Correction, correction...

Ok, this is silly, but my mom called last night after reading the blog about why we stay home on Christmas and came over to my house and is standing over me right now telling me to print a correction! Seriously, she's got a "do it or your grounded" look on her face (I haven't seen that one in like, 2o years). But really, she is wanting me to tell all my blog peeps that her granddaughter Bethany "is not destructive and has never broke anything at anyone's home! You made it sound like she runs around breaking things, she does NOT. Fix it. Now." Yes ma'am. Done.

Crazy Silly Fun

What to do with your girls home (both of them) and Mom on the floor wrapping gifts, the doggies inside, Dad is at work at there's sooo much still to do? Well, you pile pillows on the floor and teach the 18 month old how to jump into them from the top of the ottoman! Oh yeah, you must clap and recite, "go Bethany, go Bethany, go Bethany" before she does it! Then you watch as she steps off and laughs and laughs! Don't forget to say YEAH! Oh, and it also helps the mood if you're all in your jammies and it's 2pm...

Don't forget to "STOP THE MADNESS" and have some crazy fun time with your kids. They'll remember this and NOT the perfectly wrapped gifts, the spotless house they couldn't touch and the mom made crazy by all the insanity. Merry Christmas, Peeps!

Don't Shoot the Messenger... it's One Week Till Christmas

Help! I'm drowning! No really, I'm ok, it's just ONE WEEK till Christmas! I have Savannah home for her Christmas break (great thing about Christian school, it's actually Christmas break and Easter vacation not Winter and Spring breaks) and we have soooo much to do! Tomorrow I'm hosting a cookie exchange for my neighbors, so I have to make four dozen cookies, of course make sure the house is clean, wrap presents, still send out our Christmas cards and organize Christmas breakfast and dinner! We always have Christmas here because, well, because we just couldn't relax anywhere else waiting for Bethany to break something and because we just don't want to go anywhere else for Christmas. Soo, my payback for being so stubborn is that we are in charge of breakfast and dinner. Now, everyone brings something so that lessens my work load and of course Mom and Grandma are a huge help. We really love just being in our own home. We stay put and just tell everyone that if they want to see us they are all invited. This year there will be 15 of us for dinner. I love it!

The weather is not cooperating... for me this means that it's been too warm, about 50-55F in the day and about 30F at night. It's just not normal for us! Global warming stinks! It's supposed to be in the 40s during the day and at about 20 at night then I can have the fire going while I wrap gifts and address cards! I just checked the forecast and Christmas day is going to be about 55F! Ugh!!!! Oh well, this is not the reason for the season!

Hubby and I still need to finish up the shopping for the girls but everything else is done! The girls and I went down last weekend to be with him while he worked an overtime detail giving out gifts to needy children at a high school in the valley. We really wanted our girls to see how many children there are who won't be having the kind of Christmas they will. It was good.

We live where we live so that we don't have to deal with all the traffic, the crowds of people, the insanity of it all and we just love where we are. We get more of a change of seasons here, there's a lot less people, a lot more wide open spaces. We got home from the valley and it was like we could take a big deep breath. Thank you, Lord for putting us here. You truly do know best.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm using my girls names now. It was just silly to think their safety would be compromised if I did. Once thinking about it and discussing it with Hubby we agreed. Plus we love their names!!! Savannah was the only girl name we could agree on and loved how feminine it sounded and gentile. Bethany came from the bible... it's the town Christ is in when He assends into heaven after His ressurection. We also though it was beautiful. Savannah's name means abundant and Bethany's name means house of God.

Ok, I must leave you now, too much to do, at least it's all fun stuff, though! Have a fun week of your own getting ready to celebrate Jesus' birth!

A Charlie Brown Christmas

In case you are loosing faith in our world I wanted to share this with you...

Bug and I had a night to ourselves with Daddy working a double shift, doggies asleep and Buglette down for the night. We snuggled on the couch with the fire going to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. Now, I saw this as a kid but didn't really remember the entire 1/2 hour show. Charlie Brown goes through the program wondering what the "true meaning of Christmas is" as he directs the school Christmas program and seeks 'psychiatric help for .05' from Lucy and is just not in the spirit as everyone else is. At the end he asks Linus out of frustration, "What is the true meaning of Christmas?" And lo and behold to my surprise (I was expecting something like, 'giving' or 'love' or 'family'. All good things but not the true meaning...) Linus quotes from the book of Luke the Christmas story. And even ends it, "... who is Christ the Lord our Savior"! By the end of his quote I was in tears. My faith in mankind, at least television and it's executives and programmers a little renewed! This aired on ABC at 8pm on a Tuesday night just before the BIG premiere of Disney's little animation Prep and Landing. Who knows how many people were watching?!??!? As Christians we cannot just see what's wrong, what's bad with our world but also what is good and right as well. It's there, we may need to dig a little further than we would like but it's there. And then there are the moments when there's no 'digging' necessary...

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Trip

Hello Peeps! Hope this finds you all well, getting ready for Christmas (yep, Christmas, not 'holidays' as the reason for the season is Jesus Christ) and you are staying warm and happy. We are well, happy, warm and excited about this time of year! We love Christmastime! We've had a very cold front come through... it's 35 right now at 12:05 pm and I've got the fireplace going, the doggies inside, a cup of hot tea and I'm sitting here finishing up some shopping. Join me, won't you?

After a few hectic weeks of holiday in Lake Tahoe (a blast and good to get away) and then off to take our oldest, Bug to Pennsylvania and then on to DC for her White House party (with Thanksgiving in the middle of it all) we are home basking in the memories! Bug and I flew to Philadelphia on Saturday the 28th of November to spend some time with my in-laws at their farmhouse in the Lehigh Valley. We ate at their quaint pizza parlor on Saturday night then headed 'home' to get into jammies and be by the fire with Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on tv. The new one, not the psychadelic version with Gene Wilder, that one just makes you think of the '60s. Anywho, we then went up to bed, Bug and I sleeping in the attic bedroom nestled in the treetops in our queen sized bed. It's even more beautiful than I can describe, even in the winter. There's a view of the stream that flows through their property with woods in the distance, just yards away. On Sunday morning we got up and went to a sweet town in New Jersey, Frenchville. It's about 40 minutes away through the country and over the Delaware river... 'to Grandmother's house we go...' I know it all sounds like a song or a storybook! We had breakfast there then headed 'home' so Bug could go for hike in the woods with her Grandpa and her uncle (who was visiting also). They played all day! My mother-in-law and I went shopping!!!!! They have some of the best shops back there! We put a turkey in the oven for a bit of a Thanksgiving dinner with them and then crashed after our busy day. On Monday we got up and headed out for Washington DC, about 4 hours from the Lehigh Valley. It rained the entire day but we were still excited. We got to our hotel, Hotel Lombardy on, coincidently, Pennsylvania Avenue and then headed to Georgetown for dinner. We had a wonderful French meal at a sort-of posh restaurant. Wine and dessert as well. Yum. On Tuesday Bug and I headed out early to see some sights since we needed to be back in the late afternoon to get her ready for the White House that night. Now, Bug has been to DC before and seen all the sights so I wanted to show her something different. We went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History. We had such a great time there! We saw so many great American artifacts and learned so much. We saw the Star Spangled banner flag that our national anthem was written about, dresses of the First Ladies, the desk of Thomas Jefferson's he used to write the declaration on, the ruby slippers used in Wizard of Oz, historic items from all the wars we've fought in, and an exhibit on the struggles slaves had before being freed, just as a sampling! We ate lunch there and then went back to get Bug ready for her big night. She looked absolutly beautiful in a tailored red and black dress with matching coat, her long brown hair was all curled with a black bow to one side. I even put a bit of blush on with some mascara (shh, don't tell Daddy). I was even surprised by how mature she looked (she looked her age, but mature. I'm opposed to girls trying to look older than they are.) My in-laws looked stunning as well. We caught a cab and were off. I went with them so I could take more photos while they waited to get in. We saw Marine 1 fly in and out of the White House while waiting, taking the President to Westpoint where he spoke that night. Bug got to see all of the White House but the private quarters, of course. She got to see all the decorations, all the paintings, all the history! They had wonderful food and desserts and a wonderful time! Afterwards, Grandma and Grandpa took her across the street to a very beautiful hotel for a Shirley Temple! What an evening!

What did I do you ask? You must've been bored. Were you jealous? These are all questions I've had since then. Well, I was NOT the least bit jealous! I was so excited for her! I was just pleased as punch that our daughter got to go invited to the White House! As for what I did... oh, my, I had the best night all by myself!!!!! Don't forget, I have a very active 18-month-old at home! I took a cab back to Georgetown to grab a bit of dinner from Dean and Deluca then back to the hotel, to the quiet of my room I went. I ate. No one needed me. No one screamed for more or to be let down. I took a hot bath. No one asked where anything was. No one needed me to hurry. No one needed help with homework. I put on flannel jammies. No one complained that I had on flannel! I climbed into bed. No one needed help getting up too. I read. I didn't read about a Hungry Caterpillar. I read magazines. I read the Washington Post. I had tea. No one needed a bottle. No one wanted hot chocolate. I encouraged my daughter to stay out later with her grandparents at the nice hotel bar! At the end of my night, I had my batteries recharged. And I missed everyone.

We headed home the next day, slept on the plane and relished every little memory. So, to my wonderful husband who encouraged and provided for us to go, thank you. To my wonderful parents who jumped in to help care for Buglette while we were gone, thank you. To my wonderful Grandma who also jumped in to help care for Buglette, thank you! You all did much more than care for her, you loved her, you cooked and cleaned for my hubby and you helped me have peace while I was away. To my in-laws, thank you for inviting Bug to go with you and for welcoming us so warmly like you always do. Thank you everyone for making this trip happen for Bug. We are so grateful.

Tahoe the Terror Terrier

We returned from Lake Tahoe and after our seven-hour drive began unloading the car. The kids were running around inside. Hubby had to go to work the next day so he was gettin' his work stuff ready. I was running between the car and the house just unpacking and enjoying being at home even though it was crazy. I was bent over the back of the car pullin' something out when I heard a little noise. I spun around to see this little mangy-lookin' dog starring at me. I sort of ignored him. Surely his owner is right here. He just sat there wagging his tail, starring at me. I went about my business. Came back out to collect more from the car... he was still there. Hmm, where exactly is his owner? No one in sight up and down the street. Hubby's coming, uh oh. We're bought and paid for now. Sure enough... Hubby sees him, bends down, says, "well, hey there boy, come here... where's your tag? Are you hungry? Thirsty? You need a bath." Yep, that's the story of how we got Tahoe the Terror Terrier. He's really cute but still wants to chew on everything (goodbye new tennis shoes of Buglette's) and is not, shall we say, housetrained. But he's a creature that God created and no one wanted (we assume). He's probably roamed the streets for a few weeks with no one to protect him, no food to fill his belly and no warm house to rest peacefully in. I cannot, no matter how much we DO NOT need a second dog put him out on the streets and I don't believe in destroying unwanted pets. He's been with us for a week and a half and has started identifying us as family. He believes this is his home. If I took him somewhere else he will think that yet another family didn't want him. I can't bear the thought of that. We all, all living creatures on this planet need to know we are loved and wanted. It's basic humanity... no matter what we do or don't do, good or bad we all need to be loved and wanted and to know we belong somewhere. So, Tahoe the Terror Terrier, welcome home. My heart is big enough, you are wanted and you are loved... even if everyone else thinks we are crazy.

Lake Tahoe and an Exciting Announcement!

Howdy, Peeps! Boy oh boy, is it good to be home!!! We had a great time in Lake Tahoe but Buglette had a difficult time sleeping, my little Miss Creature of Habit just loves her schedule and routine and her own bedroom! She ended up sleeping every night with Hubby and I in our bed! Argh!!! She would wake up and want to play, at say, 2am and then jump on the bed, make silly noises and then one night, she, all of a sudden leaned over and blew zerberts on Daddy's chest! He got to laughing so hard it made Bug and I laugh and of course at that point sleep was a memory! But what a memory that will be for us! The lack of sleep didn't kill us though, because my mom and dad went with us and stayed in the other bedroom so when they got up in the mornings they would take Buglette and we got to catch up on sleep. Let's give a big "hip hip hurray" for grandparents! We had snow in Tahoe and got to play and sled, fun, fun, fun! We got to see a few movies... mom and dad and I took Bug to see Disney's A Christmas Carol and Dad and Hubby and I went to see 2012. Both were good!

While we were there we got some pretty exciting news!!!! Bug has been invited to go with my in-laws to a Christmas party at the White House on December 1st!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, holy cow, good gravy, hip hip hooray!!! She is just too excited! We booked our flights right away and are leaving on the 28th of November. Just she and I are going and Daddy will be staying with Buglette and have help from my Grandma whom the great grandkids call GG. Hubby didn't want to travel anymore (he does plenty for work) and needed to stay home to work anyways. We will be gone for 4 and a half days. We are flying into Philadelphia to head to my in-law's farmhouse in Emmaus, PA. We will be there for a day and a half enjoying some family time before traveling to DC on Monday. The party is on Tuesday and we leave on Wednesday. A pretty quick turnaround trip but Bug didn't need to miss anymore school and I just can't stand to be away from Hubby and Buglette any longer. Please pray for our safe travels... I just hate to fly without Hubby and I especially hate to have our family splintered apart for any length of time. Your prayers would be much appreciated! I will post again when I have pictures of us in Tahoe and a funny story to share!