Still Smiling...I think

This week just seems to have been a really crazy week. It seems as if the devil is running rampant and he is still at it. I will spare you the boring details of my week with the exception of a few things. Before I start I want to say that last weekend while my niece's were with us, I attempted to build a gingerbread house with them so they could decorate it. I apparently do not apply enough icing because the silly house just kept falling down. I finally just had to divide the candy up and give them the candy to eat and spread some icing on the gingerbread for them to eat lol. I think I need to buy another one and practice so next year they can decorate. So if you are on my facebook you know I've been having car problems. Little did I know two days after posting about my car that my car would end up leaving me and Maddy stranded. I know my car pretty well and realized right before I was fixing to get on the interstate something was really wrong. I did say a quick prayer at the red light and as soon as I could go, my car wouldn't go which told me do NOT get on the interstate. Out of all the places to pull in, I pulled into a funeral home...kinda funny since my car died. Anyways, my step dad checked out the transmission and oil and everything seemed ok so he drove it around the parking lot. It gave him no trouble and I kinda think he didn't fully believe what I was saying. So my mom drove his truck and he was going to drive my car. He chose to get on the interstate and the minute we hit the ramp he was pulled over. When he got to the truck he said something along the lines of I see what you're saying lol. I've had the car approximately seven years and this is the first time anything major has broken on it. It's never left me stranded and has held up really well. I highly recommend Honda's...especially if you have children. I decided to wait until today to have it towed so we could figure out where the best place to look at it would be. The good news is I don't think I will need a whole new transmission, but time will soon tell. It's currently sitting at a shop and I am waiting to hear back from them to see what they find out. So far I really like the person who is diagnosing it. To diagnose the problem he only charges $37.50 and he said if they work on it it will be $65 an hour. Did I need this to happen right here at Christmas time? Not really, but at the same time I have had the determination this year to not let the devil take away my joy. He has done a fine job at trying to break me but I know God is in control and I trust Him to lead me. I still have no clue whether or not I owe money to the IRS so that's on me and then this car expense is on me. Thank goodness I already had Maddy's Christmas before this happened. I spent the day riding around with my mom and boy did we have a busy day! I had planned on trying to finish up my Christmas shopping today so we worked that in with my mom's work and personal schedule. One place we went to was the mall and I was disappointed because the Christmas pj's I was going to get Maddy were gone and nobody had anything like what I was wanting. I found some at Dillard's but they weren't on sale and cost $26. There was no way I could justify paying $26 for pj's for a two year old. I settled on a gown I found at Belk that was on sale and I think it will look really cute on Maddy...or Maddy will make IT look really cute lol.

After figuring out her PJ situation we went over to the Christmas ornament booth. We found this booth for Maddy's first Christmas and they seem to have made a hit. Every year, even before Maddy, I always get some kind of special ornament. My special ornaments now are more for Maddy but they are so fun to buy. I got two this year, one for me and Maddy and then I got Manny his own. Manny is a big part of mine and Maddy's life/family and we love him to death. He is such a sweet and loving dog and I just am so thankful I rescued him 4 years ago. Here are the pics:

It is so hard for me to believe that Christmas is next week!!! I am not at all ready for this season to end. I've really enjoyed the Christmas season this year and want it to hang on a little longer lol. In the words of Santa, "Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!"