Tragedy

In light of the recent deaths in my hometown community of Tremont, may I just say how a time like this reminds us that this life can end so abruptly. We see God's hand of protection on one hand for the girls on the bus, as things could have been so much worse for them, had the bus overturned, etc. Yet we see young lives lost on the other hand. May we remember that our time here is short - we are not promised one more day here, so we should make the very most of each and every minute of the time we are given. Don't waste your time in complaining and being negative or feeling sorry for yourself - be positive, be a blessing to others, do whatever you can to reach out and be kind to your neighbors. And as we ponder all this, may be each say a prayer for these two families who have lost one of their own, way too soon.

The Game

Brit and Patrick before the game - everyone's still smiling!

Things are a little stressful in the first quarter.

But we're still all basically happy - it's anyone's game at this point.

Skip to the third quarter when the only two Packer's fans are the smilers here!

Tan's about ready to give it up!

Chatty McPatty's having a pretty good afternoon!

Brit's a little sad here.

Chatty can't quit, he's getting so excited!

More smiles from the Packers' corner!

And the texting begins as the game ends.

The great sadness hovered in my living room - except for Chatty McPatty (Tanner's name for him). He's very, very happy! Good luck - now we'll have to cheer for your team in the Super Bowl!

Ahhh!

I have so much to say, too little time to say it. So much to do, too little time to do it. So much to buy, too little money to buy it. You get the idea. But amongst all the "chaos" of this wedding busyness (and just ordinary day to day stuff), alot of life lessons are being learned and affirmed in my life. Things I have always known, now I am seeing again played out in others' lives (and my own). My goal is to take notice, pay attention, and LEARN from what I see, so I don't get caught in the same snare. Here's a few of them - hope you ponder these yourself and make constructive changes in your lives if you need to.

Don't talk about others - that negativity will come back on you in one way or another; i.e., don't be deceived, that which you sow, you will also reap.

Don't tell anything to someone else you don't want repeated - usually every single person will have to tell one more person, then soon the person you didn't want to hear, will hear it from someone else - not you.

If you're going to need 20 spools of ribbon for a project, don't just buy 10 now to save money and then go back later to buy the other 10 - chances are, they aren't going to have that same color at the later date.

You can't please everyone - period. Remember you have to look yourself in the mirror every morning and like what you see according to what you've done. You also have to be at peace with God and how you've acted, so act and do accordingly - be true to yourself.

People are full of basic instincts. Every person (unfortunately) at some time or another, will lie, cheat, or steal to cover their own rears. It takes alot of effort to change that first response.

Most of us are not tuned into the "why" of what we do - it all seems logical to us. Sometimes, therefore, it helps to look past what someone's doing to the why behind it - doesn't excuse bad behavior, but it helps to see that not everything is about or because of us - it might just be that person's problem.

Laugh - it's very important.

Try to put things in perspective - is this going to make a difference in 10 years? in 20 years? For eternity?

My last piece of wisdom for today - if you're going to live in Central Illinois, at some point in your life, you will have to give up and wear real shoes. I'll say no more.

Last week

Here's some of what you've missed since last Tuesday's snow day - sorry! I'm really going to try to keep you all better updated! There was work, there was drumming, there was wedding stuff, there was football, there was a concert, there was pizza, there was more wedding stuff, there was church, there was work, there was laughter, there were tears, there was the realization that, try as I might, I just can't keep everyone happy and can't do everything everyone wants me to, there was the discussion of time zones in Kentucky, there was information about Batman legos, there was the reading of the completely appropriate plaque which said, "I laughed so hard, tears ran down my legs", there was more snow, and, oh yeah how could I forget the "blooper" of the week. While at a wedding meeting at my church with my pastor's wife and several church members, while attempting to say "that's for safety sake" I instead blurted out in front of everyone, "that's for safe sex". Don't ask me how or why my tongue wrapped around my teeth in quite that fashion, but it did, and that's not necessarily a crowd you want to say such things in. Needless to say, I was mortified, the kids laughed and laughed and were still laughing later when they called to remind me of what I'd said. Ahhh! The joys of being old, stressed, menopausal, and apparently at times no longer in control of one's own faculties. It was quite a week.

Snow Day!

Well, I hate (really love) to say it, but it's 1:00 on Tuesday afternoon and I'm still in my pj's. Everyone cancelled their appointments today (I don't blame them) and so I get to stay in. Of course, the flip side of that unexpected blessing is that I don't make any money today and that's not good - but let's not concentrate on that! Here's a couple of views earlier this a.m. out my sliding glass doors off the dining room. Pockets (Mal's dog) is so beautiful in the snow (he's a husky mix), so I was trying to quickly snap a picture of him as he came inside, but he was in too much of a hurry. I would have coerced him into staying outside a minute longer, but last Friday night someone moved into the previously (for at least the almost two years we've lived here) empty house next door and, yep, you guessed it - they have a dog! The keep it outside and this is causing quite a stir for old Pockets. Anyway, you can see most of him in this picture. I have sooo much stuff to do here at home, but since this was an unplanned day at home, I almost feel like I should do something "out of the ordinary" - not clean or pick up or pack away the last remains of Christmas - but bake, or re-arrange kitchen cupboards (did that this a.m.), or make jewelry, or watch an old movie. You know - the things you really never have or make time to do. I also have plenty of wedding things to tend to. Well, I don't know what you're doing today, but try to enjoy some "unplanned relax time" for yourself - look out your window at all the beauty, stay out of it if you can, and do something a little different than usual. Remember, life is short, we have to grab all the opportunities we can. Enjoy!

Sorry!

Sorry I've been away so long. We ended up the holidays last weekend, and hit the floor running, so to speak. We are in wedding mode - big time! There's such a short time now (as time is flying by!) and we've lots yet to do, so just about every spare moment is being spent ordering, assembling, trying on, having meetings with people - the list goes on and on. It's fun, but hectic. Hope we don't forget anything! Everything is moving along well and I'm sure it will all work out fine - it's just the chaos of the journey as we go along right now. I'm sure I'll post some pictures soon of some of the fun things happening!

P.S.

Oh yeah - I almost forgot! I also got a 3 piece desk, printer stand, bookcase combo - I almost forgot to post it because Tan man gave it to me last week on Christmas Eve. I suspect he didn't want to wrap it - ha! However, he was so nice to get it for me and he even put it together for me, which I really appreciated!

Christmas is REALLY here now!

I never feel like it's really Christmas until my kids all come over for our family celebration. We traditionally do that the Saturday after Christmas because everyone's so busy on the actual holiday, so yesterday, we had our Christmas. We did the traditional egg roll making, the opening of presents, and the trying out of the new family game I get us each year (last year and this year, the games were really good - the couple years before that, I had, well, not made such good game choices!) I am amazed at how much better we've become over the years at the egg roll making process - I think only one time did I hear the boys say - "uh - that one had a hole in it!" Even though we use the same basic recipe every year, they always taste a little differently each time - still good, but a little different. I started the day out pretty stressed because I made the girls each a pendant and they're lost in this house somewhere (the pendants, not the girls!) - put in a safe place so I wouldn't lose them, I'm sure - but eventually I forced my ocd brain to move on, wrapped the rest of the presents, made the peach pies, and started chopping. We were just sad because Patrick had to go to work, so we quick opened our presents, so he could at least be here for that part. I'm sure there were some left over egg rolls and pie for him to consume later, though! Here's a few pictures of what happened yesterday - I know each family does it differently, but I think sometimes it's fun to "peek" in on someone else's group. So enjoy and laugh with us for a minute, if you will. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May this time next year, we all be saying what a great year 2011 was!

Here's the stockings before they were unloaded!

Here's the scene before everyone arrived!

Here's Tan man, relaxing, as the girls divvy out the presents!

Mal opened new boots from Barry and Britt!

Britt is sure her new lounge pants will fit! Mal calls them "zazzy pants". They each got a pair!

Mal received crocheting supplies!

The girls got matching lined sweatshirts and both got new boots! Aren't they beautiful?

Here's Barry and Britt - Bear had been hunting all day, and his poor face was very red!

Here's Barry in the famous "Avery white hat". I'm not sure,

but it's something to do with hunting and the white of the snow??

There was wrapping of the egg rolls after all the chopping and stir frying!

Lots of wrapping!

The boys traditionally do the honor of frying - this year was no exception!

It seems like "millions", but really only about 100!

Frying!

Then we tried out our new game - this year's is Balderdash. We had a blast!

There's some writing in this game!

Oops - Tan man closed his eyes!

That's better!

Oops - the "flock of seagulls" hair has flown over to Bear after he removed his hat!

This is the beautiful necklace I got from my kids - sorry it's kinda blurry. Amethyst is my birthstone and, of course, everyone knows I LOVE penguins. How perfect! I also received a really cool gel floor mat to go in my shop because I'm on my feet so much - it'll be really wonderful! I love both presents! My kids are pretty fabulous, aren't they?

New Year's Eve

There was....

A pink snuggie;

several people trying to be IN the pink snuggie;

eating 'til you wished you'd worn jogging pants;

great fellowship;

working on wedding favors until your eyes were crossed,

cutting of ribbons, sticking on of velcro;

accidentally sticking the velcro to the scissors;

decorating the person sitting next to you;

concentrating on not doing it upside down;

laughing until you cried;

laughing until you wished you'd worn "Depends";

fire.

Yep - that about covers it. A great time was had by all. Welcome, 2011.