Day 173.  This is what we call Mr. Man.  It is actually a toy from a fast food chain kids meal.  He is a character called Mr. Happy from the Mr. Men Show.  But, we named him Mr. Man. We took Mr. Man  with us to Florida back in June of 2012.  He kept showing up in the funniest places.  Honestly we didn't even think about some elf that seems to do the same kind of stuff.  We just had a lot of fun.  He showed up in a box of donuts one morning, and had lunch with us one day.  Stacy buried him up to his neck in the sand at Daytona Beach.  I took several pictures of him with my phone.  My intention was to have a whole set dedicated to the adventures of Mr. Man.  But, I left my phone in Florida and though I was promised, I never got it back.  So, I lost all the pictures that I took, but we still have the ones that Stacy took.  Now Mr. Man has started showing up again so I will be featuring some random shots of him.  

Day 172.  Well, there wasn't a lot of color in the sunrise this morning, but it was still nice.  Last night I made this banana nut bread.  Actually it is pineapple banana nut bread, and it is wonderful.  The crust has a light crunch to it and the inside is moist.  I always buy bananas to put in the kids lunches, but they don't always eat them all.  So, I make bread.  We love the bread and the pineapple adds to the flavor.  Sometimes an added ingredient makes things better, and sometimes it will ruin it completely.  Life with Jesus is great, add the Holy Spirit and it is even better.  But, if you add things like bitterness and anger, or jealousy, life gets real burdensome.  It all depends on what you add to your life.  Who knew that banana bread could hold the secret to an awesome life?  And, like this bread, life will be gone before you know it.  So, be careful what you mix in.

Day 171.  For some reason Blogger isn't letting me upload pictures from my computer right now.  I have to upload to Picasa web first then bring it over.  It's just an extra step I guess.  I've been having a tough time finding new things to photograph.  I always have my family, but they get tired of me following them around with my camera.  Actually, I try to catch them off guard, they don't fall for it anymore.  There is only so much to photograph around here, and I have run out of inspiration.  I started praying for inspiration and this morning there was the most amazing color in the sky.  I immediately grabbed my camera, grabbed a few shots, and thanked God for answering my prayer.  There still isn't much to photograph around here, but as long as He gives me sunrises and sunsets with such awesome color, I will stay inspired.  Sunrises like this inspire me for the day and not just for pictures, it inspires my spirit to draw close to the painter of the sky.

Day 170.  Well I did it again.  I just couldn't get motivated.  It is so easy to skip a day, and before I know what has happened several days have gone by.  So I have missed some days, but I won't quit.  I have pictures for most of the days and maybe one day I will go back and post them.  It seems that there aren't as many hours in a day as there used to be.  Stacy went to Dallas last week and left me at home with the kids.  We missed her, but managed ok.  Thursday night the original Karate Kid movie was on so we watched it.  I had never seen it before.    I know, I'm 49 years old, I should have seen it before now, but, I haven't seen all of the Wizard of Oz either.  We enjoyed the show very much.  I had fun watching it with them. Then part 2 was showing on Friday so we watched it also.  Stacy came home on Saturday and we were happy to see her.  Maybe I'll find those extra hours this week.  

Day 165.  The full moon was actually on Dec. 30, but I thought it was really cool to be so big and full on New Years.  Maybe it's nothing, but maybe it is a sign of things to come.  I guess we will just have to wait and see.  I think I will prepare for an awesome year either way.  I want to be ready for whatever God has in store for us.  It has been a good day.  We watched a lot of football and stayed close to the house.  No rushing around, just taking it easy, because later this week there will be enough rushing.  The holidays are over and life kicks into high gear once again.  

Day 164.  New years eve moon.  It was huge as it came up over the horizon, but there were too many clouds to get a shot then.  The twins are out with the youth having a progressive supper, Matthew is back in Lubbock, and Annie is hanging out with Stacy and me.  The progressive supper started out at our house with the appetizers.  We had a good time with them.  Of course they were busy eating so I didn't have to do much.  We've never made a really big deal out of New Years so I'm glad the twins got to go with the youth and have fun.  Happy New Year.

Day 163.  Crosses come in so many forms.  This one is in leather.  My nephew made it a long time ago.  It was in my office for a while, but now it hangs in our house again.  Thanks Keith.  As the year comes to a close it is only natural to think back to the past.  To remember everything that has happened this last year and even further back.  I choose to remember the good things and not make a big deal out of the bad things.  That way I tend to remember the past fondly.  But, the past is already done and the future is still waiting to be.  So, close another year and get ready for the best year yet.  It's your choice.