Merry Christmas

Christmas is the most anticipated day of the year. Especially for the kids. Even the "big" kids!!!! My husband is one of the biggest kids in the world when it comes to Christmas. It kills him before we actually get to the part where we open the presents. By the time we get to open our presents my family wants to hang me on a wall with duct tape!!!! Of course you know everything has to be in it's place and things have to be so-so before we can start. And then, we always read the Christmas scriptures from the 2nd chapter of Luke. We have always felt very strongly that if we don't put Christ first we lose the true meaning of Christmas. The "texting Queen" that I am, I sent out a text on Christmas morning to everyone I had a number for telling them Merry Christmas. I let them know that without Christ there would be no "Christ"-mas!!!! So.......you can imagine how fidgety the kids get before we can open our presents as "Grannie" causes everyone to exercise their patience!!!! Actually, for the most part, they sit very patiently as the Christmas story is read, but the minute that Bible is placed on the table it's like the gates have been opened for the races!!! They are ready willing and able to open those presents!!! This year was no different with the exception of the fact that there were more than usual for Christmas morning. Sean, Alisha and the kids were here for Christmas morning this year. So needless to say, we were full up!!! Wall to wall people you know!! It made for a very interesting morning. My plans were to get everyone up that was already there and have our presents open. But, as usual, my plans failed. So, we waited until they arrived to open presents. We started with the youngest, which killed "Papa".........of course he's not the youngest so that meant he had to wait!!!! All in all, it went pretty well and we had a wonderful Christmas morning and day. Hope your Christmas was as blessed!!!!!

"Jesus is the reason for the season!!!!"

Water woes.......

HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This would be a picture of the now RUNNING water!!!!!!! It's fixed!!!!!! It's fixed!!!!! My husband is the best!!! He's not a plumber, a carpenter or a mechanic, but I've NEVER known him not to be able to fix anything yet!!!! And he's exhausted to boot. We haven't gotten to bed any earlier than 11 pm any night this week, which is not out of the ordianry but he's on the early shift this week. That means up at 2 am and to work by 2:30, 2:45 am!!! But he doesn't give up until it's done!!!! I love him so!!!!!!!

I'd blog more, but I'm sorry I'm headed for the shower. I mean I was raised on a farm and I knew how to bathe using the pitcher and bowl method, but a modern shower is sooooooooooooo much better!!!!!! See ya.........I'm outta here!!!!!!!! :-)

Water update!!!

And this is a picture of the aftermath of the torpedo heater not working. We have now nearly disassembled the entire enclosed back porch!!! If it wasn't bad enough the water is frozen.........hubby went to work on it earlier today and found out he was trying to unthaw the wrong pipe all along!!! Now we have a pipe that is completely busted BEFORE the water meter and it is spraying water all under the house!!! We called them several hours ago and reported it as an emergency.......they said they'd be here before the day was over!! It's now dark!!! Oh.........the guy just called and said he was on the other side of the train......we live right by train tracks and quite frequently trains stop on the tracks.....everyday as a matter of fact.......and they stay there for up to an hour or more sometimes!!!! There's supposed to be a law against that but..............anyways.......back to my story..........now he's here and in the back with hubby. I don't know what he's going to do, but I sure hope it can be fixed soon. My shopping got put on hold and now I only have one day left. Of course, that's nothing out of the ordinary really. It's a tradition with my husband......he has to go out shopping on Christmas Eve every year!! He loves the hustle and bustle and all the crowds!! I, on the other hand, absolutely hate it. I can't stand all the people pushing and shoving and fighting over stupid stuff. Like I said in one of my newsletters, there is nothing so important to me that I have to fight over it and I certainly would not trample someone to death to get anything!!!!!

So........there you have it. We have water...........just not running through the pipes to the sink and showers where I want it!!!!

Good in Everything

This is a picture of a torpedo heater that my husband had to purchase yesterday afternoon. While we were at church on Sunday we received a phone call and learned that we had NO water in the entire house. It was frozen!!!! After church Sunday night my husband and son-in-law ventured out to Menards only to find it closed so they headed to Walmart. However, they did not have any torpedo heaters. He was only able to find a couple of utility heaters, which he purchased at that time. After running them overnight nothing happened. So, yesterday afternoon when he came home, he assessed the situation and went to Menards and returned with this little contraption and a blow torch. He had found that one of the pipes going into the water meter had actually frozen and burst. He took it apart and realized in order to get it back together he would have to sodder the pipe back together in pieces. Once he had that done......and I helped......I held the torch while he melted the metal to it!!!! Yeah me!!!!! :-) He looked at me and said: "Actually, God was very good to us by allowing the pipes to freeze." I looked at him like he had a third head and was from Mars. How could it possibly be a blessing that the pipes froze???!!!!! He then pointed out that if the pipes had not froze and that pipe had bursted while we were at church all day, it would have been a mess. The house could have been flooded and the mess would have been more than we could have imagined. So, I guess there is good in everything if you just look for it!!! We're thankful for godly neighbors that are letting us use their shower and carry water into our house!!! But, here we are, day 3, still without water!!! Please pray for us!!! This is very hard and especially since we are supposed to have a house full for Christmas day!!!!

"Back Update"

Well, after the Jacuzzi, the doctor's appointment and 4 prescriptions I managed to move properly for a couple of days, but then I got really stupid (no unusual comments please!!!!) and horsed around with Shelley (our middle daugher) last night. It was feeling some better and she manages to make me laugh..........a lot!!! And we were playing "Sumo" wrestler!!! Yeah, that's what I said. You didn't read it wrong!!! I said I got stupid didn't I!!!?? By the time I woke up in the middle of the night I could barely move again!!! And boy, does it hurt today. I guess when they say "no pain, no gain" I guess they mean it!!!! I regained a little bit of my sanity through all of our horse play, but I also regained a lot of the pain!!!! UGH!!!!! That's ok though. With some of the challenges I've faced lately I NEEDED that laughter. The Bible says laughter is like a good medicine and does a heart good!!! Maybe physically I didn't feel better, but it sure did pick me up for the time and it was refreshing to laugh and have a good time!!! Shelley went to school for Accounting, but should have been a stand up comic!!! She can crack me up at any given moment. There's one word she says to me that without fail, makes me just nearly roll on the floor!!! I'd share it with you, but it wouldn't make a bit of sense to you if you haven't heard it. I love the way she senses my pain sometimes, comes to my rescue and releases those happy hormones in my brain for a short while!!!

"Mr Incredible"

For the sake of putting a face to him, this would be the love of my life with our "Weetie Pea!!!" It's already been established that he is the most wonderful man in the entire world, but not only that; he's totally incredible. My life has been anything but calm and serene lately. As a matter of fact, it has been more full than I have ever cared for it to be. I have been faced with challenges that I never dreamed would come my way. We all know that I have come to the conclusion that I have some sort of "disorder", if you will that just simply does not allow me to "BE STILL!!!!" Remember, we came to that conclusion back in the summer when I was somewhere and had to wait on Sami for something and as I sat in the van it nearly drove me out of my mind (what little is left!!!) Anyways on to the story here...........Somehow I managed to do something to my back and I don't want to go to the doctor since we don't have any insurance(well...none to speak of!!!). So.........."Mr. Incredible" being the wonderful man he is......got on the phone and found a hotel room with a Jacuzzi in it so he could take me there so I could soak my back!!!! No we ARE NOT rich!!! That's the best part of it!!! He managed to negotiate with the desk clerk to get the room for far less than even half price!!! He just simply told them....."look.....it's Tuesday. It's snowing and your hotel is going to suffer for it. Do you want to make a little money or no money?" He agreed!!! It was so awesome and it did indeed make my back feel better for the time I was able to soak!! I can truly say my husband loves me "Biblically!!!!" He loves me the way Christ loves the church. He always makes sure my needs are first!! And lately.....that's been pretty difficult. Like I said, there has been so much going on in my life lately that's got me in a complete whirlwind. And unfortunately, I haven't been as graceful about it as I should have sometimes. I guess God has a way of making you look in the mirror sometimes. But, that's a story for a different time!! I just thought I'd share with you how wonderful my husband is!!! And this little story doesn't even touch the tip of the iceberg of ALL the other things he does for me!!! He's just marvelous!!!!!!! I love him so!!!!!!!

The Sampson's.......A little bit of Heaven on Earth

If you are ever down and need some REAL encouragement, find where this family is performing and go hear them. We were blessed to attend one of their concerts at Kolas Book Store in Highland on this past Saturday. How I NEEDED it!!! I have heard many, many groups sing in my lifetime, but this family is the "real deal." I'm not saying that the rest of them aren't but The Sampson's have a true heart for God and people. It's evident that they are in tune with God and the ministry they have is so excellent. Their calendar is usually full all year round....well, at least when they aren't away on a missions trip. Hence the reason we weren't able to have them do a Christmas concert this year. We have to wait until January 5th of next year!!! Like that's so far away. They get better each time we hear them. We have known them for many years and just to watch those little girls turn into such wonderful young ladies is such a great blessing, but to hear them is so awesome!!!! It seemed like every song they sang was especially picked just for me. God knows what you have need of before you ever ask!!! He is the greatest!!! The brought so much cheer to my heart. I just wish I were able to convey just how much of an impact they make on me each time I am in their presence. Not only does their music minister to me, just talking to any one of them is so uplifting. To hear about all their endeavors throughout the year and for them to share their blessings is excellent!!! Their voices are just a little piece of Heaven here on earth!!!!!! Thank God for those He sends into our lives to encourage us!!! Keep up the good work!!! :-)