Happy New Year!!!!

Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve.  Middle age is when you're forced to.  ~Bill Vaughn

I was in this store shopping, and it seemed that I somehow got trapped in time, yikes! In the first picture, everything seemed fine, but the last picture was when things went haywire.  My face is way up at the top, my legs at the bottom, and I am split by time.  I must have stayed in the store too long and gotten caught in a time warp. Who knew? Maybe I should cut back on my shopping...

I want to wish all of my followers the very happiest New Year!!! I will be taking a blogcation, as I have not been well, and also have many things to get done. So I will not be around for four or five days. I will really miss you all, and hope to get caught up when I return. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

"He has made everything beautiful in it's time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom  what God has done from beginning to end."

Ecc.3

Rudolph

Why does Scrooge love Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer?
Because every buck is dear to him.

Here are some reindeer from our neighborhood, I'll miss them when they're gone. The last one is Rudolph, who stands in our living room every Christmas, holding stockings or gifts. He's very obliging. I guess I could call him Rudolph the Red Nosed Caribou, because reindeer and caribou are basically the same animal. They are the only deer species where both male and female grow antlers, an equal opportunity breed! Sadly, they only live 10 to 15 years. And strangely enough, they are the only mammals who can see ultraviolet light. Why? I don't have a clue!

"The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine."

Proverbs 4:18

It's All In The Cards

Here are a few of the Christmas cards we got this year. How do you feel when you sit down and look at your Christmas card list every year? For me, it is the last year of my life flashing before my eyes, and even more than that, the extreme awareness of the passage of time. Each year there are new friends added. There are friends who have moved, either willingly or unwillingly. Some have gotten very ill and are in the hospital or nursing home, and some have passed away and need to be crossed off the list. It is with sadness and nostalgia that I make out my cards, which are the memories of a lifetime.

“I remembered the old days, went over all you've done, pondered the ways you've worked, Stretched out my hands to you, as thirsty for you as a desert thirsty for rain."

Psalm 143:3

Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.

Ecc. 7:10

A Family Gathering

ton

Tonight, a dozen of us gathered to celebrate Phil's sister's 70th birthday. All close family. The first picture is Phil and his sister, the fourth picture is Phil with his siblings. We met in an old Train Station that was renovated and turned into a restaurant and gift shop. Many stories were told and laughs were had! I am in the last picture, but in the back so my face is hidden. A lady diner kindly volunteered to take pictures of all of us. Though it was a cold and rainy night, I left feeling all warm and fuzzy. Family can do that to you. Happy birthday, Lois!

"The accumulated sorrows of your exile will dissipate. I, your God, will get rid of them for you. You've carried those burdens long enough. At the same time, I'll get rid of all those who've made your life miserable. I'll heal the maimed; I'll bring home the homeless. In the very countries where they were hated they will be venerated. On Judgment Day I'll bring you back home—a great family gathering! You'll be famous and honored all over the world. You'll see it with your own eyes— all those painful partings turned into reunions!" God's Promise.

Zephaniah 3:18

Look Through Any Window

Do you like to snoop peek look through other people's windows? I do! Well, I don't run around peeping through windows. But when we are out driving, if a house has their blinds up, I like to look in just for the fun. I guess I am just a Peeping Tom curious person. This really pays off at Christmas time. And if you look really hard, you may get a bonus and see something other than trees! Windows figured in a lot of significant bible stories! Jezebel was thrown out of a window, David's wife looked down from a window at her husband, and was shocked and mad, and in the book of Acts, Eutychus sat on a windowsill, fell asleep and fell out the window. This killed him, but he was brought back to life by Paul! They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and actually that is in the bible!

"Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!"

Matthew 6:22

Christmas Day 2011

I hope you all had a great Christmas! Ours had a lot of tech gizmo gifts this year, so we were all sitting around playing with them! Come join us!!!

Anne Marie and her doll had matching outfits!!

Ann waited patiently to open the gifts.

The dolls waited, too. But one couldn't make it and fell asleep.

Yes!!! She finally opened her new Leap Pad!!!

Meanwhile, our son couldn't tear himself away from the Kindle we got him.

See in this video the fun we had with the coolest gift of all!!!

"The One that God sent speaks God's words. And don't think he rations out the Spirit in bits and pieces. The Father loves the Son extravagantly. He turned everything over to him so he could give it away—a lavish distribution of gifts. That is why whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever! And that is also why the person who avoids and distrusts the Son is in the dark and doesn't see life.”

John 3:34