THE FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR

Our Christmas was really nice. We had my parents, Mike's parents, Mary, and Noah here on Christmas Day. It was so fun and relaxing. We played games and ate and Skyped with Trevor and Jessie. Our church service was so good.

I made some hor d'oeuvres to have after church so that we could eat a little later in the day. I enjoy cooking and fixing stuff ahead of time so things are ready to enjoy.

We ate Christmas dinner about 4:00. I put the potatoes in the crockpot in the morning to cook all day. I love to "bake" potatoes like this because it frees up your oven and you really don't have to even think about them.

Mike grilled 7-8 pounds of steak. They were so perfectly tender and juicy. They were seasoned just right so no steak sauce was needed. The other sides were green beans casserole, caesar salad, roasted San Marzano tomatoes, and dinner rolls. For dessert I made a pumpkin and pecan pie. Mike's mom made a pound cake and peanut butter hershey kiss cookies. My mom made 2 cheesecake pies.

The week after Christmas was nice and relaxing. We didn't have anything on our agenda so we enjoyed all the down time. We didn't drive our van from Christmas Eve til Friday. We have been driving less and less. Most of our errands can be done on our afternoon walks. Our bank, post office, Trader Joe's/Whole Foods, Walgreens, Metro station, and library are within a 10-15 minute walk so there is always somewhere to walk.

My sister wanted to go over to D.C. so on Thursday we caught the subway over to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.


We ended the day at the White House. It was cold out but it didn't keep us from enjoying being together. On the walk back home from the subway we stopped at Starbucks for a treat to warm us up.

New Year's Eve was a nice, relaxing day. We ate subs and watched the ball drop. It was cool to be on Eastern Standard time again. Shelby and Abby tried to stay up but they had stayed up late the night before so they crashed around 11pm. Mike took a little nap while the news was on but woke up to watch the last 30 min of 2011 with me.

Our New Year service was a time of reflection as well as looking forward to 2012. We invited our friends Krisstal and her son, Elias, over for lunch. I am looking forward to digging in and establishing relationships this year.

We started our lessons on Monday and this week has been a very fruitful one. There has been lots of good discussions about explorers and Hippocrates. There were many games of Uno. Plain old Uno. Love it. Music classes and Choir started back this week.

We have goals in place for 2012 and lots of grace to extend to ourselves and others. The most exciting thing for 2012 will be, by far, The Wedding. Gosh, we can hardly wait.

SKIMPY CHRISTMAS???

Why is everyone walking around talking about how skimpy Christmas will be this year??

So what if we can't overbuy and go in debt this year.

This is not a bad thing.

I was talking to my wonderful sil this evening and we were speaking on this very subject.

Isn't it a good thing that kids learn they don't "need" everything they see?

Isn't it a good thing that we as consumers take a step back and evaluate each purchase?

Isn't it good that we teach our children that less is more and that giving is a GREAT thing?

This will be a great Christmas if we don't give in to the media driven "Woe is us" attitude.

A "skimpy" Christmas~~no, a Christ centered Christmas

WHY IS IT.....

that you do tons of laundry before going out of town and have to do it all over again when you get home??

Thankfully, I am just about done!!

I have to get to the grocery store because we have no milk.

We didn't have tutorial this morning because there was black ice on the roads near the church we meet at. Abby cried for 20 minutes when she found out. Good morning here in the Noodle house.

Just some randomness for ya on this cold Tuesday afternoon.

HOME SWEET HOME

We are home from Virginia!

It was a nice trip and on the way home we saw lots and lots of SNOW!!!

That certainly got us in the Christmas spirit.

I have lots of pictures to share but at the moment I cannot locate my camera so they will have to wait.

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.

T.G.I.RUBYNOODLE

Last night we had a hankering for some sliders and potato skins. I must admit it was better than going to a restaurant because we were in our pj's and we were watching Elf and we were wrapped in quilts and we were laughing our heads off. Yeah, it was better.

Okay~I let Trevor have a washable marker and this is what he did:~)

Shelby at the Thanksgiving Feast.

Abby and Mrs. Caldwell

GIVING THANKS PART 13

Oh, I am such a slacker!!! I should have done this post days ago. But did I??? Noooooo!

I participated in the Harvest Swap with Carrie and Monica. My Swap partner was Kris. Go over and see what I sent her. Wait!! Not yet!! Look at what she sent me first, please.
Okay~there were two candles in my box but I already burned one:~) And I had to hold off on using the mini muffin cups until I took the picture. AND~~the girls, Mike, and I watched the entire Martha Stewart DVD last night.

People, I am talking TWO HUNDRED AND ONE MINUTES. We kept ohhhing and ahhing over everything she made. I am telling you I wanted to run down to the turkey farm and get a fresh bird, bring that thing home and do all sorts of stuff to it.

I could almost taste the pumpkin souffle. We were drooling over the garlic mashed potatoes and the sweet potato pie. Even my "I never want a vegetable to touch my lips" daughter was entranced by the Cauliflower with Brown Butter and Roasted Hazelnuts. (that said daughter would be Shelby, by the way:~).

We learned how to make cornhusk dolls and pinecone turkeys. We learned how cranberries are harvested and how to make edible centerpieces.

Ohh I could go on and on. But I think you get the picture. We were entranced by the whole thing. We sat snuggled up on the couch wallowing in domestic bliss. It was wonderful.

Because, ya'll, even though my hubby and I sat there wondering which segments were before or after jail~~Martha rocked it at our house last night.

Thank you, Kris and have a great day!

THE SMELL IS HEAVENLY!!!!!!

I haven't used my dryer all week. No, it's not broken. I have just been in the mood to hang my clothes on the line to dry.

They smell so, so good!!! I love the crisp way they feel and how they smell so clean.

I have friends that live in a housing development where you can't have a clothesline and I feel sorry for them. I would not want to give up my clothesline!!!

I decided to time how long it takes to hang out a load of towels and I was surprised to find out that it only took about 7 minutes to hang a full load~~and I wasn't hurrying. Maybe next week I will see how fast I can hang out a load.

THAT IS A LONG TIME TO HAVE A CASSETTE

The girls have a cassette.

It is a cassette that their Daddy made years and years ago.

It has him talking and saying all kinds of goofy teen stuff.

They ABSOLUTELY love to put it in and listen to it. Isn't it funny that we probably would have pitched it a long time ago if we had really known what was on it?

The label on the outside says that it contains, "She's A Good Skate, Charlie Brown!" but that is not what you hear when you put it in the tape player.

And let me tell you~~Trevor sounds just like his Dad did when he was that age. It is very strange to hear Mike talking on that tape because it sounds just like Trevor does now.

The girls will play it, rewind it, play it again, turn it over, and play it over and over.

It is quite comical and his sister adds her share of antics on there.

That tape would not mean much to many people but it is a little treasure at our house for now.

WEDNESDAY~~NOT FRIDAY?????

We have no cereal.

We only have a half gallon of milk (which is okay because again, NO CEREAL!!!)

Mike forgot a book last night that he needed to study for a quiz.

We have only one car working right now so Trevor will be late to work this morning.

We have no cereal (did I mention I LOVE cereal!)

We didn't get to eat supper last night til after 8pm because I miss judged cooking time for a whole chicken. (AND, because I didn't realize what time it was!)

I just ate leftover spaghetti for breakfast because THERE IS NO CEREAL!!!!!

I won't have cereal til Friday because that is grocery day and we don't go to the store "just to pick up cereal" because we end up "just picking up" more than we should.

I wish we were having cereal at the Wednesday night supper at our church.

It is supposed to be taco salad with all the fixin's but I would just love some shredded wheat!!

Can someone in Va or NC be so kind to send me a nice care package with some cereal in it? I love you!!

I wish it were Friday.

MY NEW FAVORITE GADGET

We went to a New Year's Day party at a friend's house and she had gotten a roaster for Christmas. She was cooking two chickens in it for the party. I had wondered whether it would be a good investment because, after all, I have a crock pot that I LOVE!

She said she loved her new roaster and thought it was real nice to cook in. I filed her comments in the back of my mind and went on enjoying the party.

We went to Target the next week to get the kitty litter we use.(Only Target sales it:~b) We were cruising the clearance end caps and Mike was looking at the waffle irons that we have yet to replace. Right across the aisle was the roasters. There were some on sale but none lower than $40 dollars. That was NOT in my price range.

We went around the corner and there on the end cap was a roaster with a little red tag on it. I bent down to look at it and it said $14.98!!!!! Oh my goodness, put it in the cart!! That IS in my price range!!

We took it to the register with our kitty litter and the cashier rang us up. The roaster rang up for $41.98. I pointed the clearance tag out to the clerk and said I thought that was the clearance price. She said, " That is what the tag says" and she changed the price in the register. I got that roaster for $14.98!!!

Mike and I were talking and we think someone made a mistake when they were tagging those roasters. The cashier said we get it for the price on the tag. The original price was $59.99!!!!!

I have cooked in it to take dinners to help minister to others. I have cooked in it to bless my family. Chicken and roast are delicious cooked in it and I had no idea you can bake in it. I just wanted to share this blessing I received and that I have been able to bless others with my blessing.

BBBBBRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our heat has been running non stop for two days.

Thank God for it!!

We are running around with socks and long sleeves and an occasional blanket thrown over our shoulders or on our laps.

It was a bit hard to get out from under our covers this morning to go to church, but we did. We are glad we did! It was such a good service. If you want to hear it you can go here.

It should be uploaded in the next couple of days. In the mean time you could listen to the other sermons. They are good, too:~)

One thing that was taught today in Sunday School and church~~giving. In SS we read from II Cor. 8:1-10. These verses really spoke to me (3 )"For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, (4) begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints (5) and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the sill of God to us.

I don't know about you but I seldom give beyond my means or beg to give. In fact, to be honest, I have a hard time giving if we need the money for other areas (bills, bills, bills) Mike and I have struggled with this issue on and off during our married life. We would do good about tithing for a while and then slack off.

It would be a cycle we would repeat many times. We decided last year to stop being hot and cold about it. We decided we needed to do it as an act of worship not because God "needed" our money and not because we were guilted into it by a sermon we heard. We decided it because God said we should do it.

Now, I would like to tell you that we have not had any money problems since we made that commitment. ABSOLUTELY NOT! In fact, it has been even harder! Why? Because the devil knows we have been weak in this area before. Not trusting God to meet our needs and not being faithful with what we have. It is a battle. Pure and simple.

What has happened though is a more intimate relationship with God because we have chosen to acknowledge what God has said is important in our walk with Him. We have sought His desires for our money and the way we handle it. We have given all that was His to begin with up to Him for Him to direct it's path.

I KNOW that everyone's walk with Christ is an intimate one and we all grow and develop differently~~just like children. We should seek His face in all our decisions and ask Him to direct our paths.

He is faithful. We are weak and He is strong.

THE YUCKS

The visit with Mike's Dad and Mom went real good. It was nice to see them. I have pictures to post so I will do that later.

Shelby and Trevor woke up with the yucks this morning. They were throwing up at the same time. It was lovely.

I am going to take a break from the computer so I just wanted to tell everyone Merry Christmas and I will catch up with everyone in a week or so!!

PAMPERED CHEF AND OTHER THINGS

Tomorrow night is my Pampered Chef party and I would like to say my house is sparkling clean but it isn't!!! And~~ here I sit blogging. Go figure.

I am glad that I have one more day to get this place into shape.

Shelby got the new American Girls catalog and she just told me there is nothing that she is interested in ~ in it. Yeah, right!! For 30 minutes she kept saying,"Oh Momma, look at Julie's bed. Oh, Momma look at so and so's outfit."

I found a wool sweater at Goodwill yesterday for myself~~$3!!! It is beautiful and I love it.

SCHOOL'S IN!!!!!!!!!

Today is our seventh day of school and things are going pretty smoothly. We have been working on our cursive writing, Fungi, cake baking, and cobbler making. We have been busy!

Trevor has been going to the college and helping the girl's volleyball team practice. He is working a lot of hours, too!! He is busy, busy, busy!!

We are going on a swim play date tomorrow with my friend Ruthie and her kids~~this is the last week of pool time. We are wanting to get as much time in as we can. We have tentatively planned to go to the pool again on Friday. Got to get in the last bit of summer.

I hung out a load of sheets and towels on the line this morning. They were dry in 15 minutes!!! It is still HOT here!! I love the smell of fresh clean laundry that has just come in off the line. Smells so good. I thought to myself that I never want to live in a house where you can't hang clothes on the line. It just ain't right!!

IRONING ON THE PRAIRIE?

I have been reading the Little House on the Prairie series to my girls during read aloud time after lunch. It has been a nice way to get a little break and some together time in.

We were reading the chapter where Pa and Ma are scoping out a place for their new homestead and Pa goes off to hunt some wild game for supper.

Ma and the girls tidied up the campsite and washed the dishes. Then, Ma washes the clothes and lays them out on the prairie grass to dry. After the clothes dry she puts a blanket with a sheet over it on the seat of the wagon and proceeds to iron the dresses and other clothes.

As I read that I started thinking about the complaining I do. I have lots of amenities that make my jobs easier but I slip into a grumbly mood sometimes. I was thinking how Ma just did those chores without even questioning why she should.

I mean let's talk about this. They were out in the middle of nowhere. There was no one around for miles and they certainly weren't expecting company. It had to be hot and dusty. She did those chores because that is just what she did. She knew that those dresses needed an ironing so, by golly, she was going to iron them.

I want to do my homemaking not out of obligation but a willingness to make my house a home. I have been reading a book called "Home Comforts" by Cheryl Mendelson. It was recommended over by Bev over at Scratchin' the Surface.

Cheryl says,"She lived her life not only through her own body but through the house as an extension of her body; part of her relation to those she loved was embodied in the physical medium of the home she made. My own experience convinces me that there is still no other way to make a good home than to have attitudes toward home and domesticity modeled on those of that traditional woman. But most man and many women do not want to identify themselves with homes that they create through which they offer themselves to others. Advertisements and television program images offer degraded images of household work and workers. It is scarcely surprising, then, that so many people imagine housekeeping to be boring, frustrating, repetitive, unintelligent drudgery........ And I am convinced that such attitudes toward housekeeping are needlessly self defeating. You can enjoy keeping house. No one is too superior or intelligent to care for hearth and home."

I have to admit I am one that has had the attitude that house keeping is drudgery. I am trying to change that. I want to have a better attitude toward my home. I am trying to look at things differently than I have in the past. This book has been a real eye opener for me. I like her ideas and the way she looks at house keeping. I am off to make my house feel like a home.

HAPPY 4TH!!!!!!!!!

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all!

God forgive and bless America!!