Let the countdown begin!

I feel like December sneaked up on me this year! One minute I'm realizing it's only 9 days til December... and the next minute I realize it's 9 days into December! (almost anyway...)

My sister has started a countdown with my niece at their house. They are using the paper chain method...where each chain link is numbered with the days til Christmas and each day they take one off and see how many days are left. Yesterday when I was there, there were only 18 days til Christmas, which means now there are 17! I can't believe Christmas is so close! :)

I love Christmas. It has to be my favorite holiday of the year. When I was younger, a lot of it was because of the presents. As I got older, it still had something to do with presents, but I was more excited to give presents rather than receive them. Also, as I got older, the family started splitting up, going their own directions. This year is the first year that all of the kids are out of the house. We are all coming back to my parents' house for Christmas this year. It's a weird thought. But that is one of the reasons I love Christmas. I love being able to be with my family again. Now that we are all in our own places, it's so hard to get together. Even Kaleb and I hardly see each other and we live together. I love the camaraderie that my siblings and I have. I love how our family grows with each year. I love being able to simply sit in my parents' living room and watch the lights blink on the Christmas tree. I love watching Kaleb hit the mistletoe every time he walks by simply because he is so tall, and watching my mom run over to him to give him a kiss. I love simply watching my family members interact with each other. I love realizing over and over again how truly blessed I am. And I love remembering the true Reason for the Season: how my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, humbled Himself to my level to save me from God's wrath because He loves me that much.

How I pray that I will remember this every day, not just Christmas Day; every month, not just December; and every year, not just when my family is able to get together to celebrate. 17 days til Christmas...

Where did November go?

Just a random fact I learned today...


In 9 days, it will be December.

What do you think?

Someone posted this on Facebook today. I found it interesting and wanted to share it and get y'all's viewpoint/opinion on it...

Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as “Holiday Trees” for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America . . .

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejewelled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, “Merry Christmas” to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crib, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her: “How could God let something like this happen?” (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said: “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?”

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbour as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it.... no one will know you did. But if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

So...what do you think?

Pictures...and update!

I know it has been quite awhile since I last posted...and I never did post pictures of our dining room table....so here ya go!

This is a close-up of the shower curtain I finally bought. :) I wanted to give you a good picture of the colors. We love it :)

This is a full view of our shower curtain. Isn't it great??

And here is the long-awaited pictures of our table!! This picture and the next give you a good view of the cushions...courtesy of our awesome sister, Kristen! :)

A "top" view of the table...amazing paint job courtesy of our wonderful dad! (Kristen, Mom, and I also helped sand it down before painting. Oh and if you remember, this is the same table that our parents had in their kitchen for several years. The chairs had a wicker seat. Our dad was awesome enough to take that out and replace it with a piece of wood, so the seats are solid wood now. :) Oh! And see the coasters in the middle of the table! Kristen surprised us with those, made out of the same material as the cushions!)

Another view of the table. Doesn't it just fit perfectly in the dining room? You can kind of see how the cushions are on the chairs...they are tied to the back.

Okay! Now you all can quit bugging me about these pictures....just kidding :).

Now, on to the update. Life has been pretty crazy and busy. Where to start?? I have been working anywhere from 85-90 hours every two weeks (and yes, that means some weeks I had 40 hours and other weeks I had close to 50). Since the college-aged employees left in August, we have been struggling slightly with having enough/the right people on certain shifts. Then, school started and many of the high schoolers don't want to close during the week. Plus, there are the usual school activities that keep them all busy. And then, we have had 7 people quit/get fired in the past 2-3 months. So, yeah, things have been crazy. The managers have been pretty much covering all the hours....or as many as possible. And, for the most part, I am the one that can cover hours the easiest because I don't have any kids and I'm not currently in school. Obviously, there are some times I really can't work, but for the most part, I'm pretty flexible. And, even though business has slowed down some since school started and the weather has gotten colder, we are still decently busy. Especially since at the end of September, corporate sent out coupons...which ALWAYS increases our business by A LOT. However, things have been going pretty well. We have hired 7 people (I think) in the past month or two also. So that helps, and will in the future, once we get them trained.

What else is going on in my life besides work? Well, I am still teaching Sunday School, although now I am in the 4's and 5's, instead of the 3's. Still loving it! I am also again helping out with Cubbies every Wednesday night. And on Tuesday mornings I provide childcare for the women's Bible Study. We usually have anywhere from 1-4 boys. (Yes, all boys.) And, every other Tuesday, I get to go to my sister's house and watch Ainsley while they go to small group. Then, I spend the night and watch Ainsley during the day Wednesday, so my sister can focus on work. It's been great!

Ummm....what else? I think that is pretty much it. Everything with the apartment is going great. We both love it still. :) The dogs are doing okay...Snowbelle lost 2 lbs in 2 months, which is great! Still working on losing another pound or so. Lilly is also seeming to lose weight, although she doesn't need to! We are working on figuring out why she loses weight so easily.

Anyway, hope you all are doing great!

Well....

I was going to try to write something....but there are too many thoughts going through my head for me to write coherently. So, instead, I changed the look of my blog. Hopefully soon I will be able to sort my thoughts into something reasonably interesting for you all to read.

Pictures!

So I finally took some pictures of the apartment! I had kind of been waiting until we got all our furniture, but I couldn't wait any longer! The only thing we don't have yet is our dining room table, which is in the process of getting painted!

Click HERE to see the pictures!

(There were way too many to put them on here!)

Update!

I know you all have been waiting for an update from me, and I'm sorry I haven't gotten one on here earlier! Life has been pretty crazy this past month!

Kaleb and I officially moved into our new apartment on June 4th. We are loving it! :) Pictures to come later. We don't have all of our furniture yet, but it is coming along nicely! The dogs are here with us and although they seemed pretty confused the first night, they are also doing well, and considering they are both sacked out right now, I'd say they are comfortable here. :)

Vacation Bible School was last week. Kaleb and I were both very involved in that: Kaleb with sound/light type stuff and me with the preschool. It was an amazing week! We learned about how our Faith can take flight and how to travel with truth!

Work has been pretty consistent. Business is booming, which can make for good or bad days depending on how you look at it. :)

On the not-so-bright side, my computer crashed last week. It wouldn't turn on and stay on. Thankfully, my amazing dad was able to get my documents and pictures and music off my computer and on to their computer, so I didn't lose anything. Tonight, he and I went out and picked out a new computer for me, which I am currently using. :)

Well, I need to head to bed as I have to work at 8 tomorrow and am pretty tired. More to come later!