'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS....

Well, here it is the day after Christmas and I am still recovering. God Bless the early risers, shopping at all the sales. I am beat. Just a quick recap of the days events:

We went to church and dinner at the Olive Garden on Christmas Eve. My kids all had new Christmas outfits. Paige looked beautiful (as usual)! I bought myself a new sweater and a drama ensued. I went to put the stinkin' sweater on before church and it still had the anti-theft device attached to it. My hero, Mike, decided to take it off and it sprayed blue ink all over Mike and the sweater. I had no idea there was ink in those tags! I always thought they set off an alarm. Actually, I have never given them too much thought since shoplifting isn't my thing! HA! Needless to say, no new sweater this year!

One thing I have always done is a tradition I learned from my dearest friend, Barb. When they were young, they always received pajamas on Christmas Eve. I loved the thought of that, so I totally stole the idea and have made it a tradition with our family. My kids so look forward to this pair of pajamas. And in some odd way, they always seem more willing to "hit the hay" once they put them on. This year's pajama's were Ohio State pajamas. As you can imagine, they were a big hit. I was able to find Austin's and Paige's with relatively no problem. I had such a hard time finding Trent's! Eveyone was sold out. Now, you know, of all my kids Trent would be the most disappointed not to have Ohio State pajamas. But, by the grace of God, I found them two days before Christmas! JOY! JOY!

We got up around 7:30 a.m. to open presents. Not bad at all! Last year, Trent was up every hour on the hour. So, this was a vast improvement.

We had Christmas lunch at Pam and Rick's house. Dad and Vera were there. Sandy, Vera's daughter was also in attendance! I am so mad at myself for not getting a picture of Sandy for the blog! After lunch, we opened presents. Mike and I gave Dad and Vera Ohio State shirts (are you noticing a theme, yet?). They genuinely seemed to like them! Dad is so excited because my uncle Burt got him a huge OSU Flag for the front of his house. I'm feeling a little jealous about that and may have to search for one for my house as well!

Lastly, we went to Mom and Dad Blackburn's house for dinner and gifts. It was fun. We ended out playing LCR as a family! It is so fun! If you do not have this game, run out and get it! It is simple, quick and exciting! The boys, as usual, loved to play their video games and the girls enjoyed their Ipods, etc.

Anyhooo......tons of cleaning to do this week in preparation for New Years Eve!

My best to everyone!

"Give Thanks To The Lord, For He Is Good"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I received this in an email from my dear friend Chris. I think it pretty much sums up the day!

You are cordially invited to
A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!!!
Guest of Honor: Jesus Christ

Date: Every day. Traditionally, December 25

but He's always around, so the date is flexible...

Time: Whenever you're ready.

(Please don't be late, though, or you'll miss out on all the fun!)
Place: In your heart.... He'll meet you there. (You'll hear Him knock.)


Attire: Come as you are... grubbies are okay.

He'll be washing our clothes anyway.

He said something about new white robes and crowns for everyone who stays till the last.

Tickets: Admission is free.

He's already paid for everyone...

(He says you wouldn't have been able to afford it anyway...it cost Him everything He had. But you do need to accept the ticket!!

Refreshments: New wine, bread, and a far-out drink He calls "Living Water,"followed by a supper that promises to be out of this world!

Gift Suggestions: Your life. He's one of those people who already has everything else.

(He's very generous in return though. Just wait until you see what He has for you!)

Entertainment: Joy, Peace, Truth, Light, Life, Love, Real Happiness, Communion with God, Forgiveness, Miracles, Healing, Power,Eternity in Paradise, Contentment, and much more! (All "G" rated, so bring your family and friends.)


R.S.V.P. Very Important!

He must know ahead so He canreserve a spot for you at the table.

Also, He's keeping a list of His friends for future reference. He calls it the "Lamb's Book of Life."
Party being given by His Kids (that's us!!)!

Hope to see you there! For those of you whom I will see at the party, share this with someone today!


Merry, Merry Christmas to you all. And thanks to God, for the best present ever!

Okay....I'll Bite....

Here we are, a few short days before Christmas. This year I managed to start WAY ahead of time and today I have most of my baking completed, the house decorated and many presents wrapped. Yet, I still will be going out shopping today and I am NOT looking forward to it!


My friend, Jen sent a Christmas questionaire to me that seems fun and informative...so here goes!


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Ooohh. That's a hard one. I like the convenience of gift bags but love the look of wrapping paper. I must admit though, that I do not enjoy wrapping.


2. Real or Artificial tree? Artificial tree. I love that I can leave it up as long as I like and not worry. Plus, I do not enjoy pine needles in the feet!


3. When do you put up the tree? No later than the weekend following Thanksgiving.


4. When do you take the tree down? New Years Day


5. Do you like Eggnog? I have never tried it. The name alone repulses me.


6. Favorite Gift you received as a child? Barbie House


7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, I have two of them.

8. Hardest Person to buy for? That would be Mr. Walter Blackburn. The man needs nothing and if he does, he buys it for himself.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Paige. The only difficult thing about buying for Paige is affording it. Her list usually equates the national debt.

10. Worst Christmas gift ever received? I don't think I've ever received a bad gift! Honestly! But I did get a nasty wedding gift. It was a basket (and I do like baskets) but about 30 of Mike's relatives went in on the basket. When I went to use the basket, I put one magazine in it (mind you, I said ONE magazine) and the handle broke off. Hhhmmm.....quality.


11. Christmas Cards...Snail mail or E-mail? I haven't sent them in years. I really want to start sending them again, but they are a point of frustration.


12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf....definately. I did go see the Chipmunks Movie with Trent and it was a keeper!


13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? That all depends on when the big boy hands over the cash.

14. Have you ever 'recycled' a Christmas present? No. I would feel too guilty.


15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Stuffing


16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear.


17. Favorite Christmas Song? O Holy Night.


18. Travel at Christmas or Stay Home? I love to be home, but we usually go over the river and through the woods (and down I-77).


19. Can you name Santa's Reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph.


20. Do you have an Angel or a Star on top of your tree? A Bow


21. Open the Presents Christmas Eve or Morning? Morning


22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Spending money and the bickering over church and state. Where is it okay to put a manger scene and a menorah? Frankly, my opinion is that it is Christmas in a big world. Room enough for them all....okay, except the KKK displays. NEVER room for those.



23. Do you decorate outside for Christmas or just inside (or at all?) Inside and Outside. I love the decorating bit.

24. Favorite Christmas cookie? Molasses although they are not just for Christmas.



25. Do you own Christmas clothing or jewelry? Yes, I must admit I do. And, unlike everyone else, my sweaters are not tacky.



26. Do you believe in Santa? Yep. And I believe in reindeer, the Easter Bunny, the tooth fairy and leprechans. So there.

Can you believe I am now headed for the mall to finish my shopping? I am hoping we will see National Treasure tonight. I am really getting excited for Christmas!

Peace.

The Sights And Sound of Christmas

I have had a very busy week. I'm sure you all know how hectic he last week before Christmas vacation can become. First off, Trent had his Christmas program. It was so cute! His music teacher is sooo good at combining music, dance and instruments into her programs. I am always so impressed. And by the way, if anyone runs into the little girl to left of Trent in the photo where he is playing the bells, can you please tell her to keep her little eyes off of my little man and start playing her own bells? Yeah...thanks. (HA!)

Secondly, we had the class Christmas parties. I had to complete the teacher's Christmas gifts. I really wanted to post them here, but some of my "readers" are receiving the same gift so....you will have to wait!

Thirdly, I still haven't finished my shopping. It doesn't help that I only started it last week! I have a great deal done, and I have cut down my spending quite a bit, so that is good! The thing that is throwing me is that everything my kids want come in small packages (i.e. video games, DVDs, CDs). So, although a video game can cost $50.00 it looks like you've purchase NOTHING! Gone are the Little Tykes days when every present was almost the same size as our tree. Filling the area below the tree was actually less expensive and much easier!

In the midst of all of this chaos...Charlie, my dog has been quite sick. Ugh! He got into our garbage and must have had a hayday. Unfortunately, now he is paying for it. I am pretty strict about my dog only eating dog food and not table food. So, when this kind of thing happens....it ain't pretty. He has had "potty problems" all over the house for...hhmmmm....about a week and a day of vomitting. (Sorry...too much information!) Thank Goodness I am so poor about returning my sister's rug scrubber! I don't know what I would do without that thing! He seems to be recovering now, so hopefully I won't be cleaning the carpets twice a day!

Today I am off to deliver Christmas Cookies to dad, and our doctors. And HOPEFULLY I may finish some shopping as well.

Peace!

Caught!

Today I was caught in the middle of a melt down. Now, before you get too excited, I wasn't in tears or anything like that.....But I was super angry with myself. Just to confirm the fact that I am NO MARTHA STEWART, I have these baking and crafting days that just bomb. And today was one of those days. I decided to take time to make chocolate covered pretzel Santas. I melted several colors of chocolate and painted each area of the mold to the specified color. After letting that dry, I poured milk chocolate into the mold, since that is the favorite chocolate of my family. Anyway....I have African American Santas. Now, I would hate to seem racists.....because I'm not. BUT, my family is Caucasian so I thought that would be the preference. Unfortunately, the chocolate bled through and my plan failed. Thank goodness, at this point, Trish called. I told her about my mistake and she burst into laughter. (Don't you love friends that remind you not to take yourself too seriously?) Anyhow, the kids thought they looked fine, so I'm going to try to quit beating myself up for the expensive (time and money) mistake!

I did make quite a few dozen peanut butter kiss cookies. They look yummy. Tonight I have to get scrapbooking and finish some Christmas presents! Maybe I can post pictures later!

The Letter "U"

There is nothing better on a cold, winter evening that crawling under a blanket!

My mother never wanted me to make up cute little names for the kids body parts. She always wanted me to tell them the REAL names. So....when I was pregnant with Trent and I was explaining it to Paige, I told her that Trent was in my uterus. And for the next six months I had a little girl that would march around my house yelling "uterus, uterus, uterus." It was even more fun when she would announce to strangers that her mom had a baby in her uterus. Honestly. Would I make that up?

I have a really funny uncle....Uncle Burt. He is like my dad's best buddy. They are like frick and frack. WARNING: Do not sit between them during a conversation. Neither can hear and it becomes a shouting match. You, therefore, would also suffer hearing loss. Trust me on this one.

Unfortunately, I have never attended a University. Maybe I will get the chance to do that one day.

My uncle Burt used to work for United Airlines (hence the hearing loss as stated above)!

Well, I am off to attempt more chocolate pretzels. This time I am making snowmen. I don't think I can mess the color up. :)

Hugs,

Suddenly a great assembly of angels from heaven appeared with the first angel, praising God and saying "Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to men with whom God is pleased."

And so begins a new stage.........

This sign was left for Mike and I last night. This cracked me up! Trent is now leaving signs and "posters" all over the house. Most of the signs have to do with either Ohio State or Checkers tournaments at school, but somehow this note reared it's ugly head last night! And you may have figured out that we have now entered the "I'm not going to bed" stage. It's not fancy, but it is "to the point" and somehow tickled my funnybone.

And, speaking of Trent....... I am well aware that Thanksgiving is over, but he brought some left-over projects home from school this week that I am IN LOVE with. Mainly.....the following picture:

I'm not sure what I love more...the grin, the headress or that fact that he seems to be so bored. Hee hee hee!

Onto My Letter "T"

Trent - My sweet, quiet little last-born. Somehow he seems to make me feel young and old all at the same time. He is a blessing and life wouldn't be the same without him.

Yes, we are the evil people that own a trampoline. Listen, I know all the reasons they are unsafe and a liability....but my kids honestly use it every day. It's great exercise. Really.

I really miss my Aunt Teda. She was so sweet and funny. She passed away all too early. Austin is named after her father and that was the "end-all" to her. From that moment on, Austin was the most beautiful, intelligent, sweet child she had ever met. Did I mention that he never did anything wrong.........well, in HER eyes.

Tangled Blue - I have two cool friends, Aimee and Joel Pakan, and they are a Christian Rock group called Tangled Blue. I so admire what they do for the Lord. Just really cool, selfless people. And they allowed me to be in their wedding even though I was old enough to be the mother of the bride. Hahahaha......

Trish Turay - Honestly one of the finest people I know. You can read earlier posts if you need more gushing. OR you can log onto the www.workinprogresskits.com blog and see how she is multi-talented.

Teeth are one of the very first things I notice about a person.

My son, Austin, once owned a few fire-belly toads. They are cool creatures...from a distance.

I used to be able to type.....fast. Like....almost 100 words a minute. Not anymore. Darn it.

I used to work in the Oil Trading area of BP Oil Supply Company. I worked with all the traders. It was one of the best jobs I have ever had - exciting!! My first week on the job, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill took place. I was the lucky recipient of many threatening phone calls. Really people, I didn't like those birds having oil on them any more than you did. I also did not pilot the ship.

When I was little, my Uncle Ern nicknamed me "tiger."

So long.......................

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord. " This will be a sign to you You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Mark A Date!

I was on my way to church yesterday and I started to think about WHY we only celebrate the birth of Christ once a year. I mean....the gift of Jesus never ends. Then I started to think about how I was going to teach Trent that the gift of Jesus should be celebrated year-round. So, here is the plan. I have marked a date on my calendar.....in July. On that date we will have Christmas cookies, sing some Christmas Carols, reading of the Christmas story from the Bible....and yes, maybe even a Christmas present or two. It will be Christmas in July. I don't want to commercialize the celebration too much. But, I would like to show him that the celebration of this season should NEVER end! Anyone else interested in marking a date with me?

I had a great weekend! Paige sang in her Christmas Recital at Bethesda On The Bay Lutheran Church in Bay Village. She sang Breath of Heaven. Love, love, love this song. I am always surprised at how well she can sing for her age. I am also surprised at how composed she can be in front of all those people! It made me happy that she chose this song. It was the only spiritual song in the whole concert....at a church. Hhhmmmm. She even had some strangers comment to her on her performance and choice of music. I think Paige's favorite part of the evening is that her friend Natalie and her father showed up for the recital! Now THAT is a friend. Most parents hate sitting through their OWN child's programs and dear Mr. J came to sit through Paige's. Good people. Above are pictures of Paige with her voice coach, Kate (such a nice person), her best friend-Natalie and of course, Trent! Mike is going to try to see if he can get a sample of it on the blog.....so stay tuned!

Sunday I spend the day baking. I made 1 1/2 doz. popcorn-ball snowmen. You can see the line-up above! This is a process, but it was really fun!! I also made some chocolate spoons for hot cocoa. Easy and fun! Austin had a few buddies over for the Browns game and Trent had two of his buddies over for the day. FULL HOUSE! I have found that one crockpot full of pulled pork can bring high school boys running to your house! Trent's buddies like the usual...hotdogs. Poor Paige, she just tries to stay clear and I don't blame her! She basically hid most of the day!

You will be happy to know that Trent has stumbled upon some information. Apparently, Santa has been spotted in Asia. Now, according to Trent, this is too early to be making the rounds. SO...he MUST be doing the whole "naughty and nice list" thing. Be on extra good behavior this week, people!

The Letter "S"

I love snow.

I love everything Southern Living, including the magazine. Good Stuff!

Of course, most people know that I have a great love for Scrapbooking. I hope that my kids use my scrapbooks to remember how much they are loved.

St. Paul has been our church home for the past twelve years.

This year, Austin's Senior Year, I became a Soccer Mom for the very first time.

I used to live in a Salt Box Colonial Style Home. I loved it. I love anything historical.

I have two sisters, Pam and Cindy. But, you already knew that, didn't you?

I am terrible at sports, but I still make an effort. If nothing else, my family gets a good laugh.

I still have a stuffed Santa from when I was a little girl.

I drive a black SUV.

Lastly, my heart is aching for the people of Colorado and the people of Utah who have been subjected to so much senseless crime. I pray they can carry-on and possibly have some small sense of joy this holiday season.

Hugs!

While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlahem, the time came for the baby to be born, and Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Shepherds living out in the fields nearby were keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.