On The 4th Day of Christmas....

As I was trying to figure out what to do for our family Christmas card this year I found myself without a clue!

I looked through magazines, bought a special edition book on Cards & still no inspiration.

Then while sitting at my creative counter I was looking at my "wall of inspiration" and found my word for 2009 - "Believe" staring me right in the face!  Then I turned to look at my shelves & saw my photo holder with the word "Believe" emblazoned on the front.

From there, my idea was created.  I believe truly & with my whole heart that the Christmas season is because of the birth of our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ.

I believe that He is my ultimate salvation & because of Him & through His blood, I am saved & will spend eternity in heaven with Him.

As the inside of our 2009 Christmas card says,

"The Lord has come!  Let the world Rejoice!!!"

I believe.....

On The 3rd Day of Christmas.......

I spent over 5 hours at church today & totally, completely forgot to take pictures.  You'll have too take my word for it, it turned out lovely!!!  We had a 10 year old girl helping us out & she found such joy in putting the manger scene together in the center of the stage!!

Half of my time there was spent cleaning out our "flower closet".  It truly looked like someone or several someone's would just open the door & throw things in & quick slam the door shut before everything fell out.  Not anymore!!!  You can actually walk in, turn around, find what you're looking for!!

I had lots of helpers setting up the church.  They put together 11 trees & 2 nativity scenes.  One in the entry way & one on the front stage where a live nativity will be going on Christmas Eve. 

Despite the fact that I tore my jeans, hit my head on the low beam in the closet & cut my finger on a broken piece of glass it was a good feeling to accomplish so much!!

Then, when my hubby & I left church I had to brush off my car!!! Yep - it finally snowed in Michigan.  We had a bit on the ground last Friday morning, but it was gone as soon as the morning light came around.

But tonite we got a lot.  There was almost 2 inches on the ground when we left church & it was coming down pretty good.  The roads were slushy & the weather is calling for 3-5 inches by tomorrow afternoon.

So on the 3rd day of Christmas I got a HUGE chore done that I've been putting off AND I got snow.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!!!

Til tomorrow.......

On The 2nd Day of Christmas.....

On the 2nd day of Christmas I got to start rehearsal for our yearly Christmas Eve service at church.

It's a tradition I have done ever since we started going to Haven Church.  Whether in the choir or on the praise team, Christmas is one of my favorite times of year to sing.  Last year I was unable to because of my surgeries.  I couldn't risk hurting my vocal chords, so I had to let them rest.  It was so hard to sit in the Christmas Eve service and not even be able to join in singing the hymns with the congregation.

This year I'm able to be there.  Though I struggle with my voice from time to time, I've learned how hard to push & how hard not too.  I'm just thankful that I am again able to participate!!

I love the old hymns of Christmas & the story they tell.  Our service is entitled "Do You See What I See?"  Of course we are singing this song!!!

Tomorrow night I get to start decorating the church - bringing to life the "park scene" that we see so often in our local parks at this time of year.  I have several hands coming out to help with this as it can be such a big task - but it is so much fun to put together!

So hopefully I'll be able to take some pics tomorrow night and then you'll be able to "see what I see."

Have a wonderful evening!!!

Christmas blessings to all.

On The 1st Day of Christmas........

On the 1st day of Christmas,

my mom & dad gave to me.......

39 years ago........

a baby sister called

RoOoOOObin!

That's Robin on the left & she was born 39 years ago today!  Wow, doesn't seem possible.

We are 10 years apart (so now you know my age).  I remember my dad coming to school to tell me that morning that I had a new baby sister.  My teacher made everyone in the class be very quiet when I returned to the room.  He brought me to the front & demanded everyone's attention.  (this is the one & only year that I was truly the teacher's pet - seriously!)  Mr. Bolt said, "now Patti has some very exciting news I believe."  That's when I told them all that I had a brand new baby sister!

She has always been my friend, a pest, a confidant, a shoulder to cry on & my hairdresser.  :)  I love her dearly for everything she is.

So - that is my Christmas story for the 1st day of Christmas.

Happy birthday dear Robbie - love you tons!!!

Merry Christmas to all of you & may you find joy in each day of this miraculous season!!!!

Getting An Early Start On My 25 Days of Christmas!

I've got the motivation, so I'm going to take adavantage of it!!!  While the "25 Days" doesn't technically start until Tuesday - I'm gettin a start on it now!  I finally came up with my design for our Christmas cards & since they are a lot of piece work, I'm working on them now.

Cut, cut, color, color, ink, ink, punch, punch, fold, fold, glue, glue!  I ordered our Christmas card photos last night.  I got really good deals on prints online = 50 free from Shutterfly, only had to pay the shipping, about $4!  Then I got another 25 @ 10 cents each from Wal-Mart via an email from Snapfish giving me a code for this price at the 1 hour service.  Can't beat that!  So for under $10 I got all our prints this year.  Awesome!

We have had a wonderful weekend.  Shaun was home from school since Wednesday night & Chad doesn't work nights anymore.  We were able to have dinner together EVERY night.  Can't remember the last time we all sat down to dinner in the kitchen together?  We went to the local Mexican restaurant (authentic) here in the village last night & then came home & rented a movie & all watched it together.  Now that NEVER happens around here ~ but I loved every minute of it.

Shaun just left for school & won't be home for a little over 2 weeks for Christmas break.  The rest of us return to work tomorrow.  These next 3 weeks at school will be crazy as always.  It's so hard to make the kids' stay on track this time of year, no matter how old they are.

I managed to (dutch) clean my house on Friday & get some of my Christmas decorations out.  I've never been one to put them all out at once, I like to add more as the weeks progress.

So let the festivities begin.  Through it all, remember to love those close to you & hold your memories even more dear.  Remember that Jesus is the Reason for this season too.

Annual Family Photo Shoot

It's that time of year again - time for the family Christmas Card photo shoot.  It always starts with moans & groans......no matter how early in the fall I start reminding everyone that it needs to be done.  Then there's trying to get us all together at one time.  Between jobs & school, we're not always at the same place.  Plus, Libbi must be in the shot, she is a huge part of our lives.

Libbi is what can either make or break the photo shoot.  She can either make us all laugh, or all really mad.  Today she succeeded in getting us all to smile or laugh at one time or another.

These pictures are just a few of the "bloopers" to show what process we go through.  Steve always tries to make her mind, she minds all right - with a mind of her own!

He tells her to sit, and she does, just usually not facing the camera!  She will turn & look at us as if to say, "What?  You told me to sit!"

Then  there's the decision of location....try to keep a Lab from going into the water...try to keep her attention on you & not the babbling, rushing stream off to the side.  Grab a stick - yeah, that'll do it!

Now, set the camera up, level the tri-pod, get everyone into position....get the dog to sit & THROW the stick to the front......and WA-LAA.....

....you get a family photo that everyone is happy with!!

Black Friday

Is it just coincidence that today is Black Friday AND my hubby's 50th birthday??? I think it's kind of funny to be turning 50 on Black Friday.

What a guy - and he's all mine! I love him so, so much. Do you know what he's doing on his birthday? He's been out in the garage since 7ish & is tearing my car apart. It has a major problem & he's fixing it. He's choosing to spend his day off working on my car! I hope this isn't too frustrating for him, as he has to pretty much pull the whole engine out to get to what needs to be fixed. And of course, it snowed this morning! Our garage isn't heated, but he's spent the week prepping the garage sealing off the attic space above it & hanging tarps down the middle so his heater will keep him warm out there.

I think I owe him a special treat - an extra special birthday cake & dinner. After ALL we ate yesterday I'm not sure where to start though. I'm sure I'll figure something out.

Happy birthday Steve - you are so special to me & I am so honored to be your wife! And remember, for the next 10 months you are an "older man" again!

So Donna Downey had a huge giveaway on her blog yesterday for Thanksgiving! I entered, I left the comment & then posted it on my facebook & left another comment.

So I go to check it out this morning & I see LISA YOUTZY is the winner!!! WOW - how cool is that? But yet - I was supposed to win....bummer.

I talked to Lisa this morning & she said she would share......she's so sweet. She saw it on my facebook last night, so she went over to Donna's blog & posted a comment & that's how she won.

It is a really cool package - really, really cool!!!