Christmas Basket Saturday

My favorite ministry ever? Unquestionably, managing the food pantry at my church. And today is the equivalent of Super Bowl Sunday for my pantry: it's Christmas basket delivery day. We have spent months collecting and organizing food with the intentions of distributing it to needy families in the area on the Saturday before Christmas (we did it on the 17th this year because we didn't want to attempt to deliver on Christmas Eve). This year our church put-out a record-breaking 40 boxes of food!!! Praise the Lord!

Included in every box:

1 New Testament with the Plan of Salvation included

1 loaf of bread

1 half-gallon of milk

1 pounds of margerine

1 box of cereal

1 jar of applesauce

1 box of mashed potatoes

2 packages of gravy

2 cans of raviolli or spaghettios

2 cans of peas

2 cans of corn

2 cans of green beans

1 jar of jelly

1 jar of peanut butter

2 cans of some type of fruit

1 jar of spaghetti sauce

1 package of spaghetti noodles

2 1-pound canned hams

1 can of chicken

1 box of Chicken Helper

1 box of stuffing

5 boxes of macaroni and cheese

1 box of Bisquick

1 container of syrup

Thanks for everyone who helped-out this year!

The Cincinnati Ballet performs The Nutcracker

It had always been a dream of mine to see The Nutcracker performed in person. I LOVE The Nutcracker music, and I listen to it not only at Christmas but all year long. We had talked about going to see it downtown in years past, but the tickets were so very expensive, and we weren't even sure that Anna could sit through it. We decided that this was the year, and we bought our tickets all the way back in September for Opening Night, praying that no one would get sick, nor would our schedules change. Sure enough, we made it tonight! The performance was amazing, all the way from start to finish! The kids were able to meet some of the real ballerinas outside in the lobby before the show began.

By the way, we did not make John dress-up in a suit and tie. He wanted to. Said he "wanted to look like Daddy."

I had expected Anna Jean to fall in love with the ballet, which she did. However, I expected the boys to lose interest in it, if not fall asleep. I was shocked by how enamored they were! John was the one who REALLY loved it, probably more than the other two. He was so excited about it that he even sweet talked me into buying a souvenier nutcracker that the ballet was selling in the lobby. He was so excited about that little nutcracker that we bought during intermission (which Tim affectionately calls "halftime") that John held it all the way through the second half. Feels good to be a mom at times like this.

My husband has the most uncanny ability to name any commercial that the music of The Nutcracker has been featured in. So as we sat through the ballet, Tim would occassionally lean over and whisper "Smurfberry Crunch Cereal." "The Lexus End of Year Clearance Sale." "Friskies Catfood." etc. You think you know someone after 14 years of marriage, but I apparently haven't even scratched the surface of my husband's talents!

By the way.... Want to know if your husband loves you??? Ask him to miss the FoxNews Republican Presidential debate to go to opening night of the ballet. And watch him do it joyfully. Thanks, Honey.

Some Christmas Stuff from Clough

I was super proud of my boys during December's Worship Arts Night, as they recited from memory passages of Scripture. Christopher recited Matthew 4:1-11. John recited John 14: 1-6.

Thanks to Ralph Farmer for making his famous Christmas Wassail for our after-Worship Arts Night fellowship. Wassail is kind of like a spicy apple cider with cranberries in it. Yum! Ralph always lets me take home the leftovers. So I have to say it: Here I go a wassailing!

Below.... We're so glad to see "Kaffy" Geers up and around after her extensive two-foot surgery. We stopped by to visit her, and found her up and around, walking like a pro!

Annual Deacon Christmas Dinner

Friday night. Royal Oaks Country Club. Prime rib. Yum.

(Below) Jeff and Faith Mahaffey's first Deacon Dinner.

Youth Group Progressive Dinner

Each year, the teenagers at our church have a progressive dinner, and we are always the appetizer house (probably because we live right behind the church, so if there are any stragglers they'll know where to find the group). It's always a really crowded house, but we have a lot of fun.

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Goodbye Fall

We woke-up to our first hard frost in Cincinnati this morning, and the furnace is pumping away. So I posted a few pics to say goodbye to the fall we just had. Autumn is my favorite season, and this one was a beautiful one.

Gobble Gobble

Over the river...

And through the woods.... To Grandmother's house we go!

Thanksgiving from WV:

A post-Thanksgiving dinner tradition at my parents' house: target shooting off the deck. Just call me Kara Palin!!

My honey is such a good shot: he hit the target every time!!!

What does everyone need on Friday after they're tired of turkey? Mexican food!!!