When the children are TOO quiet... check in on them.

My co-worker shared this photo he found on line.

It makes me laugh and cry at the same time.

Fortunately, this has never happened at our house.

I hope it never happens at you house either...

Stained Glass work

I had the opportunity to take a class on stained glass. I have really been enjoying this new hobby. The only downside has been the piece of glass stuck in my foot and a few occasional burns from hot solder.

I have been making Christmas gifts so some of my pieces will not be displayed until after they are given away.

My first project was a panel with a rose, and since I made some jewelry boxes. Yesterday I made a snowman, it took a little over (6) hours, the candy-cane and the star took a couple hours each.

I use lead-free solder so I had to purchase an 800 degree iron tip.

I'm thinking it might be fun to teach a class at the community center some time.

Visit for Thanksgiving A POEM

We had such a great Thanksgiving Day!
Meshya and my parents came to play.

Dad had Christmas stained glass to work on…
Mom did the big sewing marathon.

Christmas will be a great thrill this year;
With homemade gifts for all to share

We learned a new game called “Curses”;
It makes you laugh at those you versus.

The house was full on our Turkey Day…
Mary’s cooked feast and we sang away!

Christmas carols around the piano;
Some sang low and others soprano.

The puzzle was started on a table;
Pieces were fit by all those able.

Black Friday was peaceful and calm;
We stayed home where it was warm.

We saw Triple Espresso and laughed;
At three guys in the comedy act.

Santa’s workshop was busy Saturday;
Clothes for the Christmas baby were made.

The weather was nice the whole week;
Sunday the snow came in a white streak.

We had such a great Thanksgiving Day!
The thing that came too fast was Monday.

Turkey Trot .... can you believe the gas prices....

We ran in the Chaska Turkey Trot Saturday. Here is a photo of some of the runners in our group, I'm the one holding the camera.

Then Friday when I bought gas I was shocked at the price in a happy way - wow!

The Chase is On! a.k.a. Look out the cops are right behind you!

Slippery roads can be very dangerous, especially when the police are right behind you!

My co-worker sent this, it is GOOD funny!

Welcome to the Elf Workshop

Last night, for our Monday family activity we went to Macy's 8th floor display. This year the display was about Santa's elves. It started with the elves waking up and 10 to 12 other places at the North Pole. The picture was taken between the bakery (left) and the workshop (right). These are family and friends – not elves. The display is created using animated and stationary dolls. In the kitchen two elves drape the table cloth and another tries to catch a mouse. The trees in the forest sway as they sing. The mail comes to the North Pole via hot-air balloon, and elves try to teach reindeer to fly. It’s an amazing 20 min walk through a fairytale land. After, we took a photo with the jolly elf Santa. This is one of our yearly traditions. The display changes from year to year. It has been Harry Potter, Pinocchio, Frog & Toad’s Adventures, and many others. Mary said this year was her favorite. I think we all liked it.

Holy Ears Batman

Ashayl asked me to take her to get her ears pierced this week. We set aside time to do this on Saturday. She waited a year before she was ready. We have told all our girls they could have their ears pierced once they were 8 years old.

I was surprised to see a line at the store of girls getting their ears pierced. One girl had the single hole near the top of her ear, another was getting the traditional single hole (both ears) and started crying once she sat in the chair. She was a year older than Ashayl so I'm thinking oooh this might be hard for my tender Ashayl. I learned long ago it is only as bad as mom or dad make it seem so I kept the jovial face and wispered to Ashayl - she looks like she's afraid, I don't think it's that bad. Ashayl nodded.

Ashayl sat right down when it was her turn, a little nervous but no tears before or after. I held up the mirror right away so she could see everything that was happening up to the spike in the lobe.

She is so proud of herself and likes her earings a lot. She tells everyone to wash their hands (instructions from the person that did her ears) before touching her earrings.

It was special to me that she only wanted dad to go with her.