Wordless Wednesday-At least they're all in the picture

Note: as a precaution we did not decorate the tree this year-

Emmie and Noah are too desrtuctive curious for that.

And the star is not crooked. Really. That's just an illusion.

They're not all looking, but hey, at least they're all in the picture!!

TTFN,


Anyone with tips for getting them all to sit still and look at the
camera at the same time, please share!! PLEASE!! :)

A prayer for you...

This prayer was at the end of a song we used to sing in youth.

It has stuck with me for all these years.

May your days be filled with the peace and promise

that was born that holy night;

and the joy which came through that tiny babe

multiply through all our lives.

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope your Christmas was filled with beauty and wonder.

And maybe a few gifts. ;)

See you soon when we will (hopefully) be back to our

regularly scheduled programming!!

TTFN,

The True Christmas

Luke 2
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

I truly love this story. The pictures are from the movie

The Nativity.

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. The entire

family can watch it but I would consider covering little

eyes for the first few minutes as Herrod's men commit their

slaughter of innocents. It caught us a bit off guard, but it's

biblically correct so I can't really complain.

I've been busy this last week, but please know that I'm checking

in and I am praying for all of you in need of prayers right now

(read:Julie@mom4real! OMGosh, girl! I hope you feel better!!!)

Have a great Christmas Eve and keep it real.

TTFN,

Wordy Wednesday-what should have been?

If you're not a Twilight fan this post will mean nothing to you.

If you are a fan, this may be blasphemy.

I've made no bones about my feelings about Robert Pattinson.

He's ok as Edward. He'll do.

But he's not MY Edward...not the image I had in my head

when I was reading the books.

So the other day I came across something on the internet about

Stephenie Meyer being Mormon and went looking for details.

She IS a practising Mormon, BTW, and put in the movie contract

that none of the movies could be rated R because, as a Mormon,

she doesn't watch rated R movies! Good for you, Stephenie!

While I was searching, I discovered something very interesting...

Robert Pattinson isn't her perfect Edward either!

This yummy guy is;

Meet Henry Cavill, Stephenie Meyer's choice for Edward.

Ahem.

All I can say is wow. Yeah, he is MUCH closer to MY Edward!

So, you're wondering why they didn't transform

Henry Cavill into Edward Cullen?

By the time the movie deal was offered and then all

the kinks were worked out, Henry had hit the ripe old

age of 24, and they were afraid he was just too ole

to play the 17 (albeit 108) year old Edward.

Such a shame.

This last pic is off Stephenie Meyer's website.

Rare indeed.

You're welcome.

TTFN,

P.S. For those of you so inclined, there are pics out there of

Mr. Cavill shirtless-I was not comfortable posting those here.

However...let's just say he would be perfectly capable of giving

a certain, often shirtless, buff werewolf a run for his money physically.

As eye candy, anyway.

Something I wouldn't say about the current (hairy!) Edward!

'Pa rum pa pum pum...'

Today was going to be an easy, fun post.

God had other ideas!

Don't you love it when He steps in?

His ideas are always better than mine anyway!!

The littles and I were eating lunch and I had the radio

on-with Christmas music playing, of course.

{Note-I LOVE Christmas music, but I burn out on it

QUICKLY. I listen to it some, then have to change

the station and listen to regular music a while!}

Anyway, The Little Drummer Boy was playing and I

wasn't really listening, but then for some reason the

lyrics really resounded in my head.

(I typed out the lyrics and left out all the

pa rum pa pum pums for the sake of time and

my fingers. You know where they go! :)

Come they told me

The newborn King to see

Our finest gifts we bring

To lay before the King

So to honor him

When we come

Little baby

I am a poor boy too

I have no gift to bring

That's fit to give a King

Shall I play for you

On my drum

Mary nodded

The ox and lamb kept time

I played my best for Him

I played my drum for Him

Then He smiled at me

Me and my drum

How much do these lyrics resonate with me??

Truly, I have NO gift to bring that is fit to

give the King. Nothing.

I can buy and give gifts to everyone I know. But what

do I have...what can I do...what can I give that's good enough

for the King of Heaven and Earth?

Nothing. At. All.

Suddenly my unworthiness was blatently apparent to me.

'I am a poor boy too.'

Wow.

But the song tells an amazing story.

Even those who have no gift to bring still have something

He wants.

Ourselves. All of us. All we have.

And I don't think that's too much to ask, considering the

unbelievable gift He has given us.

"I played my best for Him.'

Do I? Do I play my best for Him? I'm not talking about

actually playing music, of course. Me playing the drum

would be little more than making a joyful noise!

I mean in my life. Do I live for Him? Do I do my best for Him

in my walk and talk? Do others see Him in me?

I hope so. I pray so. And I keep trying to make it more so.

The King of all creation wants you to bring your best.

What gift will you give the King this Christmas?

Will you play your best for Him?

TTFN,

Wordless Wednesday-Saturday night snack!

Modified smores! YUM!!

TTFN,


P.S. Please excuse anything strange...I'm playing around with fonts!
Trial and error!!! (mostly error!! :)

Not Me Monday!

Free therapy!

Head over to MckMama's and link up!

I do not already miss warm weather. I seriously dislike

cold weather and having to wear so many layers I feel like

a robot whose joints rusted.

(You know, unable to bend for all the layers of clothes with

your arms and legs stuck out at unnatural angles!)

Global warming, what??

Is that why it's unusually cold everywhere?

I am not such a cheap-o that I have not been sitting around

under a blanket and usually with my jacket on (like now)

so that I don't have to turn on the heater. Our bill this month

was not almost $70 LESS than it was last month, and I do not

think that was REALLY nice!!

In my defense, I AM making sure the kids

are all in their warm jammies all the time, and if the jammies

don't have feet in them, I put socks on them!!

I did not go out Friday night without kids OR Paul which hasn't

happened in...I can't remember when. Paul and I go out

without the kids every now and again, but I rarely go anywhere

without Paul. I did not have a good time, laughing harder

than I have laughed in years (thank you Melynda)

with some friends I hardly ever see,

and others I haven't seen in about 13 years!!

It was strange to be without my hubby, but it was still fun.

After being out Friday night, I did not have to get up and have

Sydney at the school by 8 for a parade that didn't start till 11!

We were not just a little late because I was not just a little frustrated

at having to get up so early on a Saturday when things didn't get

rolling till much later! I would never make my kid late out of spite.

Not me!!

And I did not do a blog overhaul! I do not hope y'all like it!! :)

What did you do last week?

Hope it was fun! :)

TTFN,

Evel Emmie Knievel

Alternately titled:

The one who's going to make me go completely gray.

My first 3 kids were what you might call vanilla.

Well behaved, quiet, ease-going, you get the picture.

When Noah was a baby, he was the sweetest baby you could imagine.

Then I got pregnant with Emmie (he was 8 months) and he suddenly

became 'boy wonder'. He was strong, determined, fast, and the worst

climber I'd ever known. He climbed all. the. time.

Even so, he was precious...sweet and loving, he could do most anything

and it was ok because he'd throw those little hands around my neck

and I was a goner.

Still am. Totally over the moon for that kid.

And all the rest too.

So, anyway.

Then along came Emmie. She wasn't like any of the other babies.

All the rest had been wonderful, quiet babies.

Emmie was not. It's not that she was really fussy...except that

she was. Well, more than the others, anyway. She fussed a lot

in the evenings, and HATED to be in the car.

Now, she's getting big. She still fusses when she doesn't get her

way, and has learned to throw fits. Not that they get her anywhere,

I guess they're just the thing to do at this age. And she still

hates to be in the car.

And now she, like her older brother, has discovered climbing.

She is more daring than her brother ever thought about being.

She climbs anything that can't climb her first. Any. thing.

At first it was simple things like the coffee table and the couches.

Then she realized she could use the couch to get onto the sofa

table as well-all the while, taking out anything that happened

to be in her way-pictures, lamps, whatever.

Then it was the piano. She climbed on the bench, up the front and

onto the back, again knocking off everything.

But the kicker happened yesterday.

She started hollaring,

"Momma-TUCK! TUCK, MOMMA!!"

Tuck=stuck.

And I cringed. Cause I knew.

I didn't know what exactly, but I knew.

I walked into the living room to find this:

Yeah, that's right. I took a picture of her hanging off the

OUTSIDE of the staircase. They're blurry cause I was

trying to hurry before she fell her little butt off.

She thinks it's hilarious-as you can tell from the second picture.

She's done it over and over and over.

We can't leave her alone in the living room anymore,

even for a second.

Ugh. I can just feel the gray hairs coming in.

Are you still there??

Hello?

(hello...hello...hello)

Anyone there??

{chirp, chirp}

Sigh.

I hope y'all haven't given up on me!

I'm still here.

I've just been busy the last week with family stuff.

It was a great week!

I'll be posting the next few days about it-with pictures!

TTFN,

Wordless Wednesday-Calgon, take me away.

I so needed this today.

Lots going on...stress, worry, lots of prayer.

I haven't decided whether to blog about it or not.

It's hard to make that call when it's not your life you're

thinking about blogging about.

Let me just ask that you all be in prayer for my parents.

Both are having serious issues, financially, physically,

mentally, and spiritually.

Satan is hitting them HARD. And they don't have the faith

that we do to see them through-my dad is unsaved, and my

mom is so discouraged she actually told me the other day,

"You keep praying. At least He listens to you."

My heart is breaking it is so heavy. I don't know what to

do or how to help.

I may post more later if I feel more comfortable with it.

If not, I would ask you to lift them up anyway.

Thank you, in advance.

(Ok, so it's NOT wordless. I needed more it this way.)

TTFN,

Halftime bath.

{sigh}

The first 13 years of my marriage were ideal.

I had the man who didn't care a bit about

fishing, hunting, or sports.

That's all changed.

Well, not the fishing, hunting, or sports in general part.

But now he's ADDICTED to Alabama football!

UGH.

And even worse, he's got the older 3 all into it too.

Oh well. Here's hoping that Alabama football is the only

change he makes.

Being the good wife that I am, I'm totally

aware that there's no point in complaining

being supportive!

So this is what happened in our house tonight:

We were watching the game, and I asked him if he would

bathe the younger 3. He looked at me like I'd lost my mind

and waved his hand at the TV.

I sighed but right then the announcer said there was 4 minutes

left till halftime and I seized the moment, commenting that

he could bathe them during halftime.

He agreed and we watched the rest of the first half.

Then it was time for the halftime bath. And keeping in the

football spirit (I guess that's what he was doing!)
I heard:

Paul "JACOB, DO YOU WANT TO TAKE A BATH IN THIS TUB??"

Jacob (rather timidly-this isn't how bath usually starts) "Yes, sir?"

Paul "I SAID, DO YOU WANT TO TAKE A BATH IN THIS TUB??

Jacob (catching on) "YES SIR!!"

Paul "LET ME HEAR YOU SAY, 'ROLL TIDE!'"

Jacob "ROLL TIDE!"

Paul "NOAH, DO YOU WANT TO TAKE A BATH IN THIS TUB??"

Noah (following Jacob's lead) "YESSEW!"
Paul "LET ME HEAR YOU SAY 'ROLL TIDE!'"

Noah "WOLL TIDE!"

Paul (still loudly, but trying not to scare her)

"EMMIE, DO YOU WANT TO TAKE A BATH IN THIS TUB??"

Emmie "BAAAAH" (Emmiespeak for 'bath')

Paul "LET ME HEAR YOU SAY 'ROLL TIDE'"

Emmie "AHHHH BAAAAH!!"

Paul(laughing) "GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME-GET IN HERE!!"

{sigh again}

At least he's doing stuff with the kids. :)

TTFN,

Wordless Wednesday-In Honor and Memory.

Thank you.

TTFN,

'I can't complain, but sometimes I still do.'

I was listening to the radio on Friday when the song

'Life's been good to me so far'

by Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh came on.

Yeah, I was listening to old rock. It's a vice.

It's not one of my favorites, but I know it well enough

to sing along. This time though one line struck me.

Hard.

'I can't complain but sometimes I still do.'

Yep. That's me. Nice to meetcha.

I've been reading a few blogs lately, a new one in particular,

where the financial situation of the families blogged

about has brought my own life into sharp perspective.

'I can't complain but sometimes I still do.'

Even though I'm thankful Paul has a good, full-time job,

and is even in the process of a promotion,

I complain that he has to work overtime.

Even though I'm thankful we live in a beautiful, 3br, 2ba home,

I complain that there's never enough room.

Even though we drive a really nice van that's big enough

for our family (now and with room for expansion ;)

I complain that it's not the kind I wanted.

Even though I'm thankful Paul gets paid every week,

I complain because we usually live paycheck to paycheck.

(If we could stop being stupid with money this

wouldn't be an issue.)

Even though we have groceries and a beautiful home,

and nice clothes to wear,

I complain about having to cook, clean, and do laundry.

'I can't complain but sometimes I still do.'

But from now on I'm going to try to stop complaining

and start praising God for His faithfulness instead.

Maybe then I can appreciate what we DO have.

TTFN,

Stellan's team wins the world series!! :)

Praise be to the Lord God Almighty!

Miracle baby Stellan has received another miracle

tonight!!

Wanna go see for yourself?

www.mycharmingkids.net

I can't imagine the relief their family is

experiencing tonight.

I know I'M experiencing relief!! I've been

praying so hard all day. And now it's over.

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation!

Ida, Ida, go away...come again another-ok, scratch that. Just go away!

What?? A hurricane-in November?

Ugh.

This is only the 4th recorded storm in November, and

the first to ever hit the upper gulf coast.

(Since they started recording them, anyway)

Nice to be a statistic, huh?

Not so much.

At least it's supposed to fizzle and become a Tropical

Storm before it hits land. We'll likely only get alot of

wind and heavy rain.

Pray for no flooding for those directly on the coast.

(we live about 25 miles inland so our threat isn't

nearly as bad as theirs.)

Pray for no tornados-a serious threat with these

kinds of systems.

The kids are excited, though, because school is letting out

at 1:30 today, will certainly be closed tomorrow, and they

already had Wednesday off for Veteran's Day.

This is the predicted path.

Photo courtesy of the NOAA website

Hopefully we won't lose power or cell or internet

services, but if we do, I'll chat with y'all in a day or two!

TTFN,

Roll Tide!

Just for Paul...

What do Tigers and sandcastles have in common?

They both get washed away when the Tide rolls in!

Sorry, Kimber.

You know I love you more'n my luggage!! ;)

TTFN,

Not really Wordless Wednesday

Ok, so this really was too easy!

This is hilarious to me-Sydney put his shoes and because

his costume covered them up, I didn't know until the end

of the night when I took them off!

Poor baby! It's a good thing those shoes are a bit too big.

When I saw this picture, I just cracked up.

I think you all knew right away!!

(with the exception of Mel, and I laughed so

hard at her comment that I almost fell off my chair!)

So, congrats, Nan!! Let me know what kind of gift card

you'd like, with your address, and I'll get it right out to you!!

I keep thinking of things I'd like to blog about and then

never get around to them. I've gotten lazy with the blog

lately. :( Anyone else have that problem??

Hope everyone has a Wonderful Wednesday!

TTFN,

Costumed fun-and a contest!!

The kids had a blast Saturday night.

They had so much fun dressing up.

Emmie giggled all night, and REFUSED to let

anyone else touch her candy bucket-and insisted on getting

her own candy from everyone-cause, ya know, if they get

close enough to put something in, they're close enough

to take stuff out too!! It was hilarious.

Noah told everyone,

"Twick or Tweet!"

After they handed over the candy, he said,

"Happy Hawoween!!"

Soooo cute.

Now for the costumes!!

"Ride like the wind, Bullseye!"

"To Infinity...And Beyond!"

"You got a friend in me."

"Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home!"

Ladybug bum. Hehe.

Seriously though, fly away AFTER I get a decent picture!!!

My butterfly and carhop.

The roundup gang! LOL.
(Yes, we're one heavy-Syd had a friend over)


Ashton ditched us for a party, but she had a great time,
and we made do without her. :(


This turned out to be one cheap Halloween. The only
costume we had to buy was Emmie's, and it was only $15.


Jacob and Noah's were borrowed, and Sydney's was from
a program Ashton was in in 5th grade.


Ashton's wings were a reused costume from when she was
2. Totally not kidding-I'll have to see if I can find the pics.


Halloween is usually really expensive for us, so this was
REALLY nice.


Thanks to those who were willing to loan costumes-
we love you! :)

And finally, for the contest...

This is a picture of my Buzz Lightyear pondering

how to defeat Zurg.

The first commenter who can tell me what's wrong
with this picture will get a $10 gift card of their choosing-
Target, Starbucks, Michaels, wherever. As long as it's
within driving distance of my house!! :)

Good luck!!

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!!

TTFN,

Fun Friday!

I know that some of my friends here are crafters,

so when I came across this last night I thought I'd share

it with all of you!

Michael's has a kids craft club online where they have cute

printables and lots of fun craft ideas for kids.

You can also have a birthday party there!

Who knew??

But what caught my eye was the Halloween craft event

they put on.

From 10-Noon on Saturday kids can come in to receive

a free trick-or-treat pail, enjoy a free coloring activity,

free Crayola Model Magic Fusion, and a Make-it, Take-it

Halloween frame!

Children will also receive a free balloon and candy.

(while supplies last, of course!)

I'm not sure if we're going to try to attend, but it sure

sounds fun! And you can't beat free!!

Hope y'all have a great weekend, and be safe if you

go trick-or-treating! :)

TTFN,

Jacob's field trip

Yesterday I got to go on Jacob's first field trip with him!

(Thank you, Mrs. Linda for keeping the littles)

We went here:

This is our local children's museum. Can you see my little

man in the shadows up there?? I wanted him to stand on

the top, but that black metal rail completely covered his face.

They have lots of exhibits, some are large areas designed for

imaginitive play, some are areas for learning, and our guide told the

kids they could touch anything they could reach.

And they did! They had a blast!!

'All aboard the choo-choo train, all aboard, all aboard!

Choo-choo!*'

*this is the song from Choo-choo Soul, if you don't

watch The Disney Channel.

Hey, Skipper, where's Gilligan?

Pull!!

Time for a spot of tea.



This was a giant climbing apparatus that went from floor

to ceiling through the middle of the building.

(yeah, well, saying 'apparatus' sounds better

than saying 'thingy')

Jacob loved it!!

After our time inside, we went out to the picnic area and

ate our sack lunches. Strangely I don't have any pictures

of this. Maybe I just didn't want any evidence of me

stuffing my face like a hog eating. :)

Jacob's class (most of them)
Cheese!

Silly face!!


I wish this picture had come out better. I think my camera
focused on the tree instead of Jacob. I suppose it is the bigger
object in the shot!


Notice the boo-boo on Jacob's chin that isn't in the rest of the
pictures. He fell outside and managed to skin his chin and
the insides of his elbows. I still haven't figured out how he
did that!


Other than the fall, it was a wonderful day. I love that I got to
spend the day with just Jacob. We don't get time alone too often.
He's a wonderful, sweet boy, and I adore him!


Thank you, Jacob, for letting me tag along!


TTFN,