Merry Christmas!!!

We've had a good Christmas this year, and it's been a laid back time for sure! (I didn't get out of my jammies until dinner time yesterday! hehe) We started the holiday with a service at our church on Christmas Eve, followed by reading "The Night Before Christmas" before bed as is the tradition in our home. Jerry and I stayed up until almost 3 a.m. finishing up putting things under the tree....and then Santa came!

Elisabeth woke me up Christmas morning, and I was dreaming, so I thought she was yelling at me to "Save the game! Save the game!" (as in, on a video game).....when I fully awoke, I realized she was screaming "Santa came! Santa came!!!" We read the story of Jesus' birth from Luke 2 as a family, and passed out stockings. After that, we opened all of the gifts. The whole family got bikes. Nick got a cell phone and an iPod Nano, along with some other stuff. Elisabeth got a beautiful ballerina quilt made by Nana, a doll and her horse, a Disney Princess video game, and several other items too. We ate chocolate peppermint pancakes for breakfast, then we took some late morning naps.

In the afternoon, Nick and I made lefse and we had my family's traditional Norwegian meal (usually done on Christmas Eve, but it was good a day later too!). I think it was the best lefse I've ever made, perfect in size, texture and moist enough to wrap up without cracking or tearing! We ended the day watching movies, hanging out, and going for a bike ride in the dark. We took Rocky with us, and he pulled me most of the way on our ride. It was a great day!

Today, I came across this video on YouTube, and was really touched by it. Be thankful for all of the blessings you have to celebrate this Christmas!!!



Here are the lyrics to "When Are You Coming Home"...

You were almost sixteen when I came into the world.
Mom and Dad had you first then 3 more boys I'm the baby girl.
I sure have a lot to look up to in you, you're really smart and funny with a big heart too.
After one year of college you knew what you had to do.
It's just like you wanting to help with the war.
So you joined the army when I was only 4.
This time of year we talk of big plans but you're over seas in some distant land.
You can't be here for Christmas, I don't understand.

Chorus:
When are you coming home, Shaun?
When are you coming home?!
We lit up the house like we always do but it doesn't seem bright 'cause we can't have you.
In my prayers I ask God to keep you safe.
And I'm trying to be really brave.
Tell me that the fighting's through.
Come home!
I really miss you.

It's hard to enjoy the holidays without you.
But we're so proud of you and all the red white and blue.
Remember that Jesus is your best friend,
And someday our families will be together again.
Wow! You know we'll have a great big party then.

Chorus

I want to show you how tall I've grown and introduce you to my new friends at school.
Maybe we could go and get some ice cream together but I really don't care what we do.

Chorus

Merry Christmas, But Never Winter...

I changed my myspace background...I'm wanting to see snow, so I figured I could put it on there and it would help....we'll see. Don't take me wrong, I do love living in Florida...beaches, palm trees, sandhill cranes, seagulls, Spanish moss, all of the fun things, etc. But a snow day would be nice once a year...snowmen, snow angels, snow ice cream, snowball fights, skiing, sledding, ice skating, ice cicles...I miss that!

We had a great Christmas, just us, hanging out in our PJ's all day. We started off the day with reading Luke 2 as a family and opening presents. The kids were so appreciative of their gifts, and it was a good time. Breakfast was Chocolate Peppermint pancakes...YUM! We hung around and enjoyed and played with all of the gifts, then everyone took a nap. After that, Nick and I made lefse (a Norwegian flatbread), and we had a nice dinner. To end the day, we all took a ride on our new bikes, and Rocky went along too. It was so funny. I had him on his leash and I was on my bike. He pulled me up and down the street trying to keep up with everyone else. Too funny! Guess I won't get much exercise doing it that way!

Merry Christmas, enjoy winter if you live "Up North", and eat some snow ice cream for me!

I've been tagged....did I tag you?

A - Available or single: Neither, I've been married for 13 years, and taken for the past 16!

B - Best friend: I don't really have a "best" friend, but I'm friends with everyone.

C - Cake or pie: What's with this "or" stuff? I love cheesecake, I love cake, I love pie. End of story!

D - Drink of choice: Mountain Dew, anything from Boston's (I miss Boston's!), and margaritas...love lime and salt together!

E - Essential item you use everyday: Computer....deodorant....computer....deodorant...Do I have to pick one?!?

F - Favorite color: Red

G - Gummy bears or worms: Neither...I don't like stuff that glues itself to my teeth!

H - Hometown: Growing up--Belle Plaine, KS....Now--Wesley Chapel, FL

I - Indulgence: Anything chocolate works for me1

J - January or February: February--both kids' b'days, the Super Bowl, and Valentine candy!

K - Kids & names: Nicholas and Elisabeth

L - Life is incomplete without: Love, Laughter and Music...can't imagine it without any of those.

M - Marriage date: July 31, 1993 (in Asbury Chapel on the TTU campus, Chattanooga, TN)

N - Number of siblings: This is where it gets complicated...3 that I currently am in somewhat contact with, 3 that are deceased, and 6+ I've never met.

O - Oranges or apples: ORANGES!!! I do live in FL you know!

P - Phobias or fears: My kids dying before their time...

Q - Fave quote: "I'm happier than a tornado in a trailer park!"

R - Reason to smile: Christmas Break!

S - Season: Summer--no more school, no more books, no more students' snotty looks!

T - Tag 3 or 4 people: Sherri, Nikki, Kim

U - Unknown fact about me: I sewed my own wedding dress AND I know how to operate bulldozers and tractors!

V- Vegetable you don't like: I never met a veggie I truly hated...I need to eat more of them!

W - Worst habit: Being a perfectionist, which causes me to procrastinate.

X - XRays: Yep, too many too count.

Y- Your favorite food: All of it! I love homecooking and all kinds of ethnic foods, it's hard to pick just one!

Z - Zodiac sign: Virgo...perfectionism at it's best (or worst!)

Remembering Ruth...

I was just reading on a forum about aprons and patterns and someone posted a picture of an apron pattern book her daughter found in her grandmother's steamer trunk. Here's what she said that set me off on my reminiscent tangent...

"Isnt that just adorable??? I know I am getting a little carried away with it but it is just so special to me. AND best thing...it smells just like my granny's house. All I could do was hold it to my face and smile. There are aprons to be made..."

So I have this old trunk, it's dark and made of metal and wood with leather handles on the sides. The metal has this beautiful scrolling flower pattern on it. It sits in my family room with a vintage table cloth draped over it and a lamp on top. Every once-in-awhile I open up the trunk. There's a wooden tray in the top that comes out, and underneath are the wonderful quilts I inherited along with the trunk. One is lavender and is tied rather than stitched. The other is yellow and just beautiful with all of the many pieces of fabrics that were most-likely dresses and clothing worn by family members of whoever made it. When you open the lid of the trunk, there's a bit of that old musty smell that you smell in museums and old basements. But when you pull out the quilts, they smell like my Grandma Frame. So I close my eyes and remember...

Grandma Frame was not my biological grandmother, she was the mother of my step-dad who married my mom when I was 5 years old. She never treated me as if I weren't a part of the "Frame family", and she taught me a lot of things.

Grandma was a piano teacher, and it was from her that I learned to play. She would make me practice 30 minutes every day, which bugged me at the time but I'm ever so grateful for it now. She could play the piano like you wouldn't believe. Her fingers just flew over the keys, even when her arthritis was bothering here. She would play "Eidleweiss Glide" and "Woodland Echoes" and my cousins and I would dance around the livingroom to the music. Sometimes, if were were lucky, she'd pull out this beautiful pink dress she'd made as a girl for a school program and let us take turns wearing it while she played. I have that dress also...it's made of fuschia colored cheese cloth with tissue paper flowers sewn onto it. It's not nearly as "vogue" as we thought it was when we were little girls, but it's still so very special to pull it out and look at it and think of those great times. Now, my daughter sees it and wants to try it on...I think she may be old enough to be careful and not rip it soon.

Grandma was a seamstress, and it was from her that I learned to sew. From the very first year she knew me, she made clothes for me. The first dress I remember her making was a pink gingham Easter dress that went to my ankles. It was sleeveless, and she made my mom a matching dress. The next year, Mom was pregnant with my little brother, and she still made us matching dresses. Mine was pink and hers was blue. She made me skirts and vests, and even a beautiful plaid taffeta dress for Christmas one year. Thanks to Grandma, I made my own wedding gown. And thanks to Grandma, I can sew clothes for my own daughter, as well as many other items. She also taught me how to embroider and do latchhook rugs, along with many other creative/crafty things.

Grandma was a cook, and it was partially from her that I learned to bake and cook almost anything that I can imagine. My first memory of cooking was with Grandma Corky, my mom's mother, she let me help make scrambled eggs. But, Grandma Frame could make anything taste good and nothing ever went to waste. She made the prettiest gingerbread church, yummy candies and cookies, and all sorts of cakes and pies. She could fry chicken better that Colonel Sanders, and she could even make bologna "salad" sandwiches taste good. She canned everything my grandpa grew in the garden, and her homemade icecream was to die for. Thanks to Grandma, my kids eat a variety of foods and love almost everything I make. My husband touts my meatloaf as being better than his grandma's...and that says a lot! She taught me a love of providing delicious and nutritious meals for my family, and it's because of her that I absolutely love making Thanksgiving dinner as my own tradition, along with making a variety of Christmas cookies and goodies every year.

Grandma was frugal, and I learned how to "waste not, want not" thanks to her. When Grandma died, she lived in a small 2 bedroom home...a far cry from the spacious 5 bedroom home she lived in for years prior, which also had a full basement. We were amazed at how much stuff she had neatly tucked away in that tiny home. She was organized and still saved a lot of items for reuse that most people would toss in the garbage these days. She married Grandpa at the beginning of the Depression, they were homesteaders in New Mexico, and they had 5 children. She couldn't afford not to be frugal and resourceful. Thanks to her example, I've been able to make ends meet at times when it was next to impossible.

All of the things above are great, but the best thing about my Grandma is that she loved the Lord and used her talents for Him. Thanks to her, I learned to be willing to let God use me also. She sang in the choir and played the piano at church. She helped people no matter what the sacrifice might be to her. She prayed before every meal, along with Grandpa, and read her Bible and prayed every day. I also have her Bible, and it's amazing how worn and loved it is...it's barely held together by tape, so I keep it safely put away.

My Grandma Frame was precious to me, and she taught me so much about life and living it to the fullest. She taught me about sacrifice and giving of yourself for the well-being of others. Her white hair, smiling eyes and quiet demeanor were always a comfort to be around. Everyone loved going to Grandma's house, and we had family reunions and get-togethers there several times a year. The first time my husband met her, we counted over 100 people entered her home at one point or another over the course of just a day or two.

I realized this evening, as I was reading on the forum I mentioned, that it's been 10 years since Grandma passed away on October 31st. Our family was planning to go to her home for Thanksgiving that year, so we did. But it just wasn't the same without Grandma there, putting everyone to work peeling potatoes, setting the table and washing the dishes after dinner, that became my job. My children will never personally know how wonderful of a woman she was, but her legacy lives on in me, and hopefully I can instill just a portion of what she taught me into their lives. Elisabeth is expressing desires to learn to play piano and also to sew, and those are two things I can pass on to her...and in that way, along with so many others, we can always remember Ruth Mabel Frame.

A Little Liberation...

Out of the crazy busy-ness of the week, I chose to opt out of two things I was trying to fit in, but weren't necessary. It gave me time to make cookies for the women's party, and this evening I'll have time with my family and we'll be putting up the tree.

The ladies' party was fun. I won "best decorated" award for my cookies: White-Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Aren't they pretty??? I got a Charlie Brown Christmas mug from the white elephant exchange, and gave it to Jerry for his birthday present. (See? I thought about him even though I was hanging out with the girls.)

After the party, I stayed awhile and hung out with two women who are quickly becoming great friends. We stayed there talking and stuff until about 2:00 a.m. It was so nice to have "girl time" and I definitely need to do it MUCH more often.

I am definitely loving our new church and how we're finally finding friends who have lots of stuff in common with us for a change! It's really feeling like our family, and it's great.

Today was fun too (after opting out of one thing...and not making the cookies for it). We had two soccer games. Nick went to a crazy middle school birthday party. Then, we picked up Amber from youth and took a turn ringing the bells for the Salvation Army in front of our local Wally World. Our youth group took the whole day's time slots and it was pretty good. We had fun ringing the bell and meeting people. Afterward, we went inside and Jerry was awesome...he found me the pink Motorola L7 SLVR... isn't it pretty too? Guess I'm a little "Pretty in Pink" these days. (I know my blog and myspace layouts are red, but they're festive for the holidays!)

Off to put up the "Bolt Family Christmas Tree"....yeah, it's a little late, but better late than never, right?!? :)

Just a Little Holiday "Fun"...

....just stealing this from Amy and Jen...

Welcome to the 2006 Holiday Edition of Getting to Know Your Friends!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Both. And Wassail too!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Depends on the size.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White minature lights on the tree, red and white ball lights on the house, and red and white miniature lights on the palm tree trunks.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Yes! Any excuse to give random kisses...or get them!

5. When do you put your decorations up? Whenever we have time to do it...soon I hope!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Lefse...a Norwegian flat bread

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Lefse-eating contests

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Not sure, but I pretended for my brother's sake. (He's 7 years younger than me.)

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Sometimes.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Gold star on top, red and gold balls and beads, various ornaments.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it when I get a chance to have it....since I get to choose, or it's a random freak act of Nature!

12. Can you ice skate? Oh yeah, and I wanted to be Dorothy Hamill when I grew up!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Holly Hobbie phonograph (record player)

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Taking time to worship Christ, celebrate His birth, and spend time with my family.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Peppernuts and Apricot Bread...made by Grandma Corky

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Candlelight Service with my family on Christmas Eve

17. What tops your tree? Gold star

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant, and "Wishing for This" by Leigh Nash

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? YUM!!! I love anything sweet and peppermint during the holidays!

21. Favorite Christmas movie? "It's a Wonderful Life"....I love that move!!!

22. What do you leave for Santa? Cookies, milk and reindeer food out on the lawn.

Holiday Happiness...

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year....along with Easter, Thanksgiving and Summer. Usually I'm not a big fan of winter, but it's so mild in Florida this time of year that winter's not bad here. I do, however, find myself longing for a snow day or two and a ski trip. I don't want to live in the frigid cold, but an occasional snow would be welcome...as long as it was balmy and warm (like today) in between! LOL

Anyway, back to Christmas....We have lights on the outside of the house and plans for a couple more things for the exterior. We went to see "The Nativity Story" (very good movie, by the way). I've done a little bit of holiday shopping. And I'm looking forward to making lefse (a Norwegian flat bread made from potatoes). Other than that, I need to get on the ball. My Christmas cards are still in the un-opened box in the closet. My tree and all of the festive decor sits in the garage. See? I need a snow day, just so I can stop my life for a little bit and concentrate on Christmas!

But, even with all of the stuff that needs to be done, I love this time of year because it reflects on Christ and who He was, and why He came to earth and became flesh....to deliver us and to show us His ultimate sacrifice of LOVE. Today (it's past mid-night) is the first Sunday of Advent, I'm eager to begin the anticipation of the celebration of the birth of Christ. I love this time of year because if you can stop for just a minute and forget all of the things that need to be done....you can reflect on the true meaning of the season. Hopefully I won't forget to stop and "ponder" all of the things that happened that day so very long ago...

...I challenge you to do the same!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

PS--Check out Leigh Nash (formerly of Sixpence None the Richer)...she's got some great songs on her new album...
Wishing For This.