Christmas-It's here too fast!

I have liked baking at times. I don't like the mess I have in the end. I realize I depend a lot on labels on items for my baking-

Rice Krispie treats-usually on the box- Not this year. Had to Google it
Muddy Buddies-On the Rice CHex box at Christmas time.
Fudge-Favorite recipe ever is on the marshmallow creme container. It's easy and almost always yummy.
Toffee cookiesLove cookies made with Toffee bits that you can find at Wal-mart. I use the recipe on the package and they are a big hit.
Sugar cookies-I was ready to give up on those until I found a recipe that calls for you to use Cream Cheese. I found that recipe at Kraft.com. They are my favorite now and they are easy, you don't need to chill and they stay soft after you bake them.
I have a chocolate chip cookie a friend gave me. I might have to share that one later.

I have been terribly sick. Could be the great outdoors that did me in this year. I usually get some form of larygitis with a cold this time of year. Never have I lost my voice permanently for days. It was gone for 3 days. It is still struggling to come back for 3 days since. I have the worst cough so I am pretty sure I have a wonderful bout of bronchitis. It's been hard to get things done this week because I have felt so bad. Today is the best day and I started with some kitchen stuff. I have made only the rice kripie treats and muddy buddies.

We have been touched by the genorosity of others like never before. Someone we know came by the house on Thursday, the day after the red car was totaled, and gave us a $500 dollar gift card to the mall. I have never been so overwhelmed in my life. We have also received gift cards to Winco too. I have never been more grateful for the love of others.

Lee Joe started his new job last week. We are thankful he has a job. He drives 50 minutes to work. The weather has been awful and he is driving cattle trucks all over. Hard job. Hard work and long hours. It was on his way home, his first week, 3rd day when he lost control of the car went off the road. He was checking the tires to see if any were flat when another car came around the corner and lost control and hit the car. He was not in the car and in absolutely the safest place he could have been standing when the car was hit. We are amazed he is safe. We are without a car but we have enough cars to be OK. I say again how lucky he was to be where he was when that car came around that corner. So we are counting our blessings and will hopefully start to feel some relief soon in other areas as well.

Wonderful things have happened even though I am whining about my health again and some of the challenges seem so much smaller now.

Here is to 2010 making 2009 disappear because of it's greatness.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

The good news is....

All I wanted for Christmas was good news. And it has finally come. We had good news regarding our house payment, I may be able to get a discount on our phones because I work for the school and Lee Joe finally has A JOB!! It was felt like almost a year at least of struggling and the last six months have been hard. When I heard he got the job with Simplot I think I wasn't ready to believe it yet until I heard more. But he starts tomorrow. We went out this weekend and we both could feel the relief. We sighed great big sighs of relief over and over.

I have been grateful that I have a job. Weeks like last week are pretty rough. It was below 0 or like 3 or 4 degrees in the morning every day last week. Even though the kids can come in, I still have to be outside for the crosswalk in the morning. Our principal was wonderful and spelled me off so I wasn't out that long. Inside recess all week is a big pain in the month of December to make even more so. I have this cold now. I get it every December. I have a really soft voice but then you give me a case of laryngitis and it is ridiculous. I was SO frustrated. I can't talk loud enough to be heard. I feel like yelling sounds like a whisper. Everyone told me to stay home on Friday so I did. Even though I have been inside all weekend I am not much better. Oh well. We have this big stake choir thing though. I thought for sure I couldn't sing and would have to just mouth the words. I was pleasantly surprised that I could sing. We sang the Hallelujah chorus in the end and then I started coughing after that and had no voice for Silent Night but was able to sing everything else. Amazing!

I am happy to report- and why I am so silly excited over this, I don't know- But I went to the dentist for the first time in several years and my teeth are healthy, no cavities. They went ahead and cleaned my teeth and my gums were healthy too. I liked that good news.

We are getting ready for Christmas with a big sigh of relief thank goodness. I am very happy about that. One more week of school and I am off too. I like that as well. We have had snow and it has finally warmed up. I hope we can send the kids out at the school to have fun in the snow.

I like good news.