Christmas Activities

I love everything about the Christmas season.  We have been involved in a number of activities, but I just haven't had time to get to the computer to share them.

1.  The first weekend in December we were at the church helping with the 29th annual Living Christmas Tree.  As most of you know, I am quite the shutterbug, but unfortunately, this year, no picture.

2.  Collin and I attended the annual Riceland Banquet held out the Fowler Center.  I always look forward to this event.  We get to dress up a bit, enjoy a fantastic meal, and visit with friends.   We won door prizes this year.  Collin got a 4-place set of white Corelle while I won a 7X9 casserole with a carry tote.  Both were very nice.  I took my phone with the express intent of having someone snap our photo, but I forgot--no picture.

3.  Tuesday, I decorated and hosted a luncheon for my staff at school.  I thought everything looked nice and went well.  I took my camera to make a few pictures.  I was so busying being the hostess, I forgot until everyone was gone and I was cleaning up.  No picture.

4.  Thursday was our first day of vacation.  I spent the better part of the day in town shopping.  I had a lot to accomplish.  I was delighted that the Putman's senior had invited us to dinner to celebrate with the family.  We had a great visit.

5.  Yesterday, I spent the most of the day wrapping the presents I bought on Thursday.  That was mixed with laundry, making out a grocery list, running to WalMart to buy the groceries, and preparing dinner.  Rhyne, Micah, and Ben came to eat with us last night.

6.  Today, I have spent most of  my time in the kitchen even though I have had a few other jobs.  I've roasted pecans for Bryan, made party mix for Collin, and made vegetable soup for supper.

I think I'm just about to wrap it up and call it a day.  I think relaxing in front of the tree and taking in a Christmas movie may be calling my name.  Only three days left until Christmas.

Marcia

Celebration Time

Christmas is in the air.  After a great deal of time and effort, some things have come to a close for which we celebrate and some things we still look toward and will continue to celebrate.  It is the most wonderful time of the year.

Last week marked the end of a major goal for both Bryan and me.  He took his last college final this past Monday and I clicked the submit button for the last time on Tuesday morning.  Last night we went out to celebrate and had dinner at Colton's.  We didn't participate in official ceremonies, but our diplomas awaits pickup.  Bryan went duck hunting and declared it was much more enjoyable than listening to a speech.  I did laundry, wrapped some packages,  and turned up the Christmas music on the stereo.  I, too, thought it was much more enjoyable than listening to a speech.  We were both happy campers.

Bryan has completed a BS in Agronomy (Plant and Soil Science).  His immediate plan is to rest and relax a little, enjoy Christmas, and stay in the duck blind for a time.  He laughed the other night and said it was his off-season.  We'll see what January brings.  I can't say I blame him--he deserves a little break.

When I accepted the position as administrator at RCS, I still needed some hours in Educational Leadership.  After 20 months, I've earned a second master's degree.  Please, if something else arises that I need more college classes, someone tell me I need my head examined. 

Speaking of RCS, we finish school and begin Christmas break as of Wednesday.  A lot of excitement is in the air.  Classrooms and hallways are decorated for Christmas and the kiddos as well as teachers can hardly wait for a break.  I'm hosting a luncheon on Tuesday as my Christmas gift to the staff.

I'm excited to start my own celebration.  I need to shop and wrap presents.  I haven't even thought about our traditional goodies and snacks from the kitchen, and my NOLA children are coming home this week.  There will definately be a post with pictures of our sweet little Ben.   We're enjoying dinner meals with our families and I always serve Christmas Eve brunch--something else that I need to plan and have yet to find the time.  As you can see, we have much to celebrate. 

Marcia

It's Been a Long, Long Time

My last blog was in March announcing Ben's arrival.  Hard to believe that he is 8 months old and so much time has passed. 

Life has been so hectic since that time, actually since May of 2011.  Some of you may remember I started a new job and started working on a second Masters degree from ASU.  I'm actually on target to graduate in December.  When that happens, you'll know.  At any rate, I hope to get back to blogging on a regular basis.

While much time has passed and I have a lot I could tell, I'm just going to pick up with where we are.  Thanksgiving was wonderful.  It was good to be with family and friends, and I simply needed a change of pace and some rest.

Tuesday afternoon, I went to two basketball games at RCS and came home at six.  Collin and Bryan got out the Christmas tree and decorations for me.  They helped get the tree up and the lights on.  I finished the rest and headed to bed at 11 o'clock.  I was excited.  The transition was on from fall to Christmas. 

Micah and Ben came home early the week before to begin the celebration.  It was good for our family to enjoy Ben a little before the actual holiday.  Papaw and Ben have struck up quite a friendship.

Wednesday, I continued decorating the house and helped Bryan outside for while raking and burning leaves.  Wednesday night, we headed to Grandmother's and Papaw's house to have our family Thanksgiving meal.  All the family enjoyed a great time.

Thursday, I decorated the house a bit more and in the afternoon we all headed to Brookland to celebrate again with Papaw Bob and Mamaw Joyce.

Friday morning, I finished the decorations.  Our NOLA kiddos were leaving for home so Collin and I accepted an invitation to head to the hills with Dennis and Regina for some R and R.  Collin would get to hunt and we would spend some time riding 4-wheelers and enjoying the outside. 

We came home this afternoon and now it's time to head back to work tomorrow.  It will be busy.  There is a lot to do between now and Christmas.  Tis the season to be jolly.

Marcia

Greetings From New Orleans--Meet Ben

Life has been hectic the last six or seven weeks. We went to NO on the last post to help our kiddos get ready for Ben's arrival. When we got back home, my 5-week class began and I worked by day and lived in front of the computer by night. If Collin didn't cook it or wash it, we didn't eat it or wear it. My sweetie is wonderful. I was trying to get ahead and finish my class work just in case Ben decided to come early. Guess what? He did. Last Saturday, March 17, at 11:32 a.m. weighing in at 7 lbs. 3 ozs. and 19 1/2 inches long. Meet our new little addition.

Bennett Roberts Putman

Collin and I kicked it into high gear last Saturday when we got the call at 8:00 a.m. We packed and left home by 9:15. It was fast. We figured if we didn't pack it, there was a Wal-Mart in NO. Collin left yesterday to go back home and I'm here another week helping out. Collin and Bryan will come back next weekend to see Ben and get me.

He is a precious boy. He has stolen our hearts. Our lives were changed forever 28 years ago and 23 years ago. And now, our lives are touched forever, once again.

Grammie

Unexpected But Fun Trip to New Orleans

Collin and I took the day off Friday and headed to New Orleans. Micah and I visited a while Monday night to discover that they had several projects that needed to be completed to get Ben's nursery ready for his arrival. As life tends to hand all of us the unexpected at times, it has descended upon Rhyne and Micah. We were excited to help and glad we could head out for the weekend.

Welcome to Ben's nursery. A lot of preparations are already in place. Ben's crib and bedding arrived a few weeks ago and Micah and Rhyne got his bed together. You'll also notice in the corner that he has wheels ready to for whatever comes his way.He also has a changing table ready to go. Micah has some linens registered for this piece and a number of diapers are waiting for use.

Saturday morning, we were up and out early. We went to Micah's school to bring home some shelves that were needed to house DVDs in another area of the house which had been cleaned out of Ben's room. We brought those home, then headed to Lowe's where Rhyne and Micah bought a freezer. We brought it home and set it up in their garage. We headed back to another part of town where they purchased this chest at Babies "r" Us and we brought it home. Papa went to work and got it assembled.

They had also ordered this glider and ottoman for the nursery and Papa put it together.

Micah had bought some shelves, so we were able to get these on the wall. She made the piece resting on the shelf. It's too cute. This nursery is going to be precious. By the time all the toys and other accessories are it place, it will be very warm and inviting--just perfect for a baby.

In the meantime, Collin hung another print for Micah in her dining room and helped Rhyne put up an outside plaque. We also managed to help by mowing the grass and pulling a few weeds. Hard to believe their weather is such that it is time to mow. Their weather was great. We also got in several great meals.

Well as you can see, we squeezed in as much into every second as possible and we had a wonderful time. We are happy to do whatever we can to help usher little Ben into the world. It was Sunday morning all to quick and time to say goodbye. Rhyne and Micah headed off to church and we headed north to Jonesboro. Next trip--we expect to be meeting our little Ben.

Marcia

Another Fantastic Weekend

Weekends are even better than ever when you have three days instead of two--a bonus. At least this one has been for me. I was off today for a school vacation day--MLK Day. How pleasant. Now I've taught for many years and school has been closed this day many times, but only the kids got off. Teachers always had to go in for in-service. Today was a first. I got to stay home and catch up on some things and rest.

First of all, I did not sleep Saturday night so Sunday morning it was really hard to get up. I yawned and fought to stay awake during the morning sermon. And yesterday afternoon was very exciting (which I'll get to in a minute) so I did not get a nap. Last night, I crashed and sleep all night until about 7:30 this morning. It was wonderful. I enjoyed late coffee and then hit the ground running. I've got a lot done today, but with planning, I didn't wear myself out. Since I have a timer on my phone, I devised a plan. I'd work on the computer for an hour doing some of my ASU internship assignments and when the timer went, I'd take a 30 minute break and do something household related. I almost made a game of it to see how much I could accomplish. It was amazing. I completed 4 ASU projects, picked up our bedroom, straightened the kitchen, emptied the dishwasher and started reloading, put a roast with potatoes and carrots in the oven for dinner, dusted the furniture and run over the floors. Pretty productive, I'd say. And. . . I didn't give myself a headache working on the computer all day. I think I'll try this method again another day.

Yesterday was a great day. The ladies from our church hosted a baby shower for little Ben. Micah and Rhyne drove in Saturday. Sunday morning, Micah slipped in and joined me for the morning worship. We all went to Grandmother's for lunch (and I might add she outdid herself--it was delicious), and then we went to the shower. Micah got so many precious clothes, quilts, and miscellaneous items. The hostesses presented her with a Pac-and-Play, and there was a number of gift cards.

You may remember that last week I reported on a secret weekend project. Well, here it is. I'm rather sentimental and I think Micah is a little bit as well. I wanted to give her something that had been hers to enjoy with Ben. I retrieved the shawl that was a gift to me that I wrapped her in to bring home from the hospital. It had several spots and needed to be laundered. I set out last weekend to get it "Ben" ready. It is crocheted with a fine silk thread and had to be hand washed, air dried. This is the first go-round.It looked pretty good, but I found a few more little problem spots that I either didn't get out or missed the first time. After the second washing, I felt it was ready to go.

I also wanted Micah to have her baby ring that she wore home from the hospital. Perhaps Ben can wear it too if his momma so chooses. And lastly, a little something new for our baby boy.

Uncle Bryan also had something special for his little nephew. His momma was so thrilled.

And Grandmother enjoyed the day with us as well.

Here are just a few baby shower pictures. There are lots more and perhaps I'll share some more of them a little later.

Marcia

Weekend Projects

Duty called on Monday, January 2, and I headed back to school and hit the ground running. Although hard to believe, we started last week thinking forward and making plans for enrollment, registration, and all sorts of things actually preparing for the next school year. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I didn't leave school until 5 o'clock. I felt that I got more work done in those two after school hours with the doors locked and the lights out, all by myself than the regular 8 hour day. Thursday I left early because I had an appointment with a new eye doctor. That's might be a story for another day. Friday, I was at work by 7:30 a.m. and didn't get home until 8:30 p.m. I was asleep by 9:00. Ballgames started at 4 o'clock (4 of them) and I didn't even come home. I was a tired puppy. I still like my job.

That being said, I was ready to enjoy the weekend. I didn't have to go anywhere Saturday and I enjoyed taking it easy, not having to get dressed, and just doing what I felt like doing. I decided I had a few projects that I wanted to tackle.

First of all, Collin got a wall plaque for Christmas. It's a kitchen piece and we knew where we wanted to put it; I just hadn't had the time to make it happen. I had leaned it up against the wall on the bar and it was time to get it in place and make some kind of attractive arrangement to go with it.

The wrought iron piece was in place and I wanted to leave it and add this novelty. I love everything with some kind of greenery so I brought back this silk in the bottle. Micah gave me this "Scentsy" candle for Christmas and I love it. It isn't really a candle, but it melts wax for a great aroma. The yellow color is not only a perfect match for my kitchen as an accessory, but it pulls out the yellow in the plaque. She also bought this plate for me some years ago, and I moved it from another spot with its matching colors to complete the setting. Pretty good, huh? I'm very pleased. I love to move things around and use them in a new spot. It makes you feel like you have a totally new everything when you may just have one or two items. We are really enjoying this. If you can't read the plaque, it says, "Many people have eat in this kitchen and gone on to lead NORMAL lives." Second on my to-do list was to spray paint this mirror and hang it over the dining table. I love decorating with mirrors. They totally open up a small space and make it appear much larger than it really is. Again a recycle. This mirror came off Micah's dresser. Perhaps you remember from earlier in the summer I spray painted the first piece, moved it to the living room, and now use it to store my table linens, place mats, and napkins.

The mirror is the matching piece now hanging in the informal dining area.

I started by covering the mirror with newspaper, sprayed it in the shop, and wah-lah. . .

my finished work of art. I'm really enjoying this and am very pleased.

I also worked on another very special project, but I'll keep it a secret for now.

Collin got in on the action as well. He had a number of things he wanted to do, but here he is setting the atomic clock with temperature measurements that he got for Christmas. He hadn't had time to get it set, but now we know the time and temp, both inside and out.

It was fairly quiet with just the two of us at home. Bryan was gone with the ASU band to Mobile for the GoDaddy.com Bowl Game. With church on Sunday, our two days went by fast and it was back to work on Monday. This coming weekend also holds lots of excitement for the family. We'll post with more photos as soon as we can.

The Recycle Queen,

Marcia