Welcome to December!

This morning we had whole wheat banana pancakes. (I may have posted this before, but go here for the recipe.) They are so good that if you close your eyes you can imagine being in some fancy restaurant for breakfast. I do grind my own grain which makes them that much better, but store-bought whole wheat should work fine. They're best when the bananas are very ripe. By the way, Hillbilly Housewife is an excellent site to learn how to save money on groceries and lots of other neat tips. One of my favorites!

I had a great time scrap booking last night! I finished Eden's book up through Christmas last year...okay, now she's 3 months old in her album. The goal is to get it up-to-date before the baby comes. I don't know how it happened, but I'm a year behind in scrap booking right now. Ahhhh!

Today we're going to attempt to get some Christmas decorations and lights up on the house. Our eaves are so high that we need a special ladder. We'll try to borrow it from friends today. I don't know that I will put the tree up this weekend because of Eden. I foresee a tree with ornaments only on the top half, ha! This evening I am going to a "girls" party. The late teens/young 20's girls at our church want to mentor the 10-18 set, so they're having a little event. Moms are invited, too! It's at a farm and there will be a bonfire, so it should be a fun night out.

Notice my new banner? Many thanks to my 16yo daughter, Celeste, for creating a new December banner for me!

A Taste of Fall

Ahh, today it is absolutely beautiful here! The low last night was 51 degrees...Woo Hoo! All my children are proudly wearing jeans today. The high is 81. I can live with that. I really love the fall weather. It puts a new spring in my step. I got out for a little while to get Jamie's hair cut (we couldn't tell who he was anymore) and to run some errands. The birds will be happy because I bought a 20 pound bag of seed from my favorite specialty bird store. I just love the feeders we have in the backyard. There's always an interesting group of birds stopping by. If you don't have a feeder, then I suggest you get one. I really enjoyed the hummingbirds this year, too. Evidently, they flew south for the winter and will be back in spring...boo hoo.

Tonight we go over to Grandma and Grandpa Palmers for dinner. It's been forever since we have done that! I look forward to a family evening. They will be moving into a new condo soon, so we will enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas in their new digs. I posted a pic of Eden who fell asleep in her high chair this morning. So cute!

A Clean Slate

Ahhh, it's Monday again! (As I sit here still in my pajamas.) I was telling the lady at the place I go exercise that Monday is a clean slate. It's a do-over from last week. You can always make a fresh start on Monday. It's like when we go to Jesus for forgiveness of our sin...He wipes away the offense and gives us grace. Monday is grace to go on. Yay! So it's not too bad that I haven't had a shower. I have made whole wheat banana pancakes for my family, done 2 loads of laundry, home schooled my 2nd grader, and fed the baby twice. It's a start!

Danny won his baseball game on Saturday 5-4! I was not able to go because it was quite cold and breezy. It was best to keep little Eden home out of that. He has a double header this Saturday. I hope to make part of that. Tommy has a birthday party to go to, so I'll have to leave early. We have such a busy week planned. I won't go into all the details, but I've never been so busy in all my life! Jamie and Celeste leave for St. Louis next week for spring break. It will be quiet while they're gone. I think I need the break from all the activities.

We're covering the book of James at church. It's my favorite book in the bible, pretty much. (I love Isaiah, too!) So why don't you read in James this week...