NYE

Chris is working Winterfest this year. Clay snapped that pic of him last night before things got really crowded. Can't beat working it & getting to be there for BOTH nights of the activities & right down front too! And yep....kind of very spur-of-the-moment Clay & Jon ended up going...both last night & tonight. There really wasn't anyone there that Ashley was overly thrilled about seeing so she opted to stay home. She said if it had been Toby Mac, then that would've been a different story. Some of the artists they've heard are Family Force 5, Third Day, Hawk Nelson & Newsboys (with Michael Tate) will be ringing the New Year in from 11pm-midnight.

Today is Anna's 9th birthday......so we met them along with Maw, Mari & Katelyn today at Pizza Hut for some birthday lunch. Her party is going to be NEXT Saturday. Above, she's opening her cool back pack/sleeping bag combo that she had been wanting. Now she's all set for her visits to NC to see Grammy & Poppy.

Katelyn, Anna & Ashley

Poor Daniel...he was the only boy there today amongst a whole bunch of us girls! He did NOT want to get in the picture with the girls, although I tried. So, this is the shot I got instead. Such a BOY! ;-)

After a yummy lunch, Ashley & I went on to run some errands & get our groceries. Just had to check out Target & a few others to see what kind of after-Christmas deals I might find. Didn't come home with too awful much.....just some wrapping paper from Target. One roll for .63 & 3 other bigger rolls for $1.25 each. I'm all set for NEXT year now. And I was most pleased to find my new slippers! Just thought I'd post a picture here for Sandee.....since she was asking if I got any new slippers....so, yes ma'am, I did! ;-) Ran by Mickey D's on our way home this evening......I had promised Alli & Michael that I get them a treat for supper. So, now here we are cozied up in our jammies, by the woodstove, getting ready to watch a movie & ring in the New Year.

2010 Recap

Just looking back over my older blog entries this morning & decided I'd do a kind of 'Year in Review' since we are winding down on twenty-ten here & getting ready to head into a bright New Year.

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The kids rang in Twenty-Ten at Winterfest up at LU.....with the likes of Skillet & Toby Mac! What a way to bring in the New Year!

My Alli-Cat turned 11

And I celebrated my 45th birthday.

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February

Maw turned 70 this year & we surprised her with a party in the old TRBC fellowship hall

Chris celebrated his 21st birthday with a blizzard! We got about 11" of snow. They had cancelled classes the night before so we got up EARLY & took him to breakfast at IHOP. What an adventure. At least it made for a memorable birthday!

On Thursday night before Chris' BD....since they were calling for the 'Blizzard', we had an impromtu celebration at Maw's house with Sarah & the kids.

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March

We celebrated 23 years of wedded bliss!

Spring Break.....Easter shopping & of course a coffee break at Starbucks!


Rebuilding the old sawmill....after the roof caved in with all the heavy snow over the winter.

Garden planting

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April

Casting Crowns concert at TRBC

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May

Chris & Ashley Cates started dating at the end of April. They celebrated her BD before everyone went home for the summer.

Chris & Matt finished up their junior year!

Mother's Day

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June

Night fishing at Smith Mt. Lake

Sarah & Chris Belle came for a visit

Family Day at Smith Mt. Lake

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August

Michael celebrated his 13th BD & got this adorable little Pom......Rocky

Chris & his buddies begin their last year together at LU!

Frito Lay Company picnic at King's Dominion

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September

Back to School pool party at church

Michael shot this big guy on the Youth Hunt Day.

Ashley's 17th birthday

Family Reunion

Visist to Granny & Papaw's in NC

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October
Jon's first deer of the season

Drumheller's Apple Festival

LU Homecoming

Michael shot this guy with his bow

Scare Mare

Halloween Party at Maw's house

Ashley & Chris celebrate 6 months together.

Clay's deer

Family Day at Peaks of Otter

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November

Thanksgiving Day


Daniel's 6th birthday!

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December

Clay's 45th birthday

Merry Christmas!!

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'Every good & every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights.'
James 1:17

Thank you, Jesus for the gifts you've given over the past year! We look forward to what's ahead!!

A little of this & a little of that......

Feeling kind of crabby this morning...like all the stuff & clutter was getting to me!! Not sure why I was feeling so crabby.....definitely not a crabby time of month or anything like that....but nevertheless......I started in the bathroom after I took my shower....cleaned out my make-up basket & threw away the old icky stuff & organized what was still good. Aaahhh....just that little bit of tidying up helped. I really hadn't planned on cleaning up the rest of the house/putting away the Christmas stuff til Saturday, but guess what........I started when I came down after my shower.....I was just going to gather all the kitchen decorations & get them in order on the table. But one thing led to another & before ya know it.....I had all the Christmas stuff down, I dusted & put all the other stuff back in place & even mopped the floors. Big AAAAHHHHHH! I ran out of time before supper, so I decided I could leave the tree & tackle that tomorrow. Kind of nice to get things clean & back in order after all the Christmas chaos.

Hookiness & Hot Tea

Well, I must say that Chris is feeling MUCH better now thanks to lots of prayers & good ole home remedies. ;-) He has consumed his fair share of hot Chamomille tea with honey & lemon over the past several days. BUT.....now Jon & Alli both have sore throats. *sigh* I need to make a run to the store for more honey, tea & Nyquil. LOL! Hopefully they can rest & get to feeling better again here before too long. Also praying that Ashley, Michael & Clay can steer clear of it if at all possible.I pulled out my Granny Stripes yesterday afternoon....fixed myself a nice cup of tea & sat down in the nice warm sunshine for some much-needed hooky time.

I'm loving how the colors are coming together. No plan at all as to the order of colors.....just kind of how I think they look good together. Look at the sun playing through the windows here.....I totally adore the afternoon sun when it comes around to my dining room windows. This is my most favorite time of day & I love sitting in MY spot here at the craft table whether it's crocheting or scrapping or whatever. Pure heaven, I tell ya!

Cozy After-Christmas Days

"When I sit at my computer to write my blog each day, I do not have any great expectations about gaining anything much. I am not attempting to boost sales, to fish for compliments, to gain recognition. But all the same it is very very nice to feel appreciated, and to know that by some miracle, my words and pictures do reach out into the world and generate little ripples of inspiration, happiness, brightness. And in turn, each and every one of your comments sends it's own ripple of happiness and brightness back through my window, like a ray of sunshine. That's truly how I see it, and how I feel about blogging. I absolutely love the rippling connections that take place back and forth between me and you, the giving and receiving that occurs in both directions between blog-writer and blog-reader. I think it's absolutely fantastical."

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Quoting Lucy at Attic24 above....Can I just DITTO what she has expressed there. I agree whole-heartedly with the sentiments she has expressed!!

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Yesterday was very low-key for us. Just playing catch-up with the laundry & enjoying some down time. Alli & Jon were set up at the craft table & spent some time painting together. This is Alli's painting...


...And the beginnings of Jon's. He's finished now, so I'll have to get another picture of the finished product.

The sun was so pretty yesterday evening about supper time as it was going down behind the mountains (hills) that I just had to run out & snap a few pics. Of course, these just don't do it justice...it was so much prettier in real life.

I spent quite a bit of time reading....between baskets of laundry yesterday afternoon. I'm trying to finish up 'Redeeming Love'...it was due back at the library yesterday. We ended up not making it out there on time yesterday....but that's ok....I can finish it this morning & then we'll take it back....just ONE day late. That's not the end of the world! Since I was so concentrated on reading, I never actually picked up my Granny Stripe blanket.....but I did keep this little basket close at hand & was able to whip up a few more little squares for my collection. These are all done with left-overs from the Granny Square afghan I have on my bed right now. Plus I'm going to throw in a few squares with the colors I'm using in the Stripe blanket & these little guys will be used to make a matching throw pillow. I already picked up a square pillow from Good Will the other week for $1.35....just the perfect size I was looking for....just right for covering. ;-)

Hope everyone is enjoying these cozy after-Christmas days....I know I sure am!