First turkey cooked at the Creek House! It was yummy! And thanks to Strong Arms (Ian) for taking it out for me…and then carving it! What a son!

“LOOK!” It’s here! FINALLY!”

“Careful, guys! No scratches!”

“First thing in…THE Christmas tree!”

“The first of many, many, many piles of STUFF.”

“Great, great friends…with strong backs! I couldn’t have done it without them! This is Patty(L) and Tina(R).

Just a quick post to let you in on a new trend…BIG earrings!!!!

JUST KIDDING! 🙂 Just an early morning attempt at humor. These are actually 2 of the 3 mercury glass balls I received for Christmas! They were beautiful! I also received wonderful gifts from family and friends! As always, they are too generous!
We spent a quiet morning at home, then went to Joy’s house for family get together! Alex was able to be with us, even though it was a big struggle!
Christmas 2008…things felt a little different this year…but a wonderful year in spite of it all.
I hope your day was as full of love as mine was!

MANGER
From Wikipedia,

Wooden trough
A manger is a trough or box of carved stone or wood construction used to hold food for animals (as in a stable). Mangers are mostly used in livestock raising. They are also used to feed wild animals, e.g., in nature reserves. The word comes from the French manger (meaning “to eat”), from Latin manducare (meaning “to chew”).

A manger is a feed trough found in a stable. In Bible times mangers were made from clay mixed with straw or from stones held together with mud; sometimes they were carved in natural outcroppings of rock. The above photograph was made at Megiddo where this manger was used in the stables of King Ahab

“And she brought forth her firstborn, a son, and wrapped him in cloths, and laid him in a manger…” Luke 2:7

“This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger…”

We are in-mostly.

I am beyond tired.

I have great pics and stories to share with you—hilarious stories…just wait!

I am blessed far more than I could ever deserve. God is good!

I am going back to sleep now….it is 4:20 AM…and it is not wise to write too much at this hour of the day…embarrassing things may slip out.

I pray that YOU have the very best Christmas ever! May your homes be filled with love and laughter and sweet memories…old and new.

Forgive me for not visiting each of you with a personal message, just think of me surrounded by mountains of STUFF…perched on a BOX…to get to my computer. OK, quit thinking…it’s not THAT funny!

Good Morning…see you after THE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION.

Tonja