Christmas already??

I know some of my friends think I'm crazy, but we have already started decorating for Christmas! I love Christmas. My Papaw started me in my love for all things Christmas. He always had lots of lights up & a life-size manger in his front yard. I do have a manger scene similar to his to put up in my front yard but will wait a little closer to Thanksgiving to put it out. 

Here is our downstairs Christmas tree. The decorations on this tree are more fragile. I decorated it. The stable under the tree was made for me by my brother many years ago.

 Here's a close up of the mantle with all our stockings hung.

 This is the "window" in the middle of the living room. 

(Rockband equipment is not part of the Christmas Decor!)

This is Jessica's Christmas tree. It is in her room & was decorated by her.

 This is David's Tree. It is in his room & decorated by him.

Here is Jamie's tree, decorated by her & in her room.

This tree is in the loft upstairs. I put the lights on it, but the kids did rest of the decorating themselves.

 Here they are in front of their handiwork.

On Tuesday, we had a very warm day so we put up our outside lights. David convinced me to use my rope lights to outline the playground.

He was a big helper & helped me wrap them around the playground.

The kids also had fun laughing at me as I threw the light strands up over the big cedar tree behind the playground.

It took several tries to get the strands to go all the way across the

 top of the tree as my throwing was not very good.  

In front, I put lights across my garage & down the porch post.  I also zig-zagged a few strands across my bushes. I think I need to get a few more strands for the bushes.

The kids were enjoying being able to run around out front while I took pictures. They keep begging me to turn the lights on at night but Hubby has a rule that before Thanksgiving we only turn them on to test them. But if other houses in neighborhood turn theirs on early, then we can too.

I thought this last picture was really cool. It is of the skinny window right beside my front door.

I have crocheted snowflakes that my Mamaw made hanging on the window.

The light glowing through the paper shade made a very cool effect!

Thanksgiving? and Halloween!

This has been a busy few days. On Thursday we went to the in-laws for an early Thanksgiving since they will be in Florida on Thanksgiving & this was Hubby's week at home.

Here is Jamie & Grandma hanging out watching TV.

Here are David & Jessica playing with Grandma's Halloween decorations.

 

My Mother-in-law took this picture of Hubby & I. (Yes, you are seeing a pic of me!)

Here's a family pic!

Hubby & Jess were being a little goofy.

Then Monday was Halloween. The kids posed for a few pictures before all the fun started. We had friends come and trick or treat with us, but I did not get pictures. We had a lot of fun.

 

Hope you all had a great Halloween too!

 

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Fall Pics

Just wanted to share with you a few pics I've taken the last to months of some of God's beautiful world.

It's cheered me up looking at them & thinking of how wonderful it is that God shares

just a taste of Heaven with us. I think this world is beautiful &

can't wait to see Heaven as I know it's far more beautiful

than anything I've seen here on earth! So, enjoy!

Do you see the beautiful butterfly?

This last one is taken from a vehicle.

It can not capture the beauty of the sky at that moment.

There were rays of light just shining down,

almost as if God was letting a bit of His Glory shine through & illuminate our way!

 

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Another new health diagnosis & adventure

Lately I've been so terribly tired & have had little to no energy to do anything. I sleep 8-10 hrs & feel like I've not slept at all. I'm grumpy & irritable. So, I asked my doctor about it when I was in to see him last week for a sinus infection. He immediately set up a sleep study for me.

On Saturday night, I headed to St. Francis Sleep center to have my sleep study. I was shown to my room which looked like a mini hotel room. I completed a computer questionnaire which asked all about my sleep habits & how I felt during the day. After that the technician told me to watch tv & relax a little while she got her other patient ready.

A little later, she came back in. First she measured my head & marked all the places for the electrodes to be attached. Then she put 3 belts around my chest, stomach & in-between to hold different monitors. Then she started cleaning each spot & attaching electrodes to my head, face, chest & legs. Over 20 different electrodes were cemented & taped to me!

Once everything was connected to me & the computer, I laid down & we did a check of all the wires. I had to do a serious of things like open & close my eyes, snore & move my legs. Then it was time to sleep. I think this would have been hard but I had only gotten 3-4 hours sleep the night before.

I don't remember waking much or even really snoring, but I must have as half way through the night, the tech came in & put a cpap mask on me for rest the night.

About 6am, she woke me up & re-ran the wire check. After that she proceeded to take all the electrodes off. The only one that hurt was the one next to my eye. After a quick computer questionnaire I was on my way home.

Today I got a call from the C-pap company to come get a c-pap. So, it looks like I have sleep apnea. I'm anxious to see my test results to see how bad it is. I'm excited to get my c-pap tomorrow so I can start getting proper sleep & having more energy!! I'll let you know how it goes!

Emotional Day

Today Hubby & I decided to drive down to Santa Cruz then drive up the coast. My heart was heavy as we started the day. My cousin Jonna's husband Larry was coming to the end of his battle with cancer. Larry always amazed me with his faith & determination not to let the cancer get to him. He always smiled & was confident God would see them through this. I was really struggling with enjoying the day. As we started our drive up the coast line, I got the call that Larry's battle was over & he was no longer suffering but instead in Heaven. My heart ached for my cousin Jonna.

I tried not to cry as we drove. We rounded the corner & caught glimpse of a magnificent little beach. We immediately stopped. Somehow, the beauty of God's creation soothed my soul. 

This little cove spoke so much to me. The rocks had been so battered by the stormy ocean. A hole had even been worn through the rock. Much like the trials of life wear holes in our lives. Yet, the hole added beauty & intrigue to the rock just like our trials & how we handle them add beauty to our lives.

When I saw this rocky ledge being battered by the sea, it made me think of my cousin Jonna. She was like that rock. She was being battered by the storms of this life. She was being slammed by death, grief & loneliness. Yet through all these trials, she was standing strong. God was going to stand with her & keep her strong.

I almost cried more because God had given me the picture I needed to see at the time I needed to see it. Our God is so good & His creation is so beautiful. It overwhelms me & leaves me speechless.

As our day progressed & we continued driving up the coast, God kept providing me with more & more scenes to remind me of His love & protection. 

If you look closely toward the top of the picture, you can see 2 little birds. There were lots of them on the beach. We were on top of them almost before we saw them. This verse popped in my head:

Matthew 10:29-31 - "Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your 

Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to Him than a whole flock of sparrows."

 The beach can be so peaceful, yet...

so chaotic & overwhelming...

Through it all, God is waiting to shine His love down on us & reflect His glory through our lives just like the sun reflects off the water.

 Enjoying the beach with my wonderful Hubby.

More of God's beauty as we drove down the coast on Highway 1.

 I love the mix of man-made & God made beauty.

The beauty of God's creation. I love how blue the lake is. We found this gem as we travelled through the mountains back to our hotel. 

It was a beautiful day filled with emotion.