On the ninth day of December...

cookies doughs are being mixed!

On the eighth day of December...

grocery shopping. 

A much needed job that makes me overwhelmed and tired when all is said and done! 

The kiddos are growing and are always hungry.  Prices continue to rise.

I found a couple fun things at Aldi today to make our meals colorful and fun...

and to hear the gratefulness from my family for another yumy meal erases the earlier memories.

"Mom, can have a piece of the chocolate mouse pie?"

"Ash, I didn't make mouse pie!  Yuck!  It is chocolate mousse pie.  With chocolate!

Spelling and pronounciation makes ALL the difference, dear!"

When children set up the manger scene...

sometimes there are substitutes.  Chevy doesn't mind...he just liked the silent night under the tree.

"Hey, what is Gus-gus doing in the manger scene?"

"Well, we can't find the other wiseman.  And Gus-gus is holding a present..."

On the seventh day of December...

a little creative jolt.

On the sixth day of December...

there are thankful thoughts for the girls that bring laughter to my life.  To be honest, I needed a little of that last night.  We enjoyed talking and laughing at a lovely home decorated for Christmas...a cozy way to spend an evening.  And...oh...the treats to eats!

Some blogging buddies sharing stories, and one that should start blogging...soon!  My favorite..."Casserole Week!  It's sort of like Shark Week but not as exciting."

A true candy buffet!  I just looked...and was glad my kiddos weren't there to touch...

they have the ability to clean out candy dishes in record time!  I'm convinced that little twinkly lights are a cheap and easy way to make everything so festive!

The ornament I brought...a poodle with a red bow, red lipstick, and red heels...perfect!  There was only one other "funny" ornament.  There were baubles, bells, snowflakes, butterfly, snowman, and balls.  Another one that made us laugh, a huge ornament...the kind you hang on an outside tree, or from the ceiling, or see at the mall on the big tree in center court...or you could use to make a table arrangement.  It gave me an idea!

We drew numbers and got to pick a gift.  No Naughty Santa this year...awwww...bummer.  I picked up a gift...I'm a sucker for polka dots and ribbon.  I should have known...but I was a little dull of mind after the day.  There had been another gift dressed up almost like it.  I sat untying the ribbon...and peeled back the paper...green and pink fuzzy..."Do you love it?" asked my cheery friend sitting on the edge of her chair.

"Yes!  I got your ornament!  I can't believe it.  Cool!  I should have known by the wrapping.  Duh, Kari.  Really!  I do love it!  The kiddos are going to love it too.  Thank you."  I am really glad now that we didn't play the Naughty Santa version...I would have lost this fun ornament for sure.  We both agreed that we were going to do crazy, fun ornaments for the exchange...and we giggled about it all week. 

The kiddos found the ornament hanging on the tree this  morning...verbatim, Cheery Friend,

"Cute!" said Ashlynn.  "You know there is a story with that ornament!" said Alisa.  "A pink fuzzy tutu on a frog that has a bow on her hair...?" said Teddy raising his eyebrows.  And that made it even funnier...because they love my cheery friend...and they wouldn't expect anything less!

Touched by truth in this Christmas carol

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

It came upon the midnight clear,

That glorious song of old,

From angels bending near the earth,

To touch their harps of gold:

"Peace on the earth, goodwill to men

From heavens all gracious King!"

The world in solemn stillness lay

To hear the angels sing.



Still through the cloven skies they come,

With peaceful wings unfurled;

And still their heavenly music floats

O'er all the weary world:

Above its sad and lowly plains

They bend on hovering wing,

And ever o'er its Babel sounds

The blessed angels sing.



O ye beneath life's crushing load,


Whose forms are bending low,


Who toil along the climbing way


With painful steps and slow;


Look now, for glad and golden hours


Come swiftly on the wing;


Oh rest beside the weary road


And hear the angels sing.



For lo! the days are hastening on,

By prophets seen of old,

When with the ever-circling years

Shall come the time foretold,

When the new heaven and earth shall own

The Prince of Peace, their King,

And the whole world send back the song

Which now the angels sing.

My heart is heavy with the burdens of others today.  I have spent time praying and crying...lifting up those are feeling the crush load of life.  Without the Lord, the weight seems unbearable.

On the fifth day of December...

an ornament exchange with friends to look forward to tonight!

On the fourth day of December...

I found our family's Chrismas ornament for 2011.  We heard/read this story yesterday and our hearts were touched by the truth...especially since God has placed a family in our path who is weathering a storm...and He wants us to show His love by simply meeting a need and showing the way.

Who will you show the way to this Christmas?

Christmas Geese

Author Unknown

There was once a man who didn't believe in God, and he didn't hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays, like Christmas. His wife, however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and the metaphysical meaning of Jesus The Christ, despite her husband's disparaging comments.

One snowy Christmas Eve, the wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. She asked him to come, but he refused.
"That story is nonsense!" he said. "Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth through a man called Jesus who became the Christ? That's ridiculous!" So she and the children left, and he stayed home.
A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump.
Something had hit the window. Then another thump. He looked out, but couldn't see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window. In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese.
Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn't go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.
The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It's warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm.
So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn't seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them.
The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread crumb trail leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on.
Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe.
"Why don't they follow me?!" he exclaimed. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?" He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human.
"If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud.
Then he had an idea. He went into barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese.
He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn and one by one the other geese followed it to safety.
He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save them!"
Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. "Why would God want to lower Himself to be like us? That's ridiculous!"
Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese--blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and enlighten us.
That was the meaning of Christmas, he realized. As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and he pondered this wonderful thought.
Suddenly he understood what Christmas was all about, why Jesus who became the Christ had come, so that we could become the sons and daughters of the Living Christ.
Years of doubt and disbelief vanished like the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: "Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!"
Don't tell God how big your storm is, tell your storm how big your God is!

On the third day of December...

it's just the three of us girls!  The guys have important things to do!!

"If you want decked out hot chocolate...come on!  No need to dress up...we're staying in our pjs all day!"

**EDIT**a change in the girl's plan after a call from Grandma!

And now...it is down to one girl left...me...curled up in my chair with a fuzzy, white dog to keep my feet warm.  Alisa is gonna be mad that I finished off the fresh raspberries with my yogurt and granola...oh well!  A treat for this Momma...to go along with the treat of a quiet house...

On the second day of December...

we hustled all day long! 

Schooling and decorating...schooling in a decorated room!

more decorating...

The kiddos were such a great help!  They decorated the trees so quickly and so nicely!

I gave them other decorations and told them what room to put them in...

and they took care of the rest.

shopping...

I got to run to the store...for a new vacuum (it's been three years), groceries,

and a couple Christmas presents!!!

cleaning...

Teddy took care of "the new machine".  I have no idea how it rolls...he did every room.

fellowshipping...

Our house was cozy and clean in time for company to come for supper.  This is a fun treat...thin layers of white and dark chocolate with crushed candy cane on top...thank you, Walmart!  And then on top of vanilla ice cream...Christmas party in your mouth...if you like minty chocolate creamy cold stuff! 

What a blessing to spend time with friends!

enjoying...

I am the only one still awake now...too much caffine with supper and dessert!  The ornaments for this year are nutcrackers...a red coat, a blue coat, and a green coat.   Again...we commented over the different ornaments as they were arranged on the trees.  I love that the kiddos enjoy the memories of each ornament...whether they are a gift, hand-made, or the yearly special purchase.

Our nine foot tree is covered...from where I sit...there aren't any bare spaces!

We may have to add a bigger tree in the schoolroom or the kiddos' rooms.  Hmmm? 

That...or start putting some of the special ornaments aside and safe in keepsake boxes.

Our house is decorated with all the sparkly, cozy memories old and new.  The candles cast a soft glow. 

The Christmas music plays quietly in the background. 

We watched snowflakes fly last night at bedtime...and the kiddos are expecting more soon!

On the first day of December...

"She made us eat oatmeal..."

"...but she let us have decked out hot chocolate!"

We had a fun lunch with Dad.

And we got the trees in their special places!

There is fluffing and lighting to deal with...

but it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!