Neigh, Neigh, Neigh

Horses in the snow is NOT a common sight around here...

because we don't often have snow that lingers, if and when it comes.... 

But we do have horses out our way... whether you turn right or left to get to the main road.
We have to drive a ways to get to a grocery store (but in 2012 we will have one less than a mile down the road!)  We have to drive quite a ways to get to church....

But to see horses, it's just a short drive or long walk down the road.

These shaggy little ponies (or miniature horses.... obviously, I don't have much equine knowledge...) are so cute!

They have their "winter coats" on and they're so inquisitive that they come right up to the fence...

but this one was a nibbler, so no fingers for him!

When they saw us from a distance, they all came running galloping, trotting, whatever, but once they figured out that we didn't bring them any snacks or dinner, they were back to trying to find something beneath the snow to munch.

How often do I "come running" to someone or something, but once I figure out that they/it have/has nothing to offer, I am on to others?  Just another life lesson...

Out and About

Since the roads were pretty clear by noon, I had a "day out" with my "little girl".  We limited our stops to 3 of my favorite places: Homewood Nursery where EVERYTHING was half price: Pier 1 where I rarely buy anything, but love to look (and found some "deals" today): and World Market where I often find good deals (but bought nothing today!)
Homewood is a local business that grows their own poinsettias and has new varieties every year.  I try to give them my business whenever I can, and this year they had beautiful Christmas ornaments and decorations.  They also set up several "photo ops" throughout during the Christmas season and we usually take the children there to get pictures.  This year we didn't make it, but when I was there (alone) before Christmas, I saw this setting which was done in the colors G. has in her kitchen...

So I got a picture of my "little girl" this year!

We had stopped a few places on our way out for her to take some pictures, and coming home she asked if we could stop down the road from our house to take photos of the horses.  I pulled in to let her out and she got her long distance lens ready...
When I realized that all the horses at the other end of the pasture were looking at her with a readiness in their eyes that said, "She's coming to bring our dinner...," I grabbed my camera, put the emergency brake on, and jumped out of the car to join in the "photo session"!

(The horses were near that barn in the distance when we pulled up!)

I'll share those photos another day, but what I loved was watching my "little girl" enjoying three of the things she loves most:

Snow (and cold), horses, and photography!

She had it all in one place!  What a neat surprise!

A Late Christmas Surprise

This was what we saw out our bedroom window when we awoke this AM...

These are NOT black and white photos... It's the way it really looked, with snow coming down.  We had just a slight covering of the ground when we went to bed last night...
Since it's been a "wet" snow, we lost power twice (once during the afternoon for a couple of hours, & then tonight at 8:30 for just a few minutes).  The second time it happened, I got all the candles together with the lighter, so we are ready if it happens again.  Since we lost internet connection about 11AM and got it back about 9 PM, it was a very relaxing day!
We went next door this afternoon to play games with our "children" (the big ones, that is) where they have a generator...  And this evening we played cards, just the two of us.

We measured 5 1/2"....

After spending the morning inside, we had to take pics of each other to prove we were out in it.... (remember, I'm the one that loves to be outside... in the warm/hot weather!)

as we were walking next door....

When we came back I stayed outside for quite awhile, "freeing" my bushes from the heavy weight of snow...

I felt like I was in Narnia freeing the trees from their ice prison!

And it was so good to be back in my garden again.... But I didn't wear the new gardening gloves I got for Christmas from my sweet granddaughter.  I wore warm gloves and my new earmuffs!  As I swatted at the branches with a broom, I found myself laughing aloud as the snow fell on me as if I was in a snowstorm.  It was really refreshing!

(Check out the grey skies in the background, swollen with snow!)

I'm glad I don't live where this is the scenery from Nov. till late April, but it was nice to get a taste of snow.  Especially since by this time next week it is supposed to be 63 degrees!  Hello!  That's my kind of weather!

Blessed Christmas

"For unto you is born this day a Savior which is Christ the Lord."
"You are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins."
"And they will call Him Immanuel, which means, 'God with us.'"

Blessed Beyond Belief

"5 Guys"(restaurant) for dinner,  4 different neighborhoods for blinking lights (okay, maybe more than 4...), 3 precious kids enjoying it all with us, 2 stops (one for spontaneous caroling at a friend's house), and 1 donut each at Krispy Kreme (but the "hot" light was NOT on & they were nearly out of donuts!  Don't they realize that many families make that their "after-viewing-the-lights tradition????!!!)
  Having an "overnight" means that we get to tuck in these precious children who are growing up way too fast!  And since the little guy was already tired & ready to get right to bed, I finally got to see most of Santa Claus 3 (he's been afraid of "Jack Frost" since the first time he saw it when he was about 4...), with the girls.
  I love these Christmas traditions, & I love that we are able to live close enough to have the sweet relationship with our grandchildren that we do.
  Tomorrow is our annual Christmas Tea, which as I was reminded by my grandson this evening, is "only for girls".  So we 4 girls will sit around the table using the "good Christmas china" & sip something (sometimes it's just water, because the young gals don't like tea), act like we're someplace fancy, & nibble something (I forgot all about the tea until reminded this evening by one of the girls who loves tradition & is not about to let this one die to get the little donuts this year...)  What started with 2 little bitty girls in fancy dresses has become part of our Christmas, & I'm thankful that it is still important to them.
  I am blessed beyond belief and so thankful to God for all His blessings!

How Many?

Less than 300.... Yep, that's how many visits I need for my blog to reach 10,000 visits!!! (Who says bloggers don't really care how many people read their blogs???!!!)  I can't believe it!  I think that will definitely be a time for a giveaway....
So "refer" your friends to get it up there, and let me know what kind of giveaway YOU would like.  I'm excited!!!!  (Oh, I guess you could tell that....)
P.S. I know that this is way fewer than lots of bloggers get, but it doesn't take a lot to get me excited...

An Early Christmas

  With her husband deployed, our new daughter-in-love is traveling back to Michigan for Christmas.   So we had our Christmas with her on Saturday.

It was fun getting to shower her with gifts & love!

Knowing what her new "sister" loves (photography, among other things), Niki surprised G. with a photo program for her computer.  To say she "hit a home run" with this gift is an understatement!

Since I recently heard a "rumor" that one "sister" had challenged the other to join her in an 8K run in March, I thought it would be nice for them to have matching shirts...

  We had an unconventional luncheon: baked mac n' cheese, deli meats & cheese, baked Brie, raw veggies, "pink fluff" (a recipe from a friend who has moved away, but has always been known for her culinary skills!), brussels sprouts (yes, there are a couple of us who really love them...), & for dessert.... nothing.  We had some cake from the night before when we celebrated a graduation, but one of the dogs knocked it off the counter onto the floor just before we were ready to dish it up.

We finished the day by hauling a big box of Lego's down from the attic in honor of their uncle... they all belonged to him & have been safely stowed away for his "future".  I had as much fun as the kids, going through them & sorting what they might need.  The caveat was that all the Lego's have to stay here, so there will be something "different" to play with when they come here.  It was hard to stick to it when the little man asked to take home the "Robin Hood", but I assured him that Robin would be here waiting for him when he comes back.

Wearing their gifts, the girls were ready to go home & get ready for an evening with their dad's side of the family.  And the little man had developed a great attitude... after the disappointment that his gift didn't get shipped in time.  But now he'll have the anticipation of watching the mail!

The Angels Sang "Gloria"

   There are many things I love about the Christmas season & we have lots of traditional activities as well as some new ones each year.  Sometimes there are so many that I find myself "dreading" having to attend all of them.  Yet, I'm always blessed by each one.
  We've attended three different Christmas concerts over the last 2 weeks, & each time I came away with my focus back on the whole Reason for this season.
  One Christmas time dinner that has become part of our tradition over the last 8-9 years is with a group of guys (& their wives) with whom Steve has played Sat. golf.  Now that some of them are retired, they no longer play together regularly (just as I've stayed away from Sat. shopping because I don't have to do it then, Steve has done that with the golf courses...)  But we still have our Christmas dinner & ornament exchange.

(I have this one on my tree, so I bought another just like it to give as my ornament this year).

The host couple sets the menu, fixes the meat, provides drinks (sparkling grape juice, tea, coffee, etc.) & assigns the other parts of the meal to the rest.  We rotate having it in our homes each year.

(This is the one I received this year!)

   Last year one of the wives was battling cancer, & because of the treatment she couldn't go anywhere.  This year, with her cancer in remission, we had the dinner at her house!  Saturday night we sat around (5 couples, 60+ in age) singing Christmas songs & carols, laughing, enjoying the guitar accompaniment of her husband (who actually is very good), & all so thankful that God in His goodness has given her an extension of earthly life. We laughed about how we could sing at the top of our lungs and there were no "young people" around to make fun of us.  Not ALL the fun is reserved for the more youthful!

So this is one of the activities that brings me a new ornament each year like this one joy!

By the way, her name is "Gloria"... just like the angels sang.

Congratulations!

We had a special celebration Friday night: our daughter-in-love graduated from Old Dominion!  We are SO proud of her!!!!  She has worked long and hard to accomplish her goal, working at least part time all the way through.  She served in the US Navy for four years so she was able to take advantage of the GI bill for part of her expenses.
  We surprised her at dinner with a "Happy Graduation" cake & a gift.  She had mentioned a while back that she'd like to have a new watch, and since my hubby LOVES watches, whether to give or receive, I put that ball in his court & he ran with it.
 It turns out that she had told her husband that she'd like to have a new watch, & told him that to her the giving of a watch meant that "he loved her & would stay with her forever."  It's interesting how we all put significance to certain gifts, & I'd never heard this one before.  But after she opened it (& loved it), I said, "We love you & will never leave you."

Here's our gal wearing her new watch...

A Mantle of White

So here's the repurposed "white" framed mirror...(nighttime)

                                            (daytime)

with some wintery "white" decorations....

I loved this little silvery church (an ornament, on sale 1/2 price), which reminded me of a church in Germany that I loved so much (that I took a picture of it & have it framed on a wall at home).

Though the church is about 6" tall, you can see the scale of the mirror in comparison... Huge!

But my favorite is the simple nativity I got last year.  The "white" wintery theme of the mantle fits in with this.  My heart was cold toward Jesus for so many years, while I went to church every Sunday & thought of myself as a pretty good person.  Yet, I did not have a relationship with God, only a "knowing about Him"
Eventually the simple story of the gospel made sense to me.  God did send His only Son to the world to be a human while still fully God.  He sent Him to pay the penalty for all my sins, to take the punishment I deserved, so that I could have a true relationship with God.  By taking the step of faith to believe in Jesus Christ, putting all my faith in Him alone, and choosing to believe what the Bible says, I became God's child.
It sounds so nice to say that we are all God's children.... but we are not.  In John 1:12    we are told that to those who believed in Christ, He (God) gave the right to be called children of God.  In a culture of "rights" it is sweet to know that I have a God-given right to be called God's child, but it is only because I believe in the saving grace of Jesus Christ and have given my life to Him.  What mercy on His part!  Though I want to live in obedience to Him, I no longer have to fear whether I'm doing everything alright enough to deserve to go to heaven.  No one ever has or ever will deserve to go to heaven by what they did or did not do.  What a relief His grace gives!

White

(Written Dec. 4)

I've recently had an "itch" to repurpose some things in my house & change some things to "white".

So last week when it turned cold, I got out the paint, cleared the cars out of the garage, & began the process.  We had a huge mirror on our mantle that had been down for some time because I just got tired of it.  Every time I thought about putting it back up, there was something about it that I didn't like.   I finally figured out that it was the color of the frame, so I decided maybe white would be nice...

While I had the paint out, I thought I'd get a little adventurous...  I've had this planter for several years & always loved it, but I'm not using yellow anymore since I had used it for at least 15 years.  You know, they say, "keep those things that you love" so I still had it in the attic.  I wasn't really sure how it would take the paint, but it did so just fine.

While I was waiting on the paint to dry, I looked outside & saw something else "white"...

My little next door neighbor came by to make sure I was seeing the "white" stuff coming down.

And it began to stick to the ground & the pots I never did get put away from summer.

It sure made a pretty scene, though so rare for this early in the year in this part of the country.  And though the sun melted most of it the next day, 4 days later we still have some on the north side of our house.  Maybe that's because it has been SO cold!!!

(Updated)
The rain over the last few days washed away the last of the snow, but we are starting the arctic blast now...  which makes it really "feel" like Christmas.
  Now why do we think it should be so cold for Christmas???!!!  Maybe songs like "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas,"  "Let It Snow," etc. have sealed that in our minds.  But the folks in FL, CA, HI, TX, PR, Guam, & all those lovely islands in the Caribbean know they aren't going to have cold & snow, but Christmas is just as special there....  And I'm sure all those folks needing to travel through the midwest (or even on a plane coming through Chicago or NY) do not want the white stuff to hinder their plans.
  I'm sure glad only God has control over the weather.... and not me!

My Baby

My baby girl....

has grown into a beautiful young woman.

So Happy Birthday, Sweet One!

Sending you lots of "warm" wishes...

And thankful for YOU!

Sweet Memories

Thirty something years ago today was VERY special for me: I learned that the following day I would be delivering my first child!  Working in labor & delivery, I knew my doctors very well, so I knew that if they were suggesting inducing me, that I really was ready.
That night we went out for a Chinese dinner (what was I thinking??!!!)  It would be our last night as a "twosome", so we chose a special place.
   The next morning was VERY cold, the roads were icy, & we lived about 30 minutes from the hospital (on a clear day).  I was so glad that I wasn't in labor!  The drive was slow & a bit perilous, but once there it was a warm family atmosphere.  Those taking care of me were my coworkers & friends.  In an era where "daddies" were relegated to the waiting room when delivery time came, I had "pre-approval" for my dear hubby to see his first child being born.
  Having seen hundreds of deliveries (& actually doing a few myself), I knew I would get all teary when my baby was born.  Since I got teary at the miracle of new life even participating in the delivery of my patients, it was a given that I would at my own.  So I forewarned my doctors that would happen, & that they would be tears of joy.
  As I look back today over the years, those were just the first tears of joy that my daughter would bring.  She has been one of the greatest blessings of my life, & I am so thankful to God that He chose us to be her parents.  The journey we began thirty something years ago today (anticipating the next day) has been even greater than the great expectations I had of being a mom.

A Different Christmas Poem

I have never posted a blog like this, but as the tears run down my face, I want to share this with you.  It is such a reminder of how thankful we all need to be for those who sacrifice for our freedom.
Knowing our son will not be home for Christmas (for his first Christmas as a husband...) makes this really poignant to me, but I think it will bless you, too.

A Family Gift

When our new daughter-in-love came for Thanksgiving, she brought "a family gift"...

Now anyone can go buy a can of Reddi-whip at the grocery... and it is fun when you have kids around.  But....

with this fancy "gadget" you can have REAL whipped cream (that keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks) anytime AND create fun!  For some reason, the kids got the hang of it better than I did, but we all had a good laugh when I splattered my hot chocolate all over the counter when I "added" my whipped cream.

 I finally got the hang of it... & it is oh, so yummy!  Thank you, Niki!!!  I see lots of "family" times in the future with this little jewel.

More Seating

I'm amazed at the different places in the mountains where there is "natural seating"...

like this "chair".....

just right for a little fellow....

or this cozy bench....

then there's the "full size sofa".....

or the more modern "love seat" size.....

These were from three different areas of the NC mountains!
God's handiwork never ceases to amaze me!!!!