Snowstorm

Rain and sleet were falling as we came out of church this morning. Haven't seen that in awhile. It has been unusually warm for Iowa this winter. But the rain and sleet soon added snow and by late afternoon we have a couple of inches. We had plans to go out of town for New Year's Eve but the weather continued to get worse. Winds of up to 35 mph were causing blowing and drifting snow so we had to cancel our plans. :0( We enjoyed a quiet evening at home.

Closing 2006!

I had to go in to work today to close the books for 2006 and set up for 2007. With no kids there and my boss away on a Christmas vacation, it was quiet in an almost erie sense. So I turned on some tunes and set to work. I accomplished a lot and it felt great to get stuff done.

North Grand in Ames

My husband and I went to Ames today. We shopped, we visited Sam's Club, ate at a new restaurant, Okoboji Grill, and took in the movie, "Facing the Giants." The movie was a terrific christian film with an important message. There may be giants that we are all facing but God is head of the "overcomers" club and will help you face those giants head on! I cried and rejoiced with the film's family. It was great!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! and Happy Birthday Jesus! My husband's family came to our home to celebrate Christmas today! Instead of the traditional turkey or ham we all brought a hot dish, a salad, pop of choice and Christmas goodies. What a variety! We celebrated with family pictures, games, food and the wonderful fellowship of family. Thank you Jesus for family!

Christmas Break begins!

School released at 11:30 a.m. today for Christmas and New Year's holiday break. Yippee! Working at the school - it's my break too! I'm as excited as the kids are! Although they are looking forward to Christmas presents, video games, outdoor fun, etc... I am looking forward to some time to get some projects done. Scrapbooking being one of them!

My Son - the Mayor!

My son, Caleb, starred as the Mayor in the school's Christmas music program titled, "Miracle on Main Street." He was the politically correct mayor who wouldn't allow a children's live nativity on the town square. But through a series of events, his daughter changed his mind and he was touched by the kids' presentation. It was put together very well and had a great message. The kids all did a super job!

Christmas Party

The staff, teachers and school board met tonight at the home of one of our school board members for a Christmas gathering. We all brought food and enjoyed the fellowship of our co-workers and spouses. We exchanged some recipes and also got a tour of the beautiful big home we had gathered in. The punch, made of several different juices and even Mountain Dew, was one of my favorites. Slushy, just the right amount of sweetness and a great taste!

Flickr.com

My boss recently shared with me about flickr.com where you can upload photos and share the link with your family and friends. I tried it and it works great. You can load lots of pictures on there and not bog down an e-mail with trying to send them out over the great wide web. You can also purchase prints off of the site and others can too. But the best thing - the upload is FREE!

Movie - "The Nativity Story"

A must see film! This movie follows the life of Mary and Joseph from the time they met until the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. It shows the angel's visit to Mary, Joseph asking for Mary as his wife, the divine dream of Joseph's, Mary's visit to Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist, the journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the journey of the Magi, the Star of Bethlehem, and the vengeful rage of King Herod. This film was AWESOME! I can't wait to own it!

Free Movies!

A small community about 20 miles north of our home town, is offering a free movie every Saturday until Christmas. We took the kids and went to the first free movie today - "Ice Age 2." A cute adventurous animated film loved by all. I suppose they make money on this deal because everyone was buying up popcorn and snacks galore and the theater was close to packed out! A great family outing at little expense. Sure wish there were more of these kinds of things out there for families to do.