keepin' up with the joneses

How I should Respond

2010-10-11T03:41:00.000-07:00

I have been dialoging lately with a friend about some problems she is having. I recall when one of my relatives hurt my feelings very deeply several years ago. I have been dealing with my own emotions responding to someone else in my life who is not doing what I see that he should according to Scripture. While thinking and praying about this, God has revealed something to me. I need to focus on what I can do to GLORIFY HIM through all these situations in my life. When I start feeling frustrated or offended. His purpose through all of these situations is not necessarily about ME. I want to get to the place where I can trust Him and let go of my emotional responses. Not to say that it does not hurt when someone speaks ill of you, based on your adherence to a godly lifestyle. Especially when that someone is a family member whose love you crave and opinion you value. Not to say it doesn't feel like a slap in the face when you give godly counsel to someone who claims to be a believer, only to have him not follow what you can clearly see is the best path for his life. But I think that our godly response is to wait. On the Lord. Although man's opinion may not be what we want to hear, we can trust that GOD is pleased with our actions, and we can rest in the assurance that He will resolve the situation in His own time and for His good pleasure. I think of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace. They did not worry about whether God could save them from the intense flames. They knew He could, but they chose to stand firm, worship and obey Him, WHETHER HE DID OR NOT. They did not have an emotional response, but a faithful response.
It is not always easy, but it is obedience. It is what the world sees, and questions. They cannot understand how we can stand strong against adversity and conflict. And God can use it to lead others to himself.

Oh, how I long to trust Him more...

"be still, and know that I am God..." Psalm 46:10

2010-10-09T04:54:00.000-07:00

We just got back from an awesome beach trip. We had been planning a trip, but there were alot of loose ends, due to the fact that William's job at B,E and K was coming to an end, and he was not sure where he was going next. He found out about a job in Mississippi through a co worker, and went down with him to apply. He passed all the tests, and was ready to start as soon as his drug test came through ok (Cross fingers!!) In the meantime, we had been researching several different vacation locations: we had originally planned on Gulf Shores because we love going there. But then we found out our pastor's family was going to Mexico beach, FL the same time we were planning on going, so we tried to coordinate a trip with them. When William got called to Mississippi, he said maybe we could go to Biloxi, MS since it is on the beach. After many hours of researching condos, motels, beach houses and the like on the internet, we finally decided on Gulf Shores. The condo we had been interested in had only one week available in October, and it was the one we needed. Thank you God! William realized that it was only a couple of hours from Gulf Shores to Pascagoula, MS, so we decided to take 2 cars and he would leave from the beach to go to his new job when they called. We threw all our stuff in the cars, and tried not to forget anything. It was defintely a rush packing job. We were able to get our friends the Lamberts to take care of our pets, so we were ready to go. William did not hear from the job in Mississippi, so he called them on Wednesday. They said his test had not come back yet. On Thursday, William got a call from another company, Lavender, that is in Northport. The job they are doing is actually at the same oil refinery he was working for with B, E, and K. But this job will be more permanent and, unlike the MS job, ALOT closer to home. Praise the Lord!!!! So we got to enjoy a vacation at the condo we had originally selected, which was a great price and location, and he left a day early to come back home and start work. The condo was right next to Sea and Suds restaurant, which we loved because we could walk to dinner insead of driving. We also visited DeSotos' Restaurant, which William likes because you can get home cooked vegetables for sides instead of just the usual coleslaw/baked potato/fries/salad options. And of course, we ALWAYS get gumbo, no matter what seafood place we choose. But we forgot they don't serve hushpuppies. That should be against the law. How can you eat seafood without hushpuppies?
I got up a couple of mornings and walked down the beach to the pier. It was not quite a mile each way. I collected a ton of shells, and other "sea stuff". The weather was cool, but still warm enough to swim.
The kids spent alot of the days at the beach and the pool. There was a blue heron that came up to beg from the fishermen, and Bailey and Noah got close enough to have their picture taken with him. They also, fed the seagulls, and swam with millions of minnows. William caught several different fish, and just avoided stepping on a couple of rays or skates. We remembered to use sunscreen, and avoided any bad burns.
It was a really relaxing, fun trip and we are thankful that God allowed us the time relaxing together.

blogging again

2010-08-28T06:36:00.000-07:00

I know I have not been blogging for awhile...again. It is not because there has been nothing to write about. I guess there has been so much to write about that I have not had (or made) the time. First of all, Cody is now at House of Hope in Ralph, AL. without going into alot of details, let's just say that the Lord has been working in his life for the past few years. He has gone through alot, most of which he brought on himself, and has had to pay some pretty high prices for his choices. He is learning (hopefully) to take care of himself, and it appears that the Lord has saved him. Even though it was a difficult path, the Lord used every step of that path to reveal Himself to Cody, and protect him from getting deeper into bad patterns and situations. I am thankful to have him as my brother in Christ. It has also helped me to trust God more. It was so hard at times, when things seemed like things were never going to improve for him. He was so lost, and it seemed he had no desire for the things of God. Well, of course he didn't, because God had not changed his heart yet. But I was wanting his salvation to happen in MY timing, not God's. God showed me that I needed to be patient and trust Him, and that He knew what was best for Cody. I think one of the hardest revelations was that Cody might NEVER come to Him, if it was not His will. I had to learn to be ok with that if it happened, and trust my Heavenly father to do what was best to bring HIMSELF glory. it's not all about me, or any of us. It's all about God. Praise and glory be to Him!

Welcome to our New Look!

2009-02-04T05:17:00.000-08:00

Until today, I never knew I could change all the colors of everything on my blog. I just thought since it was free, it didn't have alot of options. So imagine my happy surprise when I discovered that I could make everything PURPLE! It may not stay this way long, if William has anything to say about it, but he doesn't check it very often, I don't think. I may just keep experimenting, 'cause I now know there's other things I can change too, such as the fonts, etc. I am still having problems uploading photos, but I hope I can figure something out soon so I can get some on here. The stories aren't quite as much fun without accompanying images! (especially the progress on our new house!)

New (to us!) Furniture

2009-02-04T04:36:00.000-08:00

We got even more stuff for the house (furniture) from our friends the Characters. They had an old house on the land they own, and were getting it cleaned out. Betsy offered us whatever we wanted from everything, and we said we would take it all, sight unseen (sort of) because we knew we could use most of it, and it would be easier for them to just load it all up at once and take it away.

Ben was bringing it Sunday to church, and on the way had a blow out on one of the tires on the trailer. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and he was able to get to a place to take care of the problem, but it was too late for him to come on to church. That afternoon, William went and met him in Tuscaloosa and hooked up the trailer and brought it to our house. That night, it was supposed to rain, so Noah and I hunted down a tarp to cover everything. We found a small tarp, then William remembered a large piece of plastic we had so we were able to get it covered. I was out there with a flashlight, curiously peeking around, trying to see what all was there. Betsy had brough her camera to church last Sunday, but I could not see the images very well on such a small screen. So I had an idea of what was there, but...

Next morning, I went out and tried to loosen the ropes holding everything together. Let me just say, Ben gets the Boy Scout Award for knot tying! I finally found the ends, and was able to untie and untangle the ropes where they had been tightly twisted throughout different pieces of furniture legs, backs, feet ( torsos, arms, etc.) Bailey and I started by unloading the 4 dining room chairs, something I have been wanting for awhile. We had a bench in our dining area that sat in the corner, and ran along 2 adjacent walls. I never really liked this. Although it did provide alot of seating space, things would inevitably get knocked through the seats onto the floor under the benches, and lost, if the person (people) sweeping didn't happen to reach far enough back with the broom. Also, the corner piece was enclosed and you could not even get under that part of the bench if you wanted to, without moving a mountain, so to speak. So you can imagine what sort of treasures (and scary things!) we found when William and Noah took the benches apart and moved them out of the kitchen! We are glad to have our new chairs!

We also got a dresser and I decided to move it into Noah and Bailey's room. We had a white metal cabinet in there, but I thought we would move that into the new house for now, since it would not be hurt by the weather. Bailey was so excited to have her own dresser! (She and Noah have been sharing up til now.) We put a small bookshelf and and entertainment center they sent on top of the dresser to make up for the extra storage space needed.

Other items included a corner desk (which will be PERFECT for Bailey's corner vanity that we had already planned for her new room), a cool coffee table that is octagonal, with 4 wedge-shaped glass inserts; another entertainment center, 3 lamps, and another small 3 tiered table. There was even a sewing maching and ironing board! What a wonderful blessing from the Lord!

The only thing we really couldn't use was another coffee table, and our good friend from church , Ms. Ruth had told me she was looking for a coffee table for her son. ("Nothing fancy, just something for him to keep his stuff on. I don't want to go and pay for one, because he won't be able to take very good care of it.") Well, this one fits the bill exactly! It is VERY sturdy and in good shape, but not beautiful to look at. I don't think Scott will mind. He just wants somewhere to keep his stuff. And "free" is always a good price!

Trials are for our good

2009-01-26T04:52:00.000-08:00

With things taking a daily turn for the worse in our economy, where do we turn for hope? Well, I HOPE our hope is in the LORD! He is the only true source of hope, and we can trust Him, because, not only is HE in control, but He is faithful.
Romans 8:28
And we know all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called, according to His purpose.
Some may have misunderstood this verse to mean that all things will always be great for everyone.(Some people mistakenly think they love God, when their lifestyle is contrary to His ways) Or that all things will go smoothly for God's chosen. But lets look at it more carefully. What this verse is really saying is that no matter what the situation seems like, God is USING it for his children's good. It may not seem good or fun at the time, but ULTIMATELY, He knows what is best for us, and how to give us what we need.
As I was reminded yesterday at church, through the sharing of one brother, and the teaching of our pastor, true faith is reconizing that we need to trust that God will give us what we need, even when we don't think it's what we want or need. It is trusting that He has our best at heart, and that He is shaping our character through the circumstances of our life. Our growth occurs when we are going through trials. Although we don't like the trials, we do love the closeness it brings us to our Father, and the more it causes us to depend on Him.

Re-Staking my Claim

2008-10-09T19:38:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been almost 2 years since I blogged. I was having ALOT of trouble getting to my account, and finally after changing to a different internet provider, I was able to create and sign in with a google account. So, I'm back!

Alot has changed in 2 years. We are working on building our house, and I will try to post some pictures in the next few days. Even though we have come a long way with our internet, we are still on dialup, so no promises on those pics!

William layed block walls all along the exterior of the house, and framed the interior walls. He finished the roof a few months ago, and has since put up the ceiling - cedar siding. It looks really good, and smells wonderful too. The windows had to be special ordered, and they came in today, so they should be installed soon. Also, Dad is working on building us some kitchen cabinets.

So far we have collected the following to use in the house either free or at low cost : cedar siding, 2 toilets, 2 sinks with cabinets, for the bathrooms, 2 kitchen sinks (not sure which we'll use), several area rugs, exterior doors, various light fixtures and ceiling fans, stove and microwave. There's probably more, but I can't think of it all.

It is really exciting as we are getting closer to moving in. I am looking forward to having Shea, Bev, Leigh Ann and Lee come and help me decorate. And Ruth Wilson has offered to help paint.

Moss Rock Preserve

2006-12-30T03:27:00.000-08:00

Our family has discovered a wonderful place in the middle of residental Hoover, AL. It is a park with huge boulder outcroppings intermingled with hiking trails, and even a creek and waterfalls. We have only been a few times, but the kids love to go and climb the rocks, and hike down to the waterfall. We last went this fall, and the leaves were just beautiful. While we were there, we encountered a tiny bird who at first seemed to be following us. He would flit from tree to tree as we walked down the trail. But whenever any of us tried to get too close, he flew directly at our faces. A couple of us even got scratches as he flew too near our eyes. I tried to get a good picture, but could not get very close (for obvious reasons.)
We found alot of really nice leaves, and collected a few to take hom and make "stained glass" pictures. These are done by ironing the leaves between two pieces of wax paper, then framing with construction paper strips. (This is about the only time I iron, btw)
phtos to come later - there's a problem with uploading them right now.

"Ketchup"

2006-12-30T03:13:00.000-08:00

this post is not actually about the red stuff made from tomatoes, but is in actuality what I hope to do in the next couple of days - Ketch-up! I have gotten seriously behind with all the busy-ness of the holidays, and have tons of things to blog about. so with that said, I will delve into the picture files on my computer and see what needs to be added...

Good Helpers

2006-12-20T02:52:00.000-08:00

I've struggled with different types of rewards and systems for chores, and had problems. For awhile, we were using a piece of paper with each child's name, and I would give stickers for RAK's (random act of kindness). Then I found a system where they had a poster with pockets and chore cards that they moved aroung from one pocket to another when they had completed each chore. (Reminded me of Richard Simmons' Deal A Meal!!)But over time I have discovered that the best and easiest method for us is the Nike slogan - Just Do It! We have been trying to teach them that as part of a family, we all have responsibilities that we do to help everything go more smoothly for the good of everyone. There are so many opportunities to serve one another, not just try to see how quickly your points are adding up to gain that cheap little toy that you didn't really need or want anyway. That just gives you more stuff to pick up later when you get bored with it after a few days and leave it lying on the floor.
I think the children have adapted very well, and there are even a couple of chores they really enjoy. We are still working on who will do what chore, but they are getting better and more willing to do them with minimal or no complaining.
Noah and Bailey both enjoy mopping the floor. The first day we got the new mop, I think Noah mopped the kitchen about eight times! I finally had to make him stop. This was after Bailey had already mopped it twice.
Bailey enjoys doing the dishes, but is not quite as proficient at it as Noah. He has really improved - he used to get alot of water on the floor using the sprayer thingy, but now he does a wonderful job. He is also very patient and persevering now. He used to wash only a few pieces and then ask if he could stop, but now he does the entire sinkful without any fuss.
Bailey also likes cleaning the bathroom, especially the sink and mirrors. Noah completes the bathroom by scrubbing the tub and toilet.
They both pitch in to help wash and put up clothes for themselves, and for Daddy. So if you notice that some of William's pants have a crease in the wrong place, or there's a wrinkle in his shirt, please be forgiving! They haven't made it to ironing yet, and neither have I }:(
Also, Noah has a cool wagon that we got him for his birthday. It will carry up to 500 lbs. (yes you read that right!) Just the thing for taking bags of garbage up the hill to the big garbage can.
It is not always easy to teach our children to do this, but it is such a blessing!
Thank you, Bailey and Noah, for being obedient and gracious about doing your chores. Daddy and I appreciate your good attitudes and hard work.

Fall Festival Frenzy

2006-11-21T03:48:00.000-08:00

Costume? What costume?

On October 31, William took our kids and went with Derek and the Johnson kids to a couple of churches who were having Fall Festivals. There were two that were close to one another and the game plan was to hit one and hopefully do it quick enough to be able to go down the road and take in the other one as well, and still be home by about 8:30.
The kids decided to dress up at the last minute, so we gathered all the props for Bailey to be a cat, and Noah to be a pirate. We had alot of fun trying to come up with a tail and an eye patch, but Mom's ingenuity came through! I had an old pair of black leather boots that I cut up to make the patch for Noah, and an old black sweater that I was able to fashion into a tail for Bailey. William maintained through it all that "I always dress like this!", refusing to admit he was wearing a costume.
Melissa and I were not invited, so we headed off to shop for an gift for an upcoming wedding tea.
The kids (and their dads) had a blast! There were games with prizes, lots of junk food, and of course CANDY!! The guys were impressed that there was even chili at one of the churches. The only thing they didn't like was having to fill out a long laborious form before entering one of the festivals.

Happy Bear-thday Bailey!

2006-11-20T03:00:00.000-08:00

I have really gotten behind on blogging lately, but in the next few days I am going to attempt to catch up.
Bailey's 7th birthday was actually on October 18, but as you can see, it is now November 21!
Well, here are some highlights. We opened presents and had cupcakes on Wednesday morning, the actual day. Bailey got a butterfly necklace, a stuffed really soft puppy and a cool glitter motion lamp that moves the glitter around when the bulb heats up. That night we took all the leftover cupcakes to church to share with the kids there.

We celebrated the following Sunday at Mawmaw and Pawpaw's(William's parents). Mawmaw made a chocolate cake with pink frosting that was very good. Aunt Kathy and cousins Kayla and Melissa, and Aunt Sherry and cousin Ryan came to join the celebration. Bailey got presents from everyone, and I think her favorite was the movie "Over the Hedge".

Happy birthday, Bailey!

Happy Bear - thday, William

2006-10-09T04:15:00.000-07:00

Above, William blowing out the candles, with a little help from Bailey
Noah ,William, and Bailey put on their best smiles for the camera

On September 18th, William turned thirty-nine. We celebrated at home by having cake and ice cream and presents. William had asked for no presents, so the ones we got were minimal - 2 tapes of gospel bluegrass from a yard sale for only 25 cents each. They were really good, having handmade instruments such as mandolin and dulcimer accompanying the guitars and fiddles.
Recently, I read about a family who had a birthday tradition of having one huge gift bag that they filled with presents for each member's birthday. This helped save on wrapping paper for each individual gift. Although we did not choose to adopt this tradition, that got me thinking about what type of tradition we could incorporate into our own family. A few months ago, we got a really cool bear hat at a yard sale. But we have not really had much occasion to wear it. It's one of those things that seemed really neat at the time, but once we got it home, we stuck it on a hat rack, and it just kind of stayed there. I thought it would be fun for the birthday person to wear the hat for the birthday celebration, so here is the inauguration of the "bear"thday hat, as we like to call it. Bailey will get to wear the hat in a couple of weeks for her birthday.
About a week after William's birthday, we all went out to Captain D's for a birthday dinner. William got to choose where he wanted to go, and the kids couldn't believe he wouldn't pick their favorite, McDonald's! I think he was trying to pick something we would ALL enjoy (plus we had coupons, which is always great!)

Thinking inside the box

2006-09-21T05:02:00.000-07:00

The two pictures above are of the turtle I found, dubbed "Cardboard". The picture below is the one William found several days later, named "Sheldon."
This past week we have really been blessed with box turtles. One day, I heard our neighbor's dog "Molly" (not her real name) barking down by the creek. She simply would not cease, which is unusual. I finally went down there to see what she was barking at, and it was a box turtle. I brought him back up to the house to show the kids, and we ending up keeping him overnight. Noah tried for about 30 minutes to devise a way to get him to "come out of his shell." Bailey even took him to church to show all her friends. Since we did not have a large enough cage for him, he spent the night in the bathtub. I looked on the internet for some info to tell the kids. We learned that you can easily sex a box turtle by two main characteristics. The females have brown eyes, while the males' are red or orange. Also, the males' shells are more rounded (taller) while the females' are flatter. We definitely(?) had a male.The next day we let him go. We also learned that turtles have a built in "homing device" that leads them back to their birthplace. So if you ever see a turtle crossing the road, put him on across instead of taking him back to where he started. Otherwise, chances are, he'll just try to cross again later.
A few days later William was out in the field and he came in with a box turtle he had found. We quickly discovered this was not the one we found a few days before. It was smaller, also a male, but the shell was misshapen, as if he had been assaulted by some animal or machine at some point in his life. We did not keep him very long, but put him back where he came from as well. We know there are so many wonderful animals in these woods, and it is exciting to find ones we don't see very often.

Meme! pick me!

2006-08-27T01:16:00.000-07:00

Ruthanne tagged me to do a five things Meme. I had never heard the proper name for this sort of thing, but have seen it done. Questions are asked, and you respond with short personal answers to each one. She actually asked me to do a homeschooling one as well, but I am working on a LONG post in that area for the future. She told me I only had to answer one of the two, so I chose the short, fun one!

1. What are five things in your refrigerator?
a severed head (of lettuce), extra sharp white cheddar, ingredients to make our homemade salsa,frozen eggs ( I think we need to adjust the airflow between the 'fridge and freezer), and yummy hot wing chicken dip (Aunt Nancy's recipe)

2. What are five things in your closet?
skeletons, my grandmother's painted glass lamp that I dare not use til we get in our "real house", two pair of boots waiting for cold weather, manuals for every appliance we own (or have ever owned!), a hanging pocket-thingy full of costume jewelry

3. What five things are in your purse?
letter to mail, pizza hut "frequent flyer" lunch ticket with only 2 more punches to go (then I get a free buffet!), BC's, photos of family and friends, cell phone that I rarely if ever use (500 minutes lasts me over a year!)

4. What five things are in your car?
several pairs of kids' shoes, old medicine cabinet I got at a yard sale for $1.00 today, rechargeable aa batteries that need to be brought in the house and recharged, homeschool books Mary printed for me at her work for cost (thanks, Mary!), and a piece of carpet given to me by the people who gave us the two toilets from freecycle so the toilets would "stay put" on the way home.(the toilets were clean, and so is the carpet!)

5. Five People to tag
Melissa
James Sappington
Katrina
Peggy Paulin
anyone else who may want to share

you do not have to have a blog to do this. to participate, just click on comments and leave your answers there

God is in Control

2006-08-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

Today we had quite an experience. We had decided to go over to Tannehill State park for a little while, and we were driving along Greyhill Road, about 2 miles from our home. All of a sudden we noticed a car coming along very rapidly, and swerving all over the road. William tried to get over, but just at the last second, the car hit the left rear of our car, then kept going at what seemed to be full speed, and out of sight past us. Praise the Lord, we were all ok, and William got out to walk up the road and check on the people who were in the other car. We were able to flag down a passing motorist and get them to call the police. As it turned out, the driver was a handicapped woman who had been driving her relative (either daughter or granddaughter) home from work and had fallen asleep at the wheel. When their car left the road, amazingly it did not flip or hit anything, although there was potential for these things to have happened. We felt so blessed and grateful to God that no one was hurt. The paramedics came and took the other driver to the hospital, just to have everything checked out, but she seemed to be fine.Her relative was also fine. It is so great to know that God is in control, not only of that, but EVERY situation!!

edible(?) wild plants

2006-08-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

this is an Asiatic (or Virginia) day flower that Noah found out in our front yard. we later found several of these.

we think these are both edible, but we are no experts, so PLEASE do not eat

turk's cap lily that I discovered, also in the front yard

Salsa!

2006-08-08T12:33:00.000-07:00

Monday I made two batches of our famous salsa using tomatoes given to us by the Characters. We finally retired our old food processor that literally fell into two pieces as I was holding it. I am glad William went by and picked up a "new and improved model" on the way home. ( BTW, how can something be New AND Improved? If it's new there's never been anything like it, and if it's improved, there has to have been something that can be improved!! )
When I chopped the jalapenoes, which is the first step, I thought I was going to have to go put on a gas mask to finish the process! They were so strong that the membranes of my eyes and throat were definitely affected. I started coughing and tearing up, and was having trouble approaching the container to remove some of the peppers before continuing. I was finally able to get past the overwhelming burning and add the rest of the ingredients. It came out tasting sooo delicious! Home grown tomatoes definitely made a difference. I am not bragging when I say it rivals any good Mexican restaurant salsa. Much better than "store boughten" jarred sauce. We got the recipe with some horrible, hand powered chopper we bought several years ago. It was almost impossible to turn the handle while trying to keep the container flat on the counter, and it was very difficult to keep control. We ended up throwing out the chopper, but realized we had found a gem when we tasted the salsa we created by using the recipe in the instruction booklet.

We were intending to take part of the first batch to Brother Derek's (our pastor) family. Before we got out of the driveway, Bailey noticed that the salsa had spilled out of its container and (thankfully!) into the plastic bag. It was sad to lose half the batch like that, but I made another batch after delivering salsa and chips to the Johnson's. Here's the recipe for those who want it.

1-3 jalapenos
1 bunch fresh cilantro
3 medium tomatoes (either home grown, or "on the vine" from the store)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 red or orange bell pepper
1 clove garlic, pressed
1T olive oil
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t oregano
1-1/2 t salt
juice of 1/2 lemon or lime

use food processor to chop jalapenoes. remove majority of them from container to add back in at end.
wash all vegetables well, especially cilantro. cut stems off cilantro and discard. put tops in bowl of processor and pulse to chop. add in can of tomatoes next, pulse lightly. then add in pieces of onion and bell pepper. next add pieces of fresh tomatoes. pulse after each addition. finally, add garlic, liquids and all spices. again, pulse to mix thoroughly. after salsa is thoroughly blended together, taste to see if you need to add salt, or more of the jalapenoes. Make sure if it needs salt to add the salt before adding additional peppers. the salt will bring out the heat of the peppers. William likes this with Doritos scoops, but I prefer the flat santitas or tostitos bite size chips. Enjoy!

trip to Tennessee to visit Jan's family

2006-07-24T19:20:00.000-07:00

I just got back last night from a trip with my dad, brother (Doug) and his children, Maggie (9) and James (13) to visit my aunt Nancy and uncle Ted's house in Tennessee. We left Birmingham Saturday morning. James and I had a great time on the ride up talking.

Also visiting, from Illinois, were my mom's brother Bob and his wife Georgie. They were on their way to Arkansas and stopped over at Nancy and Ted's. We also saw my cousin Cindy and her husband Bret and their kids Ally(9) and Zach (15), as well as my cousin Matt and his new bride of a little over a year, Kimberly. It was a short trip for us, only staying one night, but it was good to see everyone. The last time we were all together was in March for my Mom's funeral.

We spent most of the afternoon talking and catching up. My aunt Nancy made a delicious chicken and rice dish for supper, and I made sure I got the recipe for it before I left (coming soon to a fellowship meal near you, Grace members!) In fact, it was so good I made it tonight for my immediate family since they didn't get to join us in Tennessee.

While I was gone William and the kids had fun going and doing some fun things together. First of all, they went to several yard sales (big surprise!!) For those who don't know, yard sales are one of our favorite Saturday morning activities. For lunch they hit McDonald's and even managed to squeeze in a visit to Krispy Kreme for a donut before heading back toward home and stopping by Tannehill State Park.

Meanwhile back in Tennessee, we were catching up and laughing about our childhood memories. We also listened to James play the keyboard. He is so talented, and is really doing well not only playing alot of songs, but making up his own really cool arrangements that usually sound better than the originals! I am really proud of him! Some of us sat around and talked, while Doug and some of the others watched the British Open (yawn) .

Sunday morning seemed to fly by. Ted made cinnamon bread and two pots of coffee (the first pot was more like motor oil, according to Ted and my dad!) for breakfast.We packed and got ready to leave. After we had lunch, we said our goodbyes and got on the road.

I still had about 40 minutes to drive after we got back to Dad's. When I finally pulled in the driveway, Bailey and Noah ran out to meet me with hugs and kisses . It was a good trip, but I was glad to be home.

and so it begins

2006-07-24T18:43:00.000-07:00

This is the first of (hopefully) many posts about our family and what we are all about : our hobbies, loves, dislikes and beliefs. We know two other families who have blogs, and we decided to begin one as well. We have many goals for this blog, some of which are :keep family and friends up to date on our lives, share info on Wild plants (William's specialty), and keep an organized record of our family photos and history.