Catching Up Post Christmas

Hi! I trust you all had a blessed Christmas as did we. This past week has been a whirlwind. Little John started out last week being sick, we ended up at the doctor to learn of bronchitis. He is better but now Mason has it.I baked cooked and delivered goodies the first half of the week. John was off work from Thursday until this morning, which really messed with the boys heads. They love having their Daddy home, but when they get up this morning it will be chaos.

Wednesday night we rode around in our Christmas pj's, drank hot cocoa, sang Christmas tunes and looked at lights.

Thursday we had lunch at my parents with my brother and his family and then opened gifts. We came home and napped only to leave again to take my father-in-law some fruit and have supper at McDonald's and then to look at Christmas lights. Then it was home to prepare for Santa.

Friday morning was gifts everywhere! We stayed in that morning and I made buttermilk pancakes. My father-in-law arrived at 9:30am for breakfast with us. We had lunch with my parents around noon and then came back home to take naps. John went over to his Dad's with his supper and spent some time with him. Then at 5pm we went to my brother's house and met us with my sister-in-law's family there for supper. It was total chaos but in a good way. We had a blast and so did the boys. At one point we all were hanging out in the game room downstairs where a game of pool, a game of ping pong and a game of air hockey was all taking place, along a ballgame on tv and some basketball was being shot. We made it home about 8pm and tucked our tired little fellows in tight. John and I settled in with coffee and a sweet snack while taking in a Christmas movie.

Saturday morning brought brunch at my parents with my brother and his family and our cousin Brenda. We came home and rested while the boys napped. Then I started supper preparations for we had friends coming over with their little boy. They left about 10pm and we all were completely waxed. Laying down never felt so good!

Sunday was church and a nap then John's Dad came over. He, hubby and Little John went to visit with some of their relatives in from Texas. My parents came over for a little visit with Mason and I. We ordered pizza in and watched Cars the movie. hubby was up and off to work this am at 4 and I did not sleep well and ended up staying up and typing all of this. LOL!

Today the boys are staying with my Mom for a little while so I can make preparations for a baby shower that I am helping host this weekend. I also need to pick up some last minute things for Christmas with hubby's family Friday night. Yes, you read that right we STILL have one more Christmas get together to attend and I am making chicken and dressing, home canned green beans and fresh cream corn from the freezer as well as an apple cake.

I also need to get my new laptop set up (thank you Santa!), have pictures printed off, buy regular groceries and do some work for the small group. It s going to be another busy week. I also hope to get some pictures posted this week.

Christmas Blessings.........

from our home to yours!

Plenty to Write But No Time

Things have been excessively crazy around here! So I am going to post some bulletins for you.

• My Mom had a CT done to check the spot on her lung......we are expecting the worst, hoping for the best and praying for a miracle.
• The boys are finished with school (until June) and are home with me full time. YAY!!!
• We have had a blessed season and are so thankful for everything and everyone.
• My Daddy is better and the doc is still adjusting the medication.
• Little John is sick with bronchitis, Mason had an awful bout with reflux triggered by second hand cigarette smoke. Thanks Aunt M! Yes, I am being sarcastic! He vomited 5 times....projectile style. She never smoked while there just reaked of the smell. That is all it takes for him to get this sick.
• We have had 4 get togethers so far and have 7 more in the next 48 hours. Don't ask....Thankfully only 1 is at our house.
• I broke my little toe on the left toe and tore the toenail off last night. Ouch!
• I was released from the ENT from the surgery and feel much better now.
• We have gotten the most beautiful Christmas cards this year.

I guess that is about all for now. Christmas blessings on you all!

Cookie Help!

I am a cook not a baker. I love to cook........not to bake cookies. I do basic ones. I do bake several dozen around Christmas....but I want something special for this swap. We are doing a cookie swap in our small group next weekend. Do you have any ideas? I don't want anything too simple.......nor too complicated.

Do you bake? Tell us your favorite! Blessings and thanks!

Sleepless Night

It is after 11pm here and we are still up keeping an eye on the weather. We are having gravitational force winds and have had over 4 inches of rain. There are tornadoes here there and yonder as well.......not a safe feeling!

I had not posted and I thought I might shoot some bulletin posts at you.

• My Daddy was finally given a diagnosis and is being treated by a neurologist that is familiar with that subject. It is trigeminal neuralgia. HE was put on a low dosage of meds and will work his way up to a stronger dose over the next two weeks, then see the doc in 6 weeks to see if that is strong enough. He was having a great day today and has been pain free for 24 hours.
• My uncle had 5 bypasses and a valve repaired this am. He was in surgery around 7 hours and is slow to respond tonight.....please pray for him. My Mom spent the night at the hospital last night with my aunt. We have family here from North Carolina and Georgia.
• I got all of my Christmas cards out yesterday. About 110 of them.
• I started the task of wrapping presents today. I use to enjoy this part more for some reason. Do you like to wrap presents?
• We are doing a no spend month on January.
• I am tired........good night.

Blessings!!!!

Christmas Countdown

The boys are old enough now to understand so much more about Christmas. We decided to do a little Christmas countdown with them.
1. Wear Christmas pajamas and watch a Charlie Brown Christmas
2. Get out the little peoples nativity set and talk in depth about each character
3. Christmas parade and look at lights
4. Put trees up (including theirs in their rooms- John Deere themed)-have picnic supper beside big tree
5. Make gingerbread house
6. Get the boys ready for bed in pjs, bundle them up and go to the park and see the lights.
7. Make Christmas snack mix
8. Watch Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too
9. Make dough ornaments and decorate them
10. Read Christmas story and drink hot cocoa in front of fireplace
11. Make Christmas cookies
12. Family reunion w/ my Daddy's side
13. Do Christmas lace up cards
14. Paint stain glass ornaments
15. Watch Rudolph and the Misfit Toys
16. Color Christmas pictures
17. Write Santa a letter
18. Watch Christmas special on tv
19. Daddy takes boys to Aunt Sandra's house to see lights (Mommy at small group)
20. Go caroling to grandparents and Uncle Mike's
21. Wear Christmas pajamas and read God Gave Us Christmas
22. Deliver treats to friends and family
23. Finish #22
24. Bake cake for Jesus' b'day/ Go to Nana and Papa's to open presents
25. Special b'fast of Christmas pancakes, open presents, Pawpaw M comes over/ Lunch at Nana and Papa's/ Supper at Uncle Mike's

Are you and your little ones counting down Christmas?

Blessings!!!

A Frugal Funny

We had a Christmas get together with my Daddy's side of the family a couple of weekends ago. My parents always cut off the slices of spiral ham and take them in a pretty dish (or dishes). When the get together was over I was packing my Mom's dishes for her. I had to step away from the table and when I came back one of the two dishes was missing. I saw it in my aunts basket and asked her if it was hers. She responded that she had brought a honey baked ham in it.

Here's the funny. I ate ham from that dish, it tasted just like the one my parents had brought. The only difference:

My aunt's was honey baked for $6.66 per pound.
My parent's was an Aldi ham for $1.28 per pound.

Funny!

Today Was a Good Day!

My Dad is still in pain. No results from the biopsy yet. John's Dad is better. I am better. It will all be better someday! LOL! It always pours here when it rains. If you've been reading here for long you know what I mean. I had a lot to get done and was proud to get almost all of it completed. Things have been on survival mode the last 4 weeks since surgery. Here's what I did:

• Cleaned out like never before and came up with 11 boxes of things and food to donate to the HH (thrift store, food bank and service for school children in need of winter clothes and toys)
• 12 YES 12 loads of laundry
• Mailed 54 Christmas cards and I am only through letter H
• Checked the mail
• Vomited some of the morning from not eating with my new med (the script said to take on an empty tummy......NOT! TMI-sorry
• Redid my blog design
• Made menu plan for December
• Finished N.S.'s mix order
• Made labels
• emptied dw and loaded it back
• cooked supper
• Took out 3 bags of garbage
• Decorated the house for Christmas except for the the tree and the boys' trees
• Put away yesterday's groceries
• Baked a spiral sliced ham
• Wrote out checks and paid my parent's bills at their office
• Cleaned out the extra fridge in the utility room
• Put a bushel of apples in the clean fridge for this winter

I think that was all. I feel so much better being able to do and take care of things. I hope you all had a wonderful day as well.

The boys have a cough, a bad cough. I imagine I will be calling the doctor tomorrow, as Little John's is bad enough that it is causing him to wake up. He is taking a prescription cough med but I think he might need an antibiotic too. He was sneezing tonight and the green yuckies were coming from his nose. Mason has the green too. Please say a little prayer for them and my Dad too. Thanks so much!

Have a blessed night and sweet dreams!!!