Funnies

These are some of the funny things that my children have said this week that have made me laugh.


Lana-
Last night while putting up the Christmas tree:
"We cannot have Monkeys in our Christmas tree because they will break our tree and beat us up!" ( in her typical southern draw)

When things don't go her way:
"This is the worssess day of miiii liife." (more southern draw)

When I tell her to put on some jeans:
"Its just that I don't look pretty in jeans." ( This I must put a stop too. Today she wears jeans!)


Logan-
In regards to the Salvation Army bell ringers:
"Why do they have to ring those bells anyways?" (in a grumpy old man voice)

In regards to our churches "Hanging of the Green" Service:
"Why do the same people have to sing the same songs every year?" (still in grumpy old man voice)


Regarding shopping:
"We got what we came for, can we go now?" (typical grumpy old man out shopping voice.)

And P.S. We did hear back from Buddy Davis. He sent a very nice email and was very encouraging to Logan. Made his day!

Kicking of the Season

Ah...the house is quiet. I finally have time on the new computer. We finished eating Ice Cream, drinking Hot Chocolate and watching "White Christmas." I got my Turkey dinner at Cracker Barrell, and the day was good. When we started watching White Christmas I started giggling, which of course my family thought was crazy, but I just at that moment felt so happy and content to be sitting with my little family, all cozied up in blankets, sipping hot cocoa and kicking off the Christmas season with my favorite Christmas movie of all time!

Today I also started phase 1 of Christmas decorating. Ok, something you should know about me. I like too many styles of Christmas decoration, so I have divided my house into themed zones. Zone 1 is the kitchen. The Kitchen is more bright and vibrant colors. Whimsy if you will. Lana and I had a lot of fun today decorating and listening to Christmas music. I am a little anal though, so I had to come up with something for Lana to "decorate.". I was quite pleased with the idea. I had some clear glass balls that I bought last year and never did anything with. I gave them to her, along with a bowl of sugar, a funnel, and a spoon. She spooned the "snow" into the balls, and then placed a little piece of garland into it to look like a Christmas tree. We then tied them off with pretty ribbon assortments and hung them on the chandalier. At the end of the season I will just dump out the sugar and she can do it again next year. HMMM.... I think I just started a new tradition. Lana is now all about the sugar. She also filled a votive and made one for her room.

So it was a good day. Still missed Laura. But Stacy and I shared with each other and the kids how much this year has meant to us and it really made this day special and full of new moments and memories.
Tomorrow...Phase 2! Any guesses on which room and what style???

Just Not the Same

(Laura and I reveling in our Thanksgiving success 2005.)

Sunday in church our pastor was giving a Thanksgiving message and I told Stacy that I got overwhelmingly sad thinking about Thursday. Its not that I don't have alot to be thankful for. Believe me, God has done incredible things in my life this year. It's just sad for me without my Sister here. Thanksgiving is our day. We cook, we laugh, we drink Starbucks Mocha Frappacinos, we yell at our kids, then say how thankful we are for them. We laugh at our husbands for playing too much x-box, we watch Marmi, The Pap, Granddada, and Nana, enjoy the grandkids, we talk about getting up really early the next morning for big shopping, but really, we never do. We're always too tired from all the Thanksgiving day prep.
Thanksgiving has always been a day that I REALLY look forward to spending with my sister. We are like minded, so there are never too many "Hens in the kitchen." We understand each other, we laugh at each other (Laura is one of my biggest fans and for that I am appreciative of!), we have known each other for a really long time, which of course always makes things easier. We can appreciate each others desire to cater a bit to our husbands weird eating issues. We love each others kids as much as our own as you can get. We triumph in the finished product at the Thanksgiving table. We enjoy every second of the togetherness that we can.

So this year, while I am thankful that God has been so gracious to me, I am also a little sad. Sad that I'm going to Cracker Barrel and not Atlanta. Sad that I have a new little niece that I can't hold this Thanksgiving day.
BUT...I am thankful. Very thankful that I have a sister that chose to follow the Lord to the ends of the earth. That is sharing the gospel with those around here. That has been blessed with a husband with the same heart, and blessed with 3 beautiful little girls. I am thankful for the time I got to spend with her earlier this year. Thankful for that gift. Thankful for pictures and memories. Thankful for the phone and internet to be able to keep in touch today.

I'm thankful for God's goodness this year. He has blessed me exceedingly and abundantly this year in many ways. So even though I am a little sad, He is still good. He is still gracious. He is still loving. He is after all, still God!

Amusing Logan

I am constantly amused by my 7 year old. Logan is currently obsessed with dinosaurs. When we go to the library he gets only books about dinosaurs. We of course have to be careful about some of that stuff, but he is obsessed. He is consantly drawing, reading, and "building" dinosaurs.
If you've heard of the Creation Museum, or the Answers in Genesis programs, you may be familiar with Buddy Davis. He is paleantoligist/creation expert. Logan has learned alot from his stuff.
Well, yesterday in the car Logan said...
"Mom, can Buddy Davis be my little "g" god?"
I was very tickled by this and then of course explained no, but he could be his mentor. That resulted in a phone call to the Creation Museum today to ask to speak to Buddy Davis. I had it on speaker phone so I could hear the person on the other end. She was very kind and polite and to my suprise did offer his email address.
So Logan painstakingly typed an email to Mr. Davis, were he included our town and zip code as well as my cell phone #. I deleted that part of course, typed a little note on the bottom that this was a parent approved letter and thanked him for his time.
So there we have it,Logans little "g" god has been invted to our home offically to build dinosaurs with a 7 year old. I'm sure he gets emails like this all of the time, but I truly hope he returns this one!

I'm BAACK

To some of you it may not seem that I have left. But to me, it has been the longest 4 days of my life.
The 7 year old computer finally crashed Thursday evening, leaving me cold and alone.
Dear Gwendy let me come over to her house until after 11:00 to finish my typing job, and ever since then I have been out of touch with the computer. It has made me sad.
Probablly a little more productive, but sad none the less.
Thanfully Friday we went to the T Rex named Sue thing and had a lot of fun with the other Mommas and kids, so that took up one day...then Saturday I worked on very cute Christmas crafts which I cannot show, but I am dying to, but can't since they are gifts for some of you!
Saturday night we went throught the hugest ordeal to try to get the new computer. Long story short, God is in control, knew we needed to wait one more day, and as a result we saved $200! PTL!
So today smart hubby got us up and running on the new computer. YEAH!!!!
Very happy with our awesome deal and to be back in touch with the real world.
Looking forward to not working this week and working on stuff with the kidos!
Toodles friends :)

Updated

OK...So I was at Target again today and bought these little mini cards. 8 for $1.
I cut them and fastened the front part to the front of the popcorn box, and used the other part as a label for the popcorn mix. I just used black marker right now, but I think I will acutally print a cute label and attatch it to the green card.
I got filler for $1 that will probablly last for all the boxes, and then of course tissue at dollar tree.
Oh, and the cool green yarn I got at dollar tree as well.
So, I think this is evolving into a great little gift.
Now lets just hope the actual popcorn recipe turns out good!

Idea # 1

My first submission for Christmas gift idea came to me today while at Target. We were looking for packaging for Awana, SS teacher, church staff gifts, etc...
Found in the dollar bins these hard plastic Popcorn boxes. Found packages of 30 red bags. Packages of 8 tags, and then I had got ribbon at Hobby Lobby last week on 1/2 price day.
Below is a link for Peanut Butter Popcorn Crunch. Will make a big batch of that and put it in the bags. I'm trying to think of a catchy phrase like "You really popped out this year! Thanks for all you do."
I think I will also Cover the front "Popcorn" writing, with handmade name tags.
Let me know if you have a catchy popcorn phrase.


http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Peanut-Butter-Popcorn-Crunch

Idea Swap

I thought it would be fun with Christmas fast approaching, to swap ideas!
I have posted some links to the left of some good websites I found.
If you have any good websites or resources, please comment on them here.
Also, if you have any good ideas for gifts for teachers, neighbors, church staff, etc... post those as well!
We have a great group of very creative people here and I would love to glean from you all as we enter this time of year. Which by the way, can you believe Thanksgiving is NEXT week? My goodness, where does the time go? I was just thinking that next Friday I will probablly put up my tree and start decorating for Christmas. WOW!!!
Oh, and on a side note, I am IN LOVE with the white trees with colored lights! I told my Mom that I really want to suprise the Family and get one for the den. I will still do my regular tree upstairs. Well I opened my big mouth the other day when I was at WalMart with Hubbie and he freaked out. He thinks they are hidious and that I am crazy! How dare he???
So do any of you have a Christmas tree desire that is out of the norm?
And don't forget about giving ideas!

Slither

Logan was in the play, "The Great Cross Country Race" over the weekend.
He had the very small part of Slither the Snake, but I think the overall experience of being a part of it was good for him. He got to make some new friends, and enjoy the commoradere of being part of a production. It was a very good production for a homeschool group!
Friday night after the play, we went to Jim and Nicks with my parents.
Logan ordered Riblets and fries and then fell asleep.
He slept the whole entire time we were there and had to be carried out.
Boy, imagine if he would have had a big part!!!!


Lana with Marmi & Pappy
Good times, Yeah!

Photography 101

I post this picture not to brag on my child.
(Altbough she is cute and this picture was taken because of the fact that she was wearing a dress and insisted on wearing the furry boots!)
I post this to brag on my friend Kim, who is one of the most excellent non professional photographers I know. Kim has a great eye for pictures. Her pictures always come out looking professional. I love the angles she chooses and the faces she waits for. So many of the pictures she takes are unique and in angles and expressions that I know I would never think of choosing.
I have two pictures hanging in my living room that Kim took of my kids when they were 1 & 3. They are beautiful and look like I paid a lot of money for them, when in fact, Kim has taken many cute pictures of my kids over the years and never charged me a dime.
I have heard Kim comment that other people are really great photographers and take the best pictures...but I would like to testify that I think that Kim Hill, hands down, rivals any professional out there.
So thanks Kim for giving of yourself in this way to your friends. I know that I am not the only one to benefit from your gift!

Couldn't Resist!

I had to post this picture they sent today.
I just want to eat them up!

Colors

Today I wore Red.
Today I feel pretty.
Today my husband complimented my red and pretty.

What color makes you feel pretty?

Christmas Spirit

Last night I got to go out with one of my girlfriends. Yes, just me and Gwendy. No kids, no husbands, no saying no, no saying stop, only two trips to the bathroom with no wiping butts. We went to Christmas Village and spent 4 hours there just perusing all of the wonderful merchandise. I did the unpardonable and actually bought something at the first booth I stopped at. I know I know, I shouldn't have done that. It was just 3.50 though, so it's OK.
It was grand to hear Christmas music and I think I was singing out loud once and someone was staring at me. Who cares. I had no kids with me. I can sing out loud if I want to!
I got many fabulous ideas for Christmas. I actually feel like I am behind on my planning this year. One thing I saw, (that I can't tell, because your kids may be the recipient of one) was really cute. I went to Michaels today and got the stuff to make a couple of trial ones with the kids today, and if it works, we will be busy busy busy! ( In a good way!)
Gwnedy bought Lana and her daughter matching jeans with black ribbon belts and black and white fabric trim on the bottom legs. SOOOO cute! Can't wait to give them to Lana for Christmas. The cheap hairbow ladies were there again with the $2.50 bows. I know I can make them myself and do alot, but sometimes you just don't feel like messing with it.

After leaving our 4 hours of blissful shopping, perusing, and chatting, we headed to (drum roll please!) The Cheesecake Factory!
Yummo! We shared appetizers and then I got Cocoa Kalula Cheesecake, of which I just remembered I still have 1/2 a piece in the fridge upstairs. Oh my!
I didn't get home until after 11:00 last night. The sad part was that I was so tired. When did staying out until 11 get to be hard?

OK...well my Christmas Village experience has brought these things to mind:

1. While fun to look at all the pretty stuff and purchase a few small items, I don't want to get wrapped up in the holiday hoopla.
2. I remember last year being so tired all of the time and not feeling like I did a lot of Christmasy type stuff with the kids. This year I want to really make it special.
3. For whatever reason that I don't deserve, God has chosen to give me very caring, giving children. I really want to help nurture that along this year at Christmas time even more. They are really excited to be making things for everyone.
4. I remember one of our old pastors saying that we should by the end of the year give as much to missions as we have spent on Christmas. I have really been thinking about that lately.
5. I used to do the 12 days of Christmas for my husband, but haven't done it in years. I want to start that again this year. I think it will be a nice way to reward him for all his hard work this year.
6. I want to entertain more this holiday season. I love to entertain and because of Stacys schedule don't do it very much. So I would like to maybe just host an open house or something and invite you all over. (unless I don't know you and you are a crazy person that stalks my blog. In that case, you stay home and stalk someone else!)
7. I want to do outside the box Christmas gifts for the ones that I love. Don't really know what that means yet, but I want to put the time and effort into meaningful gifts. I do know that I am taking my Dad to play golf on Friday when they come down, as an early Christmas present. Looking forward to that alot!
8. While I want to make this a fun and meaningful time of year, I want to make sure that I am showing my kids Gods love 24-7-365...not just at Christmas time. I would like for them to grow up remembering Christmas as a time of tradition, creativity, and excitement. But I want them to live everyday with the excitment of showing Gods love to others. Everyday using their gifts of creativity to serve Him. Everyday to be reminded of the gift of Jesus birth who gave us the gift of Salvation.
9. I want to spend a lot more time driving around looking at Christmas lights. We didn't do it enough last year and thats my favorite!
10. I want to watch a holiday movie every night in Decemeber. Not that its going to happen, but just wishing!
11. Since we are going to my parents this year, I REALLY want a white Christmas. Really wishing on that one!

Sorry to ramble on so about Christmas on Nov.3rd. Last night just got me to thinking.
Thanks for the fun Gwendy!

Nieces

I had to post this picture Laura sent of all 3 of her girls. I was looking at the baby bed Savannah is in. Is that not like 1953? I think its the same bed my mom was put in when she was born!
Laura said they didn't even have pillows at the hospital, and you could only take a shower between the hours of 6-8am. The food was horrible and cold, and of course there is no TV in the room. They only stayed about 12 hours after the baby was born and are already at their home in Nairobi!
I have a whole new appreciation for Brookwood Hospital!

Pray for Laura to get some really good rest in these next few days. She needs it!

An African Citizen!

Savannah Breeze made her grand appearance at 11:30 pm Kenyan time on Nov. 1st.
She is 7 lbs 9 oz and 20 1/2 inches.
She looks alot like Summer, but I think has Sarah in her too.
Laura is doing well, although exhausted from a very long painful
( NO EPIDURAL) labor. It is 1:30 am over there right now, so hopefully she will get a good nights sleep.

So here she is! My 3rd sweet niece. I got to hear her crying a little while ago and it was a sweet sweet sound. It's going to be hard not holding this one!

Thanks to everyone that was praying for Laura and Savannah. She is a true blessing!