Resolution Kept

It's that time of year again, when people look back and decide how to make the New Year better than the last. They will decide they are going to lose weight, read highbrow books, learn a new language, get a better job, or stop smoking. And perhaps they will truly mean it, but often they just think they mean it, and the resolution goes unresolved.
My resolution for 2011 has been kept, but it is one of those ongoing resolutions that must remain a resolution for this year as well. I decided to "correct" my back. I injured it several, perhaps five, years ago. I went to a chiropractor at first, after the doctors were unable to help, and he was able to get me put back to rights.
However, the injury had weakened me, and I was unable to stay corrected on my own. Time flies when you are raising kids and working hard, and a couple of years or more went by without a visit to the chiropractor. Honestly I didn't realize it had been that long, all I knew was that I always hurt, and I couldn't bend over to pet the dog at my knee.
I would bend sideways in order to try to pet her, I would brace myself on my knees with my elbows to get the dishes out of the dishwasher, and I would forego fun things like bowling with my kids because it hurt too much. It all snuck up on me, and I didn't realize the pain I was in until it was too late.
So last January I went back to the chiropractor. He X-rayed my back and about ran into me trying to tell me how bad it was. "You are on your way to surgery if you don't do something NOW!"
And that was what it took to make my resolution stick. I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions because I don't keep them after a month or two, but I thought this would be an easy one to keep. I wanted it to be a quick adjustment, maybe a week or two of visits, and then I would be on my merry way.
No, it has been a year of adjustments, daily at first and now about twice monthly. I will always need adjustments. I have also learned how to recognize a problem and when to get it taken care of. I know to apply cold packs, take pain reliever, walk, walk, walk, and now I have added stretches which seem to help me go longer between adjustments.
I probably wouldn't have kept the resolution at the beginning if I had known how much work and money it would cost me, but knowing the alternative was surgery I was "resolute" to make my decision a reality.
If you have made a resolution this year, it will likely be tiresome to keep. It may be expensive, painful, frustrating, and you may sometimes be pushed backward on your road. BUT if you will keep the resolution, you just may bend over to pet the dog and find yourself touching your toes next December.

22 Years and Counting

"Angry Words" and "There's a Sweet, Sweet Spirit" are the two songs I think of on this day of the year. Those are two of the songs that were sung at our wedding. They have served us well over time. Hubby and I seldom use angry words with each other. The number of fights we have had could be counted on your fingers, on one hand. The reason, I believe, is that we asked Jesus to send His Spirit to be in our marriage. The Holy Ghost has lived in our home for twenty-two years now. He has guided us, talked to us, and shushed us. We have been thoroughly blessed all of these years. I could not have asked for a better marriage. Thank you God for blessing me with my Matthew.

Angry words! O let them never,
From the tongue unbridled slip,
May the heart’s best impulse ever,
Check them ere they soil the lip.

Refrain

Love one another thus saith the Savior,
Children obey the Father’s blest command,
Love each other, love each other,
’Tis the Father’s blest command.

Love is much too pure and holy,
Friendship is too sacred far,
                                                                                    For a moment’s reckless folly,
                                                                                    Thus to desolate and mar.

Refrain

Angry words are lightly spoken,
Bitterest thoughts are rashly stirred,
Brightest links of life are broken,
By a single angry word.

There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place
And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord
There are sweet expressions on each face
And I know they feel the presence of the Lord

Sweet Holy Spirit... sweet heavenly dove...
Stay right here with us
Filling us with Your love

And for these blessings
We lift our hearts in praise
Without a doubt we know
That we’ll have been revived
When we shall leave this place

NUTS

 What's the first thing you think of when I say "Christmas"? Nuts, of course. "What?!" you say? You mean you don't think of nuts? My grandparents, particularly my paternal grandfather, would get Hazel nuts for my mother for Christmas. Mixed nuts, still in the shell, would be in a bowl on the livingroom floor with a nutcracker the whole Christmas season. Nuts and oranges would be in my stocking on Christmas morning. And don't you know, when I got married, I discovered Pistachio nuts were my husband's Christmas tradition. There is always a bowl of pistachios on his mother's table or counter during the holidays, and there is a package of them among the presents to be taken home. My children purchase nuts for their grandparents as Christmas presents, too.

So even though I don't put up a Christmas tree or lights, I still have a bowl of nuts on the table.
                                                      Merry Christmas Everybody!

Give 2 the Troops

Our club helped again at Give 2 the Troops this year. We help throughout the year at different times, and #2 is volunteering there weekly now, but we also always have a Christmas project packing boxes for the deployed soldiers. These kids are removing address labels from magazines so they can be given to the troops.

A dentist in Buffalo, NY buys back candy from his patients after Halloween. He then donates it to the soldiers. He sent over 5000 pounds of candy to the center. These two, along with the rest of us, packed the candy iinto smaller bags that could be put in stockings for the soldiers.

#1 helped sort items for the stockings and make gift bags. The bags held shampoo, toothpaste, soap, candy, and other items. Some of the soldiers have their packages dropped to them because they are so far away from a base. Getting these hygiene items to them means a lot since they are away from the PX for months at a time.

We also make cards for the soldiers. I also asked our congregation to make some cards and to sign some store bought cards, to send to the soldiers. The cards let them know they are supported back home and that we wish the best for them.

What a great bunch of kids and American Citizens!

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I told my mother about the packages sent to soldiers and that we often donate our magazines to them. Hubby takes online surveys and then "wins" free subscriptions. He gets two Golf magazines, financial magazines, and Reader's Digest. We also get Smithsonian and National Geographic. My mother got All You for me last year, and I donate that too.

So my mother donated magazines, and she told her church about it. They donated magazines, as well as other family members donating. Several of them read this blog, and I thought I would show them what they accomplished. When I went last week to help at Give 2 the Troops, there were absolutely NO magazines for the soldiers! All of these magazines were donated by you, my readers and family. Good job Everyone!

PS I then told my church how low they were on magazines, and my church donated a few bags as well. What a great way to recycle.

Annual Holiday Banquet and Talent Show

 Every year our church has a talent show. We start off by eating lots of holiday foods- potluck style. Then we gather for the fun. The show is open to any talent that might offer itself up.

 This sweetheart sang Rudolph while balancing on this ball thing. It was his debut in the talent show. Good Job, Sethmeister!!

 This little fella has been in the show many times. This year he built Lego animals and had us guess what they were. He is holding the Angler Fish.

 These lovely ladies are also veterans. They did some solos and then sang and played together.

 And for the second year #2 showed off his juggling skills.

 Hubby wrote a story about our congregation, and we all enjoyed a good laugh. He writes every year in a "Prairie Home Companion" manner. This year the story was about the "Gunbrella Man" that occured here a few weeks ago.

These are some of our friends who came to enjoy the evening with us. They are sweet kids and good friends to #2.

Bambi

No her name isn't Bambi, but she does have big doe eyes doesn't she? I thought I got this picture in yesterday's post, but I guess not. #1 really does like little kids. I think he would be a good teacher. He has talked about being a teacher or a youth minister.

 #2 did get a doe over the Thaksgiving break though. The first day was too foggy, and though they tried going out, he and my father had to return home empty handed and stay in all day long.

 The second day was foggy but not as bad as the first. They came upon two does, and my dad told #2 to lean against the tree and line up his shot. Dad said #2 was very calm and careful, and he shot just as he should have. The shot went right in the back and dropped her quickly. They went back home to get the tractor to haul her out. She was about 120 pounds and as tall as #2.

 On Friday after Thanksgiving we cut up the meat. #2 wanted steaks and stew meat and that's just what he got. He ended  up with 17 quart bags of meat. He even got two bags of the backstrap which is like filet mignon. My boys love filet mignon! Expensive tastes, I know.

#2 was disappointed that there wasn't more meat in a deer, and he plans on getting two next year. Well he can plan all he wants, but a lot of it is luck. #2 wanted to let the 4H club try the meat, so we had stew meat at the meeting last week. I put it in the crockpot with some herbs and Worcestershire sauce. It was good. We have had steaks, too that were good. She was a yearling deer and the meat is tender enough for a butter knife. Betcha loved that last sentence, all  you non-hunters!

Angel Cops and Scarves

Our 4H club hosted the program for the County Council meeting last month. The kids led the meeting- 3 of our kids are officers- and then we had invited a policeman to come and speak to the group.

 After the speaker told us about the homeless in town who don't stay at the shelter, we made no-sew scarves to give out to the homeless. The cop who spoke started a group that helps the unsheltered homeless in our town. They are called "Angel Cops" and there are about 57 tents set up in "Tent City" now for these homeless people.

 Our club purchased the fleece to make the scarves, and then all of the kids got to make one. They cut the fringe and then tied it in knots. I think we made 37 scarves, but don't hold me to that.

Of course some of the kids babysat siblings while the others made scarves. This little cutie thinks she is my son's girlfriend. She attaches herself to him whenever she can.

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Finally here are the pictures. I did not do the Beavers' makeup, but I had to do touch ups on it as they sweated under the stage lights. Their teeth would start to come off!! Anway I thought their make-up was well done.

 As you may remember, I DID get to do Aslan's make-up. Up close like this doesn't do it justice. Once he was on stage and at a distance it looked really good. He was a great lion with a super roar.

 This is the White Witch, whom I also did not make up, but she looked pretty. She had HUGE false eyelashes, and I did get to put false eyelashes on the Unicorn, but no picture.

 This is the Blue Jay, one of Aslan's Followers. She was a sweet girl, and I enjoyed making her up.

 #1 was originally supposed to be a centaur, but they couldn't get the back legs to work right, so he became a Satyr. The head dress was really cool, and at 6'2" already, it made him look very towering. The White Witch should have run just looking at him!

 The five o'clock shadow was my creation.

 My camera isn't great for long distance shots, but it was a wonderful stage of scenery. It was really cool to watch them break down the set at the end and see what it was all made of. Mostly cardboard, believe it or not!

A happy ending with the new Kings and Queens of Narnia. Two more months until the next play practices start. Whew!!

Christmas Blah

Everyone is feeling it; the Christmas Blah. We don't want to do school work, house work, or yard work. We don't want to get up in the morning. We don't want to cook, clean, or decorate. We don't want to be exhausted, but we are.
For my own household, we don't decorate anyway, but it seems there are so many other things that have to get done at this time of year, that it is very small comfort not to decorate.
I hate to spend money this time of year, knowing that a lot of money is going to be spent, but my legs and feet are killing me. I think my exhaustion can be helped if I have some new tennies. I know some of you are nodding your heads and saying , "Sure it will help." Seriously, I don't like to shop, it isn't for an excuse to go shopping! I don't want to get out of bed the legs hurt so badly.
So there you have it. Christmas Blah.
Blah blog post too.
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Wednesday night was the Christmas Pageant. The kids did an excellent job and Mary DID decide to have Baby Jesus. She giggled through it, but at least he was born. The sweet little angel delivered the baby right to the manger, and everyone oohed and aahed. King Herod managed to show off his regal disposition and not have a fit that he was a "bad guy". The shepherds and wise men were right on cue. It was a good program and I am glad we did it.
One girl asked if we will do this for every holiday. I said I thought we would at least do Easter. "Who gets to be the bunny," she exclaimed. Hmmm. I guess we will have to start by reading the Bible.

Trees

 I love trees. They make a place look lived in and loved. BUT, I don't like trees when hurricanes come through. Our front pear tree split during Irene and we needed to trim it up.

 My men have been working hard clearing branches and even trunks away to the fire pit.

It's good activity for ornery boys! Plus we will have some lovely fires this winter and spring.

Geography Finale

 Our last Geography club meeting was a cooking session by popular demand. The kids voted that we all bring recipes and ingredients and cook a South American meal together and then enjoy lunch. These boys helped me make tortillas with the tortilla press. The little one stayed with me the entire time. He was so excited about his tortillas, he wanted to take one home to his dad.

 These kids are working on sauces to go on the rice. The sauces were yummy, but we ran out of rice.

 We were in charge of drinks, so the boys and I went to the local supermercado and bought some things. The sodas were not all that tasty, but I don't care for most soda anyway. The far left drink was an atole, which is cornmeal, milk, and cinnamon. It was good the first time around, but warming it up the next day for breakfast... not so good. The far right white drink was a rice mixture, also not so good. I guess I will stick to water.

And finally we enjoyed our lunch. Until next year Phileas Fogg Geography Club!

Sock Hop Third Edition

 Elvis made an appearance again at the Sock Hop this year. This was the third year we held this event.

 We brought a couple of friends from church. They seem to think glasses make you a "Fifties Girl". I guess there weren't many contacts wearers back then. I didn't take offense at the glasses.

 These sweeties were helping at the refreshments stand. There were lots of goodies as wella s the most delicious chili dogs you ever ate!

 #1 was supposed ot be helping at concessions, but someone caught his attention. I guess he didn't notice if anyone swiped a few of the goodies.