A Snap with S.C.

I am THRILLED with this picture of the Bear with Santa. Especially since we had to drive 2 hours for the 10 second photo op.

preparing for New Beginnings

What a wonderful Christmas it has been! After attending candlelight Christmas Eve services last evening, we awoke at 6:30 this a.m. to see what the Good Sir Claus left' neath our tree. Too many little boy delights to list but I know a certain young man who will literally collapse tonight at bedtime. And a Daddy, too!

Having gotten better prepared for the holidays than last year. this long Christmas weekend has found me mentally listing all the things I want to implement with the New Year. Better blogging being one of them. I'm also going to be out here lurking around catching up on all of you!

I am going to start carving out more time for myself to do something that has always been so very vital to my happiness: reading. I did not get much time nor opportunity to read anything this past year but I am already working on rectifying that. I have been picking up every book that looks like it might be even remotely interesting. I have even come across some intriguing new (to me) authors; Tess Gerritsen being one of them. "The Bone Garden" was my Thanksgiving read and I HIGHLY recommend it.

I am also going to better structure my business time. This first 8 months on the new job has been insanity to say the least and overwhelmingly satisfying to say the most. The company has passed through the painful growth and transitional phase and we are all armed and ready to really go gangbusters this year.

Although my husband's campaign is truly and officially begun, I am going to work hard at not making the extraneous issues of running for office derail our jobs, our son's schedule, or our life as a family. I picked up a few lessons from the first time around and my skin is definitely thicker for it. Bring it on, morons! Intelligent, responsible voters will do what needs to be done while the rest of them talk out of their . . . Anyways, we're ready to get this deal done so he can keep doing the job they elected him to do. (Quite frankly, as a taxpayer, it bothers me that an elected official has to spend almost an entire year of his term dealing with the retention of his job rather than being left to focus 100% on what we elected him to do in the first place. Maybe that's just me.)

Merry Christmas!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I'm here! I'm here! I cannot believe it has been since August since I last posted. That's simply too long. I will make a resolution right now that I will post and visit at least once a week. That's do-able. Even with my hectic got-too-many-things-on-my-plate life.

I won't go into the gorey details of what has been happening out here in this post but I will catch up soon.

This post is dedicated to wishing everyone the most blessed Christmas season. I hope this finds everyone happy and healthy and not wanting for anything. As we were praying in church yesterday, I found myself not praying FOR anything as much as thanking the Lord for everything. My family has been so tremendously blessed and I am grateful for being tired at night, feeling like I've eaten too much, paying the mortgage and electric bill, and all those things that remind me that I have need of nothing.

May you also find yourself saying "Thanks" to our Heavenly Father for the incredible gift He has already given us and for the redemption that comes with that gift.

Merry Christmas from Mason, Texas!

Christmas-in-Pictures

First look . . . grumbling Christmas Bear -



Lots of stuff!

. . . and some more stuff!

Tearing up some turf!

. . . and to all a Good Night!

Back to Regular Scheduled Programming

I don't know about the rest of you but I am glad to have my butt back in my office chair at my office computer doing my every day job (okay, after I finish this post).

I love the holidays and sharing the true meaning of the season with my family and friends and enjoying all the festivities that go with it - - but quite frankly, I'm pooped.

I just had four and a half days off from work and now I'm at work actually relaxing for the first time since last Wednesday.

Once I get all the photos downloaded from the camera, I'll create a photo-post of the Bear's very wonderful third Christmas.

Hope all of you had happy Christmases, too!

The Greatest Gift

It's 9:15 am and I could really use a nap. The kind of nap that finds one drifting off peacefully and with a happy little smile.

I love Christmas on the weekend. It means that our family's holiday schedule is that much farther away from the hustle and bustle that the secular world would have us caught up in. For us, the cash and carry of days ended at 3:30 on Friday afternoon.

Our Christmas weekend included three special worship services at church, each with its own special focus on the glory and immensity of the Christ child's birth. The tremendousness of the greatest gift we have ever received:

And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." - - Luke 2:10-11

No Spelling before 0800 Hours!!!

The Bear woke up at 4 am this morning. I went in to check on him to try and get him to go back to sleep. Apparently he woke up worried about Santa Claus and when is he supposed to come and does he know what he's supposed to bring?

I carried the Bear into bed with me and Daddy, hoping to snuggle up and soothe his concerns so we could all go back to sleep. No such luck.

The question and answer session continued for about another 15 minutes or so. By this time Daddy is trying his best to get the Bear to just "shhhh, closey eyes and Santa will come see us in a couple of days." The Bear felt the need to re-iterate at 4:30 a.m. that he wanted a big red bike (yes, the color has changed from blue to green and now to red) and he wants a big white dirty truck (?).

Anyway, I start spelling to Daddy that we need to encourage the R E D B I K E deal because that is the color we got and since we're going to Fredericksburg this afternoon do they have a T R A C T O R S U P P L Y because then we can pick up some more J O H N D E E R E stuff to put under the T R E E from S A N T A.

Daddy holds up his hand in the darkened bedroom and without lifting his head off the pillow says, "Whoa whoa - - it is too D A M N early to be spelling at me!"

Merry Christmas!!!!

Gloriously Interesting to Me!

I just got back from the post office and Hubby (the elected official in the family) received yet another Christmas card from a state government official. This time it was from Lt. Governor David Dewhurst.

So far I think we've gotten Christmas greetings from the Governor, two Senators, one State Representative, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, and various and sundry Sheriffs throughout the state.

You wanna know the BEST part??

EVERY SINGLE one of these greetings had a Bible verse and/or a reference to the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

I've been checking the addresses and postage. It looks like they all have personal return addresses and regular old .39 cent holiday stamps. Hmmm . . . I suppose the "separation of church and state" is not going to diminish the personal beliefs of our elected officials.

And I REJOICE in that!!!!