Letters: December Edition

Dear Blogger:
I sometimes forget that you exist. I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately, and I'm even more sorry that I haven't had time to write any sort of decent blog post. We'll have to have a major catching-up session sometime later when things quiet down. 

Dear Christmas:
You came way too quickly in my opinion. I was unprepared for you. So there. But you were marvelous, nevertheless.

Dear Beth Grace:
My favorite oldest sister, and yes, I can say that because you're the only oldest sister that I have. I'm very proud of you being hundreds of miles away and helping our grandparents out, and I'm really enjoying sleeping in your bed because it's so much better than mine, but I do need you to come back sometime. I'm tired of doing the dishes by myself. Besides, your being gone has made me so busy that I haven't had time to do the things I normally do, like *ahem* check Blogger. I LOVE YOU!

Dear Snow:
Thank you so much for showing up this year! After last year's brown Christmas, it was extremely pleasant to have so much of you for this season. Even though you were rather heavy to shovel, and you made shopping... interesting, to say in the least. I think we're over two feet now. Good job.

Dear Upcoming Wedding:
I am so excited to be playing the piano for you! I only wish I had some more time to practice. I still haven't quite gotten the page turns down in I See the Light, but I know I'll manage. 

Dear Those Beloved Friends To Whom I Promised To Beta-Read For:
I have not forgotten you, and please don't think that I have! I thought December would be a quieter month in which I could fully read and enjoy your books and have time to give you honest criticisms and praise, but truthfully, I've not been able to get past the first chapter. My sincerest of apologies, and I promise that I will read them and send you comments... I'm just not a hundred percent sure when that will be. Hopefully soon, though.

Dear Russian Tea Cakes and Gingerbread Men:
I love you guys. 'Nuff said.

Dear Disney's Frozen:
I am beyond excited to watch you! Please hurry up and come out on DVD! I have your soundtrack memorized (with the exception of certain songs *glare*), and I know you're going to be wonderful.

Dear Desolation of Smaug:
Same as above.

Dear Time:
Where did you go? Guess these are all the letters I'm able to do today.

God bless!

Christmas Tag

I saw this Christmas tag over at Miss Melody's blog, and even though Christmas has passed (for now), I couldn't help grabbing it to put on my own blog. Who doesn't like filling out fun tags, and besides aren't all those holiday movies telling us to keep the spirit of Christmas alive all year round? Or something like that. ;)

What's your favorite Christmas song? I don't have one! I love God Bless Us Everyone, Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella, In the Bleak Midwinter, Carol of the Bells, etc. etc. etc.

Who sings it the best? Andrea Bocelli marvelously sings God Bless Us Everyone! Other than that, I guess I'd be a bit biased to say that my family sings all the other carols the best. Especially Carol of the Bells. :D

Do you change your favorite Christmas song every year? Sometimes I enjoy one song more than others, but my favorites usually stay about the same.

What Christmas song do you hear the most? My family plays an assortment of Christmas CDs during the month of December (and the few months preceeding), so I don't know if I hear one more than others. 

Does your family mostly agree on what Christmas music to listen to or are you constantly changing the song? We agree on just about everything. Except when Doofus doesn't want to hear Suite From the Polar Express again... though I don't know why he has an aversion to that song. We only play it about three times a day during the entire month of December. 

Who's your favorite Christmas movie side character? Gonzo and Rizzo in The Muppet's Christmas Carol.

Besides George and Mary Bailey, who's your favorite character in It's A Wonderful Life? Uncle Billy (actually, I'm not a huge fan of George and Mary.... sorry)

Do you like Santa Claus in Miracle On 34th Street? Never seen it.

Vera Ellen or Rosemary Clooney in White Christmas? Vera Ellen. Rosemary Clooney gets on my nerves.

Bing Crosby or Danny Kaye? Danny Kaye! He's funnier. "I'm sure it's just a small, compound fracture, sir."

Besides "White Christmas" what is your favorite song from the movie? "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing" (I love watching the dancing numbers)

What's your favorite (or one of your favorite) lines from a Christmas movie? Only ONE?!?! "Oh, wait, I forgot my jelly beans." "After I figure out what that means, I'll come back with a crushing remark." "Ted! TED!" "Think Swan Lake. Step, step, LEAP! Step, step, LEAP!" "Hey, you. Yeah, you. Do you know what kind of train this is?" and more. See, I can't just do one.

Do you own a special ornament? Oh, yes, several. It's a tradition in our house for the kids to get an ornament for Christmas every year (sometimes extra), so I have over 20 of my own ornaments. Special ones? Hmm... I have a Kirsten Larson (yes, American Girl) ornament from Hallmark as well as a Kaya one, a silver flute, Precious Moments ornaments, a red Hallmark angel, and this year I recieved a Rapunzel ornament. They're all special to me since they're gifts from my parents.

Did you break any ornaments this year? Not this year. 

What's the oldest ornament on your tree and where did it come from? I couldn't say. We have TONS of ornaments, some from when my mom was little. My parents got married December 22nd, so they got a lot of ornaments as wedding gifts. 

Do you like pretty trees or fun trees better? Both. Pretty trees are for decoration. Fun trees are for families on Christmas morning. But I'd rather have a fun tree in my house.

Have you ever had a fake tree? Yes. Twice. One pencil tree when we lived in an apartment years ago and couldn't fit a big, real one, and then this year our grandparents gave us their 7.5 foot Norway Spruce, which is very pretty and doesn't look fake until you're staring straight at it with your nose 2 inches from the needles. I love real trees, but we're finding out that fake ones cater better to allergies. 

Green tree or a different color? GREEN!

Who sweeps up the pine needles and waters the tree? Usually my brother Doofus keeps it watered, but this year we had a fake tree so he got out of it. We all take turns running the vacuum (our living room is carpeted).

Have you made any Christmas crafts this year? I don't usually do crafts, just sewing projects that become Christmas gifts. 

Does your family read a Christmas story every year? Yes. 

If so, which one? Luke 2 is a MUST as it is the story of the first Christmas over 2,000 years ago about the Savior who came to save us because He loved us. Our other favorites include The Legend of the Candy Cane, The Candle in the Forest, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Legend of the Christmas Tree.

What do you do on Christmas Eve? Our usual Christmas Eve tradition finds us gathered in the living room, listening as my father reads aloud The Legend of the Candy Cane. Then we hang candy canes on the tree and sing before we go to bed. Sometimes, my parents have a special gift prepared for the younger kids.

How many Christmas's do you usually have? You could say three. My family does our Christmas on Christmas Day at our house, and then we have Cousin Christmas with our classy blood cousins that evening or a day following Christmas. And then we have CBC Christmas at New Years with our CBCs.

Marshmallows or whipped cream in our hot chocolate? Really? Neither. I'm not a huge fan of either topping, and since I'm allergic to chocolate, it's rather pointless.

Do you like the flavor cinnamon or peppermint better? Peppermint!

Have you ever had a white Christmas? Many times. We had snow this year! HUZZAH!

Ice skating or driving around looking at Christmas lights? I've never gone ice skating (but I'd like to!), so I'd have to go with the drive. I love looking at Christmas lights!

Do you like the blow-up Christmas decorations people put in their yards? They're nice to see once in a while, but I prefer the standard, twinkling lights and no poof.

What is something you are going to do new this year to celebrate? We celebrated with our CBCs with prayer, carols, pizza, and all other kinds of good stuff. Epic win!

Have you ever celebrated Hanukkah? No.

How many people are you giving presents to this year? Every member of my family (that means 7), plus I was also required to get two different gifts for cousins. Those are the only ones I bought, but I did help put together other gifts for friends.

What's your favorite kind of Christmas card to receive? One that includes a Christmas letter. I love hearing about what God has been doing in other people's lives. 

Do you eat breakfast first or open presents first? Breakfast. Always. 

Stockings first or last? First. 

What present do you REALLY want this year? This year? For 2013? That's rather far away, but okay... probably a copy of Little Dorrit (book). That's one Dickens I don't have yet.


Do you like a star on top of your tree or an angel? Angel for our main tree, but stars are nice, too.

Do you like the color red or green better? Green.

Silver or gold? Silver. All. The. Way.

One word to describe Christmas? Joyful.

I'm not going to tag anyone since it's no longer December, but if anyone wishes to grab this for later, feel free!

God bless!

Tales Of The Holidays And A Prayer Request

Yes, technically this should probably be split into two posts, but I don't feel like typing out two different posts at the moment. So, if you're really interested in reading this post, get yourself a hot drink (tea, if you must, otherwise I'd prefer you sip something else), sit back, and begin this epistle.

Okay, so maybe not epistle, but it is kinda long... and sorry... I didn't have any pics to upload.

So much has happened in the last month that I hardly know where to begin. I have the sensation that I am sitting down to write a letter to good friends to inform them of a great chunk of my life that I have neglected to mention here on this blog. Hopefully, you will forgive my rambling, for I fear that I will fall into some sort of insane sentences and garbled paragraphs. 

But anywho... to begin the tales of the holidays:

December flew by so quickly that it almost seemed as if the month had never happened at all. The first few days found my family in deep practice for three Christmas concerts. (You do recall that my family sings together, right?) On the 10th, we sang for an hour in a local mini "mall," a grand mix of fun and sacred songs. However, due to weather and bad timing, we only had a few people show up. We had so many friends tell us (slightly paraphrased), "We're so sorry we missed it! When are you singing again?" that my dad scheduled for us to give another concert on the 20th when we were able to invite a lot more people. We debuted some new songs this year, including a special rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas and Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella. For the third concert, we were supposed to sing for a local nursing home, but the concert got postponed for later in January when the facility was quarantined due to a flu outbreak. 

Our classy blood cousins' cousins came up for Christmas this year, and after years of hearing about them, we were finally able to meet. The evenings we gathered together for fellowship found us eating way too many cookies, talking so much that some of us nearly lost our voices the next day, and playing swell games around the dining room table, namely Four on a Couch. 

Christmas Eve my family visited a local nursing home (not the one with the flu) and caroled. It's amazing the blessing you yourself can recieve while being a blessing to others. It may seem a little thing to simply give some of your time and talent to bring a smile to the face of someone, but the feeling of joy his or her smile creates in your heart is something that you want to hold on to. 

Christmas Day dawned early for me, waking up at 6:15 when my little sister, KT Bugs, crawled into my bed, asking to snuggle, which we did until the rest of my family decided it was time to get up around 9 o'clock. My mom made our family's traditional breakfast: egg sausage casserole and cranberry coffee cake. My father read aloud the Christmas story from Luke 2 as we sat around the table and marveled at the wondrous gift of love that God sent the world. Then we all settled around our Christmas tree to exchange gifts. I was muchly excited to give Teddy and KT the doll dresses I made, two replicas of Disney princesses' dresses: Belle for Teddy and Rapunzel for KT Bugs. My family, it is obvious, knows me absolutely too well, for I recieved 7 books for Christmas, including a splendid, glorificous copy of Bleak House! My sister also gave me a brick-sized volume of Les Mis, which I shall dig into once I am done with Bleak House.

On the Thursday following Christmas, our church hosted a New Years' Taco Bar. It would have been pizza, but unfortunately, many of the families in our church have allergies, so tacos was a much simpler meal. It was here that I was first introduced to the word game Probe, which is now a big favorite of mine. For those of you who know Probe, you know with me how awesome it is, and fun it is to do words like auxillary. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, go find someone who knows how to play Probe and convince them to teach you, too.

And then our CBCs came for New Years (you all should know what that means by now...)! As would be expected, we stayed up after midnight on December 31st, singing and praying the new year in. We also made up a new way to play Apples to Apples, ate way too much pizza, memorized epic songs from our favorite soundtracks, and probably played The Wilds Bunch: Takin' A Break CD nonstop for three days straight. You know, all the normal stuff you do with CBCs. And then we ended it all with a cold. I'm still taking cough medicine. But what's a little cold to a grand, old visit with epic CBCs? 

And more stuff happened, but I have either forgotten it or I am planning to writer about it later, so all of that will have to suffice for now.

I do have a huge prayer request to share with you all, and I do hope that you all have read down this post far enough to get to this point. 

My mom's parents visited my cousins this year for Christmas, and on the way home on the 27th, my grandparents got into a car accident, and my grandmother was seriously injured. She is still in the hospital, and has had quite a few surgeries on her legs. Praise the Lord, Granddad was unhurt, and Grandmom is doing better, but I would like to ask you all to add them to your prayer list. Please pray that the Lord would give the doctors wisdom as they care for Grandmom, that she would heal quickly, and that He would grant peace and comfort to my entire family. My parents are going to go visit them in the hospital on Saturday, and we kids are staying with our blood cousins for a few days while they're gone. I know that God has His hands in this, and I know that He will be honored and gloried in whatever may happen, but it comforts my soul to know that so many people are lifting my grandparents up in prayer. 

Many thanks, and God bless!

Merry Christmas... A Day Late... And A Reminder

I didn't get a chance to get on yesterday and wish everyone a very merry Christmas! I hope you all had a blessed holiday with your loved ones! 

My devotions yesterday led me to the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, not normally what people would consider a Christmas chapter, but one that definitely cannot be overlooked. I wanted to share it with you all here.

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

This is why Jesus came as a babe in the manger. He came to suffer and die. For ME. For YOU. Because of our sin, Christ became a man and died to appease the wrath of the Father. He became the perfect sacrifice for an imperfect people. He took upon Himself the sins of the world, a world that gave Him only hate for His unending love. 

But He did not stay dead. Oh, no, my friends. The true message of Christmas is hope because Christ did not just die. He rose from the dead on the third day and now He sits at the right hand of God. He paid the price of our sin and now offers the free gift of salvation to one and all. In a world growing more and more wicked, we can have true hope because He came and He died; because He lives, and because He saves. What greater joy can there be? 

Hallelujah! The Savior is born!

*~*~*~*~*~*

Before I go, I would like to remind my dear followers of Lianne Taimenlore's current giveaway. Don't forget to enter to win your own copy of Jessica's new book, Annabeth's War! 

Merry Christmas, and God bless us, one and all!

Character Encounters: Let's Go Shopping!

Amazon takes forever to load, just as most things on my laptop don't like to load quickly whenever I decide I want to do something quickly. I tap my fingers anxiously on the keyboard and survey the living room while I wait. From my vantage point in Dad's reclining chair, I can see the whole room. 

The tree in the opposite corner is tall and beautiful, almost scratching the ceiling and filling the room with a cheery atmosphere, decked out in more ornaments than any tree should be able to hold. I smirk as my eyes land on the single strand of lights near the bottom of the tree, where half of the strand has given up its glorious light from old age and much use. 

Of course it would burn out the day after we got the tree all decorated! I think, allowing the smirk to transform into a grin at the irony.

My eyes flit back to the screen of my laptop. As the home page of Amazon appears, I let out a relieved sigh. Finally! Scurrying around crowded stores was never very appealing to me, so shopping off the internet I find much easier, faster, and cheaper. Besides, it's nice to get gifts for every member of my family all on one shopping trip and in one order. I absolutely love anticipating the expressions of joy on their faces as  they unwrap what I purchased for them.

"Ooh, what's that?" A soft voice comes from behind me. 

I never felt the person sneak up behind me, but now I am all too aware of her presence. I know it's a girl, because the voice is too high to be my dad's or brother's. One of my sisters, no doubt, trying to sneak a peek at my Christmas shopping.

But when I turn around to see the teenaged girl behind my chair, my eyebrows fly up. The brown locks and soft eyes I don't recognize. But there's a familiarity in her that tugs at my mind. Although I'm certain I've never seen her before, I know I know her.

"That necklace is beautiful!" She says, pointing to the laptop screen.

My eyes dart to the designated object, then back to the girl. "Are you..."

Her focus is completely on the necklace. "May I see it?"

"Judalily?"

"Please show it to me!" She pleads, unaware of my question. "I'd love to see how it goes with my dress!"

Her gown is one of brocade scarlet, a deep, shimmering fabric, intertwined with glittering gold accents, pretty and proper as any dress worn by a princess should be. I can see at a glance that the necklace she is gazing at would match wonderfully. 

"Please may I hold it?"

"Judalily, I can't let you hold it. It's only a picture."

"A picture?"

I rub my fingers together, releasing a sigh at the same time. How do you explain the internet to a medieval princess who has absolutely no conception of any type of modern technology?

"My laptop can only show me pictures of the actual items, not the items themselves."

Her fair face clouds with disappointment. "But what good to you is a simple picture?"

"It's easier to go shopping this way."

"Oh, shopping! I do enjoy shopping, and I haven't been able to indulge in it in the longest time! Might I accompany you?"

Perfect! So much for quick shopping on Amazon. But how can I say no to a princess? And of all twelve princesses from Findenland, Judalily I know would be the one who would enjoy this experience the most. It's no wonder she was the one that showed up. 

"Are there more," she pauses, "pictures of necklaces?"

I click on the link that takes me to the jewelry section. Judalily lets a proper, excited sigh as the screen loads more pictures of sparkling necklaces and bracelets. 

"Oh, Reuthellen would love that one!"

One click brings up a larger image of the silver chain, and another loads a thick, ruby bracelet that Judalily declares perfect for Gadrienne. 

As much as I don't want to be enjoying myself, I can't help it as a smile crosses my mouth every time Judalily gives a exclaim of delight and wonder. From the jewelry, my laptop takes a journey through a boatload of fashion scarves which Judalily alternately loves and despises. She insists that Simeanna would go crazy over the gray and blue argyle one.

Shoes are the next thing to appear on the screen, and I join Judalily in giggling over some of the bizarre, modern styles. Rosy ballet slippers seem perfect for Danyelle, but I'm sure that Aleevity would much rather enjoy the fancy, silver heels. Eventually we find ourselves in books where she points out several that Ashrynn and Zelburna would enjoy reading. 

"Oh, Bethjasmine would love that!" Judalily cries, pointing out a fuzzy teddy bear on the sidebar.

A quick trip through the virtual pet shelves of Amazon convinces her that Nattalaris would would love the western saddles and bridles. The cute puppy kennels would suitably house every one of Issachella's dogs. 

"But what would Josette like?" Judalily muses, leaning closer to the screen. "I'm afraid that I don't know her as well as my other sisters. What would you suggest, Kiri Liz?"

"Kiri!" My mom's voice drifts from the kitchen, cutting any response I might give to Judalily. "Can you please help me put these dishes away?"

"Coming, Mom!" I turn to apologize to Judalily and explain that our shopping spree was over, but the girl is gone. 

They all disappear too quickly. I sigh and shut my laptop.

Once I'm in the kitchen with a dish towel in one hand and a clean, dripping mug in the other, my mom asks, "What were you doing online for so long?"

I look at her increduously. "I wasn't on for very long."

"You were sitting there for over two hours." She replies.

I was certain I could have been knocked over with a feather. "Two hours?"

"What were you doing?" My mom prompts me back to her original question.

I smile, thinking of all the items Judalily and I looked at together. "Shopping for my characters."

My mom lifts an eyebrow. "And did you get all of them gifts?"

A frown tickles the corner of my lips as I recall Judalily's last statement. "No, I didn't. I couldn't find anything for Josette."

"From what you've told me about Josette," Mom says, "I would think she would want something that you also would want. I think you two are quite similar."

The solution sounds wonderful, until another thought hits me. 

"What do I want for Christmas?"

Don't forget to read more Character Encounters at Kendra's blog! God bless!

Awards On Blogger... Happy Thought Indeed!

I've been awarded the Liebster Award by Daisy of Violets And Daisies! Thanks, Daisy!

~ Rules ~

1. You must post 11 facts about yourself

2. You must also answer the 11 questions that the awarder has given you, and create 11 questions for your awardees to answer in turn.

3. Tag 11 fellow bloggers.

4. Notify them that you've awarded them.

5. No tagging back.

6. And the 11 blogs that you tag must have less than 200 followers.

~ Daisy's Questions ~

1. If you could travel to one country right now, where would you go? There are many places I'd love to go to, but right now the first one that is pushing its way to the front of my mind is Uganda. I'm usually not a huge fan of Africa (what can I say? I love the cold!), but the prayer spoken recently by the president of Uganda really encouraged me, and I'd love to see what God is doing over there right now.

2. What are your favourite blogs? Too many to count. :D For a complete list, check out my list of blogs I stalk on my sidebar.

3. How do you celebrate the beginning of summer? Planting, putting the pool up, roasting hot dogs, tent sleepovers, etc.

4. What is your favourite colour? Blue. All. The. Way.

5. What is your favourite worship song or hymn? His Robes For Mine. It's a newer hymn, written in, oh, I think it was 2011. It's absolutely beautiful.

6. What is your favourite old movie? That's a toughie. I like old films. Probably more than I like newer ones. Singin' In The Rain is a big one just because I love the epic dance routines in "Make 'Em Laugh" and "Moses." I also love White Christmas and Holiday Inn, and of course, you can't forget the hilarious old Nancy Drew mysteries starring Bonita Granville as the lead. 

7. If you had to take only 3 things with you to a desert island, what would you take? My Bible to help me keep my mind focused on the Lord accepting the fact that He put me on a desert island for a reason, Sting (as long as Frodo doesn't mind) for protection and survival practical uses and whatnot, and my pillow because I don't like laying my head on sand or rocks. :)

8. What is your favourite kind of celebration (weddings, Christmas, birthdays etc.)? I love the way my family celebrates Christmas. We have a lot of traditions that carry throughout the entire month of December, including a very special Christmas Box. We sing, we read, we eat, we count Christmas lights as we drive around town (yes, that is one of the biggest competitions that my siblings and I indulge in), etc. It's great fun!

9. If you could choose one era to live in, when would you live, and why? I have way too many favorite eras, due to my immense love of history and literature (medieval, regency, western, colonial, etc.), but I don't know if I would necessarily want to live during that time. Actually, the early 1900s has become more fascinating to me during the last few weeks. Modern conviences were just coming around to make life easier, but there was still enough of the elegance of the older world clinging to culture to make wearing fun clothing and doing old fashioned things very enjoyable. 

10. What is your favourite animal? Favorite REAL animal? Probably a Siberian husky. Otherwise, it'd be a dragon or a unicorn or a pegasus... But never a cat. Ever.

11. If you had only 1 day left to live, what would you do? Take my Bible to Washington D.C. and pray for our country outside the White House. The prospect of death and immediate travel to heaven the next really makes a body think about more than himself (or herself, in my case), and why would I want to spend my last day in any other way than pointing as many others as I can to the Christ I love?

And I was awarded by the Keller Girls!

~ Rules ~

1: When you receive the award you must post about it on your blog and leave a link to my blog.
2: Answer all the questions to the tag below.
3: Do not award anyone who has more than one hundred followers.
4: Come up with ten questions for the tag.
5: Keep your questions clean and refrain from using bad language.
6: Tag 5 to 10 people.

~ Questions from the Keller Girls ~

1.)  What is your favorite animal? I think I just answered this one above. So, look up.

2.) Do you like to sew, quilt, knit, or crochet? I can sew and knit fairly well, and yes, I enjoy doing them both. I've dabbled a bit in quilting, but I'm not what you would call a professional quilter. But crocheting? I've never learned to do that.

3.) What version of the Bible do you use? KJV

4.) How many animals do you have? None... unless you count my brother, Doofus. But he's way better than any normal pet. :D

5.) When is your birthday? August 11th

6.) Have you ever gone on a roller coaster? Nope. And I have no plan to, either. Things that go incredibly fast and extremely sideways I have no interest in.

7.) Do you have your Christmas tree up yet? Short answer: Yes. Long answer: We had our tree up earlier than normal this year. Usually, we're not allowed to set up any Christmas decorations until AFTER my dad's birthday (Nov. 30th), but this year because we were all so excited about Christmas, and because our swell grandparents gave us their 7.5 foot, Norway spruce fake tree. I love real trees, but this one is beautiful, too. If only that string of Christmas lights hadn't burned out on the bottom. :/

8.) What is a normal Christmas day for you? "Normal" changes from year to year, but typically, we sleep in on Christmas morning. Yes, I said sleep in. My mom gets up at 6:30 or so to put our traditional egg sausage casserole in the oven. Then finally, when we can't stand it any longer, or when we can't stand the begging of the younger children to go downstairs any longer (whichever comes first), we gallop down the stairs, and then back up them again to pull Dad out of bed. Depending on how hungry we are, breakfast is somewhere mixed into stockings, either coming before with elegant opening of stockings at the dining room table or frantic dumping and chewing on the living room floor. Stockings are never complete with some trickery involved. My dad and I take turns messing with each others' stockings , Personally, I get the most excited to give presents, anticipating the reaction on the recipient's face. We like taking our time with gifts. No rush, peoples. Last year, when we opened presents after church, we were there until 5 o'clock that evening. No joke. Christmas day wraps up with enjoying our new gifts, reading, playing, etc. until the time when we get together with our classy blood cousins for a big Christmas feast and absolutely stuff ourselves on way too many Christmas cookies. *ahem* Yeah, I know that's long, but you asked.

9.) Do you like a scarf or a turtle neck shirt? I muchly prefer the turtle neck. Mock turtle necks are the best. I don't wear scarves often. Never for fasion, only for warmth when I shovel in freezing weather. 

10.) Shoes or bare feet? BARE FEET! I love going barefoot. Seems I recall reading some survey that stated that it was healthier not to wear shoes. Anywho...

~ My Questions For Both Tags ~

1. What's your favorite Christmas song?

2. Do you prefer colored lights on your Christmas tree, or just white lights?

3. If you won $500 to go shopping for Christmas gifts, what would be the first thing you would buy?

4. Favorite Christmas cookie?

5. What's your oddest or most special Christmas memory?

6. Christmas isn't Christmas without:

7. If you could only ask for one thing for Christmas, what would it be?

8. How do you view Santa Claus (in film, stories, advertisements, shopping, etc.)?

9. Moving away from Christmas-related questions, if God called you to become a missionary to a foreign country, where would you go and why?

10. Do you believe it is okay to do something just because the situation allows it (the situation justifies the action sort of thing)?

11. And just because I can't resist, what is your opinion of Facebook?

~ Swell Peoples I Award ~

Sarah

Jessa Bri

Marissa

Aidyl

Beth Grace

Kathryn

Miss Melody

Eva

Anne-girl

Lauriloth

Miss Jack 

If your birthday is in January, March, May, July, September, or November you won the Liebster award.

If your birthday is February, April, June, August, October, or December you won the Scrumptious Blog Award (and you don't have to take the 11th question about Facebook because your tag only called for 10 questions, but you can answer it if you want). 

If you got the opposite reward you were hoping for, negotiations can be made to recieve the desired award. ;)

And if you just feel like answering the questions in a comment, go ahead! 

God bless!