Birth Day!

This young man is 8 years old today! I can't believe how the time has flown. I can't believe he still has such big, blue eyes! And today it hit me that he really isn't a little boy any longer, he is a young man. Happy Birthday Preston, I love you very much.

Books I read in 2011

I told my husband that my goal for 2011 was to read 52 books. Then I told him that my goal for 2012 was to take 365 naps. He gave me that "you've got to be kidding" look. Ah well, it seemed like a good idea.
Here are the books I read in 2011. A rather eclectic list I admit, but I tend to read in sporadic bursts of interests. My goal this year is to spend more time on quality, rather than quantity.

 .   52. Health for Godly Generations- Renee DeGroot

51. Gods and Kings- Lynn Austin

50. Remembering Christmas- Dan Walsh

49. The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook- Neal Barnard

48. A Skillet, A Spatula and a Dream- Barbara Breton

47. Mrs. Miracle- Debbie Macomber

46. Trading Christmas- Debbie Macomber

45. For the Children's Sake- Susan Schaeffer McCauley

44. Untangling Christmas- Karen Ehman and LeAnn Rice

43. O Little Town- Don Reid

42. Christmas At Herringtons- Melody Carlson

41. Someone Like Me- Dee Taft

40. The Oak Leaves- Maureen Lang

39. Cornstalked-Patricia Bremmer

38. The Scarlet Thread- Francine Rivers

37. While We're Far Apart- Lynn Austin

36. The Christmas Wedding- James Patterson

35. The Urban Homestead- Coyne and Knutzen

34. Ready, Set, Read!- Barbara Curtis

33. Dancing With Max- Emily Colson

32. Thereby Hangs a Tale- Jeffrey Archer

31. Stars Collide- Janice Thompson

30. Of Thee I Zing- Laura Ingraham

29. Reinventing Leona- Lynne Gentry

28. Books Children Love- Elizabeth Wilson

27. The Ministry of Motherhood- Sally Clarkson

26. The Help- Kathryn Stockett

25. Her Daughter's Dream- Francine Rivers

24. Night Road- Kristin Hannah

23. Sixteen Brides- Stephanie Grace Whitson

22. The Twelfth Imam- Joel Rosenberg

21. Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day

20. Her Mother's Hope- Francine Rivers

19. The Memory Keeper's Daughter- Kim Edwards

18. Blink- Ted Dekker

17. Jacob's List- Stephanie Grace Whitson

16. Real Estate Finance

15. Known and Unknown- Donald Rumsfeld

14. On Mystic Lake- Kristin Hannah

13. Gardenias For Breakfast- Robin Jones Gunn

12. One Second After- William Forstchner

11. Patriots- James Wesley, Rawles

10. One Thousand Gifts- Ann Voskamp

9. Simple Government- Mike Huckabee

8. The Gifted- Teri Blackstock

7, The High School Reunion Diet; How to lose twenty years in 30 days- David Colbert M.D

6. Knit the Season- Kate Jacobs

5. Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas- James Patterson

4. The Bride Collector- Ted Dekker

3. Knit Two- Kate Jacobs

2. Magic Hour- Kristin Hannah

1.Fatally Flaky- Diane Mott Davidson

I found this list of 100 novels that everyone should read. I've read quite a few of them but am making a list of 12 that I want to read this year. If I read more, all the better! I'll try to get my prospective list posted this week.

2012 is knocking on my door...

Christmas has come and gone, and I didn't blog much this month. I think it's because I was busy living and by night time I was too tired to put my thoughts into writing. It's also the month of short days and I struggle with depression when we have little sunlight. In fact I find myself dreaming that I'm looking for sunlight.
Alex has been off his anti-seizure meds for nearly three weeks and we have seen no sign of seizures or tics or anything similar. What we have seen is a much better use of speech...and he talks all the time, literally ALL THE TIME! My ears are tired. We are also noticing that his attention spans are getting longer. Sadly, he still struggles with the anger and impulsiveness. I guess I can't expect everything to go away.
We had a wonderful Christmas with kids and grandkids. A couple were missing from our nest, but we've learned to appreciate what we get.
I am one book away from meeting my reading goal for the year. I am halfway through the last book, so I think I'm going to make it.
I didn't do so well with my crafting goals, but I'm just going to keep working on them. I don't want to finish my life with a lot of unfinished projects lying about.
I have also been spending quite a bit of time working on researching family history. It's fascinating but very time consuming. My grandmother already had done much of the work, I'm just trying to go a bit farther back with the aid of my trusty computer.
I know I've been scarce around here, but that just means I'm busy, and busy is good.
Happy New Year,
Kris

Christmas preparations are underway....

This picture made me laugh. I remember when I used to spend hours getting Christmas cards ready. The last few years I haven't even sent out cards. It just didn't seem like a high priority. And thanks to email and Facebook, I am able to keep up with friends and family on a more regular basis. I wonder if the next generation will read books and wonder what a Christmas card is.

Deer

In my family it's my sister who is the "great white hunter". I can spot a bargain aisles away, but hunting wildlife has never really tripped my trigger. My sister on the other hand enjoys it very much, whether it's with a rifle or a black powder gun. I benefit by getting jerky, so the end product is pleasing to me. (smile)
Here is a picture of the deer she bagged last month.

This is the type of deer I am likely to get. At least I wouldn't have to field dress mine!

Untangling Christmas

I just got this book and am anxious to read it. You can find more details at Untangling Christmas

I also watched a neat vido over at Women Living Well on how to make a Christmas binder. I think this is a great idea and hope to get one organized this week.

I think if I am organized I am less stressed and I can enjoy the holiday season more. I'm also thinking that this will help me to focus more on Christ's birth and not all the busyness. I hope this helps someone else too.

Kris



Oh Christmas Tree

 This is the kind of Christmas tree my husband would like!

This would be fun to do for a party. don't you think?

Another thing I like about these ideas is that they are healthy. My husband is not fond of sweets and always complains that when we go places on the holidays that everything to eat is too sweet. So it's nice to find some festive ideas that are not sweet heavy.