2008 should be a great year. I hope everyone had a fun new years celebration.

A few weeks ago my friend, Sandra, and I got together and we made snowmen. Out of socks. And rice. And we named them.
They were a holiday gift for our visiting teaching sisters.

We had so much fun making them, and giving them each a personality.

Top Row (Left to Right):

• Billy – He was the first one we named, and he just sort of had this young (snow)man look about him
• Potter – This one was an obvious reference to Harry Potter, the glasses and the short owl-like nose made it official
• Punchinello – This one was the hardest one to name. He had a sort of crooked stove pipe hat. The name came from the book, “You are Special”

Bottom Row:

• Ma – She was the only snow(woman) with flower shaped buttons. Ma just seemed to fit. (“Grams” was another thought)
• Shorty – This one was the shortest and roundest of the bunch. The name is not too original though.
• Patty – We needed another girl, and the name just sort of sounded good.
• Johnny – Billy needed a brother.
• Pa – This was the tallest, biggest of all of the snowmen. Besides, you can’t have a Ma without a Pa!

Sandra and I each kept a couple of them, and then we gave the others to the sisters we visit teach. It was surprisingly hard to decide which ones to give away. Once they had a name and a place in the snowman village, it was like putting them up for adoption. In a snowman-sock sort of way, of course.

When all was said and done. These were the two I ended up keeping. They now sit happily atop our piano.
Say hello to Potter and Punchinello.

Yes, I had way too much fun making these guys. And yes, I will probably do it again next year.

I read this book. Michelle made me do it. 500 pages in less than 24 hours. I don’t know if I can say I’ve ever done that before.
But, I admit, I really don’t read that much anymore. Until now.

And its not to say that I didn’t have anything else to do. I just couldn’t put the book down. I think the hideousness culminated in my 2 year old daughter asking for breakfast, “I hungry mom. Want dinner.” (yes, she has her meals at bit mixed up). I tried to put her off by a few minutes so I could finish the chapter I was reading, and soon heard her rummaging around in the cupboard until she had a handful of Cheez-It crackers. That’s about when I started feeling guilty. *Sigh*

The book is called “Twilight” and it is authored by Stephanie Meyer.

It’s a strange combination of suspense and romance. The book is clean, and surprisingly addicting. I was skeptical at first, particularly when hearing that it was about a 17 year old girl that fell in love with a vampire. But it came with good reviews.

Here’s the scoop from other sources:

Overstock.com Description: Seventeen-year-olds Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are enmeshed in an intense, hungry love that leaves them both destroyed, yet passionately longing for more. Bella`s scent and very being excites Edward, a vampire who, along with his family, abstains from feasting on humans. After a difficult start, the two become inseparable, learning more and more about each other as the days pass, all the while knowing that with every thrilling moment might end with Bella`s death. The beautiful, evergreen landscape of Washington state`s Olympic Peninsula permeates this gripping, fast-paced drama as it torpedoes through the notions of family, relationships, and sacrificing everything imaginable for true love. Named one of Publishers Weekly`s Best Children`s Books of 2005 and a 2005 School Library Journal Best Book.

School Library Journal (10/01/2005) “Meyer adds an eerie new twist to the mismatched, star-crossed lovers theme: predator falls for prey, human falls for vampire. This tension strips away any pretense readers may have about the everyday teen romance novel, and kissing, touching, and talking take on an entirely new meaning when one small mistake could be life-threatening…Realistic, subtle, succinct, and easy to follow, TWILIGHT will have readers dying to sink their teeth into it.”

Amazon.com “Softly he brushed my cheek, then held my face between his marble hands. ‘Be very still,’ he whispered, as if I wasn’t already frozen. Slowly, never moving his eyes from mine, he leaned toward me. Then abruptly, but very gently, he rested his cold cheek against the hollow at the base of my throat.”
As Shakespeare knew, love burns high when thwarted by obstacles. In Twilight, an exquisite fantasy by Stephenie Meyer, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because–he’s a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship.
Meyer has achieved quite a feat by making this scenario completely human and believable. She begins with a familiar YA premise (the new kid in school), and lulls us into thinking this will be just another realistic young adult novel. Bella has come to the small town of Forks on the gloomy Olympic Peninsula to be with her father. At school, she wonders about a group of five remarkably beautiful teens, who sit together in the cafeteria but never eat. As she grows to know, and then love, Edward, she learns their secret. They are all rescued vampires, part of a family headed by saintly Carlisle, who has inspired them to renounce human prey. For Edward’s sake they welcome Bella, but when a roving group of tracker vampires fixates on her, the family is drawn into a desperate pursuit to protect the fragile human in their midst. The precision and delicacy of Meyer’s writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of YA fiction. (Ages 12 and up) –Patty Campbell

And of course there are many, many consumer reviews at Amazon.com (and everywhere else).

So, you need to read it. I did.

Oh – and there are two other books in the series. New Moon. And Eclipse.
As the author puts it, “Twilight” is about finding love, “New Moon” is about loosing love, and “Eclipse” is about choosing love.
And. . . she’s working on a fourth book.

I guess I better stock up on Cheez-Its! (wink, wink)

This has been my favorite Christmas poem for as as long as I can remember. Enjoy it!

True Christmas Joy
Tennett Morrell

‘Twas the day before Christmas, a long time ago
And our beautiful earth was all covered with snow;
Down the street with their sleighs came two manly boys,
Who paused at the window to look at the toys.

Already two others were there looking in;
But their faces were sad, and their clothes old and thin.
And the little one said, “Is it because we’re so poor
That Santa doesn’t come to our house anymore?”
The older one patted his wee brother’s head,
And hugged him up closely, as softly he said:
“Oh, maybe he will come tonight, little Tim,
If we ask in our prayers for the Lord to send him!”
The little face smiled, but the boys saw a tear
In the eye of the one who quelled little Tim’s fear.
Then slowly and sadly the waifs went their way
To the place they called home, where that night they would pray.
The boys, with their sleighs, followed closely behind,
And neither one spoke, but in each childish mind
A beautiful thought said as plain as can be:
“I’ll share with those poor boys what Santa brings me.”

When the two reached their home, to their father they ran,
And eagerly told him their unselfish plan.
He was proud of his boys, who now felt that same love
That sent our dear Savior from His home above.
Next morning, still thrilled with their beautiful thought,
They scampered downstairs to see what Santa brought,
And they, with the help of their father and mother,
Selected the presents for Tim and his brother.

And as the first light of dawn came into view,
The two went their way with toys bright and new,
And crept very quietly up to the door
Where they’d seen the boys enter the evening before.
As they hurried back home toward their own Christmas joys,
They could not even dream how the other two boys,
On finding that Santa had really been there,
Sent their joy to the One who had answered their prayer.
That night, when the “Santas” were ready for bed,
With a hand of their father on each curly head,
They knew, as they thought of two poor, happy boys,
What’s the truest and choicest of all Christmas joys.

My brother is getting married.

I didn’t even know he knew how to kiss a girl, much less propose to one. Just kidding! Well, kind of.
What I mean to say is Congratulations!!

They are cute together. Aren’t they?

This one is my favorite.

This one is my favorite too.

This one is my favorite. Really.

This one is not my favorite. But I like it. I think it would look cool with a narrow crop, maybe a 10×20.

Something like this maybe. Now, its my favorite too.

Okay, so I went a bit crazy playing with the pictures. But this is my little brother we’re talking about here.

If you are reading this Don, congratulations! Holly, Welcome.