Galaxy of Lights

We visited our local Botanical Gardens for the annual "Galaxy of Lights" exhibit. They seem to really go all out. We didn't get to go last year, but I think there were more lighting displays this year than the year before last.


Katie was so excited that she couldn't stay in her seat. She was switching from the back seat to sitting between Doug and I up front.


Cinderella's Pumpkin Carriage and Castle was one of her favorites. She kept asking me where Cinderella and the Prince was at.


One of my favorite is driving through the snowflakes. It just puts you right into the season.


Apparently, some local elementary schools were having a painting contest. Peggy and I noticed this one contestant's name and I had to take a picture of it. Could it be anyone we know? Hmmm! Just joking! Laura, did you ever think there was another Laura Horton with such good artistic skills?

Just some more pretty lights



All the photos taken last night are found on our photosite.

Movies In Review
Doug rented "The Women" for me the other day. I really didn't know what to expect, but I thought it would be good because of the star cast - Meg Ryan, Annette Benning, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing, Eva Mendes, Candice Bergen and Bette Midler. You would think with all of these fantastic actresses that this movie would be great. Well, I really don't know what to think about it. Even now after I just finished watching it, I don't know if I like it or not. I did find a lot of parts humorous and funny. I guess since I have a good relationship in my marriage, I can't relate to it as well as others. If you're a middle age woman going through a divorce or a career change, this movie is definitely for you.

By the way, I also finished watching the end of "Wanted" and I have to say that this movie isn't for me. Doug and I were very disappointed in the end. It's definitely action packed with lots of twists and turns, but it was very unrealistic.

"Confessions of Shopaholic"

I have got to watch this movie. It's got me all over it!

Is Bama Doomed To Lose The Sugar Bowl?

If you haven't heard the latest news, Andre Smith was suspended and sent home to Birmingham. It's not official, but the word around town is Andre Smith had two agents wanting to talk with him. Well, Andre apparently couldn't stop the temptation and spoke with one of the agents, which is a NO NO! The rumor is the other agent got mad, called "The University of Alabama" and reported the met.

Now, if Coach Saban didn't suspend Andre after knowing what went on, Bama football would be in trouble once again. This would put us at risk of having games taken away from us and probably much worse because we would have known about it.

How irresponsible Andre was to put his team at this risk. What a team player? Doug seems to think that he needed some Christmas cash and I guess he thought he wouldn't get caught. WRONG!

Now that Andre is off the team for the Sugar Bowl against Utah. Will this be an omen that Bama is doomed to lose the bowl? I sure hope not.

New Movies To Watch

Movies In Review
Probably like anyone else during the holiday break, we've been watching some new movies. Katie received "Kung Fu Panda" for Christmas from Santa. I didn't know she would like it as well as she does. Now, she tells us that she's a tiger. She'll growl and start doing the air kicking. I've asked her a time or two, if she would like to take Karate. She hasn't answered me because I don't think she understands what it is yet.

If you like the "Mummy" movies, you will enjoy the new "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor". Doug rented this movie for me because he knows how I love tomb raider type movies. I've seen every one of "The Mummy" movies and I believe they get better and better each time.

Today, we watched "Wanted" with Angelina Jolie. Yeah, she's out there in her personal life, but she is a good actress. This is one of those films, you have to really watch closely or you'll get lost. At first, I asked Doug what in the world did he rent. A lot of the action parts are so unrealistic, like making a curved shot. I have to say that it is action packed and it will keep your attention. There are quite a few twists and turns.

Men . . . Are The Worst Drivers
I wanted to add that I'm loving the feed back on this topic. I'll tell you one of my pet pevs with terrible drivers. I don't mind people who love speed just don't involve me. How they ride your back end just because your not driving the same speed that they want to drive. As if them riding your butt will make you drive any faster. Then, they'll wrecklessly do anything to get around you. You know the speed limit signs are not suggested speed limit signs. Well, that's my rant for today. Keep your opinions coming in and we'll see what my poll will result.

Men . . .The Worst Drivers?

Yesterday, it was reported on Fox and Friends (yes, my favorite news channel) that men have the worst driving records for DUI, speeding and wrecks. I was like "yes" inside, of course. Doug had to disagree with the report. For some reason, he will not let me drive when we are riding together. He is always the one that insists on driving. I don't know why. I think I'm a safe driver. I was so glad to hear this report come out. TEHE!!!

I wanted to bring this survey over to my blog and ask you the important question.

Whose the worst driver in your family?

Are they men or women?

What are your pet pevs with other bad drivers?

I can't wait to hear some responses. This is all in fun, so don't take anything personal.

Elf Yourself "The Mason's"

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Ahhhhh!

Well, it's the day after Christmas and everything is quiet and peaceful once again. It's amazing how your head spins the week of Christmas.

I was beginning to worry if I was ever going to get Mom and Dad's slideshow complete. Doug and I worked up to the day before Christmas Eve. Shoo! The movie ended up being a little over 2 hours long with 35 + songs. Us sisters decided to wait and play the disk after everyone else opened up their gifts. You talk about shock and awh. At first, I think, Mom and Dad thought the movie was from their Anniversary party because I started it out with their wedding. Then, it finally hit Dad and began getting choked up. We told them about us sneaking all of their slides out of their house and put them on disk. Mom's mouth stayed open with shock the whole time and Dad was very emotional. I think our present was a hit with our parents.
Like every year, we had a very blessed Christmas. Katie has been so good about messing with the presents under the tree. Bless her heart! She began to get impatient by Monday with the presents. I would catch her walking around the house with a wrapped gift. She'd ask me every day, if it was Christmas yet.

She loved the Christmas Eve party because she loves being with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, Layla and Charlie. She wouldn't leave those poor dogs alone. Layla has learned to hide, but Charlie is still a puppy and doesn't know better. Maryann was Santa this year and Katie was her little Elf, passing out all the presents. Katie got so many nice gifts from everyone from dresses, Barbies to jewelry. Sandy made her a quilted chalk board. She was having a good time with it until, I think, Charlie got a hold of her chalk. LOL! The chalk ended up in three pieces.

Baby Colton received an Alabama Football bib and a beautiful quilt made by my sister, Sandy. Thank you so much Sandy for the quilt.


On Christmas morning, I had to go wake Katie up. She was so overwhelmed in the presents and the fact that Santa Claus did come to leave her gifts. The Ponyville Amusement Park was a hit. She played with it for a long time before we could get her to open up a present. She gave each gift her own personal attention, that's because she took forever opening up all of her gifts. She would open a present, play/look at it for a while before she would open up another one. Later, she told me that Santa sure was nice to give her all of these gifts. It was cute. As we were getting ready to go over to Millard and Peggy's for lunch, Katie was asking if she could take all of her new gifts to show Grandma and Paw-Paw. She was satisfied with taking all of her ponies, Barbies and new book.

Katie had a big surprise waiting for her at Grandma Peggy and PawPaw Millard's. As soon as we got there, she wanted to open presents. We made her wait until we could unload the car. She was so impatient. She couldn't understand why there was only one present for her under the tree. She kept asking if there were anymore presents for her.




Katie was so surprised when she saw what Santa Claus left her in the garage.



Would you believe that the Jeep had a working radio? Katie had it down pat - she'd get in on the driver side, buckle her seat belt, turn on the radio and away she went. She had some trouble steering the Jeep. Grandma and PawPaw had to help her steer her way around objects. We were ready, if she insisted the Jeep to come home with her. I was a little surprised that she was okay with it staying at Grandma and PawPaw's house. Other pictures are on the photosite.

Moisturizers Could Cause Breast Cancer

Listen up body lotion users!

Your lotion could increase your chances of developing breast cancer, this information doesn't limit to just women. Men who use lotions can develop breast cancer as well. Doctors are targeting body lotions/moisturizers that contain the Estrogen hormone in them. Check out your bottles before using and make sure that in the ingredients it doesn't list: Estriol or Estrone.

Keep in mind that your skin is the biggest organ in your body. Doctors have explained that estrogen can be absorbed more efficiently through the skin than taken orally. Too much of the estrogen hormone in your body, especially if you have the breast cancer gene can increase your chances developing this cancer. For further information, check out this article supplied by Fox News.

A woman doctor that was on Fox News recommended Sunflower or Olive Oil to moisturize your skin. She added that it is safe and not so greasy feeling, like you would think. Something to think about.

I'm having trouble getting Katie's ballet video onto my blog through Google Video. It's showing just fine on Google Video Beta, but the embedded code that it shows won't work, for some reason, on blogger. Ugh! I may have to just put a hot link on my blog to take you to Google Video, in order to see the video. It's really cute!

Nicholas Update

Nic made it alright through the surgery this morning. I can't give you all the details simply because I don't understand it fully and would be afraid that I would get a piece of the information wrong. Nevertheless, he underwent 2 hours of surgery and 4 hours of recovery. The doctor told June that he was happy with the out come because he was able to get the problem solved, which is a prayer answered. He spent so much time in recovery because they had a hard time getting him to wake up and stay awake. Mom told me tonight that once he got into his room, he began bleeding. They had to put 10 pounds of weight on him in order to stop the bleeding. After all of this, he is doing fine. I don't know if the doctors will want him to stay over night for observation or if they will come home. Thank you for all the prayers and please continue to pray for a speedy recovery.

Katie's Ballet Class
Today was open ballet class for visitors to watch the girls practice. I took the video camera and taped Katie practicing. It was so cute watching these little girls running around. All the girls did so good and at times Katie actually listened and did what she was suppose to do. I couldn't keep the camera still for laughing at Katie. There were times when she wanted to show the girls how to do a position. You'll have to watch the video for yourself. I hated that I missed the very end of her dance. It's taking forever to download her movie, so I'll have to post it tomorrow. Sorry, but I tried and I feel like I'm dying because I'm staying up so late.

Silly Side Of My Family

I thought I would post a few silly/fun family photos.

I don't know what my dad was trying to do by posing for these pictures

I thought this was cute because here my sisters are acting silly, but look how mom is trying to keep a nice smile.

June still does this to this day. LOL!

See what my job was when we had motor homes. Yuck! I hated it when dad was working on the RV and he would call my name because I knew what was coming up next. Ugh! I was so abused. LOL! Don't you feel sorry for me.

Pat is at a point. He is such a camera hog because he loves the attention

Susan fell asleep on a sack of potatoes in the back of the pickup


How do you like June's painting technique ?


These are my sisters acting silly. June & Susan are wearing my dad's welding hats

I'm loving June's face in this picture. The kids in this picture are my sisters and cousins at one of many family parties at my grandparents home.

My sisters playing in the snow

Prayer Request

Prayer Request
My nephew, Nicholas, is undergoing a procedure on his heart in the morning. Please remember him in your prayers. He had this same procedure about a year ago and he is still having problems. If you don't know, there are times when his heart rate races and it's hard to get it to slow back down. He's had this problem for quite some time and we are hoping this second procedure will do it for him. After the procedure, he will have to take it easy for the next couple of weeks. Thank you for the prayers!

Horton Christmas

It was good seeing everyone at the annual Horton Christmas gathering. Of course, Katie had a ball playing with her cousins, Trey, Ty and Keisha. Poor Keisha still got sucked into playing with the little ones. What can I say? She's got the special touch with the kids and they love her. Trey loved the fact that Uncle Millard and Aunt Peggy had a playground since the last time he was there. He wanted to stay outside the whole time and play on the slide. It might have gotten as warm as 57 degrees, but the wind made it feel much cooler than what it was. The kids had to bundle up before going outside. It was funny talking to Trey (approx. 5 years old) because he's at the age, where he will tell you everything about his mom and dad. Oh boy! I can wait until Katie gets to that age. Here are some pictures of the party. We don't have family photos anymore, so all we have is just snapshots. There are more pictures posted on our photosite.

The little girl that Keisha is holding is Cheyenne or "Sissy". She is Diane's great niece. Diane & Malcolm take turns taking care of her. She is such a sweetheart.

L-R: Katie, Trey & Ty

This is what I had to work with yesterday morning. Daddy and Katie would not get off the couch & get ready to go.

We played Dirty Santa after the kids opened their gifts. Poor Vonell, the men kept swiping her DS gifts. Can you tell in the background that I could use a nap? Yep! I was so tired and not feeling all that great. Oh well.

Trey and Katie were having fun, spinning around in circles, sitting in Millard's chair.

Comment Questions
Allison left me a question yesterday regarding the horse and buggy rides at Sportsman's Lake. She wanted to know if they were doing that everyday. You know, I really don't know. Katie and I went on a Friday night. They had an extra buggy and horse, I guess if there were a big demand. They were also running the train at the same time. If Katie and I were clothed properly, we might have gone for a train ride as well.

Prayer Request
Allison asks for our prayers for her family after the sudden loss of her uncle. Allison - I'm so sorry to hear this news. For some, it makes it harder to handle when it's so close to a special holiday like Christmas. You and your family will be in our thoughts and prayers.

Katie and I visited our little neighbor, Ms. Evelyn. As you may know, she lost her husband last Feb-Mar (I believe) around Turkey Hunting Season. While Turkey Hunting in Indiana, he had a heart attack and died in his tree stand. Well this time last year, her and her husband, Charles, celebrated their 50th Anniversary. As one of the decorations for the 50th Anniversary celebration was a Christmas tree full of gold and ivory decorations. There were these beautiful gold and pearl frames with black and white photos of Evelyn and Charles' past. Trust me, this tree is gorgeous! Well, Evelyn had the tree with the decorations put up in her Living Room as a reminder to everyone of their love. I've been afraid to ask her how she's handling this Christmas without Charles, but what do you actually say. So, I haven't said anything. While visiting her the other day, she seems to be handling it very well. Mr. Charles was a big outdoors person. He loved to hunt and fish and just enjoy God's country. Evelyn told me that she took their old Christmas tree and set it out in Charles' shop. Her and her daughter decorated it all in fishing and hunting ornaments, which is him all over. She said if there was one thing that she regrets is Charles has always loved colored lights on the Christmas tree, but Evelyn has always loved the clear lights instead. She said every year, she would tell him "maybe next year". So, she bought some colored lights and put it on the tree in his shop. Please continue to remember her and her family this Christmas.

Have You Checked Your Christmas List?

Friday, I finished our Christmas shopping. Whoo Hoo! It was a challenge, but I was determined to get it done. Katie and I came home dragging our feet. It's bad when your 3 year old ask you if it's okay to lay on the couch. Bless her heart!

Once we caught our breath and grabbed something to eat, we coated up again and went for a ride around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights. I have to applaud our neighborhood for being in the festive mood this year than any other neighborhood. Doug told me that one of our parks, Sportsman's Lake, was having their "Winter Wonderland" displays again this year. Last year, it was real nice to drive around for Katie to look at all the lights. This year, they went above and beyond and I have to applaud them as well for a job well done. Yeah, they had lighting displays every where that were sponsored by local companies, but they added a "Mountain Tubing" adventure, train rides and the Colonial Horse and Buggy rides through out the park. As soon as I spotted the horses, I got excited for Katie. She didn't know what was going on, me parking. "Where we going mom?" she asked. I asked her if she wanted to look at the horses. She didn't know what to think of these huge white horses. Then, I asked her if she wanted to go for a ride. Her eyes lit up! I didn't have to ask twice because she crawled right up inside the buggy. Thankfully, they had blankets because it was 33 degrees that night. Shooo! I told her that we were riding in Cinderella's carriage. She got all excited and started giggling. We snuggled up while riding around the park. I told her that we were riding a one horse open sleigh like in the song "Jingle Bells". "No, mom" she interrupted me. "We're riding Cinderella's carriage." "Okay, if you like that idea better" I told her. The carriage driver turned around and smiled like he heard what she said. When we got back, the owners let us go up to the horse, Molly, to let us pet her. Katie was satisfied watching me pet Molly. By the time we got back in the car, I was ready to go home. Katie talked my ears off all the way home about riding in Cinderella's carriage to her castle. She asked me if we were going back the next day to see the horses again.

Today is Horton Christmas. I'll post pictures as soon as I can. Have a great Sunday!

Veggie Sausage Strata

I made this recipe for Christmas morning a couple of years ago. We had Peggy and Millard over early that morning and everyone raved about how it was good. I discovered this recipe from one of my "Taste of Home" cookbooks. Beings that I probably won't be cooking this Christmas morning, I thought I would at least share it with you. I hope you enjoy it.

Veggie Sausage Strata
2 lbs. Bulk Italian Sausage
2 medium Green Peppers, coarsely chopped
1 medium Onion, chopped
8 Eggs
2 C Milk
2 t Salt
2 t White Pepper
2 t Ground Mustard
12 slices bread, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 pkg. (10 oz.) Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 C (8 oz.) Shredded Swiss Cheese
2 C (8 oz.) Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 medium Zucchini, cut into 1/4 " slices

In a large skillet, cook the sausage, green peppers and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and mustard. Stir in the sausage mixture, bread, spinach, cheeses and zucchini. Transfer to a greased 13" x 9" x 2" baking dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerate 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 40-45 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Yield: 10-12 servings.

Mirya's Notes: We are not big onion and swiss cheese lovers. I left out the onion and you can substitute the swiss cheese with one of your favorites.

Happy 3rd Birthday Maddie!

We wish you a very special birthday today.

We Love You!

Ode To Susan

Susan called me the other day and expressed her disappointment in my blog. Not really knowing what I was doing, I had not published enough pictures of her as a child compared to the other sisters. So, this post is just for Susie Q. A little piece of information. Susan's hair was so blonde that it was nearly white. She had the nickname "Toe Head" when she was little.

By the way, I'm so proud of myself. I've got all the slides in the slideshow, along with a menu and titles. Yay!!!! Now, all I've got to do is music. I've got a list started. I know my dad told me that he loves the song "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong and mom loves the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by The Beach Boys. I'm open for suggestions and would love to hear your picks. Trust me, I need lots of songs for this slideshow because there are so many photos. Please feel free to leave me a comment with your song suggestions for the slideshow. As you can tell, all of these photos are very old approximately from 1930's - 1980's. Thanks!

Prayer Update

I received an update on Emily this morning. According to her sister, she has staph pneumonia and her O2 sat is low today. She's been coughing up reddish tint mucus. The doctors are trying to find out why her O2 is low and why she coughing up the blood-tinged mucus. She's been on oxygen and she received two units of blood last night. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.