9th Day of Christmas

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me -- a morning to myself!  He and the kids are off to my sister's house, and I'm here alone left to be sure that we are ready to face the world again tomorrow.  Yes, Winter Break officially ends today.  So, on this day of cleaning, organizing, preparing, and planning, I will reflect a bit on how I can aspire to what are called the nine "Fruits of the Holy Spirit," from Paul's letter to the Galatians:  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ~ 5:22-23

I could certainly use a lot more of each of these, especially as I face 2012.  Couldn't we all?

Here's the view off our deck this morning ~ beauty in a twisted, tangled mess of Mother Nature ~

Innies and Outies

Since it's the end of the year, I'm seeing these annual In and Out lists.  I hardly get any of the WashPo's, so I thought I'd make my own -- ha!

Out                                                                               In
Junie B. Jones or Captain Underpants books       Poison Apple books or Teen Bop mags

Soccer                                                               Guitar and Violin lessons

Complaining about Stink Bugs                            Killing Stink Bugs

Basketball shorts                                                Jeans

Brushing teeth                                                    Complaining about brushing teeth

Silly Bandz                                                         Homemade braided/macrame bracelets

Shoes                                                                 Boots

Spongebob, iCarly                                              So Random, ANT Farm, Jessie

Vacation plans                                                     Pool plans

Chicken nuggets                                                  Steamed Mussels/Clams

Being a housewife                                               Being an engineer

Drawing pictures                                                 Keeping a diary

Wanting an iPad                                                   Loving a Xoom

Blackberries                                                        Any other smart phone

Job stability                                                         New superintendents

Kidz Bop                                                             Taylor Swift, Adele

Cartoons                                                              Latch hook

Nursery Rhyme pictures                                       Posters of Justin Bieber

School lunch                                                        Packing

Voddy                                                                 SoCo

Driving to work                                                   Riding the Canal to work