FOGGY, FROSTY, FAIRYLAND!

We woke up this morning to sunshine and 27*, and then the fog rolled in...a winter fairyland!

Josiah's picture of the tree branches reflected in the ice on the stock tank.
Last years frosted roses turned out so well, I thought I'd try it again.
Looking at our fog laden yard through Nandina berries.

Vibernum Tinus and our reflecting pond (just the stock tank under the gutter!)

DOWNRIGHT DELECTIBLE

Blueberries?

It's really Vibernum Tinus, an evergreen shrub that sports really early flowers at the same time as last summers berries. A bonus: It's drought tolerant!! I have them everywhere. Hey, when something works...
These last 4 pictures are courtesy of Josiah and his new camera. As you can tell we had a lot of fun looking for things to photograph.

A really close up shot of V. Tinus.
Nandina berries dripping with fog.
Holly berries coated with ice. No it's not sugar, but they do look good to eat don't they?
Frosted Sedum rosettes.

GOD'S LITTLE SURPRISES

In the dead of winter He'll leave a perfect rose still blooming.
All of the little birds are His Christmas ornaments.

And what a sense of humor He has, which is why He created the cat!

This is Moses, who LOVES the snow!

The perfect pansy still blooming away on my front porch!

Look for, and then stop to enjoy all of God's little surprises.

GOD'S GIFT TO US! A WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!!

Do you see what I see?

We were opening our presents around 11:00 am this morning, when all of a sudden Josiah said, "It's snowing!!!" We were all so excited we totally forgot opening presents because God had just given us the best gift of all. We had prayed at breakfast and asked the Lord once again for a white Christmas. And did He ever deliver! Thank you, Jesus!! It snowed steadily until about 2:30 when it let up, so thought I'd come post a few pictures for you. Merry Christmas by the way!


These are Nandina berries taken from the upstairs window down through the Japanese Maple tree.All of these pictures were taken from inside the house by the way. What beautiful views God has blessed us with!

'TIS THE SEASON

The presents are bought and wrapped, cookie dough is in the fridge, and the tree is finally decorated! It took 3 days to get it decorated. Josiah and I had to do it single handedly this year because of work schedules. Dennis went from 10 hour days to 11 this week! Plus did I mention the 8 hour Saturdays and 2 hours on Sunday before Sunday School?!!!
We have a new little one in the family. This is Sheba with her 3 week old kitten. We were hoping for a bigger litter, as we have a waiting list. But God knows our needs and those we sell our cats to. His ways are always "purrfect"!
Isn't he sweet? Okay! Okay! So he's just a kitten, but since I don't have any grandbabies to brag about...And bet you can't beat this: He doesn't need diaper changes!!

Merry Christmas!

TIME OUT! FLOODING TRUMPS TREE!

Josiah and I set out about 3:00 pm today for a break from marathon tree trimming. We wanted to see first hand the extent of the flooding in our area. We didn't have to go far. This is our paper box at the end of our driveway!
Across the street, our neighbors have a new water feature! Where is that in the summer when we need it?!
Welcome to the Dallas City Park!
That's the river just beyond the picnic table.

And the path Rebecca and I take on our daily walk through the park... Where is it?!!!

RIVER OR ROAD?

Now to the other side of the park. This is the road into the park by the old pool. The road is on the right in case you were wondering.
Another view with the ball fields on the right, road down the middle, and river on the left. Yeah, right!
Now we're standing on the deck of the little building in the Hunter Arboretum. I was a little leary about going out on it, as the rushing water is actually coming up under the deck!
This is looking downstream towards the swinging bridge. I wish you could see the videos Josiah took. The current was so terribly swift and roiling with logs, tires, a soccer ball, and even a garbage can!

MONMOUTH CUTOFF IF CUT OFF!

Hope they weren't planning on going anywhere! Maybe, they can hitch a ride with the neighbors. Looks like they almost have their boat launched!
Notice the waves hitting the fence? Sorry about the clarity of the picture. I was taking pictures through the window as Josiah was driving through this mess.Lastly, this is our friends', the McMillians, house on Monmouth Cutoff near Godsey Rd. Now, let's go back home to our nice "dry" hill!

THE CHRISTMAS TREE

That's Grandad and Josh Shinn with the heavy end.
Josiah is lost in the top. He actually had to clear blackberry vines before they could even cut the tree down.
We had extra help this year. The other two Shinn children, Brandon and Courtney, decided to get in on the fun this year. Let me tell you, we needed them once we got the tree back to the house. It's a major job to get that 17' tree hoisted up with the help of ropes through the upper windows and a kid on the end of each rope! Thanks guys!!
Bernard, we know you want to help, but...! You know if we could just train him to put the lights on the tree, that would be great, because there are some parts that are inaccessible even from the ladder.
Come on you can do it, Bernard. Going down a ladder is much harder for a cat than going up for some reason, but with some coaxing, he made it.