Storm Clouds

Storm clouds come.

Storm clouds go.

Sometimes the flood waters of hurt or disappointment left behind are overwhelming and I feel as though I'm drowning. But I'm not. God is the lifter of my head and He sets my feet upon a Rock. He is my Rock and Foundation and His love is everlasting ... never changing.

Overcome with sadness last night as I went to sleep, awoke feeling crabby .. but I will not be overcome by these feelings. I wanted to rant and whine and complain, but I cast my cares upon Him. David encouraged himself in the Lord - and so can I. And now I can sing again.

I may not always be feeling happy, but I know that I am loved. Chris Tomlin said it:

I am loved by the King, and it makes my heart want to sing.

Jack, Jacks, and Ji-normous gifts

We had the pleasure of entertaining Jack this weekend. Or, should I say, we had the pleasure of being entertained by Jack this weekend? Good times with this sweet boy!

Fun at the Sonic Drive-In. 

He wanted to sit outside!

It really was a beautiful day.

Please, please tell me what's in this Ji-normous box!

 Riding the lawnmower with Grandpa.

 Blowing a few bubbles.

 Petting zoo at the Journey to Bethlehem

 Jacks with Jack

 Believe it or not, this is a really big gun!

We went to see the Good Dinosaur movie.

Meanwhile, Kate and the rest of the Daisies were in the local parade.

Sometimes when you brag about God, it can sound as though you are really patting yourself on the back. But sometimes you just gotta tell. Can't hold back when God works in the way He does and He allows you to be part of something really good when you're listening ... maybe sometimes you're just doing and it's because others are doing the asking! 

Whichever, it came about that we were blessed with some extra money a couple of months ago. It was a good amount and we talked about what we might do with it. I believed and DH agreed that we should give it to our kids for Christmas. So, in accordance with that plan, I made special Christmas cards for them, dated the checks for December 10, and mailed them out on December 9. 

It so happened that on December 11, our son called and wanted to stop on his way home from work to have lunch with us. We were glad to see him and, in the course of our conversation, he told us they had used all their savings to pay off their van. They had just finished up a Dave Ramsey course at church and wanted to pay off all debt, but they also felt they needed to use the savings for a smaller economical car. It would be for him to drive to and from work to save on gas and the amount of miles he was putting on his truck. But their final decision was to use the savings to pay off the van and begin saving up again for the smaller car. 

My heart was tingling as he told us the amount needed for the car because I knew it was already on its way to them.

But. I. Did. Not. 

The next day they received the check. So this morning when he came to pick up Jack, he was trying to express his thanks. He said when he saw the amount, he couldn't believe it, and he checked the postmark to see whether it was mailed the same day he had told us about their need. But, of course, the postmark showed the check had been mailed prior to his telling us. We did not know when we mailed it that it was an answer to their prayer. Isn't God good?

The Gift of Christmas

Last Thursday night we had dinner with two other of our favorite couples at Cafe Amore in Plano and then went to Prestonwood Baptist for the long awaited Gift of Christmas. 

It is rightly called a spectacular because it truly is. 

I wish everybody could attend this production just once. 

Although each year is a little different, the constants remain. 

It is filled with surprises throughout and is energetic, professional, beautiful, spectacular

and tells the Christmas story truthfully, sweetly and beautifully.

I. Love. It!

Although we had good seats, I simply cannot capture the action

and the beauty of it with an iPhone. 

A link from Prestonwood's website is at the end of this post

where you can see a clip from the show and YouTube has many videos,

but you just cannot beat the live production!

 Santa going out in his sleigh.

Fireworks and dancers everywhere.

Drummers drumming up high in the air,

angels everywhere,

kings bearing gifts for the King

and camel caravans,

shepherds and choirs.

Joseph and Mary with the

Babe.

Click on: 

The Gift of Christmas

Thank you, Prestonwood Baptist Church for

gifting us with this wonderful Christmas memory.

Just Bits and Pieces

I woke up to a beautiful sunrise this morning.

My DH's windmill always gets into these pics. :-)

Noah got to take a 4 hour helicopter surveillance ride over the deer lease.

Petting a baby bobcat they found

 Jack got to go to the deer lease with Dad

So sweet!

Lots of male bonding going on with our grandsons and their Dads. 

So thankful.

Chase with new puppy, Samson!

Around our house, it's somewhat Christmassy, but not elaborate.

I managed to get the smaller tree out of the attic and get it decorated. 

It now has lots of presents around it which always makes a tree look 

more a tree of purpose than just looks!

The dining table with poinsettia place mats, wreath, tree, Santa and angel! The place mats and napkins were from my one of the attorneys I worked for, the Santa and angel and little tree are from another attorney from long, long ago.

I didn't get out my large Nativity Set, but the small one works just fine on the table behind the sofa. I found the twinkly LED star at the Dollar Tree. The small Nativity on the right of the table is one from Israel.

The crocheted snowflakes on my tree were made by my Mom.

These are a few of my favorite Christmas books. 

I never tire of reading the stories.

Poinsettias were my Mom's favorite at Christmas.

 Tiny snow globes and snowmen and women up and down the stairs.

We didn't get our outdoor Nativity put up in the yard either, although I did hint a few times about it.

Oh well, the neighbors across the street have decorated and from my front door and windows, I can enjoy their display to my heart's content.

Have you ever wondered why God announced the greatest birth in human history to a handful of shepherds on a hillside and a few wise men from the East--Perhaps it was because they were quiet enough to listen ... eager enough to know ... available enough to follow.

Just trying to keep things simple this year. Shopping is done for the kids, and all of my friends and I have decided gifts are unnecessary and we enjoy our time together with lunches or brunches. No need to stress out about anything, right? Our friendships are priceless gifts and things to treasure. 

Tonight we will be going to dinner and the Prestonwood Baptist Christmas Spectacular with friends. Believe me, it is truly spectacular.

This Nativity is at the church where I attend Bible Study Fellowship.

This post has given me FITS!!! My mouse isn't working and I have no idea now what I have maybe intended to post or delete, but am posting it anyway.

Thanksgiving at a Glance

Yes, Virginia, Fall did finally make it to our part of the world.

My good friend at

Alleeoops Photography shared these photos.

http://www.alleeoops.com/

What a beautiful afghan my sweet friend Lisa presented to me.

Perfect match for me in my chair, don'cha think?

We made a speedy trip to and from North Carolina to visit my nephew and his wife for Thanksgiving. These pics seem to say that everybody just kind of lazed the day away, but really, there was a lot of action going on in the kitchen. We shopped the previous day together for the food and then everybody was in the kitchen preparing Thanksgiving dinner! What a feast it was! And good times were had by all on that day.

 Goofiness

This dog Rocco may appear to be a docile and subdued Schnoodle, but I promise you as he lies there resting, he is in the wait mode, ready for action. Throw a toy, call his name, mention food and he's flying off the back of that sofa. One of his leaping springs caused him to land on my DH's head raking toenails through my DH's ear! Yowza! Yep, it bled a lot!

 Who, me?

Playing a fun card game called

Wild Kingdom

 Dinner at Southern Prime was fantastic.

 Christmas decor all over the town. 

I liked the way they transformed an

evergreen tree into a snowman!

 The train station

 Notices and announcements can be found here at the Town Crier

There was room for us at the Inn.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the world:

Amy went to visit her family while

Jason did his duty at the fire station.

Billy, Crystal and Hunter sent their blessings 

from the other side of the ocean.

My sister with her family

Our daughter and her family

We don't always get to be with EVERYBODY on those special days, but I will say that every day spent with family always becomes a SPECIAL day. Whether with them or far apart, a special part of Thanksgiving is being thankful for what we do have and the times we get to share with them.

After we returned home, Amy and I took Kate and Jack to see Disney on Ice. I don't think the kids were as impressed with Disney on Ice as they were everything the hawkers were selling! Cotton candy, popcorn, and twirling, lighted swords were more to their liking!

 Amy may be laughing at me for spending $24 for popcorn!

Caution: Cotton candy may cause blue smiles 

Good-night!