Here are some other ideas, though not all made from construction paper... Spray paint a paper plate gold. Have the kids glue an old Christmas card cut out in a circle shape for the center. Use a hole puncher to punch a hole in the top, add a ribbon or length of yarn for a hanger, call it a wreath. Cut a sheet of const. paper in half. Fold each half to make a Christmas card. Use old Christmas cards to decorate the front, then let the kids "write" a message inside with Crayola (washable) markers. Cut out Christmas tree shape from constr. paper. Put a tree-shaped tree in the center of a larger piece of contr. paper. Let the kids decorate the tree with paper punchies, yarn for garland, etc. An old favorite at our house: Save the red 1" tall plastic peanut butter lids from the Sams Club-sized jars. Fill with plaster of paris, stick in a pine cone and let it dry. Give each kid a bottle of glue and a pie plate (to catch the glitter) to decorate their "tree". Hope this sparks some other ideas for you! Julie

OK, I really haven't been sleeping well so I'll take advantage of that & tell you about yesterday. Dave had to go to the VA in Tampa to have his ear checked where they removed the cancer 5 weeks ago. It had a blood blister type thing come up. So, we started out the day with him taking me to breakfast. Then off to Tampa. They lanced the scar & removed the blood. Then he took me to the Florida aquarium. We enjoyed that & had lunch there. They have a 36 foot catamaran that we had reservations on for 2:00. We left on that & went dolphin watching. After that we came back & he took me to a movie. Then I had him take me to our Walmart b/c I needed to pick up some material. LOL After that we stopped for catfish for dinner & then came home. We left the house yesterday at 7:00 a.m. & got home at 9:00 p.m. We had a fun-filled day. And you already know that he is the BEST! It was a great day. My friends are taking me to a craft fair today & out for lunch. Then we are meeting up with my friends tomorrow & going to the Renaissance Festival. So, this will be a great weekend. Thanks for being part of it. Patti :-)

Hi goils! Besh--your MIL is in my thoughts and prayers---(((hugs)))!! How is Happyto? I was thinking about her a while back, and was hoping that things were good for her-- Tikanas--happy belated birthday! :):) Well, I got the auction--I signed it on Monday, and have a good chance to maybe get the real estate--it's been rezoned as commercial, so it would be a goooood thing for me--and I'd appreciate any and all good thoughts for me to get this--it can literally change my life-- Things are good here--the weather is great--I can't believe it's this nice--78, and low humidity. Raeanne--since you liked my sticky chicken mishap, I think you'll enjoy this one--I decided in June to enter a cake in the KY State Fair (which started here on Thurs). So I sent off the $, got the rules, and waited until last Sunday morning to make the cake (it was due by Mon at 5pm, but I had to work...). Let me preface all of this by saying that I have never made this cake before--I found the recipe in a box of stuff that I bought at an auction(now, **that's** a surprise!), and so therefore had no idea just what I was walking into. On Sat night, after getting out of the bath, with wet hair and no makeup, I realize that I need a bottle of bourbon--well, actually, just 2 tablespoons. So, off the the liquor store I go, and find an airplane bottle of Maker's Mark, and then realize that I have no cash. So, I charged $2.50. I was sooo embarrassed. Anyway, I got up at 6am on Sun morning to preheat the oven, and off I go. I'm just a mixin and a stirin, and raisin all sorts of h3ll, and I pour the batter into 3 brand-new 9" pans, and they go into to the over for 45 minute. DING! They're done--whhoooboy--they are done--burned on the bottom, that is. I'm standing in the middle of the kitchen, hot, tired, and just bawling. I was just so mad--and I had a raging case of PMS to top it all of, and poor ol Rog--didn't know whether to hug or to laugh. He wisely chose to hug, and then told me that we can cut the botteom of the layers off, and noone would ever know (true.) So that was our plan. Now--to top all of this off, the entry department opened at noon, and I was supposed to be at work at an auction at noon, so I had to keep an eye on the time. I made the frosting following the directions, and dumped into way to much powdered sugar, which gave it that funny, sugar-y taste, so then I added more bananas, which changed the texture. THEN--my cat decided to love me as I was dropping in the yellow food coloring (did I mention that this is a banana cake?), which made my icing look like a horrible mustard color (made worse by the fact that it had lumpy stuff like toasted coconut and chopped pecans in it), only sicker. What a freaking mess---I wanted to throw the d@mned thing aqgainst the wall, but managed to refrain. I iced it, and it is sitting on my countertop, glowing like a d@mned lighthouse. Sigh..... Anyhoo--I hope all is well with everyone--and where is Amy and John??? Hugs, Maddie

Good Saturday afternoon from wet/rainy and cool (54 F.) Texas. I was up at 4:30 this morning, out of the house by 5:15, and heading to the Houston Zoo at 6:30 for St. Jude's 1st annual Thanks & Give walk. We had 300 of the 500 registered people show up in the pouring rain today to walk for St. Jude. I was shivering and shaking working registration, but it warmed my heart to see so many turn out and turn in huge amounts of money they'd raised for walking. I met Emmanuel, a precious 8-yr. old boy who lost his left eye to neuroblastoma last year. His 'fan club' was there to walk with him and they all dedicated their walk to him. I worked the bib dedication table where people filled out their "I am thankful for....." bib before pinning it on for the walk, and I was really touched by many of the dedications. Afterwards, the volunteers moved everything over to the 'after-party' where everyone ended up to have breakfast and receive their incentives for walking. I think a nap is in my near future, but I had to check online before doing that. Donna, I hope you can start posting more often. Pray for 'uneventful' vibes! Suzanne, maybe you'll sneak in a ride today after finishing your chores? And, what a cute message from hubby! Hey, BJ! I've been missing you. Hurry back and get the wonderful support you've been needing. Maddie, you howl the HB song better than anyone I know, girl! Well, a nice warm bed is calling me, so y'all be good!