Busy, Busy!

This is our December Calendar......so far:

DECEMBER

1. Bus Ministry/ Rest Home Ministry
2. Church/Baldor Family Christmas Party (Baldor is the company Bruce works for)/Puppet Show for 2 & 3 year olds Sunday School class/ Youth Choir Play practice before evening service/ Babies Nursery PM service
3. Spending some Christmas time with my friend, Brenda
4. Nursery Mother's Dinner (Nursery mothers are 12 "moms" in our church, each taking one month of the year to see that the nurseries are running smoothly during the services and that all workers are notified and in place for their designated Sundays. :)
5.
6. Usher's Dinner (Justin is a Junior Usher during the summer)
7.
8. Dinner for Bruce's birthday/Sunday School Fellowship (Bring a white elephant gift)
9. Church/ Youth Choir Play practice before evening service
10. Bruce's Birthday
11. Secret Pal Fellowship
12.
13. Homeschool Co-op Meeting
14.
15. Orchestra plays at mall/Family Reunion/Sweet 16 party
16. Church/Youth Choir Play practice between services
17.
18.
19. Churchwide Christmas Fellowship
20.
21.
22. Super Church Christmas Fellowship/SIGMA Christmas fellowship/ MY ANNIVERSARY!
23. Youth Choir Play Program
24. Christmas with my family
25. Christmas at home/Christmas dinner with Bruce's Family
26. REST
27. REST
28. REST
29. REST
30. Babies Nursery PM service

Tagged for a Meme

Tori tagged me for a "seven things about me."

Here are the rules:

*Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
*Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
*Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their
blogs.
*Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on
their blog.

Since there are several bloggers who have a "no tag zone" blog, I'm going to opt out of tagging anyone. But please feel free to play along if you like. And please let me know if you do decide to play. And thank you, Tori, for including me. :)

I've done the Eight Things About Me and also the Six Weird Things About Me. I'll try not to repeat myself. It's hard thinking up stuff about myself, but I'll try.

1. When my mom found out she was pregnant with me, she cried. She was afraid she'd give birth to another child like my brother, John. But God blessed her instead. (Oh, come on, John....you know I'm kidding) :wink wink:

2. When my dad was in school at Bob Jones University, he was also the assistant manager of the campus snack shop. So us kids spent a lot of time on the campus just running around having a good time. One of my favorite places to go was the DP (dating parlor). There were love seats EVERYWHERE and Mrs. Collins, who was over the DP at that time, would play games with me at her desk, let me answer the phone, etc. She even let me make rounds with her. I would tell the dating couples they were sitting too close and remind them of the six inch rule. I was seven.

3. My brother, Larry, hit me in the head with a table leg one day when we were all playing. It was an accident, but I ended up with stitches in the top of my head. My dad thought I was OK until my mom came home from work and saw how much blood I had lost and was still losing. Can you say "HYSTERICAL?"

4. I got married at age 19. That's only four more years for Justin. I can't even imagine him being married at that age. Pretty scary!

5. I had a complete church wedding and reception thrown together in less than two weeks, an hour and a half away from our home. What would I have done without our friends and families?

6. I had my first child less than two weeks before my 21st birthday. I was in Germany with no mom in sight and scared to death.

7. I have a scar on the ring finger and the pinky finger of my left hand where I opened a can of Crisco before they had the easy pull tabs. For several days I nursed them with Vitamin E oil and hid them from my mother because I was afraid she'd take me for stitches. But for some reason I didn't think about the bloody towel I had left in the hamper giving away my secret. Again.....can you say "HYSTERICAL?"

Holiday Eating Tips

Here are some Holiday Eating Imperatives I ran across and thought I'd share with all of you dear bloggy friends.

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving chocolate covered peanut butter balls!!!

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly! It's rare. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas and eggnog will soon be off the shelves for the coming new year.

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat step #3.4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of a Christmas tree, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, "WOO HOO what a ride!" Have a Merry Christmas!

Random Pictures Post

I had lunch with my parents today. We made prank calls to our church staff...that was funny. While mom was paying the bill, daddy and I sat at the table and talked. By the time we got to the register, there were several people in line to pay. Two of those people were UPS men. As we walked by them I grabbed daddy's arm and said, "Come on, daddy, we're gonna leave and not pay." So daddy looks up at the UPS men, smiles, and says, "We're gonna leave and not pay." And out the door we went. We were standing in the parking lot laughing when my mother came out. She knew immediately we had done something and asked, "What have you two done now?" So we told her. She began laughing because while she was paying she heard one of the men say, "They just walked right out of here." So she went back in and told them that our meal was certainly paid for. We were all laughing...including the UPS men.

And now for random pics.....

I used to have all different kinds of bath towels. No theme colors or anything. But I got tired of picking towels up off the floor and no one claiming them. So I found these sets at Wal Mart for $10 a set and bought each of my kids their own color. Hannah is pink, Justin brown, and Harrison orange. Each set comes with two bath towels, two hand towels, and two wash cloths.


Justin working in Civics. Specifically testing.


Harrison doing some math.


Hannah was working in her maps and graphs.


A few weeks ago, Harrison fell asleep on the couch and Justin stuck a popcorn in his mouth.


Harley is dreaming of freedom.

He found a new favorite place to rest....on top of my nativity.

Sweet Hannah

My mother-in-law and her boys....Bryan, Bruce, Barry, and Mitch.

Amanda, Celine, Chris, and Carissa walking out of church.

Bruce by the Christmas tree.

Justin got a hold of my camera. He's such a nut.

Christmas Shower

Hannah and I went to a wedding shower for a young lady in our church tonight. She is marrying our Associate Pastor's son, Jonathan, who is finishing up his last year at Crown College in Tennessee. Jennifer is just one of the sweetest young ladies we know and we're so excited about the upcoming wedding. The wedding is set for September of next year. But the showers and fun have already begun! And it was so much fun. Of course the theme for tonight was Christmas. Everything Jennifer received was a Christmas decoration for her and Jonathan's first Christmas together as husband and wife.

The shower was held at Susan McCurry's home and hosted by Susan and LeAnna.


The Bride-to-be


Her future mother-in-law, Mrs. Vondie


Mrs. Kim


Jennifer with her Maw Maws and Jonathan's grandmother (in the middle)


Jennifer and her mom


Jen made these cookies. Notice the Mr. and Mrs. cookies? Ain't that sweet?


Susan and Vondie made punch. Which, by the way, if you like cream sicles, you'll love this punch. Orange soda, sweetened condenses milk, and pineapple juice. To be honest, I think it would have been good even without the pineapple juice, but the juice gave it that punch kick. Very good and very festive. You could do this with any fruity flavor of soda and it would be good.


Susan has five trees in her home. I got pictures of three of them. Two you've already seen in the background of other pics. This one is in their music room. They have one upstairs in the gameroom and one in their bedroom. They're all so pretty. I collect nativities....she collects Christmas trees. hehehe


Jennifer in her crown


Oh, that's lovely


The gifts...Woo Hoo!











There was an embarassing moment, but I promised Jennifer I wouldn't blog about it. I didn't promise I wouldn't share the picture. :) Love you, Jen!


We had such a great time. As I watched her eyes light up as she pulled gifts from their bags and wrapping, I couldn't help but smile at the feeling of joy she'll feel next year as she pulls these things from storage to decorate her little nest for their first Christmas.

Rotating Tree

My brother in law gave us a rotating Christmas tree stand a few years ago. At first I was a little skeptical and wasn't sure I would like it. But then I decided I did like it. Pretty neat, huh?

Nativities and Pizza Hut

I mentioned that I collect nativities. So I thought I'd share them with you. I have many nativities. Almost 30 in total. But not all displays. Some include jewelry, a tapestry wall hanging, place mats, cake decorations, etc.

Others include these...

Mom and dad gave me this one after Christmas last year. So I've been waiting to put it up all year.

A blue egg....very different, I thought. It's a music box, playing Silent Night. And the big snow globe next to it plays O Little Town of Bethlehem. And then that's another snow globe in front.

This pic is a little blurry, but the one in the front is brass and then the silver glittery one in the back.

This is one of my favorites. Isn't it sweet? Bruce bought me this one a few years ago and I just fell in love with it.

This one is a Dollar Tree set my mom found for me YEARS ago.

The back left narrates the Christmas story with a choir singing and the back right is a music box with the background lighting different colors. That's a candle holder in front.

Here are some smaller ones I like. The second one plays Away In A Manger.

This was my first nativity. It belonged to my Grandmother.


And this one I just LOVE! My parents gave this one to me a few weeks ago. The bears are obviously dressed in costume acting out the Christmas story. Hannah's favorite is the bear dressed up like a lamb.

Mom bought this one for me about five years ago. It's the largest one I have. The ones standing are about 10 -11 inches.

These are one of my favorites. My friend, Pam, bought these for me last year at Kirkland's, which is also my favorite home decorating store. Aren't the lovely?

This one was given to me last year by my friend, Brenda. They're not in their stable yet, but they will be and I'll take another picture of them. But I just love the color on them. They're just gorgeous!

The one in front is another snow globe and the one behind it is a smaller version of my largest one.


This one was given to me by Celine and Carissa's mom, Amanda. It's an ornament set that she got me last year and put it up for this year. I had forgotten about it and was so excited to find it and hang it on the tree.

Amanda bought me this ornament two years ago. It's supposed to be a wood and painted carving. I saw it in a Bible book store in the mountains and wanted it, but didn't buy it. She, on the other hand, was there when I put it back and picked it up and bought it for me. What a surprise that was for me when I opened it up! I love the adoring look of parents to child.

This one was given to me a few years ago by Mary Elizabeth and Caleb. I used to babysit them and this was a Christmas present from them. It holds tea light candles in the back and luminates so pretty.

And then there's the place mats mom got me. The tapestry wall hanging is the same as the place mats, but I haven't put it up yet. I also have a clear glass nativity I haven't put out yet either. But I wanted to share the ones I have put out so far.

As you know, my favorite color is pink and my favorite flower is tulip. So my mother bought me this cake plate and I wanted you to see it. A local lady paints them and somewhere on her work, she always leaves a lady bug. Isn't that pretty?

Daddy has lost 48 pounds since just before his surgery. He can't seem to keep anything down and really needs more prayer. But tonight after church, he wanted to go to Pizza Hut. What other pizza joint is there? So we all went. He seemed to enjoy his salad.

Bruce enjoyed his Siera Mist

Mom smiling pretty in her Christmas jacket and shirt.

She took this picture. There was another one where we were all looking at her, but our faces were so bright we looked like aliens. So you get this one. :)

OH! These are mine and mom's purses. Aren't the cute? Mom's is on the left and mine is the one with the fur. Bruce said it looked like something Mrs. Grinch would carry. LOL