Time With The Grandkids

Our granddaughter, Kaylee, spent the night with us last night. Kaylee loves her some Play-Doh. She can sit for hours and watch Play-Doh - related videos on YouTube. We're keeping her her own little stash at our house.

She has on her Spiderman pajamas. :)

Here she is again, playing with her new Frozen stationery set. She made us a card.

Here is me and my daughter with my youngest grandson, Christian.

And here is Christian catching a few zzzz's....

And our middle grandchild, Caleb, age 2...

Caleb and Kaylee playing with blocks...

I plan to start this lighthouse latch hook project soon.

It's been a while since I've done latch hook, but from what I can recall, it wasn't that difficult. I've found a lot more I'd like to complete, so hopefully, I'll enjoy it and can turn it into a hobby.

As stated in last night's post, my husband picked up 3 pizzas from Pizza Hut and we spent a few hours with our son and his family. Kaylee spent the night with us and we watched the ball drop in NYC. I don't know why, but I get a little choked up every year when I see that. I guess it's the inevitable passage of time and how we have no control over it that gets to me. Maybe it's the reality of lost time and what could've or should've been done or said. No sense in dwelling in the past though. Upward and onward, as they say.

Time flies over us, but leaves it shadow behind. -Nathaniel Hawthorne

Lost time is never found again. -Benjamin Franklin

Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door. -Coco Chanel

How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness, how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon? -Dr Seuss

Happy New Year

I can hardly believe it's almost 2015! My goodness!! We'll be eating takeout pizza for supper this evening and will watch the ball drop at midnight. I'm looking forward to the new year and hoping and praying that it'll be a good one.

Happy New Year!

The Week After Christmas

The week after Christmas seems like a time of "mourning" for me. I don't know...I guess all of the hype and excitement leading up to the big day is enough to cause one to 'crash' into melancholia after it all ends. Perhaps it's just me? I know the true meaning of Christmas gets lost in all of the commercialism. It leaves me scratching my head. I was watching YouTube videos this week and a great number of them were uploaded from young people entitled "What I Got For Christmas" or "My Christmas Haul". All of these videos are prefaced with the disclaimer that they're not trying to brag, but of course they are....But, honestly - don't we all contribute to this kind of mentality? We live in one of the richest nations on Earth and let's face it, our kids are spoiled. Mine too. I thank the Lord for the blessing of having been born in the US, but then I think of those in other parts of the world who are much less fortunate than we are and I'm quite ashamed. I don't know where this diatribe is leading. Just a few thoughts I've been having for a few days now...

I'm currently reading these books:

This is the second book written by Shelley Shepard Gray that I've read and I'd highly recommend her books. They're sweet, clean romances and I just adore her writing.

Yesterday, it was a gorgeous sunny day. I spent a while, jacket-free, on my front porch swing reading.

My son and his family are now in town. I haven't seen them in 8 months and I treasured the time we got to spend together today. My 3 grandkids are growing so fast.

Closing this post with a verse my pastor focused on in this morning's sermon:

I Peter 5:8 (KJV) - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

Merry Christmas!

I haven't been much into the "Christmas spirit" this holiday season, which is unusual for me. Nonetheless, it is a day that lightens my spirits and makes me feel a little more joyful than most other days. Today was no exception. My daughter opened her presents on Christmas Eve. Here is a little bit of what she received.

She loves the Frozen movie and all of the songs in it, so we thought we'd get her the Frozen songbook so she could learn how to play the songs on her guitar and keyboard. She also loves Marvel Comics, hence the Captain American Vinyl Pop-Up.

We all met up at mom's house for lunch - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, homemade macaroni and cheese, green beans, chocolate fudge and watergate salad.

Tomorrow we begin the last week of 2014. It's hard to believe it's almost 2015.

Our gas has now below $2.00/gallon. I didn't think I'd ever see that again.

My daughter and I painted our nails last night with Christmas-y colors. Just for fun...

Happy Birthday, Jesus. Peace on Earth and goodwill toward men.

Owl Collection

I love owls. I loved them even before this current 'owl craze' started. They're such unique creatures...and their piercing eyes...

I love how they have such personalities too. I have a little owl collection.

My daughter bought me this owl for Christmas this year. She went ahead and gave it to me.

Just a little glimpse at a candle I purchased last year and just started burning. It's an Air Wick silhouette candle. It lights up and changes colors as it burns. I really love it.

I went to church this morning, then rode up to my mom's house where she had made a chicken casserole, mashed potatoes, beans and tea. I'm making a light supper now and will read a little tonight.

Thought for the day:

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart. -Helen Keller

Christmas Tree Ornaments and Library Books

For the past 2 years, we've had a white Christmas tree with pre-lit lights. It's pretty. I put a lot of pink-ish ornaments on it. Here are a few of my ornaments:

Rudolph and Clarice are watching over the presents under the tree.

I went to the library this week. I have so many books at my house that I haven't read yet, so I really don't need to go to the library, but alas, it's one of my favorite places. I love to read. Here is the bag I use to carry my library books in.

And here are some of the books I've checked out recently.

I'm currently reading these 2 books.

Reading helps me to "escape". I've read over 100 books thus far this year and I still have a few weeks to go. I really don't understand people who say that don't like to read. I can understand not having the time to, but not liking to read....? Haha.

My daughter purchased these "bedroom boots" at Hot Topic (her favorite store) recently for 1/2 off. She loves Ariel. I think they're really cute.

Well, I have a lot to do today around the house. Hopefully, I can muster up the energy to get it all done.

An interesting quote I came across today:

Beware the barrenness of a busy life. -Socrates

Sadness and Depression

I've always been a "wallflower". Ever since I was a little girl, I've been referred to as timid, shy, withdrawn, introverted.....I remember at the age of 4, one Sunday after the church service was over, I was the last person left in my Sunday School classroom. I recall becoming so riddled with panic and anxiety that I nearly made myself sick crying. The teacher stood out in the hall with me as I waited for my mother to come and pick me up. Growing up was painful as a "wallflower". Society makes it painful because children are labeled and are made to think that there is something wrong with not standing out in the crowd. There simply isn't anything wrong with wanting to stand on the sidelines and be an observer. One can learn an awful lot keeping his mouth shut and his eyes and ears open. Some of the most creative people are wallflowers. Sadly, wallflowers also have a tendency toward depression. It is lonely sometimes and the stigma is painful. I went through some pretty rough patches of depression growing up. These last few years I have suffered from severe depression, which is why I've been absent from blogging.

I'm thankful I'm a Christian, though many times, I've felt abandoned by Him over the last few years. I know I have many prayer warriors who have covered me (and continue to cover me) with their prayers. Sometimes, when one is sad and depressed, it's hard to even conjure up the energy to pray. I'm trusting that He will take care of me...He has thus far, after all.