Don't Blink

I am really glad I became a blogger. My pictures are not great, but I can tell you all that becoming a blogger has made me NOTICE. Notice things. Record those things. Remember those things. It really is cool to have this record.

Saturday evening was my family Christmas. It was the first time I had seen my sister since the July 4th weekend from you know where. I am very very worried about her. She is unhappy, she is drinking too much, she is making everyone around her unhappy, and she is feeling sorry for herself. Should I worry -- yes -- and (since I am no longer on her favorite people list) all I can do is pray.

My girls (and one boy) rode with us to the lake house. We are hardly ever all in a vehicle together. The chatter was so beautiful. We talked about counting Christmas lights. We talked about donuts at the lake (we do not have a meal for this gathering, just homemade donuts). They teased and shared and tortured that boy with us. They critiqued my choice in music. The critiqued Dad's choice in music. I could listen to that endless chatter noise forever. It touches my heart in ways I cannot describe.

I took sparklers for all the kids.

That is Cindy holding her first ever sparkler - I do hope you can see the look of wonder on that little face. She was adorable.

Left to right Sam (Molly's boyfriend), Softball Princess, Scott (against the wall), and Jonathan (he is an adult, but he still qualifies since he is at the same level in the family tree as my girls)

Poor Abby - had a terrible time lighting her sparklers.

After the gathering, we went to a local club to hear JW Hell play. Imagine our surprise when we get there to find that he has ditched the band. It was initially awkward, but after getting the scoop we settled in and enjoyed ourselves. I danced like I used to and never once thought about how "fat" I must look. 35 pounds of weight loss and some serious exercise toning have made a huge difference in my self image. 25 more pounds to go.

Huge and difficult question here.........

Do mixers have a shelf life?

Huh - you say. Well I opened this one yesterday. It was a wedding gift for me and the Man at my Address. 24 YEARS AGO. Yes - 24 years ago - actually 24 plus years ago. It still had the names of the people who gave it to us (I do not have a clue who they are.) I got two of these as gifts and kept this one.

I was baking apple cake and burned my other one up (super thick batter). I was freaking out until I remembered that I had one in the back of the bottom cabinet. Let's just say what an amazing memory I have (not) - I was looking for a heavy duty whisk to finish mixing the cake and one of the children mentioned seeing this at some point in the past. Well then the hunt was on. This years funny Christmas memory - Mom crawling hands and knees on the kitchen floor digging crap out of cabinets to find something someone thought they remembered seeing. There was cussing involved.

I also spent serious crochet time on this baby blanket. But even with all my effort - the new owner of this arrived before I got it finished. Welcome Baby Collinsworth. I promise I'll get this too you super soon.

So there you go - life is what happens while you are waiting for the big stuff. It is thousands of moments of laughter, tears, joy, worries. Don't wait to enjoy every blessing. Even the smell of a burning mixer was a blessing, because I was cooking for family and friends when it happened.

I have a beautiful life. I thank God for that beauty and for the ability to recognize it.

I am already calling this my best Christmas ever. So many blessings fill my life.

Have a wonderful day.