'Twas the Night Before Jesus Came...

Written by Audrey Patricia Woolverton

'Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house
Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.
Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care
In hopes that Jesus would not come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.
And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap
Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the East there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!

When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray
I knew in a moment this must be THE DAY!

The light of His face made me cover my head
It was Jesus returning just like He had said.
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life, which was held in His hand,
Was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;
When He said "It's not here" my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love
He gathered to take to His Father above.
With those who were ready He rose without a sound
While all the rest were left standing around.

I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.
I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight;
Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.

In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;
The coming of Jesus is drawing near.
There's only one life and when comes the last call
We'll find that the Bible was true after all!

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON.
LET'S NOT FORGET WHY WE CELEBRATE THIS WONDEROUS DAY!!

My wish for each one of you is that you BELIEVE in CHRISTmas!
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!!

A Little Cailyn Chatter

I just realized that I never wrote all the cute ways that grandlittle bird Cailyn pronounced her words during "Grandy Camp". She is so grown up NOW and speaks very well, but just a mere 6 months ago she made us giggle with her "words" everytime she spoke. Here are just a few favorites...

Yam I am! (Yes, I am)

Swim soup (swim suit)

Hula hoop (tube for pool)

Swim gobbles (swim goggles)

Peeuter (computer)

No, my not! (No, I’m not)

Hotgog (hotdog)

Pool towlull (pool towel)

Ham stamp (hand stand)

Shashlight (flashlight)

Mikey favor (microwave)

And one day I said she was "adorable" and she turned to Jessie and said "we can get a Dora bowl at the store"!

She is growing up so fast right before my eyes!

Can you "see" me now???

I learned a long time ago that with age comes many wonderful benefits. Let me list a few...
* adult children
* grandchildren
* a bucketful of friends
* knowing "who" you are...and being comfortable with that!

But there are also some "not so wonderful" aspects to getting older. Let me list a few more...
* achy joints...you know when you get out of bed in the morning in stages (and very slowly)
* hair in places it should not be
* saggy (baggy)skin
* weird toenails
* hot flashes
* loss of memory
* loss of hearing
* loss of sight...you know, when you can no longer read the fine print unless you take OFF your glasses...hold it as close to your face as possible...under the brightest of lights!

Those of us that wear glasses have all read something in that way! Those of you that do not wear glasses normally...or at least "claim" that you only need them to read...have it a little harder because first you have to find your glasses then go through all the stages above!

A dear friend of mine, and her husband, wear their glasses just to read. You can be in their home at any time and find several pairs of glasses in each room...on the end tables...dining table...kitchen counter...and bathroom sink..even tucked away in drawers. Outside you can find them on the picnic table...in their cars...in the barn...and on the porch.

My friend even keeps a pair at my house in case she can't find hers when in need.

So...the other night we had just left a restaurant after having dinner with our friends. The guys were in the front seats while my friend and I were in the back. Why does that always happen????

My friend was digging in her purse for something...I don't even remember what now. While digging she found her cell phone...which she never has with her nor knows where it is. And of course when she finds it the battery is dead!

But also in her purse she finds one...no two...no three...wait, four...ummmmm five...six...oh my, seven pairs of glasses and two pairs of sunglasses!!!! She said every time she leaves home she throws a pair in her purse in case she does not have a pair in there. LOL!!!!!

I think this is where the * loss of memory comes in!

And...how about this one for those of you that always wear glasses...
* isn't it the strangest thing that you have to make sure you have your glasses on to hear something???

Splish...Splash

So...Saturday is pool cleaning day. Now, Sebastian does a really good job, but in the fall especially he needs a little assistance from me to get all of the leaves out. If I left it up to him he would have to be running around in the pool the whole day! It's tough to find good help these days! Geesh!

Now...you may be wondering why my pool is still open??? Well...simply...I forgot to call the pool company to close it until the 2nd week in September. When I did call the lady that answered the phone said "When would you like it closed?" to which I replied "Oh, the beginning of October would be great" to which she answered "Well, the first opening I have is October 23!" Now...I ask you...why didn't she just say that right up front?????

So, although I do a quick cleaning every day before work, Saturday is pool cleaning day. Complete with brushing and skimming and chemicalizing...is that a word??? I did finally turn off the heater on October 1st...after much prodding from my honey. Since no one is swimming anymore, and rarely using the hot tub...I figured he was probably right. See, my honey...I do say you are right sometimes!!

What a beautiful day it was. The sun was shining. There was a slight breeze. A perfect fall day. Cailyn was playing in the rocks by the pool, and I was scooping out leaves with the skimmer...keeping one eye on her so that she did not get too close to the edge and fall in. Thank goodness I was doing that!!!

In fact, I was paying more attention to her...and not quite enough to what I was doing. And so...guess who fell in!!! That's right!

Now I wish I hadn't listened to my honey and was still heating the pool!!! One never knows when the mood may strike you to take a little dip!!

BRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

Heaven and Hell Weekend

We are fast approaching what my daughter refers to as "Heaven and Hell Weekend.

October 31st is sweet grandlittle bird, Cailyn's third birthday! Wow, it is hard to believe that she is going to be three already. She is such a bright and beautiful part of our lives...a little bit of "heaven on earth."

Then November 1st marks the one year anniversary of our precious grandlittle bird, Carter's last day with us. Again, it is hard to believe that 12 months have passed. These days approaching have been difficult, emotional and very much "hell-like". I know my pain...I can not begin to know my daughter's pain.

Heaven and Hell Weekend...a roller coaster ride I am not wanting to take. But, I will have to none the less. I pray God grants me the strength to sit by Carrie...holding her hand as we rise to the top of that ride and then drop quickly to the bottom....

but...only to rise again. HE will bring us through this, of that I am certain.

I miss you sweet Carter. Every day...every minute...every second.

My nest is empty....

and it seems very strange. In my last post I talked about how full it was. Just that quickly things changed. I mentioned before about the revolving door we have here, and it just continues to spin.

Littlebird Jessie moved out to an apartment not too far from us. Then littlebird Will moved to NYC to pursue his dream in theater.

This week littlebird Carrie and grandlittle bird Cailyn are in Missouri visiting friends and family. So...my nest is empty...really, really empty...strangely empty.

Quiet. My friend said "silence is golden". I say...sometimes not so much.

I have been enjoying my house being in "order". I have been enjoying sharing the TV in the great room with my honey...watching what we want. I did enjoy going in the hot tub with my honey just a few minutes ago...uninterrupted and alone.

But it is quiet.

And empty.

My nest is full...

of love, joy, dreams realized, laughter...and family! Lots and lots of family!!

In early June my sweet grandlittle bird, Cailyn, came for a three-week "Grandy Camp". When Mommy and Daddy left, they planned to return in early July to pick her up and visit with us for another week (a planned family reunion) before returning home. As Cailyn would say..."that's sounds like a plan".

In early July my honey's parents were planning to fly out of their nest, and settle into ours. We had spent the better part of May and June preparing for this move...finishing the renovations in the "guest suite" (which is now the "apartment") installing a dishwasher, garbage disposal, venting the dryer...and removing all of our furniture to make a blank canvas for them to "paint" with all of their special things.

The plan was that my honey's siblings and their families were coming move-in week to help unpack and get my inlaws "settled in". Well, as life goes, our plans never seem to be the reality. Although we had a nice visit with two of my honey's siblings and families for a few days, by the time the delayed moving truck arrived, one family had already returned home.

But...here's the other change in the original plan...and may I say right here it was answered prayer! Cailyn's Mommy and Daddy decided that they would be moving here also that same week!

So...my nest is full...of love, joy, dreams realized, laughter...and family! Lots and lots of family!!

A FULL NEST HAPPENS...one bird migrating at a time. Still hoping that #1 little bird finds her way back to the "mothernest" some day.

Until then, I will keep on praying!!