C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S

C- Cookies, Candy, Cocoa, all the things I am afraid of eating too much of!

H- Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas? I celebrate Christmas & say Merry Christmas.

R- Relatives, lots and lots of relatives... Whether they come to visit or you go to see them... Could be good or could be...? For me it is a treat!

I- Itchy dry skin always hits me near Christmas. Tragic!

S- Songs. I love Christmas songs, but please not 24 hours a day from Thanksgiving Day! I especially love the children singing.

T- Tree, goes up the Saturday after Thanksgiving and comes down New Year's Day.

M- Money gets spent so easily this time of the year! In one hand and out the other. I am so glad for an "Allocated Spending Plan"!

A- Aromas. The smells of Christmas are amazing. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cider, pine, and my newest favorite, Snowberry from Scentsy, yum!

S- Savior. God came as a baby, to save me from my wretchedness. I love Christmas because even in the midst of all the C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A, there is an "S", a baby who grew to be a man, perfect without sin, God in the flesh who came to redeem, even me!

I hope you all had a Christmas that was memorable and meaningful, especially in regards to the joy and hope given to all of us in the person of Jesus Christ!

(My computer is being upgraded and I am using Scott's laptop, so no pics at this time, sorry!)

Black Friday

4:45 a.m., great sales, some money, and a few of my favorite women (my mom, sis, and 2 sis in laws). Need I say more?

The Loot - believe me the kids wish they knew what was in the bags!

Thanksgiving and a Birthday

We celebrated Thanksgiving with friends and family at our church's fellowship hall due to the size of our group. It was a very nice time together. We even celebrated Ethan's (my nephew) 2nd birthday! Here are some pics of our time together.

Yummy turkey! Scott carved it up for us all to enjoy.
Cutie pie, Jenna, really wanting some dessert.

Some of us enjoying our dinner.

Birthday boy in his turkey hat (Manda made it for him).

Looking at the sisters it is hard to believe that Manda was sick with the stomach flu about 6 hours later. Then her dad got it too before going to bed. Thankfully they were the last in our home to come down with it! Scott brags that he actually lost weight on Thanksgiving this year.

Stopped in Traffic for WAY TOO Long on an 8 Hour Drive!

BEWARE THIS MAY FRIGHTEN YOU! IT FRIGHTENS ME THAT I WOULD EVEN POST SOMETHING SO... well... UGLY!

Stress release at its ugliest.
Nathan (my bro-in-law) trying to freak us out!

My baby sister, Kerstin. Don't ask... must be a California thing;)

All I can say is, on our way to the funeral, we were stopped for an hour and a half about 45 minutes north of Reno, aghhhh!!! We were going stir crazy... Adults... No kids... Wait I guess we were the kids... After we started moving again we learned that a semi-truck had completely incinerated on the side of the freeway. It appeared from what we could tell that the driver had not been hurt... I hope that was really the case.

Quizzing Stars!

My oldest two girls are involved in Bible Quizzing. They are such smart kids. They work hard, studying each week, memorizing verses and learning about the book of Exodus. Each girl was rewarded well for their efforts at the years first Quiz Meet in November. Hannah was on the 2nd place team, won a gold medal for missing only one question and had perfect memory for her verses! Manda was on the 1st place team, had a perfect score and also had perfect memory. I love watching them learn God's word in such a terrific way!

Costume Fun! (a very belated post!)

We did our Halloween and Harvest Party fun with the Potter kids and the cousins. From left to right, Brendon, Katelyn, Paige "Nastia", Manda (biker girl), Hannah (50's lady), Jenna "Shawn Johnson" and in the front, Ethan "Elmo". Don't they look GREAT!
Uncle Scott I don't want a picture taken, I want my cupcake!

My 3 Ladies! Too cute!

Sometimes you just need more...

Have you ever woke up to the buzz of your alarm clock, pushed snooze and had the distinct sense that today, more than most days, you would need to feel the closeness of your Savior. I had such a day. I woke this morning with just that feeling. I laid in bed and talked with Jesus. I praise God that the Holy Spirit had prompted me to take some extra moments with him. The day seemed average enough. Jenna who had gotten the stomach flu the day before awoke feeling well and she continued feel good for the rest of the day, thankfully. Then the phone rang about 8:45 a.m. I was late getting school started and was reluctant to answer, but it was my mom. You always answer the phone when it is mom. However, the voice I heard was hardly recognizable. My mother was sobbing. I managed to make out that it was her and that my grandmother, her mother, had died suddenly in the night. Whew. That was tough to hear. We had thought Grandma was doing well. Instead, she is now doing amazingly well, dancing with Jesus. Her health had been challenging in the last several years due to aging. No chronic illnesses, just aging. She was on pain medication for leg pain, but that was all. She was not very mobile and needed assistance to manage her walker. During the last week of her life she was doing so well her pain medications had been reduced, she got a perm, went to church (which she had not attended in over a year) and had lunch with her sister-in-law. Praise God. I had seen her this summer and she told me then that it was our last visit. My mom had seen her a month ago, Grandma told my dad that she knew it was her last visit with my mom. God's timing is good.

The challenge of the day was the waves of grief, holding your mother as she sobs, crying that she was not ready for her mother to die and realizing the raw emotions that death can bring. I needed that extra time with Jesus. He carried me today. Thank you Jesus.

I will be leaving Thursday for the funeral with my sister and her husband. Please pray for all that comes with my grandma's death.

I am so glad that my Grandma always prayed for me. She always shared Jesus with me. I knew that she loved Jesus. Grandma was wonderful, loving and a blessing. I now have no living grandparents. She was always the closest to me. I am sad for me, my sister and my mom. I rejoice for Grandma to be free of the pains of this life and to now be in eternity. God is good. All the time!