A DELIGHTFUL VISIT...from our daughter Holly and grandson, filled our week last week. It was so fun to have a baby's smiles and laughter fill our home, especially at Christmas. That is probably the hardest thing about our move here. Since this isn't "home" to our kids, they aren't in a rush to come here for Christmas. It hardly seems worth the effort to decorate the house (even tho' I do) when no one will be coming here to visit. Since we have been here, we usually travel for either Christmas or New Year's so I don't want to have a lot of complex decorations to deal with after the holidays. This time, it was fun to have some family come. I know Walker is too young to understand much about Christmas but it did cheer us up just seeing him and his mom. Thanks Brandon for letting them come for almost a week. I know you missed them. Thanks Holly for giving your time to drive the 8 hrs. to get here and giving up some work that week. We really appreciate it a LOT!
In other news that same week, our daughter Dawn was able to close on her apartment that she was trying to buy in Kiev, Ukraine. The costs have been rising rapidly and she felt that she should try to purchase her own place to maintain control of her housing expenses. Now she will be blogging about her experiences as she does some work on the small apartment she has purchased if you care to read here. It should be an interesting read. Dawn did not inherit her mother's rambliness, but rather her father's brevity and succintness (except when in a conversation with a bunch of females:)
Getting the photos in this blog may delay it some so I'll pass on my wish for a wonderful Christmas to my few brave readers.

AND NOW FOR THE ACTUAL GIFT...(drum rolls please!)
This is a mug made by Mopsy herself. She even sent a teabag. Sorry Mopsy, I don't even consider this a White Elephant. The colors remind me of the years we lived in Jamaica and south FL and will warm me up in body and soul as I remember some very good friends from that time of my life (20-30 years ago!). True, it doesn't match my kitchen, but how many mugs do? The tea will be great. (I'm not a coffee drinker.)
The down side of this exercise is that I really feel bad for the person I sent my gift to. It really is a White Elephant! I'm not sure she will be able to use anything in it:( Happy opening to my fellow White Elephant contest players. This was my first blog WE event and it was a lot of fun! Thanks for making it fun in the middle of having a sick child and moving to a new home Megan. I hope the Christmas party for all of you was successful and fun.

MY WHITE ELEPHANT ARRIVED...after a few hours of Christmas shopping, I arrived home tonight to find my White Elephant gift (from the Half Pint House White Elephant Exchange) waiting by my mailbox! How exciting! It came from "Mopsy" in CO accompanied by this great artwork by Sam on the outside:

I proceeded to open the box and found this lovely one inside! So far, no White Elephant! I'm feeling worse and worse about the White Elephant I sent. You all are extremely creative! This must be a really horrible gift, right!

I guess the suspense will have to continue to the next blog. I've never been able to get two photos in a blog and it seems that three was more than I could manage! Part II is coming.

AND NOW FOR A QUIZ... I bumped into this one for those of you who enjoy quizzes. I am so glad I was able to figure out how to cut and paste it. You have no idea what an accomplishment this is for this "old dog". So give the quiz a try and see how you score. I don't think it is very accurate. I wasn't paying that much attention in high school because I was so busy talking!! I do think I learned a lot through life experience, reading, and teaching children (no, I didn't homeschool them. I just learned a lot from what they discussed about classes and course content.) Anyway, it was a fun test to take with even funnier results.

You paid attention during 91% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz

JUST A NOTE...to let you know that I've added some photos to some of my recent blog entries and even added an addendum or two. It's not like I have hordes of readers that I'm going to throw off by making these changes, but I thought that I'd let you know that there are some new photos since you may have looked last. I finally downloade my camera:) martha

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW...well, it did! We are covered in snow over a blanket of ice and freezing rain. As a result, the Peoria area has broken it's longstanding (since 1929 I think they said) record for the MONTH of December. We had about 10-11'' of snow by the time it stopped this morning at 11ish. The December record had been 5"! Despite all the snow plows being out all night, the roads including interstates are impassable largely due to many of the cars, trucks, etc. that are stuck in ditches. Many of the exit ramps are blocked with cars that must have been going a bit too fast for the weather. They are telling EVERYONE to just stay home!! That is extremely unusual for around here. I'll download a photo for you, but it is hard to show the impact of all the snow. It is quite beautiful if you can stay in. This view is from our back window...and down aways while it was still snowing!