How wonderful IS this man???

I got home from church yesterday, almost 1.5 hours after Tony and the children (we have Christmas program practice during second service)...he had made lunch (baked parmesan chicken, boiled red potatoes, green beans) and had the kids almost fed. Put them down for naps, as he usually does on Sundays, then we took a nap, too. I woke up feeling shaky again, so he cut the farm chores short and came back to entertain the kids while I tried to stave off another shaking attack (I'm soooo tired of these!). A warm bath usually helps, and while the water was running...he gave me a foot massage. I got in the tub only to realize that the dual heat was off (the hot water heater along with a couple heaters in the house are on dual heat which is occasionally shut off by the power company when electricity usage in the area goes up) -- the tub was luke warm. He heated water...but while it was heating, he lit a bunch of tea lights and put them around the bath tub, brought down the CD player and my favorite praise & worship CD, and kept the kids occupied....until Susi came in and discovered me in a warm tub with candles and wanted in on the "fun"!

I headed upstairs by 6:30 or so, and he continued his labor of love. Cleaned the downstairs, emptied the dishwasher, stacked it again, and got it going...made sure the toys and clothes were all picked up and put away...and so many other things! Is it any wonder I love this man?

I had a turkey thawing in the fridge, so tonight is "pay back" night....the turkey is now slowly roasting in the oven; a new bread recipe is being tested and raising as I type (French peasant with herbs); celery and onions are chopped up for homemade stuffing, and I'll be making green bean casserole and homemade mashed potatoes, too. A yummy apple pie I picked up at a bake sale Saturday will be dessert!

Just got back from the dentist who readjusted the fillings for a proper "bite" -- I'm having some pain in the tooth that had a huge crack...but he said it's 50/50 if the nerve will heal or not, and it'll take a month or so IF it does heal....but if the pain gets worse, call and they'll take it out within 24 hours. Oh yay.

But on the bright side, so many things are being crossed off (and more added) to my "must do" list! The major project for this week is baking cookies for the Christmas program kids. And hopefully putting together our Christmas letter which may or may not get out before Christmas (and if it does, yippee! if not...oh well! I am so not worried at all about it!). And putting together a list of clearance/sale Watkins items. If you'd like a copy of my sale/clearance items (some up to 50% off), let me know!

One day in the near future, I'm going to link a blog that my cousin Martha found (or you can follow the link to the right to her blog and find it yourself!). It is AWESOME! Great craft and "keep busy" ideas for kids. This lady has kids just a bit older than mine, so her ideas work great. She also has some incredible recipes listed -- I made her pop-up pancakes this morning (German pancakes in muffin tins) and they were a HUGE hit with everyone. The new bread recipe is also from her site. I've only explored half of it so far, but it is a great site, thanks Mar!

And for now...I'm outta here! Once I discover how to download photos from my phone, I'll post some of the snow topped trees in our area....so pretty!