Sunday morning, December 17, 2006 - 8 a.m.

Hello, Folks,

Well, it has been an interesting week and a half. First of all, our Christmas party with friends and neighbors was great. Lots of delicious food, conversation, and laughs.

I had a contest naming the reindeer with Rudolph. Let me tell you, I had no idea Snoopy, Sneezy, Dopey, etc. would be listed. Very funny. Then, I had our guests name the 12 days of Christmas. Whoa! Some of the answers were hilarious---three French men??? Very liberal and conservative fellow who gave those to his "love" for Christmas! Plus, one guy wrote out his own version of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" - eight years probation, twelve-pack of Bud, five tins of Skoll, etc...very very funny.

On Saturday morning, as I mentioned previously on another blog, our furnace went out that morning of the party. The furnace guy came around 9:30 a.m. I left for town to pick up the meat/cheese tray at the local grocery store. When the girl brought it out, it was the size of a dinner plate. She looked at me and said, "You have a funny look on your face. Is this not the right size?" I said, "Well, no, I ordered the Deluxe plate that would feed around 24 people. She said, "Oh, well, this isn't big enough." Soooo, I shopped a little bit for some other things, waited about 35 minutes, and they made another larger tray for me. Okay. I left the store, drove to the local Ponderosa for the wing/dings that were to be ready at 10:30 a.m. As I was making a left turn into the place, I glanced in my rear view mirrow and behold I had no side mirror! It was hanging by the electric cord on the side of my car!

I pulled into the parking lot, assessed the damage, and went into the Ponderosa. They said I was to pick up the order at noon! I said, "No, I was picking it up at 10:30 a.m." Sooo, I waited about 20 minutes while they cooked my order. (I sat on the bench between Mr. and Mrs. Claus.) When I left, I had to lower the electric window, hold onto the hanging rear view mirror, all the way home! (It was banging on the side of the car from the wind. Even driving slower, didn't help.) By the time I got home, my gloved hand, (thank goodness I had my gloves with me-about 28 degrees outside), was very, very, cold!

I called the grocery store and asked if they had a video of the parking lot. The manager said, yes, but it only covered the first two rows of the parking area. I was, of course, parked in the third row. I do believe someone snapped it off with a shopping cart. I was parked right in front of the parking cart return area. Never again!

I called my insurance man on Monday, and then drove out after work to a body shop in town. Hubby taped it to the side of my car with duct tape, (isn't that stuff wonderful?!), and the insurance company is going to fix it. I guess it falls under Comprehensive and not Collision. (Well, yeah, I was in the store when it happened!)
I am waiting on the part to come in for the body shop to fix it.

The weather has been great, but unseasonably warm. I fed the fish up until a few days ago. Never did that before in the nine years we have had the pond! I did read on the internet about not feeding fish when the temperature of the pond goes below 55 degrees. One site said that the fish are "little pigs with fins" and will eat no matter what! So, I haven't fed them anymore. The website said the food will set in their guts and not get digested properly and it can really cause them problems and even kill them! Okay. Not feeding them anymore!

Here we are, winding down (up?) to the celebration of Christmas. With all the decorating, hussle, bussle, etc., it is so easy to get caught up in the wirlwind of shopping, wrapping presents, decorating, and yet, when it all comes down to it, we really need to sit quietly and reflect on the "Reason for the Season" - Jesus' birth. He does not judge us, but loves us, no matter if we are poor, rich, unemployed, successful, handicapped, sick, lonely, short, tall, skinny, overweight, single, married, on and on. If you welcome Him into your heart, He is there for you, now and forever. To me, it is a personal thing. I talk to Him daily. (Sometimes all day.) I don't always like His answers, but there again, His Hands are there to guide me, nourish me, love me, care for me, sustain me, and help me make decisions, help me when I am down, and His love lifts me so high at times I feel as though I am soaring on the wings of an eagle!

I wrote a poem last night about Jesus, like I did last year. I will post it on Christmas morning. Hope you like it!

Be blessed, and thanks for your emails! I appreciate every one of them!

In God's awesome love,
Becky :)