When my grandfather passed away several years ago, it was just before Valentine’s Day… a few days later we received a Valentine’s card in the mail from him. It was a really special moment, and this seems like the prefect project to participate in, to honor his memory and that moment.

Anyone else going to participate?

So I just thought I’d do a random little post on some things I’ve been thinking lately.

I am an emotional person, I am wired that way. As I’ve said before, I tend to absorb the emotions of others around me. This morning I went from being overly excited for someone to being heartbroken for another friend, and I was reminded of Romans 12:15 that says to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, and I wondered if that’s what it means when it says to bear each others burdens.

Christmas cards. I made some. They took way more time, than I should have spent on them, and I’d love to have some pictures here to show you of what they turned out like, but I doubt that I’m going to have the extra time to do that, so you’ll just have to take my word for it, if you didn’t happen to get one – they were stinkin cute.

My dad and step-mom are getting in town on Saturday, and I’m excited about it. I’m hoping that their arrival will mark the beginning of a little more peace, and a less crazy schedule at least for a few days, where I can actually enjoy the time of year we are in.

India, I have not had the chance to put the thought and effort into all of my preparations that I need to. Please be in prayer for me on this. I need to prepare spiritually, I need to prepare practically.

So that’s that. Hopefully I’ll get one or two more posts in before I leave for India (in 19 days!), but even if I don’t, I will most definitely have set up daily prayer reminders for while I’m gone, or will have someone post them for me. I’m considering taking my computer with me, and making an effort to update the blog from India, but I haven’t really had a chance to look into the logistics of doing that – power, internet access, safety of my computer when it’s not on my person, so we’ll see.

*oh, 1 more thing – if you haven’t heard the new Christmas song “Winter Snow” that’s on the new Chris Tomlin Christmas album, you need to. It’s actually a female singing it. I have listened to it a lot lately (in the car on repeat) because it has been a great reminder of God’s gentleness, his peace, the freedom he brings by not pushing his way into our lives forcefully, and that has been a much needed contrast to the craziness of my life of late. Here are some of the lyrics:

You could have swept in like a tidal wave
Or an ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
To wipe away the things we’ve scarred

But you came like a winter snow
You were quiet, You were soft, and slow
Falling from the sky, in the night
To the earth below

Oh, Your voice wasn’t in a bush burning
No, Your voice wasn’t in a rushing wind
It was still it was small it was hidden

You came like a winter snow…

One of the best things about it was being able to spend so much time at my mom’s house, and not be overcome with cat allergies.  Now I still had some issues, but it was so much better than it usually is.  Thanks mom, for making the effort to de-cat hair your house for me.  It worked!

So here is what I got:

• A paper-source desk calendar
• Money (cause that’s what my dad always gets me): with it I bought, a new purse, a paper-source wall calendar, a new shower curtain liner, and shower curtain hooks, a wall shelf for my bedroom.  The rest of the money, I put in the bank – yeah me!
• A nice string of pearls.  My step-mom got them for me on one of her trips to China this past year – China has great pearls, and they are much less expensive over there.  I don’t know if they were technically a Christmas present, or a just because present, as they gave them to me in the car on the way to dinner, and not when we were unwrapping presents.  But I like them just the same.
• Some Bath and Body Works Oil to Cream Body Wash
• Nice Knives – a pairing knife and a bread knife
• Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand – my mom got a copy for everybody, she’s a little over excited about the book – which is typical of my mother (love you, mom!).  I don’t know that I’ll ever read it, but who knows.
• A purse sized calendar, that my mom put together for me.  I’m excited to start using it on Jan. 1.  Gonna be tracking my spending in it mostly.  I had been wanting one, and my SIL actually got a paper-source one for me – which I returned for the desk calendar once I opened my mom’s version.
• A paper/card making supply rolling organizer.  This is one of those presents that I didn’t ask for, but my mom thought to get me anyway.  My mom usually does pretty good at picking a specific gift for me, even when I haven’t asked for it.  It’s usually something, I’ll really enjoy, just hadn’t thought of it myself.  

I think that’s it, but I may have missed something.  Mostly, I just enjoyed spending time with my family, both at my mom’s house, and the weekend before Christmas when my dad and Lynn were here.  I really enjoy spending time with my family, cooking, going to dinner, playing games, and just hearing stories of what’s going on with each other.

One funny thing – even though I listed off several things that I got, I actually didn’t open very much.  Apparently my mom was sorting everyones presents into boxes by person receiving them.  Instead of a box, she just put all of my gifts in my organizer.  My step-dad started helping with the wrapping, and after awhile asked her where the rest of my gifts were.  She explained that she’d put them in the organizer, which come to find out, he’d already wrapped, so I just opened one thing, with everything else in it.

I hope your Christmas was glorious!

1. Buying some of those DuraFlame color logs for my fireplace, and using them.
2. Making myself a delicious breakfast on Thursday morning, and watching the Thanksgiving Day parade.
3. Heading to my mom’s house in the afternoon, and cooking with her and my sister-in-law Erin.
4. Eating my mom’s chocolate pie! As well as other Thanksgiving foods.
5. Going to cut my own Christmas tree with my brother JJ, and his wife Erin, on the day after Thanksgiving.
6. Eating a salad with cranberries, gorgonzola cheese, and some leftover turkey! so yummy!
7. Doing nothing in particular for the rest of the weekend, but hanging out with friends/family, and feeding my new addiction by reading the next installment in the Twilight series (I know, I know, but they are soo good!)
8. Singing at the Sunday PM service.  I always enjoy when I’m scheduled to sing, but I love getting to be a part of this particular service.  We are having communion, taking a Thanksgiving offering, and it’s the first in our “When Love Comes to Town” Christmas series.

It’s going to be such a great week!

I’m off to Phoenix this afternoon to visit the fam. JJ and Erin headed down yesterday, and we are going to have a great time in the 90 degree weather.

We (by we I mean the girls – the boys will be watching football) are making a trip to IKEA tomorrow… I love that place!

We will also likely eat at my parents brunchery a lot. The running joke when we go to visit is betting on how many times we will eat there. I’m going to be there for 5 days, and I’m guessing we will make at least 4 trips, if not 5 to the brunchery. But it’s wonderful! I love it. They have the best biscuits EVER! Not to mention all of the other yummy stuff they have on the menu.

Should be fun!

I was definitely anxious going into it. One of the last things I remember before I was out, was laying there with the laughing gas starting to feel a little fuzzy, and thinking, if I changed my mind right now and decided I didn’t want to do this, I don’t think I’d be able to stop it at this point. Just after that they put in my IV, and if they ever asked me to count backwards from 10, I don’t remember it.

The next thing I remember is hearing my sister-in-law ask my brother if he needed to step outside. My brother doesn’t always do well with needles and medical issues. And apparently as I was coming to, they were explaining a bunch of medical type stuff to them, and taking out my IV.

I actually came out from the anesthesia pretty quickly and pretty well. I think the weirdest thing I said, was that my tongue felt big. KC and Michelle, took me to get my prescriptions filled, and brought me back home, then I had whole slew of friends and family taking shifts with me for the next 36 hours. I’ll write more about that later, and what I learned (am learning) from letting people help me.

I can’t say that it’s fun, but it’s definitely not as bad as I was fearing. I knew if I could just make it to the being put out point, I’d be fine afterwards, and relatively speaking I am. I don’t know that I’ll make it to church today, we’ll see – maybe tonight, but I am planning on working tomorrow, and getting back into the swing of things.

Thanks so much for everyone’s care, support and prayers. I am much appreciative. I don’t know if that’s really appropriate grammer, and now it’s telling me I just spelled grammer wrong, but I am still on those pain pills, so I’m going to let that be an excuse. Thanks again.

When I was young and my teeth got loose, I would not pull them out.  My mother actually had to lie to me, and tell me she was just going to look, but not pull, and then pull anyway.  The thought terrified me, and I would just leave them until they fell completely out on their own.

More recently… I was watching my niece and nephews when Micah lost his first tooth.  I freaked out a little.  Went to the other side of the room, told him I didn’t want to see it, and called his parents.  In the meantime, my 8 year old niece got a wet paper towel for him to hold in his mouth, and a ziploc bag for the tooth.

And that’s all I’m going to expound on the issue.  I just can’t stand the thought of it.  So again, no stories!