WELCOME TO MY WORLD!


So glad you could stop by. Hope you have a cup of steaming hot coffee and a few minutes to sit back and relax. Thanks for visiting. Leave me a message.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

New Year's Eve

I keep meaning to post my Christmas pictures and still have not done it, but here it is already New Year's Eve and I am thinking back over 2008 and looking ahead to 2009. It has been a quiet day at my house and I've been able to do a little cross-stitching, enjoying the Christmas tree, loving the beauty of the snow falling, and oohing over the drawings my boys are producing. It is a nostalgic day thinking back over the happy times of this year. Happy new year to all...

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Victor's 11th brithday




Our older boy, Victor, turned 11 on December 23rd. I always try to make a special meal and this year was no exception. Amish meatloaf was the specialty this year. Delicious!! Instead of a birthday cake, Victor likes "Oreo Fluff". So I made that and put a Bunker Hill tractor on it to represent all the fun times we had this summer at the Bunker Hill truck & tractor pulls. (I can't seem to "find" the pictures of the cake!)

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Friday, December 12, 2008

Christmas Cookie Exchange

I hosted my First Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange at my house on Thursday December 11, 2008. Last Christmas I wanted to do this but didn't get my act together soon enough, so I started planning for this year as soon as Christmas was over last year. My cookie exchangers were my sister Brenda Lynn who could not be here, Sandra Grabill, Joanna Pears, Valerie Quales, Debbie Goodenow, Melinda Mattern, Amy Stratton, and Melanie Thomas. So including my cookies, we had 9 different types of cookies. YUM! Here's what we had: I made Cream Wafers and Brenda's Dipped Gingersnaps, Sandra ~ Rich Double Peanut Butter Cookies, Joanna ~ Thumprints, Valerie ~ Mexican Wedding Cakes, Debbie ~ Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies, Melinda ~ Sugar Cookie Cutouts, Amy ~ Shortbread Cutouts, and Melanie ~ Peanut Butter Blossoms. Oh, what a spread! My table never looked so good!

I started out the evening with refreshments. I had a couple loooong subs from Wal-Mart, Sunchips, and applesauce. For dessert I had mint wafer cookie and cheese logs. To drink I had Tang, Wassail, and coffee with vanilla carmel creamer.

After our tummies were satisfied, we played a Left/Right game using salt dough snowmen ornaments that I made a few months ago, "Name that Christmas Tune" with Valerie helping me out on my mini keyboard, Christmas Trivia, and "What is in your purse". I had a blast and it seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves.

Finally... the reason we were gathered together ~ to swap Christmas Cookies. Each lady shared why she chose that particular cookie and then we got our extra trays and started going around the table gathering cookies. There were 6 dozen of most, so each lady got to take home 8 cookies of each kind. Oh, how wonderful those "going home" trays looked! And the delight on each face made it worth everything!

Ladies, I am already looking forward to next year with great anticipation and am hoping we can spread the word and have a few more ladies to get in on this fantastic way of having lots of different kinds of cookies with just the effort of doing one kind.

Now, I will have to add a little PS to this story. Although I have been planning this for months on end and have had my invitations out for weeks on end, on Monday I was not sure I was going to be able to go through with it. I started having a pain in my left foot Thursday of last week and it gradually got worse and worse. By Monday I could not walk on it. I went to my doctor and he sent me for X-rays. Said that I probably had a stress fracture. I was unable to do much of anything. I about ready to call off the party. Then My dear darling husband came to my rescue and took a vacation day the day of the party and got the house cleaned and in order. So HE pulled off the party for me!! I am so grateful for his help since I was very limited in what I could do! Another PS. The x-rays showed no stress fracture. Doc says it is a sprain. So it is the "hurry and wait" game of healing and mending.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Sisters of Encouragement Christmas Gift Exchange




Our annual Sisters of Encouragement Christmas gift exchange was held in the warm cozy new parsonage this year. How delightful that was to gather there with about 28 other church "sisters". The food was scrumptious and the fellowship was refreshing. Our pastor's wife was a wonderful hostess.

Oreo ~ our Cocker Spaniel


Oreo... our sweet puppy ~ 11 months old

Our Christmas Tree


Putting up our Christmas tree

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving @ Barbara's Mom & Dad