After Christmas Chaos
The picture above is just a part of what our pool room (junk room) looks like at the moment. It’s looked this way for most of December. It’s the only room in the house that has room for “overflow”, therefore, it is the room that “catches” everything.
Today I am finally beginning to pack up the left-over Christmas paper, bows, boxes, etc. It will barely make a dent in the stuff that I have to pack up in the following days, but I have to start somewhere.
I am a believer of leaving the Christmas decorations up until after New Years. I’ve always heard that it’s bad luck to remove them before then, but I actually enjoy the decorations more after Christmas is over. It usually gets so hectic before Christmas, there is little time to sit and enjoy the decorations. How about you, when do you take down your tree and decorations?
So…I have been sitting and enjoying the decorations this week! It’s also cold this week and I can burn my tree lights without running the air conditioner. Our tree has so many white lights on it that it gives off a tremendous amount of heat! That heat feels good this week! I love a tree with lots of lights!
Tonight the family is planning to go on our last “outing ” of the season. We are going over to a place called “Guido Gardens”. It’s a beautifully landscaped garden that used to belong to pastor Michael Guido and his ministry, before he passed away this past year. The garden has many statues, koi ponds, a replica of Jesus’ tomb, a glass chapel, a replica of Noah’s Ark, a life-sized animated nativity scene, and a larger than life birthday cake for Jesus, among other things. It’s decorated in thousands of lights and is a beautiful reminder of what Christmas is really about. I haven’t been to see it in a couple of years. Some of our family has never been, so it will be special. The weather outside is chilly, so we’ll have to bundle up. Perhaps I can post a picture at the end of this post before I publish it.
Update: It’s now ten minutes before midnight and we just got back home from our trip to Guido Gardens. What a trip that turned out to be! The whole family–all ten of us piled into two vehicles and drove to Guido Gardens–a thirty minute ride. When we arrived, we discovered that the place was dark and closed. Apparently, they decided to end the light show earlier than planned.
So…we decided to go to The Western Sizzlin’ Steak House to eat–only to discover that it is no longer there! It’s been replaced by a place called Bevricks. We decided to give Bevricks a try. The food and service was great, so that made the trip somewhat worthwhile. We weren’t quite ready to come straight home, so we decided to cut across and go to Wal-mart–about 20 miles or so away.
After a trip through Wal-mart, we started to come home when our son, Brad, noticed that the front tire on my car was flat! So Christina went back in Wal-mart to do a little more shopping while the guys started to try to figure out how to change the tire. After locating the owner’s manual and discovering where the spare tire and jack were located, the men proceeded to try to get the front tire off. They beat and framed, but no luck! That tire was stuck on good!
So…my hubby goes in Wal-mart and buys a can of fix-a-flat and a small battery-powered air compressor. They put the fix-a-flat in the tire and pumped it up. That held and got us home! While doing all of this, my son-in-law kneeled down on the pavement and landed smack on a banana peeling which made him slide and dirty his pants!!! Everyone pointed and laughed at him…
On the way home, we noticed that Clint’s van slowed down and got far behind us. After we all arrived home, Brandy came out and told us about the ordeal that they experienced on the way home. Madison was eating goldfish crackers and somehow got part of one up her nose! She began to cry and get upset while trying to explain that she had a cracker in her nose. Upon examining Madison, Brandy saw that she did, indeed, have a cracker up her nose! Brandy began to panic, but quickly turned to Brad’s girlfriend, Jennifer, who recently completed nursing school, and asked what to do. Jennifer said that she thought that she had some tweezers(she did), so Brandy held Madison while Jennifer removed the cracker with tweezers! That is what was going on when the van slowed down. Man, what a night–one we will remember and laugh about for a long time to come!
Reflections...by Kathy 
Kathy, Wow what a day. I bet you were glad to get home. At least it makes for some great blogging material;) Love your new blog look. Miss the buttons on here though. Hope you and your family have a Great New Year. Thank You for being a part of my blog. I look forward to blogging with you another year my friend. Love and Many Blessings, Audrey
Audrey, Happy New Year! Yes, I miss the buttons on my blog, too, but it’s only temporary. I will eventually go back to the original look–I just needed a break. All of my buttons are still there,they just don’t show up on the new template for some reason. Nobody around to ask why. They show up when I switch to the old blog template! I look forward to blogging another year with you, also. Blessings always, Kathy
Man that is an unforgettable night! Too bad you didn’t get to see Guido’s, I would have liked to have seen pictures of it.
Thanks for the comment! Yes, the visit to Guido’s was unforgettable, but lots of funny memories–though not at the time! Guido’s is open during the day for strolling through. I may travel back over there and take some daytime pics to post. It really is awesome. Happy New Year! Kathy
That is some New Years Eve. I am sorry that the garden was closed. The pictures would have been great to see.
A fish in the nose is a new one. Glad it came out OK.
When my brother was about 6 he put an unpopped piece of popcorn in his ear. That required a trip to the ER. Glad the fish came out easier.
Thaks for the comment! Wow, a popcorn kernal in the ear–hadn’t thought of that one! I once had a student that was discovered to have had a bead up his nose that had been there for several YEARS! That was unbelievable–it was a fluke that they even discovered it. The little boy had a problem of fainting when he would get hot and they were testing him for the cause of that when they discovered the bead. Mom remembered the beads and when it happened. That little boy kept us on edge with his fainting spells–he had several of them. They never discovered why. Happy New Year! Kathy
Wow, what a night! I’m sorry the Gardens were closed – that would be so disappointing! We’ve wanted to take our toddler to the National Zoo to see the huge light display there, but it’s been sooo cold. With the snow, ice, and temperatures under 20, we’ve opted to stay indoors. Maybe next year, we’ll have better weather! 🙂