The Autumnal Beat of My Heart

I can feel Autumn tapping me on the shoulder. It's beginning to be crisp in the mornings, hot hot at the midday sun and just so perfect in the evenings. The school supplies are MOSTLY bought, backpacks set up and ready to go and I attended my first school orientation meeting last night. It's really here...time for school! Four more days until I send my eldest to her first day of Fourth grade and I walk my middle child through his first day of Kindergarten. Oh, be still my heart!

I can't imagine that I'll be that weepy mommy on the first day of Kindergarten with Zach, but then again I just about choked up when the principal gave his sappy speech about all the first milestones of a Kindergartner last night. So who knows! I'm excited for him to go and enjoy learning with new friends and a couple old ones. I'm excited for him to grow up a little bit more, but at the same time...I looked at him last night playing out front in his size 5/6 shirt and pants and really saw how tall he's getting and how big his feet are. Good grief! My little baby boy is actually growing up into a little guy. My heart fluttered a little in my chest and I could suddenly see miles down the road when he will rather NOT be around his parents and will prefer to seek solace with friends and girls. Ugh...and that made my heart ache a little. As much as I complain around here that I never get a moments peace with all the chaos and kids, they are my life right now and for the last so many years. They are my reason for being here at home and I suddenly want to corral them all three, my husband and my dog into a safe nest and become a hoarder. A hoarder of my family. I want to clutch them to myself and provide what they need and be the source of home for them. I desire for them to find refuge here and for THEM to desire home.

And while these feelings are stirring up inside and swirling around like a pot of home-cooked chili that would hope to bring us together, I know that "out there" is where the testing grounds are and where the rubber meets the road for them all. I can only huddle them in for a little while longer, but I hope that as they grow up they always know (even through those teenage years I hear nothing great about) that their parents deeply love each other, deeply love them and that home is always a safe, loving place where they can come and not be condemned.

Wow, did I digress! Oh yea, I remember what I was saying before...Autumn. Yes, this IS my favorite time of year and I look forward to it as a child looks forward to Christmas morning. I cannot wait for floppy sweatshirts, socks, hay rides, apple picking, Harvest parties at school, carving jack-o-laterns, mmmm...warm and delicious Fall treats like chocolate chip pumpkin muffins and ooey, gooey caramel corn. I eagerly anticipate our family and friends coming over to sit around our fire pit and enjoying warm beverages. I love watching the leaves change into firey reds, deep pulses of burgandy, bright oranges and yellow ochre that screams Bob Ross. I so adore walking through the woods with the crunchy leaves scattered around on the ground and the Autumn rainbow of colors overhead. Even the air smells great in Autumn! Homes begin to smell like fireplaces, cinnamon, apples and sugar cookies. We have to get extra Kleenex out because our noses get colder and need wiped more, especially the kids. Let's just ignore all the schoolhouse induced colds that might come our way and stay in the zone here. ;) Ahh yes, I love fresh socks on all my kids too. There is just SOMETHING about putting fresh, clean socks on six ever growing feet and knowing their toes are warm and cozy! Robes and slippers, Trick or Treat, raking leaves and jumping in them, sweaters, cold mornings and warm afternoons, earthy colored Mums, anticipation of Turkey Day...where does the wonderful list end!?!?

My heart is alight with fresh anticipation of the coming months, Friends! May the Lord bless the road before my family and may He ALWAYS be the center of all these wonderful things.

Day 22 of 40

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty who is, who was and is to come! All Glory and Honor and Power and Praise and Strength to Him!

Basically that's where my Spirit man is. I just want to sit in his presence constantly. Yesterday I woke up all night long and then got up for the day at 5am, grabbed my coffee and drove over to the prayer room at church. It was a little freaky being there in the complete darkness and all alone (at least I HOPE I was alone, humanly speaking.) There is a small window in this room with no curtain so out of fear I propped a pillow up on the sill so it would block any view inside and then I sat in the corner where there was no chance of being seen. This was all done out of the creepy feeling that girls get, but once I was seated I felt completely okay. Plus the door electronically deadbolts, so no one was coming inside without the code. :) But anyway, I sat there in that corner and ushered in his presence with praise music and my open and willing heart. And people, I am here to tell you...GOD...IS...REAL. He is real. He is present. He wants to be with his children. And, he feels amazing! We stayed together in that room for about 40 minutes where I enjoyed him, laid out my heart's desires, told him how thankful I am for all he has given me, doted all over him, got fierce with the enemy and declared the name and blood of Jesus over people and our church and generally breathed him into my day. At the end I wrote a prayer into the prayer journal and left. Even though I could, literally, sit in that room all day with him I knew it was time to go. One, because I needed to drive back home in time for the kids to get up and get ready for church, but second because I felt his presence ease up. At first I wondered if it was just me being antsy or ready to get started with the day, so I sat back down in a chair and turned the music back on to see...but it was clear that it was time to go. So I left.

Then later at church during worship I was singing STRAIGHT to Him and I didn't care who listened to how badly I was singing. I didn't care how I looked from the back with my arms clear up in the air in praise to him. It was ALL for him and I felt his presence. I was actually shaking with excitement and energy! I had to stop singing for a minute and breathe b/c I felt like I might burst into a million particles right there in the sanctuary. At that moment I knew why a human cannot see the face of God. Good grief...his presence alone nearly sent me into a fit. All day long too I felt his covering over me. It was like a tangible blanket laid over me. Not heavy or cumbersome or suffocating, but rather light and protective and comforting. Honestly, I never want this covering to go away. I want to live under it forever!

In all my years being a Christian, almost 20 now, I have not felt Him like I feel him now. It's not that he wasn't there and it's not that I didn't want to feel him...it's just that NOW I am really, truly giving him first place in my life. Fasting is just a vehicle, a catalyst of purification. I see so clearly now how I have leaned on food/snacks as a comfort and would even go as far as to say that I was a glutton. Eating and eating just to feel constantly full and to change my emotions whether they be fear, anxiety, loneliness, excitement or to bring my hubby and I together after a loooong day at work/with the kids. Food was a substitute, an empty promise, a counterfeit for the real fulfillment of what God, Christ and Holy Spirit give. It was also a satisfaction of a short term desire that led to long term internal issues. Oh, ten Timbit Donuts taste delicious going down, as does half a Papa Johns pizza and bread sticks, but those short term tongue-tickling delights lead to long term weight gain and then ultimately spiritual bondage of "I'm too fat. I'm disgusting to look at. I'm not what my husband would want. I don't look like "her." I need to go up a size in pants and now I really look like a hippo." Ugh, and the list goes on. It's ALL lies being fed to us. We have control and strength through Christ. When we accept him into our hearts as Saviour...you guys, WE HAVE ALL THE POWER WE EVER NEED! Faith combined with his Word equals VICTORY. I have realized that if God within me can change my sinful eating habits and I am strengthened in Him...what sin has any power over me!? It's really amazing and mind-blowing stuff and yet I can do it.

Okay, so here's breakfast! Two small carrots, an apple, kale (I usually have a lot more, but I'm out!), an orange and a tomato. I *heart* the Jack LaLanne juicer! I'm tellin' ya...even if you aren't a big veggie person, this thing is great for making healthy fruit juices and then I whip the fruit juice in the Magic Blender for a smoothie. I found my juicer on Craigslist for $35! So I have this juice (or a similar one, depending on what fruit and veggies I have) every two to three hours OR I have a Special K protein drink, and of course ice water throughout the day. I also keep V8 around for sipping and gum helps a lot when an occasional craving hits or I'm out and away from the juice.


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After:

Day 12 of 40

Day 12 of 40 Day Fast

There is this place I like to go to pray. It's this little 10x10 room on the property of our church and a few people go there to pray. We have a prayer chapel inside the church that is all set up, decorated with handmade, sparkly banners and cushy leathery couches and comfy chairs, dimly lit, etc. There is a CD player and prayerful type music to play and sheets of paper to help guide you through prayer and lists of things to pray about, poems, etc. But, this other room I love, there is something more special, more intimate about this other room. It's not cushy, there are two metal folding chairs, two flat pillows, an old desk chair and I think the CD player out there is broken. It's actually a little humid and warm in there as well, but none at that matters to me.

Once I step into that room, I step into the presence of Holy Spirit. The white walls are saturated with the prayers of the warriors who were there hours, maybe minutes, before me. The scribbled note cards of those who need prayer and those who are responding to those needs lay on a small table or are tucked inside a prayer journal left on another small table. There's nowhere to get really comfortable b/c it's not about getting cushy, relaxed or comfy. It's about getting on my knees before the Almighty or laying prostrate on the ground as I relish in his presence and draw into holiness. I feel at home there. I feel warm and invited. I could stay there for hours and just sit around Him and the prayer walls that resonate prayerful vibrations, and I do, but I also lay out my own prayers to Him there. I pop the Nano in my ears, sit silently, lift my hands, speak out loud, cry and get really intimate in a way that I could not in the other cushy room or in front of any other person. All the walls come down there and I'm the true inside, bare boned Christy, the child of the living God who adores her. There I sit, kneel, stand before my Father, my best Friend, my Victor, my Redeemer and the One who goes before me as I battle through these 40 days and we talk. I pour out and He pours in. It's such an unfair trade and I'm so thankful for it.

If you have no such prayer closet or space of your own like this, I encourage you to find it. I have read so many times about how Christ would go away from the crowds and be alone with the Father. It was just a word story to me until I found this room where I really feel connected to Him. Now I pine to be alone with Him there. I think of being there when I am not and when I CAN get there, my feet can't carry me fast enough. What an absolute refuge in this wild and crazy world we live in!

Day 10 of 40

Day 10 of the 40 Day Fast

So here I am, day ten. This has been quite an experience for me thus far. I had two main motivations for going on this journey with God. First and foremost, I have a HUGE bone to pick with the Commander in Chief of the dark army. He has been working tirelessly to bring down the Children and keep those he already has captive and deceived. Recent study materials have shone light on the reality that I have a voice and strength and an honest to goodness place in the army of God. God's word has proven it true and experience is making it my reality. So like my ancestors of the Bible, I am taking up the spiritual armor of God and decreeing that I have power over the army of the dark and making the battle cry every day of this fast. I speak the words of David over the dark and carry the light into the enemy camps so as to break their holds, remove them from their bunkers and send them into retreat!

The second motivation was to experience God in a more intimate way. I want to draw near to him and feel his breath and heartbeat. He hasn't failed me either. Every time I come up against a trial during this trip I am met with frustration and with the help of a fellow compatriot I am encouraged and strengthened to fight with the mighty weapon of praise. And faithfully, every time I am flooded with peace and assurance that I am right where he wants me and victory is his. I look forward to what he has for me next.

My directions were changed early on in the mission, but I have been assured that I am still in favor with my Father and my mission is uncompromised at this point.

Day ten of a forty day mission and I feel invigorated and part of something so much bigger than myself. Day ten and the joy I experience while in communion with the Father is more intense than it was ever before. Day ten and I find the words of the Bible so much more meaty and applicable and making sense. Day ten and I can't help but feel that this discipline period is preparing me for MUCH bigger and harder things to come. Day ten, one quarter of the way, and I look forward to the next thirty days of war.

May I bear the armor proudly, constantly and courageously!

Babysitter Blues

Okay, so LAST week before all the Christmas and Senor Strep Throat rushed through my life I had an idea that I might want to get out by myself after Christmas and while I still had all three kids by myself at home. SO in a smarty moment I was having I texted the babysitter (that's what you do nowadays with these crazy teens!) to see if she'd be available. I get an immediate response of "absolutely! I love your kids! (uh huh) I'm completely open while on vacation, so call me."

So, here I am on day 11 of the 16 day Christmas Break and all a girl wants is to go get her eyebrows and Fu Manchu waxed sans children, right? Right. I pick up the celly and text the sitter to see if she's available and go figure...she's too busy for me. *clawing my cheeks* COME ON! Srsly!? I pre-texted you and everything. (mental note: stop spiffing the babysitter's nightly income)

Where's The Babysitters Club when you need 'em!?

100 Things About Me (that you may or may not care to know)

1. I'm not a natural red head. Nope, dirty blonde. Let the jokes roll.

2. I paint my toenails regularly but never do my fingernails. Why put the effort in when it'll be chipped or smudged in half an hour.

3. I've only been in love once and I married him.

4. I could eat pancakes, pizza and Cool Ranch Doritos everyday and never get tired of them.

5. I do not like to wait and HATE to be late.

6. I now really feel God when I'm reading the Bible. I didn't use to. It use to be like reading the phone book. I'd read, compute and put it down. Now though, I feel it. It lives for me.

7. I lick the Dorito powder off and throw the chip away. I know, it's gross, but I love it.

8. I have a geographic tongue and it really gets bad when I eat a lot of sugar. No, I won't show you.

9. I don't wear high heels anymore. My man is a head shorter than me, which is distracting enough for people. Adding three more inches is just redundant and asking for it.

10. I have three tattoos. I got the first one when I was seventeen (a rose), had it covered with a bigger sunflower while in college and then the third one a year later (a sleeping blue moon.) There is no significance to any of them.

11. I love to run. I dream about running at superhuman speed and bounding over really tall things.

12. I feel things in my dreams. I often dream of being shot and can feel the bullets hitting me.


13. I'm terrified of spiders. It's a fear that was transferred to me from my mom and so I REALLY try not to pass that on to my kids. Inside though, I'm a quivering mess of jelly.

14. I once read in a Ramona Quimby book about her squeezing out an entire tube of toothpaste and have always wanted to do it.

15. I realized that my daughter's spirit SOARS when she is hiking. I can sense her joy in the wilderness. It's amazing to me.

16. Talking about poo or toots makes me laugh hysterically, so does watching people get hurt. It's sick.

17. I've peed my pants numerous times while laughing, once when I was scared at a haunted house. I was seventeen! I hope that's not a glimpse of things to come.

18. Coffee is a passion of mine. It's soooo comforting.

19. I love to sleep in when I can. My back, however, does not like it at all.

20. I still have the Nike tag I cut out of my husband's t-shirt for him back when we were first dating.

21. I also still have all the pregnancy test that came out positive for my children.

22. My van is a constant mess. There is usually animal crackers and school papers littering the floor and I'm always grossed out and embarrassed when I move the carseats to find a heaping pile of food crumbs, stale french fries and fruit snacks. Minivans should come with mini vacuums installed. Hello!?

23. A raccoon pooped in my van.

24. I will not be leaving my van doors open while in the garage anymore.


25. I never had a single thought about being fat until I went to college and heard about the "Freshman Fifteen" and I've thought I was fat every day since. Thanks a lot Kent State.

26. I had my own personal toilet in my residence dorm at Kent. It was on the abandoned first floor of the building. It smelled bad and was never cleaned that I knew of, but it was private and yes, I would fly down three flights of steps at whatever time day or night to go be by myself to #2.


27. I am SO glad to be done having babies. I have three and enjoy them as much as possible. I do NOT miss them being babies and look forward to their birthdays every year as I watch them grow into themselves. I feel a little guilty about it and the fact that I LONG for retirement with my husband, just so we can be alone.

28. Dang, it's hard to think of 100 things about myself.

29. I despise doing laundry.

30. I enjoy mowing the lawn.

31. I want to see the Eiffel Tower in person and sit in a French cafe quietly sipping coffee.


32. My favorite movies are: Titanic, Shawshank Redemption, Tombstone, The Color Purple, The Passion of the Christ.

33. I ate a cinnamon scented candle when I was about nine years old and had diarhea for two days.

34. My mom and dad were never married, both have other children but I'm an only child between them.


35. I will never own another cat. I now despise cats. Our neighbors cats have scratched our cars and peed in our garage and taunted our dogs. I'm over them. No more cats. Down with the cats.


36. I'm a Libra, but never check my horoscope.


37. I'm a natural blonde but have colored my hair red since I was thirteen. Shoot, I said that one before. Oh well. Bears repeating.

38. I'm not witty. My mother has very quick, sharp wit but it skipped me somehow. I always think of what I should have said way after the conversation.

39. I do not like canned fruit, especially peaches. Bleck.

40. I'll eat most vegetables though, canned or fresh, except hominy, spinach and mushrooms.

41. I don't mind confrontation, but I only go at it when I really have to now. As a younger woman any perceived injustice would set me in fighting mode, but I've realized that it's not a godly manner to always be ready for a fight.

42. I really enjoy reading.

43. I married into a family that I always wished I had growing up and it excites me to think that my kids will have them as they grow.

44. It really irritates me when women my age or younger call me "sweetie", "baby/babe" or "honey." I mean REALLY irritates me. It also bothers me when the cashier asks for my ID and I really don't know why. They are just doing their job, nothing personal.

45. I do occassionally drink, but hardly at all anymore. It makes me too tired, so what's the point?



46. I have three brothers and no sisters. Only one of my brothers has never been in jail. The other two keep bunks on hold.



47. I agree with whoever said that cleaning house with children in it is like shoveling snow in a blizzard. Fruitless.



48. I work as a dispatcher for a local cable company. It's good work and only one day a week, so no complaints.



49. I do not enjoy cooking...baking, maybe. Cooking, not so much. I definitely do NOT enjoy menu planning either. Something in my brain won't allow me to follow through with it. It's like as soon as I commit to a weekly menu I get all claustraphobic and must deviate. Why is THAT? I wanna plan, I wanna know what we're eating and it makes sense and spends less money, but I just cannot do it.



50. I weigh 16 pounds more now than when I was married. I'd love to lose all 16!!



51. I have a Jack LaLanne Juicer and REALLY like using it.



52. If given the opportunity, I'd move to another state or country.



53. Warm, Sunny and Beachy is my ideal vacay.



54. I've never been to the Pacific coast, but hope to.



55. I could see myself going on a vacation all alone and enjoying it immensely. I do not fear being alone, but prefer company.



56. My hair falls out and clogs the shower drain and vaccum. It's super annoying and I do not doubt that my girls' hair issues have something to do with me.



57. I do not react well to criticism, but if given a small amount of time to think about it...I really do take it in, evaluate and apply it if necessary.



58. I love Oreos and milk.



59. I listen to all kinda of music...Top 40's, Old Country, some Classical, Oldies I love.



60. I can sit very still for a very long time although I very rarely ever do.



61. I miss working in a fast paced corporate atmosphere...lunchdates, deadlines, contacts.



62. I believe God knows what is best for me though and do my best to rest in this choice of being an at-home mother.



63. When I get the chance I kneel down wherever I am in my house and give honor to God. He has loved me so well and saved me from myself and a much harder life...not to mention that whole eternally separated from Him thing. *shutter* I grieve to think of those who will remain lost forever.



64. I don't like myself when I get overwhelmed with kids, housework and the chaos of my life. Every time I try not to let it blow, but it ineveitably does. I desire continual order, cleanliness and control...none of which are possible for ME in a house with three small children and two dogs. I just do the best I can to keep up!



65. I hope to be Raptured!



66. I like looking at artwork and creating some of my own. I really enjoyed drawing, painting and ceramics in high school and had some talent. It has diminished over the years to due not using the talent, but I'd like to redevelop it later in life.



67. I played violin for a few years in grade school and never lost the love for it. It's another thing I'd like to redevelop as time would allow.



68. I HAVE developed a great love for God's Word and not only enjoy reading it, but also weep while doing so at times. It's pretty magical really and I feel for people who say they can't "get it" or don't want to read it. I wish that everyone could feel the way I do about it.



69. Scott and I eat chocolate chip yogurt milkshakes several times a week, at night after the kids go to bed. It's "our time" and we covet it.



70. I fight the urge many nights to run across my back yard and throw dried corn at my neighbor's bedroom window. If I have to listen to their barking dog from 11pm to 2-3am...then they need to be awake too. It's only fair.



71. I am a very loyal and forgiving person. If I befriend you, it will take quite a bit of punishment and hurt before I'll turn my back on you. I expect the same in return though.

72. I love, love, love to bless people financially when we can...or to give them something they've needed.

73. I'm a pretty direct person and live my life like an open book. I try to remember that most people are not this way but often stick my foot in my mouth.

74. I wish my Dad and I lived closer. If we could just relocate Wyoming to where Indiana is, that'd be awesome. Actually, if we could just get it into a spot where the airport terminal wasn't SO danged expensive that'd be pretty near awesome. It shouldn't cost $700 to fly anywhere in the US. Europeans travel all over their countries for less than that. Ridiculous.

75. I wear make up nearly every single day of the year. It's necessary...I'm a little scary looking without it. Which reminds me, how rude is it for paparazzi to take snapshots of stars without make-up and splash it across a magazine cover. How would they like it if someone shot a pic of THEIR dimpley buttcheeks and put it on a billboard? I always feel sorry for these starlets. I mean come on, the average woman doesn't believe that these stars ACTUALLY walk around looking magnificent and screen ready all day every day. Come on. Give 'em a break.

76. I am not sure there are 24 more things about me. What else is there that you need to know!?

77. Our checkbook is hardly ever balanced. That drives my husband nuts.

78. I leave clothes in the washer and dryer accidentally. That drives him nuts too.

79. I use to steal things when I was very young. I quit when my future step-sister (who was much older and cooler than I was) found out that I took something small from her. It embarrassed me so badly I never did it again. Okay, okay, the occassional pen from work, but that's it. Scouts honor.

80. I'm so ready for another vacation with my husband...I'll even take my kids this time. I just need to get away from cold Ohio and the daily grind of cleaning up messes and paying bills.

81. I think if God gave me the lottery...I'd really spoil myself and ALL of my family. I'd also go around helping people every chance I got. Money doesn't buy happiness but it does make life easier.

82. My baby girl has strep throat right now and I wish I could take it away from her. :(

83. I have learned a lot from my mother's mistakes and successes, and pray that all the mistakes I see as huge in my mothering will make my children even better parents than Scott and I.

84. Love the smell of roses, fresh laundry from the dryer, my husband's t-shirts and coffee brewing.

85. I like to write, text, Facebook and IM.

86. I use to enjoy talking on the phone but after so many years of competing with the noise level in my house it's just easier to type out what I want to say than say it. I always feel bad for the people who call me. Someday I'll be able to talk on the phone in peace, but not now.

87. I'm wearing black sweatpants, a bright blue Kent State t-shirt and a pink ballcap to work today. Sooo comfy and casual here.

88. I'd rather be sleeping right now.

89. I have hypothryoidism. Hot, right!?

90. This is really waaay too much information for you all, I think. But dang it, I have ten more to go. I can eek out ten more things about myself. Come on, Christy!!

91. I put both socks on and then both shoes, not one sock, one shoe at a time.

92. I DO NOT have that weird thing about having to have my sock seam straight or not touching my toes wrong. I, however, CANNOT eat crunchy tacos b/c the shell ineveitably cracks and makes a mess of the filling. Thank God for soft tacos.

93. I need to step it up at home and start making goals for myself around the house. Just need some accoutability there. It's not cool for me to be home all week and still have mountains of laundry and things left undone all over the place. I can reasonably kick it into gear and do better. It will be one of my 2010 goals.

94. I have never had a close encounter of the alien kind.

95. I do wonder though about the spiritual realm and how much our friends and family who have passed encounter with us, if they do at all. I find that John Edwards really fascinating.

96. If I could talk to someone who passed that I knew...it would probably be my Grandma Francis. I never knew her since she died when I was 3 or 4 years old, but the family all loved her so.

97. If I died today, I'd have to say that I have lived a good life and would die happy and reaching out for Jesus' hand!

98. I like almost all condiments.

99. I'm feeling pressured that number 100 should be a real zinger, but am drawing a blank.

100. I'm done filling out 100 things about myself, am glad about that and I'll bet you are too! :) Hope you know me a little better now though!

Hello?

Hey, remember me!? Yep - I'm still here it's just been a very long break from writing!

Life has been happening so fast around me and I'm doing my best to keep up with it all. Three kids, two in school, one littlest one who is my mini shadow, two dogs (one of which is a puppy), keeping up (or not) with the housework and calendar commitments and now Christmas too. Phew! I'm pooped out and ready for a vacation.

However, I'm not here to complain...I'm here to give you a quick update. Let's see, I'm still working on Saturdays and that has proved to be a wise move on our parts. Over this past year we've just socked my money into the bank each week and this Fall we were able to take all of what I made and maybe a little more and paid off our van...so no car payments anymore! Woohoo! Now we're hoping to somehow pay ahead on the home loans so we can be debt free. We've been doing this a little this year, but now are hoping to send Ab to private Christian school so we have to juggle that money from somewhere. January will be a time of reevaluation of the finances and spending, so we'll see what can be done with what we have.

October was tough because we had to put our little Max down. He was ten plus years old and having a really hard time breathing along with his other chronic health issues, so we decided it was time to let him go. What a rough life experience that was for this old girl! I still call the other dogs AND THE KIDS SOMETIMES by Max's name and feel a little twinge in my heart, but overall we're glad he's at peace and our house doesn't smell like a decaying dog anymore. RIP Max.

November was great! I don't know where it went. It really was a blur! Thanksgiving was here at my house and we had family in from both sides. Good times, good food, good company! 'Nuff said!

December is going just as fast and it's nearly time to take a look at my "Resolutions" from last year, see what all I've done and make a new list of goals. I think one of those should be for me to write more....I miss it. I read my old posts and think "Damn, I'm a good writer. I need to make more time to do this and stay off of Facebook." Facebook really is fun, but it's also a time stealer and a cheap version of relationships. I need to spend more time farming my relationships with friends and family and less on Farmville, more time filling the emotional tanks of my loved ones and less cleaning the tanks on Happy Aquarium. Right? Right.


Time to start the day here already! Merry Christmas to anyone who might still be out there lurking!