Bye Bye 2005

And good riddance. There were so many things that happened this year. Most were bad. Is that how it will seem every year now that I'm "grown?" I spent the whole year pregnant. Kind of trippy, when I look back on it....with Daniel I was pregnant into a new year. I wasn't pregnant in 2004, but I did give birth. Now I was pregnant AND gave birth in '05. Weird.

To Joanie : thank you for the kind words of support --- you'll never know what they meant to me.

To everyone who reads : I hope you have a happy, healthy, BLESSED 2006 where nothing bad happens to you, or to anyone you know or love.

Post Christmas Blues

I feel empty inside. I always feel this way after Christmas. I got in my car today for the first time with the radio on....KVIL and KLTY aren't playing Christmas music anymore. It made me sad. I don't know what it is about Christmas music that makes me happy. You can't be upset while listening to it, it doesn't encourage road rage, and the words aren't difficult to understand. Plus, they all have meanings. I like music like that. It was surprising not to hear it.

The toys have been opened. They're strewn about on our living room floor. I look around bewildered, because he has so many new toys. I can't get rid of any of the old ones, though because Zoe's gotta grow into them. Next year, though, we'll have to give some to people who need them.

The food is sort of gone. We have ham and sausage balls left. I miss the food. Mostly I miss the togetherness that comes from family on Holidays.

I miss my Papa. I always get so sad this time of year, because he and I were the biggest Christmas fans you'll ever find. And now my Christmas buddy is gone. I could always count on Papa to ignore all presents after the first one that had an owner's manual with it. Didn't matter whose toy it was, if it was electronic and had a manual with it, Papa wanted to see it. And the manual. He'd read the manual cover-to-cover before attempting to assemble whatever the thing was. He'd have had a blast this year with Daniel's toys. Seems like everything takes batteries, and/or requires adult assembly. I look at my kids and I weep, because there are so many special people in our families that they will not get to meet. It's difficult to understand how our loved ones can be taken from us, and at Christmas it's especially hard to be thankful they're in Heaven and not here with us. When Zoe was born, I went through the pain all over again. My Papa, who raised me as his own, would have loved my children. He would have treated them like he treated me. He would have taken them hunting (not necessarily to hunt anything, but just to spend time with him), he would have taught them about how Ford is better than Chevy, he would have taken them to the gun range, he would have told them stories, he would have taken them on vacation (always driving, never flying), we would have gotten to go back to South Dakota to see if the Crazy Horse monument is completed yet, he would have shown them off to his buddies. These are things my kids will miss out on, because Papa isn't here. I don't really blame anyone, it's nobody's fault. But that doesn't make it any easier.

And I feel badly for my Memaw. As difficult as it is for me and the rest of our family, it's a million times harder for her. I cannot even begin to speculate on what she goes through. I learn so much about Grace from her. I learn how to be a mom, I learn how to care, how to love, and how to take care of my family. I also learn how to be a woman. She's such an inspiration and I ache when I think about what a disappointment I can be. I guess that's why I'm so excited about nursing....it means I will finally be something she can be proud of me for. I guess that's what my whole life has been about up til now : making my family proud of me. I want to be the kind of person who makes a difference in peoples' lives. I want my family to respect me, to be proud of me, and I want to help other families.

Christmas is my favorite Holiday. Next year, I swear to do more to alleviate the post Christmas blues. They just snuck up on me this year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We've had an eventful Christmas this year! It's been lots of fun, lots of food, and lots of presents! Daniel & I were (are) sick....Zoe's gassy....and Michael is the only one who's normal!

I'll write more later, but suffice it to say we're looking forward to new beginnings in '06 (and no more kids;) at least for awhile).

Here is more : we went to Bill's for Christmas Eve. Daniel had a good time with his grandad and his great grandad. It's nice to see them all together, it makes me happy! I only wish we saw them more often, Daniel loves to play with them!

Christmas morning we had our visit from Santa. We'd planned on grandparents and great-grandparents coming over Christmas morning, but with half the family sick we decided against it. It's a good thing, too, since Daniel didn't even wake up until well after 9! I don't think that will ever happen again! Santa sure was good to Daniel and Zoe this year....he brought so many things for them! The Fisher Price Baby Gymtastics play wall and tunnel (for them to share), loads of Little People toys (Ramps around garage, dinosaurs, a bus), some neat cars, and a terrific bouncer for Zoe. Daniel got so many presents from us and Santa this year that we kept a few back for his birthday! He won't miss them....trust me. Memaw and Gege stopped by for a visit in the morning, to see Daniel with his goodies. He was excited to show off the best gift of all....Tumble Time Tigger. We discovered later in the day that Tigger WAS working, we just hadn't fixed him from the demo setting!! He's super cute.

We went to Bebe's house for Christmas dinner....Daniel didn't have a nap before hand, but he was still in a good mood all day. Zoe, on the other hand, was gassy....she was fussy all day and was eating every hour! I shouldn't have had broccoli on Christmas Eve....They got some great presents from Bebe and Gege (we did, too!) and Daniel had a blast playing outside.

The day after Christmas we went to Memaw's....it was great, too. Again, loads of presents....best of all? A super cool wagon to ride around in! Now I just need a huge SUV to transport it in and we're set for the Zoo!

I wish Christmas could last all year....

On bein sick....

I'm sick. And it's awful. I have a hacking cough, an intermittent fever (I take prescription strength ibuprofen and it breaks), a splitting headache, and my eyeballs hurt when I move them. I've got Robitussin DM for the cough, ibuprofen for the headache/fever, and an antibiotic.....hopefully I'll start feeling better soon. I've been feeling this way for two days, and it's almost Christmas. It's the worst, being sick right at Christmas.

I'll write later on our Christmas Traditions....we're trying to start some this year, anyone have some ideas?

Nursing School II

I DID IT! I passed the NET with flying colors (I almost aced the math part, which is weird because I'm bad at math)! I'll start classes January 10th, and I am so excited! If only we had a way to pay for it....well, I suppose God will make a way....I hope.

NET.....tomorrow

I take the NET (Nursing Entrance Test) tomorrow morning. It's math and reading....out of 200, I have to score 90. Wish me luck. I stink at math. Who would have thought that fractions/percentages/and decimal points would give me trouble again? I'll let you know what happens.

Nursing School

We visited a nursing school with a VN program. It's expensive. We'll get some financial aid, but it won't cover the whole thing. Michael and I both feel this is something I NEED to do. Besides that, I want to! We'll need some major prayers for the remaining amount, because there is really no way we can afford it. All things are possible through Christ, so we'll do ur part and pray that He helps us out in some way! :) I'm excited, because the pre-entrance exam I had to take yesterday : I scored the highest my admissions counselor had ever seen! That's encouraging! I just have to take the Nurse Entrance Exam next week to solidify my application process! Wish me luck!

I feel special....I've been tagged! :)

Danny tagged me. So now it's my turn to answer these seven questions:

1. Seven things to do before I die:

Make a difference in someone's life
Travel to Australia
Take my kids to Disney World
Travel to Europe
Ensure some sort of financial stability for my family
Be a grandma
Win a Nobel Prize

2. Seven things I cannot do:
A backflip
Jump off the high dive
Allow a bug to crawl on me
Wait patiently....for anything
Wait until Christmas for someone to open a really cool gift from me
Remember what my life was like before Michael (in a good way!)
Imagine life without BOTH of my children

3. Seven things that attract me to my husband
His strength
How he treats me in public
How awesome he was during both labor experiences
His love for our kids
His love for me
His love for Christ
He's HOT!

4. Seven things I say most often:
Daniel, NO!
Can Mommy have that, please?
I Love You
God Bless America
Oh for goodness' sake (or Oh Fiddlesticks)
Thank You
I don't think so

5. Seven books, series, or authors I love:
Patricia Cornwell
Stephen King
Stormie O Martian
Max Lucado
Dean Koontz
James Patterson
The Nancy Drew Books

6. Seven movies I watch over and over again (or would watch over and over again if I had the time):
Tombstone (not sure why I don't own this....I watch it EVERY TIME it comes on the movie channels!)
Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter....doesn't matter which one, any one will do
Disney Movies (Brother Bear, Finding Nemo, Winnie the Pooh) -- admittedly, not just because of Daniel!
The Horse Whisperer
Radio (again, like Tombstone, I really should own this movie)
The Three Musketeers

7. Seven people I'm tagging: (I'll post a comment and let them know they've been tagged.)

Emily
Joanie
Lindsey
Steve
Preston
Jen
Brian

Santa...yea or nay?

Is "Santa" a lie? If so, he's the best lie I've ever been told! I don't feel betrayed and I grew up with Santa. I hope my kids don't ever hate us because of Santa. I hope they never feel betrayed because of Santa. I hope Santa brings them the kind of joy he brought me and Michael while we were growing up. I can't imagine Christmas morning without the sparkle in their eyes as they view all the goodies Santa brought them. Christmas Eve is for Mommy and Daddy gifts, but Christmas morning is reserved for Santa gifts. Besides, how cool is it that he flies 8 reindeer and manages to visit every child in the world in one night??

Oh Christmas Tree, Part Two

We've had a fire the last few nights in our fireplace. Daniel gets excited about the fire, but he knows he's not to get near it. It's awesome to have a fire, it just makes the whole place feel like Christmas. And our tree is done....we just need some candy canes and maybe some keepsake ornaments on it, to round it out. But it sure looks pretty! Daniel is good about not messing with the tree, too. I think we're lucky in that respect.

I've got some presents to wrap so once that is done I'll take a picture and add it to the post!

The Author & Perfector of My Faith

NOT WELCOME!

I ran across this joke on another website, where it was posted to people who were not of the particular Denomination. It is not intended to offend, rather to illustrate a point, which I will make afterwards.


Not Welcome!

A dog followed its owner to his Pentecostal church one Sunday, and was promptly ejected and the door firmly shut on the creature. Feeling sorry for itself it sat in the porch to wait for the service to finish. Someone patted the dog on the head and looking up the dog saw Jesus standing over it. “Don’t worry buddy”, Jesus said, “I can’t get in there either!”

Now, the "joke" is that Pentecostal Churches are not open to people (or creatures, apparently) who are different from them. To those who may have been snubbed by the Pentecostal Church at one point in time or another, the joke seem funny. To others, it may seem sad because they feel it is true. To still others, it is offensive : either because they themselves are Pentecostal, or they have friends or relatives who are.

Let's suppose for a second that the joke read "Church of Christ." Or, "Baptist," or "Episcopal." Is it funny then? Sad? True? I think the point of this particular joke was to start people laughing knowingly. Instead, it made me start thinking. Is MY Church a place where Jesus is welcome? Do we welcome those who are different than us? I remember before I used to attend Altamesa, I would hear people say "those Church of Christ people, they think they're the only ones going to Heaven." I found out that wasn't true of my Church. I can't speak for others. But I probably would have laughed at the above joke back then, had it been about the C of C. Because I didn't know. I think our goal, as Church members or leaders or whatever, should be a place where Jesus could come as "the least" and feel a warm welcome. Do you agree?

Oh Christmas Tree....

We have a gorgeous Christmas Tree this year. I got an unbelievable deal on it, too! I went to Garden Ridge and they have this neat damaged section in the far right corner by the Christmas stuff. This tree is a 7.5' pre-lit GE tree called "Fresh Cut Oregon Pine." It retails for $299.99 but I got it for $32.50 because the very bottom branches don't light up. That's what THEY think.....all of the branches light up. It's amazing. And, at first we didn't think it had a top....so we called it the "Topless Wonder." So, when we went to put the angel up there (to hide the tree's toplessness) we discovered that the top had just been bent over. We put it up while Daniel wasn't here so I took pictures when he first discovered it...

In the next picture you can see how excited he really is (keep in mind that it was nap time!) :

I've been taking pictures in various stages of completion...it cracks me up because in the 1st picture the light up jack-o-lantern is visible on our mantle. It's gone now, thankfully, but I haven't quite finished the Christmas display up there yet. We're going to try to take a family picture in front of the tree for a Christmas Card tonight. We'll see....

Have we gone too far with "Political Correctness?"

People get all up in arms about "Happy Holidays," saying we've gone too far with Political Correctness....I submit to you MY reasons why Jesus is NOT the "only reason" for this season :

1. 2 other "major" Holidays (at least) are celebrated now : Hannukah and Kwanzaa
2. Christmas, along with Easter, have roots in pagan rituals -- Winter solstice, and the Spring Fertility festival....when the pagans were converted to Christianity, they wanted to keep these festivals and they found Bible stories to fit them.
3. The fat guy in the red suit driving 8 flying reindeer is awesome. Why can't you celebrate the secular side while still reinforcing the Spiritual side?
4. Jesus most likely was NOT born December 25.....it was more like March 25.

I still believe in Santa. In fact, I have an inside track to the big guy in red's personal cell phone and toy request line. He is really such a nice guy! He's bringing my kids everything they asked for....and probably some things they didn't ask for!

How do you "balance" the secular and the Spiritual? To me, that is easy. The Christmas tree, the snowmen, the reindeer = secular. Jesus = Spiritual. You have to enforce the Spiritual all year round, or pushing it one or two days a year is only going to alienate the kiddos.

As for PC going too far.....I think when we started calling bald people "follicularly challenged" and large people "horizontally challenged" and short people "vertically challenged," THAT is when we went too far.

Funny Stuff 3

Funny Stuff 2

Holiday Funny Stuff

26

Sunday I turned 26. To many, that's young. To me, it's a scary sign that I'm getting old....er. Michael keeps saying I'm in my "late twenties" but I correct him....NEXT year I'll be "late twenties."

I've been pondering what I'll do this year that I've never done before....here's what I've come up with so far :

1. apply to nursing school

That's it. Hopefully I'll get accepted....

happy birthday to me
happy birthday to me
happy birthday to meeee
happy birthday to me

Things I wonder.....

I wonder.......

If Katie Holmes knew/knows what she's getting herself into with this whole "Scientology" thing?

How accurate the tabloids are on things?

What Christian Scientists do if they are having a baby and it's breach? Or if their baby is born prematurely? Do they let the mom and baby die? Do they let the baby die?

Why potty training is so hard?

Why a cow is called a "cow?"

How accurate those online IQ tests really are? (I scored 124, and it said I'm a "facts curator" and highly gifted in vocabulary, speech, and MATH???)

How many people are online in the world right now?

How many people actually read my blog each day?

What will Daniel and Zoe be when they grow up?

What will I be when I grow up?

Will I always feel guilty for going back to work?

Will I get accepted to nursing school?

Will there ever be a female President (before Zoe, of course)?

Will there ever be a Black President?

Will there ever be an openly gay President?

Will there ever be an openly gay, Black Female President?

I wonder a lot more things, but I'll do more later. Hey, if you know the answers would you be so kind as to fill me in, please?