MY THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving was good. Restful? NO! But good still. We had my in-laws over for breakfast, and that was nice...except for when my hubby got a call to go see about a fire alarm going off somewhere. "Breakfast" turned into "Brunch" due to the delay in his arrival after he went out. He was on call this weekend & hopefully that means he'll be all ours for Christmas and not be on call then too. But with his job, who knows. We had lunch at my parent’s house, and it was nice, but quiet! My family all came in shifts this year. I didn’t get to see either of my brothers at the same time, and all the cousins, aunts and uncles were in a million different directions at a million different times. Still the food was plentiful and good, and we loved it all (especially the dressing and mom's famous potato salad!) We went to my hubby's dads in the evening...and no, I did NOT eat again! I was still stuffed. But the kids did, and we had a nice visit. About the time we were leaving (8:00 pm, mind you), my mom calls and tells me that one of the craziest and most hilarious cousins we have, had surprised her for a visit, and wants to know would we come back by. WELL HECK YEAH! I love these people, they are great! My husband was introduced to her a few years ago, and when she found out he could install a security system in her home, she was excited! Now I need to precede the following story with a little background on her. I believe she is my mom's 4th cousin and she is from what we all refer to as "The Sticks", and most would refer to as "The Country"! She has the thickest southern accent of anyone you'd ever meet. Her daughter is a year older than me, and her son is about the same age as my brothers. We didn't get to see them often, but all through my childhood, whenever they all came over, it was nothing but F-U-N!!! My husband was introduced to this side of the family a few years ago, and she told him she needed him to put a "booger light" in her house. Yeah, you read that right. A "BOOGER LIGHT"!!! Let me translate for those of you who don't know what she meant. She wanted a SECURITY SYSTEM in her new home! The only kind of security she had was a motion light that came on in the driveway when someone or something walked up. So you can imagine when she said "BOOGER LIGHT" the kind of laughter that followed was enough to make your side split! Every since then, whenever her name is mentioned, my husband only refers to her as "BOOGER LIGHT"!! It always gets a laugh. When we went in to see them late Thursday evening (it was nearly 9pm, and my poor kids were exhausted!), the party came to life the minute my husband walks into the living room and sees them sitting on the couch and he yells "IT'S BOOGER LIGHT!!" From that moment on, we laughed, and laughed and screamed more laughter as we talked about the good ol' days. It was a great day! The only thing for sure is that I was exhausted when I had to get up at 1am because my little man was running fever...got back to sleep around 3:30 and then up around 5am to start getting ready for my "mad shopping" day on the craziest shopping day of the year! I made it home by 4pm, and was fighting sleep at 7pm. Kids and me in the bed by 8:30...which for our home is UNHEARD OF! I'm definitely a night owl, and rarely in bed before 11pm. But I made up for the lost sleep on Saturday and its back to a regular schedule now...a regular schedule of chaos that is!
J

The Turkey Is Coming!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I'm sure I'll have some "Turkey Tales" when it's all said and done, so stay tuned to the next posting!!!
GOBBLE GOBBLE!!

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SO YOU HAD A BAD DAY,

Well, today there is a song running through my head, over and over again! Yep. That crappy "BAD DAY" song that American Idol wore out at the end of the "kick off" shows. It's been a rainy, windy, gray day here. I've been in the kitchen for hours, working on the Indian Tshirts I had the bright idea to do for my 2 year olds preschool class. Hubby calls, from out of town (on business), and tells me that he's headed into town...that town would be NEW YORK CITY! Ticked me off. I'm eatin' bagel bites, and pringles today, he's touring Rockefeller Plaza. I'm putting beads on the dyed shirts I've hand painted, he's headed out to Times Square. We are eating leftover spaghetti for dinner, I'm fighting with a 5 year old over the color of the cup I gave her at dinner, and my 2 year old has a "spaghetti belly" because he's dumped his plate everywhere, and hubby's eating $40 dinners that the company is paying for. I had to go to OPEN HOUSE at the kids school last night-in the rain-and attend a crowded book fair with the kids, while he was relaxing in a quiet hotel room ordering room service. I'm staying up late at night so I can stay caught up on everything (the dishes, the laundry, the shows I've TIVO'd), and he's watching the shows with little interuption (except when the kids call to say goodnight) and relaxing in a comfy bed. So, whenever I take a "girls night out" or go away for a girls trip (SOMEONE CALL ME PLEASE, I'M READY TO GO), please, please, please, SOMEBODY remind me NOT TO FEEL GUILTY! Why do women do that? Why is it that when I went away on my 24 hour Nashville excursion a couple of months ago, I felt slightly guilty about the trouble hubby had to go to to take off work and go pick kids up at school, etc. I dunno. Do the men ever feel guilty leaving the wife and kids behind when they go out of town on business? And when I say guilty, I MEAN REALLY GUILTY. Not just "saying" that to make the wifey-poo feel better when you talk to her. I guess that is just one of the many vast differences between men and women. Well, I do have one small peace of solice...my peach fuzzy navel is waiting on the kids to go to bed so mom can finally RELAX! YUMMY!

MY THANKS GIVINGS

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The Thanksgiving Holiday is just around the corner! I love this time of year! But this year in particular, I am trying to make more of an effort to remember the things I have in life in which to be thankful for. Often it's too easy to take our trials, and hardships on as burdens, and negate God's presence in those circumstances. Tonight, God took me to 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." My joy, my prayers, and what I have to be thankful for should not merely fluctuate with my circumstances or a roller coaster of emotions I am experiencing. It's easy to see where obeying these 3 commands, be joyful, pray continually, and give thanks, would go against our natural disposition in life...it's hard to have joy in hard times. But there is a difference between JOY and HAPPINESS in life. Happiness reflects your circumstances, but TRUE JOY COMES FROM JESUS! And, I have found, especially here lately, that when I make a concerted effort to look for God's presence in all those hard situations, and do what He says, I am also able to see God's will at work, and the "circumstance" in a whole new perspective. Think about times when you have relied on God's guidance, and how He showed up in those major ways that you needed him in those hard times...now, looking back, do you see Him more? Do you see how BIG he is? That's your JOY! There's your Thanksgiving! In verse 18, Paul is not telling us to thank God FOR everything that happens to us, but rather to give thanks IN every circumstance! A commentary note in my study bible says "Evil doesn't come from God, so we shouldn't thank Him for that, but we can be thankful for God's presence in the midst of our trial, and for all the good that He will carry out through our distress."
My daughter has an awesome song that she's just learned...and she's singing it all over the house these days. You may remember singing this as a child...

My God is So Big

My God is so big,So strong and so mighty,There's nothing my God cannot do.(clap, clap)
My God is so big,So strong and so mighty,There's nothing my God cannot do.(clap, clap)
The mountains are His,The valleys are His,The stars are His handiwork too.
My God is so big,So strong and so mighty,There's nothing my God cannot do.(clap, clap)

I love how the Lord uses my own kids to remind me how having the faith of a child is all I need to come to Him! It's so easy for a child to have faith in God. If you tell a child to have faith, their mindset is set! They expect God to act! WOW! My God Is So Big, To Use Small Children In Such Big Ways!!! Praise Be To GOD In Whom My TRUE JOY Rests!

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW ME?

So I thought I would give this a try because it seemed like fun... How well do you know me???? Well, click on the box below and let's see!

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HALLOWEEN PICS

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EXHAUSTION~ONCE AGAIN!

HALLOWEEN IS EXHAUSTING!

Here's a few pics from our Halloween....Let me just say, I'm exhausted from these past few days! Between my father-in-law nearly loosing a leg due to a blood clot and being AIR LIFTED from a hospital in Foley, Al to Pensacola, FL, (he had surgery and is doing better now...) hubby being gone to see about his father, me having to do crafts for the K2 class my son is in, and having to take 2 kids to a fall festival (again) all by myself....I'M POOPED! But hey, the week didn't slow down...& I have more stress on the horizon! BRING IT ON! I heard on the news this week that people who go to bed stressed out and worried, will burn calories while sleeping. Well, I've been stressed and worried so much this week, that I ought to look like a HOT MAMA~! Yeah, that story is a bunch of crap...I gained a pound at this past week's "SKINNY COW GIRLS" meeting...and judging by the amount of candy in my house, it'll be a rough weigh in next week-I've been "stress eating"!!...Anyway...back to the Halloween stuff...We've done the Fall Festival & Trunk Or Treat's...We've dressed up as our alter-ego's: Hannah Montana & SuperMan (or Pooperman if you're a 2 year old who doesn't speak clearly!)...We've carved our pumpkin...we've Trick or Treated, and now, we're ready for the next holiday! I love this time of year! Isn't the fall just beautiful this year? I'm in heaven!

Enjoy the slide in the post above...