PAIN:     Pressure - from sinus and stress headaches for the past five days ....

                  Aches - from joint, muscle, and nerves all over my body

                 Inside - mostly have been house-bound due to weather and the above items

                   Not bored - so much to do: reading, writing, listening, sleeping, playing, fixing, eating, etc. --- life goes on!

PEACE: Promises of God are always good, no matter how one may feel!

                   Even in times of pain, there are things that we can praise God and for which we can be thankful to Him.

                 Assurance:   "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called                                         according to His  purpose."

                  Contentment: "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be                                           content."

                   Everything can bring glory to God if I keep my heart, soul, & mind pleasing to Him.

Today we stayed home from church (I think that this is now the 3rd Sunday?).  After getting the needed amount of rest after having a not so restful night,  I enjoyed spending the time in meditating on Bible verses and devotional thoughts, as well as listening to uplifting music. 

One of the quotes that I really appreciated reading today is from Charles H. Spurgeon: "All our infirmities,  whatever they are, are just opportunities for God to display His gracious work in us."  (from a sermon he gave in the year 1893)

This picture is one that our son and daughter-in-law posted of our three grandchildren wearing the shirts that we got them for Christmas.  

Tristen, 9; Brogan, 3, & Quinn, almost 8 months.

T H I N K     S P R I N G !!!!

I am not upset that my Dad is no longer with us.  I do miss him, and he is always in my heart. However, he is in a much better place now -- in Heaven with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  No more pain, sickness, problems, sin! And someday, we are looking forward to seeing him again when we join him there!

This photo was taken a little over one year before he died.  Mom and Dad were always big "Peanuts" fans, and collected memorabilia. (Thus passing on that love to their offspring!) 

How pleasant to see the sunshine today!  I'm staying indoors, but popped my head out of the front door so that I could take some pictures!  Can you see the footprints of our mailman across the snow from our neighbor's house, up the side of our porch, and up to the door? The sky has been so blue today, and the bluish shadows show that, too. I did take a picture of outside as seen through the lace curtains of our kitchen window. Sunshine just makes the whole day seem better!

I wanted to also pass along a great quote that I found on one of my friend's Facebook pages.... AND a little bit of humor I found on Pinterest.  I hope you all have a sunny next few days!  

I will start out my entry this week with one of my favorite photos put up by my DIL on Facebook this past week.  This is our youngest grandchild, baby Quinn, and the children's faithful "Nana-dog" - Ruger.  That big grin with her new teeth makes me smile, too!

Next ... I think that this is my favorite "Picture of the Day" that I posted on Facebook this last week.  I have a very eclectic taste in decorating, music, and more.  I think that each lamp is so special!  Wouldn't it be interesting to know what the story of each lamp is? People are the same way. I love to meet

people of all kinds, and to hear their stories. I especially enjoy learning about new cultures, languages, customs, foods, stories, etc. After all, God made each of us as unique individuals in His image.   Have a blessed rest of the week!                                                                                   

Here are just a few things that I am enjoying doing.

1. Journaling, Facebook & blogging:

              2. Photo of the day (a photo album on Facebook):

                    3. Reading for my own pleasure (including the ones I read to my Mom): 

                4. Watching "American Idol" with my hubby - Great chemistry among the new combination of  judges:  

 I was looking at pictures of our grandchildren as babies, and of their dad (our son) & mom as babies, and saw a fun collage in the making: to show how similar they all look. (Top: their mom & dad; Bottom: kids in order -- now 9, 3, & fairly current one of baby) 

For Christmas, Mom and the rest of our household received a lovely basket of fruit from my older sister Becky. We have enjoyed eating apples, bananas, pears, grapes, oranges, & pineapple. . . some in their immediate state, others are being transformed into various goodies.   Most of the remaining apples will be turned into apple cake, the pears were turned into  a crisp, pineapple into a small pineapple upside down cake, grapes and some apples into Waldorf salad, bananas into smoothies or bread.

This is the first day of what some of my friends and I do/have done in the past... let's call it a "Picture (or Collage) of the Day." (I'm only 9 days late getting it started).... not bad.

 My older son Tom took this photo, and I just added the "Verse of the Day" from Bible Gateway, a site that I use pretty much daily.

I have a very clever, fun daughter-in-law named Melissa. She is the mom of our three grandchildren.  Although the family lives over an hour away from us and we don't get to see them very often,  she (& at times our son, or some of his in-laws) will post pictures and delightful stories about our grandchildren.  This blog is to show you some of the things that she has done with the children during these cold days when the oldest girl Tristen has been kept home from school due to the sub-zero,  double-digit below zero wind chill weather.

The first two pictures are of the two older kids reading/playing games on their new Christmas gifts-Kindles... and of Baby Girl Quinn "looking on" at Brogan's device (I think I see a set-up!).  The next two pictures show the children playing in shaving cream.  The next picture is actually from autumn, but it is another example of a fun indoor activity.... they ran and hopped across the bubble wrap in the hallway.  The last two show the Brogan and Tristen with one of the "ice-balloons" that they made with their Mom, and then the ice balloons decorating the front yard.

So what sorts of things do you like to do inside?  This Grandma likes to (& has been) cooking & baking; watching TV; reading; keeping up with folks, playing games, listening to music, & doing business on my computer; and spending extra time with family.  I have other things I enjoy doing (but haven't yet): counted cross stitch, jig-saw puzzles, and working with photos, just to name a few.                                                                                                                                           Here is my inspirational thought for this blog,  in honor of my daughter-in-law. 

I love a new year! There is just something about new beginnings... so much so that I think it is fantastic that God gave us a new day 365 times most every year!  This is a time in which I do some serious meditating and evaluating of my life, goals, plans, etc.  I hope that each of you my friends have a tremendous year!

Last night Mike Mom, & I brought in the New Year with hugs, kisses, and watching the ball drop . . . and a picture of each of us wearing  the "Happy New Year" hat!  Then today I saw some pictures of our younger son and his family celebrating together . . . and of Baby Quinn -- who woke up just before the new year, so she doesn't look quite as festive!    So, I have some pictures to share with you this evening.

In closing, I thought I'd share a neat saying that I found when I was looking for things online.

THANKS!  I am thankful for all of my friends who showed care and concern for me... special thanks to Zakiah for the research and the contacts she made, and for getting me in touch with Eugenia, who gave me the link I needed in order to pay for my membership to be renewed.   Thank you to Eugenia for that information; it is good to be back to blogging again.

So . . . where have I been this week? I have been writing our annual update letter, and am still working on getting out Christmas cards and letters, and I have also been doing some decorating of our living room.

I created my own card (with the help of a site that graciously allows folks to use the clipart for free).  Also, one thing that I enjoy doing is making collages, including creating a photographic "recap" of the year.  A lot of the pictures you may have seen if you have followed me throughout this year. I am sharing the card and the collages with you in the rest of this post.  I won't plan to put up another blog until Christmas day (since we celebrate with our family on Christmas Eve), but I shall try to keep up with visiting all of you my friends, who are much better at updating than I am. 

That being said, HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS!  ~ Love, Carolyn