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Evenin all.. Remember a few months back when that little number at the top said that there was 115 days until Christmas? Who in the heck fast forwarded that thingy??? 9 days? Approaching way too fast, someone slow it down!!! olebillygoats over there snorin again.. Poor guy has been working OT all week! Will be a nice Christmas check. Tonight he brought home the annual Christmas ham.. You know the processed kind... Oh well meat is meat and I am thankful, plus it was free.. Man it's been downright cold here! I want a little snow if it's gonna be this cold. I have the downstairs clean all but cleaning out the fridge! I think it would be easier to buy a new one! lol... Then clean both bathrooms and my room and we should be ready for Christmas Day..well as far as the house goes!!!! OK I will go for now.. Take care..

Alie! I did! Too cute...

Still waiting!!!

Morning! Wow is it ever so windy out today... And it's gonna be really cold tonight... We finally got our tree. I can't find the living room. As it takes up 3/4 of it.. It's enormous. I bet it's 10 foot tall.. and around too.. Just room in front of our chairs.. But hey it only cost 5 dollars!! I have everything I need to make my candy now.. It's just finding the time to do it. Yesterday dd had vespers. Then we went to church again for a kids Christmas program.. Then home and all went to bed. DH is working overtime this week. Which will be a nice Christmas check.. Of course our bonus is a ham.. But we will be thankful to have that... Hams are way too expensive.. I am going to try and make bread this week. I have to wait on Mike to cut wood for my stove though. Maybe he can do that tonight. Ok time to wake the children for school. Everyone stay warm and snuggly! Take care!

This is our third go around.. We have bought three houses.. I hope we are getting smarter as we go. The first two went back to the bank after a couple of years. Our very first house was a GREAT old farm house.. Complete with a barn.. In the Middle of town.. Bummer.. Couldn't stand life in town. Gave it back.. Moved to a country house.. It was horrible.. But we had the best garden I have ever had, and had chickens.. Figured out what I wanted out of life from that little taste of a small town.. Yes it was in town too.. Finally moved to real country into a trailer. Next to my mom and dad.. We had goats and chickens.. Kids loved it.. But we wanted something else.. Something bigger.. So we bought another house in a farming town where we could have animals.. We had what equalled 6 acres a barn huge machine shed and garden.. 60,000 + The neighbor became nasty and I coudln't bear living beside him any longer.. So we gave that house back to the bank.. And moved in with the inlaws.. Moved to real country again.. 2 acres 1bedroom house large barn and chicken house .. We loved it we were close to God and were a family there.. My mom got sick Mike got laid off.. Mom died.. We moved 4 hours away into town again.. 10 months later moved back to inlaws.. Rented a big big beautiful old farm house in the country 200 dollars a month.. I would still be there but they sold it out from under us.. Back to town...2 bedrooms no life no room just yuck.. DH saw this place all run down and abandoned and fell in love with it.. I begged him not too.. I hated it.. Too much work.. No leave me out of it.. 3 winters later we are still here... Buyin on contract for deed.. 10 acres pond chicken house timber.. We love it.. It's finally home... We plan to expand the garden next spring and raise pigs again.. In the market for a milk cow or 4-5 dairy goats.. Chickens will lay awesome next spring.. For now I am content just to hear the roosters crow and watch the hens scurry about the yard.. Starting over is hard... But well worth it when you finally find something you can hold on to.

Good Morning ya'll! I am so very thankful today is Friday.. Here I am wide awake at 3am.. Head full of gunk, lil dd in the bed all over me, and it's the middle of the night December 10th and we don't have our heat on but I am sweating.. It's 42 degrees outside. Dh is over there just sound asleep! Snuggled right up next to lil dd. I worked open to close last night.. I was only there 10 hours but man I feel tired right now.. How is everyone else today? I think I will try and get a good deal of my shopping done this weekend.. I have to have some of it done by next Saturday as that is our Family Christmas get together with my Sisters and their families..Maybe even my brother but I am not sure. We are going to Denny's .. With a family memeber that co-owns it.. Luckily they are springing for everyone to eat there that night.. That's a great deal! For me anyway maybe not for him! LOL.. I am thinking STEAK! Yummy! We drew names last year for the adult exchange.. I got this same guys name! He's an inlaw.. And likes elephants.. He is also a vetenarian, anyone have any ideas on what I could get him? I was thinking of a gift certificate from Dennys! LOL... Man the alarm is going off already what joy... I hope everyone has a great day today! Blessings!!

Does anyone know Mare and Caveman personally? Phone numbers , emails? I mean come on it's been nearly a month since we have heard from either of them. Can someone at least tell me if they are alright or not??

awww Busy hugs to your little dd. How sad she must feel to lose someone she knew on a daily basis.. lol about the eggs I guess that is one way to vent your anger.. Now where did I put that carton?? I hope today goes much better for you..I'll be praying for your lil dd's class and family. Dawn (aka Buttercup) thought I would put that in there since my siggy isn't in the right place! Oh where or Where is Caveman???

Mare and Caveman have been on my mind for a few days now.. Neither one have posted anything since Nov. 15th. Anyone heard from them?? Please let us know if you have so we know they are okay! that they are well..

I am confused... Did I miss the post that the shoe sizes relate to?

I wish I had something to barter with.. Sorry about that.. Those all sound like neat books!

Whooooohooooooo it's Friday night and I don't have to work this weekend!!! Gonna spend it getting my daughter ready for homecoming tomorrow night. I am not ready for this dance! This little girl should still be playing with Barbies! Plus we will cut more wood. And hopefully get our Christmas tree... And put up more lights in the house... The stockings are hung by the chimney with care... I hope to make some candies this weekend too.. I love weekends, but I try to cram a weeks worth of stuff in 2 days.. It's time for hubby so we are taking tonight to go shopping.. Ya'll take care and have a great weekend!!!!

Pansy! It's good to see ya post!

Gotta go to work... My siggy I can't get right so it's over on the left now.. Tired of working with it! It might just stay there!!!!

Silent Night The words of Silent Night were written by a Priest called Fr. Joseph Mohr in Mariapfarr, Austria, in 1816 and the music was added by his school teacher friend, Franz Xaver Gruber, in 1818 for the Christmas service at St. Nicholas church in Oberndorf, Austria. Fr. Mohr asked Franz Gruber to compose the melody with a guitar arrangement. It was several years later that Franz Gruber wrote an arrangement for the organ. Historians who have conducted research in recent years believe that Fr. Mohr wanted a new carol that he could play on his guitar. There is a legend associated with the carol that says, Fr. Mohr wanted the carol to be sung by the children of the village at the midnight Christmas Eve service, as a surprise for their parents. But in the middle of practicing, the organ broke and not a note would come from it! So the children had to learn the carol only accompanied by a guitar. They learnt the carol so well that they could sing it on its own without accompaniment. However, there are no records to indicate that a children’s choir was involved or that the organ was broken. At Midnight Mass in 1818, Fr. Mohr and Franz Gruber sang each of the six verses with the church choir repeating the last two lines of each verse. Mohr set down the guitar arrangement on paper around 1820 and that is the earliest manuscript that still exists, it is displayed in the Carolino Augusteum Museum in Salzburg. There are a number of manuscripts of various ‘Stille Nacht’ arrangement that were written by Franz Gruber in later years. The original words of the song were in German and translated in to English went: Silent night, holy night, Bethlehem sleeps, yet what light, Floats around the heavenly pair; Songs of angels fills the air. Strains of heavenly peace. Soon they were translated into many languages and changed slightly and now the carol is a favorite all over the world!

Another fun site... http://www.whychristmas.com/

10 Simple Christmas Decorating Ideas Using Stuff You Already Have By Shari Brown It's Christmas time again, and, even though you've strung lights outside your house and "decked the halls" inside with boughs of holly (or cedar, or pine…), it just doesn't feel festive! You need something else. Something new. But you don't really want to spend your hard-earned money on new holiday décor- after all, you still have gifts to buy! What can you do? Here's ten simple (but VERY effective) ways to use common Christmas items you already have to add that special holiday touch. 1. Take some of your old glass ball ornaments (you know, the ones that look so drab compared to your other tree decorations!) and arrange them in a bowl. Clear glass bowls are especially striking, as the ornaments show through. If you don't have an appropriate bowl, use a basket. I've also used small crystal candy dishes to display the small ornaments that were passed down to me by my grandmother- mostly tiny orbs that had broken at the top and had lost their hooks, but still had beautiful pearly finishes. 2. Use your ribbon (C'mon, `fess up- you weren't going to put in on the packages anyway!) and some bows to "wrap" unlikely items. Like the refrigerator. Doors. An end table. Your kitchen cupboards. The dog. Okay, maybe not the dog… 3. While you've got the ribbon out, grab your curling ribbon and make some curly "pom-poms". (Simply cut several lengths of curling ribbon, curl them by sliding the lengths against a scissor blade, and tie them together at the center.) Keep in mind that the curling ribbon will be much shorter after curling - figure on about half its original length. Tape or tie the "pom-poms" wherever you have a dull spot- they can be tied to the end of your banister (inside or out), hung on doorknobs, or even attached to the tops of your dining chairs. 4. Recreate the Nativity with your children's toys. I admit that you probably will get some interesting comments- especially if you don't have kids! - but this can be a great way to reinforce the Christmas story. Arrange them on a small table, using a sheet for the ground if you'd like. Just make sure any Barbie dolls you use are dressed. (Helps if they have their heads attached, too.) 5. Make a holiday candle garden. Use a Christmas themed plate or tray, or even a plain metal one and arrange 3 or 5 candles of varying heights (odd numbers look best). Tuck some greenery (artificial or real) in between the candles to give your candle garden an extra festive touch. This is also a great way to accent a special candle with a holiday theme- surround it with plain pillar candles in a complementary color. 6. Recycle old tinsel garland by cutting shorter lengths of it and using it to accent your current décor. You can cut out any matted or thin sections, using the "still-good" pieces as filler in your wreath, candle accents, or as a basket handle accent (wrap around the basket handle in a spiral pattern, leaving some of the original handle showing.) Re-frame a mirror with gold, red or green garland. Tie a bow and attach it to the top of a present or homemade "goodie" tray. 7. If you have access to free pine cones, gather some up and display them in a basket. You can spray potpourri oil on them (cinnamon is traditional, but vanilla, apple, or gingerbread would be very festive also) or spray them with silver or gold paint. Another great idea is to dab a bit of glue on each "point" of the cone and then sprinkle with glitter. If you don't have any pine cones in your area, you can usually find them (most likely pre-scented) at your local craft store. 8. Cut out the patterns- Santa, snowmen, penguins, etc.- on your leftover wrapping paper and use them to decorate. Spray adhesive (found at your local craft store) will enable the cutouts to stick to your walls, wooden boxes, bottles…pretty much anything you can find! And the best part- it's not permanent! (Check the adhesive instructions.) 9. Have any uncomfortable or worn-out Christmas socks? Stuff them with a bit of batting, sew the tops closed (insert a little ribbon loop in the corner first), and "string" them on yarn or thin ribbon. Hang on the wall or mantel, or even the tree! 10. The simplest, yet most beautiful holiday decoration? Paper snowflakes! Relive your childhood and create a few. Or a whole blizzard. If you're feeling generous, you can ask your kids to help. When you're done, tape them on your windows- whenever you look out, you'll see a white Christmas (even if you live in the tropics!)

Ok Theyd.. I think the crying jag is over now.. Christmas's at home were very enjoyable to me as a child. Tons of brothers and sisters neices nephews, Mom and Dad.. I remember the last Christmas my brother Rick was at home before he went into the army. He woke me and my twin brother up saying Shawny, Dawny wake up santa's been here.. (yes Dawny is my nickname)... I was probably 5.. He then went to Germany.. He came home when I was 10 for good and died in a car wreck 3 months later. I can hear my mom singing Silver Bells and Winter Wonderland over and over in my head. We used to have so much fun singing together as a family.. That's what we did every weekend.. Back in the days of record players and a reel to reel player/recorder.. Brothers would play guitars and Mom would play the banjo.. And we all had 3 part harmony that we would sing.. Man those were the best times of my life.. Christmas's were all happy.. I cannot recreate those memories for my kids as hard as I try.. I need to slow myself down long enough to make fudge with them, and have them help me bake and wrap presents and make it a family affair! After all these years we are finally getting together again..This will be the third year.. I long for the days of my childhood at Christmas time.. Even though my family is here as in my husband and my children I feel lonely without my brothers sisters and parents.. But my memories make me warm inside.. It's a good feeling.. Thanks Thyra!!!

Here comes Suzy Snowflake, Dressed in a snow-white gown, Tap, tap, tappin' at your windowpane, To tell you she's in town. Here comes Suzy Snowflake, Soon you will hear her say, "Come out ev'ryone and play with me, I haven't long to stay." "If you want to make a snowman, I'll help you make it, one, two, three. If you want to take a sleigh ride, Whoops! The ride's on me." Here comes Suzy Snowflake, Look at her tumblin' down, Bringing joy to ev'ry girl and boy, Suzy's come to town. "If you want to make a snowman, I'll help you make it, one, two, three. If you want to take a sleigh ride, Whoops! The ride's on me." Here comes Suzy Snowflake, Look at her tumblin' down, Bringing joy to ev'ry girl and boy, Suzy's come to town.

The book of Matthew

lil dd and i sing silent night all year long nearly every night. it's her favorite! I also like White Christmas, silver bells and Susie Snowflake