested she take one on her big dental ordeal, I gave this to her last week. (And it nearly makes me cry to think about how thrilled she was over this little blanket!)

Would you like to see a couple ornaments a little closer?
I wish I could show you a bunch of my special ornaments, but for time's sake, here's just a couple. This one, hidden in the branches, is a poodle I made as a ten year old in ceramics....(please try not to laugh).
Not a work of art, but at least is survived being broken in two last year...not to mention- um- 33 years. It wins prestige now just for being old.

And look closely at this darker picture...



There is a baby's first ornament from for one of my daughters to the left...and see that plain bell shape near the middle-right? There a story there...My mom made these bells with her three little nephews (each one with their name on it) when she was watching them. They are not fancy...plain, thin cardboard bells.
But I was 11 months old- my first Christmas! That's one reason all three bells were always special...but this particular one says Kenny. He was my favorite, I guess, growing up. Last year, he passed away suddenly of heart problems.
So now, the ornament he helped make at age 4 is even more valued.

Next to our tree, is a crystal Nativity candle set that I love...along with some of other little decorations...like the little Christmas dolls each of my girls got last year.

As we head towards the dining room, I have this little display of nutcrackers that my mom gave us. I just love them!

Now...if you follow me into the dining room...Oh, how awful of me! I forgot to offer you something hot to drink after braving this storm! Please forgive me...we have hot apple cider, hot cocoa...sorry, we just ran out of egg nog. The girls and I love it WAY too much...

In the diningroom, I have another little lighted village...which I now have next to my girls' cut-out Nativity scene.


And below...as we enter through to our little family room...we have our special Nativity. I purchased this before I was married...and it is even more valued now.

So...now that we're here at the piano (which is the one I grew up, by the way...I took lessons on this!)...you're welcome to join our family in singing some Christmas carols. We usually do this on Christmas Eve, but we'd love to do it early with you, too!

I hope you enjoyed your visit here with us in our humble little home.
May God bless you this Christmas season!

To check out the rest of the tour, go to Boomama's
- our gracious tour host!

Zoolights!

First off....I tried replying to SO many wonderful posts yesterday and could not get through, no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't even reply as anonomous! Major frustration!
I have a feeling a few of you maybe tried to reply to mine and couldn't, as well!
SO.....if I usually reply to your posts (and maybe even if I don't!) you can pretty much figure I tried and failed. And there were some wonderful ones, too!

Yesterday, the girls and I had a cold, but fun adventure...

You see, my husband and I are going to be attending a dinner through his work, held at the zoo- complete with famous zoo lights! But when I saw that it was adults only, my heart sank a bit, since the girls had never seen the zoo lights. (I had never seen the zoo lights!) But we are completely and utterly broke right now due to the many dental and car bills, and the zoo now costs a bundle!
Then, I found out that once a month is $2 Tuesday! Woohoo! I'm not ashamed to admit that right now, even $6 for something extra is stretching it before next payday, but I scraped it up somehow and we headed out.

We got there in daylight, but stayed long enough to see the zoo turn into an enchanted wonderland of lights. It was, indeed, amazing!

We were all bundled up, but forgot our gloves...burrrr! But it was so worth it!

And it was extra fun, since we hadn't been to the zoo in awhile. Seven year old Sweetiegirl's favorite is the giraffe, while Lil Cherub loves the zebras. Unfortunately, my fav, the polar bears, were no where to be seen. In fact, several animals were missing...
Where do bears go to hybernate in the zoo, anyway? We did see one lone grizzly bear, but he looked awfully sleepy. (I'd post a picture of him but it came out a bit blurry.)

But see that huge sealion? Well...I know. The picture didn't come out so well. But he (or she) was gigantic, yet floated right over to the girls and looked them in the eye. Such grace and such a sweet face.

So, as you can see by some of the pictures, there were lots of lighted animals displays...and some of them moved- like this guy, pictured below.
"Open Wide!"

Some displays were an elaborate vision of movements, where the light traveled from one figure to another, giving the illusion of moving across the lawn.

And as the skies became darker, it was even more exciting and beautiful.



The girls and I had a super time...and just think! I'll be
going again in a couple days- only this time, hubby and I get to dine on elegant fare in a warm restaurant instead of the crackers and apple slices we munched on with numb fingers last evening.

But cold hands aside, there was something magical about sitting in the frosty air at the picnic table, gazing at the gorgeous lights with my girls. One of those special Christmas memories I know we'll always share together.

Before I sign off, I just wanted to mention that I do plan on participating in Boomama's Tour of Christmas homes on Friday. I'm going to buzz on over there and get the link... but just like my last tour, it will be a humble display to say the least. But hopefully, full of love.

Keesbee

We have a new little friend at our house. Apparently, she is a tiny little friend with a sad and dramatic past- at least according to Four year old Cherub.
Oh- and the friend's name is Keesbee.

It all started when she and I were in the car, getting ready to leave somewhere last week, and I couldn't find my one set of house keys. I was talking outloud- partly to Cherub- as we waited for Seven year old Sweetiegirl to come out of the bathroom and join us for our errand.

"Where can my keys be?" I asked, realizing how cute it sounded to my own ears as I emphasized those last two words.

After a a few seconds of silence, Cherub said, quite seriously,
"I had a friend, Keys Be." Or as I like to spell it, myself- Keesbee.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes. I really miss Keesbee."

"Where did he go?"

"It's a girl. She moved to Mexico and she'll never be back again!" she replied, with much feeling.

"Maybe you can write to her?"

"No...I can't spell yet, and she's an ant. And her mother died!"

"Oh, that's very sad. Maybe she can come visit."

"Maybe."

A few days passed, and recently Keesbee did, indeed, come to visit. Only Cherub could see her, though. Keesbee apparently sits next to her on car rides only, confiding her troubles.

"She just told me that now her daddy died, too. And we have to take care of her."

"Poor Keesbee. Of course, we'll take care of her," I said. "By the way, was she one of the many ants we had last year in our house?" (We had an army invade our home last year, of which Cherub was terrified.)

"Yes....the other ants were her aunts."

Not to be left out, Seven year old Sweetiegirl reminded us of her old friends, Some and Sure. (Sure is actually pronounced Shuwwooora. Think Bronx.) We hadn't heard about them in awhile, but it seems they are now back from their hiatis in Disneyland where they resided for a year.

This is good, because we all missed Some and Sure. We're not exactly sure what species they are, but they always seemed like pretty good joes.

And I'm sure Keesbee, with her tragic past, will be glad for the company.

And maybe they'll find my keys.

"Come on, ring those bells..." (my evening with Evie!)

Please tell me you remember Evie. If you've been a Christian for any length of time (and are older than 32 or so) you will know that she was an icon. The Sandi Patti of the 70's, if you will.
(I say "over 32" since a good friend of that age, who will remain nameless, had no idea who she was when she saw the posters up everywhere. It's times like these when our generation gap shines through!)

Our family just had the absolute joy of seeing Evie in a free concert at our old church last night.
Let me just say, it was such a real blessing.

Evie first came on the Christian music scene when contemporary Christian music was in its infancy. She was a fresh-faced teen and had such a spirit of joy about her.
She still does.

I remember seeing her at a contemporary Christian festival when I was about 15 or so here in the Northwest. In fact, one of the images that stayed in my head all these years was Evie and a maybe 17 year old Amy Grant standing next to each other after the concert, talking with the crowd all around them from the back of a truck! They were both so young, and Amy had just made her first successful Christian album, so it was exciting to see them together like that.

So...back to last night's concert... It was a Christmas concert, so of course she sang her famous "Come on Ring Those Bells" ...but many of her old classic songs that I thought I had forgotten. Such a flood of memories!
Do you remember the song, "Special Delivery"? It nearly brought tears to my eyes to hear it again after all these years...and sung by her in person.
But more than the memories it brought back, I felt so blessed by her genuine sweet spirit. I also came away with a renewed excitement about celebrating Christmas. For those of us who know the Savior, it's all the more reason to be excited about celebrating His birth!

My sister in law, who was a big Evie fan, sat with us and then later we all waited among the throngs of people to get a chance to speak with her and get a little autograph. It took awhile because she was so gracious with everyone and friendly. The gal ahead of us said she remembered all the lyrics to a song that she didn't sing that night, and the two of them started singing together...the rest of us all around joining in.
She also had a surprisingly great sense of humor! You just can't help but love her.

My husband took a picture of my girls, sis in law and myself with Evie...but for now, I'll just show Evie and myself. But the girls- especially my four year old cherub- loved her! A new fan was born!

And see those dimples? Just as cute as ever!

If only we could buy her greatest hits on CD- or even tape.... but they are out of circulation!
A woman in line had an old, old record she brought up to have her sign...and I recognized the cover! I have it! It was mine as a young teen! Somewhere at my mom's house it hides, stored away....but I have it! (Now, if only I could find a record player...)

Anyway, I just had to share this with you all! Can you tell I really, really was excited about this concert?

So..."Come on, ring those bells...light the Christmas tree,
Jesus is the King, born for you and me.
Come on, ring those bells, everybody sing
Jesus, we remember it's YOUR birthday!"

"I want to thank my agent..."

Ok, so I don't have an agent. But in all seriousness, I honestly feel honored! Grafted Branch decided to graciously give out her own awards to some bloggy friends...many of us who maybe never have been nominated for anything as of yet. And I just thought it was so sweet.

When I stopped by at her "place" and saw my name I was just so blessed!
What was the personal award that she gave me? "Most like a Favorite Neighbor!" And I really like that because I think of so many of you as my real friends and neighbors. And of course, a bit humble because there are a few neighbors around me on my very street that I don't even know. Not that I want it that way...we just don't live in a very neighborly neighborhood! But this was a good reminder to reach out more to my "literal" neighbors!
Anyway, I still thought it was very sweet.
See that button of the carefree little girl swishing her dress on my side-bar? I love that picture, so I'm thrilled to put it on my blog.
And I echo what she said...there are so many wonderful blogs out there and SO many deserve some sort of award! And some just never get any recognition. I could name a whole passle of them! And though I know there are some well-earned nominees and winners out there, it's still nice for those of us who haven't had the pleasure yet to be mentioned by someone. Thank you, Grafted Branch, for this idea and for surprising me like you did.
Please go check out the other receipients...and of course check out some of her other great posts at her blog, "Restoring the Years".

Speaking of checking out other blogs, please take a moment and pay a visit to my sweet Mom. (Yes, Ruth is my mom, Barb!) :) Some of you may have recalled my writing about how the generations of women in my family seem to come with a lot of years separating them. (I'm sort of included on this, having had my own girls at 36 and 39.)
My mom is 79 and is a fellow blogger! She has a treasury of true stories- history she has lived though and I always have felt privilaged to hear about history from one who has actually lived it. And she has!
Yesterday, we remembered the 65th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. And she experienced the news- live- in front of her old console radio. Go take a peek!

I hope to be posting again this weekend...I have so much to say, in spite of the busy schedule awaiting me! And somewhere in this weekend, we hope to hunt down the perfect Christmas tree!
I hope you all enjoy yours this Christmas season...God bless!

Childlike Faith

As I rode in the car with my girls this week, four year old cherub asked, out of the blue,

"How does Jesus fit in my heart? He is SO big!"

Lil Cherub had asked Jesus into her heart at the very tender age of 3.

Some might say that she was too young to understand what she was doing...that perhaps it didn't "take".
But as our conversation unfolded, she told me that she had Jesus in her heart because she remembers asking Him.
"Remember I asked Him when I was 3?"

Of course, just as she has to mature as a person, she'll have to grow and mature through the years in Christ.
She'll fail, occasionally, and falter.
But I believe when she, with true child-like faith, asked Jesus to come into her heart, He accepted her very child-like faith and did just as she asked.

"Suffer the little children to come unto Me, for such is the Kingdom of God."

Because just as I tried to explain to her, reaching for theological correctness but in terms she could grasp...
"Jesus doesn't come into our hearts unless He's been invited. But when He is, His spirit comes inside our hearts..."

"Forever?" asked Cherub.

"Yes, forever. Because He loves us just as parents love their children," I told her.

And I don't think God is a respector of persons.

At church on Sunday, a young, articulate man gave his testimony. He had accepted Christ as a teen, but somehow had lost his way and one day found himself serving a seven-year term for armed robbery. He was alone and frightened, wondering just how in the world he had sunken so low...
But God had not forgotten him. During his prison term, he reached the end of himself (not unlike the prodical son in the parable) ande cried out to Him.
And Christ met him right where he was.
Or rather...He had always been there, not wanting to let him go or give up on this child of his, pursuing him with a passion.

Because no matter if we are an ex-convict, a homeless drug addict, or a tiny three year old child...He loves us all and will hear us when we call. And when we accept Him with childlike faith.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son...that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Thank you! (Lil Cherub's Update)

It is SO wonderful to have praying friends- some that I haven't even met! Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragment concerning my littlest's dental "surgery". I appreciated them more than you know...and my husband and I could feel the prayers working from the first moment!

Although to some it might not seem like a huge deal, having to be put under for dental work, to me it seemed- well- somewhat daunting.
There's just something about your own little helpless child that makes you all the more nervous.

The answer to prayers started when my little girl got up this morning, happy as a lark and not worried at all about getting to go to sleep at the dentist's. She hates going normally, but today she was thrilled that her big day had arrived- and happy to be sleeping through it all!

One of my friends graciously offered to let my oldest go over and home school with her children and my husband met me at the dental office.

The anesthesiest specializes in working with children, and is a young family man, himself. A very nice guy...however, his way of starting the "sleepy medicine" is three-fold...starting with a shot! And I guess he's use to children not being happy when presented with a large needle... so he basically jabbed her before she even saw it coming...which to my mind, may not have been the best strategy in Cherub's case. She likes to be warned, so this probably quickly diminished the trust factor just a bit.
But she barely had time to loudly object...that medicine was powerful.

The bad news was that it turned out that just about all her teeth were either cavities or beginnings of cavities. We knew it was rampant, but this was even worse than we thought...so to clean them all up and fill them took a lot longer than we were originally told.

(Basically, what that means to us, is that even though we were already being careful about sugar before, and brushed up to four times a day...now we have to be even more militant.)

Someone came back and told us this cavity news and how it would be a longer wait, and they were great about keeping us updated in that all was going well. But all in all, she was in there- out cold- for about three and a half hours!

When finally they brought us in to hold her, she was still fast asleep. It seemed to take forever for her to gradually wake...and when she finally did, she slurred her words when she tried to speak...barely peeking through the puffy slits of her eyes.
Her head would wobble backwards if we didn't support it- just like a newborn baby.
She told us she wanted to try and walk...so hubby held her hands as if she were a one year old again, and she moved her feet slowly- not yet able to even carry herself.

We were assured all of this was normal. But I have to say- it did seem to resemble, in a very disconcerning way, a child with birth defects or brain injury. It was very strange and disturbing to see her this way...but underneath all of my concern was the gratitude that she would be normal and whole again.

Hopefully, I won't be as proned to take that for granted quite as much from now on.

The money issue in all of this? Well, let's just say that we nearly fell onto the waiting room floor when we saw the bill. We're still not sure what all our insurance will cover at this point, but we're confident God will take care of us and that all of this will work out.

But despite that, we are feeling grateful. Lil Cherub is up and walking around this afternoon...still a little wobbly, but feeling better every hour.

So thank you again for your prayers! It is an amazing thing to feel the support and prayers on your behalf...
whether it's a small matter, large problem- or something in-between.

Family Doin's News...and a Prayer Request

It's a bright, sunny- and very cold- Sunday, and we're off soon to attend a home school family Christmas party. And I'm drinking my Airborne in hopes of nipping this little cold in the bud.

And I'm tired.

This puppy is wearing me out! Between the potty breaks, the training not to eat shoes or play-nip...the girls and I are both getting a wee bit tired! (Hubby is usually at work or doing an outside project and has escaped the bulk of our puppy-woes.)
However, just as in the tiring days of having a newborn, there are also those fun and sweet moments.

But did I mention I was tired?

Speaking of my husband's projects...he finally finished most of the work on the old car yesterday, getting it ready to sell...and today he's being a dutiful husband and putting up the Christmas lights! My little family room is full of Christmas boxes at the moment, which I don't have time nor energy to tackle today- hopefully this week it will get done, a little at a time!

Which brings me to my next bit of news- and a prayer request.

Four year old cherub is going to be having some major dental work done Tuesday morning.
A special anethesist will be putting her under so that the dentist can work on her teeth for about two hours.

She's done this before. At the hospital, when she was two, a similar procedure took place. You see, from the time her first tooth came in, she has had a condition where sugar just seems to attack her little teeth, no matter how diligent we are in brushing and flossing. I read that this condition is due to high acidity in the saliva... but whatever the cause, it has been a trial!

I do not relish the idea of my baby being put under anesthesia again and I'm a little nervous.
I would so appreciate all of my praying friends to lift her up... please pray that God keeps His Hand on her as she is under and that all goes smoothly with no ill-effects. Thank you in advance!

And now, as usual, I am going to have to pry myself out of the computer chair and hurry to get ready for this party in time... is it true that clocks tick faster when you're blogging?

Have a blessed week!

*1st photo- Cherub and Mandy last week
*2nd photo- Myself and Cherub on the Oregon coast- 2003