can you see it?

got a pm to pick up a box of stuffed animals for the toy drive...

can't you just see this sweet bear in the arms of a child on Christmas morning?

or this pillow?

propped up in a crib?

there are so many little huggables in this box...

and we never get to see the kids' faces on Christmas morning...

the first time they see what Santa has left for them...

but we do get to see the parents...

and share tears and hugs with them...

but the best thing, I think, that we get to see...

and what we are blessed most with...

is the chance to see the generosity of mankind... 

bears for babies...

a whole box full of the Christmas spirit...

the biggest blessing we see is the giving in Christmas...

with open hearts...

full of the true meaning of this time...

can you see it, too?

its called LOVE...

box after box...

bag after bag...

dollar after dollar...

it happens every year...

and it never ceases to amaze me...

with all the bad going on in the world...

there is one time of the year where it cannot be seen...

where LOVE outshines it all...

that's the power of God...

to open hearts so that joy leaks out at every seam...

the spirit of Christmas is LOVE...

do you have it?

then spread it around...

;)

be the change in the world...

our weekend...

yesterday the wind was something and the storms were popping up all around us...

but all the bad ones missed us...

this was forming after it went past us...

it was sucking in clouds from all directions and I know its the storm that hit over in Indiana...

and while that was going on, we were clearing here...

and several times it rained with the sun shining...

but we got through it without a problem...

praying for those who lost everything yesterday...

Saturday, was our trip to Mattoon and the eye doctor...

DH has been going to the Eye Express there for years...

but I had had my eyes checked since I was 16...

so, in between getting our eyes checked and picking up the glasses...

which wasn't even close to an hour...

we had a lot of time to kill...

Goodwill first stop...

and this afghan...

5 bucks...

Dollar Tree finds...

Goodwill for 49 cents...

this I picked up at the Goodwill in Paris on Thursday when I had the doctor's appointment...

and this was found at the Mattoon Goodwill...

my new glasses...

readers...

didn't want bifocals...

I am so used to looking over my glasses and when I get up, they come off and I lay them on top of the laptop...

if I don't, then I have to look for them...

and it can take hours...

we all picked up some clothes at the Goodwills...

DH has lost a lot of weight this summer and is still losing...

got him some jeans and shirts to wear for work...

Craig got heavy shirts to wear to work..

I got several tops...

ones that are fun and I won't have to worry about the babies snagging with their claws...

stopped by Carson's and saw my bff...

after we picked up our glasses, we grabbed lunch and came home...

over did it major...

so taking another day today to rest up from all of that before the rest of this week happens...

should get a call from my doctor's nurse tomorrow to see where we go from here...

if they do anything...

then it will be planning Thanksgiving dinner and all that fun stuff...

still working on the toy drive...

and my guys committed themselves to moving the living room around next weekend...

switching two pieces of furniture out from each room...

kitchen and living room and the moving them all around, too...

so I am getting 2 done for the price of one...

so there you go...

all caught up now....

need to blog hop to find our what you have been doing...

;)

s@%* happened here last night...

it happened on 11/11...

enough to track a cat...

so that means 11 snows this winter...

one down...

10 more to go...

22 for a low...

beats the 16 they said we wound get...

icicle...

high of 39 today...

I am hoping this is what it takes to get people shopping for the kids and the toy drive...

just a little shove in the right direction...

so, did you get s@%*?

weird morning...

watching the s@%* disappear and the leaves fall all at the same time...

now you don't see that every day...

have a super day!

;)

its been a great weekend...

this was on Saturday...

and yes...

that's my boy out there barefoot...

it was a warm day with a breeze...

I had him put leaves in the bicycle basket for fun...

before our mower guy mulched them all...

had him blow them in the beds for winter...

the yard looks like a spring yard now...

so green...

and the leaves were gone...

my hubby told me earlier in the week that Sunday would be the warmest day...

and since we were outside yesterday with just long sleeves and no coats...

I thought today would be simply wonderful...

well, he was wrong...

it was colder, much colder, but no wind...

so we raked and then decorated a bit...

corn stalks left in the field went here and in front of the house...

the sedum is a great fall color now...

cone flowers are seeding...

this is where we put the leaves that were on the porch, patio, drive way and walk...

those are those nasty asian beetles...

if you don't happen to have a problem with them...

they stink...

and that's what we did...

got the new white tarp on the back side of the porch...

and next weekend, we pull the linens and get them washed and put for winter...

other than that, I think we are done for the year...

even got the snow shovels on the porch by the front door...

so, what do you do this weekend?

small town blessings...

if you have never lived in a small town, this is probably going to seem pretty weird for you...

but this is our home town newspaper...

it was recently bought by a hometown girl, Miss Janice...

who went off the college and got a job in a big city newspaper...

but this has always been her dream and it came true for her...

there's usually 8 whole pages of stuff going on around here...

births, games, school lunches...

who had dinner at who's house...

church news and of course, the obits...

and it comes out once a week...

and we all look forward to reading it...

from cover to cover...

and sometimes, twice...

and its a blessing to our community...

to have a newspaper, and a lady editor who cares about this town...

she's a real go getter...

I would like to see her run for Mayor...

our population is right around 1000...

1000 of the best people you will ever find anywhere...

so, how big is your town?

what about your newspaper?

;)

have a great day...

sun shining here, but that goofball weatherman is saying the s word again for next week...

I think he just needs a vacation...

it can't be true!