Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Sabin clan...

It has been a delightful year talking to you...

I'd hoped to make it to 365 posts this year, but I'm going to sign off today...and may not be back until 2010. I'm feeling that vacation-y feeling coming ON!!! That and I have a LOT to do. :)

I want to wish you love, joy, happiness, peace, and contentment this Christmas.

Luke 2:11-14
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

We finally did it...


It's always fun to see the ornaments again...like old friends, you can catch up right where you left off...


Greyley called me out tonight for letting her and Indigo decorate...and then I quietly move them where I want them. She's growing up, I didn't think she noticed that quite yet...


A little bit of sparkly goodness...just a little...


Notice anything strange about this angel?


Looks like maybe she needs to re-do her roots...guess I'll have to take the Sharpie to her again. (Why does the world not believe in dark-haired angels? They are very hard to find! We do have a blondie in the house now, but when we got this angel, she was the only one...we had to take care of that!)

Feels good to have the tree up...any thoughts I had about skipping decorating this year (since it's so late) went out the window as I sat and looked at the tree tonight.


Merry Almost Christmas!

Tribute

I wanted to update you on Doug, Loren's father from The Magoos News...

Doug passed away earlier this week. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Loren and her family.

Loren's brother wrote the obituary and you can read it here.

Doug wrote a few posts on Loren's blog during the months that he was especially sick. He never failed to encourage me with his positive attitude and the courage he had in the middle of such a scary and awful time.

I feel honored to have gotten to know him in even this small way...

Love you, Loren.

Christmas List

What a crazy time it's been...lots of fun stuff happening over here...

Finished the ABC Youth Choir CD this week...

My brother and sister-in-law from CA got in Wednesday and moved into a place in Minneapolis on Saturday..

Sang at the Mall of America with the choir...

Was at Open Studio at the Northrup King Building on Saturday...

Did our end of the year Christmas Concert at ABC last night...

The concert last night was just amazing. I was overwhelmed with it all. It was a spectacular night from start to finish. The Christmas concert at our home church is always a fun time, but I enjoyed last night more than any we've ever done.

I could go on and on about it, but will just leave it at that. I didn't hear the final count, but I'm pretty sure we sold every single CD...good thing I bought 25 yesterday morning. Most of them are already spoken for, but if you're desperate to hear it, let me know and I'll send one your way.

I'm so proud of those kids. They sang their stinkin' hearts out.

NOW, I can concentrate on the next thing~ Christmas! Oh yes! That's RIGHT! I cannot crash now...Must. Press. Forward.

Here's what I'd like for Christmas...besides joy, peace, and goodwill toward men...I'll limit myself to 5 because I just don't want to ask for TOO much... :)

A maid

A personal shopper, Christmas shopping included...of course!

A chef

A masseuse

A driver, someone fully capable of driving in horrific weather conditions

I think that'll do it!

Last Minute

Guess what?

I haven't gone Christmas shopping...

I haven't gotten the Christmas tree put up...

Or the decorations...

I'm not ready.

But you know what?

I'm OK with it.

*****Tonight we will do our final choir performance of the year...7 PM at Apostolic Bible Church...*****

Thoughts on Christmas

A good conscience is a continual Christmas.
Benjamin Franklin

A turkey never voted for an early Christmas.
Irish Proverb

Aren't we forgetting the true meaning of Christmas? You know, the birth of Santa.
Matt Groening

Christmas is a time when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ.
Matt Groening

There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.
Erma Bombeck

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.
Peg Bracken

To the American People: Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world.
Calvin Coolidge

Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.
Oren Arnold

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.
Hamilton Wright Mabie

I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world.
Norman Vincent Peale

Mall of America

If you're in the Twin Cities area, the ABC Youth Choir will be singing at the Mall of America this afternoon, 5 PM-6 PM. We'll be in the main rotunda.

We will have the new CDs available for the first time and we are all SUPER pumped about that. Our last recording was the Washed CD and DVD. We are way overdue for a recording and I'm so excited that it worked out to have it for this Christmas season.

Nate and many others~ Josh, Steve, the band, the choir, guest soloists~ it has been a huge undertaking and we are so grateful to all of you for your hard work. It's been a few weeks with loads of work and very little sleep...a lot of fun thrown in there, too. The music sounds wonderful. I'm so proud of everyone.

Come on out this afternoon and be sure to say hello. If you can't make it tonight, we have another Christmas concert this Sunday night at ABC at 7 PM. Let me know if you have any questions. Would love to see you there.

Yippppeeee!

And the winner is...

jessienchlsn said...

It's not necessarily a carol, but a Christmas song nonetheless: "Happy Birthday, Jesus." It's a good reminder about why we celebrate.

The song also brings back sweet memories of my mom. She began teaching my very young brother this song for a Christmas program in 1995 (he sounded so sweet singing it in his little boy voice). She wasn't able to see him sing it in the church Christmas program that year because she became very sick and died on Christmas Eve. Even so, Christmas is a joyful time for our family as we remember and honor her, and are thankful for the gift of Jesus' birth.

As an ABCYC alum, I can't wait to hear the new CD! I love Christmas music, and the Christmas concerts were always my favorite!

Congratulations!!!

Please email me your address (lori.sabin@gmail.com) and I will send you the new CD!

Thanks to all of you who entered the giveaway.

One More Chance

I'm going to give you a little longer to comment HERE to win the ABCYC Giveaway...a brand new LIMITED EDITION of the ABC Youth Choir Christmas CD.

The winner will be announced this afternoon, so hurry...leave those comments about your favorite Christmas carols....

Yesterday was full and crazy and fun...

Indie and I spent the morning at court for the speeding ticket I got a month ago...

We were there for what seemed like forever, but it was only really a couple hours. When we first walked in, I picked the seat next to the snoring guy. He was sawing some heavy-duty logs. I needed the giggle.

I had the most gracious judge. I watched her for a long time with the others and was so grateful at how compassionate she seemed about every case. I got off easy~ $120 and I just can't get another ticket for a year and it won't go on my record.

Indigo was an angel. Thank GOD! He kept whispering things like, "What does 'guilty' mean?" and when I got back to my seat after being before the judge, he said, "Good job, Mama, you did GOOD!" He was very supportive. :) As we were leaving, one of the clerks walked out with us and said, "You were SO good, we didn't even know you were here!" He wasn't so sure that he liked that...but hearing things like that sure do make mothers grateful...

When I got home, my brother and his wife, Phyllis pulled in!!! I knew they were coming sometime this week, but was pleasantly surprised that they made it this soon. They're going to rent a place in Minneapolis for a few months, maybe longer! I've been waiting to be sure that it really came together, but they're here! And I can't even believe it.

So we spent the day talking, laughing, catching up~ it's been SO long since I've seen Phyllis! She'd never met Indigo either, so that was so fun. They hit it right off. And then Phyllis and Greyley~ they're like two peas in a pod. Greyley is a big knitter, as you know, and Phyllis is a big crocheter. So Phyllis taught Greyley how to crochet. They were both thrilled with that.

Troi, Phyllis and I are all big dreamers, so boy, do we ever have the big plans going...if they pan out~ watch OUT! I'm going to sit and learn. They're both skilled at so many things, way beyond me in so many areas~ every area, really...I'm super excited to have this time with them. It's going to be loads of fun, I can just feel it.

So back to the choir CD...as I write this, Nate is over at the studio, mixing the night away. He has to be done by 8 in the morning, so he will be working all night. Does that make you want to leave a comment all the more? Feel free to comment again, even if you've already left a comment...it will up your chances of winning! Yeah, I know that's not usually allowed, but...go for it.

Good luck! Super excited to give this one away.

Loss

Dr. Oral Roberts passed away yesterday morning. He was 91 years old. What a man.

I had the pleasure of meeting him this past summer...he was very sweet and I was moved by what he had to say. I wrote about meeting him here.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family today and in the upcoming weeks. He will be dearly missed.

I know that it hurts no matter when you lose the ones you love and the holidays are hard no matter what, but it seems to be extra hard when the loss happens around the holidays.

I lost my grandfather at noon on Thanksgiving Day and my grandmother on New Year's Eve. It does put a cloud over things, even though we have had joyous holidays in the years since...

So I'm sending out love and prayers to all of those who have lost their loved ones in this past year...and extra prayers for those in the midst of it right now...that they can get through the holidays with peace in the middle of the pain....laughter in the middle of sorrow. With God, all things are possible.

Proverbs by Girly Muse

It sure takes a lot longer to get somewhere when you're going the speed limit.

This is what I'm constantly reminded of as I drive anywhere these days. After getting a speeding ticket a month ago~ going 20 miles over the speed limit...he gave me a teeny break, saying it was only 19 over to save me a little...thank the good Lord~ I am having to BEhave.

I don't like to BEhave. I like to get there.

And snow has just slowed me down all the more.

The snow is here to stay now. It came last week and it's not going anywhere. We got more last night. And the trucks who, in the past, have cleared the roads the second it starts to snow, have cut back this year. I feel like I'm seeing a big difference. The roads have been a mess...

It's good timing. Maybe having to drive slower on the snowy roads will force me out of my bad speeding habits.

Ha! Can't teach an old dog new tricks...

Speaking of snow...and dogs...

A fresh snow covers a multitude of yellow. Just be sure to remember that it IS still under there.

Foot is DOWN

I love to listen to the way people talk. Accents, quirks, different intonations...they have always fascinated me. I am surrounded by fun people to listen to...I have to correct my children all the time because even though I enjoy hearing it, I don't want THEM to talk that way...my poor, confused kids.

It's Baaaag, not Beeeeg, etc.

I was raised with Southern parents and lived in the South myself and in California too, so at times, I kind of stump people with my accent. I'm trying to keep the Southern thing a little bit alive in my kids, though. It's an upward battle..they're sounding more Northern the older they get. It's inevitable and I guess it will just have to be OK. :)

I have ALWAYS loved lisps...from as far back as I can remember I have loved them. Protruding teeth, too. I should have known I'd be blessed with children who have both. The protruding teeth thing was shortlived, just a few years~ Greyley had a paci for so long, her teeth started going out, out, out. She quit before it was too late and her teeth did go back into place. I loved those teeth sticking out.

But Indie and his lisp...it's here for a while. And I love it to pieces.

I know when he goes to school they're going to have a heyday with him in speech therapy and all that, but I just can't help it~ I love it so much. Everything he says, I just want to eat him up.

The kids had their Christmas program at church yesterday. If I could figure how to get the video on here, I would...I have an older video camera and am a little challenged in some areas on this here computer...but, oh my goodness. It was great.

Indigo laughs hysterically if I talk with a lisp back to him, but he doesn't try to change how he's talking. That lisp is as big as day. Well, in the program yesterday, they sang a little song...

A Merry Chrithmath to you, a Merry Chrithmath to you
Baby Jethuth wath born on that firtht Chrithmath morn
A Merry Chrithmath to you, a Merry Chrithmath to you
He'th the betht friend you'll ever have

Big as day, I tell you. It was lisp heaven. I loved every second.

Well, Indigo got tickled midway through the song because not only did someone else have a lisp (his buddy, Roux), but they were also saying, "Mewwy."

A Mewwy Chwithmath, to be exact...

He cracked up midway through the song, but fortunately, got back on track. It was one of those proud Mama moments.

Then Greyley sang a solo and I melted. My little girl who used to use "Y's" for "L's"...one time she saw a full moon with rays of light shining down and said, "Yook, Mama! That moon has yong yegs yike mine!"

Sniff. I love how I can hear her voice and know it's her. And I love hearing her voice mature and grow...I don't want to ever forget the little girl voice.

I was surrounded by deep-Northern talkers last night. I can't even type what it sounded like, but it sure was entertaining. It's pretty cool how we can know who someone is just by hearing them talk.

For me, the lisp is not even the battle. Keeping my kids from saying, "Cahrrrr" (Car) and "Bahrrrr" (Bar)...THAT is where I put my foot down.

Because there are priorities, you know...priorities, people.

Oh, OK, maybe I'll start working on those S's.

Please Pray

You know the button to the left of where you're reading right now? The one that says, "Please Pray For Doug..." We need you to pray extra prayers for Doug and his precious family right now.

Doug is the father of my blogger friend, Loren, from The Magoos News. Even though I've never met Loren in person, I feel like she is a dear friend. She has emailed me frequently and leaves comments on this blog practically daily that never fail to encourage. I'm so heavy for her right now. Wish I could wrap her up and take care of her for a good long while.

Doug has been through it with cancer...fighting it with strength, dignity, and a positive attitude all the way. Now he has pneumonia. Their last report was not good. He will be receiving 5 days of radiation to help with his breathing. Then, Doug will go to Oklahoma with the family and hospice will make him comfortable. It's all that is left to do.

I can't even imagine. Praying for a miracle for Doug and that a Comfort like no other will fill Loren and her family.

Sigh

Your comments on yesterday's post meant so much to me. It helps just to know that you know what I MEAN!!! Thank you for your advice, your support, and for letting me know that you can relate to what I'm going through...

Whew.

That's the best thing about this blog for me...that I can throw things out there...even when I feel like I deserve to get beat up a little...and know that out there are women who will offer words of encouragement.

It really is what sisterhood is all about.

Thank you, dear friends.

Brace Yourself, It's a Raw One

I'm wearing myself out with my fickleness.

I'm up one minute; down the next. I'm happy; I'm sad...all within the course of an hour.

My tolerance level is null and void. But give me a minute and my heart is full of love and patience.

I was a meanie to Indigo tonight. Feeling so bad about it. It was 10 PM and I was ready to be done for the day. Shut down. No more. Need rest. Or to just stare vacantly into thin air for a little while.

I could tell he was working himself up about being scared before he even went to bed. And I had no tolerance for it. He enjoys getting scared in the daytime, thinks it's fun, can't help being excited about it...but right before bed, he wants to take it all back. I wanted no part of it tonight and meanwhile, he worked himself right into a tizzy, with the end result being he needed to use his puffer medication and thought he was going to throw up.

Midway through my grumps, I realized how awful I was being and tried to turn it around. The little guy, he gave me another chance and I could see he was so grateful for the return of my tenderness. We talked, he calmed down, and went to bed feeling much better.

And here I sits...stewing...and guilty.

If it was a once in a while occurence, it would be one thing. But it's happening way too often. I'm like a loose cannon, you just never know when I'm going to fire off.

I've always prided myself on how NON-moody I am...and if I didn't feel quite up to snuff, I prided myself on not letting anyone know or see that. But it's like that level person has been misplaced with...I don't know what...someone not very nice. I'd like to blame it on something, someone, anything...my doctor has said I'm entering perimenopause a little early. Can we blame that?

I wish I could end this post on a high note...but haven't come back around to that up swing just yet...

Maybe you could just say a prayer for my sweet children and husband...

Wishes Really Do Come True

Can you believe it?

I got my wish...

Not only was Band cancelled, but SCHOOL was cancelled also~ for the ENTIRE day! That's unheard of around here!

We got the call at 5:50 AM, turned the alarms off, and slept. It was wonderful. For the entire morning, it was like living in the Lap 'O Luxury. We slept IN, had fabulous omelets (Nate is the professional omelet maker), and the kids played outside in the snow.

I can't tell you how badly I needed that sleep~ we've been going nonstop for a while now. I was able to recharge my batteries and go back at it full throttle in the studio this afternoon and evening.

I love being snowed in. For all the snow we get here in Minnesota, you'd think we'd be snowed in a lot, but that is not the case. They do not shut down around here for anything~ it has to be extremely dire.

However, rumor has it that there have been huge budget cuts to our snow plows, etc...which I'm thinking could mean more snow days for our future.

I am all for it.

With fresh snow comes one of our favorite treats~ Snow Ice Cream...

My mama taught me how to make it and her mother before her...I actually talked to my paternal grandmother a couple days ago, too, and she was wishing they would get at least one good snow in Arkansas so she could have some snow ice cream.

The people up here haven't really heard of it, from what I can tell...which seems strange since all the snow you could ever want is here in the winter...

Would you like the recipe? We had a lovely batch of Snow Ice Cream (shown in the picture above). Tastes just like homemade ice cream...sooooo good.

Snow Ice Cream
1 can Eagle Brand
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla (we also like to add 1 tsp. almond extract)
Large bowl of Fresh Snow

Mix Eagle Brand and 2 eggs really well. Add the extracts. Get the freshest snow you can find~ the sooner after it's fallen, the better. Stir the snow into the Eagle Brand mixture. Add snow until you have the texture/flavor you want. Eat immediately.

Delicious.

What?

I feel I should clarify that the ABCYC Giveaway CD will NOT have the traditional Christmas carols. Having you comment on your favorite songs is just something fun for me to hear about you, dear readers...so don't expect to hear those wonderful songs on the CD. :)

That having been said, the soulful sounds of the choir will knock your Christmas stockings off.

And on to other random things...

As we were pulling away from the bank this afternoon, Indigo said, "Those bankers are so good..."

"Good?" I was a little stumped. I mean, we like our drive-thru banker, Lynne, and all, but...

"At making those suckers..." he finished.

He went on about how close they get the flavor of the suckers to the picture on the wrapper, etc. He's very impressed with those bankers.

Greyley was in the D.A.R.E program tonight. We went to the morning show since we had to be in the studio tonight. She had a little solo and we were proud Mamas and Papas and Brothers.

Something weird has happened in 5th grade. My daughter is surrounded by giants. I hope she will not resent us for this. Not only is her mother S-H-O-R-T, but we stopped giving her anything with hormones, pesticides, etc., a long time ago. Seeing a large percentage of the entire fifth grade blossoming and towering made us feel like we should get some nebulizers in her and stat.

Hormone-laden milk, dear?

How 'bout a nice pumped-up steak?

There's been a blizzard brewing outside. It took me about an hour and a half to get to the studio~ it usually takes about 25 minutes. Really slick out there. While the choir was singing away, snow was building up, up, and up. It's hard to say how much really accumulated because of the wind and the snow drifting...but it's still steadily coming down.

It's for real snow...not the teensy-weensy flakes that fell for all of a second in Austin over the weekend. "It's really coming down out there!" they said...

Bah!

My wish is that it will snow so much that Red Pine Elementary will cancel Band in the morning (7:50 AM) ...or why not? Let's just cancel the whole day.

Sorry, tried to warn you that I'd be hopping around on topics.

ABCYC Giveaway

It's been another full day. Remember, I mentioned we're doing a Christmas CD with our youth choir? This is the final week before it has to be mixed, so we're busy little bees.

We recorded tonight and then did the photo shoot afterwards. I'd show you a picture of it all, but me and my fellow blogger, Jillie from Spoils of Wear, kept getting in trouble for using our flashes while they were trying to get pictures.

In the morning, I'll go sing with a smaller group and we'll record again tomorrow night. Same scene the next day. Have to play B3 on a few more. Sing even more still...and then poof! It all gets sent off and comes back in a little disc form. Magical. Well, there's a little bit more to it than that, but that's what it seems like to me.

I'd like to do a giveaway with our choir CD. It's going to be great, guys. You're going to love it. If you don't win, you'll still want to order a handful of them as gifts, etc. But for now, let's think of a way for you to be part of the giveaway.

The announcement of the winner will be on Friday, the 18th. We will be singing at the Mall of America that evening and will have the CDs just in time for that concert.

Here's how you can enter the giveaway:

Between now and Thursday, the 17th, tell us your very most favorite Christmas carol and why...a winner will be randomly drawn this time. Otherwise, I seem to want to make you all winners. (Even though, technically we ARE all winners...)

Can you tell I haven't had proper sleep yet? I feel like the lights are on, but no one is home.

In fact, the lights aren't even on...

And no one is home either...

Noddin'

We made it home.

I'm plum near tuckered out. That's Southern for I'm soooo very tired.

It was a wonderful weekend.

So good to see the kids. They made signs for us. The one on the back of our vehicle said, "Rock Star (shape of a star instead of spelled out) Pickup Here..."

"We love (shape of a heart) you, Mama and Daddy~ Indigo tried to make a heart and informed us right away that he made an "R" instead of a heart shape on accident.

We also found out that at the basketball game he wasn't really sure of cotton candy because it "looked like wolves' fur..."

I sat between the two of them on the ride home and it was so good to feel their hands in mine. They both just patted and hugged and caressed my face and arms...it's so nice to be loved. I sure do love them too.

One thing to say about the plane ride home: Those head rests are NOT all that. Didn't do me a lick of good. My head bobbed and carried on just like it always has when I can't stay awake. I need a chin strap for those things to really be effective. I was hopeful with the whole curving head design, but nope...didn't stop my head from getting whiplash with all my drowsing off.

I'm missing everyone already. Wish all my dear friends could be right here by me. Staci and I always want to know the next time we're seeing each other and we don't this time, so that's making me sad...but it will all work out.

I feel like I made a new lifelong friend in Chad. What a great man he is. I remember him when he was a little boy so it is so neat to see what a cool person he's grown up to be. He's a delight. I'm going to brag on him to his mama a LOT.

Allen was as feisty as ever and kept us simultaneously shaking our heads and laughing hysterically. He's rotten and so very fun. Nate pulled out some teasing on the ride home from the airport. He was around Allen all weekend and said he'd had someone else covering the teasing...it apparently built up...I was kinda proud of him for how long he (sort of) abstained. The two of them when they get going, whew. ! Craziness ensues.

I could go on and on about that, but I must go to bed. I'm going cross-eyed. I've got clean sheets waiting for me right this minute.

Blink

Our last day in Austin...

We have a soundcheck at 7:30 this morning and services at 9 & 11 AM. We'll grab some lunch and then the out-of-staters (that's me, Nate & Staci) will fly home. The Texas boys will drive home. And this weekend of fun will be over, seemingly as soon as it started. It went by so quickly, as I knew it would.

Can I just tell you? I have frozen my pazizzles off. It has been cold, y'all. Thank the good LORD that I brought this one longish grey sweater of mine...whew. It saved me. I wore it pretty much every second.

Visited with some dear friends~ the Owens~ yesterday...that was a treat. Ate at Torchy's Tacos...YUM!!! And Houston's...Very Good. And other than that we ate Chad's cheesy eggs. Dear Chad~ he made them for us both mornings and they were exceptionally delicious.

Spent some time on Congress Street. If you ever visit Austin, you should definitely check out the street. It has some great shops. We were serenaded with the "Secret of Life" (love) and saw some fascinating people.

I fell in love with cowboy boots. Oh my goodness. Boots like I have never SEEN before!!! Amazing. And outrageously expensive.

I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I wanted to...but you'll probably see a few more in the coming days.

My kids have enjoyed some good quality time with their Courtney. Nama, too. Last night they went to a Timberwolves game and I can't wait to get home and hear all about it.

Stars

We've been having a grand ole time in Austin. Lots of laughing, eating, lounging, practicing, singing, eating...oh, did I mention that one already?

A little project I did up until coming to Austin was make Christmas star ornaments to go with Staci's Christmas CD. I brought 55 beaded stars.

I was dreaming about bling, I kid you not.


I had made about 25 when my best bud, Courtney, came over. She gave it a try and fell in love with the project. Turns out it is her calling. Fortunate for me...

And then GREYLEY got in the picture and boy, did we ever have fun all beading together. Maureen and Keely also joined us one afternoon. Good times, indeed.


Just wanted you to see some of the sparkle. Each one is different. They were made with love.


Ok, gotta go eat some more.

Snow, Say It Isn't So

We made it to Austin fine and dandy.

Turns out they're having extra cold temps.

We're supposed to get a couple inches of snow here tomorrow.

So the part about warmth...not so much.

However, the fun part...yes.

We did our first ladies' conference event tonight and it went well. Since we've never actually all played together before, it was a little unnerving to try to rehearse a whole concert in one afternoon, but it went fairly well...considering. I think no one knew quite all the mistakes we made. I'm hoping they didn't anyway. Everyone was very kind either way.

I'm a little too sleepy at the moment, but I do have to tell you about the airplane before I go...

So we get on this little plane..."What a cute plane," Nate commented as we got on...a wry note in his voice.

It was like an Ikea plane, everything very streamline and practical...clean and maximum use of space. I felt a teensy bit claustrophobic getting on, but was okay once I sat down.

Here's the cool part though...the backs of the leather seats had this thing around the head~ you could bring both sides in to hold your head in place!! So no more head flopping!!! Oh, how I've needed that all these years.

That was worth the price of admission right there. Well, not quite...but it made me very happy.

I'm still praying for a warm front to sweep in. I didn't bring a coat, so huge was my faith that we would be experiencing warmth. I'm going to get over it, I promise.

OK, gonna go visit. Tomorrow I have something fun to show you...

Until then.

T-R-I-P

Nate and I are hopping on a plane this morning...to Austin, TX. Weeha! I spent some time in Austin this summer and have been looking forward to getting back there.

We'll be doing Christmas shows with Staci Frenes...you know how I feel about her. Can't wait to see her face. Our good friend, Allen, from Dallas will be playing drums with us. He's always fun. We'll also have the grown up Chad Carouthers playing bass...Chad was a kid on the tour bus when I went on chorale tours for school. It will be a blast to play music with him.

Really, I'm just excited about it all the way around. Not to mention, it's supposed to snow here in Minnesota today...and Austin is going to be W-A-R-M.

I'm excited to see what adventures await me on the plane. You know me and my flight adventures. I'm still checking the airlines on a regular basis to see if they're hiring. Keep your eyes peeled for a job opening for me, will ya? You never know, you just might run into me sometime and I'll ask you what you want to drink.

Pretzels or peanuts?

Anyhoo. I will keep you posted on the details of the trip. It's going to be F-U-N.

A teeny bit off the subject, but I think you can follow along...I cleaned out my purse for the trip and besides the huge amount of receipts, I also found the following:

A car
A helicopter
A motorcycle
Mini sunglasses
Neon green string for "flinging"...Indie's "favorite thing to do"...

No wonder my back is always hurting.

Bargaining

My son has learned the fine art of negotiation.

We were having a cuddle first thing yesterday morning.

"Mama, can you hand me a Kleenex?" he asked.

"We ran out of Kleenex, but you can go get some toilet paper out of the bathroom if you need it," I answered.

"Can YOU go get it? Because I have a booger in my nose and if I go in there to get the toilet paper, it might fall out...on the floor...and get stepped on...so that's why YOU should go get it..."

And do you know what?

I did.

His reason was just too good...I did it and laughed all the way.

I feel as if I do this same sort of negotiating with God...maybe even on a daily basis. Sometimes they're disguised as prayers.

Sometimes I pray for something...Lord, please help me have a good day...

But my brain is finishing it off with something like, Because you know I deserve it after all I've been through with such and such...

Sometimes with the kids I have to say things like, This is not up for negotiation...

OR

Just do it because I asked you to, with no questions asked.

I'm feeling a gentle tug at the way I've been bartering with God.

Do this for me and I will do this.

Give me this and I will give you all of me.

No, I don't say it outright in those exact words. I say, "Please." Ha! But I do have some negotiation skills down pat. It comes with human nature. Or maybe I'm just rotten. I'm pretty sure both are correct.

I wonder if sometimes my foolishness and even blatant manipulation makes Him laugh. He might even think, Does she really think I'm not onto her? But other times, I'm certain He sets His foot down and says, Enough.

Last night, Indigo tried a similar version of the booger episode. I made him go get it himself.

Dear Dad E

Happy Birthday, Dear Dad E/Tomas!

I am so very grateful you were born. You have been special from day one.

You were and are a young daddy and a young granddaddy…and you are most excellent at both.

Every child who has ever crossed paths with you is crazy about you. I was the blessed recipient of having your heart and love and time and devotion. But I was always proud that everyone else loved you too.

You have always had “something you really wanted to say” and it has always been profound when you finally get the chance to say it.

I am praying heaps of blessings on you. You’ve gone through too much~ I’m ready for it to be your time now. It is my deepest desire that THIS will be the year…

Happy Birthday with all my love,
Your Winnie