christmas letter 2009

this was supposed to look like a christmas tree (as it did on my christmas letter), but the blog is not cooperating. :)

Dear Family & Friends,

I always love

this time of year. The

favorite Christmas songs are dusted

off for all to enjoy once again and every

kitchen smells of ham, cranberry sauce and desserts.

In the Palmer house,

I am not usually up until a

week or two before Christmas, but this

year I must have been on the good list. I have

been standing tall since the day after Thanksgiving. If only

I could stay up

all year long. My soft

branches, glowing lights, sparkly

ornaments and perfectly wrapped presents invite family

and friends to gather. I have an interesting life…usually listening to muffled

sounds throughout

most of the year, from the basement

storage room. This year seemed like an exciting time in the

Palmer house. John and Lindsey decided to take on their first triathlon (5

weeks before it started). I remember John laughed with Lindsey when she wanted to do

the long distance

triathlon, but in the end, that is

what they did. They both finished in a little over 3

hours. Pretty impressive. I would not have made it out of the water! John

started his Masters this year. He spends several evenings and long hours on homework, but he

seems to enjoy

it (most of the time). Ollie

and Hazel are still the best of friends, although

they don't understand it yet. Hazel likes to sits by me, while Ollie usually

plays and runs around me. In my neck of the woods (aka, the basement), they are adding a new bathroom.

They did not

have a bathroom in the basement

and decided it was time to add one. It is not

quite finished, but is quickly taking shape after a few short months

of work. This Christmas, as the years seem to fly by faster, always remember the real reason why we celebrate.

I am a simple

reminder of what happened 2000 years

ago. Two trees were cut down, one became a cradle

and the other a cross, so you could live forever. When you look at me this

year, remember what I represent. There is more to me than shiny lights and packages.

Keep looking up, past the star. "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart". Jer 29:13

i cannot believe summer is over, trees no longer have leaves, thanksgiving turkey is gone and Christmas is now over. where has this year gone!?!

we have been so busy with work, home projects, figuring out what's for supper :) and life in general. since i have neglected my blog lately. i was going to upload my christmas letter, but for some reason i can't copy and paste into here. not good. i will keep trying.

changes.

i have no idea where the month of october has gone...but it's almost over. crazy.

john is done with coaching football in a few weeks. the season has gone really fast.

the bathroom addition is starting. framing is up...looks great! plubming/electrical will be worked on soon. it will be done before we know it and courtney will occupy it! although mom is excited to "test" out everything...including the toilet. :)

waiting.

i am sitting at the car shop. i brought my car in because a brake light was out and i needed an oild change. of course you know that coming to the car shop means liquidating your bank account...

so i guess we need the following:
60,000 mile check up - $850
allignment - $117
new tires - $690
new key fob thing - $40
.....i think they told me something else too, but i don't remember.

regardless...i wasn't planning to spend $1,600....so i am not! :)

i am getting done only what i came here for.

the rest can be done after i break the news to john...before the charges are incurred.

i really need to learn how to work on cars to save the labor charges. they are about 75% of the bill it seems.

i also need to wait for an hour and a half in the waiting room for the oil change, tires rotated and brake light fixed. i figured, good, they have a TV and wireless. there was a little old man in here and he was watching the "drawing" channel....a lady was shading the nostrils of a nose...i was not thrilled. of all things you could draw....and draw on TV!!! whatever.

so here i sit....still...trying to figure out how to spend my time. i have another 30 min left (i hope).

happy birthday grandma...i love you!

grandmas are the greatest people on earth (mothers closely equal their position). today is my grandma manske’s birthday. although she is not here any longer to celebrate with us, she celebrates in heaven. this is one day to think extra long about grandma.

In thinking about grandma today, I imagined her birthday party in heaven.

the menu – jello with marshmallows, peaches, fried chicken and ice cream bars.
drink – HiC with sprite mixed in.
grandmas attire – hair all combed and fresh perm, powder on her face, glasses cleaned with windex, solid color pants with a flowery print top, a broach and a necklace. to top it all off, a few squirts of perfume.

She would first make sure everyone had enough to eat and just when you thought you were full, she pushed over 2 more helpings :) and do you know why you would have those 2 helpings? Because grandma knows best.
She would also sit in the background and smile as she watched everyone enjoying conversation and entertainment. She did not need to be the center of attention and actually preferred not to be!
When it was time for presents, she would say “you didn’t have to do that”. Knowing you were there was enough for her.
The birthday party would end with everyone giving hugs and saying goodbyes. Since she loves company, she would start up another conversation at the door that starts with “well kids…what do you know?”. An hour later, as you drive away, she would be waiving her hand in the window. A tissue would probably also be in her hand, held by her thumb as the rest of the fingers did the waiving. She would have a big smile on her face.

I love “grandma” moments. These are the things that grandma does or loves and you can’t help but want to be just like her…
The color pink – her favorite color and my favorite color :)
Huskers
Peaches
Apple crisp
Kentucky fried chicken
HiC with sprite mixed in
Ice Cream bars
Quietly humming
Stories of “back in the day”
Socks at Christmas & birthdays
Hyms
Jello with marshmallows
Broach
Getting the mail
Determination & Strength
Scotch-a-roos!
Sleep overs
Skip-bo (where she somehow always won)
Ty-nol
Love for Jesus
Hand written letters/cards
Grocery lists at 3 different stores
Cinnamon rolls (by the dozens)

The list of course goes on and on. She is someone I think of often. It is good to know she doesn’t miss a beat of life because she is looking down on me every day.

I miss you and love you grandma. happy birthday.

some of grandmas favorites:
in the garden - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzzqhaLl_8w
it is well with my soul - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMPAnlc8k0U
the king is coming - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMMy-PlexHQ
how great thou art - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhvaDJTUmrU
because he lives - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH56-aEQlcc
the old rugged cross - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLx0I8DSCoE

my favorite season

in winter, my favorite season is summer...the hotter the better. in late summer/early fall, i want to cozy up in sweats and a sweatshirt and eat chili....but it's a little too warm out still.

i figured at least i have variety in seasons here in MN....makes me appreciate all of them (except winter....that gets old really fast!).

as football starts this season, i look forward to saturday, sunday and monday football games. i also love making big batches of chili in the crockpot and falling asleep on the couch to football.

football season is great. that is my favorite season :)

forgot about this...

so i had great plans to create a blog today. after talking with john about the title of our blog, i realized that we already had one. age can hurt the mind sometimes :)

we plan to keep our blog updated now with stories and pictures of our life! :) enjoy.