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Be sure and read last nights post if you missed it here.
Time to announce the winner of the Christmas Giveaway
THE WINNER is BECKY at JUST A SMALL TOWN GIRL
I need to get your address in the next day so I can get it shipped….
Here are some links I want to share that I loved
http://www.kellehampton.com/2011/12/party-at-north-pole.html
Two posts I loved by a blogger I love Amy, go here and here
A few answers to your questions…
We wire everything…NO HOOKS
I got started almost 18 years ago…
did a friends house,
that turned into 5 houses,
that turned into 20 houses
that is now 70-80 trees….
I am writing a “hot to get started book” that will be out sometime in 2012
We use clients ornaments and then add to them each year ….make notes and plans for the next year….but all the decorations become theirs. Some clients I have bought everything for. Every house is different.
I buy lots of stuff locally, also at market in Dallas….shop after Christmas sales….over twenty years, have lots of sources.
Do I prefer real or artificial?
ARTIFICIAL 100 per cent.
Real trees which we did 2 of this year are 10 times harder.
No rhythm or reason how we put the stuff on…
We add ornaments, sticks, picks, ribbons all at the same time…
Some days we start at the bottom, some days the top and some day the middle.
Normally two of us start on the tree.
One Elf starts on the mantle or mantles,
another elf on the staircases,
then another elf will be putting out all the Christmas Décor.
If there are multiple trees we try and get them all going at once.
No such thing as too much on a tree…The more textures, shapes, ribbons, ornaments you have the better the look
We start working on the schedule in July and August.
We do the take down on about 20 houses…Especially the really large jobs…We are the best packers…
Hope that answered some questions….
Have a great week.
Random midnight thoughts!
Announcing a winner of Christmas ornaments here and then hop over to A Baby Changes Everything and winner of more ornaments….plus some tree pictures.
1. Have seen no mice this week
2. Need a Celestone Shot
3. Thankful for the Most Wonderful Elves that will do WHATEVER!
4. the week ahead is Daunting. By this time Next Sunday we will (by Faith) have done 8 mantles, 9 staircases, 20 trees as in some very large ones, set out all decorations at
6 houses, Set dining tables, Decorate, 5 chandeliers and I am sure I am forgetting something.
5. I am not seeing my little’s enough…
6. Along with the elves I decked Amanda's halls this week and we got some pictures hung. So we helped out my girl.
7. I have approximately 3000 ornaments in different bins in my den and living room and have been walking around them for a week. It is getting old.
That’s all the Random I have. I have a sinus headache and I think that diminishes Brain cells
The Winner of the HOLIDAY ORNANMENTS…is Life Blessings
The winner of the giveaway will be at the bottom of this post….so stay tuned.
One of my first blog posts in Feb of 2009 was entitled “My Girl”!
Since then I have written numerous posts about my girl. Here, here, here, here and here.
I don’t expect you to go and read these, but if you are new to the blog, you can catch up sometime.
For a lot of reasons I don’t think you can say “I am PROUD” too many times to your child. I never heard that one time in my life.
Most of you know Amanda as Our Girl, the Mom of the BABY THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING, mom to Jack aka Woody, wife to Micah, sister to Greg, sister-in-law to Dana, aunt to Austin and Gray.
Some of you know her as my girl that had a baby her senior year in high school and is the greatest testament to the fact that an 18 year old single girl can be the GREATEST of Moms.
I get emails often from Moms that need to know how we did it and what they can do to survive teenage pregnancy. I have a lot of suggestions but that’s not the purpose of this post…Email me if you need to talk. annah99@aol.com
That gift Amanda gave us that May in 1999 was the greatest gift we ever received.
Fast forward to today…when that gift from 1999 is 12…and his Mom will be 31 tomorrow.
She is happily married to the man of her dreams, She is his QUEEN.
She has a love affair with two little men that others envy, is a full time nursing school student making all A’s, moving into the most beautiful new house this week. She has a husband that not only adores her but loves Parker like his own.
When I watch them together, I just have to whisper a prayer of thanks…
He has invested more time in fun things with Parker than I ever dreamed possible. There is no doubt in my mind that their relationship was God ordained…
Daily I see Micah teaching him how to be a man. Then there is Jack, our wild and funny boy. Thank you Amanda for another incredible gift. This past year on hard days, he has made me laugh. His hugs are priceless…I guess he got that from his Dad.
Here is a glimpse of Amanda's life today!!!!!!!
Happy Birthday Amanda!!!!!!
Amanda is a name derived from Latin, meaning "worthy of love."
I don’t think there is anything in life more rewarding than watching your own child raise amazing kids.
The winner of the giveaway is Debbie at Mama Bears Thoughts! Congratulations to you.
Finally a post to announce the winner of the 300th post giveaway….Drumroll…..
WHIMZIE (AMY) of SNOODLINGS.
I happen to know her so that makes it even more special. I will be shipping her a box of goodies soon. Stop by and read her blog. She has a way with words and a lot of humor.
Also, please stop by
MilandDil Designs
and get in on another Great
Fall Giveaway.
Tell her I sent you and maybe you will get an extra chance. She is in Dallas welcoming her new nephew Tanner.
Another super great post is from Beth Moore…a way with words is putting it mildly. She is just the best.
Please do not forget the prayer requests on the previous post.
Nothing has changed and oh how they need Brooklyn to wake up. It’s been two weeks today. The family is so weary and hurting so bad.
I am praying for a Brooklyn Miracle.
One more request…so many times I have written about little Ashley..
A few nights ago she took a bad fall in while buckled in her wheelchair. Please leave Trish a note of encouragement. She carries a load I could not carry.
Precious Ashley
By the way…thanks for the heartwarming comments you left on the last post)
The holiday blog should be back in swing in the next few weeks.
The calendar is almost full, trees are coming out of storage, glitter is everywhere and I think I already feel tired.
Have I told you lately how much I love my blog friends?
People that don’t blog, don’t get it. That’s OK.
With love,
Teresa
PS..Amanda and Micah bought a wonderful new house.
I am going to decorate it. I want it to be Southern Living worthy…we are going to look for all new furniture this week.
If you have seen any cute tween boy rooms, send me the link.
Some days you have NOTHING but random. At least nothing that would not be a downer to share and seem so small compared to what so many are going through. There are hurting people everywhere, many in the blog community. I can get overwhelmed with those stories in a heartbeat.
This has been a week with some bumps in the road, some hurts that really hurt, I am down in my back and have an aching shoulder from tripping over a thousand covers the little's had on the floor watching movies which I automatically tried to catch myself and caused a giant
flare-up with my chronic bad shoulder…I went the entire tree season and had almost no problems and then to take a fall in my own family room…Irritating plus keeps me from getting back to walking regularly. Plus I have some major decisions just about life in general that I need to make soon.
Jack has had some medicine problems that we are trying to get straight which has caused him to have a very low pulse and be lethargic. (that’s a word that no one would use to describe him). So that has meant doctors appointments and more this week. I think it’s a minor problem, but still one we need to stay on top of.
Add to all that I am not sleeping….I mean not even sleeping with a sleeping pill….just some form of a menopause problem and is so frustrating to me….so all this sounds like whining.
I do need some help. I had said I was not going to do this, but I have been approached about advertising on my blog….GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACK, pros and cons.
If you would prefer to email me, (annah99@aol.com) or even if you don’t advertise and know some one that does, send me to the blogs that you think might be able to help me.
Thanks for all the sweet words about my blog anniversary….
ANOTER REQUEST
If you are going to Beth Moore's living proof in April, would you let me know?
I am trying to decide what to do on my holiday blog during this time of the year…I hate just leaving it empty.
ANY SUGGESTIONS?
For those of you that won Pioneer Woman's LOVE STORY…..you should be getting it any day….Set aside some reading time…
So this may have been my worst post ever…just trying to keep it real….Some days, weeks and even months are just a season of “STUFF”! I promise to try and come back with sunshine soon.
a couple of cute pictures of Grayson tonight.
Looks like the food WON 
BATH TIME
The winner of the cards is…….and remember this is my BEST giveaway……is
Nama Halacy's Comfy Cottage....This is a new blog to me so stop by and check it out….
Have a good week……
how's that for a TITLe? Wait until you see how many colors I type in? Be sure and read this post if you missed it.
For the Random………for the life of me I do not get why anyone reads my blog. I skip from subject to subject, I never give you a recipe, I never show you how to paint a room or grow beautiful flowers. I could not sew anything if it depended on my life, I am not a public speaker nor do I constantly give you a Bible lesson. I am not a fitness guru (though I sure would love to lose 20 pounds) and I am NOT a great hostess. I am not anything that most blogs are known for. I use run on sentences, I write exactly as I think (which is not always a good thing) BUT when I Was looking at my dashboard for something else tonight I realized between my two blogs I have over 1350 followers…and I have written 358 posts. Unbelievable!!!!!
My head ELf, Terri helped me clean out my shops, as in we spent 40 hours. It was a job that had not been done in 11 years.
I have had a relapse from whatever I was sick with early last week…FLU I think, as in I have been in bed most of the day.
but it was very DUMB of me to take on a huge project like my shop so soon after being sick. So because of running fever, I had to miss Jack’s party today. SAD.
BUT The SHOP LOOKS AMAZING.
thanks so much Terri, now you need to blog
when you look at the birthday pictures below, you will see that Jack is doing GREAT….He looks healthier every week. He is working so hard, has lost 50 pounds and all HIS blood work looks great. 17 weeks ago yesterday he was in Baylor Hospital fighting for his Life.
The Winner of the Book UNSHAKEN is PATTY at My MOUNTAIN BLESSINGS! Hope you will stop by and visit her.
One of my dearest and oldest Friends has started a BLOG….It would make me
so Happy if you stopped by and said HI. Her name is Diana (Dinah) and grandmother is her passion too. Our husbands coached together for many years. She lives in Magnolia, Arkansas and you will love her stories.
So, What’s The Big Deal? is her BLOG.
so many bloggers are going through hard times right now. Pick one special one and encourage that blogger this week….with some snail mail.
That’s my goal this week to send several little gifts to some dear friends that I have met in blog land.
Jack and I watched Secretariat this afternoon. A great movie, but brought so many memories of my DAD. He owned race horses all his adult life…so the track was a place I have spent some time.
NOW
The cutest birthday pictures ever….(you can see them better on the holiday blog)well maybe I am a tad partial. I had to get someone to make them for me as I was sick…running fever and decided the best thing for me and the little's was to stay home. Sad, but know it was the best thing.
POP AND GRAYSON
I don’t think you need any script on the pictures. As you can see in the pictures Jack (Pop) is doing good. You can also see that my adult kids are just big kids.
You can read the picture titles in their faces. TOY STORY MANIA and Jack LOVED EVERY MINUTE of IT.
Just came in the mail from Amanda
Wow do I love this BOY…..
I would really love to ask all my readers to send JoAnne and her family a card every week. They have a long hard road.
You can send them to her sister Kristen (who is a fab writer) at Joanne Heim c/o Kristen Haufschild, 11004 Grayledge Circle, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130.
If you are NOT a football fan skip this post. I love it and miss very few games. Direct TV’s Sunday Ticket gives me the opportunity to watch all the games. But what gets me is the Star Spangled Banner. The singing of the National Anthem gets me every time. The Chicago Bears do an outstanding job of celebrating America at every game…but I love Martina McBride. Can you imagine singing it with a wind chill of 5 degrees. She just sang it for the Jets-Steelers Game. And who would have known it was freezing? I don’t have a favorite for this game, really didn’t with either game today. My teams are out. But I know the players. I know all four coaches…well not personally, but I know a lot about them because I read. I may be the only person ever that watches the players as the national anthem is sung. I know weird. I always have. I love to catch one singing, really singing. You see everything. Tonight, I saw Big Ben singing (he has had some days in the last year where he had nothing to sing about). I hope his is a story of redemption.
I saw Jason Taylor, I saw the young Mark Sanchez. I saw a group holding hands, no doubt praying. This is a Big Game. You can tell the ones that really feel the song and seem to understand that honoring America is much bigger than a football game. I love pretty much everything about the game and thinking we are down to the last two for this season makes me sad if not depressed. If its not your thing, you do not get that. In the big scheme of life there are so many things more important. It’s just my DRUG of CHOICE. Ha
I love to know the players stories. I love the smack, I love the challenges. The one thing I cannot stand is showboats and dances in the end zones. Hate it. I like a player with class. One that acts like he has been there before and plans on returning. I even tried to like Aaron Rogers today. He seems like a nice young man. That will be an inside joke to people that have read my blog a long time. After tonight's game I will spend the next two weeks reading the stories of all the players on both teams. I love knowing how they reached their dream. Enough football…and probably my last football post for the year.
Not breaking news, but I have had the flu. (I am just guessing since I had every symptom but had some Tamiflu on hand and did not go to the doctor) Guess I was due, low resistance, lots of stress, etc.
I know most of you have kept up with Joanne’s progress. If not, catch up on her blog, The Simple Wife. The updates are nothing short of miraculous. And if you have missed her sisters updates, a new blog for you to read is Kristen's. What a gifted writer and what a special sister.
The winner of the GIVEAWAY is Sally at
Life is A Beautiful Gift. A surprise package will be on its way to her.
I just finished the best book…..UnSHAKEN, about a man working for Compassion International that was trapped for days in the Haiti earthquake. I could not put it down. I would love to GIVE my copy away. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post. that’s it….if you have a great remedy for the January blues, leave it for me or if you are on a new eating plan and its working, leave that too. I will draw at the end of the week (or Parker will)
Remeber the Elmers Glue Jack poured all over his carpeT at my house. His Mom just told me he poured over a half a bottle of Baby oil in his room at home Today. Woody can make a mess.
If you had told me in mid October, weeks after Jack’s stroke, that I could make it through tree season…well I would have told you there was no way. I DID! I finished the last house late last night. I did not miss a day of work, did not have a major break down, though there were days I was close. I (and I use that word lightly since I have great elves) did four new houses, I did one of the biggest jobs ever, I had light problems, I had sore muscles, I had bleeding cuts all over my hands, I had all the normal tree decorating problems at one time or another, I had days that I no longer felt up for the job…But we FINISHED..and there has never been a season I have been so happy to be finished. I have a lot of favorites, but my most favorite tree this year just may be the one we finished with yesterday. Pictures are coming on the holiday blog soon. It was everything I do not like to do. I like fake trees, this was a real tree. I like white lights, this was colored lights (bulbs), I like perfectly shaped loaded trees. This was anything but perfectly shaped and we did not put a ribbon on it. I hate to see light cords and you could see everyone on this tree. But as I walked out of this gorgeous house after spending the day with a family I love, I looked back in the foyer and saw the most gorgeous tree with all its imperfections. I could get very deep and tell you how much this parallels my life recently, but I am too tired to get that deep.
My house is decorated, most of my gifts are bought and wrapped. That is only because I buy all through the year and the rest I ordered online.
I am going to sleep a few days, get some color on my hair, write my Christmas letter and then have some fun with the little's. We are going to take a short trip next week with the little's and their parents to see ICE at the Gaylord Texan. Priceline was extra good to me and gave me one of my favorite five star hotels for 50 a night. Their website list the rooms at 199 a night…and the best part is that you can see the lights all over Dallas from this hotel. Ten weeks out from a stroke that almost took his life, Jack is ready to travel. A miracle. A Christmas Miracle.
Christmas lights are magical to me…this year they are more beautiful than ever.
Tonight Jack is spending the night while his Mom and Dad have a date. He and I will lay on the floor and name all the ornaments on all the trees, we will make hot chocolate, we will laugh at funny snowmen, we will read a few Christmas books, we will rearrange his nativity and we will celebrate. Celebrate the magic of Christmas. Look for some cute pictures of my little man.
The winner of the card box is NEZZY at Cow Patty Surprise…she has the greatest blog…stop by and say hello. Thanks for all the blog names you sent me. I am looking forward to visiting each one.
I just posted the winner of the CARD BOX along with a new post on my
HOLIDAY BLOG. Will be back here to post later in the week…I am hoping to catch up on many of your blogs tomorrow.
THE WONDER OF IT ALL!!!! Only through the EYES of a LITTLE.
JUST HAD A THOUGHT…I have been away from reading blogs for two plus months….I love finding new blogs…Tell me about one of your favorites and we will have another drawing on FRIDAY for another card box….Your name goes in this GIVEAWAY…and I WANT YOU TO WIN…
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