Hello

I'm here!

Apparently I am not going to get to blogging about Better Than Before until after Christmas. Or even after that!  (But I will get to it because I have multiple habits that I need to reinforce and/or add to my life). January is such a fun time of year for me---new goals, habits, and plans.

I have finished all my shopping and wrapping. Leah and I watched four Hallmark Christmas movies on DVD while wrapping the presents!  Yesterday Julie, Leah, and I baked, baked, and baked all day long. We prepared multiple good bags, tins, and boxes for our friends, family, various loved ones, and the people who provide services for us throughout the year. (If you want pleasant service from your mail carrier--for instance, when my package is too large for my mailbox, instead of placing a yellow slip in my mailbox telling me to drive to the post office in town to pick up my package the next day, she drives down my long driveway and delivers the package to my front door!--giving him or her a tin of homemade goodies in December is a great idea.)

Julie arrived home from college Thursday night. Yay!

Olivia and Brian will be here Tuesday night. Yay!

Big Sam is flying in from Romania December 27. Yay!

And all they all will be here through January 9. Fun times!

Later today we are celebrating Christmas with my parents, grandmother, my brothers and their families. After that, my mama, Julie, and I are going to shop for fabric and supplies for them to sew Julie's wedding dress. That project is on our itinerary for after Christmas Day, but before Julie goes back to school.

Tomorrow we are joining other families from our church for an afternoon of visiting the widows and elderly people of our congregation to sing to them and share a basket of goodies with them.

On January 7, Jimmy, Julie, and Big Sam are running a marathon. Clay will be running the half marathon at the same time. This is Julie's first marathon. The rest of us and my parents will be cheering them on!

During this busy time of year, make sure you pause and just take it all in. Smile at your family. Enjoy the sights, sounds, smells of the holiday season. Watch a Christmas movie with your family. Do something nice for someone who could use a little happiness.

Book Club, Holidays, Running, and More

Hello!
I hope your Thanksgiving went well. I thoroughly enjoyed having Olivia and Julie home along with Brian and Ellie. We filled each day they were here with lots of fun and hopefully some relaxation for them.
We bought and decorated our live Christmas tree. We always say when it's done that it's the BEST. TREE. EVER. This year was no exception.

We drove 3 hours to celebrate Thanksgiving with my parents, my grandmother,  and my brothers and their families at my parents' house. I cannot express how much I enjoy Thanksgiving at my parents' house. It is truly a relaxing holiday for me. My mother does all the cooking for Thanksgiving, and I appreciate that so much!  It is the one holiday/event that I do not help with or do all the preparing/cleaning/cooking for. What a delight! My mother went over and beyond this year---she cooked extra of four of her Thanksgiving dishes and put them in disposable pans for me to take to Jimmy's family's Thanksgiving meal on Friday. I was so excited about this!  What a huge blessing, and I was so thankful. Everyone enjoyed the food she prepared for the Johnson Thanksgiving. It was all eaten!

We drove 4 hours Friday from my parents' house to Jimmy's mother's house on Friday to enjoy celebrating with his family. Ellie and Brian got to visit with all of our extended family in two days. Fun for all!

Saturday after decorating the tree (we bought it Wednesday, but did not have time to decorate it until Saturday), we all went to Kelly and Lynn's house to watch the Egg Bowl. (MS State vs. Ole Miss football game.) To our great surprise and delight State won!  Ellie and Brian got to experience the cowbell, and their hearing may never be the same.

I took the four college kids to the Memphis airport on Monday for their flight back to school. They get out for Winter Break on December 15. Yay!

Ok. The book club. Honestly, I have been so busy with visiting with my children, and then trying to get back into some sort of routine of homeschool and housework this week, that I have not reread our next chapter. I plan to post about it either Monday or Tuesday. Please keep reading, and try to determine which choice you are in each distinction category. For example, in lark or owl?, I am definitely a lark.

Tomorrow is the annual St. Jude Marathon/Half Marathon in Memphis. Jimmy is running the marathon and I am running the half. I am not the best trained for this event.....I have done my long run each week and gone to CrossFit once or twice a week, but that's it for the last 3 weeks. I don't doubt I can run 13.1 miles, I am just afraid that my time will be very, very slow!  I'll let you know!

Have a great weekend!