We had a nice Christmas. The news is saying that everyone has spent less on Christmas. The headline in the Greenwood paper says that people are focusing more on Christ's birth. Imagine that...Actually celebrating Jesus's birthday instead of trying to buy more junk to impress people that you don't even like! ha

My favorite part of Christmas is the Christmas Eve service at our church. It is so beautiful with candlelight and communion and focusing on Jesus's birth. Not only his birth but the gift of eternal life that God gave to us on Christmas.

We finally did get a tree! I asked for a tall skinny one, but got a tall monstrosity! It is about 11 feet tall and 8 feet in diameter. We had to put it in front of the bookcase, because if we put it in the usual spot, you couldn't use the front door.

I cooked stroganoff for Christmas Eve supper. We watched Miracle on 34th street. I don't think that Santa arrived until about 7:00 am christmas morning, because the "little ones" would not go to bed until after midnight. Santa doesn't bring much to our house anymore, just fills the stockings and back up the chimney! ( or back in the bed! ) We really did scale down Christmas gift giving this year, but you know, I don't think anyone felt left out. We are really blessed.

I can't believe that it is less than 2 weeks until Christmas Day. We don't even have a tree yet! Maybe this afternoon we'll get one up. Sid and Jon are fast asleep. I have been up since 6, since I had to have Patrick at the school at 7:30 this morning so that he could take the ACT. We are so proud of the fact that The Lord has blessed him with such a sharp mind. He is one of seven 7th graders who are taking it today. He starts exams Monday and will be finished Wednesday at 9:25. Jon finished Wednesday and came home. Liz is finished, but won't be coming home until Christmas, I'm sure.

We attended the band concert last Sunday afternoon. It was wonderful! The Junior high band went first and I was so amazed at how much they have improved. We stayed for the high school concert, too and they are very good.

We have some little escape artists. I have been watching them out the window and they are trying to tunnel under the fence. They are so bad, but so cute!

well, short, but sweet, I'm gone to clean up, so maybe Sid will cut me a tree!

Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is upon us! We had a nice Thanksgiving. Liz came home and spent 3 days with us! I don't believe that she has spent that much time home in several years! She gets bored so easily and we are boring people!

The deerslayer struck again! Patrick has killed his 3 does for the year, now for the elusive buck. I personally wish he would get rid of all of them. They have kept me from enjoying fresh greens for 2 years now and last summer they ate everything in the garden except the jalapenos.

Jon got a little work in while he was home for thanksgiving week. He only has this week and next and then he will be home for a month. I know that he won't want to go back in January.

Patrick marched in the Winona Christmas parade last night.! He said that the guy in the mustang in front of them had to be tired of jingle bells! They played it constantly for 30 or more minutes! He was well bundled up, underarmour, turtleneck, long-sleeved t-shirt and the band shirt on top and long johns and his khakis on the bottom! He said that he didn't get cold. I sure did! They are having their Christmas concert this Sunday afternoon and I am anxious to hear them.

The P-man is in the middle of the picture. I hope that Becky Dees got a better picture of him. I'll gladly buy all she'll take. Her pictures always turn out well.

The youth are cooking supper tomorrow at church. I was informed of this this morning when the youth director asked if I could make a dessert! My child doesn't tell me anything! He probably just hasn't gotten around to it. He'll remember tomorrow night about 15 minutes until time to go to church. ha

Not a whole lot else is going on here. Just the usual. Maybe I'll get into the Christmas spirit and start to put up some decorations before Christmas is here!

I love fall

Hasn't the last week been just majestic? The leaves are so beautiful. I love the golden hues of the hickory trees and the red, orange, yellow and purple of the sweet gums. I love the deep burgundy of the red oak and all the shades in between. The bright yellow fans of the ginkgo just prove that God loves variety. They are shaped like no other leaf and their bright yellow is so cheery. The deep red of the sumac with their darker red berries is wonderful. Am I easily amazed? Maybe so, but I know no artist like my God. He never ceases to amaze me.



I am better this week. I was deeply disappointed last week, but hang on to the promise that God is in control of everything. The sun has continued to rise and set and I just don't listen to the news or look very hard at the paper.



December is coming very fast! 2 more weeks and the boys are both out for Thanksgiving. Jon is also getting the whole week. Dec. 1 is the Winona Christmas parade and this will Patrick's first year to march in it since the Junior high band will get to march. That next Sunday afternoon is their Christmas concert which they have already been practicing for for a while. I can't wait to hear them perform. I only hear "part of the story" when he practices at home. They had an all day clinic last Saturday and each instrument had their own clinician. I hope that he learned a lot!



Tonie called me this afternoon, scheduling the "Knox family Christmas". I guess we'll go to their house on December 20 for that. I told her that I preferred to forgo gifts, therefore eliminating the stress of buying for people that can't be pleased. ( I didn't say that, did I?) I would love to visit with my family and catch up, but gifts for them puts gray hair in my head. None of them will read this!



I hope that everyone has a great week. It looks like we'll be getting a little rain tomorrow. I need to build a fire in the heater. ok that's better, it takes the chill off the house.

Today was election day. I guess we'll find out tomorrow who'll be our next president. I voted for the team that lined up more with my beliefs, pro-life, pro-family, and against the socialist. Our family has done their part, hope everyone else's has, too. I have to remember, though no matter how it turns out, God is still in control and he can even use a bad situation to accomplish his perfect will.


I don't celebrate halloween. The Lord convicted me of this when Liz was about 4. The Bible takes such things seriously, so we should too. this year, however, I dressed up. ha ha At work we had John McCain, Sarah Palin, and a hippy. they knew how I felt about Halloween, so they didn't expect me to do anything. I surprised them by showing up with purple hair and a punk rock tatoo sleeve, black clothes and lots of heavy eyeliner. I have since repented! and the punk rocker disappeared in the bathtub! ( I got lots of compliments on my purple hair, though!) That was the extent of my involvement! No parties, No trick or treat, no yard rolling, no egg throwing! No scary movies!

We all just wanta be big rock stars!!!

The Winona Tigers are district champs!~! Yay!!! They start the first round of the playoffs this week at home against Cleveland Eastside. Best of luck Tigers!!!

The Winona Junior high Beta club is sponsoring "Operation Christmas Child" for their Christmas project. I was proud that they are doing such a worthwhile project. We have been doing this at church for the past several years and we have received letters from children in Burkina Faso, India, and another place that I don't remember. It is so awesome how a little box full of inexpensive toys can mean so much to a little child. It is so wonderful to hear of their faith in Jesus and how in some cases they led their parents to the Lord because somewhere around the world someone cared. Someone prayed. Someone gave to the Lord.

I am still enjoying this wonderful fall weather. The trees are getting pretty and will soon be bare. I don't like winter and I don't like summer, but I do love fall and spring!

Had a great weekend. Since Sidney was off last week, He and I went to the movies Friday night. (Patrick tagged along, too!) We saw Fireproof, the new movie from Sherwood Baptist in Albany Georgia. It was so wonderful. I laughed, I cried, I'm gonna buy it when it comes out on DVD! I have the other 2 movies that they have done. They were great, too. God has really blessed them with a ministry to reach a widespread audience for Christ. This one was about the marriage relationship and how wives and husbands should treat one another. We ate greasy popcorn and drank coke, too. Gotta love movie popcorn!

Saturday was a mostly quiet, piddle around the house kind of day. Beautiful weather, perfect temperatures. Sid's brother and aunt arrived late Saturday afternoon. Patrick went to Starkville with the youth group from church to bowl. Jon went to a friend's house to work on his truck. Wow, alone at last?! We went out to eat, just the two of us and had a very enjoyable evening.

Sunday was our 175th anniversary celebration at church. It was nice. We didn't have Sunday School, but started registration at 10:00. Church started at 10:45 and I'm not sure when it ended. I really enjoyed the music and the historic moments and everything. I know it ended after 12:00, because my son let me know! ha We had a great lunch and ooddles of tempting desserts. I made a banana pudding and 3 lemon meringue pies. I saw just about everything you could imagine. After lunch we went home and slept it off! when we woke up, Liz had appeared. It was good to see her for a short time.

No, Jon is not praying, he's avoiding the camera!

Judd and Katie enjoying their lunch on a beautiful fall day

I have a little while before I have to go pick up Patrick today. He has a trumpet lesson this afternoon from 3:30 until 4:00. I am sure that he will be starving when I pick him up! He has to eat lunch so early, around 10:30 in the morning I think. He is always hungry when I pick him up.

I am watching the puppies playing outside in the back yard. We still have them all. They are so much fun. We've had them in the tradewinds for the last 3 weeks, but I guess no one is interested in a pup right now. Probably spending all their disposable income on gasoline. I am glad to see that it is coming down. Hope that it keeps on coming down! Sid told his brother that he probably saved a couple hundred dollars waiting 3 weeks to drive to Mississippi from Charleston, South Carolina!

Sid is taking a week of vacation this week. He usually takes a week in late October every year, because it is cooler and he does the annual firewood cutting for the winter. We heat primarily with wood, so unless he cuts, we freezes!!! ha He thinks that we have enough, so today he worked on his truck and headed to Artesia to help Jonathan with a plumbing problem on the camper. He spent the night, so I'm curious to see how it went with him sleeping in a camper with Jonathan. Jon says since it is cooler now, he only has about 2 minutes of hot water in the morning, not quite enough to get that head of hair wet, much less get it washed! I hope that they can figure out something. Maybe they can at least have a little father-son "bonding time!" Even though they fight like cats and dogs, I know that he misses him being around all the time. I know from experience that Sid likes to have someone around when he's tinkering, if for no other reason, to get a good argument going! I've learned to just leave the shop and head to the house and let him argue with himself!

Patrick killed a doe yesterday afternoon. Yay!!!!! I hope he kills them all. That wasn't very nice, was it? Well, I'm so tired of them eating up our garden, when they have plenty to eat elsewhere. For the last 2 years they have taken all our greens, and have not left us any to eat. This year they ate our okra down to the ground, and helped themselves to the tomatoes. They don't particularly like jalapenos or mexican sunflowers. Yesterday Sid and I built an electric fence around the garden. I hope that it works wonders. I cooked part of that deer for his breakfast this morning with fresh bisciuts. I thought the biscuits were good. I won't touch the deer. They can eat it all.

Had a call on the puppies yesterday. Someone from Greenwood may come this weekend and look at one for a Christmas gift for his father. I'm not liking this at all, but I know that we can't keep them all. Patrick's friend Josh really wants ole "wrinkles"! Sid started calling him that because he looks so worried all the time!

Made a pot of red beans and rice. Let the beans cook all day. I forgot to buy bacon when I was in Winona, so I stopped by Dollar General after Church tonight. I love DG! They had the bacon. It was a little higher than the grocery store, but I didn't have to drive to get it! I got the bacon cooked and put in the pot, got the veggies sauted and in the pot, and the sausage browned and put in the pot. Now I'll let it simmer til lunch tomorrow and it should be pretty good. Haven't had it in a while.

Not much else happening here. I have been concerned about Sydney Sims. www.caringbridge.org/fl/sydneysims She has been in New York taking 3f8 treatments for neuroblastoma this week and has had some pretty scary side effects. She really needs prayer right now, both Sydney and her mother, Michelle. It must be horrible to stand by and watch your baby go through so much for the past almost 5 years. What a struggle to wonder if the treatments are worth the pain, but for Syd, there are no other treatment options available right now. So, what do you do? I would have to take the chance with the treatments and hope that this time would be the cure. That doesn't make it any easier to face, though.