Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

I guess it is going to snow, whether we let it or not.  Seems like most of the world is in a deep freeze right now.  Can't believe the cold that the southern states are having.  It is cold here in Ohio, but that is how it is in January. We have some snow, but it has not been a blizzard or anything like that.  I wonder if my cousin Larry has a lot of snow up there in Alaska??
  Since my sweet niece Kim, made this very cute new background for my blog, I thought I better get busy and update it with some posts.  We had such a lovely Christmas and I have been enjoying lots of fun time in my scraproom lately.  Ed hooked up a nice space heater for me and now I am toasty warm.  I really like being down in the basement because there is better light and also so much more room to get around.  I was thinking out loud this morning about changes some things around.  I really would like to have a second bedroom set up for when we have company.  That air mattress that Ashleigh sleeps on is for the birds, and I really think she needs a bed.  Also I have high hopes that my friend Lisa will come and spend a week end with me, and she definitely needs a bed.  So what to do, what to do....should I move things all around and make the attic a bedroom or should I try to make the small room next to ours the second bedroom.  Hmmmm  have to give that more thought.  It is that time of the year when you want to organize and get things in shape.  Speaking of getting in shape, yesterday I started my exercise program with Michelle from Get It Scrapped.  She does this for a living and is helping me online to find a good set up for strengthening and also burning calories.  I got some Xertubes from Dicks Sporting Goods and did my first session with them.  It was not bad, I could feel the muscles hurting but I was surprised today that I was not crying in pain.  After the stretching exercise I went to the YMCA and swam for awhile.  30 minutes of constant swimming and then did 15 minutes on the exercycle.  Today I am just going to do 30 minutes of walking in place.  Tomorrow I will go back to the stretching and swimming.
  I am going through all my stash down here to weed out some of the stuff I never use and getting things put together in a more user friendly fashion.  I want to be prudent in how much stuff I take to the retreat this week end.  Hauling too much is so exhausting.  Oh did I tell you that I was going on a retreat.  I am so excited to have been asked by Pat and Erin to go on a Creative Memories retreat in Amish country.  I love going away to crop for a whole week end, it is always so much nicer when you are cropping with a bunch of ladies.  I like the company and I also like getting new ideas from other people.  Anyway, I am trying to pack conservatively and not take unnecessary things.  It is a little tricky though because you just never know what you want to work with.
  I have so many interesting things going on this month at Get It Scrapped, which is my favorite online site and I have the sweetest friends there.  Tami has started us off with a challenge of doing One Month at a time and basically making a double page layout as a recap of the entire month.  I did my title page and now trying to focus on everyday things that I can take photos of for January.  Then Michelle is teaching her doodling class again and there is always room for improvement for me in that area.  I really like the look of hand doodling on a page and it is just something that you need to make a habit of doing to add a real special touch to a layout.  Then there is going to be another challenge headed by Tami where we use the book that Debbie wrote, Get It Scrapped and we will scrap using each chapter as a starting point.  I think that one is going to be really fun.
Jane (our Aussie friend from down under) is also teaching a class about the The Place where you live.  I don't have much detail on that one yet, but I think it is going to be a year long event where you really take a good look at where you live and how you fit in there.  Another fun project for sure.  At the end of the month, Chris (Scrappielassie) is organizing a week-end online crop.  That is going to be a real hoot with White Elephant gifts we will send to each other and then have to use for a layout, and I am sure there will be lots of fun and funny things going on.  I will have to stock up on healthy snacks and clean jammies.
  Well just wanted you all to know what has been going on this month and what is still yet to happen.  Gosh it is only the 12th and I have listed a lot of things.  It is all good though.

Here's my title page for the album we are doing: One Month at a Time.

A new Poem for Christmas

 Sunday we went to a lovely Christmas Concert at the Whetstone High School.  Ed played French Horn and I was so super proud of him.  Before the concert began, there was a color guard presentation with 4 Marines in full dress uniform.  When I stood for the pledge of allegiance, I looked up at those soldiers and my eyes just teared up because they looked like just children there.  It hit me that these young fellas were going off to war to keep us safe at home.  I have never been so touched by the young faces and the thought that these men were actually someone's little boys.  I thought this poem was a good touch for this photo.


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 A Different Christmas Poem



The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
 I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
 My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
 My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
 Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
 Transforming the yard to a winter delight.


 The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
 Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
 My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
 Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
 In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
 So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.


 The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
 But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear..
 Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
 sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
 My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
 A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
 A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
 Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
 Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
 Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.


 "What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
 "Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
 Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
 You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
 For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
 Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..


 To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
 Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
 I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
 "It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
 That separates you from the darkest of times.


 No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
 I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
 My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
 Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.."
 My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
 And now it is my turn and so, here I am.


 I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
 But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
 Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
 The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
 I can live through the cold and the being alone,
 Away from my family, my house and my home.


 I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
 I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
 I can carry the weight of killing another,
 Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
 Who stand at the front against any and all,
 To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.."


" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
 Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
 "But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
 "Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
 It seems all too little for all that you've done.
For being away from your wife and your son."


 Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
 "Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
 To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
 To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
 For when we come home, either standing or dead,
 To know you remember we fought and we bled.
 Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
 That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.

Silver Bells, Silver Bells......it's Christmas time in the city.

What is your favorite Christmas Carol?  This song, Silver Bells has been running through my head all day.  This morning when I woke up there was a dusting of snow on the ground and I was really thinking it is getting more and more like winter .  I kind of hope that we have a nice snowfall for Christmas, that is as long as none of us are on the road traveling.  I am not sure when Ashleigh will arrive home to celebrate Christmas with us but I do hope it is a few days before.
  I have been really enjoying getting the house ready for Christmas and all my shopping done and even wrapped.  I am really liking the holiday and hope both Ed and I can continue to enjoy it without any unexpected stresses.
  I have been doing a couple of things since the 1st of December and that is writing in my December journal and posting photos of things so far and also I have the Advent box which has little drawers in it and the kids get to open a drawer each day.  They get a small gift and it thrills them so much.  The days are going by so quickly, as they often do this time of the year.  Usually I am not even started with shopping and I am dreading the whole thing, but this year I am in a good Christmas Spirit.
  Sunday we went to a concert that Ed performed in.  I was so happy that he has been going back to band practice and that he was able to be in the concert.  This Saturday we will see another concert in Westerville.  The performance is by a group called the Signs of Christmas.  All the songs are done in sign language and I just know it is going to be very beautiful.  I look forward to seeing my friend Ann there, it has been way too long since we have gotten together.
  Sure hope everyone else is enjoying the season and that the holidays will be wonderful too.

There is a Light

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with trying to figure out the computer and it just takes my sweet niece Kim a second to guide me through.  She is good.  So now I can post the photos that I wanted to the other day but could not for the life of me figure it out.  First I want to show you the progress on the cute little house that Ed is making for Larken.  Isn't that so cute with a porch and pillars even.  I can't wait to see it all finished and painted.

  Then I have some really cool pictures of the party from last Saturday.  That is the Fairy party and I really think Larken was the prettiest  Fairy of all.

October in a recap

Another Tami challenge, I love this because it makes me review what has just happened and how it plays in with my life.
October has been a really fun month for me. I love the fall and the changing colors and even the cooler weather. We have had more beautiful days than rainy days so it has been a nice month. One of the wonderful things that has happened this month is Ed working on the darling playhouse that he is making for Larken. His health has not been well this past year, but he seems to have turned a corner and it was just absolutely pleasing to see him working with his saws and tools again. I was trying to add some photos here, but for some reason it will not let me. So I will go on......
We have had a number of birthdays this month and starting with Jean's on the 2nd of October, it has been a fun party month. We so enjoyed ourselves eating fondue that Jean made for her birthday dinner. Delicious chicken and shrimp cooked in a broth and then vegetables and chunks of bread dipped in a cheese sauce, and then the strawberries and other fruits dipped in chocolate. Yummy. We all had such a fun time and it just made me realize again how wonderful it is to live right next door to Jean and Julie. We get to experience many more events and spontaneous fun things.
Later in the month was my dear brother Beetle's birthday and also my brother in law Jerry's birthday. We didn't get to celebrate with them but I did manage to make some cute cards.
Just this past Saturday was Larken's 8th birthday party and that was a grand event. She wanted to have a "Fairy" party and I made her a fairy costume based on the character Irridissa, one of the Disney Fairies that are so popular right now. I had a wonderful time making the costume and she was the prettiest fairy at her party. It was a great party too and all the little girls made such sweet fairies. I took 96 photos, hope I get some good layouts from them and then can share them on here. Ashleigh came home for the event and she too was a Fairy, she was the "Sparkle" fairy and she helped paint all the little girl's faces and participated in other games and things going on. I just loved it all and Larken's happiness was so pronounced that you just felt her joy.
One disappointing thing did happen this month though and that was the present that I planned to give Larken. I had ordered a doll called My Twin and this doll was being made to look exactly like Larken. I thought I ordered plenty of time in advance. It did not arrive in time for her birthday and her little heart was so set on it. I heard that she was praying nightly that she would receive this doll. Well it will just be another surprise when it does arrive.
So October has been a very colorful and fun month and we still have Halloween and all the little trick or treaters to enjoy yet. Julie is planning a small dinner party for all the kids on the street so that they will all have some healthy food before going out to eat tons of candy. It will be fun, we made the invitations today and now I am going to use some clever ideas that I got off of GIS in the Sweet Treats for Fall class with Trish Turay. I plan to turn large marshmellows into spooky ghosts and popcorn balls into scarecrows. Hope it all comes out great.