I have not dropped off the face of the planet

We are in the new house with no internet right now. I promise to have new things up and running soon, but bear with me. We are still putting things here and there as well as getting new things - you know! Don't think I have dropped off the face of the planet. I will be back very soon - I hope! Thanks!

25 Random Things About Me . . . .

Wib tagged me to tell you all 25 random things about me and my life. This has GOT to be easier than the 100 things Amy had me do about a year ago!!!! Anyways, here goes nothing . . .


1. I am a Christian who falls short every day.

2. I am a wife to Damon - who is amazing! I thank God for him.

3. I love being a momma to Laura Beth (6) and Carter (5).

4. I have parents who are way beyond supportive!

5. Richard is the oldest younger brother who has a doctorate from Auburn. I make fun of him saying it is about planes, trains, automobiles and dirt, but really he is amazing. I am very proud of him!

6. Chuck is the youngest brother. He is living in LA and is an extra in some super cool shows coming up - the Unit, Numbers, Lie to Me and Heroes. Proud of him, too!

7. I miss both of my brothers every day!

8. I was 10 days late when I was born and moved when I was 8 days old!!

9. I am an Air Force brat.

10. I have lived in San Antonio, TX; Columbus, MS; Texas again, Henderson, TN; Enid, OK; Texas again, Waldorf, MD; Henderson again, Nashville, TN; Henderson again.

11. I have a teaching degree but I don't want to go back into the classroom - unless necessary!

12. If I could do any job in the world, I would write curriculum for Bible classes.

13. I have written curriculum our church uses for the 3 year olds and Kindergarten classes.

14. I LOVE taking pictures. (This is a huge understatement.)

15. I love to create - whether scrapbooking, cards or Bible games.

16. I am getting a craft room in the new house!! Whoo Hoo!

17. I LOVE planning birthday parties for Laura Beth and Carter.

18. I love going to Sonic - Very Strawberry Vanilla Dr. Peppers are my favorite but . . . .

19. I don't drink carbonated drinks unless it has been one of those days!

20. I love to read whenever I get a chance.

21. Carter is DEATHLY allergic to peanuts and peanut products.

22. I am a girl and I can talk sports - esp. Alabama football, Braves baseball, Titans football and Duke basketball.

23. I have way too many childrens' books according to my husband. (You can never have enough!)

24. I love New York City - esp. at Christmas time.

25. I have the best friends in the whole wide world and don't know what I would do without them!


With that said, I have to tag some of you now!!! So here goes . . . . . I tag:

Kim

Laura

Hannah


Amanda

Nicole


Have fun ladies!

Count Your Blessings

Today is Thursday which means it is time for me to look back on the week and see the blessings that have come into my life.

1. Cecily - Because of her and her amazing parents, I am able to stay home with my babies. They spoil me!!!



2. Wonderful Heroes for my Children - I have mentioned so many times on this blog the amazing college students we have around us. We are blessed to still be able to go to the basketball games were some of my children's heroes play on the basketball court. We are so blessed for such good role models. My kids will see them on the basketball court on nights and then at church worshipping God the next day. These players are right up there with professional athletes for my children.



3. Kim, my crazy basketball buddy - Kim and I are too much alike in many ways (we are different, too). One way we are alike is our love for FHU basketball. We have our same seats for every game and people know they better not mess with them. We have tried other seats and they just don't work. We have "names" for the refs and yell out our support throughout most of the game.



4. Hobby Lobby Half-Off Sale - for without this I cannot create.



5. My church family - We have been blessed beyond measure with a wonderful, kind and loving church family. We enjoy getting together to worship our Father in Heaven when called together as well as other times during the week.



6. The Old Testament - We have been called upon to read the Old Testament this year in our congregation. We read throughout the week and, then on Sunday night, our lesson comes from our reading. What wonderful stories we have in the Old Testament! We are shown that God takes imperfect people and uses them for His glory. What a lesson and encouragement for us! Thank you, elders, Daniel and Justin, for this great challenge!



7. No School Days - I love days when we are all home. How special this week was to have an extra day of play, relaxing and just enjoying each other!



8. America - What a country we live in! I don't know if it stems from my Air Force roots or what but I love our country and the people that make it what it is. I love that we can speak our minds and vote. I also love that we can dream of a better tomorrow of ourselves and our children.



9. My Children's Teachers - We have always been blessed with good teachers for our children. Each teacher has always encouraged my children to be themselves while learning new things and building upon what they already know. We have been especially blessed in that Laura Beth has been able to have the same teacher for the past 2 years (and it helps that she is one of my best friends!!). We pray to God that He will always put them in the place where they can best grow and He has been ever faithful to us in that regard.



10. Damon - I know I have already bragged on him this week, but I am thankful for his hard work to get our house ready for us to live in. Lord willing, next week I will have pictures up of the new house. It is because of Damon's hard work that we are going to be in the house this early!

Look back over your week - what are you thankful for? Join us!

A Call to Pray

I call upon all of us to pray for our new leaders - whether they were the ones we voted for or not. Change can happen with God's help and we all need to take part in calling upon Him on behalf of our president, vice president, Congress and judges as they try to make our world a better place to live. We can pray that the decisions they make will be godly decisions and they will look to God for guidance in their decisions. Let us call upon God and His word to make a difference in all of our lives from this moment.

"I urge, then, first of all that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving by made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."

- 1 Timothy 2:1-2

"When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. . ."

- Proverbs 29:2

"Righteousness exalts a nation . . ."

- Proverbs 15:3-4

"For the nation that will not serve You will perish. . . "

- Isaiah 60:12

"…always pray and never lose hope."

- Luke 18:1

"Then if my people, who are called by my name, are sorry for what they have done, if they pray and obey me and stop their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land."

- 2 Chronicles 7:14

"And this is the boldness we have in God’s presence: that if we ask God for anything that agrees with what He wants, He hears us."

- 1 John 5:14

"We do not ask these things because we are good; instead, we ask because of Your mercy."

- Daniel 9:18

"Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?"

- Psalm 85:6

"The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. . . "

- Proverbs 21:1

". . . be subject to governing authorities . . ."

- Romans 13:1

"Our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world."

- Ephesians 6:12

" . . . O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and obey commands, let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer Your servant is praying before You day and night . . . I confess the sins we . . . have committed against You."

- Nehemiah 1:5-7

Click on the Presidential Prayer team button of my sidebar to join in prayer for our nation's leaders. There is even a kid section so they can learn now to their part. Thank you for allowing me to share this and, as always,

God Bless America!

#44 - Remember and Respect

As a history guru, I love watching all the things that go with the inauguration. Whether my guy wins or not (and he did not this year), I love watching everything. This year, my children are very aware of what is going on in our country and I wanted to take advantage of that. Laura Beth's first grade class has been studying presidents and are doing a lot of things with the inauguration today. Laura Beth knows that the man she voted for did not win so I have been trying to teach her that even though the man she voted for did not win, we are to respect the office of the president and talk about the man who holds the office nicely. I have tried to show them how exciting this time is and to help them get excited we made cupcakes to take to her school today. She was kind to let Carter help her decorate them this morning. I found these printables on Skip to My Lou and thought they were perfect to top our cupcakes today.

On the way to school, we talked about how special today was and what they can do as children to help President-Elect Obama. "What can we do?" they asked. My answer was, "We can pray for him and his helpers." They seemed to like this idea and we will begin tonight praying specifically for our him. Proudly, Laura Beth and Carter walked the cupcakes into school this morning and proudly they are ready to take on the challenge to learning to respect and pray for our new president.

A Tribute to . . . .

DAMON!!!

Some of my blogging friends have a special day on Friday called, "My Husband Rocks." They take the time to look at all the wonderful things their husbands have done for them and the family. I have never done this, but thought I needed to have my own "My Husband Rocks" day. So, Damon, this one is for you!!!

As a dad, Damon is wonderful. He shows them they are important by getting on their level when talking to them . . . playing game after game after game with them . . . wrestling with them . . . reading to them . . . teaching them about God and how to live a life for Him.

As a husband, Damon is amazing. He always takes the time to show and tell me how much he appreciates what I do for him, the kids and our family . . . he takes the kids away at times to give me alone time . . . he takes charge of bath time at night so I can clean the kitchen or get ready for the next day . . . he lets me go out with my girlfriends for a night.

As a Christian, Damon is unwavering. People do not know all the things he does because he is not the one who wants to be in front of people all the time. He would prefer people not to know what he does and prefers not to be the one out in front. He works with all ages - teaching young children in Bible class (when most men won't) and planning VBS . . . being a friend to the teens - one they can call to play a game of pick up basketball . . . encouraging the college kids to get involved with the church work and providing them an example of how to be a Christian father and husband . . . helping the seniors plan their special day once a year and working behind the scenes all day so they can enjoy their special day.

The main reason I am praising him today is because of all that has gone on with him the past month. While he was disappointed in his job loss, he did not keep his head down. He has gotten out there and pursued jobs. He has put COUNTLESS hours in on our new house getting it ready for us to move in (hopefully this week!!). He knows his God is in control and His timing is not our own. He is waiting patiently for God's will to be shown, but is not just sitting around waiting for it to happen.

Thank you, Damon, for your love, friendship and wonderful example to all of us! We love you very much!

Laura Beth loves the letter "R"

Laura Beth wanted to jump on the 10 things that begin with the letter "R" bandwagon. She has waited patiently for her chance to join Momma and Carter, so here is her list . . .

1. Read - Curious George, Clifford, Little House on the Prairie, and American Girl.



2. Rudolph - because he can fly.



3. Richard - He is my uncle and I love to race him (I always beat him!).



4. Roses - They are pretty flowers.



5. Ripe Pears - They are so good to eat and they taste juicy.



6. Rice - I like to go to Rice (Los Portales) with Lawson, Jagger, and Carter. When I get bigger, I am going to drive us there and we are going to eat all the rice! I also like to go with Gran and Grandad.



7. Roast Beef - It smells so good when it is cooking. I think we are going to have it for lunch tomorrow!! YUM!!



8. Run - I can run super fast



9. Recycle - I always ask Momma if we can recycle something before I throw it away.



10. Rock - I love to watch Camp Rock. I love to sing in my room!!!

Great job, Laura Beth!

Thankful Thursday

Today is Thanksgiving Thursday at Nicole's. I met Nicole a week ago and thought this was a great idea especially with everything going on in my life right now. I have found myself over the past few days being worried about our future and not looking at the different things I should be thankful for. So, here is my list of things I am thankful for today from this week:

I am thankful for the college kids who STILL want to be with us and come over for special days. I was so concerned they would leave us after Damon lost his job, but they haven't!!! I am so thankful for that.

I am thankful for all those have helped us with our new house. We have had a slew of guys over at the house this week doing odd and end jobs so we can get into the house. Thank you, Rick, Tyler, Rylee, Alex, David, Phillip, Eric and Larry.

I am thankful for wonderful friends who have and continue to stand by us during this time.

I am thankful for job possibilities. Although we have not had any specific offers, we are finding jobs opportunities - now just to try to take advantage of them.

I am thankful for a God who is always there. When I start to waver, I know He is right where He was when I wandered waiting for me to come back to Him.

I would encourage any of you to join in on Thankful Thursdays and look at the positive in your life!

Carter loves the letter "R"

Carter's friend, Cade, tagged him to list his favorite things that begin with the letter "R." This is his list:


1. Rangers - Texas Rangers, the baseball team.


2. Ryan Howard - He is a big boy. He plays first base for the Phillies.


3. Raccoon - I just like animals.


4. Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer - I love singing this song.


5. R2-D2 - I love Star Wars and he is one of my favorites.


6. Rainbows - They are beautiful. I had a good story about this - see it here.


7. Red - Because the Braves wear red jeseys on Sundays!


8. Aunt Rebecca, Uncle Richard, Aunt ReRe, Aunt RoRo - special people in my family


9. Right field - Mr. Justin use to play right field for the big lions and Frenchy plays right field for the Braves.


10. Rabbits - I like the way they hop.



Well, there you go. A 5 year olds list of his favorite "R" things. Thanks, Cade! Laura Beth is going to work on her list as well. She was a bit jealous!

"R" is for . . . . .

My new gurlfriend, Nicole, posted 10 things about the letter "T" the other day. It was so good fun and I told her I would give it a try. I hoped and prayed she would not give me the letter "Q" or "Y" and I was relived to know I got the letter "R." So now I am to share 10 things I love that begin with the letter "R." Here goes nothing . . . .

1. Recipes . . . I love trying new recipes, looking for recipes, and collecting recipes of all kinds. I just recently made a recipe scrapbook with recipes from my late grandmama. I had so much fun doing this. Which leads me to . . . . .

2. Rachel Ray . . . I admit it - I am hooked! I watch her show. I get her magazine. I can't wait to try her recipes from both the show and magazine. She is just great!

3. Relatives . . . I have been blessed beyond measure with my family - immediate and extended. We are so close - all of us. I have cousins who I consider to be just like my brothers and sisters. I have other cousins that I LONG to be closer to and, with this great technology, we are getting there. I could not ask for better aunts and uncles than those I have. God has blessed me and I pray I am a blessing to them as well. Which leads me to . . . .

4. Rebecca . . . is my name and my sister-in-law's name and my cousin-in-law's name. Richard . . . is my brother's name. He is pretty sickening how amazing he is! He has just married a wonderful lady and is a Dr.!!!! (told you - sickening!) RoRo . . . is short for Rosemary which is my aunt's name. I could not say "Rosemary" when I was little. It came out "RoRo" and has stuck, yes even at 31 years old. Rick . . . my crazy uncle who is always looking for a way to pick on me! Ross . . . my cousin who is currently serving our country as an Air Force pilot in the Middle East. Ross also looks JUST LIKE MY DAD!! Those strong Willis genes are very scary. I think this is it. I am afraid I am missing someone - sorry, if I am!!!

5. Roll Tide . . . I am a huge Alabama football fan!! I have stood by them through thick and thin. Although we ended the season on a low point, it was a great season and I know we will only improve - we better!!!!

6. Reading . . . I love to read. Damon use to make fun of me because ALL I read was children's books. My favorites: Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, Dear America books, Curious George, Dr. Seuss and oh so many more. However, I have grown up and enjoy reading books by Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott and other "classics." I also love reading Karen Kingsbury, Lori Wick (I have read ALL of her books), Lynn Austin and am currently reading the Twilight books. The kids and I read all the time - anything and everything. I can't get enough!

7. Rockin' . . . I love music!! Any kinds - worship music, Broadway music, pop music, country music, Harry Connick, Jr., Michael Buble, etc. . . . I will even listen to High School Musical, Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana when my kids are not in the car!! I also love to rock on Guitar Hero. I am a little addicted!

8. Roman Holiday . . . I love old movies and if Audrey Hepburn is in them that is even better!

9. Road Trips . . . I am always up for a road trip ANYWHERE!!! I always try to have fun in the car and am trying to instill this in my daughter!! Unfortunately, I don't get to go on many anymore, but I am always ready to go somewhere - even if it is just to the corner store.

10. Red . . . is my favorite color. Many things that I love go back to the color red. . . Christmas . . . our college kids' colors are red and white. . . Almost everything in my closet is red. . . the Braves wear red jerseys if they are home on Sunday (although I am still trying to decide if I like this or not) . . . Titans have a little red in their colors . . . Coca-Cola stuff is all in my kitchen (hopefully you will get to see pics soon) . . . I could go on, but I will stop.

I loved doing this exercise. It made me really look at me and think of my favorite things. Want to play? Leave a comment and let me know. I promise no one will get "Q," "Y," or "Z." Come on . . . it's fun and I would love to learn more about you!

Homemade Christmas II

On my mom's side of the family, the cousins draw names for Christmas presents. After losing Grandmama Whittle this year, I wanted something special to give the girls. Going through some of Grandmama's things, we found a recipe book of hers where her recipes that she is most famous for were written in her handwriting. I knew I had found a treasure that we would all want a piece of. I went through the book and chose ones that were typical Grandmama recipes and divided them into 5 categories: Appetizers, Main Dishes, Side Dishes, Desserts and Holiday Recipes. Each category was given a specific color and a specific accent color. I also chose scriptures that pertained to cooking, Grandmama and hospitality to place on each divider page. To make each recipe book special for each individual family, I went through photo albums and pulled out pictures each grandchild in Grandmama's kitchen or around Grandmama's table. Here are the pictures from my recipe album:

The title page with a picture of me and my grandmama in the kitchen cooking

The scripture on each title page was:

She gets up while it is still dark;

She provides food for her family

Proverbs 31:15

An example of a divider page and the scriptures that went on the pages:
Stir up love and good works
Hebrews 10:24

For the fruit of the life consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth.
Ephesians 5:9

Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality
Romans 12:13

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing, some have unwittingly entertained angels.
Hebrews 13:2

These last two pictures are examples of the recipe pages. I took the recipes I had chose to Kinko's and had each copied. I love the way the wear and tear of these precious recipes shows up in the pictures. Oriental Trading had these lovely kitchen brads to give simple embellishments to some of the pages. I was thrilled with the way these turned out. I know mine will have a special place in my home for many years to come.

Homemade Christmas I

I never know what to get my Papa Whittle (a man who has everything) for Christmas, his birthday or Father's day. He is not hard to shop for. I just want to always get something I know he will appreciate and won't collect dust. This past year, in September, he was able to go on an amazing trip to Washington D.C. I knew what his Christmas present would be and all the other Whittle grand kids were on board with me. I created this "Honor Flight" scrapbook for him with the pictures he and his guardian made from the day trip. Papa was great to keep all the notes, newspaper clippings, and brochures from the trip, so I was able to put all of this into his scrapbook for him (and us) to remember in years to come. Here are some examples of the pages I made for him.

Title page with Papa in front of the fountain at the WWII Memorial along with a brochure about the honor flight.

His welcome letters and things to know he received from the Honor Flight people. Also included is a newspaper clipping with his picture saying he was one of the ones going as well as his name badge and small pocket flag someone had given him.

Papa at the WWII Memorial. The picture at the bottom is from the WWII Memorial brochure telling what the different things mean at the memorial.

Papa looking around the WWII Memorial. The picture below is one that was given to him and the poem on this page was on the back of the picture. At Arlington Cemetery watching the changing of the guards.

This trip was one my Papa still looks back on with such fond memories. He was given such a hero's welcome home and we are so glad he had this opportunity to go see this special place. You can go to the memorials' website and register your WWII veteran, so they will always be remembered and honored.

For those of you who care, I have found when doing a whole scrapbook about a particular day or event, to follow these guidelines for a quick putting together of the scrapbook:

1. choose two or three key colors
2. choose a simple layout that can be used on all pages
3. choose a few simple embellishments so the focus is on the pictures of the event or day

So Long, Farewell . . .

Some of you may think I am so silly to post about this, but this is a BIG part of our life. Those of you who have followed this blog for a long time know we are major Braves fans. I was a Braves fan when it was not cool to be a Braves fan and I have Dale Murphy baseball cards to prove it! My children have caught on and have become Braves fans as well. Laura Beth's favorite - John Smoltz. She would sit as a 3 and 4 year old and watch when he pitched. She was so excited when she got a Smoltz t-shirt for her 5th birthday. We have seen John pitch - I since he became a Braves player and the kids since they began watching. So the news Thursday and officially this weekend was heartbreaking. John Smoltz is no longer an Atlanta Braves player. The mood in our house was so sad. We felt like we were losing a long lost friend. Carter is somewhat at ease because Smoltz is now a Red Sox - one of the teams he roots for, but it will not be the same. Laura Beth almost cried when we told her the bad news and it just does not seem real. When we told my Papa Whittle today, Carter said, "He should have retired and become a coach or a speaker (announcer)!" We knew when he had "week ending" surgery (as the kids called) it that our days seeing him in a Braves uniform might be done, but we never thought this would happen. I think the whole Braves nation is in shock and sadness.

Photo by Yahoo! Sports

Thank you, Smoltz, for your years of service, entertaining, and great example. We wish you the very best and will miss you oh so much.

A Day of All Days

Yesterday was a wonderful day! I was able to spend some time with some special mommies at playgroup. I was showered (poured upon is more like it) with compliments from my SITSers. To top the day, 6 of our college kids were able to come over for supper, play time and a great football game. After supper and before the game, we spent time playing Foosball and Mario Cart. The boys and, eventually, Laura Beth played some great games of Foosball. Laura Beth and Eric killed Tyler and Alex (sorry, guys). While this was going on, the girls were playing Mario Cart. Don't be fooled, these Ashleys look sweet, but they play a MEAN game of Mario Cart. It was vicious!

These are the faces we love and truly enjoyed having over last night. They are so special to us.

A Day for Me!!!!!

Today, the wonderful girls at SITS are featuring ME as the blog of the day!! Can you believe it? I can't! I woke up last night (more than once) hoping and praying that today really wasn't the day because I forgot to post a welcome to all the SITers . . . Sure enough when I woke up this morning I already had a bunch of comments from them - sorry to all of you! I was asked to list 3 of my "best" posts, but I just did not know which ones to send them. I sent them the 3 they listed but thought if you wanted to know a little more about me and what is going on in my life, check these out:


The ups in my life over the past few weeks.


The downs in my life over the past few weeks.


Trying to keep our prospective.


A glimpse of our little world.


My babies!

Thanks so much for the love and support today! Come back anytime you want!

This is the life . . . .

I think everything is starting to get to me now. I am just exhausted - mentally, physically . . . We just got back from church where I taught 3 year olds - they were great, but exhausting! I am about to put myself to bed at 9:00 and read Twilight, although I will probably fall asleep way too soon. Oh what I would not give to have a bit of this right now . This is Carter on Christmas Eve at my aunt and uncle's house . . .His daddy rubbing his back and Aunt ReRe rubbing his head and playing with his hair!! OH WHAT A LIFE!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Tyler "Whose!"

Yesterday was the first birthday of the new year in our house! It happened to be for one of our college kids, Tyler Hughes (or as Carter calls him, Tyler Whose). This will be the last time we get to celebrate Tyler's birthday with him as he will graduate in May. We are so proud of him and everything he has accomplished while at FHU. He has a busy summer ahead of him as he will marry Ashley in June and then will begin med school at UAB in July. We will miss him so much!
The kids were so excited about the party. They helped make his cake - a fishing cake (Tyler is one of the founders of the FHU Fishing Team). Carter made him a birthday crown and a sign that says, "Take Me Fishing!" Laura Beth made him a paper airplane. We enjoyed one of Tyler's favorite meals, chicken and beef enchiladas, Spanish rice, green beans, sweet tea and birthday cake. Thanks for letting us celebrate your birthday with you, Tyler! We are so proud of you and love you!

We Were Pounded!

Sunday night after church services we got ready to attend what we thought was a class finger food fellowship. When we walked in for it (yes, we were late because I was talking!!!), we realized it wasn't just our class, but our friends who were throwing us a "pounding" for our new home. For those of you who don't know what a pounding is, it is where people bring a pound of this or a pound of that. We were shocked beyond belief that this was even happening let alone the things that were brought for us. We got so much food for our pantry and cleaning supplies for our cabinets. We even got 4 sets of brand new towels, Coke canisters for my Coke kitchen, Coke glasses, a clock to go above our mantel and new baking dishes! The kids were even pounded with a basket of their favorite snack foods, 2 boxes of Capri Suns, and new alarm clocks for their room! We always knew we had friends at Henderson, but this was such a blessing. We know we are loved and we love each of you in return. Special thanks to Sandy and RoRo for getting it all together. Sandy even took pictures because she knows I have to have pictures of everything! We will always remember this time!

Dear Tooth Fairy, Part II

Last night, the tooth fairy visited and must have felt sorry for sweet Laura Beth. When she woke up this morning, she found a dollar on the note she wrote and was most excited! She did mention that the tooth fairy did not write a note back. I just explained that she was probably tired and in a hurry! Nothing else was asked and the dollar proudly went around with her for the rest of the morning.

Tonight, I was in the kitchen and Laura Beth came running in screaming, "I found it! I found it!" Yes sirree, she had found her tooth. Where? Under the couch! Go figure! Damon said, "Well, no wonder the tooth fairy did not find it. Who would have thought to look under there!" So tonight, another note has been written (with the tooth taped to the note):

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I found my tooth under the couch!

Thank you for the money you left last night.

Love,

Laura Beth

We shall see if the Tooth Fairy comes back to claim the tooth. Will Laura Beth get more money? Will the Tooth Fairy take the tooth? So many questions for such a little tooth.

Friends, Food and Football (?)

Our friends, the Osments (Sid, Sheri and Nicole, plus Adam), invited the Scott family and our family over to Camden, TN, for a Sugar Bowl party last night. We loaded the van ALL (even Damon) decked out in our Bama gear thinking we were going to have a great night of food, friends and football. Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad, I guess. We had a wonderful time with the Osments - what hosts! We all enjoyed being together, yelling at the tv and giving Katy a hard time about John Parker (we are all glad he is gone!). The food was UNBELIEVABLE!!! We had every kind of food imaginable on every kind of Bama or football platter imaginable! We all ate and ate and ate. It was decided that we all eat when we are depressed - which leads to the football. I don't want to make excuses and I don't know what happened. That could have been the most horrible and embarrassing game I have ever watched. That is all I am going to say on that matter. In spite of the horrible game, it was a great night with friends. Thank you for the invite and all the food!

The Crimson Tide had a much better season than I ever thought they would have this year, so I must think positively and always remember:

Roll Tide Roll!

A BIG Giveaway

Kat is giving away another prize, but this one is MAJOR. It has some of my very favorite things: Wicked, gift cards, Scrapbook supplies (Disney, on top of that), LOST, chocolate and oh so much more. Go check it out - NOW!!!!

Dear Tooth Fairy,

We are getting to ready to go to a Sugar Bowl party and Laura Beth comes running into the living room with blood pouring out of her mouth. She has lost her third tooth. Problem is, we can't find it - anywhere. So, here is the letter she has composed to the tooth fairy explaining why she is toothless (in more than one way):

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I lost my tooth. It is in the den or the living room. I hope you can find it. Thank you.

Love,

Laura Beth

So, Tooth Fairy, good luck. Her teeth are oh so small!

Welcome 2009!!!

Happy New Year!

May 2009 bring God's richest blessings to your family!

I don't know if I have ever started a new year with such uncertainty as I do 2009. Even before this uncertainty came upon my family, I was thinking about the new year and what I wanted to accomplish in it. I am not much on resolutions, because too many times I fall VERY short of them. However, I did want to see 2009 as a year which our family will never forget. Instead of clear cut resolutions, I have chosen scripture to guide our lives this year.

For my children, I want them to learn to live and grow by Luke 2:52.

"Jesus grew in wisdom, stature and in favor with God and man."

I want them to grow in wisdom from their school studies and Bible studies. I want them to grow strong physically and healthy. I want them to grow in favor with God. I want them to learn about God but, more importantly, I want them to learn how they, at their young ages, can LIVE for God. I want them to grow in favor with man. I want them to take what they have learned about God and treat others the way God would want them to. This may sound like a tall order for a 6 and 5 year old, but bringing things down to their level and with God's help and guidance, I know Damon and I can do this. My children already teach me so much. I know I will continue to "treasure all these things in my heart" (Luke 2:51b) as I see them grow.

For Damon I want him to learn and lean upon the wise man's words in Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

I cannot even begin to imagine what is going on in Damon's head right now, but I know his attitude and determination have been amazing. He really is a wonderful Christian man - father and husband. I know God has BIG plans for this guy and I can't wait to see them unfold in 2009. I do know I want Damon to not get discouraged but to follow this verse, even in the hard times, until God's will is shown more clearly.

For me, I want to learn to live the latter verses I have been clinging to these past few weeks. I feel like I have worn Jeremiah 29:11 out but too many times we stop at verse 11. I want to continue to live verse 11 but also verses 12-13:

Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you see Me with all your heart.

I want . . . I yearn . . . I desire . . . to become a woman of prayer this year. This is something that amazes me . . . calls to me . . . and overwhelms me. I want to find my niche when it comes to developing a prayer life. I have seen different things and heard of different things and this year I want to find what works best for me. I hope to share some of my discoveries with you and pray that you will share your ideas with me. I know I will not have it all down by this time next year, but I know I can do a better job and have a better relationship with my Father in heaven.

I cannot believe all the love and support I have gained from this blog that started out as a whim a little over a year ago. I know it has been a blessing in my life and I pray, in some small way, it has blessed you as well. Happy New Year and may God be glorified in all we do in 2009!