Christmas 2009

Christmas Hats...

Christmas Smiles...

Christmas Coal...

Oh Christmas Tree...

Christmas Nativities...

Christmas Wonder

The Reason For The Wonder

The Christmas season is one of the most wonderful times of the year. However, it is not the gifts, the trees, the decorations, or the food that make this a season full of wonder.

It is when we remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that the Christmas season becomes truly special.

As we strive to remember our Savior, our desire to live like Him will grow. It is no coincidence that Christmas is the time of the year when people are the most loving, the most giving, the most kind, and the most grateful.

As we try to follow Christ’s example this season and do our best to live as He did, let us find ways to lift up those around us. Let us celebrate our Savior’s birth by being followers of Christ in word and deed.

We testify that as we do so, the desire to follow Him that grows within us at Christmas will continue to develop throughout the upcoming year.

President Thomas S. Monson
President Henry B. Eyring
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The Spirit of Christmas

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for good friends. I got out with Palm Trees and 8 yesterday and we had a great time shopping, eating and venting. I needed it more than I even realized. I've been unloading a lot lately to my friends, and they are always gracious and full of loving advice. I'm going to try to stop though, and be more positive. Debbie Downers can be, well, Debbie Downers, right? Plus, intense bulging forehead veins are so last year.

I am thankful for lovely surprises. A week or so ago, we received a beautiful live wreath in the mail from Scott's Aunt Jean. We very rarely get to see her, and were touched she remembered us during this busy season!!! Isn't it beautiful?!

I am thankful for my new dress form!!! I can't wait to start making clothes that will be ugly at first, but then get better with some practice... you know, once I get my sewing area cleaned up.

I think I'm going to make skirts first, and then some blouses, cap sleeved no doubt, and later dresses. I'm so excited!!!!!!

Easy Christmas Project

Years ago, when my much smaller family had just moved to Germany, we lived in an apartment building on post. It was nice, except my husband deployed to Bosnia a few months later and my nearest family member was a 10 hour plane ride away!

Luckily, I had wonderful neighbors, Debbie and Cathy, who took me under their wing and taught me all kinds of useful things. They taught me how to sew and cook and decorate, all on a tight budget.

One of the coolest things my friends showed me, was how to make simple live garland and wreaths. They always turn out beautifully and take no time at all! If you go to the dollar store or any other discount store, you can find wire garland for next to nothing. Take a few home and lay them out on your table. Then go out to the yard and cut pieces of evergreen and berries and twist the greenery all through the artificial garland. Eventually you'll have a beautiful "live" garland you can swag without having to fool with craft wire and glue!

It really is simple!

ps. I LOVE this picture of Martha's foyer in her old house, Turkey Hill. It totally looks like our foyer in our old Kentucky house, and I loved that house so much... even though it didn't have a garage. Martha sold her house shortly after we sold ours a couple of years ago. We're so separated at birth!!!

The Love of God

Today in church, one of our Young Women gave an awesome talk about repentance. She shared a wonderful story she heard in another talk that illustrated her topic perfectly. So here it is, in a nutshell... and please forgive my memory!

One afternoon, a little boy named "Johnny" was playing in the woods behind his grandparent's house with his new sling shot, trying to get the hang of it. Eventually growing tired, he decided to come back inside, but noticed a duck a little way off. Without thought, he took aim and fired. To his astonishment, he hit the duck and killed it instantly.

His little stomach sunk with the enormity of what he had done, and was terrified anyone would find out. So he quickly decided to hide the evidence by burying the dead duck at the bottom of the wood pile. When he finished however, he was horrified to discover his little sister "Mary" had seen the whole thing. Before he could respond, Grandma called them in for dinner.

After a long and quiet dinner, when Grandma asked Mary to help washing, she replied, "Oh, but Johnny told me HE really wanted to help with the dishes!" She then whispered to Johnny, "Remember the duck".

The next day, the family wanted to go to the movies, but Grandma needed help there at home with various chores. Mary was asked to stay, but said, "Oh, but Johnny REALLY wanted to stay and help Grandma." and again whispered "Remember the duck". So Johnny stayed instead while the rest of the family went to the movie.

Soon, Johnny grew tired of his sister's manipulation and found the courage to confess to his grandmother. He tearfully told her the whole story.

Grandma listened patiently and then lovingly replied, " I know, I saw the whole thing from the kitchen window and I've already forgiven you. I was just waiting for you to tell the truth."

Our sweet YW then reminded us that like Grandma, when we make mistakes, our Heavenly Father sees everything and is just waiting for us to repent. We can lift the burden of sin in our lives, by ignoring the manipulations of the Adversary and humbly going through the repentance process. I know that because of the Atonement of Christ, we can gain forgiveness and move on, doing good things, and trying a little harder!!!! What a wonderful gift, not only at Christmas, but every day of the year!

GO ARMY BEAT NAVY!!!!!

It's the good guys vs. the good guys at 1:00pm, today!

Ugh, the good guys lost.

Brrrr

It's 12:00 in the afternoon and only 28 degrees..... whaaat?!!!!!!

UPDATE:

It's now 5:50 in the morning and 19 degrees in Tennessee. No no no no no no! Must be all that Global Warming.

UPDATE:

8:00am, and 15 degrees.

More Hefty Than Hefty

My oldest son Oliver did a science experiment last week, and I thought you all might be interested in the results.

He decided to figure out which of these 5 kitchen trash bags is indeed the strongest: Hefty, Good Sense (recycled), Costco's Kirkland brand, Walmart's Great Value brand, and Glad.

He then found cans and weights and went to work. He held each bag up 10 seconds after adding more weight, standing on our kitchen chairs to avoid smashing his toes. Smart!

Aaaah, sweet relief when the bags finally busted!

And the WINNER is..... Good Sense Recycled bags holding over 50 pounds!!!!

Good job Oliver!

The Big Parade and Clara

This weekend was a crazy one. In all the hustle and bustle, we missed a few fun activities, but in December, you have to pick and choose, right?!

One of the things we were able to do is get Grace to the couple of "Nutcracker" activities she participated in. She was so excited to get her "Clara" a.k.a. "Marie" costume out again this year, and on Saturday night, she was in character for our city's Christmas parade.

Well, because of our crazy schedule, I wasn't as prepared as I should or could have been, taking into account the freezing temperatures she'd be exposed to. So we layered and layered, used those "Hot Hands" and "Hot Feet", and in one hour, I was able to make some matching winter wear to cover her ears, neck and hands! Hot Glue is my new best friend.... sorry Velcro.

Shiny Happy People

A survey called the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index reveals which states are happiest. Study researcher, Jason Rentfrow of the University of Cambridge in England and his colleagues came to their conclusions by analyzing data collected from more than 350,000 individuals who were interviewed between Jan. 2 and Dec. 30, 2008 as part of the Gallup Organization's Well-Being Index. The index includes six types of well-being: overall evaluation of their lives, emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviors (such as whether a person smokes or exercises), and job satisfaction.

Here are, according to this study, the top 20 "happiest" states:

1. Utah: 69.2

2. Hawaii: 68.2

3. Wyoming: 68

4. Colorado: 67.3

5. Minnesota: 67.3

6. Maryland: 67.1

7. Washington: 67.1

8. Massachusetts: 67

9. California: 67

10. Arizona: 66.8
11. Idaho: 66.8

12. Montana: 66.7

13. New Hampshire: 66.7

14. Vermont: 66.6

15. Virginia: 66.5

16. Nebraska: 66.4

17. New Mexico: 66.3

18. Oregon: 66.3

19. Connecticut: 66.3

20. Alaska : 66.2

If I ever moved away from Tennessee, the state that appeals to me most is Virginia, aka number 15. It's so beautiful with it's rolling hills and beaches, but is also close to a lot of fun stuff... and by close I mean within 10 hours of driving. I love Tennessee though, even if it didn't make the top 20.