onsdag 10. desember 2008

I believe in Santa Claus….

I just want to give tribute to Santa……. with this little poem/story that I have been keeping close to my heart ever since I layed my eyes on it…. This tells me that Santa lives in us all…

Santa's Secret Wish                    

On Christmas Eve, a young boy with light in his eyes
Looked deep into Santa's, to Santa's surprise
And said as he sat on Santa's broad knee,
"I want your secret. Tell it to me."
He leaned up and whispered in Santa's good ear
"How do you do it, year after year?"

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"I want to know how, as you travel about,
Giving gifts here and there, you never run out.
How is it, Dear Santa, that in your pack of toys
You have plenty for all of the world's girls and boys?
Stays so full, never empties, as you make your way
From rooftop to rooftop, to homes large and small,
From nation to nation, reaching them all?"

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And Santa smiled kindly and said to the boy,
"Don't ask me hard questions. Don't you want a toy?"
But the child shook his head, and Santa could see
That he needed the answer. "Now listen to me,"
He told that small boy with the light in his eyes,
"My secret will make you sadder and wise.

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"The truth is that my sack is magic. Inside
It holds millions of toys for my Christmas Eve ride.
But although I do visit each girl and each boy
I don't always leave them a gaily wrapped toy.
Some homes are hungry, some homes are sad,
Some homes are desperate, some homes are bad.
Some homes are broken, and the children there grieve.
Those homes I visit, but what should I leave?

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"My sleigh is filled with the happiest stuff,
But for homes where despair lives toys aren't enough.
So I tiptoe in, kiss each girl and boy,
And I pray with them that they'll be given the joy
Of the spirit of Christmas, the spirit that lives
In the heart of the dear child who gets not, but gives.

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"If only God hears me and answers my prayer,
When I visit next year, what I will find there
Are homes filled with peace, and with giving, and love
And boys and girls gifted with light from above.
It's a very hard task, my smart little brother,
To give toys to some, and to give prayers to others.
But the prayers are the best gifts, the best gifts indeed,
For God has a way of meeting each need.

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"That's part of the answer. The rest, my dear youth,
Is that my sack is magic. And that is the truth.
In my sack I carry on Christmas Eve day
More love than a Santa could e`er give away.
The sack never empties of love, or of joys
`Cause inside it are prayers, and hope. Not just toys.
The more that I give, the fuller it seems,
Because giving is my way of fulfilling dreams.

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"And do you know something? You've got a sack, too.
It's as magic as mine, and it's inside of you.
It never gets empty, it's full from the start.
It's the center of lights, and love. It's your heart.
And if on this Christmas you want to help me,
Don't be so concerned with the gifts `neath your tree.
Open that sack called your heart, and share
Your joy, your friendship, your wealth, your care."

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The light in the small boy's eyes was glowing.
"Thanks for your secret. I've got to be going."
"Wait, little boy," Said Santa, "don't go.
Will you share? Will you help? Will you use what you know?"
And just for a moment the small boy stood still,
Touched his heart with his small hand and whispered, "I will."

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mandag 8. desember 2008

The second candle is lit….

Hi every body!!

Today I want to show you that I HAVE done some christmas decorating too… but just a little bit.. for advent.

Today we lit the second candle…

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Even though last weekend was busy, I still got out my advent stars…. and the christmas curtains for my kitchen .. this is what it looked like before.  (even before I got my windows cleaned… oops)

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And this is what it looked like  after I had washed and hung the curtains , the star and the tree.

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You like??

Look at the star and the tree in the window up close…

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and this is the one I made ( that I have shown you before) but now in a better photo…

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And today me and my kids finally did  get around to do some baking..

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this  is the before picture of the gingerbread cookies… and  take a look at these after the kids had decorated them… aren’t they christmasy??

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Yum!!!

here are some close ups too…

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wouldn’t you just love to take a bite?? Did you notice that some of them were a little bigger?? and with their names on them?? I usually hang these in the window during christmas.. for decor… and Lexi is this little girl

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She was trying to hide, so that I wouldn’t send her away from the kitchen ;-) haha.

And last but not least I made some other cookies too… from coconut (?)

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They are yummy!!

Well.. that’s it for now!! Wish I could’ve invited you all over for a taste and a coffee!! :-)

Have a great day everyone!!

fredag 5. desember 2008

A piece of Norway...

A norwegian christmas song....

and some of Norways OLDest churches!!

torsdag 4. desember 2008

An award…. or two….

I have taken my sweet time.. but now I have to tell you that I have been given awards again :-) YEAH!!

The first award came from Bridget at  My Silly Blog and the second came from Terrie at Terrie's Lil' Piece of Serenity THANK YOU VERY MUCH Bridget and Terrie!!

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Copy and paste the rules and instructions in your post.
When posting on receiving the award,
make sure you include who gave you the award
and link it back to them.
Post five winners and link it back to them as well.
Post five of your addictions.

Oooo… here we go…..

#1 I have to have my coffe in the morning.. and after that during most of the day too!!

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#2 I HAVE to check in on my two blogs and my facbook account every day!!!

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#3 I absolutely have to check in on every new post that I see….. I am hopeless that way.

#4 I have to have my mobile phone with me at any given time…. I use it as an alarm clock, a reminder and to stay in touch with the kids while I am at work…and sometimes even as a camera.

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#5 MY photos… I have soo many albums, and I LOVE albums ( I will do a Shelia here.. hehe) Can you love albums?? YES you can!! ;-) ( Oh Shelia.. I am so fascinated by that comment of yours!! makes me smile  every time)  AND my photos, and paintings etc.  I NEED photos in my life!!!

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Next I have to pass this on to 5 fabulous friends..

SInce I have seen this alot lately …….. I choose the first five that comments this post!! GO FOR IT!!!!

THANKS AGAIN!!!! I think you are all fabulous!!

NEXT
I did pick up this at Shelias…. Thank you!!
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And this one over at Tootsies…. Thank you!!
Tootsie award!

onsdag 3. desember 2008

A rose in the snow….

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Hi

Isn’t that quite a poetic picture?

We got alot of snow a week ago… but the rain came and washed away most of it…. now we’ve got –5 degrees celcius.. brrr cold!

We do have a little snow.. just enough for the kids to have some fun in the snow.. like skiing and sliding!!!

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  When we do get more snow I will take more photos!

In other news today….

Sorry that I have been so quiet…

I have a couple of post on hold at the minute… my days don’t have enough hours. But will get back to them as soon as possible!! :-)

Today I baby-sat a little boy, who’s parents are both deaf… his parents were attending the little boys great-grandfathers funeral… AND since the little boys mom and I go waay back (I used to be her nanny) she called me and asked if I could look after him for a few hours!!! (he by the way can hear, but uses signs as well – 1 year old)

That poor little fellow had never seen me before, since they live in Bergen (6 hour drive from here) we met, and spent 10 minutes together before his parents took off….

He cried for about half a minute… then decided we could be friends :-) HE WAS SO CUTE!! We spent a few hours together and I had so much fun.. he was such an angel!!

~~~ IN OTHER NEWS ~~~

Monday morning, I got an sms from my next door neighbour ( I was still in bed, and quite tired) … the house next to her was in flames!!

I couldn’t believe it!!! I had slept through the sirens and all the commotion!!!

The old lady in the house made it out of the house, but unfortunately her husband died…

The house didn’t burn to the ground, but it looks so sad sittin’ there with black windows now…

Ironicly december 1st, is the day to check and change the firealarm batteries over here…

SO MY FRIENDS

CHECK YOUR FIREALARMS!!!

AS THIS IS THE SEASON FOR FIRES!!!

PLEASE!!!!

tirsdag 2. desember 2008

I won, I won, I won, I won!!!!!

….I got a brown box in the mail today.. could it be???…. yes!!!  It’s the package from Buffie…

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All other plans were put aside.. I had to open this box and see the 118 things she had come up with!!!! ;-)

You see.. she missed her 100th post, and noticed it on her 118th post.. so she promised the 18th commenter 118 things!!!  and I won…. I had the advantage of being off from work that day… and could check in more frequently than most of the other sweet ladies!

Ladies… are you anxiously waiting for me to open this box?? Oh.. ok…. First thing I noticed when I opened the box was this wonderful scent! Mmmm… something in there smells really good!! Then I saw this:

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Oh… sweet Buffie had sent me a postcard with the Texan armadillo!!!!! (belive it or not, but I have petted one) the card is prettier and more vibrant in its color in real life.. I had to turn off the flash for these pictures.

Anyway… I know, I know.. off to what she had sent me….

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did she expect me to count all these stars and hearts??? Are there 118??

There were alot more I did count!! ;-) hehe….. no… I am just kidding!!  But I did figure out that there had to be over 400!!!!! Way more than she had promised!!!  hahaha!!!  NO.. all jokes aside…….take a look at this :

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There was a theme in the box.. suddenly it all turned into lavender… every little thing was wrapped in lavender colored silk paper…

Take a look at what she sent me:

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Isn’t it just wonderful.. I wish you all could smell the lovely scents these presents send out….. but it didn’t stop there… look at this lovely lavender jewelry box she sent me….

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It had something inside… also notice the beautiful rim around the edge.

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Awww a little lavender bloom

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Aaaand to top it all off she sent me a beautiful book about Texas.

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I sat down to read… and it turned out it was full of the most gorgious pictures  from the state of Texas… and do you know what?? It really worked on me…. I WANT TO GO THERE!!!!

Breathtaking !!!!

And here’s everything

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Thank you so very much Buffie!!! A simple thank just doesn’t do these wonderful things justice!!! I so wish I could have given you a great big hug!!!

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I am so looking forward to my next bath! ;-) with my new lavender soap!!

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I already had a cup of lavender & hibiscus tea… mmmm lovely!

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This will probably do wonders for my sore muscles too Buffie!!

You are the sweetest ever!! Thanks alot!!

mandag 1. desember 2008

food for thought....

I found this on a friends blog... turn off my music on the side bar.. and watch and listen...

This is the complete oposite of my previous post (about my x-mas party) ... do I feel guilty?? YES, when I see pictures like this I do... but.. then again.. there is only so much we CAN do... so please.. enjoy christmas!!!