3 lists...

To do list already done:

• Washed clothes and put up
• Got all suitcases down, tagged and ready
• Started packing
• Got warm clothes down to pack for the beach
• Got passports and id's ready
• Researched best parking for us at airport for 6 days
• Called and asked airline tons of crazy questions about customs, bags, etc
• Got 3 ounce containers and quart size bags for carry on (never mind that, Jason just informed me that he didn't pick them up yesterday like I asked)
• Loaded currency converter, Spanish word dictionary, pinterest, etc on Ipod for use while there
• Called cell phone company about getting International long distance plan, but backed out since it was more for a month of it than .99 per minute that I probably will not use
• Washed Eves team leo, warm up suit and packed for competition
• Ordered tickets to College meet on Friday night there (Can't wait!)
• Took Christmas decorations down inside and outside ( well except for the mailbox) and put back in the attic (well not yet in attic but Jason's got that on his to do list next :)
• Swept, mopped, vacuumed, clean toilets, cleaned sinks, cleaned counters, cleaned tubs, showers, girls finally cleaned their rooms, etc
• Used gift cards up that we got for Christmas(Oh yeah!)
• Painted my toe nails for the beach

 Now my to do list that hasn't been done yet:

• Finish packing
• Wash Eves practice leo and remember to ger her grips
• Get someone to watch our animals while we are gone
• Worry about being patted down and stripped searched at the airport over and over and over
• Make my feet less ashy someway so I can wear sandals while there ( I need a pedicure real bad)
• Spray tan myself or get Jason to stain me up so I am not scary white for capris and sundresses
• Shave
• Worry about Eve and Jasy loosing something very valuable at the airport or in Mexico bc they never keep up with anything!
• Etc, etc, etc

Here will be my to do list starting Wednesday about 3:30 Central Standard time:

What a CHRISTmas...

We had a great Christmas! It was such a wonderful time. We made lots of good memories and the kids got more than they needed of course. So much that my whole living room and breakfast room were covered for days!  We all spent the night with my parents on Christmas Eve and I think it made my parents year. They loved it and we did as well. The kids didn't get much sleep bc they were so excited but we are use to  not getting much sleep anyway on Christmas Eve. We woke up to my Moms wonderful Christmas breakfast and it hit the spot! We then opened our enormous size stockings that I made for everyone that we had filled the night before with lots of goodies. They were stuffed with all kinds of $5 gifts! My favorite was the zebra cosmetic bag that my Dad picked out all by himself!!! After that, we cleaned up really fast and went home for the kids to see what Santa brought them. They were thrilled to see that Santa had full filled all their Christmas wishes! After that, we took showers and went to church for  a wonderful Christmas service. It was a great way to celebrate Jesus birthday and was so nice being back in His house after missing several services while sick! After church we went to Jason's Mom and Dads to celebrate with them and the rest of his family. The girls got so much more there as well and so did we. It was such a great day! On Monday we finished our Christmas by going to Dollywood! We won tickets on a local radio station and I was ecstatic! The lights were BEAUTIFUL! It was also the anniversary of when Jason proposed to me so spending the day with him there made it that much more special! I was so happy that we were all healthy again to be able to enjoy such a wonderful time of year together!

Now we are getting ready to go on our trip to Cancun in a week. I am so ready for some warm weather and some sand between my toes! I have to admit that I am not going to Cancun with Eve's meet in my mind lol. But...I will be there for her huge meet but right after I will be back on that beach! Jasy doesn't understand why I got all of their summer clothes back out and packed them for our trip. She keeps telling me it's winter and that the clothes I got are for summer, lol. She will thank me when we get there though! My mom is really worried about us traveling to Mexico. She keeps telling me over and over how safe we need to be. She is starting to make me worry too! That and worrying about security at the airport has  my stomach a little upset. I think we will make it though.

We survived...

The Donald household has been rocked by the dreary old word "THE FLU"!! Oh how, it has not been fun! I am writing this with a roll of toilet paper by my side (done used up all the tissues) and a noise full of snot! I am feeling so much better though! Eve and Jason too! I started this whole mess last Thursday night, not feeling well at all. I had a hair appt to get my hair done and I felt horrible! No fever then, just felt awful and I could tell that I was catching something. I gagged the most part of getting my hair done, trying not to barf on my hairdresser while she put highlights in my hair for Christmas. I made it through and went home, soaked in a hot bath and went straight to bed. Friday morning, not good! Didn't feel good at all but I pushed myself to go to work for the last day and make Jasys class party that she was so excited about. Again, no fever, just felt awful! I prayed my way through the day Friday and made it home. I crashed! Saturday am, felt like I had been hit by a train! I got up to take Eve to gymnastics practice and I could not function! I called my mom and she came to take Eve for me and when she showed up I must have looked like I was dieing bc she insisted that I go directly to the Urgent Care. I drove myself there, I do not remember going there at all, I get there at 8:40 and I am thinking I can be the first one seen, get in and get out and go to bed. I look at the door and they do not open until 10am! I had to sit in my car for 1hr and 20 mins and wait for them to open! I thought I was going to die!  I get home, immediately take my medicine and go to bed! I wake up 20 minutes later vomiting all over the place. I run to the bathroom, and it's like a monsoon of vomit, I can't quit. I throw up on myself, on the floor, in the toilet, on the clothes in the floor that I just threw there when I got home bc I was too sick to put them anywhere. I eventually stop vomiting and start trying to clean up the disaster area to the best I a delirious woman can, then I crawl back to bed and sit there. Jason comes home 5 minutes later and walks in the bedroom, looks at me and has this concerned look on his face like he is fixing to loose his wife. I must have looked like a ghost. He then has to leave to go get Eve in Greenville at her gymnastics Ice Skating party, and pick up Jasy at  my moms. I am stuck by myself again. Ughh....Will I ever make it?! Well I did make it somehow and I wake up Sunday morning, and their sick too. Jason is sick as a dog, Eve is sick as a dog, and Jasy is bouncing off the walls wanting to eat! Poor Jasy had to wait on us with our request for water, cold washcloths (which were still soaking wet that they drenched our face when applied), etc. At one point I look in the kitchen and she is sitting on the bar buttering her bread by herself. It really broke my heart so I called my mom to come get her so she could get out of the retirement home for a bit. Jason has to fax his time sheet for work every Sunday night so he will get paid since our fax machine is tore up he goes to town and faxes it. He was so sick Sunday night that he could bearly drive. I was as well. Finally he mustard up enough energy to go, after about 1hour of him being gone I start to get worried bc it usually only takes him about 30 minutes. I am so sick that I can bearly remember how to use my cell phone. It takes me about 5 minutes to work it but finally I call. No answer. Okay, I am real worried now. After about 15 minutes of calling him I hear him pull up. I wait for him to come in the garage door but after 10 minutes he still hasn't come in. What? Then the door opens and in he comes, drenched with sweat, pale as ghost, and collapses on the couch. I ask him if he is okay and what took him so long and he precedes to tell me that he was so weak when he got there and was about to pass out that he had to go to sleep in the truck before he could go inside to fax his time sheet! Poor thing! In the meantime, Eve is lying around, with dark circles under her eyes, coughing her head off, crying bc her head and throat and body is hurting so bad. I go to get her something to drink. Again, I am delirious as well so I find myself standing over Jason handing him the drink and then I realize that it wasn't him, it was for Eve. I did this all night. I am taking care of them while I am sick and not doing a very good job lol. But we survived it all thank God and we are doing so  much better! We just have some funny stories to tell on Christmas! Jason and Eve are pretty much completely better and I am still coughing my head off, and dealing with a terrible sinus infection but I will take it !!!! We are so fortunate that we didn't get sick at Christmas! It was hard being sick and missing so much that was going on the last week. My calendar on my phone went crazy Saturday and Sunday and all I could do was turn it off and go to sleep knowing that I was missing all of the festivities. It wasn't like I had planned but I know that it could have been worse. Jason couldn't do the Christmas program at church that he had been practicing for a while. That was hard for him. But we still had each other. Jasy drew us lots of pretty pictures, and gave us lots of kisses so it made it so much better.

Now it's Christmas eve and we are so ready to do some celebrating! Jesus was born tomorrow and we need to get this party started! I hope everyone has a very Merry CHRISTmas! Because of Him, and only Him!

Happy Birthday my sweet Lord and thanks for taking care of the snot noise Donalds so we could be all better by your Birthday!

Christmas in an element'ry school

 Only 2 more days until Christmas break! This is soooo true and too funny!



(To the tune of “Winter Wonderland” )

Children scream, they won’t lis’in;
When they go, we won’t kiss em’,
In all of this pain, we try to stay sane,
Workin’ in an element’ry school.
Christmas comes, they’re excited,
Though our nerves, they’ve ignited,
They’re off the walls, they run in the halls,
Workin’ in an element’ry school.
In the lunchroom we can hear them yellin’
And we know that they are really wound,
Someone hits, the other says “I’m tellin’ “
And that is when our heads begin to pound.
Pretty soon, we’ll be restin’
Cause our nerves, they’ve been testin’,
We’re happy its clear,
It comes once a year,
Christmas in an element’ry school!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Smiles on faces and lights all lit up
Bright Christmas colors and warm blankets
Sparkling paper packages tied up with ribbon
These are a few of my favorite things
Chocolate candies and hot cocoa
Christmas music playing all around and kids saying "I want that" all through the town
Wild kids on Christmas morning rushing to the tree
These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in red dresses with lime green ribbon
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Church steeples glowing on Christmas morn
These are a few of my favorite things
When the alarm goes off
When the tiredness sets in
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

:)

My favorite book of the Bible...

Oh how I love me some Phillippians! What a blessing I get every time I read it. The Lord so gracefully showed me what I needed this morning. May we all have a wonderful weekend, full of fun, excitement and blessings.


Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, [my] dearly beloved.
2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and [with] other my fellowlabourers, whose names [are] in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: [and] again I say, Rejoice.
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord [is] at hand.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.
11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content.
12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.
15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things [which were sent] from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
20 Now unto God and our Father [be] glory for ever and ever. Amen.
21 Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.
22 All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household.
23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with you all. Amen. ([To [the] Philippians written from Rome, by Epaphroditus.])

Wrapping baby...

Well we started doing the wrapping this weekend of the presents! I love it when you look under the tree and it's full of pretty packages, bags and ribbon! I love pretty wrapping paper, sparkling tissue, and glittery bows! I must admit that I am not a master wrapper though! I'm not bad but I am not good like Jason so I design the outer shell- you know, pick the paper for each present,do the gift tags, and tie the pretty ribbon and he does the elegant wrapping. I thought about getting him a second job for the Holidays wrapping presents but I figured he had enough on his plate right now. Hobby lobby is one of my favorite stores in the whole world!!! I can just walk in those doors, and it's like a light turns on and the angels start singing in harmony bc I am in Heaven! Especially right now with all of their Christmas decor out I could stay in there for hours on hours! BTW-all of their Christmas decor is 50% off including their wrapping paper, bows, boxes, bags, etc! I racked up by getting the 100 sq foot rolls for $3 bucks! That goes a long way baby! Another favorite place to visit during the Christmas season is Dolly Wood. We used to go there every year the week after Christmas and "prolong" our Christmas a little bit longer. We would go see all the lights at Dolly wood, and then New Years eve we would watch the ball drop in Gatlinburg. I wish we could start that again. It was so nice not having that dreaded feeling you get after Christmas when it's all over and done with but you still are in the festive mood. You can pack up and head down and celebrate the Saviours birth some more! If you have never been to Dolly Wood at Christmas, you need to go bc it's simply breathtaking with all the lights and music! Speaking of music...I am one of those shoppers who love walking in the department stores and hearing Christmas music playing softly. You know the way they entice shoppers to get in the Christmas buying mood and spend too much money before they know it. I get hooked every time! I think I need to start wearing ear muffs while shopping. I might borrow my brothers ear muffs that he wears when my sister in law vacuums, lol.

The Meaning of the Candy Cane

Many years ago, a candy maker wanted to make a candy that symbolized the true meaning of Christmas-JESUS. The hard candy was shaped like a "J" to represent Jesus' name. The color white stands for the pureness of Jesus. The color red represents the blood Jesus shed for us.

So the next time you chop into a  yummy candy cane, remember what it really means. :)

Gobble, Gobble...

What a wonderful Thanksgiving break we had! Good food, good fellowship, and good times! The girls and I got to sleep in a couple of days as well and it was nice for a change! We watched the Macy's parade on Thanksgiving morning, cooked, and just had a good time together. Jasy brought home a turkey yesterday that she made at school last week and it was the sweetest thing! They had to write what they were thankful for this Thanksgiving and she wrote "For Jesus dieing on the Cross". She drew a picture of a hill, and a cross with Jesus hanging on it with a smile on His face. Not a frown bc "He wasn't sad to do it". He sure wasn't! He paid it all for us, He gave it all for us, He sacrificed His life for us! SINNERS, nothing more are we. I am SO THANKFUL FOR MY LORD! THAT IS MY ULTIMATE THANKSGIVING THANKS! Not the food I ate, the decorations on the table, not the times with my family, not Black Friday shopping (which I would rather croak than to adhere to that nonsense), not the petty little things that I listed last month that I am thankful for! I am thankful that my sins have been forgiven, and my name is written in the Lambs book of Life! Is yours?