Holiday Meme

I've been tagged for my first meme. Mama Lily tagged me. This one looks like fun too. So here goes.
1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? Defnitely hot chocolate. Sarah brings home eggnog shakes and I think they are disguisting.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Same as Mama Lily, Santa doesn't visit our house. We wrap the presents ourselves. It's very funny when Nathan kicks me out so he can wrap my present. He doesn't even like to put it under the tree in case I guess what it is.
3. Colored lights on the tree/house or white? Well, I grew up with colored lights and always thought that trees should have colored lights. Until I got my own tree that is. We do all white lights inside now. White lights are for houses. I'm very picky about my outside lights. Icicle lights are my favorite.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? This is the first year that I've had mistletoe up. It's caught some people by surprise. It's very entertaining. It's not real obvious where it's hung either so some people will have to hunt for it.
5. When do you put your decorations up? I start putting things up after Thanksgiving dinner. This tradition started a few years ago when my husband's family all went home right after dinner one year. Andrew was in bed and Nathan and I didn't really have anything to do. So he got out the tree and we started putting it together. Now every year I like to get my tree up soon.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish, excluding dessert? I have to agree with Mama Lily again. Defnitely Cranberry Relish and sweet potato souffle.
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? This answer kind of takes care of two questions. When I was little my brother's best friend played Santa at the local mall. I knew that Santa was just a story and he wasn't real. The whole family went to the mall to Santa Bob, as he was called. Fastforward to Christmas eve, I had been in bed a long time, I think I was 4 or 5. Bob's parents called and asked if they could bring Bob over to see me. He had been at a party in his costume and they had some presents for me. My mom got me out of bed and I remember sitting on the love seat in front of the fire with my sister,Shagga Bear. The candles on the mantel had dripped way down, almost to the floor. Next thing I know, in walks Santa. I SCREAMED and ran into the other room. I knew it was Bob but Santa was in my house on Christmas eve. I kept jumping up and down and peeking around the corner. I eventually sat on his lap and I even remember what his parents got me for Christmas. I got a box of crayons, and blank pad of drawing paper, and a couple of small story books. I still have one in my chest in the attic. It's called Teddy Bears Love Hugs.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?That goes along with the last answer. I do remember when I got in trouble for telling my cousin that Santa wasn't real. Aunt Kathy called my mom and fussed at her. I think I was 5. I just thought everyone knew that he wasn't real. Oops. Sorry Kacy! :)
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? When I was little we always waited until Christmas morning to open our presents. Now that I'm older we all draw names, sibblings and sibblings in law. We usually have our grown up time on Christmas eve. We have a party and sometimes there are gag gifts. My husband's first family Christmas was QUITE memorable.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? I use white lights and lots of blue ornaments. I also have some "vintage" ones from my mom, and all the ones I made growing up. I put ribbon around my tree also.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread It? Both, I love to watch it falling and everything covered in white. I also do not like going out in the snow. Hopefully this year I will finally get to go sledding or intertubing.
12. Can you ice skate? Yes I can. I haven't been since I was in the eighth grade. We should do that sometime.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? One year I got a puppy for Christmas. Her name was Candy, short for candycane, because I got her at Christmas. Another Christmas, in Nigeria, I got a puppy. His name was Rebel. He was a great dog, and a real big baby.
14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you? I love traditions, doing the same thing every year. One of those is our family advent wreath. Our Christmas eve candle is always the best.
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Ya know, with so many things I can't eat and things I really really don't like, like pizellis, I really don't have a favorite dessert. Auntie Linda's creme horns are the best.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Christmas eve with the whole family.
17. What tops your tree? A beautiful bow made out of the same ribbon wrapped around the tree. 18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? I love giving presents. I love picking them out and wrapping and seeing facial expressions when they're opened. I also love getting a present. Who doesn't?
19. What is your favorite Christmas song? I like all the old carols. I think my favorite is O Holy Night. Shagga Bear sings an amazing version of this song at our Candlelight Christmas Eve service at church. I hope she does this year too. hint hint hint
20. Candy canes! Yuck or Yum? Yuck...no two ways about it. I think they are gross.

I hope you enjoyed this meme. I shall now tag the following people. Jenn, Heather, Stacy, and Joe and Amanda. Have fun guys.

Wordless Wednesday

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A Few Updates About This and That

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family. I thought that I would give you a little update about all that's been happening in our lives.
Tabitha picked a dress!!! Her wedding dress is beautiful and unfortunatly I can't post a picture because her fiance reads my blog. However, it is hanging in my closet waiting to go get altered. She also picked the bridesmaids dresses. I'm so excited. They are also beautiful and I can't wait to wear it. They are TEA LENGTH ( Thank you Lord) and strapless. They are a soft lavender color with two strips of cream at the bottom. It's really coming together for them.
And now, the Christmas season. :) Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love giving presents. The more I can give the better. This year my husband and I are really struggling with our budget. We want to be faithful but we are also part of a family and we draw names. I've been creative with gifts in the past and am trying to do so again. Any brilliant ideas would be welcome. I have visited Kisses of Sunshine for some great homemade gift ideas. It will be an interesting year, that's for sure.
Here is my verse for today.
"The Lord gives His people strength, the Lord blesses them with peace." Ps. 29:11
"Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again- my Savior and my God!" Ps. 43:5

Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll!

Enjoy your family today. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Peanut's fan club! For more Wordless Wednesdays go to 5 Minutes for Mom.

My 50th Post

Subtitle: OWW MY BACK!!!
This is #50 for me. That's so amazing to me. And now I will press on to 100. In the mean time, Saturday night after our party several of us went bowling. I haven't been in awhile and I'm sure that I used muscles that aren't used regularly. This afternoon at lunch time I started noticing a sharp pain in my lower back. My helpful husband tried to rub it and the rubbing made my right leg go numb.
I've known people that have had serious back problems before but this is my first experience. I'm not pleased AT. ALL.
It really really hurts. And I definitely can't bend over. I've used the heating pad all afternoon and tried to stretch it out but it really hasn't gotten any better.
That said I was supposed to be in a fashion show on Sunday and if this doesn't get any better I won't be walking down the runway in a semi-ugly dress. :)

YEA OHIO!!!

So Ohio won yesterday!! Go Bucks!! We had a huge party and it was a blast having all these people in my house. My mom and husband enjoyed watching me get ready.
I love parties!
I love going to parties!
AND I REALLY LOVE THROWING PARTIES!!
And my big opportunity to throw a great marvelous stupendous party has come. As mentioned in a previous post my sis-in-law is now engaged to Scott. Their wedding is being planned for May and I've been asked to be the maid matron of honor. (sounds old for some reason). However, this is my BIG opportunity to throw an amazing party.
I'm so excited. As the matron of honor I get to throw the Bridal Shower!!!! You have no idea how exciting this is going to be. I've been thinking about it for awhile and Tabitha is going to be amazed. My partner in planning is Sarah who is also a bridesmaid. I've been mentally planning this event for awhile. She's have a spring wedding so I get to have a spring shower.
Won't it be fun??!!??
And elegant??!!??
I'm super excited. It's my opportunity to do it up right!!! It will certainly be one for the books. More details to follow.

I've sworn to wear whatever she picks but, "Dear Lord, please let her pick a tea length dress"...hopefully the subliminal small type will work its way into her head. :)

The Big Game

OHIO STATE ROCKS!!!!!! BEAT THE SNOT OUT OF Michigan!!!!
Today is the big rivalry between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines. Honestly, in a matchup between a buckeye ( a nut off of a tree) and a wolverine I would pick the wolverine. But since I live in Ohio and a large number of fans are coming to my house I think I will just dress my children in red and gray and say, " GO BUCKEYES!!!"
We've having a party to celebrate this rivalry. We had trouble digging up our token Michigan fan but I believe that one of our guests is bringing his friend who roots for the blue and yellow.
I honestly don't really care about this particular game, but it's a chance to watch football and party with friends. I don't need much more of an excuse than this. My husband and I love to have our house full of friends. We have an open door policy. I'm excited cause I love to host parties. Hopefully it will go well. Check back later for an update.

GO BUCKS!!!!

My Cast of Characters

Well, seeing as it's Friday night and I've spent way to much of it alone, my husband has to work late, I thought I would make a cast of characters. :)
Starting with me.
Rachel- I'm the mom of three beautiful children, wife to one amazing man, and landlord/sister/friend to two great girls who rent our guest bedroom.
Nathan- He's an amazing husband. He works in computer engineering and is on the intercessor team at church. All the other members are ladies who are older than him. I call them his "older women". I think it's great that he's a part of the group. He likes to ride his bike and fix things, although it sometimes takes him a loooooong time to fix things.
AJ- He just turned 4. He likes trains, race cars, and not taking naps. He's getting really big and longs to go to school like Puk Puk.
JM- Mister Busy is what we call him. He likes to be in the middle of whatever his older brother is doing, usually involving a train track under construction.

Peanut- I call her "little peanut", cause she's so tiny. She's hilarious, she smiles and laughs. She has charmed Sarah's boyfriend and his friend. She's got them wrapped around her little finger.
Tabitha- My sis-in-law, 21, recently engaged, sooon to be married. She's funny but very busy with school, work, and Scott (her man.)
Sarah- My sweet friend, 19, busy with work and school. Spends most free time with her boyfriend Mike. She loves the kids and spoils them.
So these are the people that live in my house and quite frequently have posts about them. :)

Tabitha's New Ring

need I say more...

Works For Me Wednesday

This is my first Works for Me and I've been thinking about what Christmas tradition I should share. The one memory that is the same for every Christmas. My family has always done an advent wreath. Our wreath is different from every other one I've encountered though.
We start the wreath on the first Sunday after Thanksgiving. The first candle is red and it is for the prophets. My dad reads the scriptures in Isaiah and Micah about the coming of the Messiah. Then we sing a few Christmas carols and pray.
The second red candle is for John the Baptist. Dad reads the story of Zachariah in the Temple and the birth of John the Baptist. We sing "Prepare Ye the Way" and pray together.
The third red candle is for Mary and Joseph. Dad reads in Luke about the angel appearing to Mary and Joseph, and their willingness to obey God. We sing a few Christmas carols and pray together.
The fourth red candle is for the angels and the shepards. Dad reads the scriptures about the shepards out gaurding their flocks and the angels telling them the Messiah is born. We usually sing "Angels We Have Heard on High" and the first "Noel." Then we pray together.
The last candle is white and it sits in the middle of the wreath. This candle is lit on Christmas eve and it stands for Baby Jesus. We read in Luke about Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem for the census and there being no room in the inn. We read the whole story and then sing any Christmas carol that someone suggests. Lastly we pray together and then let all five candles burn down together. It's very pretty to see them all at different heights.
This works for our family year after year. If anyone would like the printout version with the scriptures and everything let me know and I will email it to you.
For more great Christmas ideas head over to Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer for more great Christmas ideas.

Something Some People Will Find Helpful...I Hope

During our discussion time this morning at our MOPS group Heather over at Fantastic Four told me about little Natalie moving the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs during the day and escaping. Her persistance was not wavering. I told Heather about the most awesome baby gate ever.
We used this baby gate in our first apartment. The stairs that led to our apartment ended in our hallway right by our bedroom and the living room. It's a hands free gate that takes a decent amount of pressure to open. The gate swings both directions making it work just about anywhere. AJ was 1 1/2 when we started using it. Our 6 year old neice and 3 year old nephew couldn't open it by themselves. There older siblings could. We loved it and when we no longer needed it we passed it on to a family that needed it. It's very sturdy and holds up to constant use. It was definitely worth what we paid for it. You might be able to find it at Target cheaper.

Thank you to all who have served and are serving. May God bless you.

Thursday Thirteen

For today's 13 I thought I would give you a list of books that I have always loved. And so, without further ado... (hee hee I love that word "ado")

1. The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clany ( one of my all time favorites, along with most Tom Clancy novels)
2. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder- all of them. I think that Little Town on the Prairie is my favorite one though.
3. Margaret's Story by Eugenia Price
4. Vienna Prelude by Bodie Thoene and the rest of the Zion Covenant books
5. The whole Abram's Daughters series by Beverly Lewis. I hate waiting for the books, I like to read them all through one right after the other.
6. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
7. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montegomery
8. Little Women by Lousia May Alcott
9. September by Rosamunde Pilcher
10. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
11. Anything by Agatha Christie, especially Hercule Poirot mysteries.
12. Most of Mary Higgins Clark's mysteries and Sue Grafton's series, A is for Alibi
13. And last a guilty pleasure...Star Trek the Next Generation novels too. I like science fiction.

Next week I'll to a Thursday Thirteen of books that Andrew and I like to read together. Happy Reading!!

My Personality

I agree with Jenn that I feel kicked in the stomach after last night. My dear husband and I are still reeling somewhat. But there is only one thing that we can and must do. We must pray harder and longer for God to change the hearts of the people who were elected. God can and we must believe that he will. And so today...even though I'm down I thought I would post this fun quiz. It's a five factor personality test. I thought mine was pretty accurate. :) I don't know. Be sure and post your comments. I've also enabled it so that people who don't have Blogger ID's can comment too. (hint hint Jodi and Nathan. ) :D

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

The Five Factor Personality Test

Take the test and let me know so I can come to your blog and check it out. :) Have a blessed Wednesday. Oh yeah, I saw this quiz at Kisses of Sunshine.

There Are No Words

At approximately 10:30 pm Ken Blackwell conceded the Ohio gubernatoral election to Ted Strickland. Strickland supports abortion, gay marriage, embryo stem cell research, higher taxes, and all things evil and unrighteous. After much labor, prayers and support this current election is over. May God forgive us and have mercy upon us. You who are intercessors, and those who stand for godliness and righteousness, rise up and pray.
Jesus I plead Your blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. God end abortion and send revival to America.
Jesus I plead Your blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. God end abortion and send revival to America.
Jesus I plead Your blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. God end abortion and send revival to America.
This prayer is going up in front of the Supreme Court daily and I ask you to join in that prayer.

Civic Duty

PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE!!!!!!

As Christian women of God we have a responsibility to get out and vote our values and morals. This election is very important. The Senate and Congress that will be decided will either approve or not the next one or possibly two Supreme Court Justices. These judges will make decisions that will affect the lives of your children, grandchildren, and for some of you even your great grandchildren. Please GET OUT THE VOTE!! Vote values and morals.

P.S. as a pet peeve...if you don't vote then I don't want to hear any complaints for the next two years. :)

Leaves

Thursday night we went to bed with the two trees in our backyard still covered in leaves. Friday morning we woke up to a 3 inch carpet of leaves from the back door to the back fence and from side to side. All weekend long I kept looking at those leaves thinking that the first opportunity we had to rake them all up that it would probably be pouring rain. Well, PRAISE GOD!! it didn't rain yesterday afternoon.
I raked and Nathan scooped and carried out to the road. I forgot to take a before picture. Here is my hunky hunky strong man carrying all the leaves to the road. I think he made at least 15 trips from the back yard to the street with two trashcans each time.
Here is what the tree lawn by the street looked like when we were done.
And here is the yard when we were all done and Nathan mowed. I haven't seen it that nice in months. I love getting things done, especially when my husband helps.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

I understand what Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer is talking about now when she says she composes her posts while in the shower. :) This morning I was thinking about AJ and how much he means to me. He's my special little man. Four years ago today, after 24 hours of labor, at 7:05 pm my sweet little boy was born.

I wasn't alone, my mom and sister were there. In fact, Mama Lily cut the cord. But AJ didn't have a father present. I was a single mom trying to get my life back on track with God. Becoming pregnant with him was the main thing that brought me back to my family. I had been running for awhile and when I found out I was pregnant I knew exactly what had to be done. I started the long road to getting my life back in order. The day he was born was very difficult. Towards the end I was fighting against the contractions. I couldn't handle it. My sis told me that although I have forgiven the birth father that I needed to do it again. And I needed to forgive his family as well. After that it got better and then he was born.
AJ has caused me to grow so much, sometimes daily. I love him but somedays I have to remind myself that he's only 3, 4 now. He's so curious about everything and has a million questions. Some days he wears me out. He so loving and caring. He always wants to help take care of Peanut and JM. His big thing now is to go to school. He really wants to go like Doodle Bug and Puk Puk. I certainly can't imagine life without him. He's my little man, the big boy of the family. Here's Auntie and AJ. They have always had a special connection.

Thank you AJ, for being you. I love you so much. ~Mommy

Blackwell Visits Norwalk

I am very passionate about politics, as some of you know. Today was a very special day in Norwalk. Ken Blackwell, candidate for Governor of Ohio came for a visit at Berry's Restaurant. He spoke about the values of rural Ohio and how he is the right man to lead Ohio. Peanut, with a Blackwell sticker on her back, and I got our picture taken with him. I like to say that she is organizing the campaign for "Babies for Blackwell." I think Daniel originally came up with it. Here we are. Peanut is reaching for his NRA member patch on his jacket. Smart girlie!!

It's really late

My husband is working on a project on the computer. So I'm sitting in the chair next to him on Sarah's laptop. I found this cool thing while surfing around some other blogs. I got a kick out of seeing how many people in the U.S. have my name. I wonder where they all live?? And how many of them have it as their married or the maiden name?? Interesting......

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 261 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesday go to 5 Minutes for Mom.