Merry Christmas!

Tuesday night the girls made Rice Krispie Treat holiday houses. They really had fun making them.



Kelsey's


and Katie's


And yesterday morning we all went to see the movie "Four Christmases". Apart from the language it was pretty good. Then after we got back it was time for Jimmy to leave for work. So the girls and I made a special visit. We went to see a lady that used to keep me when I was little. Her name is Paula Graham but to me she is Mama Graham. I haven't seen her in years! Oh, it was so sweet to see her. And she gave me this apron that my Mama made for her.



It says, "I Love You, Mama Graham. And it has an outline of MY hands on it. It was one of the best gifts I have ever been given. She also gave me this plate that I gave her for Mother's Day in 1975 (I was only four years old!).



Before we left, I asked her if I could take a picture of her and Katie and she said she would be honored.



Well, I hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas.

Blessings,

Oh! I can't believe.....

.....Christmas is in three days! It seems like the older I get the faster time flies! I shared with you in my last post that Kelsey had gone to Asheville with Jimmy's parents. And I want to share a pic with you of Kelsey and Jimmy's Mamaw.....



This weekend was really busy for us. Saturday at 2:00 we had a couple in our church who renewed their wedding vows. After that Jimmy and I made shortbread cookies for a neighbor and a friend. Then at 7:00 one of Kelsey's friends invited us to his church for their Christmas program. And then last night we had our program at church. It wasn't much because we don't really have that many children in our church. Katie and one of Jimmy's nephews (Johnathon) were Joseph and Mary.....



Jimmy and Katie sang "Mary Did You Know".



Katie played "Carol of the Bells" and "Angels We Have Heard on High" on the piano.



And Johnathon played "Jingle Bells" on his clarinet. He did so good. He is in 6th grade and this is his first year in band. There was an article in yesterday's paper about the band at his school. The director said that when school started these kids didn't even know how to sit in a chair. Jimmy and I are so proud of him.



This morning my Daddy came up for a little while. We had lunch with him and just enjoyed talking with him.

I am debating if I am finished Christmas shopping or not. I would still like to get a few gift cards for some of the family. We were blessed with an extra week's pay from church last night and I just want to share some of that. I'm sure Jimmy will say we can use it to pay some bills. We'll see.

I hope that I will be back before Christmas. The girls and I are going to make something that I want to share.

Blessings,

Kelsey's New Haircut

Yesterday Kelsey was next door at my in-laws house. She called me to see if she could go with Papa to get his hair cut. She also wanted her hair cut. So, Papa called Teresa, our hairdresser, and asked if she could take Kelsey at the same time he was going. Teresa told him that yesterday was not a good day but she could take both of them this morning. At 9:30 this morning Kelsey drives her car next door to pick Papa up and they go get their hair cut. I was REALLY surprised when they got back. If you remember a few posts ago I showed a picture of our girls that I wanted to send in our Christmas cards. Kelsey's hair was long and she liked it long. But I guess she was ready for a change. And this is what she looked like when she got home.....



I think it looks really good I was just surprised she wanted it that much shorter.

Nothing much has been going on here today. Kelsey left after lunch today to go to Asheville with Papa and Nana. Papa's family is getting together for Christmas on Saturday. And Katie and I went to get groceries this afternoon. UGH! WalMart was sooooo busy. I usually go in the morning and it's not too bad then. I definitely don't like going in the afternoon but I wanted to go ahead and get it over with. Well, I hope ya'll have a good evening.

Blessings,

Maybe We're Doing a Pretty Good Job of Raising Our Girls

I have a little something that I want to share with you. Every year at Christmas I take our girls shopping for one another. They usually buy one thing for each other. They also get a few presents from me and Jimmy. And then they get their things from Santa. About a month ago I took Katie for her to get Kelsey's gift and then a few days later I took Kelsey. Well, now that Kelsey is working she wanted to buy Katie something with her own money. So, Jimmy went with her Monday morning and she picked out three things for her little sis. I thought that was so sweet! Kelsey got a car on September 3rd (the date she was due to come into this world) and she turned 16 on the 13th. Jimmy decided he needed a truck and bought one at the same time (he really did need a new vehicle). So, that means 3 car payments and a ridiculous insurance bill. Also, we went on vacation to Pennsylvania back in October (I'll tell you all about that wonderful trip another day). So, we told the girls we weren't going to have a big Christmas. Jimmy and I decided that we wouldn't get things for ourselves just for the girls. Then he said well, we can do stockings for us. Then I took the girls shopping for one present for him and he took them to get one for me. One day last week the girls went out for a little while. When they called to tell me they were on the way home Katie told me to go down in the den so they could bring in mine and Jimmy's present. Kelsey bought us a present at the Hallmark store from the both of them.

Oh! I wonder what it it! I just love surprises!
Being that our girls are homeschooled and except for Kelsey working they are for the most part with me all day, every day. I have tried to teach them right from wrong and it just makes me so proud that instead of Kelsey spending her money on herself she decided to buy for her family. And just the other day Katie and I went to KFC to see her and to get some popcorn chicken and one of the supervisors told me what a sweet girl Kelsey is (I wondered if she was talking about the same Kelsey I know...nah she is a good girl). So, I guess Jimmy and I aren't doing as bad of a job raising our girls as I thought.

On another note, I did start reading The Christmas Shoes today. But I didn't even make it through the first chapter before I fell asleep. UGH!

Anyway, hope you have a wonderful evening.

Blessings,

I Have Been Sooooo Busy!

Things have been so crazy around here lately! I haven't even had time to sit down to write. I have read a few of your posts here and there. And I'm really looking forward to catching up on my reading tonight! On Monday of last week I had to go to my endocrinologist (I have Type I Diabetes and I use an insulin pump) in Sanford which is about an hour and 15 minute drive. My appointment was at 3:15. I host our church ladies meeting every December. And it happened to be that same Monday night at 7:00. I thought I would certainly be done at my doctor appointment by 4:00 and I would be home by 5:30 at the latest. That would give me a few minutes to get last minute things done before the ladies arrived. Well, I didn't get through at the doctor until 4:45. And I had to make a quick stop in PetSmart on the way home. It was about 6:15 when I got home and the lady that leads our women's group was already on her way to my house. I know because I got behind her. I was praying...please don't let that be her. But it was. Anyway, we had a good meeting. Next, I had to get ready for my family Christmas get together which was this past Saturday. I have an aunt and two cousins who live in Gastonia and Mt. Holly, my sister lives in Raleigh, and my Daddy lives at the beach. So our house is kind of in the middle and where everybody likes to meet. We had 21 here for lunch, presents for the kids, and then goodies to eat after the presents were opened.

Here are some pictures of the kids opening their presents.




This last one is of Katie opening her cupcake maker from Granddaddy and Nana Teresa.



We had a really nice time. I was exhausted though. After my family left I cleaned up a little and rested a little. It was also my mother-in-law's birthday so we went to eat pizza with her. Then we went to Lowes to get a new thermostat. As I was cleaning for my family to come I noticed that our thermostat was going crazy. Jimmy thought maybe we just needed a new thermostat. But of course it wasn't just that easy. We didn't have heat from Friday until today. Thank the Lord it hasn't been too cold. Sunday night was the coldest but the days have been very nice. Anyway we had to have a new ignighter. Which cost us $120.00 including a service call and labor. UGH! At Jimmy's work he gets 5 paid personal days he can take a year. He hasn't used any of them this year so he got an extra week's pay on Friday, which was very nice. We used some of it for Christmas and some of it to pay bills. After all this happened with the heat I asked Jimmy what are we not doing right? We give our tithes every week. Yesterday I realized that it isn't what we are doing or what we aren't doing but that I should just be thankful that we had that extra week's pay to have the heat fixed. Because without it we sure couldn't have had it fixed. The Lord always knows what we need when we need it.

I'm almost done Christmas shopping. I just have a few things left to get. And our Christmas cards are almost ready to mail. I'm kinda looking forward to the next few days with not much to do. Last year for Christmas my Daddy gave me the Christmas Shoes series of books. I was hoping to have started them before now but maybe tomorrow I can. We'll just have to see. But for right now I'm off to catch up on reading your blogs.

Blessings,

A Grown Up Christmas List

My husband had the best message at church tonight. Sometimes it just amazes me how the Lord uses him! I enjoy listening to every message he preaches but some of them stand out way more than others. And tonight was one of those. He started out with the youngest child (6 yrs. old) and asked him what was on his Christmas list.....a four wheeler, a dirt bike, a Wii, a fishing pole, and a fish. Next child (8 yrs. old)... Wii, Nintendo DS, trampoline, golf cart, and the list goes on and on and on. And then next he asked a few older ladies who didn't have a list except for one who had a grocery list to feed all of her grandchildren for Christmas. So, here is "A Grown Up Christmas List":
-PEACE - Romans 5:1 "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"
-LOVE - John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
-HAPPINESS - Psalm 1:1-3 "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."
-SUCCESS - Joshua 1:8 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
-FAMILY - Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her"; Titus 2:4 "that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,"; Ephesians 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."

In my last post I told you I had forgotten to take the camera to church when we decorated the tree. So, I remembered to take it tonight. Here is a picture of the tree at church (the food underneath is for our ladies group Christmas project).



And this picture is the nativity that sits on the communion table. The VBS kids made it back in 1982!



Well, I hope you all had a good weekend.
Blessings,

Christmas Card Picture.....Maybe?

This morning Jimmy, Katie, and I (Kelsey had to work) went to put up the Christmas tree and decorations at church. I wanted to take the camera so I could share some pictures. And when we got there of course I didn't have the camera. So, I'm gonna share another picture with you. Every year when I send out our Christmas cards I enclose a picture of our girls sitting in front of our tree (I know they are kinda getting old for that but I just can't stop sending them). Before digital cameras I would take a whole roll of pictures and then I would have to take them to be developed and choose the best to have reprints made. Ugh! So Tuesday night I took about ten pictures. Kelsey picked the one she liked best and here it is....















The girls were being so silly while I was trying to take them. The ones that were good of Kelsey weren't good of Katie and the ones that were good of Katie weren't good of Kelsey. So, we may end up taking them over again. We'll see.

Blessings,

Christmas Decorations

I have two slideshows in this post....the first one is of our Christmas decorations......

....and the second one is just some pictures I took around the house.

Hope you enjoy looking at them.
Blessings,

Finally......

......I have pictures of our bathroom! Kelsey helped me with this slide show tonight (thank you, girl).

Tomorrow we are going to try to figure out how to change my background to a Christmas one (if you can HELP! please let me know) and we have a Christmas slideshow ready.

Blessings,
Susan
(I'm on Kelsey's laptop so I can't get to my signature.)

It's Been Awhile

It's been a little over a week since my last post and I didn't intend for it to be so long. I was busy getting ready for Thanksgiving and we had a really nice day. My family came to our house for lunch and then we went to my in-laws for supper. All the food was wonderful and I ate way too much (I'm gonna hear it when I go to the doctor next week). I didn't go shopping Friday except for a quick trip back to Homespun Collectibles for a curtain for the bathroom and I did have to get groceries. And Saturday we decorated for Christmas... I'll post some pics a little later. Today's been kinda quiet. I did some laundry, made some Amish bread, graded school work, took a little nap☺, and that's about all.
Blessings,

Girls Night Out

Well, today has been a busy day. I had to go get groceries this morning (yuck - my least favorite job!). And then I had to go back over a few places on the trim in the bathroom. Then this afternoon and evening my girls and I had a night out. There is a shop I like to go to in Robbins called Homespun Collectibles. The shop owner, Jenny is having her Christmas Open House today and tomorrow. So, I just had to go check it out. She has this incentive when you buy $150.00 worth of merchandise you get $15.00 more in merchandise FREE. It's kind of a small shop and when we got there she was busy. So, I waited until I could talk to her and asked her how close to the $150.00 I was. She added it up and I had to buy $14.00 to get $15.00 free. Here's what I found.....

This cute snowman lamp was originally $24.95 and and was marked $10.00. And I also got these two hanging stars that I am hoping will look good in the bathroom, a picture to go in my kitchen,
and a star that holds a votive candle. I got a Christmas gift, too that I better not show and a bag of candy for Kelsey and a little bear for Katie. After Jenny subtracted my free $15.00, my total was $30.00. I think I did pretty good.

Now, this last pic is what Jimmy found when he went out to feed the cats yesterday morning. Bam-Bam had a squirrel. I don't know if he killed it or if it was dead when he found it. But he was trying his best to get that squirrel to play with him. And when the other cats would go near him he would pick that squirrel up and run. They are so fun to watch.

Blessings,

I Love My Girls!

Help! My daughters want a dog. We already have five cats (I'll explain in a minute) and a guinea pig. Two days ago my dear sweet sixteen year old decided to look at our Humane Society online. She just fell in love with a puppy named Clyde. He really is cute. So, Kelsey asked me if she and Katie could go today and look at the dog. I said, "Yes, you can go look (HUGE mistake!) but we are NOT getting a dog." After they left the phone rang and before I even saw Caller ID I knew who it was. Kelsey told me that Clyde had been adopted about 15 minutes before they got there. But guess what? Clyde has a brother that looks just like him. Anyway, I had to tell Kelsey NO again and she started crying. And she was crying when we hung up the phone. (Ugh! It's gonna be a long night.) Oh! I am such a horrible mother! But I just don't want anymore animals. Now back to the cats.....back sometime in January my girls found a cat in a brush pile in our next door neighbor's yard. They played with her for a while and later that night it started snowing a little. I looked out our back door and there was the cat. I had pitty on her and we gave her some milk. And she has been here every since. Well, in April she decided she wanted to have four kittens. So that's the story of Trixie, Peanut, Cali, Bam-Bam, and Lou Lou.

On another note, raggedy angel is having a giveaway. "Gracie" is so cute. So head on over and leave a comment.





















I have been painting the trim in our bathroom today. I think I'm finally finished with it. Now Jimmy just has to roll the walls. Yesterday he told me that this will be a project he will remember for a loooooooooong time.

Well, I gotta go for now.
Blessings,

Bathroom Pics

Finally! Dinner is done, dishes are done, and school work has been graded. Now I can sit down to write for a little while.

First of all, the bathroom project is coming along. In addition to being a preacher, Jimmy also works for Pepsi as the night warehouse manager. He leaves for work at 2:30pm Monday-Thursday and 12:30pm on Friday. And he doesn't get home until 1:00am. So, that means he really doesn't have much time during the day to paint. Anyway he started applying the primer today. Here's some pics from yesterday. They aren't very good as I was trying to avoid taking a picture of the mirror so I wouldn't be photographing myself. HaHa!

Jimmy decided he was going to do the trim work first. It is kind of a burgandyish color. He's hoping to finish with the painting Saturday. I'll post more pictures later.

And now for a little more about myself and my family...
We live in the little community of Cordova, which is just south of Rockingham. My in-laws live next door. My Daddy and step mother, Teresa (my Mama died from cancer in March 2003) live at the beach. Daddy called Sunday night to tell me that he and Teresa are going to be baptized this coming Sunday morning. I really feel like I need to go but I also don't like to miss our church. Decisions, decisions.....

Well, I think that's all I have for tonight and hopefully I'll be back tomorrow.

Blessings,
Susan

My First Post!

Well, I have been wanting to do this for a few months now. It's all new to me and I'm still learning. First of all, a little about me.....I live a VERY blessed life! I have a wonderful husband, Jimmy and two daughters, Kelsey and Katie.

This is Jimmy and me on his
5th anniversary at our church.








And this is from our October
vacation to Pennsylvania.
Kelsey is on the left and Katie
is on the right.










I am a stay at home mom and a preacher's wife. I love the Lord. I love to bake and I love the color pink. I love primitives and redecorating our house. I am not a crafty person at all but Jimmy is really good at putting things together. This week we (or I should say he) are in the process of painting our bathroom (trying to get it done before my family comes for Thanksgiving). We have lived here for a little over 6 years now. And when we moved in, our bathroom had a mauve and green floral print wallpaper and border. I guess it was pretty back when it was put up. But it is definitely not the primitive that I like. I hate that I don't have any before pictures. But I will be posting some during and after pictures soon. Well, it has taken me all afternoon and evening to write this since I had to stop so many times to do other things. But I finally finished my first post. And now I'm off to feed Amish Friendship Bread starter.

Many blessings,
Susan