Happy New Year!!

I want to wish all of you a very Happy and Safe New Year. Whatever you are doing tonight please be smart and safe. I've made my New Year's resolutions. Have you? I am looking forward to 2009. I know it will bring changes (hopefully, many of them positive). It will definitely be an interesting year. Please be safe tonight and have a wonderful New Year's Eve.

Dressing up mom

Oh, boy...what you will do for your kids. The boys decided that they wanted to make me beautiful yesterday. Thank goodness they didn't get into the make-up. HA! Actually, I look better than previous dress ups. They picked out my dress and jewelry and did my hair. Doesn't look too bad until you look at the shoes...heehee. They were so proud of themselves.

Family & friends

I have had some time to reflect this year. Greg and I have mentioned several times how lucky we are and what a great life we have. There are many people in this world that aren't so lucky. They may not have a home to live in or clothes to wear. They may not know where their next meal is coming from or where they will sleep at night. They may not have parents or family that care for them or love them.

It's very sad to think of all the people in our own country, not to mention in other parts of the world, that don't feel the love of a parent or a friend or comfort of a home environment. Let's all try to appreciate what we have and do our best to spread the wealth and do what we can to help others. This is the time of year for sharing and giving and loving one another. It should last all year long not just at Christmas time.

Don't let this year go by without telling someone how special they are and how much they mean to you. Make a resolution to be more involved with your kids activities next year, or make that phone call that you have been meaning to make for so long, or just stop and smell the roses and think about what God has given you if you'd only reach out and take it.

Take time to think before you speak. Be considerate of others feelings. Be understanding of their situation whatever it may be. Don't judge people. That job is for God only. You never know what someone's life is like unless you walk a mile in their moccasins. And don't let a day go by without telling someone that you love them. Life is too short to hold grudges and to not mend fences. Someday that loved one may not be around any longer and you'll wish you'd told them how you felt. Peace and love to everyone! I hope you are enjoying the holidays to the fullest.

You mean, some kids may not have gotten toys for Christmas...?

Christmas is a time of giving. I keep trying to install this type of thinking in my children. "It's not all about the toys and presents", I tell them. It's about Jesus birthday and giving and sharing with others. Especially others that are less fortunate than yourself. Well, yesterday when we all got up I decided this would be a good time to sort through some toys and do some recycling. I told the boys that Santa had been really good to them this year and that it would be really nice if they sorted through some of their toys and picked out the ones that they didn't play with anymore and gave them to other little boys and girls that maybe didn't have any toys to play with. I'll never forget Michael's face as I told him that there are some children in this world that don't have a very good Christmas. They either don't have a home to live in, their parents don't have enough money to buy them anything. Some of them don't even have their own room or bed to sleep in at night. He just kept looking at me like, 'How could a child live like that'. Well, we all know that some don't. But I got them to sort through some toys and we got a pretty big bag full. Next week, we'll all go to the local consignment/toy shop in town and the boys can give them their toys and they can see how giving is such an important gesture in today's society. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

WOW! Did that tornado hit your house, too?!....

Well, it's over. Or should I say, the opening presents part is over. We still keep our tree and decorations up for about 12 days after Christmas (alas...The Twelve Days of Christmas).
We had a really nice Christmas.

We always go over to my parents in KC along with my sister and her family on Christmas Eve. Things got started a little later than planned so we were rushing to get our kids back home to take care of all the Christmas traditions of putting cookies (or in this case, a brownie and a piece of cake) and milk out for Santa, letting the kids open 1 present before going to bed, putting the reindeer food out on the lawn, and reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Plus, Michael had lost another tooth earlier that day so we had to put that in an envelope and leave it under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy. The boys were so excited.

My mom & dad drove back over to our house that night and spent the night so they could be there in the morning to spend time with the boys. They really enjoyed it and we were so glad they were willing to travel so much on Christmas Day. They left about lunch time to go to my sister's in Holden for Christmas dinner. I cooked a turkey dinner for us here at home and a good friend of ours came over to share it with us. Greg wasn't feeling very good Christmas Eve or Christmas morning but, bless his heart, he cowboyed up and hung in there putting toys together and playing with the boys. By the end of the day he was feeling better. It was a good day.

Runnebaum Christmas in Kansas - Dec. 19th

Boy, I've really got a lot of catching up to do, huh...

We had Greg's side of the Christmas last weekend. It's always such a great time. Everyone gets along so well (even with the family being so large). Greg is the youngest of 15 children. Needless to say, we can't have a get together at anyone's house so we rent out a church hall in a nearby town and hang out there all day. It's great fun. We all bring food and, of course, DRINK and have dinner at noon. Then we open presents. Santa showed up this year and handed out gifts to all the kids. They were so excited! The adults have a mens and womans white elephant gift exchange. Everyone gathers in a circle and picks numbers and then goes around a opens their gift. Of course, you can elect to either open the gift that corresponds to the number you drew or you can choose to take someone else's gift and give them your unwrapped gift. It's a lot of fun. Everyone has a great time hanging out, visiting & catching up, drinking, playing cards and watching kids. Enjoy the pics....

Christmas Program - Dec. 17th

The boys had their school Christmas program a couple of weeks ago. The church was packed....standing room only. The kids were so cute and did so well. It's so wonderful to see all their smiling faces and here all the LOUD singing...ha!

Mojo Christmas party - Dec. 13th

Well, I've got my computer back. Not sure if it's any better. I'm still seeing some problems but that's for another post...heh heh..

Our Mojo biker group got together for our annual Christmas bash of holiday cheer. It was a good time. I think we're all getting old. Even though we all had a great time and were performing some crazy antics throughout the night, the party disbursted before midnight. Which is very early for some of the Mojos. Needless to say, even with everyone leaving at about the same time, Greg and I were STILL the last ones out the door. ha! Some things just never change. Here's some fun pics.

It's Christmas time!

Well, it's the time of year that is full of Christmas shopping, baking, wrapping presents, parties and hecktic schedules. And our household, as I'm sure is the same for all of you, is no exception. We have had a busy 2 weeks full of Christmas parties and activities (both adult and kid orientated) and have more to come this weekend. Plus, in the middle of all this, my computer decides to mess up. So, it is currently in the shop undertaking a thorough workover. We have had a Mojo Christmas party and the school Christmas Program but I have no computer to load pictures. I will do that as soon as I can and update you on the rest of the "Christmas Histeria"... Love to all and enjoy the holidays!

Follow-up

This is to answer Rebecca's comments to my previous post. No, we were about 10 minutes late to the party. And I failed to mention that Greg had not come home yet during all this commotion. He was working late so he missed all the excitement. That's usually how it works...ha. And, yes, I got all the glass picked up. Luckily, it had broken close to the dresser instead of right in the middle of the floor. Everything worked out. Greg helped out at the party with taken money. He was a God-sent. And the kids had fun with the babysitter and got to watch the movies I had rented for them. The life of being a parent. I wouldn't trade all the bad for the good for any amount of money. It's all meant to work that way and it always has a happy ending.

Crocodile tears

I have to tell this story.... I'm sure those of you that have children have been through this moment. Yesterday was a VERY hectic day for me. I had to work from 9am - 1pm and then had to run some errands in Boonville before heading to Columbia for my Jenny Craig appointment at 2pm. After that I trekked around Columbia for about 1 1/2 hours stopping from store to store doing some Christmas shopping. I had to be heading back home by 4:00 in order to pick up the kids. We had my Central Mo Board of Realtors Christmas party last night at the Isle of Capri and I had volunteered to be the money collector at the door. I HAD to be there by 6:00.

So, I rushed back to Boonville, picked up the kids, called in for pizza, called the babysitter to make sure she was still coming (hadn't talked to her in a week) and proceeded to get myself ready. Mind you, it was now about 5:15pm. While getting ready, the kids had finished their pizza and were playing.

I received a phone call from a close friend who's dog had just been attacked by one of their other dogs and they didn't know what to do. I gave them what little veterinarian advice I had and told them I'd leave some ointment and bandages at the house if they wanted to come by and pick them up. Remember, I was committed to be at the boat by 6:00. While I was on the phone, the boys (while PLAYING) proceeded to throw a pillow in our bedroom and it hit a basket I had on our dresser filled with glass balls and other decorations. ....everything fell on the floor and broke on the carpet. Remember, I'm still on the phone giving dog nurturing advice. I get off the phone and yell at the boys. I've still got rollers in my hair.

Anyway, here's the point to my story. Michael had been the one to throw the pillow. He visibly felt so bad. He said, "Mommy, I'll clean it up". I said no and left the room and proceed to clean up the glass. Michael came in the room and the look on his face just about broke my heart. He said so sadly, "Mommy, I'm sorry" and he gave me a hug. Tears were just streaming down his face. I couldn't be mad anymore. He was trully sorry for what he had done and had realized that what he had done was wrong and that's why we preach and preach about not playing rowdy and throwing things in the house. Anyway, I'm sure those of you with kids know what I'm talking about. How can you punish them after they have visibly punished themselves enough by feeling so terrible about what they've done. I love my boys! It's all good!

Oops!

Jennifer, This is for you..... I forgot to tell you the rules about being bookworm tagged. You are to pick up the book closest to you and turn to page 56 and write down the 1st sentence of paragraph 5. Sorry... You probably got the gist of what you were supposed to do anyway but just wanted to make it clear. Isn't this fun! Can't wait to hear what you're reading. Hope you're having a good day!

Bookworm tagged.....what fun!

I love being tagged! Ok, here you go, Jaclyn - http://jjandawilkinson.blogspot.com/, Lori - http://www.simmonsjourney.blogspot.com/, and Rebecca - http://peculiarsmith.blogspot.com/. Here is my first sentence in the 4th paragraph (page 56 only has 4 paragraphs, too).... "We had two kids by the time we'd been married three years." This is from a book by Stephen King called On Writing - A Memoir of The Craft. I have been tabbling in writing a book and Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. I'm actually currently reading about 2-3 others books right now, as well. My husband teases me because I can have 4 or 5 books started and read them all at different times and still keep up with what the book(s) are about. I LOVE to read. I have a book in my car, by my bed (actually about 3 by my bed), and one downstairs by the sofa. I'm reading Helen Keller in the Readers Digest Condensed books, How to Win Customers and Keep Them for Life, and a book I bought spontaneously in the book store on Hauntings (of houses, people, etc.). And I just finished a book last night from another one of my favorite authors (Janet Daily). Coincidently, my dad worked with her brother at AT&T. Small world. Anyway, thanks for tagging me. I'm going to tag Jennifer - http://jmgreen.com/

Fun, cold & busy day

We had a busy day yesterday. Vince was invited to a swim birthday party at the YMCA. They had so much fun swimming and playing. Michael got to go, too. They swam for an hour and then came in and had cake & ice cream and opened presents. It was a lot of fun for the kids. After that, we went home, got some "nutritious" lunch (after filling them with cake and ice cream...ha) and changed clothes to go to the Christmas parade Boonville was having later in the afternoon. Michael was in the parade walking and passing out candy with the Cub Scouts. He was so cute in his uniform. I was up until after midnight the night before sewing on patches. That'll teach me to wait until the last minute. It was pretty cold but the boys enjoyed the parade. They got lots of candy, of course. After the parade, we drove around town a little bit and stopped to see the live nativity scene they had. The boys got to see a 2 day old donkey. He was so cute and so new that his legs were still wobbly. Here is a video and some pictures.

Don't you just love quotes....

When I was working at Marion Labs in KC I loved to add a weekly or monthly "Food for Thought" at the end of all my emails. It was very inspirational for me and hopefully to others, as well.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Don't carry a grudge. While you're carrying the grudge the other guy is out dancing. (Buddy Hackett)

He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others. (Leonardo Da Vinci)

Lord, give me the courage to change the things which can and should be changed, the serenity to accept the things which cannot be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference. (Alcoholics Anonymous)

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

Nothing will be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome. (Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784; writer)

The day you take complete responsibility for yourself, the day you stop making excuses, that's the day you start to the top. (O.J. Simpson) - BOY, this one's ironic, isn't it!!

We have the opportunity to choose who our children's parents will be. (Unknown)

The hardest victory is the victory over self. (Aristotle)

And my personal favorite....
The is no such thing as bad kids, just bad parents. (my dad)

Enjoy the rest of your day and week. God bless you and Happy Holidays!

I did it!!

I lost 1.8 lbs during this past holiday week. I can't believe it. After Thanksgiving dinner and a adult suprise birthday party the next night, I STILL lost weight. I'm so excited. I've lost a total of 7.8 lbs. WOW! Sorry I'm getting so hysterical but I really didn't think I would be able to do it. This was a big thing for me. Can't wait to weigh-in next week!! heehee! It just proves that you can really lose weight on Jenny Craig. I love it!!

Whew....made it through Thanksgiving dinner!

Well, I made it through Thanksgiving Day without gorging myself. I was really proud of myself and realized that it wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. I had lost another 1.8 lbs on my weigh-in the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and that gave me more motivation. I didn't have to take my little Jenny Craig meal. I ate the things that everyone else ate but just smaller portions. And I wasn't miserable at the end of the day. At Thanksgivings past I would be so tired and my stomach so full, I'd have to take a nap before we headed home. It felt good to have some energy after eating Thanksgiving dinner instead of being in a vegitative state.... I just hope I lost instead of gained this past week. My 3rd weigh-in is tomorrow. Wish me luck!!