Archives for 2010

Laverne and Shirley — Barker Style!

December 27, 2010 by 6 Comments

Just had to include this shot in this year’s Holiday Photo Fun. Kristin and Kelli have a tradition of entering the living room Laverne and Shirley style when it’s time to open Christmas presents. Crazy but true :) I can’t remember how it got started, but it has stuck.

I love that my girls love to have fun. I love that my girls still cling to their traditions. In fact, I just plain love my girls :)

“Then young women will dance and be glad…I will give them comfort and joy…” Jeremiah 31:13

Filed Under: family, holidays, photo fun

Merry Christmas to All!

December 23, 2010 by 5 Comments

Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you! And in the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us everyone!”

“‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ — which means, ‘God with us.'” Matthew 1:23

Filed Under: family, holidays, photo fun

Blast from Christmas Past

December 19, 2010 by 5 Comments

Thought I’d kick off some Holiday Photo Fun for the next couple of weeks with a blast from my Christmas past. The photo quality isn’t great but still worth sharing. Here I am with my older sister Debbie and younger sister Janice decorating our tree, probably in 1960 or 61 (my baby sister Carolyn didn’t come along until 69). In this shot, somebody caught us before we had time to plaster smiles on our faces. How do you like those fancy hairdos? :)

Pop in from time to time over the holidays for more Holiday Photo Fun, but for now, go out and capture some surprise shots of your own! Have yourself a merry little Christmas!

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,” 1 Peter 1:8

Filed Under: family, holidays, memories, photo fun

Christmas Fun with Julie Gillies (Plus our Giveaway Winner!)

December 12, 2010 by 6 Comments

Today’s post is all about fun — and Christmas fun at that! When I read fellow blogger Julie Gillies’ Dec. 5th post, I thought, “I like the way this gal thinks!” I asked her if I could share her benefits of dashing to and fro here on my blog, and she graciously consented. I’m sure you’ll be very glad she did :)

But first, a little Stocking Stuffer Giveaway fun — we have a winner! Congrats and merry sipping to Kirsten at Comfortably Domestic! I’ll get your Starbucks gift card to you as soon as you contact me with your mailing address. I pray the rest of you will have some fun surprises in store this month, too.

In fact, here’s one from Julie now. Enjoy!

The Benefits of Dashing To and Fro

I can zip my pants. This may not sound like earth-shattering news. But given the number of Christmas goodies I’ve already consumed this season, I assure you it’s no small feat.

In fact, this may even qualify as a Christmas miracle, since all my spare time has been sucked into the Holiday Vortex, along with my usual daily two-mile walks. I lamented my lack of exercise until it dawned on me: Wait one cotton-pickin’ minute! I am busy! And busy burns calories!

So, in the spirit of holiday giving, I joyfully offer my contribution to society at large: The Holiday Equivalents Chart. By my calculations, and according to this Official Chart, I can enjoy the many flavors of Christmas without loosening my belt even a tiny bit. And so, my friends, can you.

The Official Holiday Calorie Equivalents Chart

*Lugging holiday boxes from basement/attic/garage = 3 Powdered Pecan Balls

*Screaming from creepy crawlies in box = 2 Frosted Sugar Cookies

*Beating creepy crawlies w/ broom & cleaning up the mess = 1 Peppermint Brownie

*Driving to 3 Christmas tree lots in search of perfect tree = 1 Mug of Hot Cocoa

*Untangling aggravating Christmas lights = Cheeseball and ¼ box of Triscuits

*Tossing tangled Christmas lights and driving to store for new lights = 1 Candy Cane

*Taking out a 2nd mortgage to pay for Christmas tree =3 Pieces of Fudge

*Keeping up with the laundry in the midst of it all = Chips & Dip on a festive tray

*Toting child(ren) hither and yon to choir practice and holiday parties = 4 Mini pigs-in-a-blanket

*Constructing and decorating Gingerbread house = 25 Red & Green Peanut M&M’s

*Chasing wayward cat away from partially eaten Gingerbread house = 2 Homemade Chocolate-Almond Biscotti

*Attending 142 (or 9) Christmas play rehearsals = 9 Peanut Butter Kisses

*Brainstorming stocking stuffers for entire family = 3 Gingersnaps

*Composing witty yet meaningful Christmas letter = 2 Rum Balls

*Posing for annual holiday picture without blood or tears = 3 Christmas Oreos

*Shopping, shopping, shopping = 1 ½ cups Home made Chex Mix

*Waiting in line without Losing It = Handful of Spiced Pecans

*Baking umpteen thousand Christmas cookies = 4 Snickerdoodles

*Ranting at teen son (and friends) for snarfing most of cookies = 1 Piece Pumpkin Pie

*Wrapping Christmas presents until back spasms =1 Dinner Out OR ELSE

This concludes the annual milking of the system. With cookies, of course.

Thanks for the smiles, Julie!!

“…God…richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” 1 Timothy 6:17b

Filed Under: fun, giveaway, guest blogger

A Christmas Peek

December 8, 2010 by 4 Comments

Taking peeks — or at least teasing about it — is one of the delicious childlike aspects of the holiday season, isn’t it? I may not be able to help you get a peek at one of your gifts, but I can give you another Christmas peek. A peek into my Christmas journal.

Last year I shared an entry from 2005 about a Christmas first for us, and today I’d like to share another entry from that year — the very first one, in fact, of the 05 Christmas season. Since it was still in the early years of not having either of my girls living at home anymore, sometimes I struggled with the empty nest, especially during the holidays. Here were my thoughts that year:

“Last night — the Sunday after Thanksgiving — I decided to read the entries in this journal to kind of kick off my Christmas season. I loved reading about the special moments of the past couple of Christmases, but there was a part of me that ended up feeling afraid that I might not have anything special to write about this year. Kind of silly, but that’s how I felt.

This morning I was able to enjoy my first private Christmas worship and prayer time, and as I did, my fear of the night before melted away. Once again, I reflected on God’s great love for us in sending Jesus and on Jesus’s great love for us and the sacrifices He made to be our Savior. I realized afresh the real joy in Christmas is in Jesus, and because of that, I will always have special moments during the Christmas season — no matter what circumstances surround me. Thank You, Lord!”

God went on to bless me not only special time with Him that year but no less than ten entries in my Christmas journal about memorable holiday experiences. About midway through the month, I wrote:

“To think I had been worried about not having any special moments to write about this Christmas season! They just seem to keep coming one right after another! :)”

I pray that special moments — with the Lord and with your loved ones — will just keep on coming one right after another for you this Christmas. And if you’re so inclined, write them down. I know you’ll be glad you did.

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19

*My photo

**Don’t forget to sign up for the Stocking Stuffer Giveaway! Deadline is noon Sunday (CST).

Filed Under: books, holidays, memories, writing
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