Here we are, suddenly and unexpectedly sharing the Christmas holidays with our precious sons and daughters. Our hurry-to-beat-the-snow drive up to Seattle then led to being gloriously snowed-in, leading to numerous slumber parties, snacks, movies, pots of freshly-brewed coffee, very little exercise -oh well- and as we ponder this priceless gift of family time (that includes many of our treasured spiritual sons and daughters here, too) we reflect on how Christmas 2008 has been one big fat package with a bow on top – such a surprise from Him. I hope you, too, are gleaning the very best from your present circumstances, whatever they might be. Our surprise required lots of flexibility and spontaneity on our part, and at times I’m sure, hefty doses of grace and patience from those hosting us (thanks everyone!) but my heart is singing as I seek Him on this special day….remember, don’t demand perfection or you’ll miss all the fun! God’s kisses usually come mixed in with all of our human-ness and that’s a universal condition. Whatever, whenever, however TRUST IN HIM…Psalm 125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forevermore…God’s great grace and love to you today…

I introduced my long-time friend, tech guy and web-savior, Colby, a good while ago on my blog with his doll, Kara, the Seattle ballerina.  I am tickled pink to announce to the whole wide world that they are OFFICIALLY engaged to be wed in the spring!  What a precious couple with such a bright future.  We traipsed through the magical, glistening,  snow-covered streets of Seattle in our boots last night and caught up with them for some hang time.  Love is in the air!  Congratulations, friends!

P.S. Totally cool, Colby-designed, God-inspired ring, by the way.

 Sitting inside Starbucks this afternoon all toasty-warm, sipping my short, extra-hot eggnog latte’ with whip cream, I watched as shoppers bustled about making their way through the heaviest snow the Emerald City has seen in a very long time.  Looking out the window fills me with childlike glee as the hefty flakes continue to fall.  Our road trip has been one serendipitous adventure after another – all wrapped in a blanket of white.  God is so good.

CO-ED RESTROOMS. Shreik. Where, (in a female brain’s wildest imagination) dirty  male vagabonds, weirdos and assorted deranged and troubled – perhaps  crazy  homeless  persons who have not been taught basic hygiene, relieve themselves.  Is there any place you’d rather not be????  Me, being the obsessive/compulsive woman who is also extremely detailed, has been known to suds up the paper towels with inordinate amounts of pump soap to wash the toilet seat and then to dry with paper towels, in order for the youngsters to safely use the facilities.  Can anyone relate???? (Very loud scream).  Get me outta’ here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   Here we’ve pulled up to the friendly neighborhood and very scary gas-station dive where we plan to fuel up.  As we enter, eye-balling every suspicious-looking character, we see the obligatory smorgasbord of ‘delectable’ delights for those with indiscriminate or pleasure-seeking palates! First we see the vast array of sweets beckoning…almond joy, snickers, juijy fruits, peanut M&Ms and all their friends…

…then the copious jerky, summer sausage, Big Jim beef stick buffet… are you drooling yet?  UGH. 

A few steps later, GASP!…the novel HOT CASE IS SELF SERVE (at your own risk in fine print- Hee Haw!) Where who-knows-how-long cheese and pepperoni pizzas, corn dogs, potato wedges and egg rolls have been boiling in their own dangerous microbial juices  awaiting their next victim!

Hang on my friends, every woman’s nightmare is yet to come…

Over the river and through the wood…(see the crazy road conditions in photo -  I’M LOVING THIS SNOW PARTY!) to see our big kids and dear friends for the holidays. Lots of weather threats and snow promises caused us to speed things up by a couple of days to beat the fronts that could severely impair the mountain passes and hinder our goal. After madly packing and double-checking our ‘while-we’re -away’ checklist, we all jumped into the car making our first stop 15 minutes later to buy chains – just in case. We over-nighted 6 hours later once we’d gone beyond the major danger points and are cruising again today to our destination where we’ll celebrate our dear daughter’s birthday with a slumber party, camping at the home of some precious friends in Washington.  Road trippin’ highlights to come…

…well today my 16-year-old completes his first semester of college.  I have mixed emotions.  “Wow”, he can have his B.A. years ahead of the average student.  Or, “Wow”, he survived unscathed, as one of the youngest on campus, the aggressive indoctrination by the powers-that-be to persuade him to become a left-wing liberal, socialistic, homosexual.  “That’s bold, Denise”, you might say.  Perhaps.  Bold began for me when the school counselor made it clear that as a mother, I was sort of ‘in the way’ and in actual fact, she wanted to deal directly with my minor son.  Bold continued when I saw the skimpy outfits the girls on campus were wearing along with all the other grievous signs of depravity.  Bold in my book was the provocative essay his ‘professor’ handed him, glorifying, in a titillating tale, how one young man came to the realization that he was ‘gay’.  If you want to know what’s wrong with America, you need go no further than your local community college.*  As a parent, I’m breathing a sigh of relief today.  He worked hard and scored well, all while dodging the bullets of the dark side. 

*For more on this topic, check out www.hslda.org where Michael Farris expounds on the condition of our schools of higher learning in his recent interview entitled, Failing Our Students, Failing America:  Civic Literacy In Higher Education, (aired December 1-5), archived on Home School Heartbeat.

…well today my 16-year-old completes his first semester of college.  I have mixed emotions.  “Wow”, he can have his B.A. years ahead of the average student.  Or, “Wow”, he survived unscathed, as one of the youngest on campus, the aggressive indoctrination by the powers-that-be to persuade him to become a left-wing liberal, socialistic, homosexual.  “That’s bold, Denise”, you might say.  Perhaps.  Bold began for me when the school counselor made it clear that as a mother, I was sort of ‘in the way’ and in actual fact, she wanted to deal directly with my minor son.  Bold continued when I saw the skimpy outfits the girls on campus were wearing along with all the other grievous signs of depravity.  Bold in my book was the provocative essay his ‘professor’ handed him, glorifying, in a titillating tale, how one young man came to the realization that he was ‘gay’.  If you want to know what’s wrong with America, you need go no further than your local community college.*  As a parent, I’m breathing a sigh of relief today.  He worked hard and scored well, all while dodging the bullets of the dark side. 

*For more on this topic, check out www.hslda.org where Michael Farris expounds on the condition of our schools of higher learning in his recent interview entitled, Failing Our Students, Failing America:  Civic Literacy In Higher Education, (aired December 1-5), archived on Home School Heartbeat.