year end knitting

toast and toasty were my final knitting projects of 2008. I made a total of 4 pairs to give as gifts. a big thank you to leslie for the pattern and inspiration to try them!

I choose Mission Falls yarn and had great fun making them. I'm looking forward to a new year of knitting full of new projects, new challenges, and new inspiration.

it was Christmas

due to a mandatory shut down at pmr's work, we're all still on vacation this week. I'm {enjoying} the sounds of Guitar Hero blaring from the family room as mark, spencer, and connor duel over and over again (not much has changed from yesterday). I should be washing dishes, doing laundry, and putting away Christmas presents and decorations, but I'm so enjoying catching up on my favorite blogs and blogging myself, that I can't leave my chair.

Christmas was:

presents :: family :: traditions :: polar bear club 2 :: the flu :: walt disney world :: awesome :: Barn Stormer :: splash mountain :: Goofy :: special ornaments :: guitar hero :: grandparents :: signing the tablecloth :: mighty kids meals :: mickey & minnie mouse :: pin club additions :: friendship & sacrifice :: cookies :: DS :: "Bedtime Stories" :: fun :: driving, driving, and more driving :: home sweet home

click on the words above or go to my Christmas 2008 set to view all the photos. I hope your Christmas season was full blessings.

a crown to bear, casting my care

approximately a year ago, my dentist warned me of a damaged filling in an upper rear tooth. he recommended it's replacement. I put it off... and off... and off, until early this month when I fractured off two pieces of that same tooth. small pieces to be sure, but more damage to be sure as well. for many months I haven't been eating on that side do to what I called a "zing" feeling I would receive every once in awhile. his new recommendation was a crown for that tooth. a crown?$$? this time I did as I was told and made the appointment.

for those of you just getting to know me, the dentist is my absolute LEAST favorite place to be (thus the procrastination for over a year). for a woman who delivered two 8 lb. babies without epidurals, you'd think I could handle some novocaine and some drilling. oh, the drilling. for all the medical advances, don't you think someone could invent a silent drill?? 

my appointment day had come. ipod in hand. I had to go. I had to go alone. I thought of not going, putting off the inevitable again. could I really overcome such fear? such fear as I've never experienced before. such fear that I couldn't control my trembling in the chair? by the grace of God and the patience of Job my dentist exercised, I did. I made it through the first stage of the crown process, only to come out the other side with the most intense tooth ache of my life. again, another warning from the dentist. "there was such decay under your filling; I think I may have come close to the pulp of the tooth. you may need a root canal." a root canal?$$? I was doing this crown thing to AVOID a root canal!!

an emergency root canal one week later was my fate. unfortunately a referral to an endodontist was my fate as well, for my dentist doesn't specialize in root canals. a new dentist?? this added an entirely new complication to the root canal. for you see, my dentist is the most sensitive, caring, almost too much nice kind of man, that I couldn't even think about another doing this procedure. but it was my path. armed with my ipod and verses, I walked into the office. on the other side of the waiting room door was my endodontist- the complete opposite of what I prayed for and thought I needed. all business. no chit chat. sweet and simple. just another patient needing a root canal was I. continual novocaine. fear beyond belief bringing tears and more trembling. I was blessed with friends and family praying me through the day and with two great verses on a post it on my ipod screen (now on my sidebar). 

so today (after returning from florida yesterday) was my second and hopefully final appointment with my dentist to complete the filling and set the crown. I was much calmer today. I requested novocaine just to be sure. I trembled ever so slightly {the assistant commented on how much I trembled last time}. I made it through.

so what have I learned?

:: I don't face life's challenges and fears alone, God is with me.

:: I can pray as a warrior, but it's better when I assemble an army.

:: Walking into fear allows you to walk through fear. 

:: I love the caring spirit of my dentist.

:: I still hate the sound of the drill.

:: I will not procrastinate dental issues again.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas family and friends!

Blessings to you as we celebrate the birth of our saviour Jesus Christ.

christmas joy

we're in full Christmas mode around here. this is such a special season! I love the anticipation of the celebration day for Jesus, the all over the house decorating my husband requires, the making and buying of special gifts, the family traditions, and the time spent with family each and every year, for being with family is most important.

so, here are just a few of the special things making me joyful these days:

a Christmas tree full of favorite ornaments:

a crystal bowl filled with antique ornaments:
our antique scale full of cookie cutters:

our Christmas goose greeting everyone at the front door:

hand created and painted ornaments by Mark for each of the boys:

celebrating Jesus at the annual Christmas Program:

I used to think "Family Traditions" were only the 'big' things you did each Christmas season. the 'martha stewart' magazine type moments- when everyone is in matching outfits, the house is perfectly clean, the lighting is wonderful, everyone is smiling... you know the photos. but is that really how life is? NO! life doesn't match; life is unpredictable; life is messy; life is imperfect; life is meant to be lived moment by moment. planning is helpful, but flexibility ruled this year. this year I realized it's both the big and small things we do each and every year that make it a tradition filled Christmas. 

these are some of our family traditions:

*celebrating advent with our Wendell August Forge advent ornaments 

*holiday nights at Greenfield Village

*a family Christmas tree decorated by mom

*Christmas trees in each of the boys' rooms with all their special ornaments

*outside decorations and lights

*personalized ornaments for each of the boys; a significant event, movie, sport chosen by them; the ornament created, cut, and painted by dad {see this year's ornaments above}

*photo Christmas cards

*unique gift tags each year

*a mom's day out with sor and cer to the local ceramic studio to paint a special piece for daddy

*a combination of handmade and purchased gifts

*a baking day for my favorite cookies (to give as gifts)- seven layer and peanut butter blossoms

*a baking night for caramel corn

*travel to be with family
*a school Christmas program
*a church Christmas program

*driving around looking at Christmas lights

*Christmas Pudding by mark

*Christmas t-shirts and Christmas pjs

*holiday movies

*holiday crafts for me and for the boys

*Christmas Eve service at church

so whatever your traditions are, have fun celebrating!

date night tradition

one of my most anticipated Christmas traditions is the date night mark and I schedule in early fall when we order our tickets for Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village. the village is a collection of historic buildings from the 18th century- from the Firestone Farm, to Thomas Edison's laboratories, and of course Henry Ford's Model Ts. during Holiday Nights, employees dress in costume; fire pits and warming stations are set up all around the village; carolers stroll through the streets; houses are decorated period style; the Model Ts run with passengers covered in blankets; horse drawn wagons ride up and down the streets carrying guests singing Christmas carols; and the ice skating rink is full of young and old alike.

the first year we attempted to make a special family memory by taking the boys. needless to say, it wasn't the evening mark and I had envisioned. after our early departure year one, year two we made it a date night. last year, mark injured his back in early december, and we were unable to attend. so this year, we were both looking forward to continuing our Christmas tradition.

we asked s.o.r. to get behind the camera and take a rare photo of just mom and dad:

and then we turned the camera on ourselves, just for fun:
the village carolers: it was really cold saturday night and snowing off and on during the entire night. when we reached the ice skating rink, mark encouraged me to give it a try. he had given me skating lessons for Christmas in 2006. the first lesson, shelly asked me why I wanted to learn how to skate. my response was- "to be able to skate at Greenfield Village during Holiday Nights." how surprised was I when she said- "I do that." "You do that?" "Yes, the village hires me to skate around the rink all night in costume." oh my goodness!

so I learned how to make my way around the rink without falling and actually graduated level 1 with flying colors. unfortunately I haven't been on the ice for over a year and the skates I borrowed didn't have toe picks! yikes! my beginning wasn't pretty, but I managed a few laps around the rink. and guess who was there? shelly! my ice skating instructor!

needless to say, it was an all round special evening with my wonderful husband! thanks sweet!

rhythms of life

life has been C R A Z Y since we returned home from thanksgiving. I have so much I want to share with you! so we'll just take it one photo at a time {grab a cup of hot cocoa and stay for awhile}. we had a wonderful thankskgiving visit with my dad's side of our family in maryland.

this was the store my grandmother's family owned; it stands at the end of my aunt's road.we then had an active (with five young adults/children how could it not be) visit with our family/friends the Quicks. you remember lisa. it doesn't matter how we spend the time; there is never enough of it and never a lack of things to do.

after a wonderful visit, it was then time to travel home. growing up, one of our family traditions was the annual "car packing" for the trip home from thanksgiving. I can still remember my mom, sister and me lining up all our "stuff" on my grandmother's front porch ready to return home from Maryland. after a lot of shopping, our "stuff" would inevitably be much more than was originally brought. and each year you could almost guarantee my dad's response: "how am I going to get all this in the car?!?!" {or something close to that} these photos show my husband now playing the part of my dad. his job was to get all our "stuff" in the back of the van! and I'm proud to say {just like my dad did every year} he got it all in!!

once home it was back to work for me with a show Thursday. then Friday was family night as the holiday decorating and family chill time began. Saturday brought the completion of the outside lights and inside we decked the halls. Saturday night was our annual date night and will receive it's own post all together. Sunday the boys starred in the Christmas program at church. and today...well today was catch my breath and organize day. I can't handle messes. And until today I didn't have one room completely "clean" and straightened. so it's a good feeling to sit and share knowing the bedrooms are all set, the living room is back to being a room without piles and suitcases, the kitchen is now my staging area for tomorrow's errands, and the family room is comfortable and cozy. the hum of the dryer and the splash of the washer are what I hear as I sit in the quiet. tonight the Christmas cards were completed and ready to mail! Yeah!! I was also able to touch my holiday planner tonight. are you like me? do you enjoy checking things off your list? by the end of this week, we should be all Christmas set.

thankful for forty

I'm a little behind in my posting. our Thanksgiving was unique this year. with the death of grandmother, I felt like I was going through the motions of Thanksgiving. the preparations, the cooking, the table setting, the eating, seeing family...all of us together yet each in our own world.

so I didn't have the time or the mental capability to make my thankful list. so here are just forty things I'm thankful for (in no particular order).
I'm thankful for:
1. salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ
2. my husband and two sons; they bring joy to my life
3. the good health and happiness of our family
4. a comfortable van to travel all the miles to visit family and friends
5. a business that adds income to our budget and flexibility for me to be a stay-at-home mom
6. my creative spirit; I love to create things!
7. TIVO
8. my healthy mom and dad; they're the best!
9. my sister, my friend
10. my washing machine and clothes dryer
11. knitting
12. our leaf blower
13. the listening ear of my husband
14. friends who know me and love me, "family friends"
15. the creative outlet that is my blog
16. DVD players in the van
17. my husband's job
18. pink and green
19. QVC, target, our public library, church, and the grocery
20. blogs that inspire and encourage me
21. the power of prayer
22. parents who gave me the gift of a college education debt free
23. my ipod
24. the wii
25. my laptop
26. memories
27. non-stick cookware
28. the usps that delivers all my notes, all year long
29. card club
30. hilton head island
31. walt disney world's magic kingdom
32. mark's parents
33. tender hearts
34. dove milk chocolate bars
35. books
36. my Bible
37. hope
38. anticipation...sally's sugar cookies
39. crocs
40. forty healthy years

celebrating Christmas is coming! a daily december album has been made. I'll be sharing the filling with wonderful memories in future posts. stop back and say hello!