I feel very spoiled. Two whole weeks off work! I am absolutely loving it. It gives me time to do things that I never have time for........like posting on xanga, and changing my theme that I've had on here for decades. I was getting really tired of it but never had time to just mess around with figuring out a new one. Let me say here and now that I am really dumb when it comes to figuring out how to set up my site. I see all these cool things on other people's sites and don't have a clue how they got it there. Sigh. I still didn't get it right but it'll have to work. Anyway.......back to my vacation. Kevin & I drove out to Montana for the first week. He has cousins and family there and he loves it out there. He worked for his uncle a couple days. We stayed with Ed & Margaret Birky, who were awesome hosts! They made us feel very welcome and very easy to be around. Every time we go somewhere other than immediate family for more than 2 nights/days, I freak myself out about a week ahead of time that I will be in their way or that I will get on their nerves or that they will think they have to entertain me or that they will get up at the ungodly hour of 6:00 every morning and then I'll  have to get up too, etc, etc. Kevin is almost training me that these fears are quite unnecessary. It always turns out fine, I'm not sure why I can't remember that.   I really liked being with his cousins and families, and we had some really fun times......including a camping trip and drive through Glacier National Park, which is incredibly beautiful. I also got to meet my niece for the first time... Jessi is really sweet. The second week of our trip is spent in Missouri with my family.....fun fun fun! I'll have to do another post on that part of my vacation since it's not over yet.   And of course, I can't do a post without pictures, so here they are.

                     Kevin & I at a lake in Glacier...

                 My hard working honey

             Camping pics...........Ivy's guitar.

               Ivy trying to help Karl cook......

                           I love campfires.

             Chris watching his dad on the go-kart.

                Kevin taking the kids on horse rides on Ed's horse.

             And last but definitely not least, here is Jessi!

Here's a post for some of the people I grew up with.........we may have looked weird but we had a pile of fun!!!!

                Mardi, my partner in crime.

          We used to go caving and got incredibly dirty......

  Two of my really good friends, Shari & Lynette.

And here is Dorcas, Mardi & I right after we did a skit....

Sometimes I wish I could go back and do it all over again, but most of the time I'm quite happy that I'm past that stage in my life. There's nothing quite like old friends that you've known all your life!  I love you guys.

                   This Christmas season had me thinking more than I usually do. Sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in the whole Christmas thing that I forget to stop, step back, and look at the whole picture. There are gifts to pick out, yummy food to make,  parties to squeeze in an already full schedule, and numerous other time-consuming, but fun, things to do.  I decided that I really do love Christmas.  Here are a few things I love about Christmas.........

                   ** I love wrapping gifts and finding the perfect gift for someone.

                  ** Watching little kids unwrap their gifts. They are so much fun because they are absolutely thrilled with any gift they get.

                  ** All my family and friends that I get to see and be with around Christmas time.

                  ** I love when there is a huge snowstorm over Christmas.

                  ** The people hurrying in and out of stores all decorated for Christmas with Christmas music playing.

                  **All the Christmas cards, especially the ones with a picture in them, that come from my family and friends.

                   ** Reading the Christmas story and imagining myself being one of the characters in it.

                However, there are also a lot of things about Christmas that make me a little sad. One lady came into the store where I work and said, "I just love coming in here. You guys are all so nice and friendly. That's hard to find this time of year." It's true. Stores are full of overworked clerks who are impatient and not in the mood for any problem you might have with a product. Shoppers are grabbing that last medium sweater to make sure nobody else gets it before them. A lot of people steal money because they want to buy nice gifts for their family too. And, maybe the saddest thing of all, most of the people that celebrate Christmas have no clue how it all started and what the real Reason is. I was sitting there trying to decide how many people in the world celebrate Christmas without once thinking about Jesus. Instead of the giving, friendly, compassionate spirit that Jesus meant it to be, it's turned into a wild madhouse of greedy people.  Now, I know that it's not fair to term everyone "greedy people". So it makes me thankful for other Christians who love Jesus and are celebrating His birth.