What a Day!

All I can say is that I hope yesterday doesn't happen again for a while. Have you ever had a day that starts out fantastic & ends up down the toilet? That was yesterday, but I won't go into details, I'll save it for Not Me! Monday. And this is a reminder that the 12 Days of Christmas Recipes Giveaway starts tomorrow! There are a lot of great recipes to try for the Christmas season!

Songs & Parables

One of my favorite Christian radio stations starts playing Christmas music the week of Thanksgiving & when they first started doing that it really annoyed me. I mean, there are only a certain number of Christmas songs & I'd already heard them all, right? Well, it's grown on me because now I have some favorite versions of those classic songs. I'd like to share them with you... 1) Silent Night - Mercy Me w/ Amy Grant. Probably my favorite right now. It's got a country rock feel to it. In fact, the whole album, Mercy Me-The Christmas Sessions, is pretty darn good. 2) Winter Wonderland - Avalon. This one has a big band type of feel. Really cool. 3) The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) - Alvin, Simon & Theodore. I remember listening to this on the record player @ Grandma Weaver's house. The memory is why I like it so much. That & the fact that my little boys like it now too! 4) I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas - Gayla Peevey. This one was recorded back in the 40s or 50s I think. (Don't quote me on that!) It is just too cute & old-fashioned & fun to sing along with! Nate just loves this one. 5) Toy Packaging - Sara Groves. This is from her brand new Christmas album, O Holy Night. If you have ever had to open children's toys within the last 10-15 years you will completely relate to this song. So funny! * if you Google "Toy Packaging by Sara Groves" you can download the song for free. Today on Midday Connection, which is my favorite Christian radio program, Tim Keller was being interviewed on his new book, The Prodigal God. Wow. He studies the Bible parable of the prodigal son but points you in a direction that you may never have associated with it. There were 2 things that stood out to me from this program: 1) You cannot break commandments 2-10 without first breaking #1. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" Think about it. One commandment says thou shalt not lie. When you lie, you are pretty much making your pride your idol. Relate that to the others & see what happens. 2) The prodigal son tends to be the focus of the whole parable but in fact, it's only half of it. Obviously, he squanders away everything & lives in flagrant sin. It's not hard to see what's going on. He broke the rules. Period. He's separated from God. But have you ever thought that you could be following the rules to a "T" & still be separated from God? That we do things b/c that's what Christians are supposed to do? Now, think about how the parable ends.The wayward son is welcomed home with open arms & he chooses to join in the party his father throws for him. He has done nothing to deserve it but he accepts it b/c his father wants him to. But what does the elder brother do? He complains that he has done everything expected of him & refuses to join in. Don't you think the father would have lavished as much on the elder brother if he had just wanted to be with his father? As a parent, I like it when my boys do the things they are supposed to, you know, like picking up their toys, being nice to each other, cleaning their plates, etc. Those are all very important things in keeping order in life. But you know what I love? I absolutely melt when they climb onto my lap, hug my neck, look me in the eye & say "I wuv you mom". Ah, I could go on, but I am neither theologian nor wordsmith (is that a word?) so I will leave it at that. If you'd like to hear the interview about this parable, go to www.middayconnection.org & click on past programs (or archives) - The Prodigal God. It will be worth your while.

Not Me! - We're Not Sick!

Today is Not Me! Monday. Check out MckMama's blog to learn more.

I did not take #1 son to the dr. 3 times in 10 days. Once for, well you know if you read last week's post, & twice for a double ear infection. I didn't get frustrated when talking to him b/c he couldn't hear what I said. But I wasn't thankful for our insurance!

I really didn't "irrigate" my nose b/c I had a sinus infection. And it certainly didn't involve a needle-less syringe & baking soda water. ((shudder))

I did not hear my boys laughing when they "pootzed" in the bathtub. (That means fart at our house.) We really don't think that is funny here.

I did not find cheese & crackers lying on the living room floor. I really don't think they are over a week old b/c I didn't forget to take them out of the bag we brought back from Grandma's house. And I certainly didn't see cracker crumbs on my 3 year olds' face...

And I most definitely am not shamelessly plugging my 12 Days of Christmas Recipes Giveaway on my blog. Don't go check it out!

Announcing....

Here's how it'll work...

Each day, beginning December 13, Nellbell (that's me) will be posting recipes according to the day in the popular Christmas song. The first day I'll post one, the 7th day I'll post 7, etc.

I will be giving away a copy (or 2 depending on how many enter) of my family's new cookbook that was published this year. It's full of yummy recipes, great memories from family members & some photos too!

In order to enter, all you have to do is submit a recipe, according to that days category, in the comment box & at the end of the 12 days I will randomly pick 1 (or 2) entry to win!

Also, each day I will pick 1 recipe to highlight in the next days' post & will include a link to your blog. If you do not want your blog linked, please say so when you submit your recipe. If you don't have a blog, I will credit you in the post.

The recipes I am posting are not specific to Christmas, I just named it that because, well, it's Christmastime. =) Some are my very favoritest ever! And some I have never tried but would like to soon!

I hope you enjoy this itty bitty contest, I'm new @ this blogging thing so please excuse any errors! Have fun & hope to see some YUMMY recipes!

It's Done! It's Done!

Yay! Have I got some good news today! #1's fever is gone & he is acting like a normal 6 year old. well, normal for our family! Took him to the dr again yesterday & the doc prescribed him some new antibiotics. Whew! SInce missing the whole week of school, he'll be so happy to get back! Not! (Now there's a flashback from the 90s!) And that's not it! Mowing is officially over for the season too! WOOOHOOO!!! I've got my personal chef, er, husband back! =) The little bit of snow we had the past couple of weeks really put them behind, but now the mowing is behind us! You know, being married to the boss of a small, on-the-side business can be pretty hard sometimes, especially when the boys are driving me loopy & I could really use a break! On to a photo op & a question...Do you have little Christmas-tree-putter-upper helpers at your house? We sure do! We do an artificial tree at our house & #1 could hardly wait for me to "fluff" up the branches so we could put the ornaments on. Can you tell that my helpers were 3' tall? me "fluffing" the tree

my helpers

Did you notice the backdrop behind the tree? That is what I came up with for my decorative screen to hide my treadmill. One day I remembered that there were extra doors that are not being used in our house, down in the basement collecting dust! My hubby bought basic black hinges & screwed them together! How easy was that?

***REMEMBER*** Tomorrow I will be announcing my Christmas giveaway! I hope it will be fun & helpful for the holidays! See you then!

Keeps going & going & going...

Last Tuesday I took #1 to the dr. for reason listed in previous post. I had to take him again this week b/c he came down with a high fever & said his chest hurt. He has a double ear infection. He never once said that his ears hurt. So now it's been 3 days & he still has a fever. Great. He hasn't been to school at all this week, he missed his Christmas program & his day to teach a letter of the alphabet to his class. I already know that he won't be going to school tomorrow either, who knows, we might be going to the doctor again! Don't really know the reason I am telling you all this other than to vent my frustration & fear! And to say that's all life has been about for me this week. Poor kid! On to another subject... I've been working on my 12 days of Christmas surprise & have decided to turn it into a giveaway! (Probably most of the people that read my blog already have it though. Sorry.) But you do need to do something to be in the running! It begins December 13 & I will post all the details on December 6! Stay tuned... Don't be afraid to invite your friends to join in, the more the merrier!

A New Tradition: Not Me! Monday

I hereby declare that Mondays will now be known as Not Me! Monday here @ PeanutButter & GrassClippings! For more info, click on the Not Me! Monday button on my sidebar to be taken to MckMama's blog, creator of NMM! On Tuesday, #1 had a doctors appointment to find out the cause of a certain, nasty BM problem & I did not find myself being told not to feed him dairy for 2 weeks! He is a freak for chocolate milk & cheese! Nor did I find myself being handed a plastic bag with a sterile cup, a tongue depressor, & rubber gloves to scoop a stool sample to send to the lab! I did not rush back to the lab after scooping some pretty foul-smelling poop, holding the sample tight to my chest so nobody could see what it was, 5 minutes before they closed. I did not almost laugh when the technician took a gander at it! =) While I was gone all day Saturday @ Grandma's for our craft work day, my son (the same as above) did not sound out a certain 4-letter word that begins with "f", which was written on the back of a chair @ a certain Mcfast food chain. I was not warned that he learned this word, so I certainly DID NOT hide my giggles behind my hand when he whispered, in his most serious this-will-get-somebody-in-trouble-if-you-say-it voice, the very same 4-letter word in my ear as he was getting ready for bed! Nor did I enjoy the reaction from my husband when I told him the story later that night in bed! Believe me when I say that I do not find humor in the most inappropriate things!