Bless the Name of the God of Rain. We had nearly a full day of rain yesterday, and an inch of rain the day after Christmas. Thank you, Lord. -------------- #2 received a letter from Santa as part of his Christmas present. It was addressing his request for World Peace for Christmas. The letter said that there are many things Santa gets asked, but that he can't give, like jobs or finding lost parents. But the gift #2 asked for was already given many years ago in the birth of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Santa followed it up by saying that he tries to be a peacemaker by being kind and generous. Other people have tried to make peace in other ways, like Martin Luther King, Jr. And Santa hopes that #2 will be a peacemaker as well. The letter came with a movie, The Nativity Story, and a book on King. My aunt read the letter and said she disagreed with the ending. She would not call MLK, Jr. a peacemaker. She said she remembers watching the news and being afraid at what was going on at the time. Marches and riots were scary and she didn't understand why they had to go about it that way; it was definitely NOT peaceful. I wonder if that is what people said about Jesus. He upset the balance of communities. He overthrew tables in the Temple. He lead great crowds of people around the countryside. He certainly looked to some people to be attempting to overthrow a government. Perhaps the Prince of Peace was the Tyrant of Terror to some. Yesterday in Bible Study class we were looking at the book of John and two healings. Jesus heals a man who had been crippled for 38 years and a man who had been born blind. The Pharisees could not "see" Jesus, who he really was, like other people could. It occured to me that God had never been to Earth before, except for visits with Adam and Eve or in the form of an angel. To have God come and live with us in the form of a man, and have to do everything that a man has to do, well that was incomprehensible. It was blasphemy. It was breaking the very Law of God. To bow down and worship a man was strictly forbidden, remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? I am glad I am on this side of the Ressurrection. It is much easier for me to believe something that has been tested through 2000 years of history. I just can't feel contempt for the Pharisees; I don't know that I would have recognized God in the form of a man who was causing trouble either.

We are back! What a lovely trip home for the holidays we had. We saw all, ALL, of the families, and managed a little time for a movie and shopping. Poor #1 got very sick Christmas Eve and was up all night. That put a damper on his excitement for Santa's arrival and opening presents, but #2 enjoyed himself. Now I am unpacking while the kids play with their new things. Hubby has headed off to work. So I guess we are back to the routine. We took the dog with us on this trip since she is the biggest problem when it comes to our leaving. She did well in the van, but by the time we got home last night she was ready to be here. She travelled a lot while in WV since we couldn't leave her anywhere. The other animals are doing well, thanks to my little 4-H helper while we were gone. Darkie is need of a man, so I am hoping to borrow Clyde, the billy next door, this evening. She was up all night crying for him. The best Christmas present I got was a canner. Now I can make soup and can it for our lunches! I can't eat chicken from the store, so I have sorely missed chicken soup. By the way, the hog didn't get butchered, so the chickens will soon be in the freezer. So much for their savior.

Merry Christmas! Today is Christmas Day at our house; last night was Christmas Eve. We went out for Chinese and then a little shopping. Then we drove around and looked at lights, came back, lit the Advent candles, and watched a Christmas movie. This morning we opened presents around the tree and had chocolate chip pancakes- a House special- for breakfast. Now we are spending the day together at the gym and a movie- Alvin and the Chipmunks. Later we will get everything packed for our trip home. I think I am going to like this Christmas. I have always wanted to have Christmas with just my family and this seems to be doing it for me. My screwball of a husband was unwrapping presents with us when he picked one up that said to M from M. Then he thanked himself and opened it. He said he kept leaving a coupon around the house and I never took it, so he went and got what he wanted and wrapped it up for himself. He got juggling pins and a video. Look out next year at the Holiday Banquet and Talent Show! The boys got air rifles. They have wanted them since we moved here and theirs were lost in the move. So now they are running around like hooligans shooting at each other. I got chocolate. What could be better?

I have decided on the perfect gift for a child who asks for World Peace---Jesus. So he is getting The Nativity Story DVD and book. That is if I can FIND it in the stores around here. I looked until 10:00 last night and no luck. There are a couple of stores to try today still, and we can always call WV and have them check there. I also got him a book about MLK, Jr. I think Santa will write a letter to him about how Jesus is the Prince of Peace and here is an example of how to live that out. World Peace starts one person at a time. ---------------- Speaking of world peace...My children have been having trouble getting along with kids in 4-H. It doesn't seem to be my kids' fault. I know that sounds like the parent talking, but this is coming from other children, not my own. Anyway I have contacted one of the mothers of the problem children and am waiting to hear back. I hate confrontation. ----------------- We have joined a gym and yesterday learned how to use the weight machines. My worst fears were realized. Those machines are torture chambers. Don't they just look like something from a war movie? Like they will tie you to it and start stretching you, like they did to witches. Probably shouldn't tell them #1's enjoyment of all things Harry Potter and dragon.

#2 has a little more trouble with the Santa letter. He constantly changes his mind. So a few weeks ago, maybe a month, he wrote Santa asking for an MP3 player and "lots of books." Then, last week when #1 sent his letter to Santa, #2 decided he would send one as well. He sealed it up and didn't tell me what he asked for. A couple of nights ago he came into the kitchen yelling, "Commercialism, commercialism! It's all turned into commercialism." He was speaking of Christmas. So I said, "Well you have turned it that way too. What did you ask Santa for?" "World peace." That was it. He asked for world peace. Hubby said they were coming home from Guys' Night Out the other day when #2 said he would like to have a couple of things. I believe they were a knitting book and a dragon book. #1 said, "You can't ask for that. I asked Santa for that and you can't get the same thing. What did you ask Santa for?" "World peace." "No, really." "I asked for world peace." "Well, what else did you ask for?" "Nothing." "Too bad." "Why?" "Because you aren't getting what you asked for." It seems we have a realist and a dreamer at our house. --------------- As hubby told me that story, he was reminded of it because he was taking the dog out. She did #1 and #2. I want to put a disclaimer here: In no way do I think of my children as processes of elimination. That thought had never occured to me, only to their father! I am ONLY speaking of birth order when I call them that. It is only for their protection and safety that I do thus, and in no way describes how I feel about them.

My 10 year old- almost 11 year old!- wrote his letter to Santa last week. It took him a long time because he can never decide what it is he really, really wants. I did not suggest that he write to Santa. I am so pleased that he still has the innocence to believe. He wrote the letter, addressed it, and took it to the box. I couldn't be trusted to take it out. Here is what I recovered: Dear Santa Claus, How is your wife? Did you have a nice summer? I know I haven't been perfect, but I hope I can still be on the nice list. So I hope I can still get some presents. Here is a list of things I want: Harry Potter DVD Interactive Game, Charmed Knitting, How to Draw and Paint Dragons, Marvel Superhero Fact Book, Transformer Action Figure, as many magic tricks as you can find, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 2 disc DVD. Love, #1 ------------- I will share #2's letter tomorrow. Today was spent finishing up 4-H projects, and we are DONE! Tomorrow is our last meeting for the year and we will really be done after that. We joined a gym last week and I had to drag myself and 2 kids there this morning. I worked out in the pool and it really seemed to help stretch out my back. Tomorrow we train on some of the equipment.

He's my kill the spiders and roaches man, catch the mice and chop the rooster man. He's my pick up heavy things man, wait in the car man, cry on his chest man. He's my humorous man, my academic man, my juggling and jokester man. He's my complete the taxes man, forgive my ignorance man, my live on a farm when I'm a city boy man. He's my goose me, grab me man, he's my angry kiss when Rodriguez goes to Michigan man, he's my staring at a beautiful woman (me) man. He's my Lover, my Great One, my Friend, and my Brother. He's every man to me and he's mine for 18 years today. Happy Anniversary Sweetheart.

Oh how the time is flying. I planned our school calendar to have all of December off, but just knew that we would still do some school during the month. Guess what? Nada. This afternoon and evening the boys and I did manage to get quite a dent in the 4-H year-end requirements though. That is a relief; I was getting worried. I did however take the time to go to the beach yesterday. The weather here was so beautiful this week. I really wanted to go on Monday- it was supposed to be 79 degrees and sunny! But it just didn't work. I have to say yesterday was perfect. It was about 72 and the sun was shining strong. The kids managed to get wet, even though they were in jeans! We took some friends with us and dug in the sand, walked, looked for shells, played frisbee, and just relaxed. I felt a little guilty knowing that there is so much at home to do, but it is supposed to be a Winter Break and so I broke loose. Last evening the temperature started dropping and about an hour ago the rain started dropping. We are about 18 inches short on rain this year and we are hoping to get 2 inches out of this tonight. It won't make a whole lot of difference, but we will take what we can get. My parents were surprised a few nights ago when I told them that we got a salad out of the garden. It has been so warm here, but we really should get some more salad if this rain comes through. I had my first shopping trip this week with real coupons. I guess I did well, but it was more than I had really wanted to spend. I had to tell myself that you can't really shop by the week, but have to look ahead. I was able to get some things for 4-H co-op lunches in the spring, and some sodas for #2's birthday. I got some Betty Crocker brownie mixes for 20 cents each and Cheerios for 50 cents. When I got back from the beach I found out hubby had sold one of the goats. Millie was our oldest goat and the one that had had the kids the last couple of years. A hispanic family stopped on our porch and were knocking when Hubby came home. He was able to understand the spanish for milk and told them she didn't have any and isn't pregnant, but the spanish for "tie her legs together" was eluding him. My father thinks he should brush up on his spanish in case he needs to preach to someone in spanish. Hubby said he doesn't think "tie her legs together" is going to come up in his preaching! Tomorrow is our 18th wedding anniversary. It has been a good trial period. I think I will keep him.

I was counting my blessings this morning. There are so many I don't know if I can count that high! I was talking with my dad last night and saying how blessed I am to have been raised around people who know how to do things and how to live on less. There are so many people who don't even know how to cook! He agreed that more and more people are not cooking- said with a smile in his voice as Mom brought dinner home! I also am blessed that I didn't have children outside of wedlock. A cousin just had a baby this week with a girl he barely knows. She got pregnant, it would seem, the first night they met. Pregnancy is a wonderful experience that is also full of non-wonderful changes. I can't imagine going through that with a guy you know can't keep it in his pants. Now they have to figure out how to live with each other and with a new baby. There are a lot of strangers in that house right now. I am also blessed that my husband is still here. A friend is moving this week and there is a lot of turmoil involved with closings, builders, inspectors, banks, etc. When life gets stressful for me I always have hubby to help me through it. Somehow we never seem to melt down at the same time, holding the other up. This poor friend is alone. Yes, she has friends and family, but it isn't the same in the middle of the night when you can't sleep. I have filled out a lot of medical paperwork lately and it has made me realize how blessed we are in that realm as well. I don't have prescriptions, my kids are healthy, we haven't had to go to the doctor in quite a while. (Except for Sunday when #2 had unexplainable hives. He is fine now.) Some other friends are looking for work, but are being unsuccessful because of criminal records. They made mistakes in the past that are still haunting them years later. I am very blessed that my stupid mistakes were not illegal blunders. Of course there are blessings of friends, family, hearth and home. But I have a feeling there are other blessing I don't even realize at the time. Thank you God for all of the known and unknown blessings.

We had our annual Progressive Dinner last night with our congregation. The appetizers were at our house. The boys went to stay for the evening with their best friends. How that was a punishment I am not sure, but they thought they were being "sent away." It greatly offended them that it was an adults only event. I guess they never figured that out the other years. Anyway they had pizza, watched movies, and played with friends- wish I could be "sent away" some time! The Dirty Santa gift exchange at the end of the night is always fun. I ended up taking a piggy bank that farts when you put in money. I told you I've been with males too long! I can just see my brother-in-law laughing, though, when I give him that for Christmas. The friends who watched the kids thought it was funny too. Now I am home with #2 who got up this morning not feeling well. He went in the bathroom and yelled, which means he is vomiting. Actually this time he yelled in order to overcome it and NOT vomit. I know the feeling. He is covered in a rash that is spreading, so we will be heading to the Urgent Care at 10:00. Hubby thinks I planned it because I was having trouble waking up this morning. ------------ Hubby tells me I am hard to shop for because I don't care for jewelry or clothes. The fact is I very much like clothes- I wear them every day, for goodness sake! I have told him what I want for Christmas, but he never remembers what I say. (Maybe he just doesn't like what I say I want.) So I wrote my desire on a post-it note the other day and stuck it on my forehead. Then he took it and wrote it on his calendar so he won't forget. I want someone to come and clean the house in March. By then my schedule is so busy I start to get stressed when I can't keep up with the house. Of course, after he wrote it down, I started having guilt spasms about being a stay-at-home mom and needing someone to clean my house...I certainly do struggle with pride.

11:54 p.m. I woke to hear the bleating of our goat, Darkie. She was obviously upset, and I went to see if there was a goat thief or coyote or something bothering her. No, she is just hankering for a man. She was at it again at 6:30 this morning. I guess she will get her second chance soon. -------- When we had our boys about 10 years ago, a lot of friends were also having boys. When we would attend different churches around the country I would notice their classes were filled with boys. I once remarked on it to an older woman and she replied that it is a sign of coming war. Sure enough we went to war. But this whole thing of being with guys so much of the time could give me a complex. I counted 13 people in my home yesterday, and only 3 of them were women- myself included. Women of the World, please forgive me if I start to saunter when I walk and speak while belching. I may even start to punch you in the arm when we meet, but it is all a sign of the company I keep and not disdain for the feminine. ----------- My friend was over yesterday to help with the coupon and smart shopping lesson. It appears that CVS is actually a good place to shop. Who would have thought? Anyway, I am now part of a coupon shopping group, and am hoping to reduce our bill by $100 a month. We'll see how it goes.

The boys finished art class at the university this week. They always have an art show of what they did all semester. We were disappointed to hear that our favorite professor will be taking a semester off this spring. I am sure we will continue to take art, but this lady was good with the kids. #2 actually took 2 classes this fall, so we had 2 shows to go to this week. Then yesterday we went through all of the art projects from the last couple of years and decided which ones really need to be kept. I will be heading to the recycling center this afternoon. ----------- Last night we were discussing "religionism." That is religion that you become addicted to. For instance, some people must be given communion by a priest before they can go back to work on Monday. I tried to think of how this affects me. The only thing I came up with is silly. I know it isn't true and yet I still have trouble with this. Soon after I was married, I wrecked our car. I had just stopped singing Christian music and was singing a secular song. I felt like if I had kept my mind on Christ, then I would have been protected from the wreck. Even to this day, I sing secular songs in the car only when I am very alert. Crazy, but true.

Yesterday was interesting. My husband told me on Monday that he would really like to have a date with me this week. I guess he is missing me; how sweet. Well the only time that worked was yesterday morning. So I arranged for a friend to keep the kids for the morning. He told me he didn't care what we did on our date, that he just wanted to be with me. So we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Then we went to Sam's to fix a flat tire, to Target to buy a can opener and some birthday gifts, to Globe Hardware for Christmas gifts, and then home so I could get ready for the 4-H meeting. Hubby said he had a nice time. He must have been desperate for a date! ----------- #1 was running for President at 4-H yesterday. He had to have a campaign speech, and he did a good job explaining why the kids should vote for him. He has been to all but 2 meetings in the last 3 years, he has been to every County Council meeting this year, he knows his leaders, etc. He was unopposed at first and then another kid decided to run. His speech was not prepared and so not nearly as good. The other kid won. Now, this is coming from other parents- not the parent of #1- it seems that one of the kids in the club incited the others to vote against #1. This kid has a problem with my boy that mostly has to do with a girl, jealousy, and too much testosterone. After it was over the kid that won said he really didn't want to be President and declined to accept the election. I was very proud of how #1 dealt with it all. He was obviously disappointed not to win, but he didn't say or do anything bad. He didn't cry or pout. Then when he won, he felt badly for the friend who was taken out by his mother and reprimanded. When I questioned #1 about it, he said he will just have to work hard to prove to those who didn't vote for him that he is the right man for the job. Very grown up in my opinion. ----------- The dog was on the couch this morning. She needs to die soon.

The Scrooge Family has the tree up and some decorations on the mantles. Just thought everyone would want to know. The boys put up the decorations on Saturday. #2 didn't feel the need to have them up since we will be gone for Christmas- my sentiments exactly! But #1 wanted to get them out. The truth be known, he didn't care about the decorations, he just wanted to get the Christmas movies out. -------- I kept track of everything we spent in 2007 and added and averaged on Saturday, and found out we did pretty well. I had thought we would need to start using the envelope system and watch more carefully, even start cutting our spending. But actually we did ok. We spent more fixing the house and not much at all on savings or retirement, but the equity in the house is probably a good idea. I did come to the conclusion, though, that some things could be cut. We will be eating out less, and a friend is coming this week to help me learn how to take advantage of grocery coupons. However, one of the biggest problems has been the animals. They really are a liability right now. So we will be getting rid of the rabbits and 2 of the goats. One of the goats is getting a second chance to produce a kid, but if she can't then she is out of here. I am in the market for a good dairy goat though. It would save us a lot of gas money to be able to milk our own instead of driving to the farm for fresh cow's milk. As far as the chickens go...they are being saved because they do occasionally offer me an egg, and because we are getting a butchered hog for Christmas and I won't have room in the freezer for the chickens too. So the hog's death is saving their life. --------- Speaking of the chickens...There is one that I have to put in the coop every night. She really likes to hang out in the manger. Last night I picked her up to put her away as usual, and she started purring! I thought for sure she couldn't be, but I looked it up and YES chickens do purr! She has become a sort of pet after all of the picking up at evening, so I guess she finally felt like showing me some love. She pushed against my chest, held my hand, and put her head against my shoulder in the crook of my neck. Who says chickens are mean?

We went to the Morehead Planetarium on Thursday. It is on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. We actually had to drive up a hill to get there! Boy, I haven't had to drive up a hill for a long time. I took 6 kids in my van, and that was interesting. The conversation of homeschoolers is different than most kids. They had talks about new laws that are being considered, about democrats and republicans, and about their campaign speeches for the upcoming 4-H elections. Of course there was the normal talk too about super heroes and Garfield. It was a good day, and the boys liked the ending of it. We were on our way to pick up a pizza as we pulled back into town, and they thanked me for a good trip. I asked if it was a good last day of school. They were stunned and greatly pleased; they were supposed to have had school on Friday and then be done. They have enough days in and I didn't want to start a new section in anything, so we are now on Winter Break. Yee Haw! We will be hosting the appetizers portion of our church's progressive dinner next week. I signed us up for it, but somehow it never entered my brain that that means I need to decorate the house for Christmas. Hubby reminded me; he's so sweet. So I think this afternoon the boys will be putting up the tree and other decorations. I guess it is ok since it is now December. We have watched a few Christmas specials on ABC already. My shopping is done and the boys have just a few more things to get, so let the season begin! ---------- I have often complained about having to go back to WV for Christmas. I really would like to have our family open gifts from Santa on Christmas morning under our own tree. I remember my Christmases as a child so fondly and I want that for my kids. Hubby has tried to tell me that the kids have a different tradition and that it is ok. They LOVE going to the grandparents for the holidays: being with family and all of the excitement. Well, I finally have gratefully accepted that as our tradition. The other day a friend was saying that they will be staying home for Christmas this year. It is their turn to go to her mother's house, and the mother doesn't really care if they come or not. She said she would rather they visit in the summer when the weather is nicer and there is less stress. My friend said that is the advantage of coming from a family that isn't loving and closely knit. There are no expectations to see each other or to have to be cheerful. I was surprised that there is an advantage. I decided I don't ever want my kids to think they came from an unloving family, and if it means going to someone else's house and having a great time, then that is what we will happily do. -------------- #2 receives a subscription to Ranger Rick. The subscription is about to run out and he has been getting concerned about whether or not he will get another one. He told me the other day, "Mom, PLEASE! You have got to get me another subscription. I was reading this story and they left me on a coat hanger. They won't end the story until next month!" "That's a CLIFF hanger dear."