he gave all he had...

The Little Drummer Boy

Come they told me
Pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see
Pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring
Pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the kIng
Pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum
So to honor Him
Pa rum pum pum pum
When we come
Little baby
Pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too
Pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring
Pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give our King
Pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum
Shall I play for you
Pa rum pum pum pum
On my drum
Mary nodded
Pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time
Pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him
Pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him
Pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum
Then He smiled at me
Pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum...me and my drum.

with gratitude...

this Thanksgiving was truly the best Thanksgiving i've ever had...

for the first time, i made Thanksgiving dinner with my children.

there was much to do, so we paced ourselves and stayed very calm

and relaxed throughout it all.

what a blessing this day has been!

this is only the 2nd time i've ever made a turkey

and i cannot believe how moist and beautiful it turned out!

('course i prayed alot, lol)

we had turkey, stuffing, green been casserole, mashed tatoes made with real butter

and heavy cream, cauliflower with cheese sauce, rolls, 3 pies, sparkling cider and

cranberry sauce...

there were no conflicts, quarrels, fussing, unhappiness at all

and while we cooked, we had some wonderful Christmas music playing in the background.

and believe it or not, to make it perfect, it began to snow!

me and the kids kept saying how amazing this year's Thanksgiving was.

it was just us four and it was truly beautiful.

no rushing, no stress, just peaceful memory-making moments...

and for this alone, i am forever grateful.

(we purchased 2 disposable camera's and i can't wait to see the pics!)

the next day, we decorated the tree and house and made sugar cookies

from scratch, and the icing to go with them!

it's been forever since i last baked...and with the girls to boot.

we doubled the recipe, split and chilled the dough and made the icing,

using food coloring to create gorgeous red, green, purple and weird caramel colors.

though it was late by the time we finished the baking,

we turned off all the lights

and sat in wonder in our now glittering home...

i am so very, very grateful, to our precious Abba,

for the joys and blessed moments of this holiday season ~

because without Him,

it wouldn't be worth a thing...

For you, ernzy...

today is my brother's birthday...
i would give anything for just one more minute with him,
but me and my family will have to wait until we are reunited with him in Heaven.

for my Mom...ma, you were a wonderful mother to ernzy, you gave all you had and
i know he smiles down upon you, precious mom. you have nothing to regret and Abba will once again
put your son in your arms, right where he belongs.

for my Dad...dad, you were often the listening ear for ernzy, and loved him as if he was your own.
and because of your love, ernzy was your son too.
thank you for being his father, he desperately needed that.

for my 'Nae...'nae, you have always been there for each of us and most especially for ernzy.
unstilting and unconditional love.
only you witnessed the tragedy and are still here ~ living on, day by day, loving him in memory,
loving him always.

for my Nattie...nattie, you, the baby of the family, have loved ernzy all your life and i know from
his place in Heaven, ernzy remembers and smiles and loves you deeply in return and waits for the
strength of your embrace when you see him yet again.

we love you, ernzy...and today we especially remember and are grateful to Abba for each borrowed
moment.
i love and miss you, my ernzy...happy birthday...i have a candle in the window just for you.

Isaiah 40:31

"I'm so very ordinary
Nothing special on my own
I have never walked on water
I have never calmed a storm
Sometimes I'm hiding away from the madness around me
Like a child who's afraid of the dark

But when I call on Jesus
All things are possible
I can mount on wings like eagles and soar
When I call on Jesus
Mountains are gonna fall
'Cause He'll move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call

Weary brother
Broken daughter
Widowed, widowed lover
You're not alone
If you're tired and scared of the madness around you
If you can't find the strength to carry on

~repeat chorus~

Call Him in the mornin'
In the afternoon time
Late in the evenin'
He'll be there
When your heart is broken
And you feel discouraged
You can just remember that He said
He'll be there"

(c)2001 Wordspring Music, Inc./Lil' Jas Music/SESAC
Nicole C. Mullen

tornadoes...

i started painting...watercolors.
that's really new for me and the first thing i've painted
is called "angry sky" and it's a picture of a tornado.
i dream about tornadoes quite a bit and though i used to be fascinated by them,
when we had that tornado scare and 3 touched down very near to where i live,
the fascination petered out...
i often dream that i am the first one to see the tornado coming and i run around trying to alert everyone
then run around trying to gather up my 3 children and head for cover.
in each dream, as me and the children kneel, praying, for Abba's divine intervention, the tornado
passes us by.
we are spared.
God's miraculous mercy - saving us yet again...
but the dreams have become more and more vivid, and i wake up remembering the sounds and smells
and the fear that is so prevalent each time.
i only know 2 other people who dream of tornadoes on a regular basis and both have asked
Jesus into their hearts to be their Lord and Savior...
i believe the dreams are a warning...an alert to be ready.
that reminds me of a favorite song/chorus: "When the Time Comes" (by sandi patti)

"and when the time comes, i want Him to know me
when the time comes, i wanna be there
and when the time comes, i wanna be ready
when Jesus comes to take me Home..."

how 'bout you? are you ready?

if not, heads up...looks like a storm is coming.

crazy storm...

Update:
all is well, the winds are not as strong and i praise Jesus that we didn't
lose our power.
yay for the calm after the storm...



the wind out here is insane right now...up to 60 mph!
i haven't even been to bed yet, it's just crazy and the lights are flickering on and off...
one of my windows has almost been blown clear off, glory be!
i've got plenty of candles and i'm thankful for that, but wow...this is something else!
i'm actually a lil nervous now...i've never experienced any winds of this magnitude before, but i'm sure everything will be just fine.

gotta go, don't know how much longer before the power goes out...say a prayer for me and the kids, we'd appreciate it, all...i'll keep ya posted!

love,

elaine
(p.s. you should hear the dogs howling in the neighborhood, poor guys! and my remaining kitties are as close to me on the desk as they can get...and staring at the front door!)

the kitties...

{dedicated to my amazing girls, n & b...
i love you so muching and am so thankful
for your support in this painful decision.}