Love Is . . .

Does anyone remember these comics? I hadn't seen them in years and came across this website tonight. I'm so excited. I used to love these comics when I was a young teen. I cut them out and collected them in a scrapbook, only my mom made me color clothes on them! I was so excited to come across these tonight and there are tons of them! Nice little things to tuck in my husband's lunchbox!

Procrastinating with Robin

Found this on Robin Lee Hatcher's blog, and since I'd rather procrastinate than finish the short article for my church newsletter due this week, I took her up on this invitation to procrastinate!

My name ... Dianne
My childhood ambition ... to be a teacher
My fondest memory ... time spent with my Gram
My soundtrack ... Far & Away
My retreat ... the Smokey Mountains, or Amish country in Ohio
My wildest dream ... believing I can be published (and paid for writing!)
My proudest moment ... everyday as I realize what a wonderful man I've married
My biggest challenge ... daily obedience to God
My alarm clock ... weekdays: around 6:15am by force; weekends and days off: by 7:30 am can't wait to get up!
My perfect day ... hmm, I think it would be just a long drive somewhere with my husband and spending the entire day with him
My first job ... babysitting
My indulgence ... reading, reading, reading, with no worries of dishes to do or laundry to fold
My last purchase ... veggies for a veggie tray this morning!
My favorite movie ... Finding Forrester or The Princess Bride
My inspiration ... my sister, mom of four
My life ... is just getting started
My card ... VISA

So What Was the Best Part of YOUR Christmas?

Do you keep Christmas memories from year to year? I do. There was the one where our house burned down just days before Christmas. I remember being overwhelmed by the outpouring of love on our family by relatives, friends and strangers. I remember my first Christmas home after being away at college, and insisting we string popcorn and cranberries for our tree like I'd learned to do decorating the tree in the college lobby. There was that Christmas at my mum's when we were first married, when my husband and brother-in-law carried my gram over from her house. So like a little queen she was, her face glowed as they brought her into the livingroom. I also remember that last Christmas with Gram, as we gathered in her livingroom by her wheelchair, and she presented us with gifts she'd chosen from around her house.

Tonight another such memory has lodged itself in my heart forever. After the company had gone (and you didn't hear me say finally), I sat downstairs, finally getting my feet up, reading a book and listening to the CMT Christmas special on TV. Suddenly I heard something upstairs, music to my ears. My dear husband was tackling the pile of dishes in the sink. (No, we don't own a dishwasher!) I turned up the volume on the TV, then thought better of it and headed upstairs to express my gratitude to Mike. I saw the clean dishes piling up so I grabbed a towel and began to dry as he washed, and we just chatted together for a bit about the day. Tonight you couldn't give me a dishwasher. Nothing can compare to the joy of just doing dishes with the one I love. I told him, "This is the best part of my day," and he agreed.

So what about you? Any "keeper" memories made today? I hope so. Tuck them away in your heart and bring them out again next year. They'll never go out of style, like some decorations do, and they'll never wear out either.