Christmas Eve was good. I had been up early, witnessed the shut down, came back to the trailer, went to the office did a little computer work while the girls were still there (they had to work until noon), then I went and got on a forklift and did some loading that needed to be done. The icy roads had made it necessary for us to put some bales on the ground, and even though we had doubled up, we still had a hundred bales of cotton on the ground, two loaded trailers, and about forty mote bales on the ground. it took me until about noon to get everything to what I would term a suitable situation!

I grabbed a quick shower, shaved, hopped in some clothes and Krl and I were on our way to Midland. We made the mall, Krl needed to shop, I had already cheated on the shopping and made a quick trip to town Wednesday so I had Krl's Christmas stuffed and hidden all over the RV. I just kind of wandered around, watching people, running into St. Lawrence residents, laughing, and visiting. Then Krl and I moved on down the road to Target. She wanted to load up on stocking stuffers and we did not dare attempt Wal-mart. Finally we were through with that stuff, went to Albertsons and picked up a few groceries (we are grilling out today), of course we forgot milk. We finally decided to find a spot for a quick meal and a little relaxation. We ended up at Olive Garden. They had the best atmosphere of any OG I have ever been in but while the meal was O.K., is wasn't a value buy! I honestly believe Krl has become a Spaghetti Warehouse convert. Finally, back to St. Lawrence.

When we arrived it was late afternoon, early evening. We unloaded the loot from the trip and meandered inside. We got a brief scolding from the hound boys and girls as they were not happy we had dilly-dallied. We relaxed a little while and then started the final assembly, gift wrap process, filled our Santa hats with stocking stuff and finally sat back and exhaled! It was done, it was as complete as it was going to get. Enjoy the moment.

Part of my Christmas to Krl included a basket loaded with finger food! There were cheeses, meats, crackers, cheeseball, breadsticks, a veggie assortment with dip and a couple of bottles of wine. When she finally pilfered through it all I set the food on the counter, and she set her sights on her Mrs. Santa hat filled with goodies. Luckily, the jolly little fat man had the foresight to put a corkscrew in with her stocking stuff . I opened a bottle of Australian wine called "Thirsty Lizzard" and we spent the remainder of the evening consuming about half the bottle while we nibbled on goodies as we finished the gifting process. We finished our night with Krl calling Trc and her girls and then we retired. We got to giggling because we were tossing and turning trying to go to sleep but it was too quiet! We have become conditioned to the background rumble of the plant and we had trouble going to sleep without it singing its lullaby!

I woke early, made myself stay in bed and cat-napped for an additional couple of hours but finally enough is enough. I got up and made my way through the trailer. Even before I exited the bedroom the hound girls were vying for position on my side of the bed! Good things come to those who wait!

When I awoke I was in a very good holiday mood. I did some basic cleaning, stuff we had overlooked last evening and then turned on the noise maker (television), and sat down at my desk to asses the news of the day on the computer. I did a quick check of e-mail and my mood became very somber. I had an e-mail forward that went to my niece, from my niece, to my youngest sister and then out to everyone in their address books. It involves an eight month old girl that pulled a hot Fry Daddy on top of her body Thursday night. She has suffered burns on forty percent of her little body and if she lives will lose some fingers and require a very long recovery process. The little girl was in a walker when this occurred. Her name is Delaney, she lives in Florence, Texas. Her mother Deena also suffered burns retrieving Delaney from her walker. The original e-mail was sent out for urgent prayer requests by one of the burn center RN's where Delaney was flown. Please include this little girl and her family in your prayers.

FATHER, I don't understand when YOU allow the young and innocent to be inflicted with pain and suffering, but I don't see all that YOU see and I don't know all that YOU know, and for this I am thankful. It would be too much for a mere mortal. FATHER, I lift up this little girl, Delaney, to YOU for YOUR care. I ask YOUR healing, and comfort for her and her family! I continue my prayers for Hag, for Lillie, for Rene', for Carol, for Michelle, for Aimee, for Rusty and Kim's unborn baby, for Jennifer (Kristy's sister-in-law), and for Maria. I ask YOUR blessings on them all, YOUR will be done! I continue to pray for healing of the heart for all those who have become hardened. I pray for a lost world. Bless those traveling and those separated from family.

Thank YOU for this joyous season celebrating Jesus born. FATHER I don't mean to doubt YOU and YOUR plan about the young and innocent, because YOU gave it all and I know when we hurt YOU hurt. I am thankful YOU are a loving, merciful GOD that blesses us with YOUR grace. Praise be to YOU!