A Blessed Christmas!!

For Today:

Outside My Window: It's right before 6 am. Dark and frosty, and all seems right with the world.

I am thinking: I am so blessed. Even though this Christmas was different in almost every way, it was a WONDERFUL Christmas! I got to spend time with my family that I don't normally get to because I'm spread so thin trying to get everything done. Rob was wonderful, even on Christmas morning when I cooked breakfast for my parents and us, he came right in and did the dishes as I cooked to help me out. He kept the laundry going too till the dryer pooped out Christmas night. I LOVE that man, have I told you that before?

I am thankful for: The way things worked out this year. I was so afraid that we would be lost without all the parties we usually host, that we would be sitting around bored to death, but that didn't happen! Christmas Eve we had plenty of time to spend with my parents and brother and his family. Usually we have to hurry to work that part of our Christmas in in between other things. It was so nice just to relax and spend time with them. After we left there, we drove around looking at all the Christmas lights. The neatest thing we saw was thousands of real luminaries through the whole Conjurer's Neck sub-division. It was absolutely beautiful. Every single house except one was lit up. I've never seen anything like it before (in person)!!

I'm also so very thankful that Sarah's wound has almost completely closed. The wound is so tiny you can't even see an opening, but it still has a tiny bit of drainage, so it's not closed 100%, but it will be by the end of this week. PRAISE GOD!!! It's been about 8 months since we started fighting this battle, and we are soooo thankful that it is almost over!!!

From the Kitchen: Well, I don't know yet. Something to eat I'm sure, lol!!!

I am hoping: To finish working on cleaning the house after I run some errands today. I got all of the Christmas boxes, wrap and gift bags, that sort of thing, put away already. I've already started weeding out junk and filling up bags for a spring yard sale. The first of the year always makes me want to clean out and start fresh, and I'm just getting a little head start this week!

I am reading: I'm sooo excited. Just a few more days and I will have read through the whole Bible in one year. I'm so proud of myself for finally following through after years of starting and never finishing!!! We also finished Night Line Devotionals for Couples. Now we are reading Love is a Decision, an older book by Gary Smalley. So far the first chapter was awesome, so I can't wait to finish this one as well.

I am creating: A plan for the New Year! I don't know about you, but the new year always brings excitement as I reflect over the past and determine what needs to be done the coming year. I did a blog at the beginning of the year stating the goals I wanted to accomplish, and I will soon do one to see how that all worked out, lol!!!

I am praying: For God's direction for our lives the coming New Year. That we put God first in every decision and area of our lives, because He is our counselor, our saviour, our confidant, our healer, our everything, and He deserves our total commitment, worship and praise!!!!

I am hearing: Just the dog. He's giving us a fit with his allergies and the constant licking of his paws is causing us to go maddddddd!!!! Ugh, now the cat has joined in and it's really gross in here!!!!

One of my favorite things: My new silver diamond heart necklace, a gift from hubby!! I have a thing for hearts, ever since he gave me my first sweetheart ring (that I still wear!!) 32 years ago!!!!

Around the house: Yesterday I worked on Sarah's room most of the day. Katybug got a new bedroom set for Christmas, so she gave Bobby her old dresser. Bobby gave Sarah his two small dressers, and I rearranged her room. Together we went through almost every nook and cranny in her room and cleaned, tossed, moved and basically totally redid her "space"! She loves all the new counter space she has now, and she was able to move some of the stuff in her drawers that would fall out when you opened them cause they were so crammed into new spacious drawers! Thanks Katybug and Bobby :-)

A few plans for the rest of the week: Since none of our Christmas was normal this year, why should our New Years be normal? We've always had the big New Years Party with our parents, my sister in law and brothers in law, and Sarah's friend Shana. This year, since Johnny isn't able to be here, we've decided to skip the party. Since Bobby is off, we are going out to eat as a family and just spend time together. It sounds great to me, as we hardly ever can get the 4 of us together at once anymore!!

Devotional: "Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race." Philippians 3:13-14

Coming up on the New Year, many of us will make resolutions for the umpteenth time, only to forget about them a couple of weeks later. Then we'll beat ourselves up about not being able to stick to them.

God doesn't expect us to be perfect, and we shouldn't either. Everybody fails at one time or another. The secret is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, ask forgiveness, and forgive YOURSELF!!

When we mess up, God wants us to confess our sin, accept His forgiveness, then MOVE ON! Don't wallow in the past, determine to press on and try again with His help!!!!!

Here is the picture I am sharing:

Christmas Eve Dinner in our jammies!
Bobby couldn't go because he had to work. I made it almost to Mom and Dad's before breaking down and crying cause my little boy wasn't with us! I don't like the fact that my kids have to grow up!

There's my wittle boy! He was off Christmas Day, thank God!!!

Thankful for my Mom this Thursday!!!

Today is Thankful Thursday of course, and I have so much to be thankful for, but most of all I really want to thank my Mom for all the help she has given us over the last few months!!

Sure, she gets paid to work with Sarah. It's her "job". But she has gone sooo far above and beyond what she has been paid to do. She has been there for us no matter what time of day or how long each day we have needed her. She doesn't get paid when Sarah goes into the hospital, but she was there every day as Nanny, not caretaker!!! Just like she has ALWAYS been! In every hospitalization, she is right there to stay with us and keep us company, or to stay with Sarah so I can go home for a few hours.

A lot of times, she is Sarah's voice when things aren't going good. She has NO problem telling nurses and doctors when Sarah is having a problem and she thinks they aren't doing something fast enough!!! When Sarah hurts, she cries right along with her. She has the patience of a saint, because contrary to popular belief, Sarah can have a bit of an attitude (like most girls her age)! Mom tries to take it with a grain of salt most of the time. She keeps her cool when she'd really like to "give it right back to her", lol!!!

This next week is a VERY busy week for everybody, being the week of Christmas. We have TWO days of Drs. appointments in Richmond next week. Mom will have company coming in on Sunday, and yet she is still going to those appointments with us. Honestly, I don't know how she does it all. I wish I had half of her energy. Maybe this is her secret: Power Naps, lol!!!

Sometimes we work her to the point of exhaustion!!!
She's gonna kill me for this one!!!!!!!!!!

Our family NEVER could have gone on this journey without the help of my Mom. Well, I guess we could have, but I can't imagine how hard it would have been. And I can't forget Dad, who brings Mom to the hospital every day, and comes for every surgery even though he doesn't like hospitals.


They are the most amazing parents in the world, and I'm so lucky they are mine!!! Okay, I'm crying now, but it's sooo true!
I love them so much just because of who they are and how awesome they are, but they have just gone above and beyond their duties as parents and grandparents. How blessed we are to have them as our own!!!!!!

I love you Mommy! I thank God for giving me such a wonderful Mom and Friend!! May God bless us with many more years to walk this crazy but awesome life together!!!!

Her children arise up, and call her blessed:
Proverbs 31:28

For Today

For Today:

Outside My Window: Cold and foggy!! Looks like one of those old mystery movies!!!

I am thinking: Can't believe we missed our Church's Christmas Play. It's the first one we've missed and Rob hasn't been in in years. Seems strange, but Sarah just wasn't up to it. She did make it to her Church Play, but was in a lot of pain by the time she got home, and wasn't ready to go through that again just yet. But next week, we'll get to go to MY Church first, lol!!!

I am thankful for: My hubby! Thanks for helping me with all the laundry yesterday! Sorry I tried to take a spin on the crazy cycle. It just seems like we have a dirty laundry making machine somewhere in this house, and if I could find it, I'd break it!!!!!!!!!

I'm also thankful for all the eBay sales this week, in spite of the fact that I haven't had time to work on it at all. I sold 12 pairs of jeans this weekend. That made up for some of the stuff that went for 99 cents on my auctions last week!!! Thank you Lord for your blessings!!

From the Kitchen: Homemade Chili and Cornbread.

I am hoping: To get my errands done early so I can come home and finish the Christmas wrapping today.

I am reading: Yay, I've made it to Revelations in "Through the Bible in a Year"!! I can't believe I am actually gonna finish this time. It's awesome! We're almost done with Nightline Devotions for couples. Looking forward to starting a new Devotional with Rob, and a more in-depth study of the Bible next year!!!!

I am creating: Ummm, everything and nothing. Just trying to maintain order in this house until Christmas.

I am praying: That Sarah gets a good report at the Plastic Surgeon next week. If he goes by how her wound looks, she won't need another surgery. The wound is almost closed now. I can't believe how fast it has healed. With the infection, it would get a little better than get much worse. Now it is just getting smaller and smaller every day. When she first came home, we had to use a ton of packing in the wound. Now I can barely get any in there. It's awesome!!!

I am hearing: This time it's the cat licking herself. That's all, total silence. How nice!

One of my favorite things: Watching all the Christmas movies on TV with my hubby. We've never had time to do that before. We've missed a lot of our regular activities this Christmas season, but we've made some new awesome memories together that we've never been able to do before. We have enjoyed spending time together just watching those movies (and doing laundry during the commercials, lol)!!!

Around the house: Bobby's alarm is going off now at 6:30. Why in the world? He's off today. Uh oh, he's also sick. Things don't sound so good coming from his room. My poor baby boy....

A few plans for the rest of the week: Just working around the house and running errands. No appointments this week, but we have a crazy week next week. 3 Drs. appointments in Richmond right before Christmas! Gotta get everything done this week!!

Here is the picture I am sharing: Sarah, all dressed up and looking beautiful for her trip to Church Saturday night.

Yep, she was a little loopy from the meds. I can see it in her eyes, lol!!

My Christmas Present from Bobby:

In my dreams......maybe he'll at least take me for a ride??

Thankful Thursday

Thank God it's Thursday! This has been one busy week, but a great week. Because things are so hairy still (my own fault, I'll explain later), I've decided to combine my two blogs again this week. Maybe things will calm down in January? One can dream.....

For Today:

Outside My Window: I'm waiting for the sun to come up. I have tons of stuff to bring in from the shed to ship this morning and I don't want to slip down the ramp and break another ankle or step in doggy doo, so I have to wait till sunrise!!

I am thinking: Once again, I'm thinking: What was I thinking? I put a ton of items on auction at one time, and 52 of them sold. So now I have 52 items to ship out at one time. Am I crazy? Yep, but I just wanted to get this stuff out of here!

I am thankful for: so much!! The fact that they changed Sarah's meds to just one IV twice a day! Hallelujah!! Last night I went to bed around 9:30 and slept all night. Praise God!!! I don't have to wake her up at 6:00 in the morning anymore. The only problem with it right now is that the new med makes her nauseous. If it continues, they will give her something for it tomorrow. They took her off of the other meds just in time. They were causing her white blood count to drop. The doctor said those meds were not her friend anymore!!! I'm thankful that she is going to try to make it to her church and mine this week! It's still takes a lot of time to get her ready, so this will be a challenge, but one we are sooooo ready for!!! I'm thankful I was able to do everything for Sarah's little family party last night, even though I felt like my Dinners: crappy, lol!!! By the end of the night, whatever I had passed, and it all worked out. God is sooo good!!!

From the Kitchen: Well, lets see: we have mexican leftovers from dinner last night. Pizza leftovers from lunch yesterday. Hardee's Chicken and french fries & onion rings leftover from the party last night (Grandmother brought them at Sarah's request!!) Two kinds of cake leftover cause Sarah gets her favorite for her birthday which is chocolate, but everybody else likes the white cake, so she's the only one who always gets two cakes every year!!!!! leftover chips and 2 kinds of dip which I forgot to even set out last night since there was so much food. So........I think that pretty much takes care of lunch and dinner today. I won't be cooking till I can get all that mess out of my fridge!!!!

I am hoping: That Bobby gets Johnny's truck inspected and running soon. I forgot I have international items to ship out today, and Bobby has to have my van to be at work at 10. The post office doesn't open till 10, so I'm out of luck. I could take him to work, but nah, I'm not THAT desperate, lol!!!!! Oh yea, by the way, Bobby's newest buy is his uncle Johnny's truck. Johnny is not able to drive anymore due to his MS, and Bobby needed a vehicle fast until he can find what he really wants (the F-150 hasn't worked out yet cause the seller didn't have the title!!), so they helped each other out. The only problem is Bobby is a wheeler dealer, and nobody wants to see him sell Johnny's truck, even though it will have to happen eventually. There are too many memories and emotions tied up in that truck, and it's soo sad that Johnny has to give it up.

I am reading: Well, in all honesty, I've only been able to read Through the Bible in a Year and a few online devotions lately. Just been too busy to keep up with even our couples devotions. Since Rob and I are on such different schedules, it's hard to sit down together the last couple of weeks. We've just fallen in the bed exhausted at the end of the day. BUT.....we've already said we will be able to get back to them tonight now that I don't have to stay up late anymore. Yippeeeee!!!!!!

I am creating: Nothing. Please. I don't want to have to think or create anything today. Thank you very much. LOL

I am praying: That we'll get a good report from the Plastic Surgeon next week. That Sarah's nausea will go away. That we'll be able to attend some Church activities without too much problem. That Sarah forgives me for buying her an Argyle sweater for her birthday! (Had to be there!!! I LOVE Argyle, but apparently I'm the only one in the family that does, lol).

I am hearing: Absolutely nothing. Isn't that nice?

One of my favorite things: Sleep, just being honest.

Around the house: I have lots to do, so I gotta get busy!

A few plans for the rest of the week: Post Office tomorrow, maybe a little shopping, Church this weekend.

Devotional: December is all about gifts. Nothing but gifts....Gifts tied with heartstrings. Gifts that surprise and delight. Gifts that transform the mundane into the miraculous. Gifts that nurture the souls of both the giver and given. Perfect gifts. God has given us two hands: one to receive with and the other to give with. Open your arms wide to receive God's perfect gifts of salvation, forgiveness, faith, trust, comfort, peace, compassion, and courage. Then share your gifts with others. This is what Christmas is all about. God gave us the perfect gift of His Son. Share that gift with others this Christmas. Watch...and see what happens.
Here is the picture I am sharing: I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of Sarah last night, but I wasn't feeling good and we were so busy watching my brotherand his family watching Sarah on webcam and I just forgot.