Christmas 2008

Well Christmas is finally over. I'm glad and sad at the same time. Since we have a blended family, we have several celebrations. First, we had Christmas with my family on Dec 21st. It was so much fun! We all got together at my youngest son's home and probably had one of the funnest Christmases we have ever had!!! Everyone got along, enjoyed the games we played, exchanged gifts with a new twist and ate too much!!! But even Mom had a great time!! Next was the best gathering, Christmas Eve service at Hazel Dell with our church family. I LOVE Christmas Eve services. Our pastor, all the staff and their families do the service and it is so meaningful. Very spiritual and just makes the whole season come together. My favorite part is the end with the candle light part. Just gives the true meaning to the season. Next we were at step-daughters house with hubby's kids. Sometimes this can be very stressful, but this year was very calm and quiet. Everyone liked their gifts and we enjoyed the granddaughter and grandson so much. Love watching little kids open gifts..miss that once our kids have grown up. Next was mother in laws on the 27th. Most of the siblings were there and a good time was had by all. Enjoyed seeing more extended family, some we had not seen for a few years, and once again, lots of nice presents and good food. Mother in law had started a new family tradition this year by having hubby, who is oldest of her children, read the Christmas story from Luke. The little kids were really interested and listened so well. Hope this is one tradition that continues. Finally, yesterday, the 28th, we had Christmas with my boys and daughter in law. Had a wonderful dinner of prime rib...daughter in law is a fabulous cook!!! Played some games on Wii and had a great time. Oldest son got me a Colts sweatshirt that I love, especially since I didn't have any Colts wear and youngest son and daughter in law got me the coolest blanket/throw/snuggle cover. I have already used it even!!! Hubby got what he likes most, Sears gift card!! He loves shopping for tools...guess they are like shoes, cant have enough!! So now we are done. Had to go back to work today to rest..LOL But not really, because next is tax season. Hard to believe it is here again. First we have to move our office to a new location though. Friday is the moving day and I think things will be very stressful at the office until that is done!! Hopefully things will go smoothly and we will get all moved and ready for work soon. Hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and will look forward to a great New Year!!!

Brookside Youth Center

This Thursday hubby and I will be spending our day helping members of our church prepare a Christmas dinner for over 200 kids and their parents at Brookside Youth Center. This is the second year that we have done this for the center and let me tell you that the volunteers get a far bigger blessing than the kids!!! These kids come to Brookside every day after school for a meal, mentoring, tutoring and other classes. They live in the highest crime rate and prostitution rate area of Indy. They are bused in and they are also bused home. Most of them only get this meal and the one they get at school. On weekends, God only knows. During the summer, Brookside has a day camp every week day from 9am to 3pm. One of hubby and Is best friends is a member of the board for Brookside. We will start cooking around noon, the kids will arrive around 3:30pm and go to their classes. We will then provide a craft time for them, dinner and each child will receive a blanket, hat and gloves to take home as a gift. We will also have a worship time and singing time. I am looking so forward to doing this and being a part of this great program. These kids need one thing more than even the food, they just need attention. They come from homes that are filled with stress, poverty and parents, usually only one, who just don't have time for kids because they are just trying to make ends meet. It is a very sad story, but one that is growing by leaps and bounds in this time of recession, crime and a Satan filled world. I just hope that we can make a difference, even if only for a short time in each of their lives. We also hope that we can show God's love to their parents. Let them know we are here for them, we are praying for them and that God loves them very much. It will be a very long day, but I already know that I will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Tis The Season...

I love all the aspects of Christmas. I love being in church on Christmas Eve and participating in the candle light services. I look forward to driving around neighborhoods looking at the lighting displays and trees that you can see in the windows. Going downtown Indianapolis is tons of fun during the holiday. There are the store windows that are so cute, the lights on the Monument Circle and the really tall toy solders guarding the circle. I have lived here for alittle over 6 years and I have still not made it downtown to see the lighting of the circle. Seems like it is always so cold!! I love the holiday, I don't like the weather..LOL We have gone to Christmas at the Zoo and it is really beautiful. They have lights everywhere and there are ice carvings going on, hot chocolate being served and Santa makes a grand appearance. This year we are taking our 2 yr old granddaughter and I know that I will see things through her eyes that I have not seen before. She has a way of making even the cold fun. We are putting up our tree tomorrow evening and I am really looking forward to that. We have a 7 foot tree that we decorate in traditional red and green lights, lots of glass hearts and plaid ribbon bows. We have been collecting rustic ornaments as a couple for the past 4 years. We both love birds, feeding them all year round and watching them from our deck in the spring, summer and fall. So we have several bird themed ornaments. Before I was married, I always had a frilly tree..(that is what my boys called it), but now that I have someone who wants to share this part of the holiday with me, it's fun to do something we both like. Saturday evening hubby's Mom and Step Dad are coming for dinner and then we are taking them to our church's annual Christmas Choir show. It will be lots of beautiful music and fun skits. But even after all this, the one thing I look forward to more than anything is doing Christmas for people who would have had none otherwise. Last year our church started having a Christmas dinner for the kids at Brookside Youth Center. I am in charge of that this year and I will write more to tell you all about it. It is a very special night for lots of inter-city kids. Stay tuned....Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells!!!

Blessings...and Family

We are getting ready to have family overload this weekend. Hubby's parents are divorced and have been very a long time, so we usually have 2 dinners with his family. So tomorrow at 8am we are starting off our holiday by serving. Hubby, myself and teenage son are going to a very low income, high crime rate area of town to help prepare Thanksgiving dinner for anyone who shows up. Just to let you know how far out of our comfort zone we will be, we have to call the person who is in charge when we get there so he can unlock the door for us. They have to keep it locked at all times because of the surrounding neighborhood being unsafe. But I know that God will keep us safe and if He decides it is our time, at least we will be doing His work. After we are finished, we will attend an evening meal at Hubby's Mom's house. All of his siblings and extended family will be there. It will be fun and nice to visit. On Saturday we are hosting a dinner at our subdivision clubhouse for his Dad and siblings again. Not sure who all will be there, but it will be a good time. Hubby's Dad suffered a stroke on May 1st and has lost most of his sight since then. He can see some things but not well. We are just glad he is here and able to be with us. Sunday we are traveling to my Mom's house after church. She likes to go to the cemetery to put the flowers on Dad's grave with my sister and I. It has been a long standing tradition that my sister and I give to our Dad each Christmas a box of chocolate covered cherries. We still do that, but now we have to put them on his grave. Believe it or not, when we go back in the spring, usually before Easter, the boxes are still there! We have had beautiful flowers stolen from his grave, but no one ever touches those cherries..I don't get it, but I'm glad they don't. I wont see my kids because youngest son and new bride drove to New Jersey today to be with her family. (They will be with us for Christmas, you know the routine!) Oldest son will be with his Dad, but I am hoping he joins us on Saturday.

I am thinking by Sunday night I will be feeling very blessed. I love being with family, and as ours grows, it is just the best! I also know that helping with the dinner on Thursday will be a tremendous blessing, not nearly as much to those being served as those who are serving. God works like that alot and it is wonderful. So I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope you get to spend time with family and people you love. If you have some time and want to serve, Keystone and 30th, 8am!!!

Birthday Day....

Tomorrow I will be a 49 year old...how in the world did I get to be so old??? It seems just like yesterday I was 20 years old, having my first son. Now that first son will be 29 next year. I don't really feel old, but I still have some "old" issues that are creeping up on me. I am not as healthy as I would like to be, so that is my goal before I turn 50. I need to lose some weight and get healthier. I have had friends my age who have had major health issues and I would like to avoid those. So for my prayer warriors out there, and you know who you are...please pray for the next year that I am able to stick to my plan.

I didn't think it would bother me to have this birthday, but it is very much so. I wonder if I have done all the things I should have up to this point? I know that there are things I wished I had not done, but God has always had His hand in this life of mine and I need to acknowledge that He is indeed in control. There are things I would still like to do, places I would like to visit. I have not been on the east coast and would love to visit New England in the fall. I want to have more grandkids, of which I have no control over!! I want to go camping with my hubby, I want to spend as much time as possible with my Mom, I want to go on a missions trip somewhere..and I want my personal relationship with God to grow. I should write a list of the things I want to do before I retire and the ones I want to do afterwards..LOL Since I have a few years more to work, the list of what to do before I retire should be very long...

Maybe when I wake up tomorrow I will have a different feeling of being a 49 year old woman. Of course I will wake with damp jammies from the night sweats, puffy eyes and really bad bed hair, but I will wake with the knowledge that God loves me, hubby and kids love me and I can even love this 49 year me!!!

Struggling...Church...Life

I am in a very strange mood. I love my church and enjoy being involved. But I am struggling with some issues. For some reason I am not interested in attending Sunday School classes (known as ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship) at Hazel Dell. I really enjoy the lessons and the teacher, but for some reason I am not interested in attending. I am not sure why this is and I feel bad for not going. I love going to worship service and don't want to miss that. Sometimes it is just life in general that gets in the way of ABF. Our class meets at 8:15am and it is very difficult to get up and going that early. Seems like every weekend we have been busy with family. This weekend we picked up our granddaughter, who is 2 1/2, on Friday night. We spent Saturday playing with dolls and coloring books and watching Handy Mandy!! It was so much fun. Then we took her home and attended a great program and dinner at their church. Which meant we also got to spend some time with new grandson, who is almost 5 weeks!!! He has grown so much and Duane and I both just love holding and cuddling him. So that meant we were late getting home Saturday night. So when the clock said 6:30am this morning, we both turned over to snuggle!!! So this week I am going to have to really pray about this situation. I need to attend, but I WANT to WANT to go...does that make sense? We are very active in our church and have made some great friends. But this issue is really bugging me. I will keep you all posted as to what becomes of this issue. But if you have some extra space for a prayer for me, just pray that I can get back into being interested in our ABF class.

Holidays....

Sometimes I wish everyone would do thinks like I do and think like I do!!! I know that sounds vain, but it would sure make my world easier to get along with... Like Thanksgiving..that is my husband's FAVORITE holiday. He loves being with family, eating turkey and pecan pie. He is very much into football and loves to watch the games. My family does not do the big dinner thing so much anymore. In fact, both of my boys will be with new daughter in law in New Jersey with her family. We will be at his Mom's house on Thanksgiving Day evening. We are spending the morning at a church on the south side serving dinners to people who have no where to go or food to eat. So I have invited Duane's Dad and step Mom to dinner on Saturday evening, along with his sisters. Step Daughter and family will be there also. But I would really like my Mom to come and spend the weekend with us. She is alone alot and I don't get over there often enough. So I thought it would be fun to have her come stay with us. I don't think she will though because we are having "company" on Saturday and she does not want to intrude? I don't get that. I know having blended families are hard, but how do you get to know them more unless you spend time with them. And besides, the "company" will only be there from 3pm on Saturday until about 9pm that evening. We would still have all day on Friday and Sunday to do things. I am going to have to pray about this alot. I don't want one part of my family keeping another part away. Whatever happened to The Waltons???