Ruckman Christmas Card

Love Peace Joy Holiday 5x7 folded card

Create unique holiday cards with Shutterfly

View the entire collection of cards.

Forms of Apologizing

When you decide that chunking a bottle cap at the person in the next booth over because, heck, you didn't have a parent around to tell you not to do it, there are several ways you should apologize.

1.  Get out of you seat and walk over to the table where you just chunked the bottle cap at and say Please forgive me. I did not mean to do that.
2. When the person turns around and says That was uncalled for, you quickly say " I AM SORRY!"
3.  Just say I AM SORRY!

What you do not want to do:

1. Laugh and giggle
2. Say MY BAD!!!

What the heck is up with saying MY BAD???? Did parents forget to teach their children the words I am sorry ?   Seriously??  Did they forget how to teach them to behave when eating at a restaurant too?   I have noticed more and more that children do not have manners and it is driving me crazy.  Teach your children when they do something wrong to apologize not say MY BAD!  Teach them to be remorseful for doing something wrong.  If they don't realize they are doing something wrong then how will they realize that they are doing something wrong when you finally point it out after they are behind bars.  Teach your children manners for the sake of other people around them or just don't let them out in public since you don't want to watch them anyways when you are out in public or you let your teen child watch them and they don't say anything either.



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Lets Say Thanks!

Xerox is giving you an opportunity to send a free printed postcard to U.S. military personnel stationed overseas showing your support and appreciation for their service to our country.

It only takes a minute to do.

Please take the time to do this.  Click the Button above to participate!!!




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Needing Rules..

We have to make a list of family rules for our exchange students.  

I NEED HELP!!! 

I have never made rules before.  We are fly by the night people. 

I need to have a set in stone list of rules so that we don't have a lot of conflict. 

If you have any rules that you use or used with your 16 to 18 year old girls. I would love to have your input. 

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We are going to be a Host Family!!

It is official!! 

We will become a host family for exchange students starting in 2011!!! Whoo hoo!!!! 

I am excited.  Can ya tell?? 

We have hosted in the past when Sephy was little.  It has been over 4 years since we have had an exchange student.  We had our ups and downs in the past with them but I contribute a lot of it to the fact that we where so young.  Sephy was 4 and 5 and Dusty and I where still in our 20's.  The kids where like not even 10 years younger than us.  It is kindda hard to be taking care of teenagers when you your self aren't grown up yet.  So, we stopped and decided to grow up some more, be set financially helps too.  Although you do not have to pay for them to live here, you do have to provide, food and shelter.  Since we can provide this for them with out it putting a financial drain on us we started to look into it.  

We choose a company that is our of California.  It is called AYUSA.  I have had a great experience with them so far.  Great Communication! I strike that, We are looking forward to hosting.  Sephy is overly excited because she will have someone to "hang" with.  

We have our student picked already for next school year.  She has a lot of the same interest as Sephy. She jumped out at us when we where looking at students the other night.  When I get to start communicating with her I will ask if I can share about her.  

I am so excited about this! I can't wait! 

If you are interested in hosting an exchange student and would like more information let me know and I can help you out! 

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Shutterfly!

I love Shutterlfy for original gifts.  It is one of my favorite sites to go to for that one of a kind Picture gift and cards. 

I love plastering Sephy's picture on things for my family and friends.  That could just be the bragging mom in me. But it is always fun to do.  I have made notebooks, coasters, and bookmarks from Shutterfly. 

My all time favorite are Photo cards!  This year they have lots of designs to choose from.  

Religious Christmas Cards

The Christmas Photo Cards

Holiday Cards

Shutterfly has over 800 designs to choose from. I really like my cards to be about the true meaning of Christmas.  I want them to show a little bit of us but tell you that "Jesus is the Reason for the Season." I haven’t chosen my card for this year yet. But when I do I will let you know what I choose! 

I hope that you have a wonderful Holiday season!

Oh yeah and Shutterfly is giving bloggers 50 Free Cards for blogging about them so if you want to check it out hit this link for more info:  http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Thank You Mary from The Englar Fam for letting me know about this wonderful opportunity!  

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Review: "Featuring...Nora Jones"

Norah Jones' new album, …Featuring, is a star-studded collection of the multi-platinum selling, multi-Grammy Award winning singer’s musical collaborations from the past decade. 

 

The 18 songs on the album include cool cameos, collaborations and duets with such legends as Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton, and with 21st Century icons from OutKast to the Foo Fighters.

 

The tracks on …Featuring span Norah’s entire career and reveal her astonishing musical versatility, from jazz to country, hip-hop to rock.

 

…Featuring was released on November 16 buy your copy here! 

...Featuring Track Listing:

 

1. Love Me – The Little Willies 
2. Virginia Moon – The Foo Fighters featuring Norah Jones
3. Turn Them – Sean Bones featuring Norah Jones
4. Baby It's Cold Outside – Willie Nelson featuring Norah Jones
5. Bull Rider – Norah Jones and Sasha Dobson 
6. Ruler Of My Heart – Dirty Dozen Brass Band featuring Norah Jones
7. The Best Part – El Madmo  
8. Take Off Your Cool – OutKast featuring Norah Jones
9. Life Is Better – Q-Tip featuring Norah Jones
10. Soon The New Day – Talib Kweli featuring Norah Jones
11. Little Lou, Prophet Jack, Ugly John – Belle & Sebastian featuring Norah Jones
12. Here We Go Again – Ray Charles featuring Norah Jones
13. Loretta – Norah Jones featuring Gillian Welch and David Rawlings 
14. Dear John – Ryan Adams featuring Norah Jones
15. Creepin' In – Norah Jones featuring Dolly Parton 
16. Court & Spark – Herbie Hancock featuring Norah Jones
17. More Than This – Charlie Hunter featuring Norah Jones
18. Blue Bayou – Norah Jones featuring M. Ward

My take on her new album: 

I have always loved Norah Jones.  I love her voice.  I was really looking forward to hearing this new cd!  It was not a disappointment at all.  I loved every song on it.  My favorite is number 4 with Willie Nelson.  I do not think that you will be disappointed either if you hear it.   

How to find Her on the web: 

*  Website: http://bit.ly/norahsite
*  Facebook: http://on.fb.me/norahFB

*  YouTube: http://bit.ly/norahYT 
*  Link to order on Amazon: http://amzn.to/Njpreorder

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Disclosure:  I received the advanced cd to review by One2One Network. In participating I have been entered to win a gift card through One2One Network.  All opinions are my own and may not be yours.  No monetary compensation was received by me. 

12 years ago..

12 years ago on November 21, 1998 I said I Do to a wonderful man.

This was our first year together...1996

(I don't have a scanned in pic from our wedding day. )

This was our 1st anniversary pictures.  Sephy was 3 months old. 

I am very lucky to have Dusty in my life.  I thank God for him everyday. 

Love you baby! 

Happy Anniversary! 

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I have been crafty lately.

Sephy has to have a Christmas outfit for dance.  I decided to try the Semi No-Sew Tutu. 

This is part of her costume.  I can't decide if I like the black or if I should do a white shirt instead. 

I liked how it turned out so well that I made two of them and hair bows to match.  

The one on the right is Sephy's and the one on the left is for a friends little girl. 

Close-ups of the waist bands. 

This is the hair bow.  It is a hair rubber band made to look like the bigger tutu just miniature sized. =) 

Macro Shot of the hair bow. 

The Bow hanging off a water bottle.

The bow standing up against the water bottle.  

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Raw (e) One (5)

I haven't participated in this in a while so I thought I would jump in and start back up again!  

This is one a picture of our house when we first moved in a little over a year ago.  

Rules: 

the theme is the 15th I thought we

could all go to the FIRST folder of photos that we have 

and share the FIFTH picture in it!!!

Remember the rules:

NO editing

Link to the actual post not your blog as a whole

One photo

You have until 5pm Friday

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Quiting..

Today, I am quiting the job I have had for the past couple of months at the church nursery.

It took me 3 weeks to finally decide this is the right thing to do.  I am sad, not wanting to go to church because it stresses me out so much.

Church should never be a place of stress, but it really has been stressful.

I MISS God.

I miss learning about God.  I need to be back in Sunday school and in "Big Church".  I need my daughter to want to go to church on Sunday Mornings.  She hasn't wanted to, and last Sunday I let her stay home.  Today she wanted to go and then had a really horrible morning because I wasn't with her in "Big Church".  It broke my heart.  I wanted so much to hold her hand and sit with her.  I wasn't going to do that because I told her she had to go to service.  She just didn't want to sit alone.  She didn't realize there where people she could sit with.  I walked her in to our friends and had her sit with them.  She went in crying and came out with smiles.  She even told me about the service today and one of the jokes the pastor told.  She really enjoyed it.

I hope that she understands one day why I was very adamant about her going to "Big Church".  I want her to be a strong Christian woman and the only way she will become that is by me teaching her what should be important to her.


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First Horse Show

On Sunday, Sephy was in her first horse show.  She showed a friends horse Abbie.

  She did really well in the Halter class and took home Second Place! 

 I was one proud momma.  It took a lot for Sephy to get out and show the horse and be confident enough to stay positive and get through it.  There where 12 in the Halter class in her age group.  Her daddy even went to work and bragged about how good she did.  I was happy to hear that today from one of his co-workers.



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Blue Ribbons

I entered 3 of my pictures into our local fair here in Mississippi.  I have never entered of my pictures into a fair before so I was a bit nervous.  But I shouldn't have been =) I won blue ribbons for 2 out of the 3 pictures I entered.  I was so excited.  I really didn't expect to get a ribbon or anything.  =)

The first two pictures are the ones that won.  My last one didn't get a ribbon, but that is okay it was one of the first pictures I took when I first got my camera.  =)



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