P.S. Santa, we know who ate all the cookies at this stop!

And they were soooo good!

A Merry Christmas Eve...around the table...

All through the night...

the rain fell and decorated the trees with ice.  We could hear the cracking, crashing, pelting, and dripping as we waited to see what each passing hour would bring.  Now...it is melting and slushy...with more chance for rain.  I wonder if there will be any white left after the rain moves through!  Poor guys...they had plans...that involved a tested and tuned snowmobile...wonder how it will ride on slush?

Oh...the smells and sights of Christmas...

"Kari, I could get sick on these things!" he said around a mouthful.  Yep, the way to a man's heart...is through his stomach!  I got a pretzely kiss for this treat.

The little elves have been hard at work...

and now things are complete and the wrapping has begun...I can hear the tape whirring off the rolls as I type...and you all thought I was being lazy using gift bags!  Truth is...the tape and the paper keep disappearing!

It was almost like a blizzard...

they blew in and out so quickly...and in my frozen stupor...I took no pictures!  Brad and Mari made it to our house...now the halfway point on the drive up to Mom and Dad's house.  We had some lunch and goodies for them...a hug or two...and they were off.  We re-loaded their bag of goodies with things to make their trip more enjoyable!  Merry Christmas all!  Oh, and thanks for acting as our personal delivery system!

Thank you for stopping to see us!

It's a perk!

A friend has this snowmobile...it needs some work...he knows a guy...this guy has the know how and friends to help...the engine needs to be tested.  Running smooth!  Now it needs to be pushed to the max to see if things are really ok.  Filling up the tank with gas...provides more running time...for another little "test rider"!  Did you know snowmobiles tend to have squealing sounds at high rates of speed?  Better take one more pass...OH!  It's the little "test rider"...holding on for dear life and squealing with delight...having the time of his life!  Thanks, Daddy!

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer...

Inspired by the creators at Bakerella, I decided to make a cookie pop...that looked like Rudolph.  Easy!  and Quick!  And tasty too!  Grind up a package of chocolate sandwich cookies (cream too) and mix with one package of cream cheese.  Form balls and add a stick.  Pop in fridge to firm up.  Melt chocolate (bark or 1 package of chips with some parafin).  Dip balls and decorate.  There are all kinds of fun, original ideas at the site...visit by clicking on the sweets on the sidebar.

"Teddy, now you don't forget where I live!"

That was the last statement Grandma-Great made to us as she left our house after Thanksgiving.  Can I tell you?  It was a statement I will not long forget!  Shame on us for being too busy or too tired to make the extra effort to take a 30 minute drive down to Grandma's and spend a few hours.  We know she understands how things are...but shame on us!

We made it a priority to figure out a time to go visiting...and so it was...Sunday dinner with Grandma...just what she wanted...someone to cook for and fuss over! 

We walked in and savored the smells...roast beef and mashed potatoes!  Her cozy place brought calm to our busy minds...time to sit and visit...enjoying the pictures, memories, and smiles! 

"Teddy, did you get some peas?" questioned Grandma.  "Grandma, I'm good."  the big boy responded.  "Now, Teddy, when I cook things I expect you to eat them!" she said. 

And I laughed so hard...tears started to form...you see, she was talking to her "big Teddy"! 

Our little Teddy had eaten his share!

Get him, Grandma!  Keep him in line!

We brought our fuzzy little guy with us too...Grandma enjoyed having him wander around while the kids played and watched a movie and we sat around the table.  We ended our visit with three rousing hands of UNO and mandated ice cream serving.  "Teddy, you just be still...you don't come down that often and they need some ice cream!  Did you get some...why not...there is butter pecan in there too."

I giggled alot...Grandma and "Teddy" enjoyed the fussing and teasing!  Grandmas are special...and they know what we like...and what is good for us!  Just ask Ted! 

Re-purpose, re-use, recycle

I like old things!  Finding old things at thrift stores...even better!  We bought three old coffee pots at a thrift store for the coffee themed '08 ladies retreat.  This week, I saw them sitting in the plastic tote and thought, "Hmm, I can use those again...for Christmas!"  I pulled other various items from the Christmas buckets and had fun!  And should I ever need it again...for another decoration or to make coffee or hot water...it is all there!  It makes me happy to look at it...and I wonder what other woman has made coffee for her loved ones over the years!  I know she thought enough to pass it along...for another to use...rather than throw it away!  (Kind of like how Gram re-used rubberbands and such...we have learned well from our mothers!) 

I even wonder if this woman lived during those years surrounding the Depression! 

My, how our country has changed...and how much it has forgotten! 

The younger generations have no idea what was lost, fought for, and sacrificed.  We are a "throw-away society" always looking for the next-best, latest, and greatest thing.

And a special thanks to our leaders of today...and their need to rewrite the events of History that made this country great...many will never be reminded of those sacrifices!

Fast foreward to the ending of another decade...and "important issues" of our day...global-warming. 

Going green is the new battle cry!

Well, we are doing our part to control the global warming issues that our President thinks are so important!  That he (and numerous other leaders)...would waste money we don't have, to talk about something other countries don't care about, and come back with less than what we had before...is beyond my ability to comprehend!  How is that helping our country? 
In our part of the midwest...in our part of the state...in our county...we have one of the highest unemployment rates in the whole country...and our President thinks things dealing with global warming are more of a crisis?  Seriously...global warming?  It is not warm in the midwest...nor the east...they are getting slammed with a huge snowstorm...look out your window, Mr. President and Congressmen! 
As a citizen of the middle class...I want to tell you all to quit wasting our money, time, and energy on things that don't matter!  Washington D.C could learn a few things from us in the midwest...
do what we do...
We are staying home, keeping the heat turned down, limiting spending, using what is in the cupboards, shopping thriftly for clothes, fixing things that break...and the list continues. 
So...that means...less fuel used, less emissions, less energy, less incurred debt, frugality, less waste, less need and greed (for brands and items that take jobs out of America), less exposure to nasty viruses=less healthcare waste...
What are you doing, Mr. President and out-of-touch-with-reality-Congressmen? 
Certainly not what you expect us to do!
The modern conveniences are wonderful...and I am thankful for them.  But there is nothing wrong with some of the old things and ways...they are still around...and they still have a purpose and a use. 
Alexander Hamilton once said, "Why has the government been instituted at all? 
Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint."  
This is just another cycle in this sinful world! 
It is seen throughout the pages of His Story...
"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge..."  Romans 1:28.  
Thankfully, I know the Author...He has a purpose...and it all ends well!

It's a happy Friday, It's a happy Friday, It's a happy Friday...

Mommy decided to play with their food this morning!  Why make plain ole' everyday pancakes...when you can make them look like snowmen!  "Mom, we have NEVER had M&Ms for breakfast before!"  Yes, and this might be the last!?  How much sugar can three of them pack?  We'll see...add that to whipped cream, powdered sugar, and syrup...yep, I have lost my mind!  It's a happy Friday!

Overheard at the breakfast table..."Mom, can I have some more milk?" asked Ash.  "I don't know...you better ask Santa!" said Teddy.  "We don't believe in Santa...so I can have more milk if I want."  "Mom, is there really a Santa...some people believe in Santa...but we don't, right?!" quizzed Alisa.

  "Alisa, you have two more bites till you're done...or you are going to get coal for Christmas." teased Ash.  "Yeah, so, you don't even know where to buy coal!" retorted Alisa.

We will see how today goes...after all that sweet stuff...we are starting with three gingerbread cookies a piece...we will see if any are lost in the next hour or two!

It's a happy Friday...maybe if I click my slippers together when I say it...it might just come true!

When you hear sawing sounds...

it makes you run quick!  Thankfully...I didn't care about these walls!  "Mom, I think we devastated our house!" smirked Alisa.  Yeah...why did you each have to have a knife...couldn't you share...and not dirty up that many knives?

The war between being naughty or nice...

and we'll just say "nice" keeps getting shot down!  Or in this case...stepped on by a nice Mommy...who started to feel naughty too! 
It has been a hard week...and the voice of reason spoke up again last night...
"Kari, you forget!  When you were in the classroom with fifteen students...you had the same issues...it is the week before Christmas...so...your classroom is in our basement and you have three students...it's not any different...it will be ok...be consistent!"
This conversation came after we studied the passage for our Wednesday night Bible study...Psalm 73...I knew I needed to hear it...it was good for me...but at the same time I felt defeated...just like Asaph.
"My flesh and my heart faileth:  but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."  Psalm 73:26
"Ok...Lord...help me!"
Then this morning...Proverbs 17...a wise Daddy talked about verse 12..."Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly."  A challenge to the children to not be foolish and join in with foolish things...because the end of it is trouble.  And there has been some trouble on the ends of little fools...you get the picture.
"Ok...Lord...today will be better...you are my strength...they understood Daddy..."
And then it was time for Daddy to be off to work...which is when things sometimes tend to fall apart...
Ash and Teddy were starting down a foolish path and I reminded them of our devotion...
"Oh...I think I'd better go meet that bear...Ash is being foolish," said Teddy.
And my flesh and my heart started to fail...again...