Proof that I am crazy!

This was our view on the way home from shopping in Minnesota on Friday, October 23! We couldn't believe it! It is hard to tell because these were taken with my cell phone and it was a darker day but it was snowing! Snowing hard enough that we were driving 35-40 mph on the highway on the drive home instead of the 55-60 mph we would normally drive! I don't know exactly how much they got, but it was accumulating quite a bit, at least three inches I would guess. Two of my brother in laws live in this area and they said that once it stopped it melted very quickly, but it changed our plans to get together with one for lunch and we headed home a couple hours ahead of what we planned to make sure we made it in time for things we had planned that evening!

I'm not really sure, but this may be the reason why I am starting to get into the Christmas spirit too! I've started looking for some Christmas music, I have been listening to two cds the last couple days; Christmas Offerings by Third Day and Peace on Earth by Casting Crowns and I am excited about pulling out cds like Wintersong by Sarah McLachlan, The Christmas Sessions by Mercy Me, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Collection by Avalon, Christmas by Rebecca St. James, and Christmas Eve & Other Stories, The Lost Christmas Eve, and The Christmas Attic by Trans-Siberian Orchestra! What are your favorite Christmas songs or cds? I am always on the lookout for new music/artists and would love to hear what you are listening to Christmas or not!! Leave me a comment and I will definately go and give them a listen!

K thinks I'm crazy for pulling out the Christmas music already...wait until he hears the Christmas ringtones I put on the cell phone this afternoon!! Right now I have it set for Christmas is Coming by Vince Guaraldi from a Charlie Brown Christmas...but it was a close one with You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch! I'm even ready to pull out the Christmas lights...I don't know what the deal is, it took me so long to get into the spirit last year!

More than you really wanted to know about me today huh?!?!

Other than that Awana music is done for this week and the two weeks after that and then we have a break the next week for Thanksgiving! I've also gotten some proofs printed off for the Commander and Store Keeper to look at for the clubbers Christmas gifts. I've gotten almost all of my laundry put away, the last load is in the washer now....and the kids put themselves down for nap and fell asleep while I was putting laundry away and they were watching a little tv! It's been a good day!

Hope you all are having a good day and Jen, I hope you are feeling better!! Big hugs!

Rough weekend.

Ick, more snow today! They were going to let the kids out at noon and soon after that decision went out they changed their minds and let them out at ten fifteen! Supposed to be blizzard like conditions tonight! K is working at a friend's place doing some electrical work for them, it's out in the country a bit, but we have four wheel drive so he should be ok to get out there and back.
The big decision will be to see if we go out tonight. We are supposed to help do some computer work for some friends who live about a half hour away. K said the winds are supposed to pick up soon, and with the fresh light snow it may cause problems. It doesn't look too bad now, but in the dark and in open fields on the highway may be different.
I survived special music yesterday. It was so hard. Practice on Saturday night did not go well at all. We ended up using plan C a song that I had sung before...it had been a long time since I had sung it and PM played for me instead of B as she had the last time I sang it. It went ok...I missed coming in when I was supposed to and I missed a word in one of the verses. I was just so upset yet. I'll admit it, there were a few tears Saturday night. I was frustrated with myself and feeling like I was letting PM down. He and I did talk a bit and I felt a little better after that...but the feelings were still there you know? I gave him a thank you card last night at church, telling him that I appreciated him playing, the work and time he put into it, and all his help and advice.
J came up to me after church in the morning and told me that I had the deer in the headlights look while I was singing and I should loosen up! PM walked by and J asked me if PM was scaring me (jokingly...J is a huge joker!) I told him no he wasn't scaring me, and PM said no that he was trying to encourage me...and J looks at him and says "Quit scaring her!" His joking around made me feel a bit better.
Another cool thing happened Sunday morning too! Our church has recently started a love shawl ministry and they have been giving them to those who are going through a difficult time or in the hospital or something like that. Well, they have gotten going and have decided to give some to some people "just because", because we can all use prayer and to feel loved! Well, Sunday was my turn! C called my name as I was walking through the entry way and she handed me a beautiful black, white, and burgundy shawl. I almost started crying all over again and told her that she had such perfect timing, that the weekend had been a rough one and it meant so much to get the shawl, especially that day! I spent most of the afternoon wrapped up in it as I was reading my devotional and my chapters in the Bible to keep up with my goal of reading through the Bible in a year (once I get today's done I am completely up to day too!) and praying for another situation that is going on right now...if you think of it please say a prayer for PM and C and the funeral service they will have tomorrow. I will try to remember to get a picture of the shawl to show you all. I love it! There is a beautiful hand stamped tag and a handmade bow to go along with it too! The front of the tag says Draw near to God and He will draw near to you James 4:8 and on the back it says The Love shawl ministry has prayerfully made this shawl for you Feel the love and prayers of your Chapel family as you wrap this shawl around you.
Stitched by the CCC Love shawl ministry. So far I have left the tag and the bow on, I have debated taking it off and hanging it up on either the shelf or the bulletin board near my computer so I can look at it often but I just don't know if I should take it off.

Winter fun!

We ended up pretty much snowed in this weekend. Saturday it snowed and snowed hard! I ended up going back to Wal Mart with C and we spent most of the day there. We were picking up some stocking stuffers and getting some groceries for Christmas dinner and for our big cookie baking extravaganza! Of course we stopped at Mc Donalds for breakfast and made one extra stop for C to do a little shopping for a couple new sweaters for work.
We got all of our grocery/baking supplies at Wal Mart and headed home. The snowplows hadn't been out much and it was still snowing. We looked out on the fields on the way home and we just saw white. C and I made some of her spaghetti sauce and meatballs and then PM gave me a ride home. While I was gone, K had pulled the dishwasher, stove, and refrigerator away from the wall and cleaned underneath and behind them. We had a problem with mice for a while and K found one dead under the refrigerator...I am sooo glad that I wasn't here for that! PM stopped over later and the decision was made to cancel church, it was supposed to be very windy and the concern was blowing snow and the sub zero temperatures combined with wind chill would make for dangerous travel. We started the calling tree and let everyone know that there would be no church on Sunday and we would have a Christmas Eve service instead.
Sunday we slept in and just hung around the house until C called and we headed over to PM and C's house to start our cookie baking. We made rosettes, peanut butter cookies with Hershey's kisses on top, Andes Mint cookies, buckeye balls, and chocolate covered pretzels. We also decided to do some more baking Christmas Eve day.
I had such a great time baking!
Yesterday was another cold day and school was cancelled and K is on vacation for two weeks now. I only had L, T, and Tater and the boys had a blast with K! They even pulled out the little electronic drumset and had a lovely concert for me! K took off to go shopping at naptime, he told me that he hadn't gotten me anything yet and thought he better be a good hubby and go shopping! I also had a couple things for him to pick up and he got a hair cut, so it was a very productive afternoon for him! The boys left early and we just hung out and put some laundry away for the rest of the evening.
Today I only have Miss A and she has had a fun filled morning chasing her "Nee Nee" around the snow paths this morning. (When she first started daycare here Miss A was just beginning to talk and she couldn't say K's name, after she started calling him "Nee Nee" and us not understanding where it came from we finally figured it out....when I needed K I called for him..."Hey Honey!" Miss A adores K and we always joked that she was his little girlfriend and I should feel threatened, and she was proving it by calling him her Honey! and she still calls him that to this day. In fact LC, I, and 12 year old CG call him Nee Nee!!)
Now A is napping and K is helping to get things set up for the Community Christmas Dinner that will be held Christmas Day. We have at least one basketball game, maybe two depending if BC is playing up tonight, and we need to go over the PowerPoint that was for Sunday morning's service that will now be used for tomorrow night's service.
Tomorrow is baking and church followed by Christmas with my parents and then Christmas with K and I. Christmas Day brings helping with the Community Christmas Dinner and games and snacks with PM, C, and family.
I really hope that K likes his gift! PM buys and resells golf clubs and he helped me put together a new set for K since he is getting better and enjoying golf more. PM is even going to deliver them for me and get it all set up while K and I are at my parents' house for Christmas! Hopefully he will like them and I can get a good picture of his reaction!
I do have some good pictures of our snow and all the "fun" we are having in it and I will try to get them posted soon.
If I don't get them posted until after Christmas I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! and may the Lord bless you in this holiday season and in the New Year to come!

*The date and time may be off on this post as I started it yesterday morning!!

Ick, snow!

This is the view out my front door this morning. Fun. K went out with the snowblower at about 5:15 this morning and I still had to go out and shovel the path from the front door to the road when I got up at 7:30. The worst was at the end by the road since the snowplows had come by and packed it in. We live near the hospital so our road out front is usually plowed quite well.
The kids don't have school to day. I'm guessing there will be no basketball game tonight either, they have been known to have games on nights they have not had school before, but I haven't heard anything either way yet. If there is no game we might go over to PM and C's and try to work on their computer a little bit. I will definately need to get out of the house! Maybe I will try to get some more pictures around town of all of the snow.
LC, I, and Miss A want to go outside and play in the snow, but their Dad did not bring snowpants for anyone or hat or mittens for Miss A. They have not been too happy with me. They are going down for nap early....all a bit crabby and having troubles getting along... and soon after that they will be headed home.
In the meantime I am trying to get the PowerPoint typed up for PM and do a little more work on the agenda for the meeting that the elders and deacons were supposed to have on Tuesday, but was postponed because of the snow, that they are trying to reschedule yet. I have the hymn book project to work on too, not to mention the Christmas shopping that needs to be done yet and the wrapping of the gifts that we do have...I will definately not be bored I can say that much!!

More snow!

Another day another snow storm. They say that we cold get five to eight inches. So far we have barely gotten anything. It will not hurt my feelings at all if they were wrong and we didn't get much of anything!! I didn't get much done today, I was cleaning up the desktop and the laptop and doing a bit of reasearch on a problem that PM is having with his computer so we can go and work on it. We made it to prayer meeting and now had a little ice cream and I'm thinking about going to bed early. I may have to get up early and shovel, but hopefully not much!

If everything goes well we will have another basketball game or two, J has been home sick the last couple days with the flu.

We had a great time Christmas caroling last night! I threatened to turn my girls around and take them back to church because the one especially was being a bit rude and had an attitude but thankfully she straightened up. The only real downside is that I got a call that one of the kids that went in our group is sick with a nasty stomach bug today, we are all praying that the people at the nursing home that we went caroling to do not get it!

Winter has most definately arrived!

We survived the first big snowstorm of the year. I think we may have gotten about eight inches of snow! It didn't help that we had a little rain and ice to start things off and with the wind blowing, it was one of those "fun" storms. The kids got out of school two hours early on Monday, had no school on Tuesday, and then had a two hour late start this morning. The late start this morning was kind of nice, it meant I didn't have any kiddos until ten! I took advantage of that time to get caught up with a few emails and things and put my laundry away finally!
L, T, and Tater enjoyed the snow yesterday. I took them out for about a half an hour in the morning and when K came home in the afternoon we went out again. The snow was almost up to Tater's waist and he was trudging along and kept telling me, "I stuck"! We baked cookies for snack, and their only complaint for the day was that I didn't have any hot cocoa when we came inside after playing in the snow! Can't please 'em all, I guess!
We helped a friend get her new laptop set up and some programs downloaded on it on Monday night and last night we went and worked at church to finish setting up the Awana store. I will try to remember to bring my camera and get pictures! The store is AMAZING! Our storekeeper does a great job and has spent time every day this week getting it all set up. For alot of the kids this is their only time to go Christmas shopping, and they can get their gifts wrapped and everything. Thankfully the storm won't keep us from having store!
Tomorrow brings the basketball games that were supposed to be last night, but were moved due to weather and Saturday will be a full day with Christmas program practice, cookie baking, Madrigal, and going over PowerPoint with PM for services Sunday morning! I'm glad that Friday is looking a bit slower, I'll need that time to type up the PowerPoint!
I suppose I should go and put that next load of laundry away, I wish there was some sort of machine that would put it away for you too, not just wash and dry it!