New Year

How I wished I could spend time alone here!!! Happy New Year to all of you!

Clearing the air.....

isn't always easy, but it's the best thing to do.

I chose not to attend Christmas Eve festivities at hubby's moms this year. For all my regular visitors you may recall the events of last July that set me on this course. For newer visitors suffice it to say that some things transpired causing bad feelings toward his family on my part!

In my absence Christmas Eve, my daughter-in-law was put on the spot and questioned as to why I wasn't there. In the last few months I have heard they have questioned other family members about whether or not I had some kind of problem with them and everyone chose to remain silent and pretend they didn't know anything. My daughter-in-law(DIL) decided to speak up and say something. I don't mind that she did. My thoughts are that they should have come to me directly instead of questioning people behind my back, but what's done is done. DIL knew of the problem since she and the entire rest of the family were at my home on this July day for a get-together for our daughter, Rachel, who was visiting from Kentucky.

So tonight I decided to call the sis-in-law that was doing the questioning and firmly but politely explained once and for all the reason for my distance from the family. She said how sorry she was that this incident caused hard feelings but she doesn't remember it this way and her feelings were hurt by me on this same day. I tried to explain to her that at least four other family members remember the incident exactly the way I said it happened and what she was referring to never even happened and she didn't have any reason to have hurt feelings even if what she was referring to DID happen! She thanked me for calling and explaining so at least they would know why I was staying away.

Nothing is resolved, but at least now they know that if my grandchildren are not considered part of this family, I am not part of this family either!

Although it remains an unresolved issue, at least the air has been cleared on my part and I have no feelings of guilt over missing the holiday celebration!

A letter home

This letter appeared in our Christmas Eve paper and I thought it worthy of sharing. Please pray for all our men serving in every branch of service everywere!!!!


LCPL Curtis Mejeur from West Michigan is serving in Iraq. His family forwarded WZZM 13 this letter - His mother writes, I thought it would be a good reminder for all Americans:


As the holiday season arrives I would just like to write you all so you remember those serving our country. Remember that they have given greatly of themselves so that you may have a peaceful holiday season. I cannot stress the thankfulness that I have for those that have shown me support over the past year; it has helped me push on so that I can do my job here in Iraq.

I can remember standing in those fateful yellow footprints outside of MCRD. Thinking to myself, "here you go, lets hope it's all that you had planned". And it has been. I have made the best friends I could ever hope for, and I've kept the true friends that I never noticed enough. I've made it half way around the world, and soon, I'll make it back again. I've vested myself in something larger than myself, something larger than Alpha company, I've helped shape history as we know it. But it has come at a cost. I have also lost my friends. I have doubted the shape of the history we are creating. I have doubted the very beliefs at the core of my being.

This is where I will stand, I will. I have made my choices and I promise to stay with them, this I guarantee. Remember on the nights that are coming that there are men and women out there who share the same night, but with far fewer people. Remember his life is far different from yours, but still the same in so many ways. Know the differences, accept them, and hold on to the similarities. That is what we hold onto here in Iraq.

Remember that when you get dressed in the morning and you straighten your tie, he will straighten his Kevlar. You will button up your shirt, he will snap up his flack jacket. You will look in the mirror to make sure you look right, he will look to the right, and the left, to make sure his buddy has his throat guard on. You will grab your keys on the way out the door, he will grab his rifle. You will get in your car, him an armored humvee, and do 75 on the way to work. Anything over 10 scares him to death. You will spend all day attempting to close that lucrative deal, he will spend all day trying to figure out who wants to kill him, who doesn't, and who really doesn't care either way. You will do the same 75 on the way back from work, he'll walk 6 miles. You'll relax when you get home, he'll go right to post for 6 more hours. You'll talk about what you're going to do on Saturday, he hasn't seen a weekend in months. You complain about dinner, he can't believe he's getting hot food this evening. He lives in a world where he must be respectful and polite to everyone he meets, but also keep a plan to kill them.

I write this not for your pity or because I think I have it bad. I write it in the hopes that next time you hear someone disrespecting our troops, that you have the courage to stand up to them, and remind them that although they may not agree with what is happening in the world, our troops are not to blame. We will still care about their safety and interests long after they have forgotten about ours.

Remember their families, they are the ones that have the real fight. Everyone here stands together on the mission at hand. It is not the same at home. It hurts them to hear that, "the war is stupid, all we're doing is sending our young men and women to do, is die". This statement is false and uninformed at best. They fight a much different war, and theirs does not always have everyone standing together. Theirs is the constant state of worry that follows them day in and day out. They will not know much if at all for a year at a time.

I wish you the best, throughout the next year and beyond. Merry Christmas!

First, let me thank all of you for your kind words and encouragement. As you can see, they work!

Today I got to spend some time with two of my grandchildren. Two-year old Drew and three-year old Harley. They are both almost the exact same height, only Drew outweighs her by about 18 pounds. Being that they are both the 'baby' in their respective families, and due to their ages, I thought there might be a little jealousy....and I was right!

Drew was only jealous when Harley climbed up into my lap, but recovered quickly once he realized that there was still room for him too! I was a little surprised at how well they actually played together. Of course Drew, being the younger of the two, wanted every toy that Harley touched. And Harley was trying to be very fair in offering Drew more blocks than she was going to have to play with. When Drew would say a different color, Harley would kindly and gently hand him the color he asked for. Before too long, Harley was left with no blocks and Drew had them all, but Harley didn't complain or fuss about it. She just waited patiently by until Drew went back to watching the 'Cars' movie or moved on to a different toy to play with. I was amazed at this. When she is with her brothers at her house, I have seen her scream, yell, throw things and hit until she gets her own way. Was she being good because her parents and brothers weren't here or do you think she was putting on a show in case Santa was watching? How I wish I had taken a picture of them together.....her mom and dad would never believe it otherwise!

She was the first to get picked up and Drew climbed back on my lap for some extra cuddle time. I was hoping he would fall asleep, at least for a while so he would be in a good mood for his Momma when she got home from work. But that wasn't going to happen. Every time his little eyes would start to close all the way, he would jump down off my lap and run and get another toy car to show me and tell me about.

I guess I could have put him in the pac-n-play and laid on the bed next to him until he went to sleep. That usually works. But it had been such a long time since he and I have been able to spend time together I didn't push the issue. Sorry Naive and Mr. Naive. I'll do better next time! ; )

Dec. 19th......

Survived the boys and we are still alive, but everything else is just kind of sucky right now. Blah, blah, blah......later!

I'm getting too old for this 'baby' stuff....

we have our youngest son and wife's two boys here for the night. The oldest is 6 years....piece of cake to watch and keep entertained. The youngest is between 6 and 7 months old and hasn't seen a lot of us recently. As a result I think he is a little uncertain, if not a bit frightened, of us! He is also in the teething stage. Both of which are not conducive to a quiet evening.

The youngest 'screamed' for about 3 1/2 hours tonight. Never before has it happened that neither one of us was able to calm a screaming baby. Are we losing our touch, or what? The oldest said, and I quote, "I don't think he wants to be here, 'cause he never screams like that at home"! Well, thank you, I feel a whole lot better now! I think I now understand why very young parents become angry and frustrated and lose control and sometimes even become physically abusive. Maybe if all teen-agers were required to care for a fussy baby all night(while being closely observed) with observers readily available to step in before any abuse takes place it would be a great deterrent to the teen pregnancy problem.

Hubby has to work in the morning, he needs to get up at 2:30. It is now 1:00 and I finally have the baby asleep in the family room. I have no monitor. Which means I will be trying to sleep on the couch. Since he feel asleep with the TV on and the lights on the tree on, I am fearful of turning everything off in case it seems too quiet and he awakes screaming. My nerves are shot to say the least....and I need to be at Amber's church by 8:30 tomorrow morning to see her in the church Christmas program. The boys parents are supposed to be here by 7:00....I hope they're not late. The church is about 30 miles north of where I live.

I bid you good-night, while I try to sleep with the TV and lights on.....wish me luck!

I really shouldn't be on the computer right now. I have so much to do still before I go to bed and it is already 11:09PM.

I'm running behind because we went to Amber's Christmas program from school tonight. Amber is in the 5th grade and attends what they call a 'middle' school in the district she lives in. I cannot believe how grown up most of the girls in her grade look. Certainly not 11 - 12 years as she does. She is one of the shortest and smallest kids in the entire 5 grade. Not the shortest, but only about 6th from the shortest! Some of these girls look as if they are in 9th grade! At first I thought that maybe I was just getting older but when Amber's mom leaned over and asked "don't these girls look a little old for 5th grade?', that I realized it wasn't just me. Some of them had bigger chests than I had when I graduated from high school! I'm not kidding! Anyway, Amber did fine; all of the 5th graders sang holiday songs and it was a nice evening out. Now I have to play catch up.

I already have the dishes finished. We had to leave right after eating so all I had time for was to clear the table and carry the dishes to the sink to await my return. Hubby is on overtime still, so he got to bed later than usual and he will be tired all day tomorrow as a result. I have put coffee on the timer for morning (thank goodness for programmable coffee makers) and did the general night time pick up. I still have presents waiting to be wrapped, but they will to wait for another time, perhaps tomorrow!

Ok...here is some Christmas fun. It's another meme...but it really gives you an idea of what people are like. I enjoyed doing it, there are only 20 questions, below are my answers. Hope you try it and have some fun. If you want to play along, all you have to do is copy and paste it on your blog, let me know that you did it so I can come visit and tag 5 people. So here it goes:




1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wraps them of course

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored

4. Do you hang mistletoe? NO, I don't need too, my hubby tells me I'm kissable!

5. When do you put your decorations up? According to hubby, Tom, too early.....the weekend after Thanksgiving usually.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Baked, honey-glazed ham smothered with pineapple rings

7. Favorite Holiday memory? Hearing Santa and reindeer on my roof...see last post.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Santa? what are you trying to say?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I did when I attended the Christmas Eve celebration with hubby's family, but I won't be attending anymore...:(

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Lights first...followed by all the ornaments that have special meaning that I have acquired through the years!!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love to play in it, hate to drive in it.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes, and I went last year and only fell once!!!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Oh I have had so many...but when I was about 9 it was a 'Terrie Lee' doll

14. What's the most important thing? Being with the people I love

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Hmmm..home made ice-cream cake! Yum, yum

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? It use to be reading "The Night Before Christmas" to my kids....but the youngest is now 34 so that's out of the question :(

17. What tops your tree? A star

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? OH I love giving, I love to watch the look on the persons face....oh nothing beats that...love it love it


19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I love "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" and "Silent Night" and "Away in A Manger" sung by little children!

20. Candy canes, Yuck or Yum? Yum!

So I am going to tag:


Clew
Editor
Itchy
V
Chesney
Nelly

Happy Holidays all!!!

A Christmas Memory

Sitting alone in the family room last night and looking at the Christmas tree, my thoughts wandered back to when I was a little girl on Christmas Eve. As long as I can remember, my folks always told us that "if" we were good and "if" we listened closely enough we would hear Santa with his sleigh and reindeer land on our roof just before we fell asleep!

Talk about an incentive to get the kids to bed early on Christmas Eve, this one worked every time. My sisters and I would hurry through dinner and baths, pajama donning and teeth brushing so we could get in bed and listen for the sound of the reindeer and Santa on our roof! And you know what? We actually heard them. Every single year! They sounded like horses sound when they walk on the pavement, followed by a large "THUMP" which we were convinced was the sleigh as it touched down on the roof. And we even heard the soft jingle of sleighbells....we were lucky; and "good" children!

As I grew, I realized that all the noise was my dad enhancing the fun of the belief in the fantasy of Santa Claus. And as a parent with small children, my husband and I carried on the tradition. And my children also were "believers" in the legend of the landing of Santa on our rooftop every Christmas Eve. I'm not sure any of the kids remember these episodes but I do and I think that I had much more fun with the tradition than they did at the time. I can close my eyes and still see the expressions on their little faces as they heard the first "hoof" hit the rooftop!

Somethings are just better when you're grown!!

Christmas Tree - 2006

So this is this years Christmas tree. When I took the picture, the tree lights were on, but it was daytime and they don't show up very well. Usually I have help decorating the tree from hubby and Amber, but this year I was on my own. So I just put the Christmas cd's in the player and went to town. It only took me ALL DAY! Now I can finish with the other decorating but I feel good knowing that at least the tree is up now!

The tree skirt was made by my mil several years ago as a Christmas gift to hubby and me......back when we (she and I) were still speaking to each other. It is a really nice tree skirt and I do like it and appreciate the fact that she made it for us. Homemade gifts are awesome!

Even though we don't really speak anymore and I won't be attending any family Christmas festivities at her home, I do wish her a Merry Christmas!

TAG, I'M IT AND YOU'RE NEXT!

I've been tagged by ChesneyGirl! I am supposed to list "six weird things about myself" and then tag six people to do the same. Check the end of this post to see who got tagged!


1. If eating a small bag of colored candy, I must separate them and eat them in order so there is always the same amount of colors in each group!

2. After going to bed each night, I have to get up twice to make sure I locked all the doors even though I know I did.

3. I have to brush my teeth first thing in the morning, even before I can drink my coffee.....then after I have my breakfast I have to brush them again!

4. I can not stand to go barefoot outside....not even in the summer....I need something on my feet.

5. I have no trouble waking up if a child or baby is crying or calling for me, but can sleep through a blaring alarm clock.

6. I can not stand to have a candle with a white wick....I at least have to light it just to turn the wick black and then can blow it out!

So, I'm going to tag:

Clew

Bainwen

Renee

Melnhead

Mary Ann

Itchy

Have fun ladies!

Looking ahead......

....to this Holiday season. I can't wait to get my tree and other decorations up. I have just started and do have a few out, but with hubby's surgery and my ankle/leg thing still going on, it's been hard. Hubby has returned to work today taking my car (his truck still is not repaired correctly) leaving me stranded at the homefront. I don't mind though, the weather has become quite wintry.....freezing rain, sleet, mixture of rain and snow before turning into all snow.....blowing snow at that. Well, let me correct that. The wind is blowing, but the snow is not the powdery kind so it is not blowing. We probably have about 3 inches on the ground with a 1 1/2-2 inch base of ice under it. Makes me glad that I am inside where I am! When the roads become slippery I would much prefer to be on the inside looking out as I am a today!

Well, if any of these decorations are going to get up, I had better get a move on.
Maybe I'll even take some pictures and post them when I'm done with it all!

Later and stay warm!