Disneyland at Christmas!!

Our friend, Jack Skellington, in the Haunted Mansion!



Jack Sparrow relaxing with a drink!!



Sally, Jack, Chris, and Jennifer (a friend that went with us).


The Main Street Christmas Tree.


Sleeping Beauty's Castle really sparkles at night!!

God's Blessings!

These are my friends, Roseann & Kathy.



This is ME after a good SOAK!! LOL!!

We went to a friend's house for a Christmas party yesterday. Janie has a beautiful condo right on the beach.... outside her living room window all you see is ocean, it was beautiful!! She also has another home in the desert... that's the best of both world's!! She had several homes before she and her husband retired, but they've sold most of them now, and live very comfortably.

I talked a bit with Janie, and she gave me some very valuable advice. Advice that I'm totally taking to heart.

She said that there's NO WAY in the world that she and her husband should have such a great life except for the grace of GOD!! She said that during their entire married life (and they married young), they've ALWAYS, ALWAYS TITHED!!

That REALLY got me thinking, you know, I tithe, but I don't tithe my FULL 10%. I know that I'm supposed to, but 10% of my GROSS salary (which is what He requires) is ALOT of money, so I compromise... I'm sure GOD understands... running a household on one salary is hard enough without giving back 10%... I could USE that 10%... I have LOTS of bills to pay... I'm sure God will excuse me from paying my FULL tithe.... right!!???

WRONG!!! He GAVE me my job, and everything else I have, I know that... so why would I be exempt from His law, and essentially, His PLAN. This money is ALL HIS to begin with... it really is!! So why not give Him just the small part that He requires back!?

My New Year's Resolution is to give Him back His FULL 10% of the money He gives me.

I may never see the blessings that Janie has, but I'll be right with God, He'll know that my heart is where it belongs in HIM!!! And it will allow Him to do the things He is trying to do THROUGH ME!!

Thanks, Janie!!

Happy Birthday, Roseann!!

OK, these pics were taken with my phone, so they aren't the best pics... but I thought I'd post them anyway!!


My friend, Donna, and I at one of many birthday dinners for Roseann!! LOL!!!



Denise & Roseann


Of course, we all had a great time!! Great food, and great company.... what more could you ask for, right?!?!

Our Community Christmas Parade

I'm so proud of our little community. Tonight was our annual Christmas parade, and it rocked!!

We are a community that actually CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS!!!! There were THREE different nativity scenes in the parade from 3 different churches; there were several floats singing different Christmas songs celebrating the birth of Jesus... and there was one float from another church where my friend, Lilly (along with others from her worship team), sang "Mighty to Save".... (you guys were the best, Lilly)!! All the banners on the floats and cars said "Merry Christmas", not 'Happy Holidays'! PEOPLE shouted "Merry Christmas" to each other!!

It's just so wonderful to live in a place where people aren't afraid to stand up for what they believe!! I love my Lord, and I'm so blessed to live in a place where I'm free to share my passion.

Sometimes, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be FREE to do that, but I'll always feel the same about Him!! That will NEVER change!!

Joann~

It's Christmas Time!!!

Well, I haven't posted an entry in a very long time... and now that I've changed my playlist, the only way to get anyone to listen is to post something, right?!? LOL!!

I just added a few of my very favorite Christmas songs... hope you enjoy them!! Can you tell which one is my absolute fave?? OK, so I have to make a choice... oh wait, no, I don't... It's MY playlist!!! LOL!!!

The last post I did was in early October, when my nephew was leaving to Australia. Well, an update is that he's made alot of new friends there, and is having a good time. He's DRIVING there now... which is a feat, because they drive on the WRONG side of the road, there... (OK, maybe it's US who drive on the wrong side of the road, but it's become the CORRECT side for us... LOL!!) He has a job, and seems to be doing ok. Just remember to keep him in your prayers, kind of sad to be away from family over the holidays.

I'm writing out my Christmas cards already.... so if anyone would like one, just e-mail me your address and I'll send you one.

Some pics of our Thanksgiving......





I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.... Mine was wonderful!! We went to my cousin's where there were about 18 people, so we potlucked it, and there was ALOT of delicious food!! My mom took a ham and I made an apple pie (my first ever), and two pumpkin pies with the little crust maple leaves and pumpkins on them!! I didn't get a pic of those!





Well, I hope you are all doing well, if I missed anything important in your life, please e-mail me... because I'm here now. Meanwhile, I'll try to get to all the blogs this week, because I've really missed you guys!!

Take Care,
Joann

The Land Down Under

What's Down Under got that we don't have here???

My nephew is MOVING to Australia this week. He's leaving Thursday to LIVE there. Said he'll check it out for a year, see how things go, then decide whether or not he'll stay there.

He is a real adventurer!!! When he was in the navy, he lived in a few different places, including Iraq and Hawaii, and he saw many different places. But he fell in love with Australia, and made some good friends there.... so they talked him into moving there and staying with them until he gets settled. I think he's going for the GIRLS, myself... but hey, wherever he'll find happiness, right!!?

He asked my advice, rather than his mom's or his grandmother's, because he knew they'd give him selfish advice to stay here.... LOL!!! I was proud to tell him that he should GO, he's not married, he has no kids, and he just got home from Iraq, so he doesn't have a job here yet to tie him down. He's young and should experience as much of the world as possible, in my opinion.

I did and I love the experiences I've had, I didn't LIVE in any other country, but hey, I tried another state for a summer... LOL!! I think that if I were as bold as my nephew, I'd be living in England right now, I LOVED England!! But I'm not bold that way, I was chicken to move away from home, away from mommy and daddy (at the time!).

I'm really glad that my nephew is taking chances to find his happiness, and of course, I'm VERY PROUD of him!!!

When I told him how much I'll miss him... he said "Hey, just think of it as another vacation destination!!" = )

Joann

2009 L.A. County Fair

Yesterday was the last day of the Los Angeles County Fair. We loved going when the weather was cool enough to actually enjoy it!!

I did not go crazy on the fair food.... instead I bought fun stuff. Got a couple of very pretty rings, some flavored dipping oil, and some Christmas gifts.

Chris saw the concert (Shinedown, Puddle of Mudd, and Saliva... crazy names, huh!?? LOL!!). He and his (girl)friend enjoyed the concert, and we closed down the park.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend, too!!

Joann