How humiliating! Meg had her first and last heat cycle over the holidays. Next week we go to get her spaid.  

Handsome boy. Finally a picture with you smiling Mike! 

Deanna in all of her Christmas finery! Gotta love those shoes and that bling-bling purse. 

Drake (mike's best friend from Wisconsin) came to spend Christmas with us. 

My favorite lotion and soap, Thanks honey. 

Maybe the back of this box will tell me how to get a birdie or a hole-in-one with these! 

Kitties like Christmas too. 

Oh Christmas Tree..... 

No snow, just ice
I had to work an overnight shift last night (the 26th). I left at the regular time and in fact a few minutes later than usual because I thought I should have pretty smooth sailing and wouldn't have to worry about bad roads since it hasn't snowed for a week or so. Boy, was I wrong! I pulled out of the driveway and started going up the hill on our road and proceeded to get halfway up the hill and slid down backwards. Needless to say, I was a little freaked-out. Apparently during the day it had been warm enough to melt the snow and then it turned windy and cooler after the sun went down and there was a big sheet of ice on the road. I had to call Randy and tell him to come out of the house to help me. Thank goodness for cell phones. He helped me drive it up the hill and I walked up to meet him to be on my merry way. What was so ironic about the situation was that on Christmas Day we had to leave to go to Annette's house and experienced a similiar problem with Randy's truck and had to use the 4-wheel drive. I was teasing him about me being able to get my car up the hill and what a hunk of junk his truck was (ha-ha). Luckily, he didn't remember that last night. I hate to admit it, but sometimes you just need a man!

Candy Cane  

Christmas and the Candy Cane
The smell of a peppermint candy cane brings to mind many Christmas memories. I received a poem about a candy cane a number of years ago and I wanted to share it here with everyone:
I hope you enjoy this candy cane
As you take it in your hand, turn it upside down and you will see the "J"
that reminds us that He is the Good Shepherd.
The stripes are a reminder that He was beaten for us
and the red color reminds us how He shed His blood for us on Calvary.
The white tells us how He can wash our sins white as snow.
As you taste your candy canes this season, be reminded that fellowship with Jesus is ever so sweet!

I can learn a few things from my kids!
Yesterday I had to pick up our neighbor Joey and bring him to the bus stop. Our road is glare ice and his driveway was no exception. They have a little bit of a hill to get up the driveway to their house. I did okay getting up the hill. But, when I was trying to turn around to go back out of their driveway, I couldn't get the car turned around because I was spinning on ice and snow. After a few futile moments of trying, I let out a sigh and said a few choice words under my breath. I then resigned myself to the fact that I would have to call my sweet, loving husband at work and tell him that I had the car stuck in our neighbors driveway. How humiliating! and not a task I was looking forward to because I knew he wouldn't let me live this one down for at least the next 6 months. Mike looks at me and says "mom, why don't you just try to straighten out the wheels and back up." I looked at him and said, "How would you know what to do, you don't even have a driver's license." But, I figured I had nothing to lose accept the call to the hubby. So, I did and we were able to turn around and drive out of the driveway to the bus stop. WHEW! that was a close one and Mike grinned all the way to the bus stop. Gotta love kids.

We're having a great time! 

California boy! and his cute cousin. 

Beach beauties!  

OOH this water tastes terrible!!!!! 

Today the hubby and I did some Christmas Shopping. We had a nice time and enjoyed our day together. We went to church this morning and left right after that. His sister took the kids home with her so they wouldn't be bored at home by themselves. It was cold and windy here today. Although not as cold as Wisconsin, I hear. I wanted to post some pictures of the kids at Virginia Beach this summer. We went in the middle of September and had a great time. I like to look at pictures of warm weather and sunshine at this time of the year. It helps to chase away the winter blahs. I hope you enjoy them.

I will always love you precious and I miss you. 

I love that smile Deanna! 

Yesterday was a rough day for the kids and I. We said goodbye to our very dear, loving friend of 17 years, Precious (our kitty). We will miss him tremendously. He was laid to rest yesterday at 11:45am. He has been sick for about 6 months, unable to maintain his weight and having a hard time getting up once he is laying down. I don't know what made him continue to hold on in his condition. I think he just wanted me to make the decision for him. I had to him put to sleep because he was nothing but a rack of bones. There are no words to describe how I feel today and probably will feel for a long time to come. I feel like part of my heart was ripped out. I actually had chest pains yesterday all day. I am sure that I will get over this eventually. It is just a big adjustment to lose a pet you have had for half your life. He used to sleep with the kids when they were babies in the crib. He would stretch out alongside them and sometimes put his arm around them as if he were protecting them. He has seen me through some of the best and worst times of my life. He always purred whenever we came home or paid the slightest bit of attention to him. There will never be another cat like him. He was a wonderful companion to us and will be sadly missed. I am positive he is in heaven looking down at us and feeling 100% better and that gives me comfort.

Our friends in the backyard 

Michael, Herc, and Meg relaxing on the couch. Meg is saying "Let me sleep and quit taking my picture 

Betty and Mr. Kitty sharing a little hug 

Hercules and Meg snoozing 

Today the kids had school and I had quite a bit of housework to catch up on. It took me most of the day, but I finished most of it before the kids came home. They are bored and looking forward to Christmas and a vacation. Although two days after they start vacation, they are usually bored to death. I guess when you are a parent, you can't win sometimes.
OOPS, I posted two pics of the house and labeled one of them wrong in the above posting. I am not the most computer-literate person you will ever meet. I am just proud that I was able to post any pictures. Here are some pictures of my animals doing what they do best.

Snowy day 

Our Hollyberry tree 

Our little house in the woods 

Today the kids had their first snow day. There will be many more as I hear from the natives here. We received a mere' 3-4 inches of snow and the kids got out of school yesterday by 10am and had no school today. Yesterday they let them out before it even started to snow. Needless to say, the 14-year-olds screams of joy could be heard resonating for miles around. Being the typical 14-yr. old, he would much rather sit at home and hone his videogaming skills than sit in class and perfect his math or english. Our little princess had stayed home yesterday due to a sore throat with much trepidation and was very relieved when the kids got released early because she didn't feel so guilty about missing the two hours of the morning. She hates missing school and is a very academic child much to the chagrin of her older brother. The snow is still covering the ground, but quite a bit of it melted today because the temperature was 36-37 F here. They don't have much in the way of snow removal equipment and are not great at sanding or salting because the theory is that its a waste of time because if it snows, it doesn't seem to stick around for more than a few days. The drive home Monday evening from work proved to be a bit challenging and I was not happy with their theory after slipping and sliding 25 miles on icy, sleet covered hilly roads. Our nieces spent the day with us today because they woke up to no electricity which meant no heat and mom and dad both had to work. The kids had a great time playing in the snow here and then they went to their house to slide.I have heard some of the old-timers talking and they say that we are in for a cold snowy winter. Time will tell....... If the kids are still in school July 1st making up snow days, you know they were right. I will post pics of the snow tomorrow.