Wow! It's Almost Christmas!

It is hard to believe how close to Christmas we are!
I am glad my shopping is done, gifts to relatives have all been mailed. And I even sent out Christmas cards this year with pictures! I am getting good, aren't I?

Missie and her class did great at the school Christmas program. She was sad that Junior had to work, but guess what? They are doing it again at our church on Sunday night, so her daddy will get to see it and see her perform. She had a main part in the program and did super! Our daughter is talented in sooo many ways. They are having to leave out a couple of scenes due to space, but I don't think she was really very active in those scenes anyhow! And she and I are in the choir and we will be doing our presentation after the play on Sunday night! She is doing super in school, and her volleyball team won 2nd place in the tournament they played in MI. She is so happy to be in here and in school for her high school years. She attends special events at UBC with a family who live in Frankfort and who have a son attending UBC. The mom teaches at our school and Charles graduated from our school last year. With Jr. working 2nd, I can't take her there anymore for special events. She loves UBC. She can't wait to attend there when she graduates from high school. She has started piano lessons again, because she wants to learn to read notes. I encouraged her to do this because I wish I didn't play so much by ear and more by note. I am not knocking the gift God gave me; but it is easier if you can read notes as well. I am glad she has a ear for music and also a good singing voice.

Believe it or not, after we took Preston off the klonopin, he is doing so much better and the generic buspar is working for him! God is soooo good. He was having trouble falling to sleep at night so the psychiatrist upped his bedtime medication. He is doing great this year and not worried about gifts, and told Missie we were going to open our gifts this year on Christmas Day. Usually we have to open them early so he can relax but so far so good! We are so proud of him. I feel God knew we needed a calm peaceful Christmas. When Missie was courting, she had planned to fly to ID for Christmas to spend it with the Giffords. But since they broke up, she will be here with us! I wanted her to have a wonderful Christmas with James and his family, but we would have missed her. So we will all be together for Christmas. Next year, Lord willing, I plan to go to Canada for Christmas if the weather permits. Preston is enjoying watching Christmas vcr's and dvds this year. I get them for him at the library. I found him a TV with a VCR built in, the TV doesn't work much but the VCR works great, for $5 at the Salvation Army. So now he has a bigger screen to watch his VCR's. He still loves his computer games as well. We take him out at least twice a week usually, one of those times being to church on Sunday night.

My step-dad was shoveling snow and had a weak spell and felt he was going to fall, so he went down on one knee to prevent falling completely, which was very good thinking on his part! So us kids, his and moms, have put a stop to his shoveling. He is, after all 82, so it is time for someone else to do it! He loves to keep active, and he walks a lot, but that is too much we felt. He and Mom are going to go to Jim's son's with he and his wife and Jim's daughter and husband on Christmas Eve. Then mom and Jim and Myles and Carol will spend part of Christmas day together.

Junior's job is going well. We are soooo thankful to the Lord for this job. And it is close to home! We are so thankful for God's faithfulness. It seemed for a while we had made a mistake by moving here, but God has been with us and kept us alive, and things are looking up! He seems to enjoy it pretty well. They did his 30 and 60 day review all in the same night, and are happy with him and his work! He is currently working 6 days/week. He had to get a letter from our pastor as to why our church stands against Sunday work, so that he wasn't penalized for not working on Sunday when they told him he had to. So the Lord answered prayer in that area. Another man from our church works there too and had to do the same thing. So they are willing to work with them on their religious beliefs.

Well, it is time to sign off.

You all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year if I don't get back here before then.