What a Difference a Year Makes!

Thanksgiving 2008 was quite possibly the best Thanksgiving ever! For the past 4 Thanksgiving's - our family has celebrated Thanksgiving at the Farm. My entire family comes, David's entire family, family member's entire families come - it's alot of people. We have a great time, eat great food and in the end have our Black Friday lists ready to go after scouring the sale papers!

Last year's Thanksgiving did not seem so bad - at the time. When we sat down to eat last year, David's sister Julie had had surgery to remove a benign brain tumor two days prior to Thanksgiving and while the surgery was successful she was days into a lengthy hospital stay. Thanksgiving still was full of wonderful food and time with family, but it was tempered by concern for Julie.

This year, Julie was there. Healthy. Happy. And, thank you Jesus, completely restored to her normal self.

So I had a side kick during food preparations. And a shopping side kick for the day after Thanksgiving.

The kids - all 16 of them? I have no idea how many kids were there, but they had a wonderful time playing outside and after lunch going on a hayride. You can see the entire group in the above picture.

After everyone left we were left - there were 6 adults left (David/me, Julie/Harvey, David's mom and dad) and 8 kids/teens. Julie talked my sister into leaving 3 of her 4. I promise my sister's children are the best behaved ever.

Not that I would know from personal experience, but David said they were great. The girls left before the crack of dawn (5:15 to be precise) to shop! Julie, Patsy (David's mom) and I had the best time shopping all over place. We hit Wal-Martz in Rock Hill and the S. Tryon area of Charlotte, Target, Garden Ridge (more on that in a later post), Talbots, Old Time Pottery, Toys R Us, and lunched at McAllisters.

The men did a great job of holding down the fort - literally!

Puppy Names

We are getting ready to welcome a sweet little blond lab into our family. Jere and Caroline know that we are thinking about getting a dog, but they have no idea when. We've been discussing names for this new puppy -who is a girl- and have narrowed it down to three:

Drake
Fancy
Georgia

We would love some other names to consider. I would love to hear your suggestions!

Giving Thanks

Psalm 100 (New International Version)

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his [a] ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.



This Thanksgiving I am thankful for:
Jesus
David
Our children
Family
Friends
Good Health
Our Children's school
Our church
Our home
Bible Study
Diet Coke
Food
Clothing
Transportation
All of our needs met
So many of our wants met!

Thank you Lord for all that you have given us - we are blessed beyond measure! You are good and your love endures forever. Your faithfulness continues through all generations.

Today I had the privilege of meeting a fellow blogger. I met Hannah through Donna and have enjoyed reading her blog. The three of us (and Roy Austin) met for lunch at the Cracker Barrel - is there any other place?

Those of you who know me know that there are other places I like to eat - McAllister's, Acropolis, etc. But I digress.

Hannah and Donna are just as much fun to be around as they appear in their blog. We had a blast! And can I say that Roy Austin is the best.baby.EVER? He behaved beautifully and is the biggest flirt.

As for lunch, Hannah and Donna were good with vegetable plates - I had Vegetable Soup and Grilled Cheese with Bacon. What can I say, I like to live dangerously?

Hannah ran into a friend - I jumped at the chance to play paparazzi

After lunch we had a chance to leisurely browse through the store and select somethings that might be acceptable for our Christmas Swap.Here is Donna expressing joy over the lovely Christmas Ornaments.

Where is Roy Austin you ask? Oh he's playing with the Cracker Barrel Nanny -

I found the perfect gift - it's Bill Gaither's Christmas Homecoming Concert! Please someone tell me what these pink bunny ears/ballet slippers are to the left of my head? It has something to do with my camera.

Donna really liked this table of Christmas sweaters. Things got a little crazy when this group of ladies came in liking the same sweaters. But, you'll be happy to know that Donna was a lady and did not go to fighting with this group.

Hannah is giving thought to this cowgirl outfit - good idea for swap?

Soon it was time to go. On the way home I remembered that Donna was unable to find a suitable Christmas Sweater - I swung by Steinmart and found a few possibilities for her

Or this, isn't the state bird of Virginia the cardinal?

Or one of these? I wasn't sure if the Santa sweater might be a little controversial?

Night Flight

I flew to Georgetown tonight for dinner - boy my arms are tired! Thank you I will be here all week.

Actually David flew me to Georgetown SC for dinner. He had to fly a cross country (100 nautical miles) night flight for a particular certification he is working towards. What better way to enjoy dinner in a different place than to fly there?

His flight instructor and his wife came with us for the evening. We've done things with them before and knew they would be fun!

Here we are before takeoff

I did not take any pictures in air because apparently the flash would have been disturbing? David is a wonderful pilot and the 3 take offs and 3 landings were very smooth.

Why three take offs and landings? The very first time we took off, I heard his flight instructor say "Do you think my door is closed?" I thought they were kidding.

They weren't. David turned that plane around, landed it - very smoothly I might add - Will slammed his door shut - as we were barrelling down the run way - and he took off again.

It was pretty exciting.

What was really exciting was getting to Georgetown/the Beach in 40 minutes. In a car this would take no less than 3.5 hours without any stops.

I'm seeing David running a shuttle to the beach this summer. Perhaps I should write a business plan for this venture?

What do you do when you arrive in a city with no car? The airports have SPECIAL cars they let you use called Courtesy Cars. Here is a picture of the car we used for the evening

Shout Out For Help

Party Season is upon us! I would love some new appetizer recipes. Please share a recipe for a yummy appetizer - I don't care if you think it's the oldest recipe around or the easiest - just share it in the comments section.

My party attenders thank you! And so do I.

The Picture I was Waiting For

When I posted about the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer I said I had more to say, but needed a picture. Here goes:

When our team approached the Finish Line on Sunday - Day 2 there was another team ahead of us. They did not seem as light-hearted and fun-loving as we were. As they crossed the Finish Line they shed many tears. There was a man in their group - here is his picture

The picture on his back pack is that of his wife. I'm not sure if you can see what is tied to his backpack so here is another picture

Do you see the shoes tied to his backpack? They are the shoes his wife wore last year in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. She passed away from breast cancer sometime after last year's walk. This was so heartbreaking to see, but it was also heartbreaking to see August's reaction to learning about this man's story.

(Yes, a member of our team was pointing - we were all so shocked to see/hear of the situation) And yes, August had her pouty lips on, but after all she's been through I totally think that on this day it was justified!)

How I pray that the money raised for this walk will help to find a cure for this horrible disease!

Never a Boring Day!

Just this morning I was thinking I had not posted in a while, but really didn't have anything funny to say or to share - until I switched over the laundry from the washer to the dryer!!

My sister and I are throwing a 90th Birthday party for our grandmother, Gagi. This morning I was discussing the menu with Catherine on the phone and was multi-tasking. I switched a load of whites from the washer to the dryer and prepared to add the next load to the washer.

As I picked up yucky cloths that had been used to clean the garage (family project from Saturday morning - another post for another day) a LIZARD jumped out from the pile of rags. I shrieked, wet my pants - bladder control is so overrated, and pretty much lost it - all while on the phone with my sister.

Somehow I managed to contain the lizard under a container - which I later contained with another container: Jere's large blue water jug.





Sufficiently satisfied that all was well I decided to try again with the laundry. It was at this point when ANOTHER.LIZARD came out! And I could not contain this one. Finally, I shut the door and stuffed tons of old towels underneath the door to prevent an escape.


At this point I am trying deep breathing techniques and everything. I am so grossed out by lizards! David is an hour away today and was not answering his cell phone. I am pretty sure he had spotty cell coverage, but seriously - I needed him!!


So I called my dad - not home. And carries a cell phone with him, but does not turn it on - EVER. So he was unreachable.


I tried my friend Melissa - we were planning to have lunch together today - I knew I could get her. Perhaps she was brave enough to take on the Lizard. NO CHANCE - she said she wished she had a video camera to record this. But she did have her husband, Rodney.


I called back and asked if Rodney would come over and deal with this lizard issue. He came over and shut himself up in my mess of a laundry room caught the roaming lizard and took him outside. When he released the towel - there was no lizard. So back Rodney went. This time - success!!



Then he dealt with the one I had contained in a container on top of a container.

THANK YOU RODNEY!!!


Rodney has his own company Eason Development and specializes in additions or rennovations. I have seen the addition he did on his own home and it is beautiful. He also did a beautiful job on a new pantry for Melissa. If you are considering having something done, shoot him an email at RODEASON@aol.com.


And as a bonus - if he finds any varmints he's really good at getting rid of them!

his Heart is in His Hands

Proverbs 21:1
The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

Thank you Lord that you will accomplish what you have planned through anyone!

Trick or Treat 2008

Thank you, Donna for reminding me that I had not posted our Trick or Treat pictures!

We had a really fun time Friday night!

The afternoon started out with a bang - Cousin Christopher came home from school with us for a bit - his brother had a doctor appointment. First, we had to stop for our traditional end of the week treat at Citgo - Ices! Jere and Caroline love to get these. I will try to remember to get a picture of this next week.

Jere and Christopher played outside and were loving life.

After the ices and a bit of playing. David arrived home with his Dad. He had flown to pick him up in Atlanta. So the kids were extra hyped up. Once we got ready we went to my sister's house for dinner and trick or treating.

There was one pit stop - Dominoes Pizza. Catherine had ordered and paid for the pizza earlier in the week - for the very purpose of making sure it was ready on Halloween. The pizza place is on our way so we were glad to stop and pick it up. David dropped me off and when I walked in - it hit me - I had walked into a complete MAD HOUSE!

They had no idea what they were doing. There was a crowd of people waiting for their orders, the phone was ringing non-stop with new orders (who were promised delivery in 30 minutes - no less), and a label maker thing for the pizza boxes was going hay wire!

Complete chaos I tell you. Complete chaos.

To make a long story short - we had to wait 30 minutes for pizza that was supposed to be ready when I walked in the door. Notice I said "we". At one point, I walked to the door of the store and motioned to David to come in and help me. My father-in-law gets out to help. Soon after we had our pizzas in hand and were able to proceed to my sisters!

In addition to the pizza she had hot dogs, chili, and chicken tenders. I don't care for hot dogs, but I love chili (made without beans) on a hotdog bun. Catherine got the chili just right. I will ask her to send me the recipe to share.

Before I share pictures of all of the kids, here is a picture for you

This is David's mom. Can you imagine seeing her driving down Highway 51? Note Caroline in the back thinking she is being all sneaky giving "bunny ears" on Daddy. Sorry, Caroline, you're not quite tall enough to give Daddy bunny ears - yet!

Patsy was a pumpkin and David was a hot daddy - a part he plays daily!

Here are our two - can you guess what they are?

A football player and a cheerleader! Notice Caroline has her water bottle with strap on her - the girl is prepared. I believe this is the Jesus water bottle too.

In addition to being a football player and cheerleader, it appears that both Jere and Caroline are being a sweet and loving brother and sister. Oh that this could the case every day!

Fun Run Photos

Last Wednesday Jere and Caroline participated in the Fun Run at their school. They do this run instead of selling stuff. It is run by a great Christian organization and the kids all love it.

Caroline ran in the first race and Jere ran in the second race.

It was brutally cold last Wednesday morning. Here is Caroline running out with her class.

Bless her heart, Caroline was cold!

Below, Caroline and her sweet friend Madeline are running together. Maybe a sign of things to come? They could be running buddies - they do seem to have a similar pace/stride. Whatever.

The above picture is Jere taking off. His race was an hour later than Caroline's and the temperatures seem to have warmed up a bit!

Here is Jere on the cooldown lap.
And my personal favorite -

Here's a shot of the cutest cheerleader for the Fun Run - 10 month old Hannah Roddy! Shown with her mom, Christy.

Amen and Amen!

The attached is included in a email circulating called Billy Graham's Prayer for our Nation. I've tried to verify this online and can not confirm that he wrote this. I wonder if any of my readers have an "in" with Reverend Graham and could verify whether or not he wrote this? The integrity of my blog is at stake, people!

Richard R has investigated this and discovered that the prayer was actually prayed by Rev. Joe Wright. Thank you, Richard for this clarification.

Regardless of who wrote it, it is a wonderful prayer so I will share it with you today:

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'