Christmas Fun

Don't you just love it when you buy someone a gift and they get all excited and have lots of fun with it? Well, this is what happened to us this Christmas.

Brandon, Jordan and I were at Wal*Mart in September. We had been looking in the toy department for Christmas list ideas. We were on our way to another section of the store and I happened to see the toilet seats. I told the boys I needed to look there, as my toilet seat was in need of replacing.

(Now, some of my regular readers will know that my daughter, Michelle, loves dolphins. She has her main floor bathroom painted blue and it is decorated with dolphins, lighthouses, seashells etc. )

Well, what did we find but a see-through acrylic toilet seat with dolphins on the lid. The boys agreed that their mother would love it, so I bought it. We placed it in a huge gift bag and added tissue paper to keep prying eyes away. The boys asked what they should tell their mother if she asked what we had bought her for Christmas. I told them, "Tell her a toilet seat. She won't believe you."

Here is Michelle when she first opened the toilet seat. She gave a squeal of delight and said, "My sons are banned from my bathroom."

Holding the toilet seat so everyone could see that it was transparent. You would have thought she had been given a million dollars.

Then she got a little silly and put it over her head. She's laughing so hard in this photos.

And being sassy in this one. She said,'This is the only time you'll ever see me wear a toilet seat around my neck."

Everyone had a good laugh and it was a lot of fun seeing how much she enjoyed receiving a toilet seat. Just goes to show you that some people will be happy no matter what they receive.

This was the highlight of the Christmas gifts and I was glad that she enjoyed her gift so much. Giving just the right gift is indeed a blessing. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. ~Blessings, Mary~

Merry Christmas

I would like to wish all my friends and readers a very Merry Christmas. I've made this little gift for all of you. Please feel free to take a copy for your blog. There is also another on my sidebar. God bless each of you.

Family Photos

A few days ago, Mom gave me an early Christmas present. When she handed it to me, I assumed that it was just a Christmas card. Imagine my delight when I opened it and found some family photos inside.
Above is a photo of Grandma. She is the one that I'm always writing about. She taught me many things, including a love of God. This is Grandma when she was 23 years old. That is my mother in her arms. Mom was my grandparents' first child. Mom would be about 6 months old here. The photo was taken in the spring of 1928.

Above is Grandma as I picture her. She is wearing a housedress, which was what she wore around home everyday...and the ever-present apron tied around her waist. I remember both the dress and the apron well. Since I don't have many photos of Grandma, I was ecstatic.

Above is a photo of my great-grandmother, Minnie. We called her Grandma Min and she was my maternal grandfather's mother. This was taken at the old home place, which doesn't exist anymore. This would have been taken in the mid 1940s, just after the war.

These photos were one of the best Christmas presents that Mom could have given me. I now can have copies made so other family members can get to know the ancestors that have gone before them.

Today the boys and I went to the mall and had our photo taken with Santa. I don't have any recent photos of the boys and I together, so I thought this would be a golden opportunity. I purchased one photo and will have copies made for other members of the family. I was surprised at how well it turned out.

I'd like to take this time to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. As you celebrate with family and friends, please take time to reflect on the reason for the season. ~Blessings, Mary~

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I've been way behind this year in getting my house decorated for the season. I really needed to do some deep cleaning because of all the renovations that took place upstairs. I had a great head start on it and then Aunt May went to the hospital. For two weeks I did very little except visit her. Then she passed and there was the funeral. I wasn't thinking much about decorating at this time. December 1st, I came down with a nasty bit of viral infection and have been fighting it ever since. However, the last week has been much better with the help of antibiotics and I've been scrambling to get it all done. So, I will show you a few photos of what I've accomplished and some of what I still have to do.

The first photos shows our Christmas tree when we put it up on Saturday. All it has on it is the lights. Excuse the Christmas boxes sitting on the sewing machine cabinet in the left foreground and the vaccuum in the right corner. These will get put away.

Here is the tree all decorated after the boys left on Sunday. Ah, I need a better picture. I cut the angel's head off and this is an angel that my mother made for me. I will show a photo of it before we take down the tree. The Christmas boxes have now been changed to old telephone books that are going in the garbage. Yes, the vaccum is still there by the dusty china cabinet. I told you there were some things I hadn't got done yet.

The Christmas cards on the white door are from all of my blogging friends. Thank you so much. I love each and every one of them and when they come down, they will go into my card collection.

Most of these cards on the dark door are hubby's, given to him by his clients. There are more Christmas cards strung on a piece of ribbon behind the couch. The picture of the animals was made for me by Mom about 15 years ago. I notice it has a little fray on the lace. I must repair that.
This angel was a gift from my dear blogging friend, Sammi at Bears in Exile. I participated in her Circle Journal last year and she just sent it for me to read all of the entries. It is fantastic. In the package was this little handmade angel. I love it. A special token of our friendship. Thanks again, Sammi. She will be carefully stored away with love after Christmas.

This is the main part of the entertainment unit. It holds some of my angel collection. Two were given to me by hubby and the purple one on the left was made for me by Mom. The nativity was a gift from a stranger. A story for another day.

This is my granny Christmas tree. Last year Hootin' Anni and Pea bought Santa Claus trees at Michael's. I went to find one and on the shelf was this granny Christmas tree. It was love at first sight and I couldn't pass it up, as it was on sale for 40% off.

This is the other side of my entertainment unit. I also love snowmen and women and on the bottom shelf you will see some of those. The middle shelf holds Santa's sleigh that the reindeer are pulling. It is acrylic and was a gift from Mom. The boy and girl with the musical instruments was something I won when I was a Princess House crystal representative. The top shelf holds the crystal angel that was a gift from Denise at Shorty Bear's Place in 2007. Beside her are kissing angels that I made in ceramic class in the 70s.

This star was made for me by Jordan when he was six. It is a piece of cardboard covered with tin foil. Some people might think it was junk, but it is a treasure to me, as it was made and given with love.
When Brandon was in kindergarten, he made this walnut decoration. He painted the walnut and then put very tiny green beads on it. Quite a feat for a child with Asperger's because their motor skills aren't the best. But make it he did and it is another ornament that is treasured simply because it was made and given with love from the heart.

Most of my Christmas decorations have special meaning. I have a few others that I may share with you before the tree is taken down.

Well, I have a few things still to wrap and need to throw those phone books out and put the vacuum away. Thanks for stopping by. Merry Christmas!~Blessings, Mary~

In Honor of All Soldiers

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE, IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE, AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE, NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND, ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS, A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY, I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE, CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER, NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ? CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT, OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY, AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR, BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE, ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE, I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE, 'SANTA DON'T CRY, THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON'T ASK FOR MORE, MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY! COUNTRY, MY CORPS.'

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP, I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, SO SILENT AND STILL AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT, THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE, WHISPERED, 'CARRY ON SANTA, IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.'

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT. 'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,! AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.'

Author Unknown

Snow Fun with Meeko

In my previous post I mentioned that we got dumped on. Saturday morning when I got up, the world was a winter wonderland. Hubby took Meeko for his early morning walk and about noon, I put on his leash, my warm winter clothes and we set out on a walk.

This is the street that runs along the canal. I was going to take a picture of Meeko walking in the snow, but he walked toward me just as I snapped the picture, so I only have a bit of him. I swear that dog hates to have his picture taken.

Here's a better one of him in the snow. I tried to get him to walk along the snow ridge while I walked on the street. That was easier for me and he had fun plunging through snow drifts.

He also likes to roll in the snow. I guess it cools him off. Here he is enjoying life to the fullest.

All the way over three times. He sure knows how to enjoy the finer things in life.
When we got back to the house, I put him out in the yard. He loves sitting or laying in the snow.

In the photo above, Meeko is watching the kids up the street playing in the snow. He would love to run and play with them, but he can't be trusted off-leash.

Above is where the pickup truck driver pushed the snow from the end of our driveway last night. It's quite a pile.

I got the red bows put up on each side of the porch steps. The Christmas tree is on the porch at this point. We brought it in later, cleaned the snow off of the porch and shook the snow out of Meeko's blanket. We put it there so he doesn't have to lay on the cold cement.

This reindeer lights up at night. This was a gift from Brandon and Jordan three years ago.

The boys love penguins and so this year we added this guy to our outdoor decorations. He looks great when I light him up at night.

The kids up the street playing in the snow. It was such a beautiful day. I was glad to see them outside enjoying themselves.

We are supposed to get more snow overnight tonight and then again tomorrow. I'm not sure where we'll put it, but we'll face that dilemma when we get to it. Take care and enjoy a pleasant day. ~Blessings, Mary~