Hunter's present on Christmas Eve

I hope y'all had a good Christmas!  We did!  On Christmas Eve we went to one of my cousin's house and ate.  Afterwards we did a "Chinese Christmas", where you draw numbers, then the first person gets to pick first, and so on.  But, the catch is, the next person, or any person after you, can choose to steal your gift instead of opening a new one.  My hubby tried to hide his gift so no one would steal it!  He ended up getting to keep it, it was a heavy duty flashlight, that bends.  I also ended up with a three set of flashlights.  Mitchell decided to steal a present, so he got a red and black checkered blanket.

Christmas Day with Ronnie's family

On Christmas Day we got up and went to church and in the afternoon we went to my mother-in-law's house.  The kids had a great time with their cousins.  Then we went to see their horses.  My husband loves horses!  He had them growing up and misses them so.  Turns out, Hunter loves horses too!  He kept hugging them, it was so cute!

Hunter loving on one of the horses

Mitchell's favorite gifts were his new gun, his Clemson T-shirt, and his camo backpack.

Mitchell trying out his new gun

Mitchell in his Clemson tee and his new backpack

Hunter got a really cool set of John Deere tractors that he likes, a fire engine, and a racetrack.

Hunter opening his racetrack

My husband and I decided to get ourselves the gift of a new fuel pump.  Our car had been broken for several months.  So, as a family, we couldn't go anywhere, because our other vehicle is a truck with only three seats.  It's nice being able to go places with both the kids again!

Ronnie and Mitchell working on our car

And we celebrated the birth of Jesus with a birthday cake and by singing "Happy Birthday" to Him!

Hunter blowing out the candle

I hope each one of you is able to spend this Christmas with the ones you love the most!  I am loving seeing Christmas through my children's eyes- the anticipation, the enjoyment, and the magic.  Hunter is especially excited about the birth of baby Jesus!  I hope y'all are too!


From my family to yours- Merry Christmas!!!

Our Christmas tree when we first put it up

Hunter loves to spin the chair & hit it so it's not quite as pretty now

I love to go places, from Disney World to the beaches or the mountains. Unfortunately that can get pretty expensive! I just found the secret to make taking a family vacation more affordable. It's called RedWeek.com and it's a place where members can go and rent timeshares directly from the owner. You cut out the middle-man and cut down the price!  Membership to RedWeek is only $14.99 per year.

Disney World

Here's an example of the great prices found on RedWeek: My favorite place in the world, Disney World, has a studio room available at the Boardwalk Villas for $130 a night! And this is during Christmas! The regular rate per night for this room is $370. That is such an amazing deal! Or if you'd prefer to stay offsite, you could stay at Cypress Pointe Resort in a one bedroom unit for only $64 a night.

Gorgeous Beaches

Maybe you would prefer a 2 bedroom unit on the beach. There is one at The Resort on Cocoa Beach in Florida next summer for $128 a night. The regular price for this room is $208 a night and it sleeps 6 people!  Perhaps you've been wanting to go to Las Vegas, there is a 1 bedroom unit at a 5 star resort for only $80 per night. 

See the Difference in Space!

Just think of all the space you'd have versus a regular hotel room. Hotels usually have one or two beds in the same room and a bathroom.  Timeshare rentals often have fully stocked kitchens, separate bedrooms, a living room, and some even have washers and dryers.  These amenities are great if you have children because you and the kids don't have to share a bedroom, plus you can cook your own meals to save even more money.

When you are a member and visit RedWeek.com you can check prices and availability of resorts as well as read reviews and ratings.  There are also detailed resort descriptions and lots of photos.   There is a section on the site called RedWishes where you can list the exact resort, room size, and dates so owners can contact you.  You can buy, sell, or rent a timeshare at RedWeek. 

I know I usually share hymns on Sunday, but today I wanted to share something different.  It's one of my favorite Christmas songs!



Christmas In Dixie

By now in New York City
There's snow on the ground
And out in California
The sunshine's falling down
And maybe down in Memphis, Graceland's all in lights
And in Atlanta, Georgia, there's peace on earth tonight

Christmas in Dixie, it's snowing in the pines
Merry Christmas from Dixie to everyone tonight

It's windy in Chicago
The kids are out of school
There's magic in Motown
The city's on the move
In Jackson, Mississippi to Charlotte, Caroline
And all across the Nation, its a peaceful Christmas time

Christmas in Dixie, its snowing in the pines
Merry Christmas from Dixie, to everyone tonight

And from Fort Payne, Alabama..Merry Christmas tonight!

I used to get fever blisters (cold sores) a lot! I probably had one at least every six weeks or so.  They are so aggravating.  First you feel the tingle and then the blisters pop up on your lips.  When they finally get here it still takes about 2 weeks or so for them to heal up. 

I asked my doctor if there was something I could take to help keep from getting them, but she said there wasn't.  So, I did some research online and found some things people have taken to either keep from getting fever blisters, or to help heal them faster.  There are several medicines that are supposed to help lessen the severity of the occurrences.   But, they are only for after you get the cold sores, not before.

I tried a lot of the things I saw on websites and what finally ended up working for me was Lysine.  Lysine is sold in the vitamin section of stores.  The bottle in the picture above was bought at Dollar General for just a few dollars and will last me 2 months.  I have been taking one 500 mg. pill a day for about 9 months or so.  Since then the only time I have had a fever blister is when I ran out of pills and skipped a little over a week of taking them. 

Now, I'm not promising this will work for everyone, but for me it's been a great preventative!

Hunter filling in a hole while his daddy digs one

It's been forever since I gave y'all an update on Barb.  You may remember she got a job in July.  Recently they made her permanent part time which means she will get benefits now.  So awesome!

The front porch in the middle of renovation

I also posted that Barb received a used mobile home in the spring.  Well, it turned out it needed more work than we first anticipated.  A lot of the floors needed to be either partially or completely re-done.

They boys bedroom under construction

It also needed painting, a new water heater, new flooring, and new porches.  And the plumbing had to be re-done with new toilets, sinks, etc, etc.  As you can see, the work kept adding up!

The most helpful men ever!

Luckily, we have had a lot of help from our church family.  Which included some cousins of mine, our preacher and a few other men of the church.  They were only able to work on it every so often whenever money was available.  Our "men" included a plumber/electrician, a natural gas installer, an equipment operator, and a jack of all trades.

The septic tank being installed

We They also put in a septic tank and water lines to the home.  I mostly supervised, lol!  Actually Hunter did way more work than me.  He pulled up flooring, and filled in holes.

Mitchell and Adam pulling up the old flooring

We were hoping Barb would be able to move in by Christmas, but unfortunately she still needs new flooring for 3 more rooms, some furniture, and we're hoping the heating system will still work that came with it.

Hunter and the preacher's son watching the preacher put in water lines

I think everything has been done to get it inspected now and as soon as it passes they will turn the power on.  That will make it so much easier to finish the little inside things that are hard to work on now that it gets dark so early.

The main bathroom after being painted

Pray that everything will keep going well, so Barb and her family will be able to move in soon!

I was singing this song in my head so I thought I would share the lyrics with y'all.