Christmas in Maggie Valley

Okay, so it's February and I'm just now doing a post about Christmas......what a slacker :)

We celebrated Christmas in a rental house in the mountains this year. For me, it was perfect except for missing family members (frown). Our celebration was simple but just right for us. Christmas morning we opened presents, oohed and ahhed over the snow, and ate a yummy breakfast complete with the traditional Cracker Barrel knockoff breakfast casserole. Little R had tons of fun feeding her baby doll, playing dress up, and enjoying having her CoCo around. We had planned on a late lunch/early dinner for our main Christmas meal but it didn't exactly work out that way. We lost power for a few hours two different times so the food wasn't ready on time but we didn't care. Little R and the rest of us spent LOTS of time outside playing in the snow. It was our first White Christmas so it made the day even more special.

The REASON for the SEASON- JESUS

The TREE....$10 tree bought 4 days before Christmas. Small, lopsided, uneven, think Charlie Brown Christmas tree with a borrowed stand that dwarfed it and don't forget the awesome tree skirt aka burgundy bath towel.
The ORNAMENTS-a few ornaments my Mom made (sequins and pins on styrofoam), old plastic silver ornaments that were destined for the garbage, glittered pinecones made by Little R and I, foam ornaments made by all of us, and of course strung popcorn :)
The PRESENTS-homemade scarf for baby, hubby and the sisters, foam stickies for little R (she spent forever in the tub playing with them, homemade soap for the ladies, scrapbook style picture plaques for everyone, homemade microwave popcorn with bags decorated by R for everyone, a shirt for the hubby, and some store bought toys for R.
The ACTIVITIES- painting with watercolors, snuggling while watching movies, playing in the snow, making snow angels, gathering pinecones for decorating and starting fires, making glittered pinecones, making smores outside by the campfire, trip to waterfall, playing by the river, collecting rocks, coloring, sipping hot chocolate outside covered with blankets, just sitting and watching the fire, playing with new toys, reconnecting :)
The PEOPLE-me, hubby, Little R and CoCo (sister). We had hoped others would join us but it didn't work out that way.
The SETTING- Wonderful 3 bed, 2 bath rental home on the side of a mountain, 2 covered decks, deck off of master bedroom, view of the mountains, 2 fireplaces in Maggie Valley, NC
The FOOD- cookies for Santa, cheesecake, smores, fresh ground coffee, Pomegranite glazed Ham, hashbrown casserole, red beans and rice, cornbread dressing
The MEMORIES-first white Christmas, little one making snow angels, reindeer food for Rudolph and crew, Little R in her super cute snow suit, first Christmas without my Mom, SMORES!!

We did get snowed in. That was quite an experience. We didn't leave the house for 5 days except for hubbie's trip to the grocery store. Thanks to friends of a friend we survived. My friend Kym who lives in Maggie just happened to leave for Reno the night before we got there BUT she hooked us up with people she knew with a massive 4 wheel drive truck. They were awesome and took the hubby to the grocery store and even took our trash away. We were able to leave only after our driveway and the gravel part of the road was salted (x 2) and plowed by the mailman's son for a reduced rate AND Vitti was driven down to the main road by a "local". Yep, the mailman's son-hubby happened to talk to the mailman about the roads and how the home owner and the rental company were not helping us get out and he gave his son a call and next thing you know, we have someone to help at about 1/2 the cost of all the others. BTW-a light SUV without 4 wheel drive and with regular not so very new tires is not appropriate for driving on snow and ice.
We had a fabulous time and it was just what I needed. Now, to make the mountains my forever home.

Weekend Fun

We had "company" over Friday night for dinner (homemade pizza) and little R loved all the attention. My oldest niece was down here with her Aunt and her children for a short beach vacation and we got to spend some time with her. R was happy to see her Aunt Brandy and very pleased to be able to play with and boss around :) two older kids. The adults spent time reminiscing a bit while the kiddos played and watched TV.
Saturday morning EARLY I met Brandy and Sheila and her 2 at Crooked Island Beach for some shell hunting. We found some great shells and sand dollars, held a small shark, and had a good time just visiting. I'm not sure those shells were worth the irritation I am now enduring from the sand gnats though. My lower legs are covered in bites that itch incessantly. Makes me want to scream or take enough Benadryl to just sleep until the itchies go away.
We got to spend more time with Aunt Brandy on Sunday at the pool. However, Little R would not leave the pool steps willingly. The few times I got her off of them it involved crying, whining, grabbing, etc. We still had a fun time though and I actually think R was content to be sitting on the steps just playing in the water. It was a bonus for her to get to be around other kids too.
Last night R and I and her Granny baked sugar cookies. R had fun stirring, rolling out dough and using the cookie cutters (love the mini cutters from pampered chef). She even served cookies to her Granny and PawPaw. The smile was priceless.

Proud to be an American

I got an email this morning from a former coworker of mine (Thanks Sara!). It was a short paragraph and link to a video. I rarely ever actually look at links in emails unless the link was sent specifically to me about something the person knew I would be interest in. However, today I did for some reason and I am glad I did. It was touching to see people-young, old, black, white, business people, laborers, fireman, military, policemen, etc- ALL showing their respect to a soldier. As some of the signs along the way said "Freedom isn't Free". I don't agree with everything about the wars going on but I agree all people have a right to be free and unoppressed. I respect our leaders for standing up to the oppressors and I respect are soldiers even more for fighting for people they don't know. As a side note-why don't you see more stuff like this on the big networks????
As a daughter, sister, granddaughter (x2), niece(x many), cousin(x3), and daughter-in-law of individuals who served our country-this video made me proud and tearful. When my brother left for Iraq, I was so scared I would never see him again. Despite our differences, disagreements and sometimes plain arguments- He is my family and I love him dearly and couldn't imagine life without him. You would think the longer he was gone, the more used to it I would get...NOPE. If he didn't email for a few days I panicked. I would search the net for info about the base he was at, watch CNN, Fox News, etc for hours, check my email incessantly and just be plain obsessed about my phone being right beside me. I thank God he made it home all in one piece.
I have included a copy of the email and the link.

Killed in action the week before, the body of STAFF SERGEANT FIRST CLASS JOHN C. BEALE was returned to Falcon Field in Peachtree City, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, on June 11, 2009. The HenryCounty Police Department escorted the procession to the funeral home in McDonough, Georgia. A simple notice in local papers indicated the road route to be taken and the approximate time. This was filmed during the procession by a State Trooper. Nowadays one can be led to believe that America no longer respects honor and no longer honors sacrifice outside the military. Be it known that there are many places in this land where people still recognize the courage and impact of total self-sacrifice. Georgia remains one of those graceful places. The link below is a short travelogue of that day's remarkable and painful journey. But only watch this if you wish to have some of your faith in people restored. Please share widely. GOD BLESS THE U.S.A. http://blip.tv/play/AYGJ5h6YgmE

Father's day and dinner

Well, Father's Day did not go as planned. I had planned on making breakfast for the hubby and making sure he got a little extra me time that morning. As I started breakfast preperation, I noticed some bowls with leftovers he had left in the sink. I decided to go ahead and get them cleaned up and put in the dishwasher before I started cooking. I proceeded to empty the leftovers into the sink and turn on the garbaghe disposal, only 1 bowl at a time though. Next thing you know, NASTY water is rising on thge other side. Turns out I clogged the pipes...AGAIN. So, hubby spent his morning draining disgustingly dirty water from the sink and pipes, and unclogging our drain with a snake.
Bless his heart-he barely complained. I felt so guilty!!! To add to the comedy of the day, the fish I cooked for dinner was awful. As in, there was no way we could eat it. I don't know if it was old, spoiled, or just gross-whichever it was-it was completely inedible. Once again, hubby didn't complain and we just ended up getting dressed really quickly and going out to dinner. Thank goodness for an understanding hubby. Love you!!

Family Reunion, car trips, etc

Well, we are back from our short trip to attend a family reunion in Alabama. The ride there was not pleasant. We need to remember to only travel in the morning or early afternoon with R. When she is tired, riding in a car seat for hours is not something she does without a protest. She cried, whined, and practically begged me to hold her (I hold you)-it was sad :(. We did stop once at a McD's to let her play for about 30 minutes and that seemed to help for a little while.
Little R had a good time playing chase and coloring with her cousin Jacob (he is actually my cousin's grandson, not sure what that makes he and R) at the family reunion. They were so cute!! And we got to see relatives we hadn't seen since...well, last year at the family reunion.
Kudos to my cousins Regina and Sheree for putting it together. I'm looking forward to seeing the CD of pictures put together by another cousin and his daughter. Someone had the awesome idea to have everyone bring family pictures-old and new-and scan them in to create a picture CD.
It was also great to get to spend time with my oldest niece. She came for the family reunion and spent the night at my parents' house. R has only seen her once or twice before but she warmed up to her quickly. It was sweet to see her holding R and see the smiles being exchanged.