Two Years Ago Today...

...this precious angel was born.

We celebrated yesterday with a small family party. Our theme was the Mod Monkey. I didn't think I could freehand the monkey face onto a cake, so I did cupcakes instead.

And I made these little picks to give them a more personal touch.

He doesn't look too sure about this....

But maybe I'll try just a taste of this cupcake...

Hmm...that was pretty good!

I wonder if they'll notice if I try to put the whole thing in my mouth?

This is really pretty yummy!

I wonder if the little stick tastes as good as the rest of it...

I had a cash register just like this when I was little, and every kid who has ever come to Mama's house has played with it. Fisher Price recently started making them again, and we knew we had to get one for Luke!

A monkey and monkey blanket for our little monkey!

A Little Preview...

And yes, I made the invitation myself!

So I'm busy baking and getting ready for the party, plus trying to get my Christmas decorating done! We took a quick trip to Orlando last weekend, and I have pictures to show you from that, if I can ever get the time to get them off my camera card!

So Thankful...

Happy Thanksgiving, my dear blog friends! I haven't had time to create a long, detailed post, but in a nutshell, I'm thankful for...a Savior who loves me enough to go to the cross in my place, my precious family, wonderful real-life friends, and all the friends I've made through blogging this year. Thank you for the laughs and the encouragement that we all share here in cyberspace! I've enjoyed getting to know you!

However, my heart is heavy today for so many relatives and friends who have lost loved ones this year...spouses, parents, and children, both babies and adult children. For many, this is the first holiday without their precious loved ones. Please remember all of them in your prayers today and throughout this holiday season.

You may have seen this before, but it's one of my favorites.

Everyday Thanksgiving

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings each morning, thank you, Lord, that I can hear. There are many who are deaf.

Even though I keep my eyes tightly closed against the morning light as long as possible, thank you Lord, that I can see. There are many who are blind.

Even though I huddle in my bed and put off the effort of rising, thank you, Lord that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.

Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, toast is burned,and tempers are short, thank you, Lord, for my family. There are many who are lonely.

Even though our breakfast table never looks like the pictures in magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced, thank you, Lord for the food we have. There are many who are hungry.

Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my circumstances were not so modest, thank you, Lord, for the gift of life.

Dinner for Two

This post is about a most interesting topic....I can't believe I'm writing a blog post about frozen food! However, I learn so many neat things from all of you that I just had to share my new discovery with you. First, I'm not a big fan of cooking. I love to bake, but cooking, not so much. Secondly, there are no really good Chinese restaurants in my town anymore. In fact, the only place I really enjoy eating Chinese food is P.F. Chang's, and we don't have one locally.

So, as Tracy and I were shopping at Sam's last week, we ran across some items that looked pretty interesting. We had tried a Wanchai Ferry entree earlier in the week, and while it was really good, it was a tad spicy. For Tracy, that's saying a lot! We also didn't care that much for the rice that came with it, and thought it would be better with fried rice. Anyway, back to Sam's....we ran across these and decided to take a chance on them.

YA'LL...they were DELICIOUS! You know how some of the stuff at Sam's is hit or miss? Well this is definitely a hit! One disclaimer...we used the conventional directions and did not microwave. We tossed the chicken and egg rolls in the deep fryer, and we cooked the rice in a skillet on the stove. However, it didn't take long at all. In fact, we had cooked, eaten, and cleaned up the kitchen in an hour. I don't think it would have been as good if we had microwaved. Another plus is that these boxes made a gracious plenty. We cooked half the box of chicken, two egg rolls, and one of the bags of rice, and had enough for two meals (minus the egg rolls of course.) Also note, two meals for Tracy and I; the boys had something different.

If you like Chinese food and are picky about the meat (like I am; I only like the white meat), then you should definitely give this a try!

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In other news, I have been terribly busy getting ready to host a district-wide FBLA meeting at my school today. (That's why I haven't posted much in the last week.) Of course, we can't just stick the podium on the stage and a few ferns and be done with it. A few years ago, we decided to start doing a major "set" related to the state theme, and you know how it is, once you start that, everybody expects it! Nobody else will volunteer to host because they don't want to do all this work! My students constantly want us to top the previous year. Starting to get the idea of what a huge undertaking this is?

This year we made a giant radio/boom box, and used the center as the projection screen. Up until a few years ago, I had no idea what all you could do with 4' x 8' sheets of styrofoam insulation!

The day went really well, but it was EXHAUSTING. I'm ready to hit the sack! 'Night, y'all!

Random Thoughts

These are not original; they were sent to me via email. You may have seen some of them before, but they gave me a good laugh!

1) I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2) Nothing is worse than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3) I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4) There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5) How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6) Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

7) Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

8) Bad decisions make good stories.

9) You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

10) Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blu-Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

11) I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Shoot!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

Update

First, thank you so much for your prayers for Bro. Holloway! I am pleased to report that the surgery went well yesterday. They didn't get started until about 4:00 p.m., so it was a long, long day for his family. They did three bypasses, but all went well. As of this afternoon, he's already in a regular room, and was sitting up and drinking something. I haven't seen him, but reports are that his color looks good too.

Please continue to pray for him during his recovery and for his family as they care for him. I'm praying his recovery will be as speedy as possible!

Please pray....

for my pastor, Bro. Coley Myer Holloway. (He's our interim pastor, but we love him and wish we could keep him permanently! He doesn't feel he's up to full-time pastoring anymore though.) He went in for a heart cath yesterday, expecting to only have some stints put in. However, the problem was more than could be repaired with stints, and he will be having open heart surgery this afternoon. He is a wonderful pastor....so kind and gentle, and a wonderful preacher of the Word too. (And yes, there's a big difference between being a good pastor and a good preacher!) Pray for a smooth speedy recovery so that he will be able to get back to preaching the Word of God. I don't think God's finished with him yet!!!!!

Thanks in advance for your prayers for him and his family!!!!

Fall Break in Review

*Warning...this may be quite long. I've never been accused of not "talking" enough!

Isn't this a beautiful sight?

Remember that delicious roasted corn we had at the Fall Festival? My father-in-law was in charge of getting it, and he picked up an extra box of corn for me to "put up" (as in for the freezer). I don't do any canning, but I do love to "put up" vegetables. This, my friends, was some of the prettiest corn I've ever seen....completely filled out, no bugs or worms, just beautiful! So on Thursday morning, Matthew and I commandeered Tracy's 28-foot flatbed trailer as a work table and started shucking. It's parked way at the edge of the yard, so we didn't have to be as careful about cleaning up the shucks and silks!

Then it was time to cut it off, cream style. Look who did a big part of the work.

Yep, that's right. Two years ago (when he was only 5) he begged us to let him help cut off the corn. We were thinking it might be a disaster, but decided to let him try. The little fella was great at it, and stuck with it until it was all finished. So this time, since he was trying to earn his DS back, he was right there with us! My sweet Mama came to help too. She helps me out a lot! I feel for those of you who don't your mama close by. I couldn't do what I do without her!




While the corn factory was in operation, this is what Luke did.



We opened the door going into the garage and let him ride his Gator. Don't worry...I could see him the entire time!

I didn't take any pictures, but I wound up with 9 pints of corn out of 4 dozen ears. Unfortunately, corn doesn't yield as much as you might think. That's why a lot of people prefer to just buy the frozen kind, but I really don't care for it. It has too many hard kernels in it for my taste. So I will carefully ration these nine pints of corn throughout the winter!

What else did we do this week? We got flu shots. Luke got the seasonal and swine flu injections; Matthew got the seasonal flu mist and the swine flu injection. I will admit, it took a lot of bribery to accomplish that. The last shots Matthew had gotten were Rocephin, one in each leg, and they were terrible. So he was rather terrified at the thoughts of getting a shot. A BIG pep talk and the promise of a new game did the trick. (Please don't judge....I did what I had to do!) I was so proud of how brave he was! I think we may be over the hurdle now about getting shots.

I went to the dentist. Mama and I went shopping. We went to the fall festival. We just piddled around a whole lot! Yesterday for Halloween, we just had a nice family day. We had to run to town to pick up petit fours and paper goods for a baby shower I'm helping with today, along with some hay baler parts. So we did that, had a nice lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant while watching the Auburn game, and then stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few essentials for next week's lunches. Once we got home, Tracy and Luke napped, Matthew played outside with the dog, and I made spinach dip for the shower. (Again, I know you can buy it, but homemade is just so much better!) Then, while I worked on laundry and some stuff inside, Tracy & Matthew worked in the garage. When Tracy got laid off, all the stuff from his service truck had to go somewhere....so it wound up all over the garage. Then the bathroom project started, and more stuff wound up in the garage. I haven't been able to park inside in about 3 months and it's been driving me crazy. So Tracy managed to get enough stuff rearranged so that I can park inside again. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

There was no trick-or-treating for us. When you live in the country, there's really no where to go! In the 14 years we have been married, we've had 2 trick-or-treaters! The fall festivals are our Halloween activities. So we just enjoyed our Halloween cupcakes and hung out!

It has been a wonderful week, and yes, it will be hard to go back to school tomorrow. At least there's only about 3 1/2 weeks until another break, instead of the 9 we had this time! Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly love my job, and I feel very blessed to be able to do this, but I do love to be at home with my boys!