Really!?

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Don we now our ga.."bright" apparel, WHAT!?!
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.
Troll the ancient Yule tide carol,
But not before we change the words to fit our current overwhelming politically correct facism
Fa la la la la, la la la la.


I hate Tolerance.

Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

As we bustle about driving here and driving there, buying this and buying that, let us remember the real reason for this joyous season. Celebration of the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Whenever his actual birthday may be, this is when we celebrate God's greatest gift to Man. His chosen Son, the Saviour of the world.

No matter who you are or what you've done, Jesus loves you and will stand with you through all your life. You do not need to be alone. He is always there with open arms, full of love and forgiveness. What joy it is to know that I have been forgiven and start each day as a new person.

I am so thankful to my Saviour for choosing to come to this Earth to live and die for me. If I were the only person on the Earth, He still would have come for me. As we visit with family and tear into our presents, remember that God gave us our most precious gift, his precious Son.
Merry Christmas to all!

Engaged!

We're Engaged!

It's Officially the Christmas Season

How do I know? Because I have my winter sickness. I always get sick in the winter, right after Thanksgiving. It seems to be a pattern that I can trace back for a few years now. Unfortunately so much is happening during this time of year that it's hard for me to just stay home and rest as I should. I have so much to do, and the year is quickly slipping away in which to do it all. Here's a quick list of my To-Do's before this year end:

• Complete Christmas Shopping
• Prepare and send Christmas presents
• Learn to bake gingerbread cookies
• Go to Walt Disney World for vacation!! (not such a burden, but still on my list)
• Write Christmas cards and get addresses for people
• Research new cars
• Test drive new cars
• Buy 1 new car
• Sign up for January Art class at community college
• Decorate my house as much as possible
• Write New Year's Resolution's
• Gather as many photos of family as possible
• Scan hard copies of photos, and color-correct
• Get Internet at home (I'm "borrowing" someone else's ;o)
• Stop being sick
• Figure out what I'm doing for Christmas day

See, that's a long list and doesn't even include everything. I really just want to crawl back into bed. Hhmmmmm...bed....that sounds too good to be true....

Ultimate PEEP Show

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentines Day!

Christmas in Charlotte

City nights and Christmas lights twinkle and shine throughout the Queen's city. Leaves cover the streets and yards. Trees hibernate for the winter and squirrels run from nut to den storing up for the cold. The temperature drops and frost sparkles on my car each morning.

Christmas started early for me this year. D surprised me with tickets to see Handel's Messiah at the Belk Theatre on the 19th. I had never heard the full version of the Messiah before. It was so dramatic, with the orchestra and soloists and choir. When the audience stood for the Hallelujah chorus, tears pricked my eyes. The dedication and obvious enjoyment by the artists was striking.

We had dinner before the show at Morton's Steakhouse. I had the double cut Fillet Mignon (yum)! D wore his suit and I wore my fancy maroon velvet dress. A drunk lady in the restroom told me I looked fabulous. Always nice to hear.

My sister came down for the weekend and we had Christmas morning early on Sunday. We opened presents and ate pancakes and laughed. She flew out to Texas the next day, I'm so glad I got to see her and spend time together. Our friendship really has grown.

I only had two Sunbeams in Sunday School, but we had a great time making paper chains with the Christmas story pictures on them. My kids got to take home the decorations for their own tree and they can tell their family the story of the Saviour's birth.

D had yet another surprise for me, a 3-night stay in the Marriott in Uptown Charlotte. We checked in on Sunday night and I was speechless when I saw the jacuzzi tub!! It was big enough for two and I took full advantage of it. D and I toured downtown and took pictures of the Christmas decorations. We relaxed in our hotel room and soaked in the tub. I feel so spoiled!

Letter from Jesus on Christmas

Dear Child,

It has come to my attention that many you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday at this time. Although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, then just GET ALONG WITH, AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santa's and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is My wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God's Son and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember........

I LOVE YOU,
Jesus

And it Came to Pass...

Happy New Year!!

Wow! Another year has come and gone.

We spent New Years Eve at a friends house haveing Game Night with a bunch of other couples and some crazy kids. Mormon game night consists of bring your favorite game and favorite junk foods. Then we'll stay up too late and get sugar highs. Good clean fun. Midnight came with explosions of poppers and confetti. The martinelli's toast came about 5 minutes later because we forgot. the folks attached to kids left just after midnight and there were 3 diehard couples left. The F's who lived there and couldn't go home, us and the V's (neither of us have kids). We played some Mormon card game appropriatly called "And it came to PASS." G.F. wanted to play so we sat around the table with our first round of after midnight snacks, Black Cherry Vanilla Coke for me. Bro v lost the first round of 250 so we pushed to score to 500 out of pity, he still lost so we HAD to play again. It's 2:30 by now and out come the Pixie Sticks!! Oh Dear! Coke and flavored sugar in a tube, what else could you need at 3am? Seriously? At some point Gaylynn forgot my name and called me Gomer. Not sure how that happened, maybe it was the pink paper crown or that I kept skipping her husband, but she had it out for me. And she was winning. At some point John passed out on the couch and we just dealt out his cards and kept playing. MAN DOWN! keep going....Gaylynn was winning and WOULDN"T LET US STOP until she won officially at when D got 500.

When we finally walked into our house at 4:30am, I could not sleep. Hmmh? Wonder why? I did finally sleep, then D started molesting me at some point and then I slept in until 2pm. I love days off. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! off to a great start!