Fetch! (the laugh's on me)

Winter waltzed right in. I witnessed its unrelenting force wreak havoc as child's play. It loosened the shingles on a nearby neighbor's home so effectively that the next minute they danced a rippled rhythm, as a banner high on a pole. So naturally, I sent hubs out to knock on said neighbor's door.
"In this weather?"
"Honey! You would want someone to tell you if your roof was coming off, right?"
I smiled and waved dutifully as he spotted me watching from the sliding glass window, while he pressed against the gale forces to make his way to the neighbor's front door. And in fact, the poor guy didn't know. His storm door had already been unhinged and now the roof. I felt awful for him as we too have been hit with large, unexpected expenses for three Christmases now. But you know, my house is warm and cozy, my kids are still bickering happy and healthy, and we have what truly matters most, faith in Jesus Christ and one another. Glass half full.

It eventually turned out to be a wonderful day. I consider us richly blessed to sit down to dinner together as a family just about every evening, a beautiful blessing indeed. After a good meal(coconut butternut squash pasta), we brought out all the boxes from storage and decorated for Christmas. How I love the yearly transformation. I'll share a bit of that in photos with you, but first a flashback from the earlier part of my day.

You might know we have a new dog, a Yellow Lab named Chance. Goodness, we all love that furry boy and he totally knows it. There are a few behaviors we're working on modifying, but overall he's just a big ol' yellow bunch of love. However, having rescued him from a shelter, we have been dealing with whipworms. Now I'm not one to shy away from the reality that having animals can create some gross situations, probably because I grew up with cats, dogs, rabbits, turtles, ducks, hamsters, and fish. I'm pretty darn used to the various scenarios that can play out when you own a pet. And, well, we've been dealing with an ongoing loose bowel issue since Chance joined us a month ago. Some days it's better, others much worse. He's been successfully dewormed but still the bowel trouble continues. :(

So today, we had to take another specimen to the Vet to be checked for worms. Now, I don't know if you're a pet owner or not. But if you are, you know how "lovely" it is when you're asked to bring in a "specimen." Uh yeah, you have to fetch a biscuit and I'm not talking bread.

Did I mention we had gale force winds?

So I waited until my dog launched the eagle had landed, then grabbed a sweat jacket, tennis shoes, and a baggie and off I went to get it. This dirty job couldn't wait. I needed to get it over with before the poo lay buried under snow or froze to the point of impossibility. The driving snow stung my squinting eyeballs as I stammered through to the end of the yard.

Am I reeeeally having to do this?
Where is hubs when I need him?
How to pick up a steamer with just a little baggie? (no, I'm not asking you; rather, I was asking me as I stood there in the cold being tossled like a wind chime.)

By the time I had answered my own "how to" question, I looked like the rusty tin man of Oz, my wind-chilled fingers frozen and uncooperative. The baggie suddenly got away from me and I nearly twisted my ankle attempting to make a sudden dash to retrieve it. Thankfully, it lodged into the fence posts where I snatched it back right quick and returned to the nasty task at hand.

I inverted the bag, grabbed, and sealed it tight.
Where to put it such a naaaasty little package?
As the whipping wind was quickly lowering my core temperature, I hastily settled on tossing it under the patio furniture. I figured it would be protected from the elements by the canvas coverings that donned each piece. It made good sense.

That is, until a humongous gust of wind kicked up and sent our furniture flying into the yard. That's when I thought I heard, "Cleared for take-off," and saw the steamer go fly-high-ing past our back windows.
Seriously, we had lift-off.
My kids were cracking up. "Look at mommy chasing a fly-away poo bag. Ha hah ha."
They're easily amused (grrr!)

But I'm happy to say I won. I vigorously chased and recaptured that bogus little baggie as it rode on the breeze like the tail of a kite.
SNAP! GOTCHA!!!

Now knowing that's how my day started, I'm sure you'll understand how much more I love how it ended, with decorating our home for the holidays.
Stay warm wherever you are.
On with the photo montage.....


Aw, go on and admit it. He's as cute as can be. He is!


Hubs bought these beauties for me after Thanksgiving, to ackowledge my hard work in preparing the meal for our family.


This cute little tree was created in honor of Hubs' mom after she died of colon cancer in 1995. Is that mini tree skirt and nativity scene the most adorable or what?


I love to line up photos of Christmas past on the stairs. My mom made the snowman.


I am crazy about our fireplace. Our faux cardboard fireplace with its faux flames. Kinda got a deer theme going on the mantle this year (the red one is at least 45 years old.)


HA! That's Cierah with a towel on her head. Why, you ask? Because we're playing a game called Back To Bethlehem and she was instructed to wear a towel on her head as a shepherd. This game gives great cause for laughs, as well as getting the kids to think about deeper things like, "What do you think Christmas morning is like for a homeless person?" Love it. You can find it online at Todd Wilson's website.


This is Hubs when he got home from work today. His company is flying some children to Dallas who lost a parent in service to our nation. There was face painting going on and a little girl asked Hubs if he wanted his nose "painted like Rudolph." He didn't, but said, "How do you say no to a little girl who lost her mom or dad in service to us?" Ten minutes later, he looked like this. :)


I absolutely love my nativity. My aunt found it on sale after Christmas many years ago and I thought it was the most beautiful I'd ever seen. The jewel tone colors are brilliant in person and the pieces are well detailed.

Toni