Hi-ho, Hi-ho, It's Off to Ilinois We Go

The much longed for trip to visit Grandma Z will begin after tomorrow's evening service. Making the motherland pilgrimage at night is a time honored tradition among the Texas branch of the S_________ family. The idea is to let the children sleep. It wasn't too bad last year when we went at Thanksgiving. I took the 2:00-5:00 shift of driving, and right before dawn I got REALLY sleepy. I began belting out songs on the radio, but as soon as the DJ would start talking, my eyes closed. Finally, I spotted a visitor center, and pulled in. After a fifteen minute cat-nap, the master awoke from the back seat and took over.
Long car trips are about the only time the master gets phantom pains anymore. I hope he doesn't have a huge problem with them. It will definitely be our longest drive since the amputation.
At least we do not have to worry about the weather. It is barely cooler there than it is here! The coldest we should see is around 40. Not too bad. A little sad that the kids won't get to see snow, but worth not having to drive in icy conditions.

Merry Christmas!

Release the Hounds!

Little Cara she's as pretty as the angels when they sing...I can't believe she's out here in the kitchen in the swing....

Normally Randy is a Kaboda man, but he's willing to make an exception.


This girly-girl is now well stocked.

"Mom, this is my imagination station."

I'm always surprised at least once during the unwrap by the kids' response to the gifts. This year, they were ecstatic to find winter gloves and matching tobagans in their stockings. 1$ at W*llM*rt. Go figure.

Oh, the bliss of a new Lego set!

The wreckage

Christmas and Gender Identification:

Ian: Hey, Marina, you want to go with me into the woods and watch me shoot my new pistol? (cap)

Marina: Sure, just let me get my makeup, in case I need it.

No confusion here.

Hope your Christmas is as merry and full of love.

Salvation Sunday

My sweet Abigail accepted Christ this morning in the worship service. Just two days after her physical birthday we celebrate her spiritual birth. The master was preaching a straight evangelistic message (not uncommon) and I was praying with all my heart that she was listening. Abby held her head in her hands and stared at the floor. It is hard to know at these moments if she is truly attending or counting the threads of carpet. But when the master began to close the sermon with a portion of his own testimony, she began to weep. The master was pleading with the congregation to come to Christ and I leaned over and asked her if she was ready to run to Jesus. She said, "Yes, mommy. Will you come with me?" I told her I would come and stand beside her in a few minutes, but that she needed to make this walk on her own, and she did. The most touching part was that the master had not seen what had transpired in the pew, so when he saw Abby coming down the aisle, he was surprised. In the most beautiful way a person can be surprised. He embraced her and cried over her for joy. Praise the Lord! Thank you all so much for praying for her! And in case you are wondering, yes I bawled like a baby.

Hodge-Podge Post

I've been out of blogger sync the last week or so. It's working great for my comments, though! Six comments on that last copy/paste post. That is tied with my all-time record from Just Another Day. And that was from my surprise, "We Have A Daughter" post. By holding out posts, I force your hand to comment on posts you wouldn't normally comment. Ahh....blogger strategy. Of course, you can counter move by tagging me. Like Suz. Accordingly, here is my fourth picture from my fourth file.

This is a three year old Ian at DisneyWorld's Magic Kingdom in 2005. If memory serves, this photo was taken right across from Mickey's house, where my sister and I stood in line for HOURS to get the kids' pictures taken with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and the Ducks (Donald and Daisey respectively). When we finally finished, it was LATE, and the rest of the fam got tired of waiting for us and disappeared. We hung out in this toddler play area and put out some APB's on the cell phones. Yes, he was still having a great time even at dark thirty. For Ian, it's always a good time for a party. He cannot wait to go back. We have a cut up poster of the Disney castle in a zip-lock bag and a matching blank poster board on the back of our closet door. Each piece of the poster represents one debt and the poster board is market with the name and amount. As we pay off a debt, we put a piece of the puzzle poster up. When the picture is complete, we will be debt free (except our house) and have the four thousand dollars in hand for a return trip to Disneyworld. Ian is the only one who checks our progress almost weekly. Dave Ramsey would be so proud.

I tag Kelly the aforementioned sister, and Katy from "Beyond Decaf" if you are reading, Mamaporuski, and Allison. ** Post the fourth picture in the fourth file on your computer.**

I want to give you all a sneak peak of our Christmas picture. For those of you who have not e-mailed me your address, this is as good as you are going to get. I'm contemplating drafting a newsy family letter to include with the photo-card as I have in the past, but I've always gotten pretty personal with those. The secretary said the last pastor always sent out a family letter to the CONGREGATION and told me she would be happy to help me with it this week. I took this as a not-so-subtle hint. Sigh. Could I really open up and be myself with the church at large? Excuse me while I put my head between my legs and breath into a paper bag....

I know we are stunningly beautiful, but as this is a pirated picture, please resist the urge to print it and sell them to the highest bidder. Thanks. Abby's hair is a trifle fluffy, and Randy had a goofy fish face, but all in all it's not bad. I think the photographer could have waited for a full blown smile from Cara. He wasn't much of a kid person, but it is not difficult to get a smile or even a chuckle out of her, she is that good natured. Here is proof:

Jenny, if you are out there reading, please let me know how I can contact you, because that link from your comments is a dead end.

A Franciscan Prayer

What a wonderful prayer to pray over your children:

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world so that you can do what others claim cannot be done to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY, Monday, December 1, 2008
Outside My Window...I can't see outside my window, because my beautiful Christmas tree is blocking my view. But it is cold out there and moist...makes me wheeze just thinking about it.
I am thinking...about the damp weather with the possible respiratory repercussions and that I'm bone tired.
I am thankful for...the many unknown mommy's who take the trouble to send a little extra lovin' for my Cara. See picture thought.
From the kitchen...two delicious slow roasted hens and a big gaping hole where my refrigerator was. We rented our old house!!!! Big "yeah," on that. But we had to provide a fridge because of a typo on the listing stating that the house had one. Booo! Since our's didn't match our new house, we decided we would take it BACK down to the old house and buy a new one.
I am wearing...blue jeans, long sleeve shirt, and pull over.
I am creating...girls winter jammies and a Christmas card list. I lost my address book in the move, so I'm having to track down information. HINT, HINT: e-mail me your address.
I am going...to take Ian to the ENT on Thursday. The pediatrician said his ears looked, "sad and tired." Awww...poor deaf baby. Third set of tubes, here we come.
I am reading...Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (kid's bedtime book)
I am hoping...still hoping to hear about that teaching position. If I don't hear something this week, it is a good sign that they have found someone else. Even though I don't really want to work, it would be disappointing to not have the choice.
I am hearing...The hum of the hard drive, and the tap-tap-tap of the keyboard.
One of my favorite things...my nativity all set out on the mantel.
Around the house...Disaster in the kitchen due to the loss of the fridge. Behind in the laundry and most other chores from Thanksgiving. Will I ever catch up? Probably around mid-January.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...With the exception of Ian's doctor's appointment, the calendar is pretty clear until this weekend. We are heading to Houston for our agency's Christmas party and a quick visit with my Aunt and Uncle who have not yet met Cara Bear-a.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Aren't they lovely? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You're looking at 168 ounces of prevention.

Oops! Almost forgot to leave the link: http://www.thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/