Akin family

New Year, New Start, New Ideas....

2012-01-20T22:33:00.000-06:00

Let's Go!!

I have heard from several friends that they want to join our trip. Hurray!! The more the merrier!

Here is what you need to do to join our walk.

Get a pedometer.
Figure out how to use the pedometer
You might want to grab a water bottle to remind yourself to keep hydrated, and a journal to keep track of progress. These are not essentials, they are just for fun.
Go to your local library and find any of the Sisterchick books by Robin Jones Gunn. Read them. You may read these in any order, although we recommend starting with Sisterchicks On The Loose (the first one she wrote).
Send me an email that you want to join up. I will send out group emails periodically.
Leave a comment and let us know you are walking with us.

There are several ways that you can walk with us.

Start from where you are and meet up with us in Tifton GA, Jacksonville FL, Cocoa Beach FL, or the Bahamas (!).
Start from Irondale AL and walk with us. Of course you can! If you are going home every day for work or school and home every night to tend family you can magic yourself to Irondale; after all, we are women!
Start from where you are and design your own trip. If you decide to do this option, let us know. I would encourage you to start another blog about your own trip and we can link our blogs together.

The whole purpose of doing this is for women to share life, encourage each other, and have fun (not necessarily in that order!). Some of us need to be exercising more for general fitness. Some of us are concerned about our weight. Others need to have more fellowship (probably most of us!). Whatever your goals are, join us and let us cheer you on.

Our Birmingham group consists of:


Virginia the dreamer....aka Crazy Auntie 'Ginia

Meaghan the Technical Guru and Nancy the Recruiter. Butterscotch is in the background

Liz the Cheerleader....also known as Meaghan's Mom

We have a couple of other folks in town joining us and will add pictures as they become available.

Nancy is also the picture gal of the week. This picture is another reason why we are not flying or driving or sailing on this trip. Can you imagine how much luggage a group of women would need for this kind of trip??!!

So add a comment and send us a note and let's get going; sunshine and sand are waiting!

New Year, New Start, New Ideas....

2012-01-17T21:38:00.000-06:00

Why Not?!

First things first. A new blog will be starting (I think) in the next few days. Stay tuned....

Earlier this week I wrote about traveling and the things that keep us from traveling. You know, all those grown-up responsibility things? Just to recap, I have a sister who wants to go some place warm where she can feel the sand and hear the ocean. I have a sister-in-law who would love to see more of America. I have a niece who wants to see the Dominican Republic (NOT Dominica...sorry, Megs!). And I have longed to see New Zealand.

Today the four of us got together and started planning our trip. Our route (right now) is Birmingham to the Dominican Republic by way of the Bahamas. This is the first leg of our trip. Our start will be Irondale, Alabama to Tifton, Georgia. That distance is about 268 miles (give or take). We have already left! Yup, that's right, we are on our way. No hotel reservations or worrying about restaurants. We will be sleeping and eating at home most nights. Really.

For Christmas, I gave my fellow travelers a pedometer, a journal notebook, and a water bottle. Today we set up our pedometers. We are going to wear them each day and track our distance. Some of us are also swimming, which counts toward the total; any biking, canoeing, or other activity that moves us will count. The distance from Birmingham, Alabama to New Zealand is a little over 8,000 miles. Of course, the distance with our going to the Bahamas and Dominican Republic first will increase that. We will be finding photos from Google maps to share and if you have pictures from any of the locations we cross that you would like to share with us we would love to see them. Who knows, at some point we just might get to visit one or two of these places in person!

That brings me to another point. I've heard from a couple of folks lately that they wish they could travel. Why not join us?! All you need is a decent pedometer.

I found these on sale at Target, here

No passport, no visas, no plane tickets, no frustrating TSA agents, no hotel reservations or Traveler's Checks to buy food. Just clip that pedometer on and see how many steps you take in a day. It is much easier to have a pedometer that measures distance in addition to steps, although I guess you could figure that out yourself. A computer is nice for tracking progress but a paper map works just as well. Leave a comment every so often letting the rest of us know where you are. As we hit milestones we will celebrate each others progress. If you would prefer to travel to Alaska or Borneo, let us know so we can celebrate that with you too.

This is a new year, with a new start and a new (or maybe just quirky?!) idea. We would love to have your company!

Sunset

2012-01-14T22:40:00.000-06:00

There was an amazing sunset Friday evening at our house. The light in the west between the clouds that the wind had been shoving though all day was pretty. But the pink tints in the east were amazing. Here's what I got. Hope you can get a little taste from this of how beautiful it was!

New Year, New Start, New Ideas.....

2012-01-12T21:42:00.000-06:00

Traveling? Part I

Where would you go, if money and time were no object? What places have you secretly (or not so secretly) longed to see? Would it be a city whose architecture has intrigued you? A place with art-work that leaves you breathless? Somewhere filled with the music that captivates you? A wild, lonely mountain or an endless forest? A home to a people-group and culture that have pulled at your heart you since you were a child? Would it be a warm, sunny place, or knee-deep in snow? Would it be populated or isolated? Would there be fabulous buildings or would it be wild nature in all its glory?

Where would you go?

I have wanted to visit New Zealand since I was young. After seeing Peter Jackson's New Zealand in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, I want to see it even more! My niece wants to go to Dominica in the Caribbean. My sister would love to go to a warm beach right now ~ Tahiti? Bali?. My sister-in-law is more of a Peter Jenkins type than a Peter Jackson ~ she is fascinated by the beauty of our own country and would love to see the places along the way between the East Coast and the West (with a nice lay-over in Texas to visit a dear friend, of course!).

So why not? Why not just take off and go see these places? Because we are practical, adult women, that's why! We have families who need us. We have homes to take care of, laundry to wash, dinners to cook, and kitchens to clean. We have responsibilities in our community and (for two of us) to our employers. Besides that, only two of us have current passports; have you priced passports and visas lately? Then there is the cost of air or ship travel, places to stay, meals along the way.....are you tired yet, because I sure am! Flying is very difficult for me because of medical devices (you try explaining medical devices to TSA agents!). There is the hassle factor of trying to figure out the logistics of such a big trip. Then there is the challenge of only having a certain amount of time before you have to go back home. Could you be content with having to rush through something that you could spend a year (or a lifetime) enjoying? If you were on the beach in Tahiti, hiking through the mountains of Colorado, sailing the Caribbean, or absorbing the mountains of New Zealand, would you really want to feel the pressure of an impending deadline to get back home again?

The old saying tells us, "Home is Where the Heart Is". Our hearts are with our families. While we would love to wander and explore these places, our hearts would be tugging us back home. While we all enjoy breaks from the daily routine, we would all be homesick in a very short period of time!

But there is still a longing to go and travel and explore.

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Days Eight Through Twelve

2012-01-12T12:40:00.000-06:00

Because I got really, really lax with blogging for a week (or actually eleven days if you want to be really picky), here is the summary. Did you ever sing the Twelve Days of Christmas when you were a child and get tired of the song by the time you got to the end and sing the last verse as fast as you possibly could? Hang on, here we go....

Day Eight, January Second: both men off work, trip to get new glasses, reading I Corinthians (Wow, Paul!)

Day Nine, January Third: both men back to work, still really tired, trying to clean house, doing too much, supper and a visit from my sweet, amazing sister and niece

Day Ten, January Fourth: Cold and windy day, eggs from my chickens, lots of quiet desk work and on to II Corinthians

Day Eleven, January Fifth: Another quiet day with more quiet desk work. Conserving energy so I can make it to church on Sunday!

Day Twelve, January Sixth: Warm day. I mean REALLY warm day! Temperatures got up almost to 70. I took a "nap" in the hammock on the front porch. Did you know that sometimes God tells the trees to dance for me? I love the rhythm of the trees in the breeze!

Confessions:

I have still not completely finished the book of II Corinthians. I have finished reading it and finding names and descriptions of Jesus but I have not finished writing them down.
I did not make it back to church yet. My own fault for doing stupid stuff Saturday.
The tree and the decorations did NOT get taken down until Sunday the 8th of January.
I drove my husband nuts because I wanted the un-decorating process done MY way (I'll be playing Frank Sinatra in that biographical movie one day as soon as I convince the directors that my way of doing it is better than theirs).
I am a very selfish and impatient person. I'm working on that!

Stay tuned for January Travels!

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Seven

2011-12-31T23:51:00.000-06:00

On the Seventh Day of Christmas My Father Gave to Me....

...A new year with a new start!

Happy New Year, Everyone!!

I love fresh starts. I love fresh opportunities to redeem my time for God's glory. I have been spending time this week working on having things in order for the start of the New Year. Family finances and budget, Household organization, plans for a home Bible study that will be starting in the next few weeks. Marvelous Mark and I have even been working on planning and preparing an area in our front yard for a cottage garden. As I look over all this stuff and the work that must be done to keep the home stable and working effectively, I am comforted by the words of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. When I begin to get stressed over my ineffectiveness, or grow anxious about all the "stuff" in my life, I read these words again and find my peace and comfort.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:25-34

May you be comforted as well. May God's peace cover your hearts, your lives, and your home this coming year.

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Six

2011-12-31T23:39:00.000-06:00

On the Sixth Day of Christmas My Father Gave to Me...

...the grace to keep going on a New Tradition!

I am continuing to search for names of Jesus throughout the Bible and have decided to make this a "until I re-read the entire Bible" kind of project. I have finished the book of Acts and have had some interesting thoughts about this process that I would like to share.

In the book of Acts there is only one chapter where Jesus is not mentioned by name or title. That is chapter 27 or the Shipwreck chapter. Curious, isn't it?
As I read and write names down on pieces of paper I realize that some names have more meaning for some people than for others. For example, those with a Jewish heritage will get a lot more out of the name "Son of David" than those who do not have that background.
I began to think about how people would react to certain names. If you were to come to my home and take a slip of paper with a name on it, how would you react to one that says, "this man"?
I realize how important it is to emphasize not just one name, but the fact that it is ALL the names that make an attempt to describe in human terms just who Jesus is.
This is not a futile, time-wasting exercise. It helps me see my Jesus more clearly. That is never a waste of time! I trust that God will use this activity for His honor and glory.
During a time when my activity is limited, this is a pretty fun and interesting way to spend my time.

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Four And Five

2011-12-30T09:54:00.000-06:00

Winter Re-Runs!

See Day Three. I'm going back to bed! ;>

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Three

2011-12-28T17:45:00.000-06:00

On the Third Day of Christmas, My Father Gave To Me.....

...A few days of forced rest. I am getting a lot of physical rest. I am having a lot of time to read my Bible. I am having a lot of time to read the book about which my husband has said, "I'm not asking you to read this, I'm telling you to." ~ Waking the Dead by John Eldridge. There have also been a few quiet, craft-y type chores, but mostly just REST. What a gift!

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Two

2011-12-27T12:33:00.000-06:00

On the Second Day of Christmas My Father Gave to Me....

Parents and Grandparents (really, really Grand!) who prayed for me incessantly.

My grandparents began praying for each of their grandchildren twice each day from the moment they knew we had been conceived. They prayed for us, and they prayed for our one-day husbands and wives. When they began praying for me, my husband's parents, who were not church-goers, made the decision to put my husband in a Christian kindergarten program. There he began to hear Bible stories and learn about prayer. Nineteen years later, when my husband became a Christian and began to read the Bible for the first time, he could see the pictures that his teacher had used to illustrate the stories she was telling from the Bible. Twelve years after that, when we were married and had a baby of our own, he had the opportunity to tell that teacher how she had helped him.

My husband loved my Granny (Grandaddy died before he could meet him) and has some wonderful, precious memories of her. However, the most precious treasure she gave him was the gift of her prayers.

Perhaps you did not come from a heritage of faith. Perhaps your memories of your parents and grandparents are things you wish you could forget. That gives you the opportunity to start something new with your own children and grandchildren. And if you have no children or grandchildren of your own? The next time you are at church, I challenge you to take note of just one child. Begin praying for that child. Even if the child and his/her parents never know what you are doing for him, do it anyway. Never doubt that God hears your prayers and will use your prayers in your life and the life of this child!

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day One

2011-12-25T19:49:00.000-06:00

On the First Day of Christmas....

Do you ever sing this song? My mother-in-law was an Avon lady and each year my stocking was FULL of different Avon Christmas items. One of my favorites is this set of tin ornaments that depict the Twelve Days of Christmas. I've always celebrated these Twelve Days of Christmas. My mother would not even think about taking the Christmas tree down before Twelfth Night. Our neighbors may have thought we were a bit wacky but being the house with the five wild children that was nothing new!

We have always continued our Christmas celebration into the New Year. Twelfth Night occurs on January 6th and that is the traditional date when we celebrate the arrival of the Wise Men. In our home, this means that the tree stays up a little longer. The Wise Men do not get put in the Nativity until January 6th, and we try to keep in mind that the season is not really finished. Because of the changes in our Christmas celebration this year due to illness, we will be exchanging gifts on Twelfth Night (What can I say; Mom did not have the energy to shop or finish her hand-made stuff!). I'm going to do something else this year that I have never done before and I don't know if my guys will go along with this or not; it may be better suited to a home with multiple small children. This year, I'm going to move the Wise Men around the house, hiding them each day until time for them to arrive. If my men are interested, I'll invite them to take turns hiding them (Marvelous Mark should love that!). A bit silly, but might be fun.

My other goal for the next twelve days is to continue writing and sharing with you here and to think together about the different gifts we have been given from our Heavenly Father. So leave a comment if you would like, and share with us what gift you are thankful for each day. Doesn't have to be anything earth-shaking; it can be a simple or even a silly gift. But I will start with a serious one:

On the First Day of Christmas, my Father gave to me,

His Only Son who came to set me free.

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Twenty-Four

2011-12-24T21:03:00.000-06:00

Lion of Judah

(with apologies to those who have read this before)

Lion of Judah, Lamb of God,

On this night the Creator of all things,

seen and unseen,

Humbled Himself to be born,

in a lowly condition,

And accepted for Himself a limited human body.

He who spoke the universe into existence

Must learn to talk.

He who taught cheetahs and gazelles to run

Must learn to walk.

He who fashioned whole galaxies with His hand

Can barely grasp His mother's finger

With His weak, tiny, human fist.

And He who abhors even the concept of evil,

Must become my sin,

Suffer my guilt,

Bear my punishment

For my redemption.

My praises, my worship, my exultation

Will transcend even that of angels.

My songs will rise and spread to fill heaven.

I am no longer captive!

This earth can not hold me, for

This baby so tender,

This man of compassion,

My victorious Savior,

My risen Lord,

Lion of Judah,

Lamb of God

Has made me His very own.

May the Lord bless you

And keep you

And give you the strength, courage, and grace

That you need each day

During this Christmas Season

And the coming year

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Twenty-Three

2011-12-24T20:46:00.000-06:00

Priorities

Let's see. It is two days now until Christmas. How is that list I am so attached to coming along?

English muffins for friends and family. One family got a dozen.
Amish Friendship bread finished and delivered to friends and family. Made. In the freezer.
Home-made candles made and delivered. Nope. Not gonna happen.
Home-made rag wreaths finished and delivered. Nope. Not even finished.
Gifts for my sister and niece purchased. Again, nope.
Gifts for my husband and son under the tree. Not those, either
Baking finished for my neighbors and delivered. No.
Baking finished for my guys. Not.
Everything ready for a big feast for family. Sigh. Nope.
House immaculate and decorated. HA HA HA HA!!!!!

So has Auntie 'Ginia gotten anything done??

The Gospels finished and names of Jesus written and in my cracked pot. Done.
Time spent thinking about the names as I have found them. Check.
Time spent listening to some really good Christmas music. Yup!
Time spent with my sister going to watch a silly Christmas movie. Done.
Time spent with sweet friends going to the Nutcracker. Yes!
Opportunities to worship with my Brook Hills family. Yes!
Semi-disicplined enough to actually finish the task of blogging this month (let's not talk about the procrastination factor, please). Yes, by God's grace!
Time spent anticipating the return of my Saviour? Oh yes!

The end of the month has not been what I expected. I will not be attending the traditional candle-light service at my church tonight with my husband, my son, and my nieces. Tomorrow will not include a big gift-exchange in our family. My sister, brother-in-law, and nieces will not be joining us for a traditional Christmas dinner (this will be the first time in a number of years that I won't be fixing my usual standing rib roast and yorkshire pudding).

And it is not only OK, it is fine! As Marvelous Mark naps on the couch over there by the tree, and Dan snoozes in his room while I type in between yawns, I am so thankful for so much! We have one another. We are living in a warm home and have food and water. We are living in grace and have the gift of salvation, the gift of God's word, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Because of the birth, life, work, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven and we have been given His righteousness. When God looks at us, He sees His perfect Son, rather than our imperfect selves. So what else can I say, except.....

Merry Christmas!!

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Twenty-Two

2011-12-24T20:11:00.000-06:00

Rest!

The blessing of illness...I can rest this close to Christmas without guilt! :)

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Twenty-One

2011-12-21T16:26:00.000-06:00

Uh-Oh: Full Stop!

Well. Day Twenty-One has brought an unexpected Christmas Surprise.

For the past week or so I have had some allergy-type drippy nose. Last evening, my throat started being a nuisance. When I looked at it last night, it looked like there could be a little spot of strep. I mentioned it to Marvelous Mark and we decided that with the holidays coming and everything closing down, I might as well go to the Doc-In-A-Box to get checked out and get some antibiotics if necessary. So this morning I trundled down to town to the place we go when we need a doctor NOW.

I saw the nurse practitioner and we had a nice visit. She agreed that my throat looked a little strep-y and did a swab and a blood test. The swab came back negative, but the white count came back elevated. Since my normal white count is lower than average, that was fairly significant. They decided to culture the swab for 24-48 hours and see what grew out but in the meantime go ahead and give me an antibiotic that would cover anything. Great. Start antibiotics, that will cover whatever, I will feel fine in a day or so, and Christmas as usual, right? Not so fast.

I have been exposed to mono. So I asked them to go ahead and run a mono test. Having mono will not change how I treat this, but it would be good to know whether or not it is safe to have the extended family to our home for lunch on Sunday. Who wants to go have dinner in a home where the cook has mono, right?

Guess what? Yup. Auntie 'Ginia has mono. HUGE sigh. Remember all that time I have had lately lovin' on my great-nieces and nephews? Mm-hmm. Now I have exposed them to this nastiness. HUGE sigh. No more time lovin' on them while they are back here; it will just have to wait until they come back for another visit or I save up my pennies and travel to Utah. No big Christmas dinner with my sweet sister and her family. In fact, as I look down the road of the next couple of months or so, I am thinking that my plans to swim at the Y will have to be put on hold for at least a few months. Honestly, would you want to swim in a pool if you knew someone had been there before you who had mono??

So it's time to really think about applying all the things I have been telling you over the past Twenty-One days of getting ready for Christmas. Do I really understand in my heart what Christmas is all about? Or am I getting side-tracked by the cultural trappings? As I put myself under quarantine for the next little while, and realize that I can not push myself but have to get more rest, will we be able to celebrate Christmas as a family without all the "stuff"? Did I mean it when I said that this is a season of celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour and His imminent return? Or is the fact that I can not finish the big house work, cook a lot of stuff, do a little more shopping for my boys, and generally play Santa going to spoil our time?

As I sat in the car a little while ago processing all of this, I knew that this was where it was going to come down to practicing what I have been preaching here. I have to make a choice now. Yesterday I had an unexpected visit with a nun at Walmart. I asked her how I might pray for her and we had a nice conversation about her Christmas plans and wishes with her sisters at the convent. Then she asked how she might pray for me. I asked her to please pray that I could keep my focus on Jesus and not get distracted by peripheral nonsense. Later in the day my oldest brother dropped by for a visit (that is always a special treat!). Again, we talked about how we could pray for each other over the next week and again, I asked that he pray that I would keep my focus on Jesus and not be distracted by the peripheral "stuff". God is answering my prayer. May my eyes be so filled with His presence, His glory and His joy that the other stuff fades away into meaningless background!

And please pray that my babies do not get sick!

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Twenty

2011-12-21T16:04:00.000-06:00

A Little Shopping, A Little Family

Day Twenty brought a shopping expedition to finish that up and some time with family. Spending time with extended family is one of the greatest gifts that I receive each year. I am one of five children, so now that we are all married I have four brothers and four sisters. I have eight nephews (including the two who were brave enough to marry into the family), and ten nieces (once again, including the two who were brave). In addition, I have three great-nieces and two great-nephews (and boy, are they ever GREAT!). This week, our nephew and niece and their four children from Utah are in town to visit their parents and all the rest of us. They are traveling back and forth between the two sets of grandparents which means that they are having Christmas almost every day! My oldest great-niece was given a lovely tea-party game from her Nana and Grandaddy, so we sat down and played tea-party together a few times. Lots of hugs, lots of lovin', lots of silliness, and LOTS of fun.

Merry Christmas!!

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Nineteen

2011-12-21T12:02:00.000-06:00

Hand Made

First, I need to make an addendum to Day Seventeen: we finally got a tree! This was a few days later than usual, but since our tree stays up until January 6th (twelfth night or Epiphany), and since we use a live tree (although that may change after this year!), I don't like to get them too early.

On to Day Nineteen..

Day Nineteen was baking day. I made English Muffins and Amish Friendship Bread for gifts.


English Muffins rising...

When you triple the recipe you have to make it in the big stock pot!

But it makes this plus another six pans.

While I was cooking, this was going on behind the couch! Marvelous Mark was getting the tree all lit up for us.

Sometimes when he gets pre-occupied with doing Christmas tree lights, I have to remind him of this:

Marvelous Mark loves to put on a "humbug show", but I know it is just show!

So now we are lit, and some of the gifts are finished. What's next?!

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Eighteen

2011-12-20T21:17:00.001-06:00

The Fourth Sunday In Advent

Okay, yes, it is getting away from me a little bit! Is it really just one more week until Christmas?!

What a blessing to have a day of rest each week. When I remember to take time to rest. When I don't, I wake up on Monday morning and wonder what in the world is my problem that I did not take time to rest on Sunday?!

We had an especially good Sunday this week. A restful, quiet morning and time to spend mentally and spiritually getting ready for the coming week. I'm still working through the Bible to find those names and titles. We got to spend the afternoon with my sister and her children and grandchildren. The grandchildren told me all about the wedding they had been in the day before and all the things they had been doing since Day Nine. It was fun to light the advent candles with our extended family.

We finished the day with our regular worship at The Church at Brook Hills. We are so thankful to have this family to worship with and this pastor to lead us in worship. Once again, we are working through the Gospel of Matthew and the sermons are available here.

It's getting closer! Are you ready?

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Seventeen

2011-12-19T21:10:00.000-06:00

More Music, Please!

Day Seventeen was a great day! I was invited to a recital that a friend of mine was performing in. This was my friend who went with me to the Nutcracker; she is a VERY talented young lady. She performed Silent Night and Beethoven's Fifth Symphony on the piano (first portion of the first movement). It was so much fun to get to be there with her for this. All the students were decked out in their Christmas finery and lots of carols were played. Kudos to Scrollworks!

The rest of the day was devoted to shopping. That may seem like an excessive amount of time, but it takes me hours to prepare and shop! You see, I have started.....couponing. Yup, that's me. The lady you hate to see in the line in front of you? Sigh.

I got most of my Christmas groceries taken care of. Now I just have to get the cooking done. Our Christmas Dinner menu will be Standing Rib Roast, Yorkshire Pudding, and assorted vegetables.

What are your family traditions for Christmas dinner?

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Sixteen

2011-12-19T11:11:00.000-06:00

Party!

Day Sixteen brought an unexpected party. It seems I am now a full-fledged volunteer with our local library! This library is wonderful; it has all the benefits of a small-town library with all the advantages of being connected to the larger county system. I will write more about that another time but for now, let's focus on the ~~Christmas party~~ inventory time.

I had not expected an invitation to this gathering; I didn't even know it was happening until the day before. My favorite librarian called me Thursday afternoon and asked if I couldn't come and ~~celebrate~~ inventory with them. So Friday morning I got up, baked a pan of brownies, and off I went. We had a wonderful lunch, got acquainted with some terrific people who love to read almost as much as I do, had a little sing-along, and heard the annual poem written by the children's librarian. Small towns are nice, aren't they? Two of the volunteers are local pastors and no one was uncomfortable with the prayers that were offered during our time together. I had some great conversations with a couple of the volunteers about why we celebrate Christmas.

I suppose that after the first of the year I am going to have to be a little busier at the library!

And yes, there WAS some inventory work done. Some. ;>

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Fifteen

2011-12-18T13:28:00.000-06:00

Errands and Questions

Day Fifteen brought a need to run errands. I had several places to go that day; the cleaners, the library, the garden center (a small independent business, not the big mega-center you might be thinking of). It was interesting that after spending day Thirteen thinking about budget and shopping, on day Fifteen the question I was asked each place I went was the inevitable, "Are you done with your shopping yet? Are you ready for Christmas?".

I had the opportunity, each time this question was asked, to talk about how I am preparing for the coming celebration of the birth of Jesus, and His pending return to take His people home. This looked a little different with each conversation. God was faithful to give me the words I needed for each conversation.

I also had time that day to sit down and make "THE LIST"! I'm an incurable list-maker and flounder when I don't have one. That afternoon I took some time to sit and think about the folks I know and love, and start planning some gifts of love to share with them.

Remember the gift of Love that we have all received. Remember in the busy-ness of the next week to take time to share what you have been given. Remember that God put people in your path on purpose; He has given you something that can help them! Take time to demonstrate your concern for the people who are trying so desperately to fill the hole in their heart. Demonstrate your love for your fellow-believers who are struggling in their jobs at the store and have to deal with unpleasant people every day. Have compassion for the people around you. Remember that you often have the biggest influence on the people whom you don't even realize are watching you!

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Fourteen

2011-12-17T22:11:00.000-06:00

Ballet and a Movie

Day Fourteen was a very big and wonderful day. Being the mother of a son I never had a girl to do the "girly" stuff with. I love the ballet and decided that since I was deprived of ballet lessons myself, I would let my daughter dance for me. Oh well! This year I found a good friend who agreed that she would love to go with me to see the Nutcracker as long as we could take her mother and grandmother with us. I was able to get tickets for the four of us at the school rate to the school matinee for the performance by the Alabama Ballet Company. These folks are amazing! The dancing, the choreography, the sets, the costumes, the theater (Samford University's Wright Center); everything was better than I had hoped for. I found out after the fact that there are about nine different troupes in our area who perform this each year. Alabama Ballet is the more "professional" company and they live up to this reputation. My friend, her mother and grandmother all seemed to have a wonderful time. I know I did! The audience ranged from kindergarten children to a lovely lady sitting behind us who is almost 90!

That evening my sister and I finally got to go to the Alabama Theater for one of their Christmas movies. We have been trying to do this since Christmas 2008 and each year something else happened to keep us from going. She was very wise this year; she did not give me a ton of notice so we just did it on the spur of the moment (for me that means only 3 days notice ;>). I had never seen the Alabama Theater before. Oh my!! What a gorgeous, intriguing place. I would love to have a day (a week, perhaps?) to explore all the nooks and crannies there! In case you are not from this area, they have one of the few remaining Wurlitzer Movie Organs left in the world. It has a jack and comes up out of the orchestra pit when it is being played and is lowered back out of the way during the show. There is a lot of wonderful history associated with the theater and the organ.

So Day Fourteen was all about new traditions and making memories!

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Thirteen

2011-12-17T21:49:00.000-06:00

Catching Up: Budgeting and Shopping

Let's get a little caught up here, since I am a little behind!

Day thirteen. By this point I had heard "How is your Christmas shopping going?" so many times that I was beginning to become a little intimidated and second-guess my determination to make this a (mostly) home-made Christmas. So I sat down and did some budget work. Hmm. Not a ton of extra cash to throw around this year. So the next step was to talk to my local ebay guru and learn the basics of how to do some ebay selling. These wound up a bit better than I had hoped. Now what to do?

Stay tuned for: list-making (the phrase that makes the gentlemen in my home cower in fear!)

The other part of Day Thirteen was to permit Mr. Marvelous to go into the spare refrigerator and get the first fruitcake that I had made a couple of weeks ago and have his first slice. No fruitcake jokes please; I know them all (I even wrote some of them!) But really, MY fruitcakes are better than most. In spite of what my niece Anne would tell you. Really.

Here's my funny fruitcake story. My mother in law had a looooong tradition of making these for her family every year. Soon after I joined the family my father in law was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. Now with two diabetics in the family, my poor mother in law HAD to find a recipe that diabetics could eat. So she did. It was OK, but the normal kind was better (and please keep your, "That's-not-saying-much" comments to yourselves!). Several years after she died, my husband started mentioning that he really missed his Christmas fruitcake. So I began my search. I had a lot of her old recipes and I looked through those, but the only thing I could find was the "Light Fruitcake" recipe. Assuming this was the one she had made for the family diabetics, I kept searching, and kept coming up with nothing. Finally, a couple of years after beginning this "fruitless" search, I looked at the "Light" Fruitcake recipe again and suddenly realized that it was not "Lite" fruitcake (calorie-wise) but "Light" Fruitcake, as opposed to "Dark" Fruitcake. Duh! I have successfully made this every year since, and Mr. Marvelous is happy. If you are interested let me know and I will be happy to post the recipe.

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Twelve

2011-12-12T22:34:00.000-06:00

Getting Crafty

We live on a 3.5 acre wooded lot. I think I have mentioned this before.

This fall we discovered that the woods are full of wild grape vines. In September/October this was great, because it meant having a pint or so of scuppernongs, even though our vines were not mature!

But now that it is December, I have suddenly discovered a whole 'nother use for these fast-growing vines: WREATHS!!

First I went out and collected grape vines. Not as easy as you might think if you have only done this at Michael's, JoAnne's, or Hobby Lobby. Grape vines are tough. Grape vines are strong. Grape vines wrap themselves around any available tree/shrub/whatever and CLING FOR DEAR LIFE! So when you go out to gather you might need:

1. Hedge trimmers

2. An axe

3. A step-stool or ladder

4. A tall man (I am so blessed to have two of those in my house!)

So after you collect the grape vines, put the tools away, and make a pan of brownies to appease the tall man/men, you can start shaping them into wreaths.

I have to confess here that when I did these two, I did not really know what I was doing (I know, you are shocked...at least try to pretend that you are). I used black electrical tape to hold them together. Since then, I have discovered a wonderful little corner of Hobby Lobby where they have this:

It is wonderful stuff.

Next, I went into my stash basket and rejoiced that I can not make myself throw "stuff" away because I found this scrap of fabric:

It is not a tie, just an odd piece from a skirt I made a couple of years ago. I tore strips that were about 3/4 inch wide by about 6-8 inches long. I did not cut them, I tore them.

Then I began the process of tying them on to the wreath. If you are going on a car trip to Demopolis, Alabama with your sister to visit the daughter-of-your-heart and your "grandchildren", take everything with you and you will make remarkable progress! Then when you become desperate for something to blog about, pull it out and finish the last 10-20 minutes worth of work that needs to be done to call it finished.

Finally, take all the little scraps that are too small to tie onto the wreath and put them in the clear glass ornaments that you bought when you were at Hobby Lobby.

Decide who you want to give a wreath to. Then go make more grapevine wreaths (using the wire and florist tape instead of black electrical tape) and tie more of those left-over bits from your stash pile. Suddenly your stash pile has a lovely purpose!

I'm thinking about doing some of these for an Etsy shop. What do you think?

What are you making for Christmas this year??

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Eleven

2011-12-12T21:31:00.000-06:00

Third Sunday in Advent...

...And a sick husband. Today we are thankful for antibiotics, strong cough syrup, and a pre-scheduled Monday holiday!

Our day centered around rest and this link.

God's peace to your homes!

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Ten

2011-12-11T15:12:00.000-06:00

Day Ten: Rest!

Do you remember the plans for Day Nine? How my generous sister and daughter-of-my-heart were planning to share the four children with me? They did, and we had a wonderful time! We went to Chick Fil A, where we could meet one of their uncles and their cousin. We ate. We played. Auntie 'Ginia got in the humongous van (the one she had never driven before that scared her silly), drove to Nana's house, and played. And watched Thomas the Tank Engine. And read books. And pretended to take a nap (!). And played. And begged to go play with the Westies in the back yard. And played. And begged to go play with the Westies. And waited for Nana. And yelled "SURPRISE!!!!" to Nana when she came home. And played. And begged to go play with the Westies. And went out with the Westies. And got scared REAL BAD by the Westies. And played. And had supper. And the baby fell asleep IN the big pot she was playing with. No kidding. Head down in the pot asleep. And played. And explained why we did not need to go to bed yet. And went to bed because NANA said so (Yay, Nana!!). And had a story. And sang some songs. And prayed. And asked for water. And giggled. And played. And got in trouble with Nana. And giggled. And played. And watched Nana turn out the hall light because she said if we did not settle down she would (YAY NANA!!). And wore Auntie 'Ginia plumb, slap OUT.

So Auntie 'Ginia went home and went to bed and SLEPT. And Saturday Auntie 'Ginia did not do very much of anything, even blogging.

And that is all that happened on Day Ten after Day Nine.

Except that it all made Auntie 'Ginia VERY, VERY HAPPY!!

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day Nine

2011-12-09T09:14:00.000-06:00

Family!!

Today is a wonderful day. Today I am spending the day with my nephew's four children. I claim these children as my own grand-children (and their mother as the daughter of my heart). Last September, they all moved far away to the land of Utah to plant a church (talk about a challenge!). This year, they have been able to come back to Alabama for a visit and are staying through Christmas, dividing their time between the two sets of parents. Today I get to spend the day with the children. Tonight my sister and I will take them to the Walk Through Nativity at Briarwood Church . It promises to be a cold, fun evening. I have my camera right here beside me; hopefully I will remember to take it so I can post pictures tomorrow. What a blessing to get to spend time with four of my favorite people.

Let's see; dress up materials ready, train videos ready, games ready, books ready, arms ready for hugs....Should be a great day!