Happpy New Year!

My gift to you is an inspirational web site that I ran across today. The site is http://www.pravworld.com/. The quote and image above came from it (I hope I'm not violating anything by posting it here...) It is my hope that all of my dear friends have a wonderful new year and that all good things come to you in 2008.

This is a magical time of year. Last night we celebrated Christmas with our family. Things were a bit wild here! Our three kids, their spouses, their kids, Jim's mom, my mom and dad, and my brother were here, totaling 21 people. The four oldest grandkids read "The Christmas Story" (The Gospel according to St. Luke Chapter 2 verses 1-20) It was a special moment for all of us and the only time the entire evening that only one person was talking and everyone else was listening. Of course they then tore into the presents with a vengence! My mom and Jim's mom both have alzheimers. They were both in their own versions of lala land, but at least they were with us (kind of). Anyway, it is my prayer that everyone had a wonderfully blessed Christmas.

I received a radio clip in the mail yesterday that I thought was just AWESOME! It is of a little boy who called into a Houston Radio Station to talk to the DJ. The 12 year old is explaining about a talk he had with God. This clip would decidedly be more appropriate at Easter than it is at Christmas but yet, here it is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCdZwitrNoY

Humbled

There is nothing more humbling than the power of nature. Whether it be floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, snow storms or in my case... ice storm. An ice storm froze its way through Missouri (an other parts of the mid-west) Saturday night. We had stayed with friends that night after our annual open house/Christmas Party, which we host with them at their house. We dodged fallen trees and downed power lines on the drive home. Since we literally live in the middle of the woods, I feared the worst. I was relieved to see no trees had fallen on our house under the weight of the ice. However, the devastation was amazing. As I looked around at the destruction, I felt very small. I even had to shed a tear over the loss of my sweet cherry tree. Electricity has been restored after over three days of darkness. I grin and say a little prayer of thanks every time I turn on a light. Of course I will revert back to my old ungrateful ways soon (like tomorrow). Unfortunately the photos don't begin to show the real devastation. But it is the best I can do. It sure is nice to be back online!

Break It Down...

What is greater than God more evil than the devil the poor have it the rich need it and if you eat it you will die?

You don't know? Try answering it this way:

What is greater than God? _________________
What is more evil than the devil? _____________
What do the poor have? _______________
What do the rich need? _______________
If you eat it, you will die? ______________

Got it?
Nothing

I try to approach each day like that. Break it down. As a whole, everything is often more than one person can possibly handle. So, break it down. Tackle one problem at a time, especially this time of year. Everybody keeps saying it, and it is so true. The Holidays are stressful. It is supposed to be a happy time of year. In the process of making merry and bright, I find myself tired and grumpy. You too? I am playing Santa and have made a list. I have prioritized that list. If it doesn't all get done, that is ok. So, let's all chill and break this time of year down into something we can understand and handle. After all why are we celebrating Christmas anyway? We are celebrating the Birth of Jesus. So let's break it down, do what is important and keep Christ in CHRISTmas. The rest doesn't really matter. HO! HO! HO!

Thoughts

For over 30 years I worked for state government, starting out as a clerk and ending in management. Always striving for more... more status, more responsibility, more space and of course MORE MONEY, lol. There were times when I really liked what I was doing but had to move on for the "more". Now I've been "retired" for five years and have the chance to do what I want to do. For the first year of retirement I played. Then I got cancer and was diagnosed with Lupus and spent over a year pretending I was OK even though I wasn't. I still pretend some about the Lupus (nobody likes a whiner). Now I keep busy, busy, busy! I take care of the grandkids when my kids need a get-away or just need a helping hand. I still have more hobbies than it is possible to handle (cooking, scrapbooking, photography, guitar (what a joke), singing with a church group, reading, gardening, sewing, hosting murder mysteries, traveling (goes well with the photography) and of course spending time with my kids and their families). In my spare time I have my embroidery business, which is what I should be working on at this moment. The business has become exactly what I envisioned and more. If I wanted to worker harder, I could. I am proud of the fact that I (we) made an investment and it is paying off. Anyway, it is a gorgeous Fall day here and I mean to make the most of it. Will spend some time (actually a lot of time) in the loft working on jobs that need to get done and maybe rake a few leaves. We seem to have an abundance of them, living in the middle of the woods like we do. Adios for now!

Persistence

When things go wrong as they sometimes will;

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill;

When the funds are low, and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but have to sigh;

When care is pressing you down a bit-

Rest if you must, but do not quit.

Success is failure turned inside out;

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;

And you can never tell how close you are

It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-

It's when things go wrong that you must not quit.~ Unknown