I saw this on a friends blog and it fell right into the way I have been feeling lately. I have been reading the book 'preparing my heart for Advent and this just touched me.

Jesus is Better than Santa

Santa lives at the North Pole.

JESUS is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh

JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.

Santa comes but once a year

JESUS is an ever present help.

Santa fills your stockings with goodies

JESUS supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited

JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. and then enters your heart.

You have to stand in line to see Santa

JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap

JESUS lets you rest in His arms.

Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"

JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly

JESUS has a heart full of love.

All Santa can offer is HO HO HO

JESUS offers health, help and hope.

Santa says "You better not cry"

JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.

Santa's little helpers make toys

JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle but

JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa puts gifts under your tree

JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.

It's obvious there is really no comparison.

We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.

We need to put Christ back in Christmas.

Jesus is still the reason for the season.

I knew I was in for a wonderfully marvelous treat when I opened the mailbox and there sat a beautifully decorated package with the cutest, happiest drawings...

This Thanksgiving, we are so thankful....

I know most of you know that I have an artsy blog and I hope you will come by and visit. For those of you that don't I would like to share some of the things that I have been working on these past weeks. A while back I went to a watercolor class with my bestest friend from Florida ( you may remember me talking about it HERE. ) Well I have been working on my technique but on a much much much smaller scale. I went from painting on 12 X 18 canvas to 2.5 X 3.5 inch cards. Anyway, here is some of my latest works. To see more visit MY ARTSY BLOG

Thanks for coming by today and be sure to leave a comment.

For Today…November 24th, 2008

Outside my Window…  The temp is a mere 31* , the sky is grey, the trees are bare and there is still a bit of snow on the ground. I don't see a bird in site, nor a dog or a horse. I think everyone is hiding somewhere keeping warm from the chilly chilly night we had.  

I am thinking…of catching up on laundry (gosh there has to be an end in there somewhere)

From the learning rooms…. lots of school lessons. I think we are going to start doing 'presentations' again. Seems the children can use some practice in that area. We will begin with researching an inventor, making a visual and then planning out the speach part of it. We are also starting a new Unit Study using the book "Number the Stars by Lois Lowry". We will learn more on the civil war and the areas in which it all took place. Should be an exciting week.

I am thankful for…  A healing Lord., ("Lord, heal this vessel of mine, take away the symptoms of this oncoming cold and open my airways so that I make breath easily and carry on making the improvements in our home. AMEN.)...  my husband, my children and my friends, my creative hands, my art. I am so thankful for my fully stocked pantry, meat in the freezer and the ability to learn to be more frugal.

From the kitchen… It is completely silent, no-one up yet to make any noise. I can smell the aroma of the pot of coffee my dear hubby started before leaving to get a load of hay. MMmm think I will go and grab a cup. :-)  

I am wearing…blue pajama leggings, an green over sized t-shirt. and thick warm comfy socks. I found these leggins at the thrift store the other day and oh how I wish I could find a dozen more. Seems these are perfect for me. My legs often hurt so much during the night (A combination of neuropothy and fibro) and with the way the hug the ankle they don't climb up exposing my ankles to the cool air. I have really got to hunt some down. :-)

I am reading…"Preparing My Heart for Advent: A Spiritual Pilgrimage for the Christmas Season"
by Ann Marie Stewart, My Bible, and Numbering the Stars.

I am hoping…that all my friends around the world and all of my extended family members are warm, fed, and blessed beyond belief.

I am creating…several new postcards and ATC's for swapping (you can see these HERE ) and lots of little Christmas tree ornaments. The children and I are working on making 200 so that we can bless the children's cancer center for Christmas.

I am hearing… the heat running,  the wind blowing and the clicking of the computer keyboard. Ahhhh quiet!

Around the house… not a creature is stiring., not even a mouse!

One of my favorite things is creating creating and receiving art work. Sharing the day with my family and spending time with hubby when he is off work. Hummmmm wonder what we will do today!

I am praying for…my families unity, a clean and organized house, all my friends hither and yon.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…finishing the organization of all the totes spread here and there and putting them down on the storage shelves, cleaning up the whole office so I can do something with these walls.

What I accomplished since last week…quite a few postcards and ATC's, crocheted a lot of dish cloths and pot holders, practiced my watercolor techniques. oh and lots and lots of school work!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Have a wonderful week everyone. If you would like to read more of the Simple women's daybook entries just visit HERE.

Oh my goodness. I woke this morning to find SNOW SNOW SNOW all over the place. I am just gathering the harvest for Thanksgiving and already we have snow. Geesh!

It is beautiful though, to look out at and see all the horse hoof prints and doggie prints all over. I bet if I looked close enough I would even find prints from lil mousies.  

I hated to have to go out in it but I did. I had groceries to get, things to take to the postoffice, and meds to pick up at the pharmacy. I am so proud of my grocery shopping today as I actually looked at the sales paper and with the help of coupons, a $25 gift certificate and a little planning, I was able to get $134.00 worth of groceries for $62.00. Now for some of you that may not be a big deal but for ME, the quick spender, it really is a mile stone. I am trying so hard to focus more and keep our grocery bill down to the minimun. Today, I DID GOOD!

I am home again and nice and warm, viewing the snow from my favorite place.... INSIDE!  I pray you are all warm too. Have a blessed day and drop a comment or two. heheee

Although, in crew, the official regatta season isn't until spring, we enjoy several events in the fall too.  The latest of these was the "Head of the Hooch" regatta in Chattanooga, TN. 

We had the most beautifully perfect weather for the event and, in addition to watching the races, were able to enjoy seeing some fall color (which is a real treat for us Floridians), grilling salmon and steaks outdoors for the team and their families, getting in some hiking time, and even visiting a museum located on the waterfront. 

What a great weekend!

Our son's boat - as it passes under the bridges and approaches the finish line.

For more "Show & Tell Friday" visit Canada Girl's Blog.  The pictures and stories you'll find there are amazing - not to mention, entertaining! :-)

... that today is Blinded by the Light Day? In 1976, Manfred Mann and the Earth and released one of their greatest hits, Blinded by the Light. Turn on all the lights in the house tonight to celebrate!

Or not. ;-)

For Today…November 17th, 2008

Outside my Window… ohhh the view is breathtaking. There is a dark dark blue sky and just over the ridge there is a country blue lining with just a hint of pink and orange. Almost like a fire's glow. The trees are outlined silhouettes. The temp is a mere 27* , but from inside the house it is just perfect.  

I am thinking…of all the things I want to accomplish today. From school lessons, to art to housekeeping. Lord.... would you mind allowing us, ohhhhh, about six extra hours today, I just want to get it all done!

From the learning rooms…Today we have Bible, spelling, science, math and home ec scheduled. We may be adding a visit to the Dr office today to, if I can get M an appointment. She just hasn't been feeling well lately. Please pray for her.

I am thankful for…  A forgiving Lord, a chance to start a brand new day, my husband, my children and my friends, my art and my on line buddies. For all those that have shared in swaps and bringing a smile to my face. For all things new!

From the kitchen… It is completely silent, no-one up yet to make any noise. I can smell the aroma of my hot cocoa brewing, mmmm and cinnamon scones about to become breakfast.  

I am wearing…purple leggings, an over sized t-shirt. and thick warm comfy socks. Seems this is my winter attire for bed these days.

I am reading…"Preparing My Heart for Advent: A Spiritual Pilgrimage for the Christmas Season"
by Ann Marie Stewart

I am hoping…that all my friends and family a warm, fed, and blessed beyond belief.

I am creating…several new postcards and ATC's for swapping and lots of goodies for my Warm Fuzzies swap.

I am hearing… the birds screeching as they fly by, the sound of horses hooves and they walk past the office window, ... and the snoring of my wee lil pumpkin as she lays next to me in the office.

Around the house… there will laundry going, children reading, writing, and oh how I pray, Laughing... We will fill the air with a Harvest scent and Christian music to set the tone for a wonderful day. .

One of my favorite things is creating postcards and ATC's that those receiving them will enjoy. I love my Mice and acorns, mice and flowers, mice and more mice.

I am praying for…those who need warmth from the cold, my families unity, all my friends hither and yon.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…getting the car repairs finished, getting M's paperwork for Behind the wheel, creating some great art work and spending time with family and friends. 

What I accomplished since last week…quite a few postcards and ATC's, a jean purse with an awesome wiener dog on it, some crocheting and painting. Lots of school work!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Praying you all have a wonderful day, stay warm and accomplish much.

Today has been one of those days where you wish you can hit the rewind key and earase the events and try again.

First off, my day started at 12:03 AM when I got a call from my daughter wanting me to pick her up from her friends house because she was feeling really sick. It is a 40 minute ride to where she was and I just couldn't get there fast enough. I arrived only to find her tossing her cookies in the drive way. She didn't want to wake anyone so decided to wait outside for me. (I... went in to tell her friend she was coming home and wasn't well). Praying all the way home that it was simply something she ate that didn't agree with her and that it wasn't the stomache bug, we got home around 1:25 AM. I got her settled in and then went to bed myself. THEN... I wake up 30 minutes later then what I wanted to only to find it had been raining for who knows how long and the car window was left open in the back seat. ARGH (Thanked God for Leather seats instead of fabric and carried on. I had to force the dogs outside to do their business cause none of them like the rain. Then wake all the children so we can do our morning chores and meet our friends at the library on time. We were going to meet for awhile there, go to Subway for lunch, and then go back to Deb's house to hang out until it was time for the boys to go to boy scouts. Wellllllll, before reaching Deb's house the Expo started to act really really strange. I heard a banging sound and then started to smell burnt rubber. Well we have been having a time trying to fix the emergancy break and had planned to drop it off at the garage on the way home from boy scouts. Well I guess something more went wrong and there I was in the middle of nowhere and SOMETHING was burning up. So I slowed down and tried to crawl to Deb's. There was a garage only 2 miles from her house and we made it there three minutes before they were supposed to close. I explained what I heard and smelt and the mechanic was able to smell it to. He advised me not to drive it home (55 Miles from where we were) so I called the hubby and decided to leave it at the garage. I went to Deb's we had dinner and then after talking about just spending the night and finding that we couldn't cause I didn't have any insulin with me (or my OTHER bucket of meds), we decided that I would just drive her car home and come back tomorrow after my car is repaired. Well, her car had a flat tire!!! So her hubby went out to fix it only to find three nails in one and a couple in another. It took him over an hour to plug all the holes. My hubby would have come to get us except he only has a pick up that will fit Three tightly squeezed. Well after about two hours we all piled in Deb's car and headed for home. 1/2 way there a light comes on in her car that says "Low tire pressure". OH GEEZZZZZZ!! Well we checked and it wasn't to low to drive on so we just came the rest of the way home. Now I know what tomorrow will bring first thing in the morning (Which mind you isn't but five hours away now) I will have to get up and get the air compressor, blow up the tire, head to town and stop at OUR garage and have them check the rest of the tires and plug away!!!   Isn't life just one happy adventure after another. ?????????

Well I guess I better get off to bed and prepare for a better tomorrow. Hope you all in bloggerville will say a quick prayer for us. Have a blessed day! NIGHT NIGHT!!