It's a new year......!!!

Things have calmed down quite considerably around our house. Is your house returning to that quiet, daily purring along that occurs in the "normal" times of the year? I love the holidays, don't get me wrong. But I love when the holidays are all over, and there is no rushing to rehearsals, no sugar overload from all the holiday goodies, no more things to find places for, and everything has been neatly packed away until next year. In the process of putting things up, I also put away some other piles that had been accumulating over the last couple months, and throwing out some junk that had been hanging on for no apparent reason.

Now, I've gotten a new, rather empty, sparkling white calendar. It doesn't have a lot on it right now. I've been contemplating our path for this coming year. When do the birthdays fall? What church activities are we NOT going to have to miss this year?? When is our annual "birthday bash" going to be? When is summer camp and Vacation Bible School at church this year? It's so much fun to lay that all out and get a good picture of where we are heading.

It's a fresh, exciting start.

Lots to look forward to.

One thing that is going to change the dynamics of our family life, and that I have been so looking forward to is that my husband was able to get on the DAY shift for this year!! That is HUGE!!!

It changes everything and makes everything so much sweeter!! For the last nearly 4 years, he worked every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night, and every OTHER Saturday night. From 5 pm to 5 am.

So, that meant he would leave for work at 4:30 pm, after starting to shower and suit up by 4:00pm. He would get home in the morning usually just after 5 am (since we live only minutes from the police station), unless he got hung up with paper-work. Then he would try to wind down and get to sleep around 6 am and sleep until around 2 pm or sometimes 3 pm depending on when he was actually able to fall asleep.

So that means every night I'm putting children to bed alone and getting them up and getting the day going and trying to keep 6 children quiet while daddy is sleeping. I wasn't always successful.

He missed a lot of weekend activities which is when all activities are usually scheduled, and he never could go to Wednesday evening church with us. Sundays were especially difficult.

I was already pretty tired Sunday morning after trying to get all the bags packed that need to go with us, make sure the van is gassed up, have meals planned for Sunday, and get 6 children bathed and their clothes organized all the night before. Then it was driving a half-hour to church (and I was lucky to not have to make a stop or two because a little one had squirmed out of their car seat), gather them all back together after services were over, the drive back, and feeding everyone lunch before my husband would get up around 2pm. Exhausting.

BUT NO MORE!!!

Now he will get to go with us on Wednesday evenings occasionally, and every Sunday!!

Needless to say, I'm so excited about this prospect for this year!!

I have also been ruminating over some goals I have set for this coming year. Stayed tuned for details!!

Did you know you could do this??

I found this on a friend's blog and thought it was so interesting, so I had to try it for myself.

If you happen to have a facebook page, you might like to try it.

Happy New Year!!

Do you know who holds your tomorrow?

Life is characterized by uncertainty.

When our family started 2009, we had no idea what this year would hold for us.

I'm so glad we don't know what is in our future.

If I had known when I was married that my second child would be diagnosed after nearly

9 years of her life with an incurable disease, I don't know how I would've handled that information.

If I had known when I started homeschooling my children 7 years ago that two of my child

would be diagnosed as ADHD, I don't know what decisions we would've made.

If I had known on January 1, 2009 that I was going to receive all of these diagnoses in the coming year, I'm sure I would've had a nervous breakdown.

But what I do know, is that I have a living Savior, and He's in the world today.

"I know that He is living whatever men may say.

I see His hand of mercy,

I hear His voice of cheer,

and just the time I need Him,

He's always near.

He lives!!

He lives!

Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me, and talks with me,

along life's narrow way.

He lives!

He lives!

Salvation to impart.

You ask me how I know He lives?

He lives within my heart!!"

I don't know what my future may hold,

but I know Who holds my future.

I'm so thankful that whatever 2010 may bring, my dear and precious Savior

won't let pass through His fingers to me what He doesn't have planned.

Whatever that may be, I know He'll go with me through it,

and guide me through it,

and bring me through it.

I serve a good and loving and all-wise God.

Our country has changed so much even in the last decade.

And more change is coming.

It is my personal opinion that our omnipotent God is setting the world stage for the most

dramatic and wide sweeping change the world has ever seen.

I am so glad that I have the freedom still to read my Bible, and I've read it cover to cover,

and I know how it all ends. God has already told us the things to watch for, and He's already

told us what to expect, and He's already told us where we're headed.

Are you ready?

I am.

I don't even have to worry about all these scary things that are changing in our healthcare,

and the middle east, and social security, and in the freedoms that our country was set-up for.

God knows all about that stuff.

That's just secondary to His plan.

I enjoy reminiscing through the following piece of music. It has some amazing clips. It's amazing to realize that I remember so many of them. When some of those events happened, they took us by surprise, and even frightened us.

I remember.

This year I turn 40.

What????

40?

I distinctly remember my 11th birthday.

My oldest daughter had her 11th birthday a year-and-a half ago.

Life is a vapor.

Those frightening things that happened are nothing compared to the frightening

things that will happen to fulfill God's plan for this old world He created.

But because I know Him, and because I know His plan,

I'm not afraid.

I can sleep peacefully at night.

I hope that on this night you can too.

God loves you.

He loves me.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only

begotten Son (Jesus), that whosoever (insert your name here)

believes in Him,

should not perish,

but have everlasting life." John 3:16

I would love to tell you more about how you can have peace about your future.

I'll email you or call you or come see you (if I can).

Just ask me about it.

I personally know Who has the answer.

Happy New Year.

Images of Christmas 2009

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Have a lovely, peaceful, merry Christmas....

More fun homemade Christmas gift ideas

If you've never clicked on "The Executive Homemaker" icon over there in my right-hand sidebar, you really need to. This lady has put together some of the cutest and BEST ideas for managing your home and all the details of having little children in the house. I just loved her article with 24 different easy Christmas gift ideas for teachers, friends, etc. Here are just a couple samples:

2 liter of Sprite: “May your holiday be merry and “sprite!”

Whoppers: Hope you have a “WHOPPER” of a Christmas!

I really think you'll enjoy perusing through all the fun ideas and maybe glean something you can use for yourself sometime. You should also take a minute just to look through all the amazing things she has on her website anyway. Definitely for the "organizationally challenged"!!!

Click HERE!!

Christmas gifts.....DONE!!!

It had taken us a little bit of time every day last week,

with a ruptured hot water heater emergency thrown in to boot, to finally reach the day before we needed to have everything

ready for the big giveaways!!

Here's how we packaged everything up:

We put our chocolate covered pretzels in these cute little cellophane bags.

Wilton does actually have bags specifically made for packing pretzels like this, but I thought these were much more festive.....and cost effective!!!

We formed this sort of assembly line, and I gave each of the children their gift bags to label and load up.

Each of their friends received a bag of chocolate covered pretzels, a jar of Christmas M & M's, and 2 Ritz Cracker Candies.

Oh, yes. We tossed in a Christmas pencil in each bag too!!

Very Yummy!!!

Very Fun!!!

But I'm so glad that it is DONE!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!