HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

A Favor To Ask

I know alot of you were and still are praying for Wendy in the loss of her daughter, so I don't want you to miss the comment she posted.   

Scroll down to the post titled, "Untitled Post" and click on comments.  You should be able to read it there. 

Thanks.

Christmas 2010

Another Christmas has come and gone.  It is always slightly relieving to see it go but in another way a little sad. 

I'm trying to switch from "holiday mode" to "working mode" as I'm having to get back to typing.  Yesterday was a light day, one of my doctors apparently was still in "holiday mode" but today they are all back in full swing.  That's the thing about this job, people don't just stop getting sick because it's the holidays. 

So, how was your Christmas?  Ours was good.  Christmas Eve is our busy day, traveling to spend time with family.  We arrived home around 9:00 Christmas Eve night, put out reindeer food, milk and cookies, and went straight to bed. 

Christmas Day is our relaxing day.  A day spent at home playing with all our new goodies.  I cooked Christmas Dinner for Nana and Pop and we had a good time visiting with them. 

Now we're getting ready to begin a new year and for this family, the new year will bring some changes.  I will be filling you in on all that a little later.  (That's my teaser, you have to come back to find out what the big change will be!)

And in case you don't know already, I don't deal all that well with change, so you can bet I'll be *feeling* my way through on this blog. 

Have a great day!

Gee, Santa, You Sound Awfully Familiar......

I took the kids to the park last night to see a very special Santa.  Our good friend Ronnie agreed to help out and sub for the "other" Santa who couldn't make it.   And whaddya know, Ronnie makes an excellent Santa Claus!  That "other" Santa better watch out!  He's got some comp! 

Check out the line.....

Thanks, Ronnie!

Heaven

Not long ago, I was afraid of heaven.  Not really afraid of being there, but afraid of the journey there.  I suppose I was afraid of dying. 

Then I fell in love with Jesus.  And when that happens, you begin to believe as Paul, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  For Christians, it is really a win-win situation. 

Another thing that happens as you get older, other than your relationship with Jesus becoming sweeter, is that people you love die.  And then heaven gets sweeter still. 


Little Allison is in heaven at this very moment.  I imagine her running, talking to everyone she sees (she has 9 years of pent up conversations in her!), and singing beautifully with the angels.  The majority of the people I talked to at the funeral and even conversations I just happen to overhear were talking about how Allison has been perfected now.  She has the perfect heavenly form, what a beautiful, peaceful image. 


As the preacher so beautifully said, we cannot bring Allison back, but we can go to where she is. 


Heaven. 

An Untitled Post

I had decided what I was going to post about next but now I simply cannot. 

Nothing seems more important than this. 

I know very few details, but I want to gather our blogging community around my cousin Wendy. Her daughter Allison passed away today. 

My eyes cannot believe those words, even as my fingers type them.  I want to delete it and somehow make it not true. 

My tears are falling, not for Allison - she is in the arms of our Savior, the One who created her!  She will never again have to endure pain, go to another doctor's visit, or experience another seizure.  Hallelujah!  She's been made whole!

My tears are for the ones left behind.  I cannot imagine their grief, their pain. 

Wendy is a reader of this blog, and I would like to ask my other readers to lift her in prayer today.  

Thank you. 

Love/Hate Relationship

I love this time of year.  I hate this time of year.  Can you relate?

I am not a shopper, so being forced to go out and enter the retail-frenzy is not that much fun for me.  It's not that I mind the crowds so much.  It's more of the realization of how materialistic we all are.  I went into Toys 'R Us Friday and thought I was going to vomit.  Is there any reason for any child to have any of those toys?  No.  Did I buy some of those toys?  Yes.  Arrgghh.   

I know my children know the true meaning of Christmas, but would they react calmly if we told them all our monies and efforts were going into helping others less fortunate this year?  I can tell you with all surety, no.  There would probably be tears, arm and leg flailing fits, anger, and complete and shameless begging for us to change our minds. 

Let me say we do not overindulge our children at Christmas.  By the time they leave the two sets of grandparents, Santa is not left with many options.  So our Christmas mornings are mild in comparison to some.  Every year I think, "This is it.  This is the year the kids will be disappointed and look at us and say something like, is that all?"  That has never happened (and if they did say that, I think I'd cry and then beat them).  They are always overjoyed with their gifts, no matter how few. 

Christmas is for children, yes.  And I surely do not want to take the fun out of Christmas.  But how, oh how, I want my children to get it.  Although, if I think about it, when did I get it?  It definitely wasn't at age 5 or even 10.  Heck, maybe I'm just now getting it. 

Well, with that said, I will be heading back into town a little later looking among other things for teacher's gifts.  And if anyone deserves a gift at Christmas, it's your child's teacher! (I didn't say that just 'cuz I'm one, I said it cause it's true.) 

I told Brad yesterday I was feeling more overwhelmed this holiday season than I ever have, and I completely wasn't expecting this feeling.  With both kids in school, I thought I would be super-organized and do all my shopping on Mondays and Fridays and be done within a week.  Ha! It's not happening. 

By the way, does anyone else hate the little commercial/spot on TV where it counts down how many days you have left to shop?  I sure do.