Friday, December 5, 2008 - a different christmas poemPosted by Meme |
A Different Christmas Poem
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
'What are you doing?' I asked without fear,
'Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!'
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.'
'It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,'
Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.'
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue.. an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.'
' So go back inside,' he said, 'harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.'
'But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
'Give you money,' I asked, 'or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son.'
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
'Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.'
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Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us. |
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Thursday, December 4, 2008 - Brrr, is it ever cold........Posted by prairiemom |
Hello everyone. I was busy wrapping a present for David's bank's annual Christmas dinner and gift exchange and didn't get to the library as early as I had hoped, so it will be a quick note tonight.
After a very mild fall, we have settled into a cold spell. Thank you, Lord, for our woodstove.
I talked to Maria on the phone today. She is loving being with her friends in Bozeman and spent most of her day doing her Christmas shopping. Tonight there will be a get together at the home of one of the Montana Bible College instructors. That will give her an opportunity to see even more of her friends and acquaintances, so she was looking forward to it.
Since her car is in the shop, she has mine. She mentioned that she feels embarrassed driving a car with a Bowtech sticker in the window. Must be the redneck connotation. Heh, heh!
We have a busy weekend coming up. We will attend the dinner tomorrow night. On Saturday, we will drive to the town of Fairfield, an hour away, for an arts and crafts show. We'll take our Montana Christmas ornaments and pray for a profitable and enjoyable day.
On Sunday, David and I will facilitate a morning Sunday school class. We will show a video and follow up with some questions.
When time allows I have been baking breads for holiday giving: challah braids, pumpernickle and Italian olive bread. Most people don't want too many sweets for the holidays, so breads are well received.
Better get ready to open the library. Blessings to all of you.
Denise (prairiemom) |
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Thursday, December 4, 2008 - Saltine Chocolate PiecesPosted by Miki |
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1 sleeve (about 37) saltine crackers
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3/4 c. brown sugar
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1 c. butter
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12 oz. (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips
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3/4 c. chopped nuts *I used walnuts
Preheat oven to 400*F. Line a 10 X 15" cookie sheet with foil; spray very lightly with cooking spray. Cover cookie sheeet with saltines. Boil sugar and butter for 3 minutes. Pour mixture over saltines and spread evenly. Bake at 400* for 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let set 1 minute, then spread melted chips with spatula. Sprinkle 3/4 c. chopped nuts over this and press down lightly. Cut on diagonal immediately or cool until firm, then break up; pieces can be frozen.
Yields: 30 pieces
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Thursday, December 4, 2008 - Needing prayers to " Be Still"......Posted by blessed mom |
" Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." ~ Psalm 46:10 ~
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I awoke this beautiful morning with this passage of scripture on my heart.......
One of the most challenging things for me to do is to "be still".....it actually requires this mama of 10 to really have to "work at" being still......it takes a purposed effort for me to "be still and know that God is at work"..... you see I am a "doer" by nature and I love to do do do......that can be a good thing at times..... and not a good things at other times....
God is showing me that right now, for today I need to be "still".......
Would you please pray for me today my friends? I come to you for your prayers of faith that I will be "still and know that GOD , is in charge and that He WILL be exalted before those who do not know Him".......
This is something God has laid in my heart today.... to be still and oh if you only knew how hard that can be for me at times!
Thank you dear friends for taking a moment to pray for me today.
He is faithful,
~ gloria ~ |
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2008-Dec-4 - Thursday on the HomesteadPosted by Crystal Miller |
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Aside from fighting colds this week life has been humming along. I managed to get a little baking done yesterday. I went to make Tobin some breakfast and realized I was completely out of bread… I was quite happy to have some sprouted wheat english muffins in my freezer, so he still got his breakfast! I made 6 loaves of my whole wheat bread. I was making some bean soup for dinner and also made a pan of honey wheat dinner rolls to go along with that. Sierra made a batch of peanut butter oatmeal cookies.
At this point only Emily, Sierra and I have the cold and I hope that is the way it stays! We have been taking lots of Nutribiotic, and drinking herb tea. Unfortunately I ran out of Emergen-C packets. I found a place online that sells them for a great price (http://www.luckyvitamin.com/ ). I usually order them from Azure but even with shipping I paid less per box than what I can get them for through Azure. So I ordered 3 boxes and hope they will arrive soon. Tobin has not gotten this cold, which is good.. he is currently working on repairs on one of our rentals during his weekends. We were hoping for some down time this winter.. ~sigh~ but when things like this come up you just have to deal with it. I am praying he does not get sick and can keep up his strength until the project is done.
We still do not have our tree up. We always get live trees and if we get them too early they dry out to fast so we will wait until maybe next Saturday to get it. Because the cold hit us I have yet to get my Christmas decorations out either. I hope to get to that either today or tomorrow. We need this house looking a lot more festive!  About the only thing we are doing regularly is playing Christmas music! I must say my favorite CD for this Christmas is Casting Crowns new Christmas CD. I keep switching between that and a couple of Kenny G holiday CD’s and Kenny Chesney’s Christmas CD (with my all time favorite song.. All I Want For Christmas is a Real Good Tan..  LOL) and others.. I am amazed at how many Christmas CD’s I have collected over the years. Hopefully by the weekend our home will not only sound like the Christmas season but look like it too! 
The next thing that I MUST finish today and tomorrow is Christmas gifts that I will be sending out in the mail. I don’t have a lot to do on them and I will feel a great sense of accomplishment once they are done and in the mail!
The countdown continues for my son.. less than 2 weeks now until he leaves Iraq. These last few weeks have really been tough for him.. you would think things would lighten up as they prepare to leave.. but he says, nope.. they are working the guys 16 hours a day except on Sunday, they only work 12..  I know he is exhausted both mentally and physically. I am so looking forward to him coming home and getting some relax time with us… and he is too!
Well dinner tonight will be leftovers! I have bean soup left from last night and if it is not enough to go around I will add some grilled cheese sandwiches to it. Tobin does not have to work tonight (his usual night to work), instead he is attending a training class at work this morning and will be home to enjoy the evening with us. We have a couple more LOST episodes to watch.. that show is rather addicting! I don’t know what I will do when we watch all the ones that are out on DVD.. I guess just wait patiently for the rest of them to come out! LOL..
That is all the updates from my homestead! I hope you are all enjoying the Christmas season! |
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Thursday, December 4, 2008 - the second additionPosted by Meme |
Good morning dear friends,
I hope this day is finding you well...The weather over in Louisiana is really dreary today..Rain is in the forcast and it is somewhat cold. Days like this is only good for one thing !!!DOING NOTHING..LOL..yea right, here at this homestead there is never a day doing nothing, but I can still wish, right?
On my last post I took in through the life of Drake, my now 7 month old grandbaby. Today, as I promised it will be that last addition.
CALEB JAMES 6 MONTHS OLD...Caleb was born to my oldest son. In the being the doctors said that 90% of the chance he would be a Downs baby. But with much praying and answered prayers, Caleb was born healthy and no Downs. THank You Lord...His life has been in and out of doctors offices and hospital..Seems he has an extra soft spot on the top of his head, almost where the skull starts to go down the head. Well, they did test thinking it was a tyroid problem, negitive. More testing and nothing showed up. The doctors said to wait till he was 4 months and see if it started to close on it's on. Nothing..more test...At 5 months it started to close but the hole is sticking out now while the bone is closing..Do not know if you can understand what I am saying, but it is not a good thing...More cat-scans..They came up with a lot of theories, none to pan out.
So, they were sent to a bond specialist. The bottom line, which is a awesome report, it is not a tumor nor is it spinal fluid. So, we wait another 6 months and if the hole is still closing and the protruion is still there, he will need surgery to repair. Please keep him in your prayers.
On a much BRIGHTER note, Caleb is a happy, healthy baby. now to the LIFE of Caleb...Note : he does not live with us as Drake does, so I do not have nearly as many pictures. And his mom does not leave him with Meme to have getties and chocolate...lol
daddy getting suited up...ooopppsss dad wrong way..is he consentrating or what....
mommy and baby..mommy had a c-section
my buddy a few hours old
seems he has a NEW friend already
and this is Yoda(his dad calls him that) at 6 months
 You just wait my baby, getties and chocolate is on the way..
Here are my two new boys together...lol
So, there is the two new additions to my growing family. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I am enjoying them now.
Wonder where my thoughts will take you the next time.I guess you will have to stop in and see...till then....
Thanks for stopping in. and have a BLESS day !!!!!!!!!! |
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Thursday, December 4, 2008 - Gift Wrapping in our HomePosted by Miki |
In our house all the gift wrapping belongs to the one who doesn't particularly like wrapping gifts....ME!
I just don't like doing it. Probably b/c I ALWAYS get to. I wrap all the gifts & then I bring them out of the wrapping center (our bathroom!) & give them to my girls to decorate.
One way we keep the children confused is in the wrapping itself. I NEVER put name tags on the gifts! I simply wrap each child's gifts in a different paper & I don't tell them who's paper is who's until Christmas day. LOL!! Like this year I wrapped all of one child's gifts in Santa Clause paper & then the other's gifts in snowman paper. The gifts that are for both girls are wrapped in a solid color this year. So when the girls are decorating the gifts with bows & ribbons they still don't know who's is who's.
So fun!
It's great to keep children confused! Especially when they are 12 & 15!!
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Thursday, December 4, 2008 - Deliverance or determination?Posted by blessed mom |
" We often pray to be delivered from afflictions and even trust God that we will be. But we do not pray for Him to make us what we should be while in the midst of the afflictions. Nor do we pray that we would be able to live within them, for however long they may last, in the complete awareness that we are held and sheltered by the Lord and can therefore continue within them without suffering any harm.
The Savior endured an especially difficult test in the wilderness while in the presense of Satan for forty days and nights. His human nature weakened by the need for food and rest. The three Hebrew young men were kept for a time in the flames of "the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual" ( Dan 3:19). In spite of being forced to endure the tyrant's last method of torture, they remained calm and composed as they waited for their time of deliverance to come. And after surviving an entire night sitting among the lions, "when Daniel was lifted from the dent, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God." ( Daniel 6:23).
They were able to endure the presense of their enemies because they dwelt in the presense of their God. "
~ L.B.Cowman ~
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Wednesday, December 3, 2008 - The longing of a sacred place called "HOME"Posted by Trixi |
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I rarely get the chance to post here anymore but love to visit and read all of my old stomping grounds. I found this poem recently and even placed it in my sidebar at my other blog. I love it and find it very profound and even though the words were written in the 1800's, they still apply to my life today.
Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble and full of care;
To stay at home is best.
Weary and homesick and distressed,
They wander east, they wander west,
And are baffled and beaten and blown about
By the winds of the wilderness of doubt;
To stay at home is best.
Then stay at home, my heart, and rest;
The bird is safest in its nest;
O'er all that flutter their wings and fly
A hawk is hovering in the sky;
To stay at home is best.
By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
Have a great day!!!
Blessings,
Trixi
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About Me
We are a family of four trying to live a christan life and raise our boys up to be the fantastic men they have the potential to be. Its tough and I am constantly reminded life is not easy. Especially with 2 toddlers.
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