Merry Christmas!

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"

Luke 2:8-14

From our home to yours.

May it be blessed.

Santa and Sledding

We were getting ready to go up north last Friday and there was a knock at the door. Look who showed up for a special visit! Lauren was jumping and squirming and giggling and Sarah was quiet but pleased. Santa was visiting the little school in our neighborhood and my neighbor thought that my girls would like to say hi. So there he was, full of life and very real. I, of course, asked him for something from Tiffany's and offered him a cookie. He declined. The cookie, that is. We'll see about Tiffany's. I have not been naughty this year. Really. What?


















Here is a shot of the sledding area. You can see the San Francisco Peaks in the distance. Brrrr. See the wind blowing the snow off the mountain?!


















Lauren Paige. Happy to roll around in the snow and talk to herself.






















I absolutely LOVE this picture of Sarah because it shows in her face and stance how tough she is. Doesn't she look kewl, broken nose and all. At the end of the day she took a jump that scared me half to death and I went running toward her to make sure she was OK. All of the other people sledding actually applauded her jump. Isn't that funny? They were watching her.



















Love this photo.

Go! Now!

I hope you enjoy this.

I think it's a great rendition.

Never a Dull Moment

Sarah broke her nose last Wednesday.

She was jumping from a trampoline to a blow-up bouncer. She had jumped several times without incident but one time her knee met her nose and that was it!

I have never seen my little Sarah in such pain and cry for so long. It was pathetic. But she was very brave and not hysterical, just in lots of pain. The next few days involved doctors appointments, x-rays and a visit to an ENT! Thankfully, the nose was broken but not displaced. No further treatment was necessary.



"Mom, don't put this on your blog"
Day 2



















"Why are you taking so many pictures?"
Day 4


















Sarah's nose is healing nicely and she is back to her regularly scheduled activities.

She has, however, stayed away from THAT trampoline.

PS. Dear Family and Friends, my annual Christmas card/photo will be late for obvious reasons. :)

Lookie What I Found!

I purchased a few magazines for my flight to San Diego on Sunday.























Boy was I surprised when I saw this.....








































Isn't that cool?!

So in true stalker fashion, I emailed her on Tuesday night when I got home. I told her I spotted the article and was surprised and delighted to see her story in Good Housekeeping. Because, you know, she is my pretend, internet bff.

Now That T-Giving is Over....

I'll listen to Christmas music.

This is beautiful.




Just wait till you hear Christmas Day. Mandisa's voice is amazing and Michael's is the same; soothing and beautiful. You'll get the shivers. (Mandisa was on American Idol a few years ago.) She is a lovely Christian lady and can belt it out, I tell ya.

Michael W. Smith has always been one of my favorite Christan singers. Not only has he produced beautiful music, he has remained faithful to the Lord and to his wife and family.

We were privileged to hear him perform at an Interstate Battery brunch a few years ago. Michael and a grand piano.

JOY!

As a side, he said the song "Friends" was the song that would never go away. :)

That's interesting....my daughter's 6th grade class just sang it for their Fall Music Program. hehehe

Follow the link and you can hear several of his songs off the new album.

Go! Buy it. You'll love it.

Give Thanks

Psalm 100

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.

Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.

Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.



For The Beauty Of The Earth
Folliot Sandford Pierpoint


For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
Pleasures pure and undefiled,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For each perfect gift of thine,
To our race so freely given,
Graces human and divine,
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For thy Church which evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

Listen here.


Happy Thanksgiving to my family and friends.

Have a blessed day.

Give thanks.

Mackie

May He Rest In Peace


















Our (and Nancy's) precious golden retriever had to be put down this morning. His hip and shoulder joints finally gave out. He was 14 years old. He was a gentle old soul and perfect in every way. We will miss him dearly.

For the first time in my life I think I believe in doggie heaven. ;-) Stacey will be glad to hear I finally have my theology right.

When Hannah and I were saying goodbye to Mack I told the vet I thought Mack was the most beautiful and precious and perfect dog in the world. He agreed (nice man) and gave credit to the breed. That made me feel good.

Some day I will own another Golden.....

We love you Mack.
You brought joy in to our lives.

For now, we are grieving.

Sisters! and Football!

Here we are at James' football game on Saturday afternoon.

It was good to be together.

That is an understatement but I don't have words to describe how special it was to all be together.

We talked and laughed and ate and talked some more. We interrupted EVERY conversation and never finished a conversation or came back to them much later.

I am soooo incredibly blessed by these dear ones.

Thank you Lord for giving them to me.




****************************
























Sunday afternoon we had an end of the year football party in our back yard.

We were expecting 120 people and I think they all showed up.

Isn't that grill amazing?

That's my boy getting his plaque. He had a great season.


********************

Let the weight loss begin.

I went back to the personal trainer and I'm ready.

I'll post updates.

This and That

Fresh Herbs!
























A friend of mine told me to harvest these herbs (especially the basil) quickly because the plant is sure to die! :)

I would appreciate any tips as to how best to care for these two beautiful and tasty herbs. I'd really like to add them to my spaghetti sauce. So leave me a comment if you have any herb wisdom.

***************

Nice Music. Colbie Caillat.


















Have you heard of Colbie Caillat? "Bubbly" is being played around here and on our XM. She's adorable and has a rich soulful sound to her music. Here is her My Space. You can hear several of her songs there.


Here is her web page.


You can buy it on iTunes.

I think you'll love her sound.

Her dad produced Fleetwood Mac back in the day. When Colbie expressed an interest in music he told her she had to first learn to play an instrument and she had to write her own music. I watched an interview and was very impressed with her humility and sweet spirit.

Off to buy the whole CD and more if I can find them.

Sports Around Here

I cannot write a post about sports without mentioning that yes, in this day and age, MIRACLES DO OCCUR.















Da Bears beat the Packers last weekend.

A miracle indeed.

I'm happy, Donna's sad.

I'll cheer for the Pack as long as they are not playing Da Bears.

I *heart* Da Bears and Lovie Smith!!!



******************

Go D-Backs beat The Rockies!

We are down 0-1 in this series. They play again tonight and hopefully with better results than last night.













Watch for Tony Clark. He plays first base. He is a great guy with a very sweet family. His children attend our school and Tony and his wife are very involved in coaching varsity girl's and boy's basketball.

The "closer" (the pitcher that comes in to finish off the game) is a guy by the name of Jose Valverde. His nickname is Papa Grande. He is very fun to watch. He's emotional and full of energy and gets the job done! We were at a game last week against the Cubs and I accidentally called him (to Dave) "Papa Verde" :) and I will never hear the end of it from my husband. I have a special gift of mixing up sports figures names. It's a family joke.

*******************************

Our junior high football team has a bye this weekend so that means we cheer extra hard for our varsity team tonight. We play a team that is new to us and it is our school's homecoming. My kids tell me that the team we are playing are boys from "Juvi". Yes, a juvenile center/school. If they are right, this could be an interesting evening. They also tell me that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department will be very visible at the game and on our campus. If this is a rumor I'll ring their necks. If not, I'll let you know how it goes. ;-)

UPDATE: I love Google. The school we play tonight is a "Christian school for troubled boys". And here I thought they were getting out of jail for the night. They have a great football record.

Amen Brother

Wow, this is impressive!

Enjoy.

This and That

First, my Costco finds of the week:

Gourds

















Pizza










Margherita Pizza by Palmero's. Yum.

A crispy, thin crust pizza topped with Italian style cheeses, and a garlicky mixture of tomatoes and basil.

We are loving this new find. It is a nice lite dinner and would be paired nicely with a fresh salad. I usually am very desperate when I pull out a frozen pizza but this one is worth it and it is delicious. Great to have on hand.

And Brie Cheese

Oh.my. This stuff is amazing. It is smooth and creamy and even the rind is soft and tender.




















***************

Most of you know I am a late bloomer in the 'reading of classics' department.

I am enjoying Jane Eyre very much and thought I'd show this beautiful book that I won in a contest at Carmon's place.

Isn't it beautiful?

Gospel Aerobics - Giving Him Praise

I just can't pass this up.

I first saw it at Amy's blog, resisted the temptation to post it but I have fallen....

Go to Amy's and read the comments. They are hilarious.

Brother Paul has some cool moves.

Copy Cat, That's Me

I don't think she'll mind. Do you?

Appetizer
How are you today?

I'm well, thank you very much. And I am tired.

Soup
Name 3 television shows you watch on a regular basis.

Ina, the Barefoot Contessa
Dancing with the stars
The local news

Salad
What’s the scariest weather situation you’ve experienced?

Three years ago we drove through Tulsa on our way to Wisconsin. We ran in to the most horrifying thunderstorm. Lightening was striking all around us and Dave could barely see the road in broad daylight. The kids went from hooting and hollering to dead silence. They were humbled and scared.

Main Course
If you could wake up tomorrow morning in another country, where would you want to be?

A Tuscan villa.

Dessert
What do you usually wear to sleep?

A cotton night shirt.

**********





















Claude Monet

This makes me think of fall.

Isn't it pretty?

Have a great weekend!!

Happy 50th Birthday Donna!

It's a national holiday my friends. Today is Donna's 50th birthday. Go by and wish her a happy day, won't you? She LOVES comments, especially on her birthday. She usually likes to receive the number of comments as she is old but I think her friends and readers will blow her away on this her 5oth birthday.










*************

There is no Friend like a Sister

There's no better friend than a sister -
There's no one more loyal and true . . .
and even when sisters are different . . .
their likeness come shining through!

Perhaps it's a family resemblance
that strengthens the bond they share . . .
or maybe it's just that sisters live life with a similar flair!
A sister remembers your collegehood -
She knows more than you will admit
of times you were Little Miss Perfect . . .
and times you gave others a fit!
She's seen you in some situations
when silence just wouldn't suffice . . .
and managed somehow to get by with those sisterly words of advice!

And when some encouragement's needed . . .
a sister will always be there . . .
to listen . . .
to laugh . . .
or to lean on . . .
to comfort, or simply to care.

There's no one who's more in your corner . . .
and no one you're more grateful to.
There's no better friend than a sister . . .
and no better sister than you.

from "There Is No Friend Like A Sister"
by Mary Engelbreit



I love you Donna! Happy Birthday my precious sister. You are a gift from God and I thank Him for blessing me with YOU. I hope today is a wonderful day and that you are filled with joy and contentment and peace. May the Lord bless you today and always.

Your much younger sister,
Janet. XXOO

Fall Is In The Air

Now that the temperatures here have dropped below 95 degrees I'm getting excited about Fall. ;-) I found this yesterday at Linens-N-Things. It smells like fall with a hint of cinnamon.

Do you have a favorite Yankee Candle scent?

Remodel Update

From this:




















To this:






















We are still waiting on a few more shelves.

Hey, look. We painted the ceiling yellow too. It makes the crown moulding POP.

To the left is our media section.























See any books you have and or like?


















We're still digging out, the job is not completed but it sure looks a lot better!!

Baby Back Ribs

Fall off the bone delicious my friends!

This recipe is my girlfriend's grandmother's recipe. Did I get the apostrophes correct?

I purchased my ribs at Costco. I like Costco's meat and the shear volume of things. One package came with 3 racks.

First you brush Wright's Liquid Smoke (I used Hickory) on both sides of the ribs.


















Next you season both sides with fresh ground black pepper and garlic salt.

Place ribs in a pan or cookie sheet and bake COVERED (with foil) at 275 degrees for 5 hours.

After five hours, remove the foil and brush the ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce. Bake for 1 more hour. (I shortened each time by 30 minutes because we were busy that night and that didn't seem to effect the outcome.)




Let the drooling begin.

They are scrumptious.

I'll be making these again very soon.

I Beg of You

Go buy this music.

It was released on September 18th but I have been listening to it for two months because the good people at Monk & Neagle sent me one for free.

You will not be disappointed.

Get it off iTunes or Amazon or get it at your local Christian bookstore.

And then go visit BooMama and read her interviews with Monk & Neagle
here and here.

My very favorite is "Stars Would Fall". Oh it is soooo good. Seems to me like it should be in a movie.

You will enjoy the whole CD. I kid you not.

Go listen and tell me what you think!

Hi Cindy!

Sis Cindy is the cutie in the back with the green shirt on. This is her precious class of Kindergartners.

















For your darling class of children, Cindy, I give you these verses.


Matthew 19:14

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”


Numbers 6:24-26

The LORD bless you and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.


(HUGS)

Tagged.

Donna tagged me with the "8 Random Facts Meme".

I'll play along today!

1. I love shopping at Walgreens and can easily spend 45 minutes wandering around.

2. I had to have an ovary removed when I was 24. God still gave me five beautiful babies!

3. I love pedicures and manicures and I highlight my hair.

4. My favorite flowers include peonies, gerbera daisies and gardenias.


















5. I have baby back ribs in the oven right now and it is the first time I've ever made them.

6. I have my B.S. in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology.

7. We are going to Washington DC next June and also hope to go to Yellowstone National Park in July.

8. I love having a clean car and a full tank of gas.....blame my bil! I also love riding/driving ATVs, preferably Honda's.





Tag yourself if you want to play along or put yours in my comments.

Wise Counsel

Mr. Dan Phillips over at Pyromaniacs has written an excellent post on Christian dating.

This man speaks with boldness and conviction and wisdom. This is not the first article from him that I have appreciated.

I hope you'll enjoy it too. I'm printing this one for my teenagers. Good stuff!

And just because. A pretty picture from Art.com.

Grandma Great

Picture taken in December 2006.

Dave's precious 90 year old grandmother has been in the hospital since Friday night. She had not been feeling well for about 2 weeks and then took a fall on Friday afternoon. Thankfully, she did not injure herself when she fell but it was determined that her bile duct was blocked with "sludge". She had a procedure on Sunday morning to take care of the bile duct but she is not recovering well from being ill, taking the fall and then the procedure and light anesthesia. She was moved to a rehabilitation center last night (less than a mile from my house) where she'll receive physical therapy to try to gain some strength back. She is very weak and is wheel chair bound at this point. Just two weeks ago she was able to move about her home and care for herself. It is very hard to watch a loved one's health decline so quickly.

Grandma is a faithful, devoted, follower of Christ. She is not afraid to leave this world but I'm not so sure we are ready for her to leave us.

She is the world's sweetest Grandma and nicest patient and she means the world to us.

Will you pray for Grandma? Her name is Dorothy.


















Here she is with all of her great grand children.

Christianity Today Article

Heather wrote about and linked to this article today.

I hope you'll take the time to read it and be encouraged.

Perhaps you could whisper a prayer for Tony Snow and Miss Heather.

Can I Get An Amen?!

We have water, PEOPLE!!!





















I'm very happy with the placement of these sinks and mirrors!! It was worth the wait and inconvenience.



















And here is our desk from Ikea.

All we have left to do is paint (yea, we hired a painter), the carpet needs to be tacked in a few places, one dry wall patch and clean.

And if I may quote Vern the plumber, "Well, whoop-d-do".

I love that man.

A Small Setback

Do you see the sink holes in these pictures? Notice how far they are to each end and how the mirrors are all the way to the wall? I can't live with it. And when your spending all this time and money on a project like this it better be just what you want. RIGHT?

A new man, actually the owner of the construction company, was in charge of the bathroom that day and he assumed that I wanted the sinks centered over the two little doors. Well, I didn't, but he didn't ask. So when I saw it I silently gasped and called Dave. I was calm but said "um, did we really want the sink over the doors?" We lived with it for a few days and then I calmly (the key here) told Dave I just didn't like it. He understood and agreed. The good news is that is it not granite, it is Formica. We chose Formica for right now because the four girls will be using curling irons, nail polish, nail polish remover etc. and we figure we can change the counter top very easily when they get a little older. Dave and I were prepared to buy the new counter top ($200) but the construction company offered to deduct it from the grand total! So it is on order and should arrive some time next week. It has delayed the project by a week or so but this way we will be totally happy.

I also decided to get a quote from a painter to finish the book shelves, crown moulding, casings, baseboards and new walls. I should hear from them soon. Please pray that my husband will allow it.....I don't think I can cope with all of the trim work and detail it will take to finish it off.

Here is what was accomplished this week.






P.S. The colors of my walls finally look right in these pictures.