I promised Hezekiah I would "elf" him

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Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Son Reigns Ranch posse to you.

SNOW!!!!!!

Normally we don't see a lot of the fluffy white stuff - otherwise referred to as snow- but this week has been a rare exception. Not only have we had snow- but more than a foot of it fell at our house. It is the most snow any of our children have ever seen at once. Which is funny since both Frank & I are originally from upstate NY where it was snowy all the time.

It is, however, slowly melting. But with nights in the teens its not happening too fast - and when it does it is going to be slushy muck. We are anticipating possibly another blast this week (I personally am hoping it does not come this far south) just in time for Christmas.

And while you may be thinking 'awwwww, a Christmas snow'... we spent almost 2 days without power and we do not have enough wood on hand to weather another storm. Several of our trees did lose quite a few branches, but it's not dry wood & the chain saw needs more gas. Plus the roads are already a slushy muck and our truck is not 4wd. Frank's scout is, but it is not registered.... so I am headed to town tomorrow morning while Frank heads to church. Our feed for the horses was not able to be delivered yesterday & they have no idea when they will be able to get here so we are down to our last few bags with an unknown future as to when the 2000lbs we ordered will arrive..... so there are some challenges associated with the snow. Friends of ours are snowed in on their mountain and trying to dig out today.

I have a ton of photos on my facebook account, I will try & get some on here a little later.


It is very pretty though.

******An update on Shy :******
She found a great home with a marine Frank works with.
HOORAY!
And she is doing GREAT!

Do You Have room in your life for me?

About a month ago a horse we bought almost 2 yrs ago became a source of trouble. The owner regretted selling him a yr a half later (the owner that I allowed to come visit Guy due to the fact that this owner sold him because she said she could no longer ride him because she had cancer) and she began to make our life a nightmare.

she called animal control and while they found no case against us, they did promise to return in 30 days just be be certain that our horses (who did lose some weight when I miscarried) did continue to gain weight. Well 30 days had passed, last week. No animal control. UNTIL. today. around 8:30am the officer came ..she said "the horses look great" which should have been the end of the story-

but it wasn't.

I have 8 dogs living at my house. She gave me a week to get rid of 4. several are the result of a "temporary" thing gone permanent.... but one is a purebred yellow lab only a year old this month. She needs a new home and fast, or she is shelter bound. I have 7 days to comply.

SO please help!!!! I

need to find Shy a home. She is AKC registered, micro-chipped, up to date on all her shots through Feb 09. She is just too much for me to handle. She is a power house! She does well with older children(she will knock down little ones), dogs and is OK with cats. She needs a fenced yard where she can run. She is crate trained, but needs someone to train her of the basics(she can wiggle sit). She came to us a few weeks before the miscarriage and since then we have really not given her the attention she needs. She has a lot of puppy in her!

If you know anyone who might me interested in her send them to my website please!

something is always changing

Once every 6 months or so Frank and I completely re-arrange a room. This time it is a 3 in 1 room. My living room/dining room/classroom all is in the same room. Which at times makes things a bit challenging.... but on this fun and friendly adventure which was started early last weekend (and is in it's final stages even today -almost a week later) was interesting. As we moved the speaker it "rattled" so, as any good desert dweller would do...Frank investigated further...






He placed his hand inside the speaker hole to find a bounty of treasure

and even an almost brand new "Tow Mater" Hezekiah was beside himself the next morning!
a glimpse at the "loot" - YES, all of this was in that speaker!!!

And then this is just a cute one.... frank bought this little snowman for me. i call him my desert snowman, because that's about how long one would last out here.


It's been a bumpy week with homeschooling, but God is good, thank goodness He never changes.

Accused of being a grinch....

I used to love Christmas. the tree, the lights the baking the flurry of excitement December brought. The Family traditions, the celebrations, the gifts...

but recently I have been accused of having a "grinchlike" attitude toward the holiday that is coming. I think though, that perhaps for the very first time I am viewing Christmas differently. I see the horrible greed, the angry people, the lack of holiday cheer. I see the tree as an adornment that we are warned to be cautious of even bringing into our home (let alone adorning it with silver & gold). I see the many things we do- often with the very best of intentions- take away from the One we are saying we are celebrating. Using His birth (which btw probably didn't happen on Dec 24th) as an excuse to become frivolous.

Maybe it is that I haven't been back to see family in over 3 years, maybe it is just looming how much the economy has squashed my ability to buy for our children, but maybe just maybe I see the holiday as the excuse of a pagan holiday that it is. You see the birth of Christ & the way we celebrate this holiday have really rocked my perception this year.

What are we taking away from our children if we don't have the Christmas lights, the tree, the gifts? Can we still bake and visit with family & friends without compromising the reason we - as Christians- are supposed to be celebrating this holiday??

I don't mean to cause any strife among my friends. This is not a debate, simply my own personal thoughts and even questions. Can we even honestly celebrate and honour a Saviour amidst all the glam? How can we put it all about Jesus when He really gets so very little in all this? I mean...? If I spend hours baking, wrapping, shopping, cooking, cleaning and whatever else we do to prepare for this holiday... do I spend nearly as much time with the one I call Lord? Or do I put Him second to all the other "stuff"?

I pray I do not.

The only this more fun than elfing your own family is:

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

elfing your friends with your family members

facebook neglect and sunrise in the desert

OK honesty time, I have been neglecting my blog because I have been busy playing on facebook ( a few too many hours a day I might add).... so neglect has set in- and in an effort to clean away the cobwebs I thought a new post would be in order.


I woke up early this morning and saw this beautiful sunrise outside my window- It was so very pretty I stepped outside into the cool crisp air to snap a quick photo- ya know, right before my toes froze and I ran back in the house, didn't stop for the coffee I should have to get me going, and snuggled back in right next to the cute toddler snoring away....

Then as I caught up on the blogs I read I found this post with a super fabulous giveaway. All you have to do to enter is donate $10 (per ticket) to a terrific cause! This giveaway ends Dec. 14th and Mckmama assures you she will get it to you by Christmas!

It's the time of year where friends & fellow bloggers "elf themselves"
crazy but true. I couldn't figure out how to do it last year.... maybe I will try again as the holiday draws near... or not?


Then this evening, I quickly snapped this shot ( a blogger must always have a camera ready I am learning) the big sis was washing dishes and the little sis wanted to really help. And although the little sis washed more of herself than any dish the desire is there to be like her big sis... and what a great big sis she is!
<>< jennifer

Our Thanksgiving Day

our friend Steve is gonna kill me for posting this
we were being silly
this looks like Po in Kung Fu Panda as
Mantis does the acupuncture and pokes his facial nerve

perhaps you can see some similarities...

still waiting for turkey....

standing on her daddy: on top of the world

watching charades: don't they look like they're having fun?

more charades

Their cat black bear wanted to go for a drive.
let's just say he was disappointed.

So what do you do on thanksgiving?
Charades?
Pictionary anyone?

this is just a too cute picture of Micah with his daddy

some of the boys waiting patiently to eat

It was not only thanksgiving,
it was this special young lady's 8th Birthday

friends side by side

after a long day
best buddies cuddle and share the days stories

smiles as we hung out

those of you who knew me would never believe this is something I absolutely enjoy doing...now

but here was out day of thanks celebration

We have good friends that have almost become our family out here. Being military the holidays can be so lonesome but not with friends like these. They are a terrific homeschooling family with 8 children. what is so neat about our families it that they get along and share tons of the same ideals. They built most of their own home- intially it was just a simple cabin- and they have been turning it into the neatest house around. They live 'off the grid' (and for those of you that dont know that term- it means they generate their own electric with solar power and don't rely on the power company). Since the blog started these kids have been in many of our blog photos. But today I would just like to say how very thankful I am for each and every one of them. I cannot imagine my life without them, and our lives are so much richer with them in it, and no, I didn't just say all that 'cuz they fed us turkey yesterday! When family is 3000 miles away it is comforting to know that God provides 'family' wherever we are.

kids coloring (thanksgiving theme)

Over the river and through the woods
to our good friends house we go
they horse doesn't know the way
so we took the truck instead
up to the mountain we go...oooh!

The cool mountain air
the fellowship there
and pumpkin pie to eat

so if we're away
and cannot say
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Here is a note
to tell you you're missed
and wish you a thankful turkey day!!!
Micah was thanking God not only for our family but also for 2 other special families we know and love who both happen to have 8 children each!!!! Daddy looked at it and asked,
"Is this how many children he wants in our family?"

Hezekiah colored this scripture

Arianna did a terrific job coloring these praying pilgrims
{I stand corrected... Arianna said "Justyn colored THAT one!"}

Justyn got creative and gave this turkey a 3D beak & gobbler

A cross by Hezekiah

Am I thankful?

I woke up this morning considering a thankful post, like so many people will write, but as I was thinking about it I stopped and wondered 'Am I really thankful at all?' or Do I take so much of it for granted?

Am I thankful this morning for the breath I have or do I take that for granted? Am I thankful for the life out here in the desert or do I long for other places? Am I thankful for the warm little people snuggled close in my bed even though it means I woke up with a stiff neck? Am I thankful for the house that I have even though it it modest and has flaws? Am I thankful for the warm water running to take a shower with or do I complain that the bathroom in which the warm water runs is cold? Am I thankful for the clothes I have or do I want more? AM I thankful for my husband ALL the time or do I concentrate on his flaws? Am I thankful for my 5 beautiful children all the time, even when they are on my nerves? Do I always see them as God does? Am I thankful for my friends or do I sometimes feel unloved? Am I thankful for the church family I have rather than for those we have had to leave behind? Am I thankful for our 'ranch' or do I often see it as more of a burden? Am I truly thankful at all?

Sometimes I really am not. I am guilty all too often of seeing the glass half empty rather than half full. I can see the flaws in my life much more easily than the blessings.

We are supposed to share Thanksgiving with friends, but I have 2 kids under the weather(and more beginning to sneeze today)... and my dear friend graciously said 'come anyway'. I know she means it, but she did have some valid points. When we go to her house the temperature drops an average of 15 degrees. So if it's cold and rainy at my house this morning, you can bet it will be snowing at hers. She is concerned they could feel worse out there because as they go in and out and play in the cold...well, ya know...
so as I am pondering what to do, I am sitting here wondering
"Will I be thankful just to stay home?.... alone... and enjoy my own family...tomorrow?"Hezekiah made this turkey

Whatever your plans tomorrow, May you count it all joy. May you see God's blessing in it all. may you see the abundance in your lives. May you hold fast to the promise that this world is not our true home and may you stop and bless those who have never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ as you go about your thanksgiving busyness rather than simply pass them by.


Justyn's turkey

MaryRachael created this 'turkey'
and colored this one

I hope to post a few more photos of what the kids have colored.
To see something Arianna did go here

Kiah tales and packages

Late last week we received a package for no particular reason- and like any other family -mine loves to get packages, especially from grandma and grandpa. This one was unexpected though, no-one(including daddy) seemed to know it was coming. And after receiving the box of fun Italian clothes (Frank's dad had just gone to Italy in Oct) only a week before it was an unexpected surprise... the photos tell a better "story" than I can....

after waiting all day for daddy to get home from work on Thursday, when he finally arrives everyone wants a hand in opening the mystery box
mmmmmm... a pannettone - an italian sweet bread
and then Justyn got silly with some salami & cheese
(I think he watched a little too much KungFu Panda)

cheese from Italy
obviously Maryrachael is more interested in a the bread!

SALAMI!!!
And what do you do with salami?
MaryRachael says "You eat it!"
and she LOVES it!

and the cheese? well when it's imported from Italy...for the first few days... you sniff it.

And then there is a cute Kiah story (there is always a cute Kiah story) so , yesterday as we were cleaning up from Sunday dinner- Kiah comes running in. He says "mom, come quick Mantis is outside and we have to go get his autograph". My kids just saw Kung Fu Panda for the first time and for those of you who don't know Mantis is one of the characters in the movie. But Kiah was just sooooooo cute! And although it wasn't really mantis from the movie, there was no convincing him otherwise.

the secret life of a mantis: "I know KungFu"

The Italian princess wearing the cute outfit from italy Grandpa Joe sent