Happy New Year, 2010!

The Time of New Beginnings has arrived at The Parson's House!

Out with the Old, In with the New!

And my, my.  It takes a lot of Flinging and Flailing, Shining and Shaping, Cleaning and Clanging for New Beginnings to happen properly.  It's not enough to just put away the Christmas Decorations.  Oh no.  Here at The Parson's House, we always make it a practice of taking things just One Step Further.

Therefore, in the best interest of going Above and Beyond, we are not just putting away the red and green and bringing back the drab.  Absolutely not.  We aren't just vacuuming the glitter and sweeping up the berries.  We aren't just rolling up the Twinkly Lights and packing away the Plastic Mistletoe.  No indeed.

We are DISMANTLING the Parson's Son's bedroom and MOVING it across the hall after we have DRAGGED the tons of JUNK from the empty bedroom across the HALL and dispersed it to various and sundry Points of Charity and at the same time we are PULLING mountains of materialism from under FURNITURE and WASHING off dirt from said FURNITURE and THROWING AWAY piles of petrified toys, books, clothes, and unidentifiable objects which APPEAR in every imaginable CROOK and CORNER and PAINFULLY HAULING all of the MASSIVE AMOUNTS of STUFF from one point in this house that has suddenly grown quite large to another.

Whatsoever thy hand finds to do, do with all thy might.  Even if it kills you.

Bunch n Breeze

They just have a way of bringing it all together....

Christmas Apologies

I feel terribly guilty that I have neglected recording the High, Historical Moments here at The Parson's House in the past couple of weeks.  There have been Many!  Very Many!  But it has all been moving so fast and there has been no time to get it in written form.  I'm going to go back and try to remember all that I can of the High, Historical Moments from the last time I blogged.  It will probably be Sporadic, but at least it will calm my Rattled Spirit to go back and Reflect on what has happened to all my Valuable Time.

But first, I have to get the first of many dozens of cookies in the Oven....

SNOW!

Well, Heavens to Betsy!  It came a snowfall here today the likes of which has not been seen EVER on Christmas Banquet Weekend in this town.  The Homeplace looked like a Christmas Card.

Everybody went Stark Raving Mad!

Happy was running to the Horse's Bridle.

There was much Laughter and Screaming and Jumping Wildly With Abandon.

What in the world is it about Snow that makes everybody act like a Crazy Nut?  People were walking Up and Down the Street shouting Merry Greetings to Complete Strangers.  Laughter was Ringing in Darkest Corners.  Fires were Raging in Fireplaces.  Food was being Consumed like there was no Tomorrow!

If it wasn't Christmas before, it sure is Now!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve Eve

Well, it's 10:11 pm and theparsonshouse is alive and kicking oh yes indeed it is.

The Gentle Golden Retriever is outside barking at a tree and scratching on the door every 5 minutes to be let in the house to join the close bonding she senses inside.

The Schnauzer With Attitude is barking at another tree and hanging on to the tail of the Gentle Golden Retriever.  When the Gentle Golden gets enough, she just sits down.  That's what I'm going to start doing.  Just sitting down when I've had enough.

The Parson's Son is sitting on the couch strumming on his guitar and The Parson's Daughter is across the room making up words to match the music as she goes along.  So far, the sound resembles noise and carries with it quite a bit of angst on the part of the Good Wife.

The Parson Himself is Home.  In the Flesh.  That is Number One on our "We're Thankful For" List.

The Good Wife is trying to have a serious moment of Thanksgiving in and amongst her brood and so poses the question to Her Little Flock:  What is my Sweet Family thankful for tonight?

The Parson's Daughter:  God's Love (She said she's on a kick about that lately), Text Messaging, The Philippines, Rascal Flatts, The Jokes of The Parson's Son, and Smarties.

The Parson's Son:  the Fender Guitar Company, God, (he changed it to God first, then the Fender Guitar Company), his Fender Strat, his bed, his parents ( !! well, my my !!), his sister, his pets, his friends, and his cell phone.

The Parson:  a funny family, 24/7 Fitness Center, every good sermon thought, good friends, email, iphone, Saints 10-0, church being paid for, God, the Good Wife, the Parson's Family, and a good Church also made the List.

The Good Wife:  the Gentle Golden and the Schnauzer with Attitude, the Kids and the Man, the fire, my Kindle, and the new Kitchen Countertops.  Also, the Mac, the Reverend Mother Mom, the Church and the Homeplace.  The Brother and Wife, the fact that tomorrow's meal is already cooked and restored Health.

We all agreed that that is only the tip of a Very Long List and that None of the Things on the List are in the Correct Order.

The Good Wife is NOT thankful for: email, cell phones (for talk usage) or anything to do with numbers and/or mathematics.  She IS thankful for Texting and wishes everyone would communicate that way.  She is NOT thankful for telephones at all, nor is she thankful for Appointment Calendars.  However, she IS thankful for Microwaves and Washing Machines as well as Digital Cameras and iPhoto.  Her Water Filtration Machine also made the list.

More than anything, she is Thankful for This Life God Gave Her as well as the One to Come.  This Life is chaotic, unpredictable, nerve-wracking, Full of Trouble, and Totally Wonderful.  Because the Purpose of This Life lies in the One to Come.  And that fact brings Joy Unspeakable to the Journey.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve Eve from theparsonshouse!

Monday Morning Musings

It's Monday Morning of Thanksgiving Week.

The Parson is, of course, missing from the Homeplace.  He has probably written 3 sermons and fed 234 homeless people since daylight and will appear for Mid-Morning Snack exclaiming with wonder how good it feels to not have anything to do on his day off.

The Parson's Daughter is preparing for school while lamenting about the Unfairness of Colleges not observing the Proper Thanksgiving Holiday by giving the Whole Week off to students.  The Parson's Son is still piled in bed which only adds to the Parson's Daughter's Chagrin.

Another crazy busy week stretches before the Good Wife as far as the Eye can see.  There is some Trepedition as to whether everything on The List will actually be checked off in time.  But there is no Stress involved, only Focused Plowing Ahead.

But First Things First.

The Monday Morning Madness cannot begin until the Thankful List is started and Praised About.  The Thankful List will be added to all week, but only One thing will be posted this Monday Morning.  It is huge and needs to Stand Alone due to the massive amount of Thanks which goes up from The Parson's House quite often concerning it.

Thankful List 

1.  The Good Wife has not had one Migraine since March!

What's on your List?

Bees and Buzzing

The Homeplace has been overtaken by Buzzing Bees and Beyond Busyness!

There are currently 19 Christmas trees inside and 3 outside.  More to come.  The outside looks a bit neglected.

The Parson's Son turns 13 in 3 weeks and the Good Wife has been obsessing over putting his Life Book together.  The deadline for sending it off to be printed is this coming Monday and Various and Sundry Issues have been screaming and battling for the Good Wife's Attention.  She is fighting the urge to Lock all other Voices into a Dark Closet until the Life Book is finished.

Thanksgiving is next week and the Homeplace is quite the Center of all Thankfulness and Hunger.  Someone has to prepare the Turkey and Ham.

The Rite of Passage Party for the Parson's Son is looming closely on the Horizon...2 1/2 weeks to be exact.  Much preparation Beyond the Life Book must still be accomplished.

There is a POA Leadership Connect Party to prepare.

There are Christmas Gifts to be bought for all who Travel in and out of The Homeplace.

It's Christmastime all over the World and High on the List at the Homeplace are presents for Missionaries and Missionary Kids.

There is a Junk Room that must be cleaned out, Dust must be removed from the cracks that has been placed there by the Addition of New Kitchen Countertops (we MUST do that at Holiday Season, not at a slower, more reasonable time of the year), the Jungle in the Back Yard is being Removed by Workers Who Will Not Show Up, and PICTURES ARE EVERYWHERE THAT ARE BEING PUT IN THE LIFE BOOK!

Background Noise includes Chipmunks Singing About Christmas and Dwight Yoakum throwing in his two cents.

In the Middle of it all, the Good Wife smiles a Thankful Smile as she realizes that the Beyond Busyness of Buzzing Bees is a wonderful Blessing of God.

May your Days be Merry and Bright....