You will get tired before this post is done. I collect Santa Clause figures and am posting many of them. This is not my entire collection though, just the main ones in the upstairs. I have a basement full too. It's a little excessive, I know, but I don't know anyone who loves Christmas as much as I do, so I just go with my feelings. Some day when I am gone the kids will have to have an auction on E-Bay. I have other wonderful decorations that I will post on my next blog entry, but this will do for today. You may want to enlarge some of them to see detail better.

This is a Santa that is a reproduction of a carved Santa. Some day I will get artist Ken Acton to carve me a real one. But still, I LOVE him!!

This is a little Santa in a sleigh that my sister and her husband picked out for me. It made me feel so special because I know they were thinking of me when they got it. I LOVE it!!

These are all the little collectible Santa figurines that I have either collected or painted. I LOVE them!!

What house is complete without a Santa rug? Oh, you don't have one?

When I was a little girl, my Grandma had a set of nesting figures. I can't remember if it was Santa or nesting dolls but when I saw these in the drug store I had to have them. It seems to be one of Emerson's favorite things to play with too.

Cute little tole painted Santa scene that I painted. It was fun painting the fire and a sock for each of my kids.

OK, this is almost my favorite Santa because I painted him. I got a canvas , adhered fabric to it and then panted on the fabric. The green areas are where the fabric shows through, and the rest is painted. It was a fun project and I keep thinking I will do it again but haven't yet. Amy tap-tapped it when I die.

Garage sale find #1. I took him home and painted him because I can never leave things alone. His suit looks like it's covered with soot and I LOVE him!!

My garage sale find...very ugly at first but I took it home and repainted it and now I LOVE him!!

It's hard to tell from the picture, but this is a relief wall plaque, quite big and hangs above my doorway. I have never seen another one before or since I got it and to tell you the truth. I really LOVE IT!!

There is nothing sentimental about this Santa except I think he is really cute. I got him this year and he had a broken antler so I got it for $4.00. I took the antler home and glued it on. It's not perfect but I really like him.

This is a keepsake that was given to us by Wayne's Mom many, many years ago. He is made out of a small brandy snifter and has a Styrofoam ball for a head and felt everything else. We put hard tack candy in his tummy and have each year since the kids were little. She was not a real crafty person and the fact that she made it for us makes it even more special. I LOVE it!

This is a pewter Santa . He is dimensional and wonderful and my daughter Colett gave it to me.

I really LOVE it!!

This is a Santa with a burlap hat and a rope beard. I couldn't resist that cute face. He was painted so badly, that I redid almost everything about him and now I LOVE him!

This is a Santa from the Christmas Store. He has a little hammer, tools and is making a train engine. I love his striped socks and his kitty. I LOVE him!!

How cute is this Santa layout? There is an old fashioned photographer with camera, Mrs. Santa, a tree with presents and 4 children. I feel like a little girl playing doll house again when I set it out. I LOVE IT! Oops. the roly, poly Santa in the front shouldn't be there. Some tiny grandson had something to do with that but I didn't catch it when I took the picture.

Here is one of my Costco Santa's. As you can see, he is as tall as the arm of the sofa. He is carrying toys and has a knitted sock and gloves. He is beautiful and I LOVE him!

Oh that Costco. Over the years you cannot believe the beautiful Christmas things

that they carried. I was their #1 customer. The prices were so reasonable and other stores that carried similar things were priced at least 500% higher. This Santa is one of my favorites He is dressed so beautifully, and he came with a real working Grandfather clock. I LOVE him!!!!!!

This is a Santa I painted many years ago. He is wood and 3 dimensional. I Love him!

These are Santa candles, but who could ever burn them? They are way too cute. The boxes I made and they say gum drops, candy canes and sugar plums. Amy made a set too but hers were a little different color. I LOVE them!

These are some Santa's that I have just collected from various stores over the years. They are antique reproductions of European Santa's. I LOVE them!

These are ceramic Santa's that my mother made for me....one each year for 5 years and oh how "I LOVE them". I have seen several other people's work who used the same mold but they weren't anywhere near as nice as mine. Thanks Mom!!



















This is a Santa in a sleigh that was one of the larger collectibles at Costco. He measures about 27" tall and 30" long. I LOVE him.

These are my collectible Santa's. Some are from the Christmas stores and were quite expensive and some were from Costco and were not. Costco doesn't carry them anything like them anymore but they are wonderfully detailed and I LOVE them!

This is a paper mache' face that I painted, glued raffia on for his beard and then made him a velvet hat with a big bell on the tip.

These are reproduction antiques that I got in the Raffia store in Montana. And again, I LOVE them!

This is an almost life size Santa. Well I guess he is life size because Santa is an elf. The grandkids can sit on his lap and ask for their Christmas desires. Emerson always goes and gives him loves.

I really, really, really LOVE him!!

The large Santa was made by an artist in Cheyenne, Wy and was given to us by Jill and Lew Stubbs. The little ones are ceramic and wood which I painted. Gosh I LOVE it!!

This was a Santa I found at a craft store but he had no color and was very ugly......I repainted it and now I really like him.
This Santa is carved to look like a giant pinecone on the bottom and with his face on the top.

Well you get to see a little of my obcession.

The commercial aspect of Santa is not what appeals to me at all.

To me, Santa is symbolic of Christ. He gives to everyone, he is not a respector of persons, he loves all, sacrifices for those that he loves and he is forever unchanging. He wants us to be happy and to fill our homes with love, peace and goodwill. I will look at my Santa collection every day but in my heart I know that the real spirit of the season is because of the birth of our Savior and I am so blessed to know that I am loved by him.

Thanksgiving 2008

We spent Thanksgiving Day in Wallsberg, UT at the home of Ralph and Jackie Yarro. Ralph is the brother of my son-in-law Matt. Matt is married to my daughter Colett so we are sort of related. Anyway they include us quite often at holidays and summer outings and we are blessed to be able to do things with them. This day, Thanksgiving was held in their summer home...a beautiful log home that you can get lost in and which they graciously share with others. Ralph is the bishop of a BYU student ward and he had the students that didn't have any place to go for Thanksgiving at this event too.

Joan just finishing eating

Playing volleyball in the court in the basement

Matt and Nick

Jackie, Amy and Colett after the dinner

Colett, Isabelle and the Grandpa that is ALWAYS

surrounded by girls.

Son-in-law Wes. Look at the size of those logs!. The wall behind Wes, not his legs.

Joan and Amelia age 4. She gets her picture taken so often that she has the head tilt pose and

and a plastered on grin. I think it's pretty cute. She usually has her hand on her hip too but we must have caught her off guard.

Emerson, age 15 months and Isabelle almost 8. She is very attentive to Emerson and it gives Amy a little break. We ate all the regular Thanksgiving items and then went home and had leftovers. I always bake a turkey and make stuffing so we can eat for a couple more days. Wayne likes cornbread stuffing and I always like it the way my Mom made it so we compromised and I make a small pan of cornbread and put it in with my regular recipe. Wayne said this year it was perfect. That is a nice way to top off the holiday. Now make way for the lights, colors and sounds of Christmas.

Country Music

Wayne and I were listening to the radio on a recent trip. We both like country music but were laughing at some of the titles and lyrics of some of the songs. The one that stood out that day was: The only hell my Mama ever raised was me! Clever!!

Here are some real Country Music song titles: Clever, stupid...or both, you decide.

All I Want From You (Is Away)

All the Guys that Turn Me On Turn Me Down

Are You Drinkin With Me Jesus?

At the Gas Station of Love, I Got the Self Service Pump

Billy Broke My Heart at Walgreens and I Cried All the Way to Sears

Don't Know Whether To Kill Myself Or Go Bowling

Drop Kick Me Jesus (Through The Goal Posts Of Life.)

Get Your Tongue Outta My Mouth 'Cause I'm Kissing You Goodbye

Her Only Bad Habit Is Me

Her Teeth Was Stained, But Her Heart Was Pure

How Can You Believe Me When I Say I Love You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life?

How Come Your Dog Don't Bite Nobody But Me?

I Been Roped And Thrown By Jesus In The Holy Ghost Corral

I Bought the Shoes that Just Walked Out on Me

I Can't Pass the Bar, and There's One on my Way Home

I Don't Know Whether To Kill Myself Or Go Bowling

I Flushed You From The Toilets Of My Heart.

I Gave Her My Heart And A Diamond And She Clubbed Me With A Spade

I Gave Her the Ring, and She Gave Me the Finger

I Got In At 2 With A 10 And Woke Up At 10 With A 2

I Sent Her Artificial Flowers For Her Artificial Love

I Still Miss You, Baby, But My Aim's Gettin' Better

I Want a Beer as Cold as My Ex-Wife's Heart

Went Back to My Fourth Wife for the Third Time and Gave Her a Second Chance to Make a First Class Fool Out of Me

I Would Have Wrote You A Letter, But I Couldn't Spell Yuck!

I Would Kiss You Through the Screendoor but It'd Strain Our Love

I'd Rather Hear A Fat Girl Fart Than A Pretty Boy Sing

If I Had a Nose Full of Nickels, I'd Sneeze Them All Atchoo!

If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me?

I'm The Only Hell Mama Ever Raised.

I've Got Red Eyes From Your White Lies And I'm Blue All The Time.

Mama Get The Hammer (There's A Fly On Papa's Head).

My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink, And I Don't Love Jesus.

My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend, And I Sure Do Miss Him

She Got The Gold Mine And I Got The Shaft.

She Got The Ring And I Got The Finger.

Thank God And Greyhound She's Gone

When You Wrapped My Lunch in a Road Map, I Knew You Meant Good-Bye

Wouldn't Take Her To A Dog Fight, Cause I'm Afraid She'd Win

You Can't Have Your Kate And Edith Too.

You Were Only A Splinter As I Slid Down The Bannister Of Life

You're The Reason Our Kids Are So Ugly.

Words of Thanksgiving

QUOTE: "May we never let the things we can't have, or don't have, or shouldn't have, spoil our enjoyment of the things we do have and can have. As we value our happiness let us not forget it, for one of the greatest lessons in life is learning to be happy without the things we cannot or should not have."

Richard L. Evans

Amen to that, and remember the words to this song:


When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?Count your many blessings; ev’ry doubt will fly, And you will be singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold. Count your many blessings; money cannot buy, Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.

So amid the conflict, whether great or small, Do not be discouraged; God is over all. Count your many blessings; angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Text: Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1856–1922

Wayne and I had been thinking of one day putting a niche in the wall opposite our bed but we had one of those giant TV's that would ONLY fit on the dresser in the corner. We were forced to make a decision however, because the big TV just quit working all of a sudden. No warning...just a click, click, click sound with no picture. We weren't really ready for it to die because we wanted to do research on the HDTV's first, but we did know we wanted a flat panel one to bring us into the 2000's. Well, fate tempted us into going ahead with our idea. This meant rewiring inside the wall, pulling in the TV cable, and building the niche. I must tell you that Wayne and I really do work well as a team and we have done lots of projects together and done them with few quarrels (with the exception of wallpaper hanging and that is another story entirely, and lets just say I did it all by myself after that.) Wayne is the designer, I pick the wood, we both paint, sand and spackle, he does the wiring, I am the critic who says it can be painted again and sanded again to make it look better. He is the one who roles his eyes, bites his lip and then goes ahead and does it. See that's real teamwork!

Here is the first step....cutting a hole in the wall. I always have to hold my breath a little while making sure it's exactly centered and at the correct height.

Here you see the electrical outlet and cable.

Wayne is using the nail punch and is ready to spackle.

It's painted, wired, and the cable is installed and ready for the installation.

And here is the final result. I don't have to turn on my side to watch TV any longer. I know it's not a big thing. It won't help hunger, it won't stop crime, it won't cure the common cold, but I am happy. It's the little things in life that make me just puurrr like a kitten. Now, on to sending food to the food bank, locking my doors and taking some vitamin C.