Recalculating

I flew to Chicago yesterday and then had to drive for an hour to attend a meeting and then return to the airport and fly home. It was going to be a long day.

I had printed out maps from the airport to my destination so I would know where I was going, but when I picked up the rental car it had a GPS in it. I thought that was great, I would be sure to go to the right place.

All was great until the road split, I knew by my maps I needed to bear to the left, the GPS was telling me to go right. I decided to use my map, and as soon as I did the voice said "Recalculating". I thought that was hilarious. On my ride back to the airport I would hear the voice telling me it was "Recalculating" a few more times.

When I checked in to the airport, I was told my flight was delayed. Now it was my turn to "Recalculate". As I was waiting for the flight I began talking to a lady near me. She shared how she and her husband found themselves unemployed at beginning of 2007, but because of God's provision and making some adjustments they were going to have the biggest year financially that they had ever had.

Once I was on the plane, I began to think about the many times in my life that God has had to tell me He was "Recalculating". Sometimes it is because I needed to change course, but most of the time it was because I had chosen to go in a direction He was not wanting me to go on. Thankfully He gives us grace and mercy and He will "Recalculate"our direction so that we can get back on the right path.

As I look to another New Year, I am going to take some time to seek God for His plan for me this year, and allow Him to "Recalculate" if needed. Are there any times that God has had to "Recalculate" the direction of your life? Please share with us.

Blessings to all,

Mom is my head hot?

Saturday evening my 12 year old son Ryan asked me to feel his head. He complained of being cold, but feeling hot and his right side hurt. I totally freaked when the thermometer read 103.2. I checked it 3 times, then promptly sent him to a cool bath while I decided on my next step.
Ten minutes later we were on our way to the urgent care center (they know us well now!). After an hour and a half, blood work and urine tests we headed to the emergency room for a CAT Scan. We were trying to rule out Appendicitis.

My husband, his father, and his sister have all had Appendicitis and none of them presented normally. My father-in-law was sent home and his ruptured. My husband and his sister did not have increased white counts and when the doctor pushed on their side it did not really hurt them. So we were really pushing to make sure for Ryan.

Once we got to the ER, Ryan would have to drink 1000cc of contrast solution. It was supposed to be strawberry flavored, NOT!!! It took him another 1.5 hours to get it down. He took the last swallow and it all came back up. It looked like someone had been shot in the room. Fortunately they decided to try the scan anyway. Thankfully it was not Appendicitis. He apparently has a virus. Two days later he is still symptomatic, he does not fell well but of course he is ready for Christmas. It sure seems like there is never a dull moment in the Kidd house.

We are all nestling in for that long winter's nap before the excitement of tomorrow.

Sweet dreams for everyone, a blessed and Merry Christmas too.

Our Christmas Home Tour

I could not resist joining BooMama for her Christmas Home Tour. I enjoyed seeing Lysa, Renee, and Marybeth's homes along with the 400+ available for viewing.

With that, I would like to welcome you to the Kidd home.

This is our front door. It is a close shot because the battery for my camera will no longer charge, so I have to have it plugged in to power in order to take a picture!! So that was as far out as I could go.

Imagine that the door is now open and you may come into the foyer. Other than some dust bunnies you will see our Christmas tree. It was originally in the family room but a piano took its place. The angel on top was purchased for the first tree Allan and I had together. We have been married 17 years and the angel along with us are going strong!! My tree is a hodge-podge of ornaments. I remember my mother's trees growing up had to be melancholy perfect. There were no children made items allowed. Since I am a bit sanguine, the non-matching thing is fine with me. Our manger sits below, it is minus baby Jesus, He is placed there on Christmas morning.

Next to the foyer is the dining room.The star you see reflected in the mirror is a gift from Proverbs 31, it actually stays there all year round. The center piece is a Garden Ridge find on sale, of course. The dining room table was my Christmas present several years ago. This is where we enjoy Jesus' birthday cake on Christmas Eve.


Also in the dining room is our advent wreath. I made this one. the shiny can angels next to it were pre-school gifts from my oldest two children. They watch over things nicely.








In the family room over the entertainment center we have a collection of pretties. If you look closely you will see a small gold box, it is in front of the white tree, that is where baby Jesus is. He is opened first on Christmas morning. Above are pictures of each of my children taken when they were each 9 months old.


The mantle over the fireplace in the family room is special to me.
I made the center piece for the first Christmas in our first home. That was in 1991. It has moved to each new house and always sits over the fireplace. The stocking are your basic red and white with glitter writing used to put each persons name on their stocking. The mirror above is a treasured gift of my grandmother. There were two of these, the other one shattered when we tried to hang it in this house.

The last picture I want to share for now is the other tree we have. We normally open our gifts in the family room. We got a piano last year and it took over the spot we had for the big tree. Last year when we opened presents it seemed strange to not have a tree to gather around.

This year as I was pulling out decorations I found a box that had a small artificial tree in it. It was one from the upstairs in our first home. I dusted it off, sat it on a table and my dilemma was solved. The kids were also excited because I told them this one could have colored lights on it for them!!

I hope you have enjoyed your tour of our home. I will post a picture of the birthday cake for Jesus I told you about the other day. I just have to bake it first!!!

I pray you have a Blessed and Merry Christmas and an awesome 2008.

Terrific Traditions

I promised to share some more of our Christmas traditions with you. So here goes:

My husbands grandmother was a well know cake maker in Mount Olive, NC. She apparently had quite the reputation. When she passed away many years ago I was blessed with some of her baking pans. Many of which I still do not know how to use properly. There was one set, two heart shaped pans, that I have grown to cherish.


Each year we make a cake with those pans, put candles on it. For our Christmas Eve dinner set the table with each plate getting it's own candle (it hooks on the plate). We bring out the heart shaped cake, each person tells of one thing they are either thankful for or an area of their life they want to give to Jesus. We then sing "happy birthday" to Jesus.

It has come to be a treasured tradition on our home. Over the years we have had some fun times and some tough times. I can remember one year, it was a hard year in many ways. I baked the cake, and for some reason the top layer fell in. My cake looked like such a broken mess. My husband came in seeing me all upset and put his arms around me. He told me not to worry, Jesus likes it best when we come to Him with a broken heart. We are easier to teach that way. So now I serve the cake no matter how it turns out.

Don't forget the "Cool Giveaway" at Lysa's blog, go to the button below.
Please feel free to share some of your traditions.
Have a great day,

Meet me at the Urgent Care Center

Last Friday evening I was on my way home from a full day of work covering for a friend in Charlotte. It had been a crazy day at the hospital, I was emotionally drained. I returned some calls that came in while I was out of range, and turned on some Christmas music to unwind while driving home, when the phone rang.

It was my husband saying, "you may want to meet me at the Urgent Care Center, Katie has hurt her arm."

I knew there was something up, because Allan would not just take a child to be seen for a hurt arm without giving it some recovery time. I arrived at the center to find Katie in the x-ray room. I am an x-ray tech from a long time ago, and when the films were placed on the viewer my look and mouth dropping to the floor told Katie all she needed to know. She had broken both bones in her wrist, we would be seeing the Orthopedic doctor the next morning.

We made it through a slightly rough night. The next day was not easy, her arm needed to be re-set before the cast could be put on.

The highlight of the day was Katie choosing her cast color. She has soft undertones (according to our fashion expert Shari Braendel), so it had to be a light blue one.
Katie is doing much better, the pain is manageable, and the drama is down to a dull roar!!


I thought about the words of my husband when he called me that day. I began to think about my ultimate physician, and how His urgent care center is open 24/7. There is never a waiting line. All I need to do is call out and He is there. So if you have a need this Christmas season, just remember that God's urgent care is always open and it is free for the asking!!

Remember Lysa's button for more cool giveaways.


Blessings to all,

Wardrobe Malfunction!!!!

I have now joined the ranks of Shari Braendel and Lysa TerKeurst for most humiliating moments.

As I told you yesterday I am currently on a business trip out of town. Indianapolis to be exact. I am here for some training.

I dressed this morning in a skirt and shirt with my coordinating accessories (14 points - Shari would be proud) and went to the lobby of the hotel for breakfast.

I filled my plate and placed it on a table, as I went to sit down I felt something rolling down my hips. I thought, oops my pantyhose are slipping down. I know I am not the only one who has had experienced that joy. As I was deciding how to gracefully adjust them, I realized it was not my hose that I was feeling. My skirt slipped off my bottom and fell to the floor in a heap, exposing my pantyhose and spanxx to all. I gasped and quickly retrieved my lost covering pulled it up and sat promptly in the chair.

Now mind you this area was filled with business men eating breakfast. Thankfully none of them made a peep or even a choking noise. They spared me any more embarrassment.

As I looked at my plate (I could not dare look at anyone in the room) and ate my food I tried to figure out what to do next. I grabbed my cell phone and clipped it to my skirt and hose, thinking that would help some. Then I remembered while I was packing yesterday I had a safety pin I did not know what to do with, the Holy Spirit prompted me to put it in my suitcase (I had thankfully obeyed on this one). I retrieved the safety pin, and after finishing my food, I cinched my way to the ladies room and fixed my slippery problem.

Fortunately the rest of the day was smooth. I will be changing clothes before I go into the airport. I have had enough excitement for one day. I will be glad to be home.

Don't forget to visit Lysa's blog for the Cool Giveaways, just click the button below.



If you have had a malfunction experience please leave a comment and share.

Blessings,

A God Confirmation

I flew out of town today for a business trip. I enjoy reading "First" magazines when I fly. They have great recipes, and neat tips for cleaning, mending broken things, and usually uplifting articles. I was browsing through the current issue when I stumbled across and article by Kathy Ireland on self doubt. I was blown away by the tip she shared on overcoming self doubt.

She put a note on her bathroom mirror that read "J.O.Y.".
Jesus, Others, You

I have been re-examining my own priorities lately and had decided to make a committed and conscious effort to put Jesus first in my life. So, to me this was God putting a great big exclamation point on my efforts.

One of the things I had begun to do again was to write an appointment time with God in my planner. That was also one of the things she suggested doing.

I love it when God confirms to us that we are on the right path. How about you, has God confirmed anything to you lately. Please share yours with me, and leave it on a comment.

Don't forget about the "Cool Christmas Giveaway", use the button below to get in on the fun.




I will share our families Christmas Eve tradition on my next post.

Love to all,

Twas the Night Before Christmas..and all were asleep

In Matthew 26:40, Jesus had asked His disciples to watch while He went to pray. He returned from that time of prayer only to find they had fallen asleep. This happens a couple of times. The word "asleep" actually means sluggish, spiritually speaking.

I reflected on the verse I listed above and I thought how often do we let all the circumstances and responsibilities we have get in the way of our being spiritually prepared for celebrating the birth of our Savior?

I am big on establishing traditions with our children. Christmas is a great time of year for doing this. Each year on the first weekend in December we take the children to Appalachian Ski Resort to ski for the day and then we go to a choose and cut tree lot to find the perfect Christmas tree for our family. Of course there must be snow in order to enjoy this tradition.

Our 1st grader's teacher has a local Christmas Tree Farm, so we decided to support their family and get our tree from them. This meant that we could get it before we went skiing. I was excited because I thought I would be able to get all the decorating done a little earlier this year.

Fast forward another week, my best intentions did not materialize. The outside of the house is decorated, and even the inside all except the tree. It seemed that every time I wanted to work on the tree a multitude of other responsibilities required my attention. I was feeling sluggish when it came to setting the complete atmosphere for my family.

I had let all the pressures the holidays bring, weigh on me, and I forgot to keep watch of my heart. I had not been consistent each day with my time at Jesus' feet. I like the disciples had had been guilty of falling "asleep".

I am happy to report that the tree is decorated, we had a wonderful day skiing. Thankfully the slopes had snow on them!! I am once again consistent with my watch and we will all be ready for our celebration of the birth of our Savior.

Don't forget to click on the link below to see what great give aways are waiting this week. I will share some of our other traditions then too.



Blessings to all,

Gifts Galore

I am including a great link below to my friend Lysa's blog. She is coordinating some really awesome give aways this month. Just click on the link below and see how you can win great prizes. I will be doing one of the give aways, so be sure to check back to see what and when.

Jumping in with Both Feet

Seeing that I had a slow start to the holidays I decided I should do something completely different to kick start myself. I let my older two children talk me into going to a local mall's shopping event for the Friday after Thanksgiving. That in itself is not a big deal. But when the event begins at 1:00am and you get their two hours ahead of time to be one of the first 500 to receive a free "goody bag", then we are talking drastic!!!

We were excited to see that we were within the first 150 people. We enjoyed interesting conversation with the other eager shoppers waiting in line. There was an occasional blast of music, or a man juggling fire rings for our entertainment as we stood out there and shivered. My motivation was the promise of lots of warm coffee awaiting me from Starbucks.

Unfortunately as the "goody bags" were dispersed a section of about 50 people were missed, you guessed it, we were in that group. Oh well, I still had my latte to look forward to. After all, I was bonding with my teenager and pre-teen, right?

When the awaited hour arrived, we were again disappointed when a large group of people who had not been there as long as us was let in another entrance first. It was okay, our line was moving. Once inside the mall, I told the kids we were making a bee-line for Starbucks. I was not the only one with that idea!! The line had a one hour wait withing 15 minutes of the mall opening. So it was off to do some bargain hunting.

I must say, I was really surprised at the number of people in the mall that night (I mean morning). The stores were completely jammed with people.

We ran into some friends and decided to let the initial craziness settle down while we ate in the food court. We left at 3:30am with only one small purchase, full tummies, but still no Starbucks.

I am not sure I would choose that experience again, but I achieved my initial goal, that of kicking myself into the holiday spirit. Since then, I have succeeded in decorating the house, and finishing all of my shopping. I can coast now and enjoy the true blessing of this time of year.

Blessing to all,