Ho Ho Ho

Just because I love them all.

The Making Of A Christmas Card

2009 Edition.
My camera was on a weird bracketing setting (???!)the day these pictures were taken. I think the blur adds to the charm. Hope you agree.


Ahh, the smell of fir trees and the smiles on my darling children's faces.


Nothing is more fun for the Wades than attempting to get that perfect (even decent) picture.
Cooperation is key. Tolerance for others in your space is a must!
It all comes together as memories we will cherish forever.
From our blissful family to yours--
(Thanks again, Cindy!)

Need A Lift?

So I never told you about. . .

We had a couple tree unloading days that never made it to print. When so many wonderful volunteers come out to help, I get overwhelmed and can't bring myself to finish the post for fear of leaving someone out. Since I've taken so long posting, most of the helpful souls have probably given up receiving a proper thank-you from me. Sad but true. I'm sorry nice people. The pictures in this post were uploaded a couple weeks back just sitting there waiting to make their grand debut.

This Jack character is a rock star! He did so much for us during pumpkin and tree time. We are a little bitter, however. He had to go and get himself a real job. We much preferred his retirement from the police force. Why the aspirations of more money? A career? I mean really, Jack! Get your priorities straight. This blurry pic of Jack is from one of his many times helping us. The man in black was the truck driver. I told him I was going to put him on the blog. He left with the address and told me he was going to check to see the story. Ha! I bet he has long ago given up on that. I hope he's happy out on the road. Dear sir, don't think too poorly of all New Mexicans. Not all lie like I do. Thanks for bringing us the purty trees.

Beth and Melissa posed for several clicks of my camera just like this. What can I say?? They both know I post pictures I take. All I can deduct is that they wanted the world to see them like this. Who am I to judge? No more words, really.

I just love strong men carrying trees. Most especially this super handsome one in the red hat. Our web guy away from his computer. That Kurt is just an all-around fabulous volunteer! He and his wife went out to the ranch this morning and fed so Max could have the morning off. Wonderfully kind! Thanks, Kurt and Heidi.
Darren did not carry any trees off the truck. That's OK. I enjoyed giving him a hard time watching us do it. Darren just laughs and laughs. Yeah, I know Darren--the joke is on me. Thanks for cutting open all the trees with my mama. That was a huge help.

The pictures of this next volunteer makes me the most sad I didn't post this earlier. A little bit of background. The night before the trees made it in, a couple came in perusing our selection. It was pretty measly at that point. Max told them about the shipment we'd have in the morning. He then told the man he could have a free tree if he came and helped unload. To Max's delight, he said yes. When I arrived that morning, Max introduced me to Carlos. It turns out he was super hard working!!! While groups of us would break off to eat donuts (brought by Beth), Carlos would be carrying yet another tree to the back.
He was a little camera shy at first, but he got more spicy as the torture dragged on. He seriously was a HUGE help, a nice guy, and fun to have around. I am so grateful we had the opportunity to meet him. I also gave him the blog address and told him I'd post about him at some point. I can't say he was delighted about the idea, but he didn't forbid me posting his image. He also gave me his contact info (which I probably lost) and told us to call him any time we needed a hand. Really???!! How sweet is that? Remember, he was a random customer Max teased about helping us.

The really neat thing about his willingness to help is that the tree wasn't even for his house. It was for his girlfriend's. He called her when we were all done and told her to come pick out their tree. Happy, kind people! We threw in a free tree stand to go with that tree. Wasn't that mighty big of us?? The man does hours of work and we give me a tree. Doesn't seem fair. We most definitely got the better end of that deal! Carlos, thank you so very, very much for your time and muscles. Thank you all for your time and muscles. (Misha and Mel--sorry I didn't upload any shots of you in action.)

We truly have the best volunteers ever. Until next time.

Tick Tock

Then

and now! What a glorious difference a year can make. Thanks again to Dr. Levy, all of our friends and family, and God for getting us through a very difficult time. Hey, if that's the worst, we are so very blessed. (And no, I'm not trying to jinx us--just counting our blessings.)
Happy Surgery Anniversary, my love! We couldn't imagine our family without you.

Stealing Trees Edition

With all the untold stories and pictures I have from the last two months, I feel I have a new series coming on. I think I'll title it, "So I never told you about. . ."

Just a quickie to get us started. I don't want to set your expectations too high.

So remember I told you how nice it was to give trees away? How happy I was with mankind in general? Well, Max said he put the remaining left over trees outside the gate with a sign that said, "Free Trees". The next morning they were all gone. Fine and dandy. That is what we wanted. The problem came in when someone broke into the stand, lifting up the fencing and dragging the last two trees out of the lot. And no, they were not anywhere near the gate to get in. These were trees Max put aside to make candle holders. Guess someone out there felt privy to our goods and went for it.

Grrrr. People, please don't be breaking in our happy little stand stealing our last two trees. That isn't nice.

What a boring story. Sure hope the rest of the series is more exciting than this. If not, I might not be able to stand myself.

Until next time.

Done

And done!
Thanks to follow.

Christmas Greetings

You know what I'm going to say, right?

Merry Christmas to all!!

Happy Birthday, dear Lord Baby Jesus--8 lb, 6 oz--little infant, Baby Jesus. :)

(I sure hope you've seen the horrible movie, Talladega Nights. If not, disregard the 8 lb, 6 oz part. )

I hope your day is merry. Have a blessed day.

Hap, Happiest Time Of The Year

Max was just telling me about all the grateful people hauling off their free trees. You know, it just feels good giving things away. Although they were asked to pay nothing, many still donated to the ranch. Nice, right?! One couple donated $50 and offered to help Max carry trees outside. Many more donated $40, $20, $15 and as low as $4. It all adds up. I think deep down people are just good. I like that. You know what else? Today when I was driving around doing a little shopping (don't judge--I have terrible time management skills), I noticed more people being considerate than not. Drivers letting me in, friendly faces holding doors. I was actually enjoying the torture. Read that sentence again if you'd like.

We would like to thank all our paying customers who helped to make the 2009 Christmas Corral such a success. Thanks, also, to those that came a little too late for normal business, but still added to our experience and took left over trees off our hands. They didn't get to experience the gingerbread house or snowball toss, but they still left happy. If someone walks away thinking Galloping Grace Youth Ranch is a nice organization, we've done our job.

Merry almost Christmas to you and yours.

Hey Nick and Melissa--you are pretty darn swell helping Max clean up today. Thanks for that.

HUGE SAVINGS!

Folks, we have screamin' deals on all remaining Christmas trees--they're free!! Come get yours now. (Not you Sam, my Jewish friend. :) That would be weird.)

Just tell 'em Michelle sent ya.

When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it. Clement Stone

Top Notch

Getting back to that iceberg that seems to be winning the battle. . .

Max got a call from Mike, a man who was interested in donating his flat bed trailer to GG. True to his word, he showed up at the tree stand and dropped it off one afternoon. I was so glad when he made it back last Sunday so I could snap his picture with Max and his handsome boys. Mike and family, thank you for your generosity! Max had just been thinking about a trailer like that and how handy it would be for him hauling things back and forth. Anyone remember that poop/vomit post I did a week or so back? It turns out Mike saw it when he was checking out GGYR and what we are about. I think I owe him an extra thank-you for still donating even after seeing such silliness. Goes to show just how kind this man is.


This weekend was not near as busy as the previous two. I guess most people already have their trees or have given up on the whole idea. Last weekend, however, was rocking! Trees were going out left and right.
It was a pretty cool sight seeing all these vehicles adorned with fir.
I also love this picture because it shows how many people were still in the stand playing, riding horses, etc. even after their trees were loaded.
Remind me to tell you about the humiliated horses.

Wipe Out

I'm a little sad today. No thanks to me (I was home being very productive), the kiddie play area is GONE! Yep, time to tear our Christmas Corral down and turn it back into a parking lot. My how fast time flies. Of course there were wonderful friends and family members there for us. I don't know how we convinced all these kind souls to give up entire weekends in October and December to help the cause. Has to be a God thing. Thank you all for being there.

For Melissa S.:

There is a mouse family feeling cold and vulnerable tonight. They had a good thing going living under the gingerbread house until they didn't. It really is a shame Max stepped on one of the little babies as he hauled boards out. Life has to be a constant challenge as a rodent--yet another reason I am grateful to be of the human variety.

With that I will leave this post. Goodbye fellow warm humans. Enjoy the permanent shelter under which you reside.

Yes, I will regret writing this post tomorrow.

Lost Baby

Mommy, you accidentally left me at the Galloping Grace Christmas Corral. Won't you please come pick me up--it's cold out here!

Thank You Very Much

TJ and Mark--

Thank you for all the comments over the past year. Also, thanks for your large donation/Christmas gift to Galloping Grace. You are funny and thoughtful all rolled into one!

Merry Christmas!

Love,

GGYR

Are you all voting in the poll? Interesting results.

Renee, thanks for working every night this week. You are a huge help. Tim, same goes for you. Thanks for being there and giving Max a break. What great friends!

These Boots

The Saturday night Christmas volunteer staff has a very important safety announcement--something that just came to our attention this past weekend.

No matter how cold your feet are, be careful putting them near a wood burning stove.

Need further details? Please feel free to contact Dena directly. She can let your know about her personal experiences melting her new boots not once, but TWICE!

Volunteering--dangerous work!

Gingerbread House

Come--take a peek inside.
It has its own Christmas tree.It also has a small stove that once was a give away at my son's preschool. Now it is a beautifully shiny and adorable work of art thanks to Melissa and her friend Alexa. All I had to say was, "I think it should be painted" and then this cuteness happened. Drawers for holding dishes.
Yep, that talented Alexa lady also painted the flames for the fireplace. Max then built a little mantle and Donna, Max's mama, sewed adorable little stockings. The chair and sofa were upholstered by Trish and her trusty staple gun. I uttered, "We need a little couch in it" and then this!

The wall phone is one of my favorite and most despised aspects to the house. I waited a couple weeks for it to finally arrive. Imagine my disappointment when I opened the box to see the phone red with black accents instead of red with white accents--you know, candy cane style. I have a strong feeling the children have no idea, but still!
It has been a real hit. Trish, Melissa and I spend a great deal of time putting things back after children have come in to enjoy. Our big joke that we like to tell anyone who will listen is that we want to put a big piece of plexiglass on the window for the kids to look in but not be able to touch anything.
Thanks to:

• Max for building it when I so kindly asked.
• Barbara L. for painting the outside.
• Nancy for sewing the curtains
• Alexa for painting the oven and the fireplace.
• Donna for sewing the stockings.
• The preschool for discarding a treasure of epic proportions.
• Kaley for sacrificing her couch and Grant his chair. (Shh, don't tell him--he has no idea.)
• Melissa and Trish for everything! I appreciate you two for getting on board and loving it as much as I do.

OK, I'm off to get a life.

Thanks so much to Kurt and Heidi for feeding the horses this morning. It was such a welcome relief for Max. Thanks, also, to Darren for working at the stand with Max and to Tim and Renee for closing so that Max could come home early. What a treat! We got our tree trimmed. We're so on the ball--because we were so busy at the stand in October, our children didn't get to carve their pumpkins until the day after Halloween. Just look at us now.

Happy day.

Fir Real

The Wades now are the owners of a most beautiful noble fir Christmas Tree. We bought it at that cheery little stand on the corner of Eagle Ranch and Paseo Del Norte--you know, the one run by the folks of Galloping Grace Youth Ranch.

Man, were the people working at the stand friendly. I especially enjoyed the tall, pale woman working behind the counter and cleaning up the gingerbread house. Personality plus!



Our family's tree selecting tradition is now to get one still bundled. We call it the Wait and See Tree. It started a few years back when we heard of some friends who do the same thing calling theirs a torpedo tree. I suggested it to Max who immediately jumped at the idea. He was thrilled that I would no longer make him drive around (before we had our own lot) in search of the perfect tree. Our children also love the idea--we never know what we're going to get. It's some exciting stuff opening it up at home, deciding if we got a winner. So far, we've loved every one--holes and all. This year our tree almost came unbundled while still at the stand. Luckily, Max and Tim got it in the truck before all was lost.

From a visitor to the stand, read here. I absolutely love nice people!

In other news, I'm so proud of my hubby's many talents. I present the gift he whipped up for Phoebe, our little friend, on Friday morning.

Happy early Birthday, Phoebe.

Good job, honey.

Good day, all.