Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve Bloggyville!
Praying that your Christmas is blessed and that the birth of our Savior touches your heart in a new way this special season!

"At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He traveled there form the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancee, who was now obviously pregnant.
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified , but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said, "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord-has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: you will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others-the armies of heaven-praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with
whom God is pleased."

Luke 2:1-14 New Living Translation

Concerts, concerts, concerts!

Hello girls....

Well, what a week it has been! I've lost my ability to use the internet at home so I am typing this post from my local Barnes and Noble! I am so sad that I've been out of the loop here in bloggy land!

As you've read in the title of this post, I've been to a few concerts in the last 2 weeks. It all started out last Monday night when my friend Julie and I went to Turlock for the FREE Katina's concert at Monte Vista Chapel. My, my, my were they not just the coolest band! (can I say coolest?! That kind of shows what era I grew up in!). No, really...they were so good! I loved them! This new young artist named Quimi (kee-mee) opened for them. You might of heard her song "All For Love" that she sings as a duet with the Katinas. I really enjoyed her concert also...so much so that I bought her cd...it is in the player in my car currently and I do have to say that it is a new favorite! The neat thing that I discovered is that she attends my church! (it's a huge church and I am new there so don't know too many people yet).

Then this Monday night I went with Julie and Jenny Lynn to hear the First Baptist Choir and Orchestra for their performance "A Christmas Prayer". Very moving and wonderfully orchestrated....I truly enjoyed listening to the beautiful music that the Lord has gifted these men and women to play!

Then last night Julie and I went to see Michael W. Smith in Modesto for his Christmas Concert with the Modesto Symphony! What an amazing night! The music was so very beautiful and the atmosphere so festive! Definately got me in the Christmas spirit!

Here are a few pics to share with you!

The Katinas doing their thing!

This is Quimi singing her song "All For Love" with the Katinas

Julie and I outside the church on the night of the Katinas concert

Me, Julie, and Jenny Lynn at FBC for their Christmas program

Michael W. Smith's Christmas Concert in Modesto

Here he is with Melinda Doolittle. She was on American Idol

Melinda filled the place up with some wonderful soul and jazz music!

My new 'do

Hello

So, my family is getting ready to have our annual family pictures done and I decided to get my hair cut. Here is the new look.....




Not that much different except that she layered it again and it is slightly shorter...I like it.
Am thinking of getting the highlights redone as they are pretty grown out but don't know if I want to go with red/burgandy lights or the light brown.
Decisions, decisions!

Turkey Day Craziness!

I have many pictures of our Thanksgiving holiday that I will put up soon but just had to share this little video with you so that you can see just how creative we got this year!

I must explain the video. What had occurred was that all of us were on a walk after our overindulgence in turkey, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and cranberry. As we were on our way back to the house, my Aunt's husband Jesse found this tube thing and decided that it would be tons of fun for the kids to go rolling down the hill in it. Key word: THE KIDS! My cousin Becky (who is 1 year older than me I must say!) decided that she wanted to try it out. I choose to be the videographer! What a video it turned out to be! It is a bit shakey as I was laughing so hard throughout the entire time so you'll just have to look past that! The video that my cousin Marissa took after this roll had me laughing so hard that I had to cross my legs lest I loose a little something! Too bad you can't see that one!

Black Friday

Ok all....

Which of you are crazy like me and are going out tomorrow morning to brave the weather, the crowds, and the insaneness (is that a word?!) of the first official shopping day of the Christmas season? I love to do this! I don't know why...it just gets me in the mood for Christmas and I just like to be out! Most people don't but I don't mind. So some of the things on the list for tomorrow are as follows:
1. Bible for me (34.99 as opposed to 69.99 is what is drawing me in on that one) because my current one is beginning to fall apart. I am so sad to retire this one as it has so much in it that chronicles my walk with the Lord for the last 10 years or so! I just am attached to it a bit! I do however look forward to what God will teach me in the new one and what changes my life will bring over the years that I am using it! How blessed we are that we have the opportunity to own more than one bible especially when belivers in other parts of the globe cannot even get their hands on one...THANK YOU LORD FOR THE BLESSING THAT YOU'VE GIVEN US AND THE PRIVILIGED POSITION THAT WE ARE IN! LET US NOT BECOME PRIDEFUL AND HELP US TO ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE THE TRUE MEANING OF OUR LIVES!
2. 1cent Webkinz toys for the little boys and girl in my life. The local christian store is selling them for 1cent to the first 100 shoppers...can you believe that!!!! Little nephews and niece will be happy!
3. Digital photo frame at Target for 29.99! That is a pretty good buy if you asked me! The person receiving this gift will enjoy it as digital photos are new and she has yet to discover how to display all those photos! Hopefully this will help....

And whatever else I may find that will serve as a good gift for those I love!

So Cold In My House!

Hello out there!

Just had to jump on here today and tell you that it is soooo cold in my house! The thermostat reads 57* and I am determined NOT to turn on the heater yet! I am trying to see how long I can go without turning on the heater for a few reasons. The first being that it cost a fortune to heat this 3 bedroom house when there is only 1 person in it! So financial is the primary reason. The second reason is that I am stubborn that way and want to see how long I can ride it out!
So to warm up...I've lit candles, made oatmeal this morning, and will bake just about anything that I can (turning on the oven really does heat up at least the kitchen!). I even took a bath (closed the door for the steamy effect...very warm!) It really did warm me up so now I am nice and toasty in my warm sweats! Now I just need to stay that way!

Guess I am going to have to turn the heat on soon!

Matthew West Concert and World Vision

Hey there bloggy friends,


This past weekend I had the privilige of attending a Matthew West concert 2 nights in a row for free! I was a volunteer at the World Vision table to help get kids signed up with sponsors. It was so much fun and so wonderfully encouraging. And the concert was a great added bonus!
God is so good. I had wanted to attend the concert but with finances a bit tight right now had resigned to the fact that I was not going to be able to attend then on Friday evening I received a phone call from the people at World Vision asking if I'd help out with the sponsorship table and that I'd be able to get into the concert and see it for free! Not only that...I was going to be able to bring friends and family to help out also and they would be treated to the concert also!
It was an awesome night of great music, fellowship, service, and fun!

Here are a few photos for your viewing pleasure!!!


Julie, Griselda, Matthew West, and me! What a fun night!!


Here we are hard at work. That's me, Ling, Dean, and Susie.


Playing around at the table. Me, Ling, Dean and Susie again!


Matthew West in concert...what a wonderfully gifted performer!



This is Josh Wilson. He opened for Matthew West and I must
saw that he is an incredibly talented young performer!
Can't wait to hear more from him.

*Update on photos: These photos are from the second night!

Matthew West singing his heart out!

My sweet sister in law Kendra, me, and my ever faithful concert buddy Julie!