The Big Snow of '08...

The kids made it outside this morning just in time to play with the last remaining flakes from our big snowfall yesterday. Leave it to kids. If a snowman can be made, one will be made. You have to love the sheer will and determination.

He's a cute little guy, isn't he?

I know I was the only person in the neighborhood praying that school wouldn't be cancelled today, but I NEED Bryant to go to preschool on Thursdays. It's our most productive day of the week. Thank you, Lord!

Now, if we should get a big storm on Saturday, that would be fine with me! Dare we dream?

My heart is so full right now I have to take a moment to share. And it's not about Romney winning Michigan, although I'm kindof glad about that.

I'm so filled with joy because my girls are back. Our new Bible study began tonight, and I've just been excited all day to see my sisters in Christ. When I started this Bible study this time last year, I had no idea how it was going to turn out. I just knew that God was telling me to open my home to ladies that wanted to know Him more and I agreed to do it. Tonight we had fourteen and I know of at least one more who couldn't be here. It's overwhelming to see them show up each week ready to dig in to the Word. I feel so unbelievably blessed to be a part of this.

I know some of you will read this, and I just hope you know how much I love and you and am thrilled that the Lord has brought us together. I can't wait to see what He teaches us over the next ten weeks. There is nothing that bonds us together more on earth than a common faith and a love for Christ. I'm just so happy that I have the privilege of learning with you.

This time around we are studying the tabernacle. It's a study I've done before, but it has been updated. A lot has changed in my life since the first time around, and I hope that I'm more mature in my faith than I was then. I can still remember the pain I was carrying around at that time from a time of self-imposed separation from God, and the joy I found when I realized that He had never stopped pursuing me, no matter how hard I tried to run from Him. That is what this study is about. And I can't wait to relive it.

When I am focused on those things that are eternal, the things of today seem far less significant. In the entire span of time, who is going to be president for the next four years probably isn't so crucial. And you have my permission to remind me of that if we lose.

I have very little time this morning (actually, none) but I just can't let this media frenzy over Hillary's "comeback" go without comment.

Hillary squeaked out a win in New Hampshire yesterday by two points, 39% to 37%. Because of her apparent campaign freefall ever since Iowa, this is seen as a huge crushing victory. Suddenly, in the course of one day, she's being touted the winner and Obama can't buy any media time. Doesn't anyone realize how ridiculous this is?

In October, Hillary had a 43 to 21 lead over Obama in New Hampshire. That's almost 20 points. In November, the margin began to shrink rapidly, so by December they were almost neck and neck. Yesterday, everyone in the media and political punditry had her losing by almost 10 points, until the numbers actually started to come in. Did 2000 and 2004 not teach us that pundits and exit polling can not be trusted?

So, yes, she carried the state by a slim margin. Congratulations. In New Hampshire, over half of the voters are over the age of 50. I think that says something. There are a ton of Massachusetts transplants in New Hampshire, and it's an East Coast mentality. Senator Clinton should have blown Obama away. But she didn't.

The fact that Senator McCain took this state for the Republicans when he is in the bottom tier of Republican candidates should say that we might not need to take New Hampshire all that seriously. This is the only state where McCain had a prayer, and he's acting as if the election is in the bag. Sorry, Senator, but the rest of us would like someone who at least pretends to be conservative heading up our party. You don't fit the description.

My only nagging fear is that voters will see a McCain victory and it will give him some momentum that he never would have had otherwise. After all, no one was planning to vote for Kerry until he won in Iowa. Howard Dean was the clear frontrunner up until the point where votes were cast. Once Kerry took that first state, he suddenly sported a bandwagon and Dean ended up chairing the DNC. Not exactly what he'd had in mind.

So let's try not to get caught up in the media hype. So much remains to be seen in the coming days and weeks. One thing we can be quite sure of, though, the Senator from New York will be shedding tears from now until February 5 on a daily basis. Somebody might want to invest in Kleenex.

I've avoided being political for a few days, because I'm not sure that I have anything more to say than I've already said. I was a little surprised at how wide the margin for Huckabee and Obama were in Iowa. I think it will be very interesting to see what happens to the numbers over the next couple of weeks. Senator Clinton is surely still reeling from coming in third, and the pressure seems to be getting to her. They all look bad right now, though, don't they? The exhaustion must be crushing.

Earlier this week, I listened to a pretty lengthy interview of Mike Huckabee by Sean Hannity. As usual, Sean didn't beat around the bush, but asked him point blank about his multiple pardons of criminals, including murderers, and his ideas about immigration and taxes. I will give the governor credit for this. He is a smooth talker. The guy can clearly spin with the best of them. He's funny and sounds like he's talking to just average guys, not like a lofty politician talking down to his subjects. I can certainly see the appeal that he has to those who are simply looking on the surface.

However, there is something about him that makes my skin crawl. He talks just a little too slick. He reminds me so much of Bill Clinton, much more than poor Hillary does. He can take a truth and spin it around until it looks like something completely other than what it is. If you lift up the covers and peek around in Huckabee's record, it doesn't take long to find that the game he's talking is not the game he's been walking.

But the thing that bothers me the most about him is his nonchalant attitude towards foreign policy. His attitude about Iran specifically is frightening. There's a great editorial from the National Review Online quoting him joking about not having as much foreign policy experience as some of the other guys, but he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express the night before. Say what? That's just a lame attempt at using lame humor to cover up the fact that you have no business stepping onto the world stage at this critical hour.

He actually seems to be evoking the Golden Rule as the basis for his foreign policy, saying he believes we should treat other countries as we would like them to treat us. Isn't that sweet? That might work if we were not dealing with radical Islamic extremists who want nothing more than to see our entire nation either convert to Islam or evaporate into nuclear dust. What a naive thing to say. I believe in the Golden Rule. It is a fine way to live your day-to-day life, and follows the example of Christ. But are we really supposed to just sit back and be nice and wait for Ahmadenijad to carry out his very blatant threats, all the while coming closer and closer to nuclear proliferation? I think not.

My boy Fred actually did very well last night, but he just looks horrible. He seriously looks like he's been through the welcoming ceremonies at Sing Sing. Those bags under his eyes could get me all the way back to Thailand. The biggest problem with him, however, is that you have to be willing to listen to him to get a sense of who he is. He doesn't speak in sound bites. His speeches aren't flashy. But he says what he thinks, and he is who he is. You can't claim that he's a flip-flopper or that he's not a conservative. I wish he'd gotten in earlier so people would have taken him more seriously. But at this point I think the best I can hope for is that he makes the ticket as veep.

It will be very interesting to see what happens in the weeks to come. It's such a bizarre feeling to have the candidacy so up in the air. Huckabee won Iowa. Romney won Wyoming. McCain is probably going to win New Hampshire. Thompson is hoping for a win in South Carolina. And poor Rudy is just holding out for Florida. It's going to be quite a ride unless one of them begins to pick up momentum. If Huckabee were to win South Carolina and several of the Super Tuesday states, for instance, he would probably take off like Kerry did in 2004. But what if the winners are split all over the place? This could be crazier than the BCS having to put Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl.

On the Democrat side, I think Hillary is in big trouble. I watched the Democrat debate last night as long as I could stomach it. That John Edwards needs a good slapping. Or what would be more fun is just running up behind him and messing up his hair really bad before taking off in a sprint. Now THAT would be funny. But I digress.

I think anybody watching and listening to a side-by-side of Hillary and Obama would be hard-pressed to come away really wanting to vote for her. Yes, some people feel compelled to vote for her because she's a woman. And some people want to vote for her because they want Bill back on the scene, although I can't fathom why anyone would want to do that to the country again. And I guess some people still think she's the smartest woman in America.

But that Obama is slick. He's a likeable guy. He's young, energetic, and his speeches can be downright inspirational. Unfortunately, he stands on the opposite side of nearly every issue from me. He's incredibly inexperienced, and seems to be somewhat of a lightweight. But he looks like the kind of guy you would enjoy hanging out with. And that is something Hillary definitely can't claim. I have no doubt that I would be backing him whole-heartedly if I were a Democrat and believed the same things he believes. And I think there are lots of folks out there who are going to do just that. How many viewers does Oprah have again?

What it's going to come down to is the Clinton machine. Do they really have some seriously damaging dirt on Obama that they haven't released yet, or is that just an attempt at making something appear bad that isn't? If they do, are they strategically saving it for release at the optimum moment, and will it be bad enough to kill his campaign? Or would it backfire on her for playing dirty? I'm willing to be we're going to get a chance to find out.

The whole thing is just weird this year, because there are so many candidates and no one is a clear frontrunner. It's much more enjoyable to me to watch the Democrat race, because I don't have much of a stake in it. I can sit back and spectate. But watching the Republican race makes my stomach hurt.

New Hampshire on Tuesday. Michigan and Nevada next week. Florida and South Carolina the last week of January. And then a whole bunch on February 5. We should know something by then. The trick is avoiding an ulcer in the meantime.

Somebody might have to slap me.

Pics from Florida

Picture Day...

To keep Bryant happy, we kept feeding him little pieces of candy between snaps. For some reason he was wired out of his mind that night...

Here's Jeff attempting to show Bailey how easy it is to ride a bike without training wheels.

And here's Bailey realizing that I let go. This is when things got ugly.

My very serious father-in-law.

Bryant got a motorized four-wheeler, but it has no brakes, so must be on flat ground at all times!

One of our favorite things about the Villages, the golf cart rides!

Here's Bryant learning the fine art of lawn bowling.

What are you looking at?

Two mischievious peas in a pod.

These pics can only convey a tiny portion of the fun we had at MiMi and Poppa G's this Christmas. We miss everyone already.

I asked Bailey at dinner the night we got home, "Even though we love being in the Villages, isn't it nice to be home?" She looked at me like I must be from another planet. I took it as a no.

Technology is simply amazing.

As I write this, we are driving down the interstate about 40 miles from home. Jeff got some thingy for his computer that allows Internet access anywhere that you can get cell coverage, so not only can I entertain myself by checking my e-mail, but I can blog too! What a world.

Just thinking about the long car trips we took to Florida when I was little compared to what my kids experience is crazy. They think they have it so hard being cooped up in here for twelve hours, but what would my parents have given for a DVD player with headphones and miniature game systems to pass the hours away. As I recall, I read a lot on those trips, though, and that makes me feel a little bit guilty about how I'm letting them spend the day. Oh well. When I get home and get to a place where it's possible, I'll post a picture of Bryant wearing the headphones. It's quite hilarious!

As for the news, so much to say, so little time. I can't believe the Iowa Caucus is already here. I am filled with nervous excitement about this, just because it's finally happening. The table for the next four years of American government is being set over this next month. Isn't it thrilling? :) I can't remember being this excited about Iowa before, but primarily because 12 years ago I didn't care all that much, and eight years ago, W was pretty much a shoo-in once McCain started freaking everybody out. But this year, literally anything can happen. I don't think Iowa will hold as much water as it has in the past, simply because so much is at stake, and I don't think the country wants to leave the choice of our next president up to 150,000 or so voters in the Midwest.

As for this whole Huckabee showing it/not showing it business, what can I possibly say? I feel he made a lame attempt at manipulating the media, and did it very badly. Yes, he got his negative ad out. But does anyone really and truly think he didn't want it out? The guy is so Clintonesque, it blows my mind that he has so many people snowed. Let's remember, Bill talked up his Southern Baptist roots too, and I'm sure if he had thought he could get away with it, he would have claimed to have a degree in theology too (which, by the way, is something Huckabee doesn't have, even though he has claimed to on several occasions.) He is not conservative. He is a vocal evangelical Christian, period. How many of his supporters would have wanted Jerry Falwell in office? Is that really the criteria we are going on? If so, Ronald Reagan would have never been elected. He never went to church, but said he preferred to find God on horseback. I'm not advocating that, because I believe in corporate worship, but I don't think it disqualified him from being President of the United States.

What I'm really sincerely hoping is that Huckabee and Romney have gone back and forth so much with their negative ads that Iowans are sick of both of them and Fred is going to sneak in. That would just be ideal.

I'm also excited to see what happens on the Democrat side. I'm kind of torn on this one, because I think Hillary will be easier to beat than Obama, which makes me want her to get the nomination. She is just another John Kerry waiting to happen, tripping herself up in her own lies. (Please see the story of her harrowing trip to Bosnia in 1995, or was it '96, when she risked her life on an important mission for the White House. It is too funny.)

But on the other hand, if we lose the White House this year, I think I'd rather lose it to Obama than Hillary. As terrifying as it would be to have someone with so little experience and no apparent backbone dealing in our National Security, it couldn't be worse than her. So it's kind of a toss-up. Although calling Hillary's eight years in the White House a glorified tea party obviously took some guts. Watch your back, Barry. You are ticking her off now.

More to say, but the battery is getting low. Hope you are all enjoying your first week of 2008. Only ten months till election day!

So wishing I had had this picture before sending out my Christmas cards! :)

There are so many things that upset me about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto that I don't even know where to begin. The whole thing seems so surreal, like something you would see on a movie or read in a Clancy novel. I remember feeling this way after 9-11, as though what we were witnessing was not reality, but just an out-of-control movie plot. But the same sick feelings of being forced to confront the situation as very real and very able to change world history are causing my stomach to churn.

There's something so raw about murder, and yet we are completely jaded to it. All you have to do is watch the evening news and the chances are great that you will be treated to the details of anywhere from 3-5 murders a day, or at least some form of great bodily harm and violence. Our culture is addicted to it. The news mantra is if it bleeds, it leads. Even my kids are jaded to violence at 6 and 8 years old. This is the reality of our world.

But it takes on a new tone when someone who you have watched being interviewed and listened to and hoped would succeed is just stripped of her life right before the camera's eye. Someone who had potential to stabilize a wavering nation is just assassinated, right there in living color. I guess it was a similar feeling when JFK was shot, except on a much grander scale for our country. There are millions of people in America who have no idea what's going on in Pakistan, I realize, nor would they care if they did. But they should.

What we need to understand is that Pakistan is a nuclear country. They have the potential to use nuclear weapons on their enemies. As of right now, the country is in chaos. There are militant Islamists who are doing everything they can to take over, much like the Taliban did in Afghanistan. Understand, this means that Osama bin Laden and his cohorts have the potential of taking over a country with nukes. The writers of 24 haven't even schemed up a plot this scary.

Bhutto wasn't perfect, by any means. But she was pro-Western, pro-Democracy and had a huge following. She and her party were very likely going to take over the government in the January 8 election, which would have been a good thing for the war on terror. Now everything is in complete turmoil, and the conditions are ripe for a disastrous result.

Keep in mind that we have funneled $10 billion into Pakistan since 2001 in the hopes of keeping them a strong ally in the war on terror. They've been supposedly helping us make life difficult for al-Qaida and helping us find bin Laden. We've needed them as a strategic ally in the war in Afghanistan.

But lately, President Musharraf has been doing some extremely unsettling things. Most recently, he suspended the constitution and threw his political opponents in jail, and refused to step down as the military commander. Our government was able to put enough pressure on him to change his mind a little bit, but relations are far from rosy at the moment.

Whether he is responsible for the death of Bhutto is the question of the day. Did he actually order her assassination, or was he more covertly responsible due to his failure to properly protect her from innumerable threats and barely looking into the attack on her back in October upon her return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile when 140 people were killed and about 450 others were injured? Will he now use this chaos as an excuse to suspend elections and impose some kind of martial law, allowing him to stay in power far past the intended January elections? All of these things remain to be seen.

For now, we need to be concerned. We need to be watching this situation very closely and understanding that things in the Eastern hemisphere could spiral downhill very quickly. Not to be an alarmist, but it is vital that we pay attention so we are not caught off guard.

We also have an election coming up in this country in a few months. It is in full swing right now. Imagine sometime in October that al-Qaida carries out an attack and the front-runner is assassinated. What would we do? This is unfortunately not implausible. Remember about four years ago, in March of 2004 in Spain, when al-Qaida carried out the commuter train attacks in Madrid, killing a couple hundred people and wounding ten times that many? Three days later the party in support of the war in Iraq was voted out of power, and al-Qaida received affirmation of their policies. They won in Spain that year.

What would happen if they managed a major terrorist attack sometime late this summer, or an attempt on the life of a candidate? It's worth thinking about, because the possibility is very real. If al-Qaida gets its hands on nukes, who do we think will be their first target?

We have gotten so complacent over the past six years because nothing else has happened to us. So much so that we are able to attack our own military for doing the very things they need to do to keep us safe. It is ludicrous. One major political party in our country believes the war on terror can not be won, and wants to be voted into office based on that premise. Could we make a bigger mistake as a nation when it comes to our national security?

The American Thinker has an article today quoting Fred Thompson that demonstrates he understands the problem. I believe that he would be a great man to have in office in these troubled times. I don't think he's going to be the guy, though. As much as he looks great on paper, he's just not coming across so well on TV, which I don't understand since he has been an actor all these years. While McCain has many years of experience in American foreign policy, I don't trust that he would be able to keep a cool enough head under pressure. I think Giuiliani would do well in national security, but I worry about returning the White House to an era of questionable ethics. I honestly have no idea what Romney or Huckabee would do, but I'm quite sure Huckabee would do it in God's name.

I have said it so many times, and I will say it again. National security should be on the top of every American's mind when voting this year. All the other issues should take the back burner, no matter how passionately you feel about them. If America does not stay at the top of her game and we allow our leaders to go back to squabbling over the trivial, we will leave ourselves dangerously vulnerable.

So it's hard to tell from this picture, but last night, Christmas Eve, we noticed that our bean plants had taken the form of three crosses. We were amazed at the profundity of this, and were able to take a minute to remember that Christmas isn't just about the birth of Jesus. It's about the most amazing story ever told, of God coming to earth to make the ultimate sacrifice for a world full of sinners. What indescribable love!

The last week has been so full. We've had long rehearsals, followed by a 12-hr day at the church on Saturday, followed by a journey back and forth to Alabama, followed by a day of getting ready to have our family Christmas celebration at my house last night. Jeff and I are just completely worn out. Today began early of course, but has been so much fun.

Last night, right before the kids went to bed, Bradley remembered they hadn't put out the milk and cookies. This year Bailey got to write her own note, and she was so proud of herself.
If you can't make it out, Bradley wrote, "Dear Santa, I hope you like what we set out for you. It is okay if you didn't get me everything I wanted. Sincerlly, Brad. P.S. Wrap the presenst pleas." (I'm going to attribute the bad spelling to his being so tired.)

Last year Santa wrapped the presents for the kids rather than having it all out for them when they walked in the room. We all liked this so much better, as it builds the anticipation and makes the fun last longer. I'm just glad the kids liked it this way better too.

Bailey had me write hers out so she could copy it. Her first dictation was about six sentences long, so I made her shorten it. This is what we ended up with...

"Dear Santa, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas! Love, Bailey." Short and to the point.

She was thrilled when Santa wrote his thank you on her note. We all marveled at how he can eat so much at every house!

We told Brad and Bailey that they couldn't come in our room to get us until 7:00. So at 7:00 on the dot, Bradley burst into our room announcing Santa had come! We couldn't be annoyed, because we both remember forcing some pretty early mornings growing up. But another hour of sleep would have been divine!

As we were waiting on Daddy to say we could come downstairs, we managed to survive what could have been a nasty accident and Christmas in the emergency room. Bryant was standing at the top of the stairs, kind of banging his butt against the gate. I was standing in my room watching, and the thought occured to me that he could push the whole gate over and go toppeling down the stairs. But before I could voice these thoughts, what actually happened was Bailey, for some unexplicable reason, decided to open the gate. So the next time he went to bang his butt, he fell backwards through the gate and did back flips down the stairs. Fortunately our stairs have a landing before they make a sharp turn, so he didn't fall down all of them, but needless to say we didn't start off the morning exactly as we had planned. It's never good to yell at your child on Christmas morning, but I just couldn't fathom what had made her open the gate. Original sin, I guess!

So once we all calmed down and Daddy said it was okay, we all descended the stairs into Christmasland. Most things were wrapped of course, but the kids got a mini-trampoline, and it was out on display. This has already been a tremendous hit, and I'm loving the energy it eats up, and how the jumping is no longer on the furniture!

But undoubtedly, the biggest hit of the morning was Santa's gift. After months of hinting (and begging) the ever longed-for Nintendo wii is now a reality at the Swords house. Screams of joy and multiple versions of the happy dance have filled the day.

The sheer genius of this game system blows my mind. I can't begin to get my brain around how the thing works. But it is cool. Really cool.
Tomorrow we'll be off to Christmas with Jeff's family. Like so many of us, I fear that my kids have no concept of what it's like to not have the things you need and want. In their world, if they want something bad enough, it appears. I'm so thankful that we are able to provide and have family that are so generous, but I worry about the message my kids get. I struggle with it every year, and yet nothing really ever seems to change. Maybe one year we'll get brave enough to do something radical and punt gifts altogether. But I doubt it.

For now, hopefully I'm able to remind them that it is more fun to give than receive, and that they are very lucky kids.

Apparently Bailey has picked up on this a little. When Jeff's folks were here on Friday night, they brought a few pre-Christmas gifts. The kids were waiting to open them until Jeff and I left for dress rehearsal. When I walked in the room, Bailey was sitting on the couch in front of her wrapped gifts. She said, "Mommy, I'm doing what you said."

I said, "Really? What's that?"

"I'm not pouting, and I'm thankful for what I have!"

May it be so. :)

christmas with the ogles

Here comes Santa Claus...

Yesterday we drove to Alabama for Christmas at Jeff's grandparents with his mom's two sisters and their families. Everyone was there this year, and we had a great time with family, some of whom we haven't seen since last Christmas. This year we did it on Sunday afternoon instead of at night, and I think everyone agreed it was a great change. This way we were done by early evening, and Jeff and I weren't driving home in the wee hours of the morning.

There are two grandparents, three daughters, three son-in-laws, six grandchildren, six grandchildren-in-law (of which I'm the ONLY granddaughter-in-law :)), and ten great-grandchildren. Lots of food; lots of chaos. But part of the reason we liked doing it in the afternoon was that the kids were able to go outside and run some of their energy out. That was great!

Poppa G helped Bryant open his presents. The flashlight was a hit, but I think the Elmo xylophone song book won the favorite present award!

This year we also decided to take pictures of the family by thirds, so we didn't have the enormous task of getting everybody lined up all together and trying to have everybody look good all at the same time. I think it worked very well.

Bailey was looking at the picture we took last Thanksgiving where everyone was in it all together. She so eloquently looked up and asked Jeff's aunt, "Do we know all these people?!"

Hope you all have as much as fun as we are!

Ain't we pretty?

This year our choir had the unique opportunity of being a part of Michael W. Smith's Christmas tour. There wasn't a concert in Nashville this year, so Michael agreed to do a charity concert at our church after his tour was completed, with the offering going partly to his Rocketown, and the other part to our partner church in Cape Town, South Africa, Living Hope. Because the tickets were gone to the 7:00 show in a matter of 3 or 4 minutes, we ended up doing two concerts, one at 2 and one at 7:30. This made for a long, but thrilling day.

Not only did we get to sing back-up for Michael W. Smith, but this year he was touring with The Katinas, as usual, and Melinda Doolittle. What amazing talent all of these people have, and they all seem to have hearts of gold. It was such a huge privilege to be a part of this, and just added to the long list of reasons why I love being a part of my church.

Most amazingly, the conductor for this tour was David Hamilton, our own church pianist. David is truly one of the most talented people I have ever had the privilege of knowing, and certainly one of the most humble. We are so blessed to have the opportunity to work with him on a regular basis, when people all over the world pay him the big bucks to do his thing. He orchestrated and arranged the Disney World Halloween parade, just as an example of his demand. And yet he still makes it to church on Sunday morning to play the piano as often as he possibly can. What an example he is of using the talents God gives you to His glory. I've learned so much from him.

And on the note of humility, I was thinking on the way to church Saturday what amazing people our music minister, Dennis, and his assitant Jeremy are. Most choir directors look to the Christmas program as their moment to shine. They are out there dressed to the nines and it is time to show off "their" choir to whoever decides to show up. Dennis and Jeremy have worked unbelievably hard over the past six months getting this thing together. The ticketing process was a nightmare for them. They saw attitudes from people that I'm quite sure they'll never be able to forget.

And yet, on the day of the concert, neither one of them stepped foot on the stage, other than perhaps to adjust some wires or something before anyone was there. They were behind the scenes, working with the tour people, working with disgruntled ticket-nonholders, and thousands of other things. I'm so impressed by this. I've known Dennis' heart for ten years now, and I'm not surprised by it. But just so thankful to be led in the worship ministry by a couple of men who truly get it. It's much easier to lead worship when you have such a great example to follow.

I hope I never get so used to these cool opportunities that I forget how special they are and take them for granted. This is a unique place to live, and I'm so thankful the Lord has us here!

Ask and you shall receive:

2 boxes powdered sugar

1 can Eagle Brand milk

1 stick margarine

1 tsp vanilla

1 C finely chopped pecans

2 jars maraschino cherries

1-2 boxes semi-sweet chocolate baking squares

1 cake paraffin (Gulf Wax)

Mix sugar, butter, vanilla, nuts and enough Eagle Brand milk to have dough the right consistency to mold. Roll into small balls. Press hold in center. Insert cherry. Cover with dough. Continue until all dough is used. Melt 3/4 cake paraffin with 1 box chocolate. Dip each candy with a toothpick and set on wax paper to dry. (I usually go through them all once, and then dip them again. Then I dribble chocolate over the tops to cover the toothpick holes.)

Enjoy!

Beans and Cherries

Think they're ready to hang with Christmas lights yet? Who knew that you could really and truly grow beans with just a jar, water and paper towels?

So far our bean experiment has been a great success. It it just a matter of time, I guess, before they knock the jar over, but we're going to let them go as long as we can.

I asked them today, since it was the last day before Christmas break, if they had thought about whether or not they wanted to keep homeschooling for the rest of the year or if they thought they wanted to go back. Bradley said he wanted to keep homeschooling and for Bailey to go back. I think he was kidding...

This afternoon we continued with the Reid family tradition of making chocolate-covered cherries. This is an old family recipe, and has been part of my Christmas for as long as I can remember. The kids absolutely love it, as I did when I was their age. It's not often you have permission to roll food around in your hands like this and get messy.

Although the dipping is traditionally the adult's job, they just begged and begged until they wore me down. I had let them use the extra dough to make little bitty dough balls, and they were each allowed to take a turn at dipping. They learned that it really is harder than it looks!

No need to tell you how they enjoyed the fruits of their efforts. That face says it all!

I hope you all enjoy your family traditions over the next few weeks. If you don't have any, it's never too late to start. Let me know if you need a good cherry recipe.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Not so much fun when you have to work all day, but we found a few minutes for Daddy's favorite birthday dessert. Once they all blew out the one candle, it was nice and germ-free. We share the love in this family.

Once Jeff's birthday is here, you officially have one week left until Christmas. Get shopping, Debo!

Segregation in Alabama

If you've ever wondered how serious the Alabama/Auburn rivalry is, this picture says it all!

Thanks for the laugh, Darlene. :)