Christmas Ice Lanterns

Every year at Christmas I make Christmas Ice Lanterns...they are such an awesome way to be expressive to my country livin' and they look so beautiful lite up at night especially if we are lucky enough to have snow....I have used them to light my sidewalk or porch and even used them on my table as a "Mini" ice sculpture....really easy to make yet people absolutely love them...here's a quick "How to"

1. Fill the large container about 3/4 full of water.

2. Place the small container inside the larger container of water.

3. Place rocks or some heavy object inside the small container to weigh it down so it's halfway down into the water.

4. Place a strip of duct tape across the top of the large container so it holds down the smaller container in the water. The top of the smaller container should be about even with the top of the large bucket.

5. Freeze the bucket of water by placing it outside if temperatures get below freezing at night or putting in a large freezer. Set it aside until frozen solid.

6. Run warm water over the outside of the large bucket or set it in a pan of warm water to remove the ice.

7. Run some warm water inside the small container to loosen it and remove it. This leaves an indentation in the ice lantern to set a candle.

8. Place a candle inside the indentation of the ice lantern.

9. Make several ice lanterns and line your driveway or sidewalk with them to light the way for your guests. Place the ice lanterns along your driveway or sidewalk.

Hope you enjoy your ice lantern as much as I do :)

Remembering the true meaning of Christmas

...Today is the start of the 12 Days of Christmas....always one of my favorite times of year :) In the past year I have lost great people, seen people I love hurt in ways I never would have imagined, friendships have been tested, family has been tested and yet there still seems to be joy everywhere I look....at times I can't understand why people are so happy, are they just blind to all the homeless, starving and unemployed people...don't they see the sadness in the eyes of the people who have had to bury a loved one...are they just selfish?
Then I look at my life, the life I share with my husband and children...one that with no matter what life throws at us we still have joy in our life, we still have a home, hubby has a job, we have laughter and love...we have our friends...our true friends who at these rough times are more precious than gold..we a have food in our bellies, warm beds and furry animals who love us unconditional..we have another day to decide if we're going to be happy or let the sadness of the world around us defy who we are....so if I think about the people who seems to be clueless about what's going on around them, maybe it's just that they see the joys in their lives as well...no matter how small something may be to me to someone else it may be a huge joy so who am I to judge them for being happy and not seeing things as they really are...but with that being said, I ask you to if just for a second...step away from your life and the great pleasures of it and think about the people who struggle everyday with finding that joy..it doesn't cost anything to be kind to someone who's sitting alone at that tiny dinner, Thanking a Vet for their service is simple and it may very well be the greatest gift you could give them, be there for someone who is hurting, listen without prejudice...remind that person who has lost someone they love that they live within them and in their heart is where they will always be...make a child smile, do a random act of kindness and not expect anything in return, love unconditional, pay it forward....I know that with 12 days til Christmas I plan to be the best person I can be, not because it's Christmas but because it's the right thing to do, I don't plan on getting caught up in the commercial end of the holiday but on what the TRUE meaning of Christmas really is:

Christmas is love. John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love.

I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine!

...Sometimes I am completely amazed at the kindness of strangers..Today at the grocery store I noticed an worker whom I've seen many times..but this time was different, he was looking at me with different eyes then he had in the past, a little uncomfortable at first, I realized he was approaching me..He so politely said "I don't mean to stare but I've seen you in here before, I can't help but notice that beautiful tattoo on your chest, what does it mean?" I explained that it was a heart that had be hurt healed by the love of my husband and children...His eyes started to well with tears and for some reason felt compelled to tell me everything about him...he first showed me his one and only tattoo...looking at it I could tell he had it for a very long time, he proceeded to tell me that in it's prime it was a beautiful Cobra tattoo...he was a 76 yr. old retired Marine..I thanked him for his service and he began telling me about his family....13 children...10 girls, 3 boys...out of those children 6 were 3 sets of twins...he beamed with pride as he spoke of them...he told me about his Hebrew heritage and even spoke to me in Hebrew, I don't know what he was saying but I found comfort in it..then his attention turned to his wife..He spoke so Highly of her then he said he hopes that at this point in his life he hopes when it's time to leave this world neither one goes without the other, strangely I understood exactly what he was saying. After about 15 min. he asked me my name..then he said "It's cold out here so I'll let you got, but your a nice lady and I think it's so wonderful to see someone love their children and husband so much", he said that even with all the years between us..him being 76, I'm 39 he knows love when he see's it..then spoke to me in Hebrew again...I asked him what he said..it was simple but meant so much "I AM MY BELOVED'S AND MY BELOVED IS MINE" as he told me nothing else matters but the love of your husband and the love of your children, I stared to realize a simple conversation with a total stranger means more to me on this day that I could have ever imagined...His name is Aaron...he thanked me for taking time out of my day to speak with him...there's no way he could've known that his time was my pleasure...and how much I needed his kindness today...as I walked back to me car he shouted "Shiloh Missy"..he had remembered my name, Thank You to a simple grocery cart employee who has touched me so profoundly just by his human nature!!

Huntin Season Boys

..Well, it's late Sunday night and tomorrow is the first day of rifle season...Hubby and Ian are off at Camp so I spent most the day cleaning and getting things ready for the upcoming holiday...I still don't feel like I could sleep, it's always weird not having hubby home but I know this is something he loves to do and since all the boys are hunters, I guess I can suck up 3 days without him...I am so grateful for the relationship he has with our boys and the bonding that they have...I know some day when they are all grown they will look back on this time and cherish it and hopefully carry on the tradition of hunting to their children...so with the season upon us I guess all there is to say is TAKE EM' BOYS :)

All about me

My name is Missy ♥ I'm married to my best friend and the most AH-MAY-ZING man, who always makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the whole wide world, he makes everyday together seem like a brand new day...I ♥ you, baby♥... I'm a mom of 3 wonderful boys. Dakota who is my HEART, Ian who is my STRENGTH and Wade who is my HUMOR..I'm so much in love with you....I often find myself thinking "how did this life happen to me" I know that I am truly blessed...I hope that I am able to give you all the same kind of kindness, respect and most of all the LOVE♥ that you all have given me...I cherish every second I have with my husband and boys and I'm always ready to make a new memory, no matter what kind of craziness we get ourselves into it's always wonderful...I love, love, love going to the beach with my family...it is one of the most important times we share together, THANK YOU baby for our "me & you" trips...I don't even mind the drive, just being with you is total joy and happiness. I have some of the greatest friends ever and cherish each one of you...THANK YOU for your friendship, I love you...♥ I'm an honest person and I don't like liars and back-stabbers, I enjoy being with people that raise me up without bringing me down, I try not to sweat the small stuff, but it can be the small stuff that really cuts me. I tend to be to nice until I've had enough of being walked on...I think you should treat others they way you would want to be treated and vise-verse (the golden rule) I'm a lil' Susie-home-maker...I love to challenge myself with new things...so besides taking pride in being the best wife and mom that I can be, I love to cook & bake, I also enjoy decorating cakes...I love to sew, make crafts, create web pages...I have a passion for photography and playing around with photo-shop...I know I have a long way to go but I really love it. I am one of 4 girls..thanks to you I know what the love of a true sister is and I love you for everything that makes you both you. I have a brother that I love a whole BIG bunch even though I don't get to see him much, he's always in my heart! I proudly support our soldiers... past, present & future...for those who have fought...freedom is a taste the protected will never know...but I promise to everyday remember the sacrifices you've made and never take for granted the freedoms you have given me, thank you...and welcome home! If I could ever meet someone who I've never had the pleasure of meeting it would be my Grandfather...I never knew him because he passed away when my mom was young...I know that he loved his family and for the short time he was alive he truly lived...I seen how much my grandma loved him and that love carried her through her entire life...I can only hope that someday when we meet he'll wrap his arms around me and tell me that he's watched me for all these years and that he's proud of me...I'd also like to meet my husbands Mamaw & Papaw...he loves them so much. He talks about them and the love they had for each other and their family all the time. I'd want to thank them for instilling such amazing morals, love and kindness...the kind that my husband has passed along to me and our children everyday. Things I LOVE: to my Husband....WhaaaWhooo. I just want to say that I love you more, baby. My kids, Thank God for them...I have a major crush on tattooing myself, I love to be expressive and displaying my love for things in such an awesome form of art is something that I really love to do...piercings, Riding our Harley on a beautiful day, dancing with my friends and forgetting we're grown-ups, laughing till my cheeks hurt, playin' in the rain, fresh cut grass, the windows down in the truck on a windy day, nail polish, BIG puffy clouds, sand between my toes and sea salt down my throat, morning song birds, my 22 lb. cat, singing really loud when no one is listening, finding new words in the dictionary, photography, shopping until the men in my life get bored...then I wish I had a daughter, being the best mom I can be, sitting on the porch with the hubby at 4:00 a.m., the sun rise..the sunset, butterflies because they make me think of you Steph, I love & miss you sooo... much, love, partying till the crack of dawn, fairies, football Sunday's with the kids, THE BEACH BABY, listening to my boys play their instruments, I absolutely adore my boy's friends...I just love to love life? My Hero's: My Grandmother...she was the bravest person I've ever meant in my entire life. I love you, Grandma, go with the angels and be happy...Thank You, to all the countless brother & sisters who have fought for our freedoms, and to the one's still fighting...because of you I sleep in a country of peace. To the POW/MIA that our gov. left behind, I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN, nor will I ever. My children will also know the sacrifice you've givin' and through the children may you soon be brought home to your loved ones. My Mom for always being mom, my sisters for everything that makes them who they are. MY HUSBAND, thank you for our wonderful life. There are NO WORDS that I could ever say to you for you to fully understand how much I love you, your the air that I breathe, the food in my belly, the light at the end of the tunnel, my safe place when I'm hurting, my tissue when I cry at a sad movie, you are my soul....everyday with you is a blessing and I know that I must have a special place in God's heart cuz' there is no way he would give me such an amazing gift if I wasn't...thank you for always lovin' me they way you do...it's powerful...I feel it from across the room, in your words to me...in the way you touch me...I love you, I love you forever and ever babe! MY SONS for always making me proud...your always kind and respectful and I know your growing into wonderful men. You 3 have made me the luckiest mom in the world. I look forward to a new day with you and can't wait to see what you do with your lives. I know that life is a challenge but you never give up and you always pull through...never give up on your dreams...don't settle for less than what you deserve...I love you so very much...always know that. You are my great achievements, the only thing that no one can take away from me, your the best thing I've done worth leaving behind when I have to go away from this world.