Today I'm grateful for my mom....Happy Birthday Mom!

One more Christmas gathering to go - tomorrow w/my kids and grandkids.

Baxter's camera face

Four Generations

Today I'm grateful for sleep..................that is when I can get it. It's 4:23 am and I have a cold and cannot breath, I could stay awake because I couldn't breath or I could stay awake because I took a decongestant so that I could breath, I chose the later.

Yesterday was the Youngblood family Christmas....we ate, played outside, played "dirty santa" and opened gifts.

Mom & Dad

Sam

Jordan - big kids played too!

Bailey

Greyson

Callie Rae

Ok, so before I tell you about the dirty santa game, I want to be sure you know what Mark really looks like:

Every year we play dirty santa with a white elephant gift, that is something you bring from home that you don't want anymore, we draw numbers and when it's your turn you can either open a new gift or take one that's already been opened, I'm sure you've heard of it. Well some people like this game and some people really, really don't like this game. Mark happens to be one of those that does not like the game, so Melanie and Josh came up with an idea for Mark's gift - I would have never believed that he would have gone along with it - not only did he go along with it, but was very enthusiastic about it (we've been married 29 years and I did not know he had it in him). So, are you ready? Here he is:

I know, I can't believe it either, it doesn't even look like him.

Josh drew the tattoo with washable markers (thank goodness) took the picture, Mark printed it, autographed it, we framed it and wrapped it.

Poor Sam, my 8 year old nephew was the one to open it, needless to say he was disappointed, but he talked his PePaw into stealing it from him (Daddy said he really wanted it???). Then Jordan stold it from PePaw??????

I guess I still have a lot to learn about my dear sweet husband.

Merry Christmas!

I didn't mean to end that last post yet, but I previewed it and then couldn't figure out how to get back to it. I certainly didn't set out to write that today, I was actually drawing a blank when I sat down - but I think I needed to write it - I don't really know why - maybe I just needed to vent or maybe somebody else needed to read it. Anyway, maybe tomorrow's post will be lighter, I hope so.

Today I'm grateful for............................... I know, that's terrible - for the last two years my gynecologist, of all people, has been telling me to start a grateful journal, just write one thing you're grateful for everyday and I haven't done it, so I decided to start my blog everyday with something I'm grateful for. I'm afraid that I take a lot more for granted than I realized. I've been trying to come up with something I'm grateful for all day - and sure I could just pull something out of the air - but honestly I don't feel grateful today. It's not as easy as you think it would be - I guess being grateful doesn't always just come naturally - and I think I've been having a pity party for so long now that it has really clouded my sight. Yes, a pity party, I've been hesitant to share much of this because this blog is public and I don't want to hurt anyone, namely Josh, but this is hard. Josh has been addicted to drugs and alcohol for the past 9 years - that's a long time - that's a lot of major heart break - that's overdoses and wrecks and loss of jobs and loss of friends and a loss of family to a certain extent - and if this sounds like I'm angry - that's because I am - this is not fair - this is not the life I chose - and in the beginning it was bad choices - but now it's total addiction - and I didn't use to understand addiction but I do now. Because of the stress of this on a mother - which is tremendous - I too had become addicted to Klonopin - no, not in abused amounts, in dr prescribed amounts - but over the years I had built up to a pretty high dose and it was either stop or keep going up, so I stopped - oh my gosh - I have been going through withdrawals since June - and I can't imagine what Josh has gone through. Please, please, please pray for Josh - he's been clean since September - but he's been clean that long before - this is so hard. And even though I've been so angry at God for allowing this to happen to my son - I still know that He is our only hope. I don't want to lose my son. Josh I love you sooooooo much and I will do whatever I can to help you to healing and so will your dad, I know that you already know that, we've told you many times - but now I'm making a public declaration of my love for you and my willingness to be here for you.

Today I'm grateful for Josh, my youngest child, 23, but still my baby. Please pray for Josh, he's made some bad choices along the way, and now paying some of the consequences of those choices. Pray for strength for Josh and for me and Mark. Pray for a miracle.

Love you, Josh.

Today I'm grateful for blogs. I have found some of the neatest blogs, some are funny, some are encouraging and I can sit and read for hours.
Tonight's the last Biggest Loser show of the season, I don't know what I'll watch on Tuesdays after that.
Well, it's almost Christmas and I hate to say it but I will be glad when it's over, I wish I didn't feel like that - but I always have. I don't hate what Christmas really stands for - but I hate what we've made it.
I had the sweetest message on my answering machine when I got home today from Callie Rae, my 2 yr. old grandaughter - she said: "Hey Gwan, Have a good day, I wuv you." all prompted by her mother of course - I wish I knew how to save it to a CD or something - does anybody have any ideas.
I think I hear Jim N Nicks calling my name for supper, I said I was addicted to their sweet tea, but really I'm just addicted to eating there.




Callie Rae - "take my picture"




Bailey - Miss Photogenic







Greyson - All Boy

Today I'm grateful for rain, not just the fact that it's raining outside, but also for the fact that it's raining in my life and has been for quite some time. Wow, that's hard to say. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." So, I'm being obedient - I can't say I've been obedient very much lately, but I still know deep down that Christ is our only hope. That's enough of that, I really don't feel like crying right now.





So, on a lighter note, I've been so addicted to Jim n' Nicks sweet tea lately, it's really strong tea and really sweet, but it's $2.16 for a large so I've really got to stop, I could make so much tea for $2.16.

Yum!

Only about 8 months since I added to this blog, not too bad (ha ha).

Here's some pictures of decorating the tree and christmas cookie baking with the grandkids. There really is something special about being a grandmother, I would have been a wreck letting my own kids make this much of a mess when they were little, but somehow it's ok when it's your grandkids.

Bailey helping w/the tree.

Callie Rae

Mostly they liked digging in the box and looking at the ornaments, they actually put very few on the tree.

Greyson is the tree.

Greyson said he brought his "dirty clothes" to make cookies in.

Bailey's trying to enjoy this, but she's burning up with fever, she decorated two cookies and went to lay down - very unlike her, she loves "making" anything.

Beautiful Cookies! Great Christmas Memories!

Sugar Cookies
1c. sugar

1 c. margarine

1 lg. egg (room temp)

1 tsp. vanilla

3 c. plain flour

2 tsp. baking powder

Cream margarine and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Roll out and cut with cookie cutters.

Sugar Cookie Icing

1c. confectioner's sugar

2 tsp. milk (I used several more tsps.)

2 tsp. light corn syrup

1/4 tsp. almond extract

assorted food coloring

Whisk all ingredients together.

*This icing dries hard and shiny.

Welcome to our blog, if I can figure this out, I want to use it to post pictures of my children and grandchildren.

Mark and I are empty nesters, and learning to like it. We moved to Leeds, AL in May 2007.

Melanie our oldest is married to Johnny Cox, they have two beautiful girls. Bailey is 4 and prissy, Callie Rae is 1 and sassy. Melanie and her family live in Dora, AL.

Jordan is married to Sommer and they have one handsome boy. Greyson is 2 and all boy. Jordan and his family live in Hokes Bluff, AL.

Josh is the youngest and single. He joined the Army in October 2007, he is still in training, right now he is @ Ft. Gordon in Augusta, GA for communications training, next he will go to Ft. Benning in Columbus, GA for airborne training. After that Josh will be station at Ft. Bragg in NC.

Now I'm gonna see if I can get some pictures on here.