You Don't See That Every Day

Sometimes something amazing happens once in a great while. Like Halley's Comet. I still remember my 7th grade teacher's excitement over this flying ball of gaseous rocks. The work in progress This past weekend I had amazing idea come to life. That is something that rarely happens. So, it wasn't quite as ethereal as Halley's Comet, or any comet really. But it was cool enough for the Mr and I to look at each other and go, Oh yeah. I'm glad we made this happen.  Back in November I began to anticipate the Christmas break. Two weeks to sleep in a little, and not run around so much. I know my kids like the break from school, but not necessarily the break from friends. As my mind was whirling with to-do lists, I came across a Facebook post from a relative who has a tradition of decorating graham cracker "gingerbread" houses each Thanksgiving break. A lightbulb began to glow in my mind. Why not get my kids and their friends together to do this?!...

I'm getting a crown this month. Unfortunately it isn't gold, it doesn't have diamonds, and there is no title associated with it. No, I got to wade into the swamp of dental work this week. Not something many people look forward to, except for maybe the dentist. My back tooth needs a crown, so earlier this week my first appointment included a number of drills and numbing material and 2 hours in the dentist's chair. And then a week (or maybe more, who knows?) of not being able to chew on one side of my mouth. And not eat hard, crunchy food. (So long beloved cashews.) But there is a positive side to this! I've been much more aware of what I'm eating. I haven't been prone to mindless snacking, -- which has played right into the journey I have been on since summer ... Back in August I went clothes shopping with my teen girls. It was depressing. Nothing fit right, everything looked dumpy on me. And I was not used to this! I was the kid who could eat anything an...

There was a time when having something going on every night of the week made me so excited, and by the weekend I was ready for more fun. That time has passed. We have had something going on every night for the past 11 days straight, along with the daily events and fun things thrown in there to keep my homeschool kids from rising up and firing me. Last weekend we went to Seattle for the day to see my niece married to a great guy. It was fun to show the two younger girls who went with us, the sites of Seattle, even though those sights were found due to a couple of missed turns. Earlier in the week my sisters and I took the two youngsters to a Nativity 'festival'. We visited a place that had a large room/gym (?) full of Nativity scenes. It was like they could read my mind. I love Nativities, and am slowly gathering my own collection of them. But this collection from all over the world was just ... well it made me happy! These pictures are just a few of what we saw. The du...