Christmas



We Started our Christmas Morning

with Sweet Rolls and Singing

Happy Birthday to Jesus.

 

After that?

Presents, Smiles, and Hugs Galore.

{Merry Christmas}

{Merry Christmas}



To: YOU

From US!

The Halls are Decked

{Fa, la,la,la,la..la,la,la,la!}

12.24.12

Christmas Eve To-Dos:

Christmas Eve Morning Breakfast with T Family

Last Minute Must-Have Gifts Secured

Make Christmas Eve Yummies

Watch Christmas Movies

Eat Christmas Eve Goodies

Re-enact the Christmas Nativity

New Christmas Jammies

Treats for Santa put Out

New Christmas Pillowcases from G'Ma P

Bed

Heads full of Sugar Plums Dancing

Jolly Ol' Saint Nick

Christmas Service Advent Calendar Part II

I mentioned about how Our Family was doing

a Christmas Service Advent Calendar

and Trying to do a Service Everyday Before Christmas.

 

Wanted to Take Note of a Couple of things We did,

that Meant a Lot to Our Family:

 

We helped make 85 Fleece Blankets,

to Donate to Cancer Patients,

at a Local Cancer Hospital,

 

We Volunteered to Spend a late night Cleaning

our Church Building.

We arrived Several Hours Early,

and Cleaned and Set up Chairs,

till We thought We would Drop Dead.

We left a Merry Christmas note,

so when the other Volunteers arrived

at the appointed time,

They would be Surprised!

We got a Sweet Note the next Day

from some Very Thankful Friends,

Who didn't have to stay up all Night

Cleaning and Setting up Chairs!

 

One Night,

We went to a local Senior Center.

We had made Snowflakes and Notes

and wanted to find someone

who needed a Visit, some Snowflakes, and some Christmas Cheer!

We Ended up Going into the Room of a Woman named Barbara.

We decorated her Room with Snowflakes,

and Spent a While Talking with Her.

We Really Enjoyed Getting to know Her,

and Went back on Christmas Day,

with a Gift We thought She would Enjoy.

She was Excited to see Us,

and had Kept our Notes close-by,

and had told Everybody about her Snowflakes!

 

By the end of the Month,

it was a real Eye-Opener to see what a Difference

Small, Do-able things made,

and meant to People.

The Notes and Thanks We received

were Un-expected, yet so Touching to Us.

It made Us more aware of the Little things We can do,

to Brighten someone Else's Day.



Fun Days of Christmas

The Boys are out of School

for Most of December, 

due to how the Year-Round School thing works,

so to Keep them Entertained a wee bit,

I kept them busy

making Ornaments and Cookies, 

watching Christmas Movies, Christmas Shopping, and

Wearing Snazzy Christmas Socks.

Important Mailbox Business

Letters to Santa



Greeting Card Exodus



Christmas Service Advent

We have been Working on a Service Advent Calendar this Christmas Season,

to Hopefully Help Us Remember that One of the Best Parts of Christmas is Giving.

I Used an Old Advent Calendar We already had,

and found little Ornaments to Fit in the Pockets.

Each Ornament has a Service to be Done that Day Tagged to It.

When the Service is Done,

We get to Add that Ornament to the Tree.

And We will get to Read the Services that We did

as they Dangle from our Tree on Christmas.

 

We've had some Fun Times!

 

Our First Service was the Night of our

"Kick off to Christmas!!"

We bought a small gift, Wrapped it,

and then Handed the Gifts Out to

Random Kids We saw,

while Enjoying the Lights Down Town.

 

Other things We've Done:

Gathered Shopping Carts in the Parking Lot,

Donated Toys and Clothes,

Left a Treat for our Mailman,

Put Garbage cans Away for Neighbors on Garbage Day,

Wrote Thank You Notes,

Picked Ornaments off a Giving Tree

 and Shopped for Gifts

for Kids in Need,

 

Bought and Donated Goods to Our Food Bank,

Left Dollars Randomly on Toys at the Store,

Donated to the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army,

Cleaned our Church Building,

and Shoveled Driveways on Snowy Days.

Of Course,

the Month isn't over Yet,

so We still have Work to Do!

 

Note:

My Kids are out of School for the Whole Month,

so Finding time to do these things

is plentiful-

not that they take an awful lot of time. 

Of Course,

a "12 Days of Christmas" or Shorter Version

would be Awesome, too.

The Reason for the Season

One of the Things We are Doing this Year,

to Remember the Reason for the Season,

is an Advent Calendar that I Made

that has a Scripture for Us

to Read each Night,

about Jesus.

Then We are Writing

 what the Scripture Teaches us about Jesus

on a Piece of "Hay",

and Making a bed for the Baby Jesus.

I Thought it would be Good to Read all the Pieces on Christmas Morning

as a Reminder of Why We Celebrate Christmas.

 



Kick Off to Christmas

We have Made a Tradition of Calling the First Weekend in December

our "Kick off to Christmas!!" Weekend.

[and Yes, it Must be Pronounced with TWO Exclamation Points]

 

We stay at a Hotel not too Far from Home

and Spend Friday Evening

and Saturday Doing

"Kick off to Christmas!!"-y Type things.

{Like Taking Silly Pictures of Ourselves. Obviously.}

 

We Christmas Shop,

Drink Hot Chocolate,

Go to a Christmas Movie,

Eat Desserts in Bed,

Go Swimming,

Christmas Shop Some More,

Eat More Trash

and Generally Make Ourselves Jolly.

 

At the End of the day, Saturday,

We Got together with Friends

and Rode our Train to our Downtown Area

to See the Lights.

and Gobbled Down more Pie and Hot Chocolate,

afterwords.

This is Always a Fun Time for Our Family to Run on

Lots of Sugar, Little Sleep,

 and Merry Christmas Spirit!



Thanksgiving

We always head Back to My Ol' Homestead

for the Feast of Thanksgiving

with My Folks and Family.

My Mom always has Fun things planned

to Keep the Kids Entertained,

the Men-Folk do Men-Folk Things,

and the

Women-Folk do Women-Folk Things.

Since it's a Small Country Town,

there aren't too many stores that Open

at the Crack of Dawn for Black Friday Sales.

(Though lets not forget that this was the year

that G'pa wanted to get G'ma a new Laptop,

 and all the Fun that Entailed ;)

 

 

Other Things to Remember this Year:

Oreo Cookie Turkeys

Turkey Toes

Gingerbread House Decorating Galore

Watching "White Christmas"

Dipping Homemade Chocolates

Playing "Name that Tune" on our iPhones,

and

Staying up Way too Late Picking names for My Sister's Baby Hump.

 

The Armoire Make Over

 

This was a Hutch/Armoire that I Found in My Classifieds

 for Not Very Much $.

Truthfully,

there was nothing wrong with it,

but I Wanted a different Color

than the Yellow-y Whitish Color that was on it.

I Re-Painted My Room in a Gray

{"Metropolis" by Valspar in Semi Gloss},

and Wanted this to Match,

So I Chose a Gray Color that was One Step Down

on the Color Card I Picked Out.

{"Gravity" by Valspar in Satin}

 

This is How I Did It:

First I Sanded It.

Did not take all the Paint or Previous Finish Off,

just sanded it enough

 to give the next coat of paint something to grip onto.

Then I Wiped it Down with a Wet Paper Towel

to remove Sanding Dust.

 

 

These are the Paint Brushes/Rollers I used.

Both are Foam.

 

First I Primed it,

Then Painted it with My Color,

{"Gravity" by Valspar in Satin}

 

then Sanded with This:

See it Says

"Between Coats"?

It helps make a smooth finish.

After You Sand,

then wipe with the Wet Paper Towel again

to Remove the Sanding Dust.

 

The I Put the Second Coat of My Color On.

 

Then I Sanded with This:

It will also Help with a SMOOOOOTH Finish.

I Use it before I Put my Glaze On.

And of Course,

Wipe Everything Down Again,

To remove the Sanding Dust.

 

I Add My Details using This:

It's a Glaze that I have had Tinted to "Fired Earth" by Valspar.

I Work in Small Areas as I use it.

I put it on with a Foam Paint Brush,

then Wipe it off with a Wet Paper Towel,

Leaving some Glaze where I want it to stay darker,

or give it the Antique look that I Love.

For Some of the Areas where I Wanted to Create a "Wear Mark",

I took a Kid's Paint brush and just applied the Graze in the shape of the mark,

or along the Edge or in the Corner Like I wanted,

and just left it- not wiping it away.

 

Also,

I Kind of have a Thing for Crystal Knobs.

 

 

 

If You have any Questions about the Steps,

 Check out Some of My other Projects.

I use the same steps On Each One,

and I've Tried to have a Link Over There

(on the Side Bar)

to Each One.

 

For the Wreath,

I Hung it using the Same Technique I used to

Hang the Mini Wreaths on my Kitchen Cupboards HERE,

Except, I placed the Hook on the TOP of the Armoire.

11.03.2012

We had a little Family Get Together

 with My Sisters and Their Families

and Some of Our Folks.

 

We Got to Explore an Old Abandoned Silver Mine and Ghost Town,

Hike and Wander Around the Beautiful Area,

Eat at a Yummy Ma and Pa Grill,

Make Bottle Rockets,

See a Play of Beauty and the Beast,

Explore Dinosaur Tracks,

and Have a Good Ol' Time Relaxing,Visiting, and Stuffing our Guts. 

Halloween

10.31.2012

Marathon-er

October 20, 2012
26.2 Miles
DONE!

Holy Smokes!

That was Hard!

But?

The Hard is What Makes it Great!!

26.2 Miler Highlights:

 

- I was Excited ALL Week! Not Nervous; Excited! I was Ready to Get Out on that Course and See if I Could Do This!

 

- At About Mile 4, I Started Talking with a Lady- She is 66 years old, and this was her 53rd Marathon! She Started Running when she was 51. In the years she has been Running, she has Overcome Cervical Cancer, Back Surgery and a Brain Tumor. This was her 8th Full Marathon this year, and she had done 20 Half Marathons this year. Her Training? She said she runs Once a week, and its a Marathon. Her Strategy? Slow and Steady. I Told her she Truly Inspired Me, and I Couldn't Wait to Share her Story. Wow.

 

- I Cried. A Lot.

Before we even left the house, I was teary, because My Dear Friends, had put signs up in My Yard during the night with Good Luck Wishes and "You Can Do IT!"s .

I Cried as I Crossed the Starting Line. (I'm Running a Marathon!)

I Cried at the Amazing Sun Rise.

I Celebrated as Each Mile Ticked by, and Thought "This is Going by Too Fast!!"

I Probably Hollered, "I'm Running a Marathon!" about 79 Times.

I Got Emotional thinking of all the Training We had done. All the Hundreds of Miles and Wondering IF I can Do it, or How in the World I was Going to Do it. Now, here was the easy part- just go run 26 miles.

I Got Very Emotional every time I saw My Fan Club alongside the road at random Miles, Waving Posters and Shouting and Clapping. Truthfully, I Sobbed. And Lemme tell You, its Hard to Sob and Run and Breathe at the same time- Quite Ugly.

In the last 4 Miles, I was Crying over Signs other People had made for other Runners.

And I got a little choked up at the Aid Stations and the Volunteers handing out Water.

At One Point, I think mile 24, I got a little Teary-Eyed

because I wanted to Be Done or Die!

And Yes,

When I Crossed the Finish Line? I Bawled. Big Time Ugly.

 

I had NEVER in My Life wanted to Run a Marathon.

But My Curiosity about "HOW and WHY in the World would Someone Ever...?" Won Out.

 

In My Running and Training, I've Learned that

I Learn So Much More about Myself in the Moment that I Decide to Keep Going,

than I Do in the Moment that I Decide to Quit.

I've Learned that I'm more Capable, and Stronger,

and Diligent, and Determined

than I Ever thought I was.

 

Also, I have the Biggest Support of a Husband.

He was Out of the Country on a Business Trip, Came Home to Support Me on My Marathon, then Flew back the Next Morning. Who Does That?

And? So many mornings when He has Gotten the kids up and dressed and fed for School, while I'm out Running, so that as soon as I Run home, I can take the kids to school. He Picked Me Up after 16 Milers and 18 Milers and drove me home. HE Believed I could Run a Marathon, before I Believed I Could. I Believed in Me, because He did.

 And? This was for My Birthday.
My Birthday was the Next Day, and I wanted to Do Something to Celebrate ME.
Five Years ago, On My Birthday I Held My New Born Baby in My Arms.
Last year, I Held My First "See Your Strength and Beauty Everest Birthday Run" and Invited any Friends who Wanted to join Me to come Run with Me up a Steep Hill we All Love to Hate. We Celebrated with Smoothies and Chocolate Cake Afterwards.
This Year, I Ran My First Marathon.
Then Celebrated with Friends and Hogged out on Chocolate Cake.

One of My Favorite Quotes is from Socrates:
"It is a Shame for a [Woman] to Grow Old
without Ever Seeing the Strength and Beauty
of which [Her] Body is Capable".

How Blessed am I to See and Do all the Beautiful Things My Body is Capable of.

In the Last 3 or 4 Miles of the Marathon,

Running Partner and I said

that this was the Stupidest thing We had Ever Done.

That we would NEVER do this AGAIN!

But,

The Next Day,

We were searching for more Marathons. 

10.27.2012

It's that Time of Year:

Happy Birthday

To YOU!

Breakfast in Bed

The Big FIVE 

J says the Funniest things,

LOVES to Play with His Brothers,

and Gives Mom and Dad Huge Ol' Hugs!

WE Love this KID!

Pumpkin Patch-ness

You've Had a Birthday

Shout HOO-RAY!

Breakfast and Presents in Bed

Look Who's 10!

 

I have to Say that B has really become so Helpful to Me,

He Does what he needs to,

he's Thoughtful and Responsible and so Smart!

We Love this Dude!

 



Surprise!

We're Going to DISNEYLAND!

 

We kept our Plans to Go to Disneyland

a HUGE Secret 

for Months and Months!

Then One Regular Dull Monday Evening,

We went on a Little Drive to the Airport,

and Dad Said,

"Lets go in and buy a treat at the Airport,

but We have to take these Suitcases with us,

so that they don't know that We really Don't have any Tickets,

We're just here for some Treats".

We go in, but don't find any treats, Dangit.

We walk back out,

and Start Wishful Talking about

If we could go anywhere Right Now?- Where would we want to Go?

Eldest Child Wishes outloud to Go to Disneyland.

And Mom and Dad Look at Each Other,

and Say, "Let's GO!!"



The Kids thought We were Joking.

[I Think they were Wondering who We were,

and What Happened to Their REAL Parents]

 

Even Better?

When we Got to Our Gate,

and the Families of Good Friends,

are also there,

Going to Disneyland!

Yah, We all Planned it all like that :)

 

 

On the Last Day,

the Coolest Thing was Seeing This:

Seeing the Spaceship Endeavor on its Final Flight.

The crowds of people all came out,

and looked up at the sky

(the Shuttle was so Low!)

and then

Everyone Started Clapping.

That?

Was Awesome!

 

On the Short List of Favorite Rides:

Cars Land, California Soaring, California Screaming, Tower of Terror, Pirates, and Splash Mountain.

 

We? Had a GREAT Time!! 

San Antonio

 

We Spent a Few Days at a Convention for Husband's Business.

And Because He is in Business with His Brothers,

that Meant,

that My Sister-in-Laws and other Family Members

were there, too.

So,

While the Men Folk had to spend their

time in Borning Ol' Meetings,

Me and the Ladies Got to Kick it,

at Pedicures and Manis.

 

I was SUPER Proud of Husband and Co.

for Getting a Huge National Award,

that has come with Years of lots of

Hard Work and Stressing!

 

After the Meetings Concluded for the Week,

We went out and Explored

The Alamo-

You know,

as in "Remember the Alamo!"

[Yes, well, now I know why One should Remember the Alamo].

 

And after the Alamo,

We got to Get all Gussied Up

for a Fancy Night of  Dining and Celebration. 



Sometimes

I Get Behind on this Ol' Blog, Here,

And Then I have to Play Catch-Up

Like, Now.

But I'm Not Fully Caught Up. 

So, One Day?

I'll Catch Up Some More.

Wanna Know What's Keeping Me?

Lots O' Painting, Running, and Primary Stuff Galore.

Oh, 

and Taking Care of those People Who Live at My House,

Who Think they need Food.

And Clean Stuff.

Our Dear Sweet Kathy

Returned to Heaven

1950-2012

Kathy was Ryan's Aunt,

and Never having a Family of Her Own,

Ryan and His Brothers, 

Were Her Family.

Our Kids were Her Grandkids.

She was a Second Mom to Ryan,

Another Grandma to Our Kids,

a Dear Friend to Me,

and a Big Part of Our Family Business.

She Loved Us so Much,

and was such a Comfort to Us,

after the Passing of Ryan's Mom, 

Less than a Year Ago.

Ryan's Mom and Her were Sisters,

and the Best of Friends.

Kathy has Missed Marilyn So Much this Past Year,

that We Can't Help but be Happy that They are Now Together.

Her Death was So Un-Expected,

and at Times, 

I Find Myself thinking of Telling Her Something,

Or Doing Something for Her,

and Then have to Remind Myself,

that She's Gone,

and It Doesn't Seem Right.

We Love Her,

and Miss Her So Much.

09.01.2012

Over the Labor Day Weekend,

We Borrowed a VW Camper Van,

Pulled it 'Round Back of Our House,

and Spent the Entire Three Nights of the Holiday Weekend,

Picnic-ing

Watching Movies,

Playing Games,

and

Sleeping Nice and Cozy in it.

Training for a Marathon

Has Brought Me to Heading Over to the

 Closest High School Track,

to

 Run-Intervals-Until-I-Could-Puke,

Early in the Morning

And?

Late at Night

[And in Case Anyone was Wondering-

Running Intervals Late at Night,

Stinks just as Much as Running Intervals in the Wee Morning.

Just So's You Know.]

How Does the Garden Grow?

Been Getting Lots of These: 

Tomatoes

And Lots of These:

Zucchini