Christmas morning, checking the bottom of the stocking. Just making sure she didn't miss something.

You know how you always hear about how teenagers have messy rooms? I never really believed all that but...... If you had seen Sarah Beth's this morning you would believe it! We spent the day cleaning her room today and it took all day too. She has only been in that room for about 2 months but it looked like she was a hermit and had been there for years. She had been having a problem with gnats and I told her there must be something in the room somewhere attracting them. I was right. We found a rotten apple in a sack under the bed. I am just glad that my vacuum cleaner doesn't use bags, we would have went through them today. She did have all 4 birds in her room at one time and all the mess was still there from that. We found dirty dishes and empty glasses and some things she thought was lost forever. Well, it looks great now, she even made her bed and straightened her shelves but it would not surprise me any if in 2 days you couldn't tell we did anything.

I don't remember our rooms being messy at all. Did Mom clean them for us or maybe since I was the youngest I didn't have to do the work? I don't remember having as much 'stuff' as the kids nowadays either. Maybe that is the difference.

Is this my Christmas present?

Belly up to the bar, boys!

Just sitting here watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition and wishing I could give Ty the plans for my log cabin. Wouldn't that be fun. One week it is just an idea and 7 days later we have a beautiful, totally finished log cabin! Ha, I am dreaming again.

Merry Christmas everyone!

We had a lazy day today and loved it. Our church had services this morning but Terry has been sick and didn't feel good at all this morning so we didn't go. Sarah Beth got a new game for her Game Boy player so we haven't seen much of her today. She also got a pre paid calling card so between the phone and the Game Boy she has been a stranger today. Of course, with Terry not feeling good he spent the most part of the day in bed or asleep in the chair. I have a turkey in the freezer but the oven is not working right so we had spaghetti for lunch. I worked on the computer(see below), watched TV(not a good day for TV), and squeezed in a nap on the couch for my self. It's nice to have a day like this once in a while but it does kinda make you feel guilty for being so lazy.

It started to rain about 2pm then changed into big white snowflakes and actually covered the ground. It was really beautiful but didn't last more then about an hour.


Whiskers, the big outside dog decided he wanted to spend the night inside tonight because there has been a hostile takeover of his dog house. I hear the dog and the duck fighting over the dog house all the time and tonight I went out for wood for the stove and noticed the duck in the dog house and the dog begging to come inside. So he is in the kitchen sacked out for the night.


Here is what I was working on today, I went through the old photo albums and found these old photos of Sarah Beth and Santa. It is interesting to see the changes through the years.

I thought this would be a good time to share with you our dream home. Terry wants to build another log home and he gave me the dimensions of 30'x60', two story and here is what I came up with. This is the front of the log house with a full length front porch. I have since decided we would need a porch across this end too but my computer runs so slow while I am designing that I just decided to imagine the porch on this end. Actually it would be up off ground level by about 2-3 feet but I didn't get that drawn either.

This is the back view.

This is the kitchen and livingroom combination (great room) with a piece of the stairs showing at the right.

Another shot of the kitchen.

A shot from the living room.

It would have two bedrooms, a master bedroom and master bath, Sarah Beths bedroom, a small guest room and a bathroom downstairs. And 3 bedrooms and an open family room upstairs.

Right now it looks so big but what I want and what I get might be 2 different things! I love the planning process and the dreaming about how it could be. Don't know if it will ever happen but it sure looks good from here.

It's been a busy week for sure. I managed to get the sign made in time, I hope the lady likes it.
I went to Jasper Thursday and did a little Christmas shopping then finished up tonight. I so wish I could be like you guys that get it all done a week before Christmas but, oh well, I can dream. Sarah Beth is finally happy about what she sees under the tree. It was so bear for so long that she thought we were too poor to buy gifts and was telling us never mind, she didn't really need very many gifts. That was sweet of her but we finally got our tails in gear and the tree is looking better.

Peanut and Destiny have been adopted by their new families this week. They are to be Christmas gifts to some lucky family. I am a little reluctant to sell them as Christmas gifts but they picked this week to be ready to go and I am convinced they are going to good homes. I didn't advertise very heavy this week for that reason. I have 2 left and if I don't get any calls tomorrow I will advertise next week. They should still go pretty fast. We miss them terribly already.

Desi is spending the night with Sarah Beth for a couple days again. She is 9 but looks about 7. We call her a little mouse because she is so quiet and we hardly know she is here. Here mom brought her on Thursday evening and will pick her up on Saturday afternoon. She would have brought her over on Wednesday but she said her daddy wanted her that day. I really don't know what to make of these parents that give up their kids for so long at a time. I know I couldn't leave Sarah Beth with someone else for that long. Overnight is about all I can take and that is with family only.

I can't believe how much noise these crazy cocktail's can make! Sometimes you can't hear yourself think in here. I had to move the cocktails and parakeets in to the living room to keep them near the heat and boy, does it get loud in here! I am ready to sell these birds because of all the noise and also the layer of dust that they deposit on everything within 5 feet of their cage. I guess I could advertise them in the paper like I did the pups. The female is pretty scary but the male loves for you to scratch his head for him.

We Did It!

Shepherds, lambs and Kings costumes made by yours truly........ but not all this year.

Levi was a beautiful Baby Jesus. He didn't even cry.

All the lambs (just 2) were nice little lambs.

A shepherd and his little lamb (little brother really).

Everybody did a great job. Now there it is, that nice feeling I was talking about.

This may be the last time we get to see this for a while. We had to talk her into it this time!


Okay class, we are going to talk about 'feelings' now. I have been thinking a lot lately about all the little things that make life fun, like the feeling you get when you slip on a brand new pair of socks. Like the feeling you get when you get the dishes done, wiped the stove and counters and the back of the sink, folded your rag and lay it across the sink. Like the feeling you get when the dog has had 5 pups and you know she is done and safe and she and all 5 beautiful pups are sound asleep. Like the feeling you get when the pups are about 3 weeks old and you get your first lick on the nose. Like the feeling you get when your kid does something nice just because she knows she should and not because you told her to. Like the feeling you have when you install a program on your computer and it actually runs. Like the feeling you get when you are sitting in the darkened church and the spotlight is on the children on the stage while they sing the last song in the play you have worked so hard on for 6 weeks. You are thinking how each child remembered most of their lines, the borrowed baby Jesus slept through the whole thing and didn't cry. None of the little lambs fell off the stage or ran down the isle crying. The safety pins stayed put in the costumes and nobody got hit in the head with the shepherds cane. That's a good feeling! Like the feeling you get when you've got your kid all tucked in, your teeth brushed and your face washed and the lights turned out and you crawl between nice cool sheets and shut your eyes. Life is good!

Any of this sounding familiar? Like the feeling you get when your house is finally all cleaned up and you get to get a cup of coffee and a magazine and sit in your nice clean living room and relax? Oh, no wait, I have never had THAT feeling! Don't know what that would feel like but I know I would really enjoy it!

Okay everybody, your turn. What are some of your favorite little moments in life? What gives you a good 'feeling'?

We found this neat website where you can cut out virtual snowflakes. Check it out, but be forewarned, it can be addictive! This is one Sarah Beth did. It is not one of her best but it looks difficult.

After the cookie baking day we had at Lois' house, (thanks Lois for the loan of your kitchen and ovens) I had to hurry home and wrap about 10-12 gifts for the King family Christmas party. I am so glad Sarah Beth is big enough to help with that now, she had the living room floor and I had the kitchen table and near the end we were sharing the one roll of tape we had left so that was a bit hectic. I took the black walnut oatmeal cookies, the hickory nut pie and some black walnut candy. We managed to bring home about 2/3rds of the cookies, 3 pieces of pie and most of the candy. That's great because I was afraid I wouldn't get any of it.

There were about 28 people there and she had tables set up so every body had a seat. So what is new in the King family? Not a lot. Larry has lost about 20 lbs. Mike had gained about 50 so he made a great Santa this year. Susan lost probably 100 lbs. Good for her! She looks so much better. Madison is almost 3 and is scared of Santa Claus, Dillon just turned 2 and is just learning to talk, Sarah Beth will be 12 soon and has decided she is too big to sit on Santa's lap but we managed to persuade her one more time. Janelle is pregnant again so we will have 29 people for next Christmas. Casey is a teenager now so he is in his strange looking phase, long hair, scraggly goatee and baggy clothes. Ryan is married now so he is out of his strange looking phase and looks normal again. All in all every body is healthy and happy and ready for what the next year will bring.

Jessica came home with us to spend the weekend and so she could be here today to practice for the Christmas play we are attending Wednesday night. Chelsea came home from church with us so we had a house full of pre-teens again today. They pretty much stay out of my way so I don't have any complaints. They stay in her room or outside except when they get hungry! Today Chelsea and Jessica both got their feet wet trying to stand on the ice at the edge of the pond! We had some stinky shoes on the stove for a while trying to get them dry again for Church tonight.

Instead of church we went Christmas Caroling at the housing tonight. We tried to dress warm but there isn't much you can do to overcome 32 degrees and a slight breeze! Most of the old people either were not home or had already gone to bed so thankfully it didn't take us very long to get all the way around the complex.


I have a busy week coming up, I have a cedar sign order I have to get done this week, I have to sew a shepherd costume and two turbans for Wednesday night, I have some ebay sales to ship out and still need to do some Christmas shopping. Also I advertised the pups for sale in next weeks Jasper and Bloomington paper so this should be an interesting week ahead. I just thank the Lord I am able to do these things. It's like a preacher I heard one time say, "How many would rather be here in church then the best jail in town?" That got their hands in the air.

Cookie making day with Mom and all the sisters!
I see oatmeal walnut, molassas crinkles, potatoe chip cookies, chocolate chip, and a chocolate kiss suprise.
Mom always said that she was too short on one end!
Watch the pro at work!
Are you sure you are doing that right?




Watch the artists at work now.
This was fun and a suprise that we all managed to be there. Sorry I had to leave early but Lois said she would bake my peanut butter cookies. Lets do it again next year.

I just figured out how to add something new to my Blog. I will add more photos as I can.

It was raining, sleeting and snowing again when we got up this morning so Terry couldn't go to work. These days really bug him because there are people with their hands out on Fridays and if he can't work he can't get paid himself so we are getting a few lessons in trusting the Lord to take care of us and to supply our needs right now. The Lord has come through every time before so we will continue to trust and hope the weather clears soon.

We all went to the shop today, I put some stuff on ebay and Terry worked on making some handcrafted Christmas presents. I thank the Lord we have that ability, it does save some money sometimes. I made a cedar sign for one of the King family that I drew their name and Terry made some cedar squirrel feeders for some other presents. Sarah Beth didn't get any school work done, I guess we can call it another snow day but I only let her watch the Animal Planet on TV so she learned about snakes and reptiles.
It is nice to be able to spend the day together, I enjoy that but it doesn't happen much.

Here is one I found on my computer that I like, it warms me up just imagining that hot August day.

Since Terry didn't work today we went to Jasper. My car was still in the shop so we took Terrys little truck. That was one cold ride! There is no heat in the truck and the gaskets are gone from around both doors. Sarah Beth was fine, she was squeezed in between us both and of course it didn't bother ole macho man Terry but I was not a happy camper! It was probably about 35 outside. I did remember to bring a quilt and an extra coat and I put them to good use. I was covered from top to bottom. People driving by must have thought for sure he had a dead body in there. We stopped at the garage on the way back and I was never so glad to see my little car as I was tonight. At least the last 10 minutes of the ride home I had some blessed heat!

Here is one way to spend your snow day. Terry went to the woods this morning to work but nobody wanted to work so he came home. They look like they are having fun but wait until you see the one where he dragged her over the part of the driveway that the road grater had just cleaned off. Gravels don't feel so good on the little behind!

I sure wish this kid had some one to play with.

Here is an argument for not having an 'only child' ,unless you have a lot of time to 'play'.

Here is where she said it was not so fun, they actually ran the bottom out of the sled. She is laughing, not crying.

Yvonne, you were talking about "Those were the days." Well, you are so right. For me these are the days (she is 11 now) and I want to enjoy them the to the fullest. Some day I will look back and want to experience her at this age again so I am trying my best to enjoy these times while I have them. I know I am having the time of my life!

Well, here they are. 5 weeks old now and eating solid food. If you think this was easy, well, think again! Did you ever try to get 5 puppies to sit still and all look the same way at one time? It is usually a wild old time. We usually have to have a lot of action and a big noise to get their attention. I get Sarah Beth to play the part of the jumping, yelling court jester and she is good at it. Even this picture is not real, I had to cut and paste a head on that was not looking the right direction. I am not telling you which one, you will have to figure that out yourself. It shouldn't be very hard.

We did venture out to the shop today but it was a hairy ride! We had the opportunity to go to Louisville to hear the Hoppers sing but decided not to go that far away because we would have to come back on these icy back roads late at night. It would have been fun but the weather had other plans.

I didn't get my hickory nut pie made or the black walnut oatmeal cookies but I did make some walnut candy with boiled brown sugar and butter, a little milk and a lot of powdered sugar. It is good but very rich.

The Kings Treasures

How about that snow? This is Sarah Beth's creation. She must have been feeling artistic. I went to the shop for a little while this morning and said I would start home as soon as it started snowing. I wasn't expecting the sleet, rain and ice! By the time I got packed up and started home it was already bad. I made it home safely (Praise the Lord!) Terry showed up about 2 hours later, and we are all home safe, full and warm. You can't get anything better then that!

Terry wants some black walnut, oatmeal cookies and a hickory nut pie so we have been cracking nuts. He cracks them outside and brings them in and we pick nuts while watching TV. It makes the house smell like walnuts!

Sarah Beth just found out that tinsel is a good conductor of static electricity! No matter if you are 6 foot away, if you hit the TV screen with one end of the string of tinsel you will get shocked! You should have seen the look on her face.

This was sent to me by the owner of one of my puppies. Her name is Hope and she is one of Sofia's last puppies. I don't get many pictures of when my puppies grow up so I was tickled to get this. Isn't she adorable! She almost looks full Yorkie. When I saw the picture my first reaction was, "Ahhhhhh, I want one!" as if I didn't already have 5 of them.

I Corinthians 13 For Moms

One year around Mother's Day I heard on the radio an excerpt from something called, I Corinthians 13 for Moms. I liked what I heard and wrote the station an email asking for a copy of it. They sent it to me and I wanted to share with you some of what I thought spoke to me. I won't bore you with all of it but here is the parts I like. It is written like the Love chapter, you know, Love is kind, etc.

....Love is kind when my child says, "I don't like you anymore!"

....Love is not rude when my spouse innocently asks, "What have you done today?"

...It always perseveres through blue nail polish, rolled eyes

and crossed arms, messy rooms and sleepovers.

...It always trusts God to protect our children when we cannot.

Where there is talking back, it will (eventually) cease (Please Lord?)

Where there is a teenager who thinks she knows everything,

there will on day be an adult who knows you did your best.

For we know we fail our children, and we pray they don't end up in therapy,

but when we get to heaven, our imperfect

parenting will disappear. (Thank you Lord!)....

I have to go back and read this every once in a while and remind myself that, "This to shall pass."

I was just going through my collection of photos looking for something to share with you tonight. I found this and it is one of my favorite. It was taken a couple years ago but it is so typical of Sarah Beth. We had purchased some old boxes of junk at and auction and acquired a mouse nest in the process. We were unloading at the shop and discovered about 5 baby mice. During the ride home in the back of the truck the mommy mouse had moved all her babies from the box they were in to under the mat in the back of the truck. She was still hanging close trying to keep and eye on them but by the time we unloaded enough to get close to them she decided to abandon ship. When we found them under the mat some had already been smashed but 2 were still alive. They were only a few days old, still pink, blind and hairless. I was ready to throw them over the hill but Sarah Beth would have none of it. She was determined to take them home and try to raise them. But of course, you know who would be getting up every 2 hours to feed them. Yes, Me! We did manage to keep them alive raising them on kitten milk from a dropper and kept them in a fish tank for a while. The sad part is while she was playing with one, it disappeared under the couch cushion was not alive when we found it. ( I think I sat on it). The other one's story is not so sad, It jumped out of the fish tank and found its own way in the world. I don't know if it was in one of my mouse traps or not but I guess it is best we don't know. We can imagine it had a long and happy life with many, many grandchildren.

How would you like them puppy eyes begging you to throw the ball? He'll just stand ther looking at you like that for the longest time, until you run him off or throw the ball.

It's up and it's pretty. There's one less thing I have to worry about for the next 3 weeks.

I found this picture among Sarah Beth's collection. I thought it was cute

Hildie's neck looks better today, I am treating the ear infection with medication inside the ear. Terry has to hold her down for me, she doesn't like to be messed with much. She is taking antibiotics twice a day and the swelling has gone down so maybe we can get it right this time.

We will miss you Lois, 2 weeks sounds like a long time but I know you will have fun down there is Florida while it is in the 30's here. Just get a lot of pictures.

I put a roast in the crock pot this morning and made mashed potatoes and green beans for supper. Terry said I made enough mashed potatoes for a couple weeks! I guess I did but he don't mind eating leftovers. I don't make real mashed potatoes very often so when I do I make enough to last a while. The roast was great, melt in you mouth done. Love it!

Our Christmas tree is looking great. Sarah Beth did it all. She is showing an eye for the artistic I think. She wouldn't put just anything on it, said it would look messy. I'll have to take a picture of it soon and share it with you. I am just glad she is old enough to do it now. I never was very enthused about decorating for Christmas but I have my encourager now and I have to follow orders so it gets done, sooner then later this year.