Peace, Joy, and Love

Here's to a Christmas Eve that's full of wonder, joy, and celebration!

Love from Plain

lost and found

Since when does a first haircut turn you from a little sweet precious baby boy into a toddler?  Seriously!  I was afraid this was going to happen when we finally decided to get that hair out of kiddo's eyes and stop the mullet before it got too redneck...  which we did this weekend.   Where did my tiny little baby boy go?  He is lost.  And this is what I found...

I present to you... (sniff)

My boy.  He's growing up so fast!

This evening we tried to get him to say "Cowabunga, dude!"  (You know, flashback to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).  It was pretty hilarious when he finally got out the words "bungabunga dude!"

December is a crazy month

Yup, December is crazy.  And as much as I may whine about being busy or not having enough time in the day... I do just LOVE this month.

I love the special family birthdays -- Aleksandr, Sue, Serenity, Haakon, Josh and Steven.  Whew!  That's a lot, but apparently a good month to share time and experiences with one another as we see some of you for parties!

I love decorating for the holidays.  Yes it can be cheesy.  Yes some people go way over the top.  Yes even I have many lights and ornaments and a few wall hangings in my house... but I have no guilt over "commercialization" of Christmas... because for some reason it sort of brings back the magic that I remember Christmas feeling like when I was little.  Hope, expectation, joy... all those feelings.  I remember just laying on the couch in the dark with my sister Kirsten and just talking and staring at the lit up tree and listening to Little Drummer Boy off Mom's favorite tape...  I swear it was magical and so much fun!  I know those feelings aren't a result of the decorations, but somehow they are connected in my mind because of how much I love them when I was younger.

I love Christmas music!  Top favorite album for the season -- Amy Grant Christmas.  Just can't go wrong with that CD.  Then Late Tuesday.  Their rendition of O Holy Night is AMAZING.

I love cold weather and snow outside, and a crackling fire on the inside.

I love that Gravity rarely has too much work in December, and so I get to keep Steven home with me a lot :)

I love the parties and many excuses to see people that you love, both family and friends!

I love seeing an outpouring of generosity from many folks I know to those less fortunate -- food, gifts, money, volunteering...  and I love giving back to the community I live in, in small ways, and hoping to be a blessing to someone else.  

I love Oly.  Enough said.

I love ALL OF YOU READING THIS!  and here's a shout-out to Grandma Hazel - it was so nice to talk to you last night, and I am sure glad to know that you and Grandpa Russ enjoy reading this blog :)

Happy December 9th.  Happy birthday Josh!

top 10

When it's 18 degrees outside, and I am tired and hungry, and annoyed, driving home from work, trying not to hit a deer, I sometimes wonder why I like living in the boonies...?  You know?  But I just ran across this silly ad that someone forwarded me awhile back that has some funny points about living in Chelan County.  I think it's TOTALLY cheesy, but true, and a fun reminder.  Just thought I'd share it with you!