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Madison was watching TV this morning and a Christmas program came on and she decided that it was time to do some decorating here at GranGran and Papaw’s house.  Off we went to the basement and after finding the decorations, we yelled at Papaw Rick to come help us carry everything upstairs. 

 We had a great time and Madison got really tired and decided that it was time for a nap, so GranGran had to finish decorating all alone.  Papaw Rick doesn’t enjoy the decorating, only the results…actually he would wait til the day before Christmas to decorate and then take it all down the day after.  Decorations will however stay up til after New Years here at the Rouse home.  

 We are waiting for Olivia to get here to help put the tree up and just hope that dog, cats and a little 2 1/2 year old red curly haired girl doesn’t pull everything off of it.   Merry Christmas to all and I will be sharing more pictures as more gets done.

My hubby Rick and one of my sisters-in-law Gail have been experiencing some very painful back problems and they have tried lots of things trying to ease the pain.  Today while visiting Rick’s mom for Thanksgiving lunch,  they were discussing their pains and Gail’s hubby asked for a pencil with a good eraser on it.  He then handed it to Rick and told him to press the eraser end just above his lip and release, press and release, press several times.  Of course we all thought it was some kind of silly joke, but to our amazement, both Rick and Gail admitted that it did indeed help relieve the pain.  This however is no permament cure, because it only helps for approximately a minute.  It does indeed make for some cute pictures (even though Gail begged me not to use her picture, but I just couldn’t resist).

As you already know, I am a big fan of animals, small, medium and or large, but mostly large or extremely large dogs.  I have written many times about our critters living in our home: Tigger, Pooh the cats and Houdini the Great Pyrenees.   The picture here shows a visit we made to our local animal shelter with Madison and her petting one of the puppies.  I do believe she has inherited the same love for the animals that we have.

For three years I visited each week and took pictures of the dogs and cats available for adoption and placed them on www.petfinder.com and as a result many of the pets have found good loving homes.  In fact, Houdini came to live with us because of one of those visits.  A few weeks ago, an opening became available for assistant at the shelter and I applied for the position and I have been working there a few hours every day and I truly enjoy every minute that I am there.  I still take the pictures and place them on the website and help out by answering the phone and a few other tasks.  I really can’t consider it a job because it is so much fun and I look forward each day to going in and meeting the new pets that have arrived.

If you are looking for a pet, please visit us or your own local animal shelter and consider giving a needy pet a loving home.  We are located at 27252 Porter Lane, Abingdon, Va or visit www.petfinder.com  to see what is available each day.  The pets will benefit and you will be very happy to have a new family member also.  Christmas is coming up and our pets will make great gifts.

Title: Beautiful Mess The Story of Diamond Rio
Author: Diamond Rio with Tom Roland
ISBN:  978-1-5955-5268-6
Pages: 291

Beautiful Mess is the story of six very different musicians who come together as one unit yet remain individuals.  Through all of the ups and downs that effect each of their lives, the one thing from beginning to the present is their faith.  Each of these guys acknowledge that God helped them get started and will continue to be their leader. As each band member tells their own story it is easy to see their love for God, family, friends and each other.

This is a very heart warming story that will at times have you shaking your chair with laughter, then reaching for a box of tissues to dry your tears.  Be warned… there will be plenty of tears of joy and laughter as well as sadness.

Diamond Rio has come a very long way in the past twenty years together, from their beginning as The Tennessee River Boys playing at the Opryland Amusement Park to the present.  Life hasn’t been easy for these fellows and their families, but they all respect each other and give credit to the main person in their lives…God.

I recommend reading this book even if you are not a ‘country music’ fan because it will inspire you to do just as Diamond Rio has done, and that is to give God the glory for the bad as well as the good in your life.  “Meet in the Middle”, remembering that God gives you “One More Day”, and “I Believe” you will enjoy “Beautiful Mess”, The Story of Diamond Rio.

I would like to thank Thomas Nelson Publishers for providing this book for review.

Click here to check out Beautiful Mess on Amazon.com.