Guess What Today Is?!

Happy Birthday
To Me!!

I Exercised My Civic Duty Today

Caleb and I made a trip to Chris' office this afternoon so we could go vote in the primary as a family. The official primary is not till February 5th here in Georgia. But, today was the day you could go to the Registrar's office for advance voting. I can't resist an opportunity to skip long lines.

There were only two items on the ballot this time. The Presidental Primary was the first. I voted in the Republical primary and I voted for XXXXXXXXXX. Nope! Not gonna tell. It is called a private ballot for a reason and I really don't want this blog to become a political platform. I'll just say that I voted my conscience and for whom I thought had the most Biblical policies.

The second item on the ballot was a local issue. It was to vote yes or no on whether distilled spirits can be poured by the drink in this county. Yes. My county is still a "dry" county. Believe it or not! Hard liquor cannot be sold in any place within this county. Beer and wine can be sold in the grocery stores and in the restaurants but not hard liquor. The county is growing like crazy and there are some rather large restaurants that have voiced interest in coming in but can't due to the "liquor law." Needless to say, this is a rather hot topic around here especially among the church-going crowd. The options were to vote "yes" to allow the liquor and "no" to not allow it. I voted XXXXXXX. Once again, I don't want to start a debate. Thanks for understanding.

I felt good as I was leaving that I exercised my right AND duty to vote. Now I have bragging or griping rights however this primary turns out. ;-)

GO VOTE!!!


Graphic From AllPosters.com

Pumpkin Patch Party!!

Last night was Caleb's very first Pumpkn Patch Party at our church. Well, we could've gone last year but apparently he was "too small" to go (so says Chris). ;-)

The festivities started when I changed Caleb into his costume. We had to get ready early because we got a call from Chris' parents saying we just HAD to bring Caleb by so he could go trick-or-treating at their house. Here is Caleb posing in his costume. Chris' mom got it for us at The Cracker Barrell for 75% off and we've had it in storage until last night.


Here we are walking through the parking lot towards all the festivities. Caleb was pretty excited with all he saw and heard.


This is what was awaiting our arrival. What you see was just one side of the church. The activities went all the way around the church and well into the inside as well. There was so much to do! Who needs to go Trick-Or-Treating when you have Pumpkin Patch!?!?



Chris and Caleb waiting in line to get our candy bag and wrist bands.



Caleb was already feeling a little to tired as soon as we got into the event. Poor Guy!



But, the swings can wake any tired little boy up!! Who can resist a good swing? Wheeee!



Yummm! Chocolate!! Caleb ate his first Hershey's Chocolate bar. What have I done?!



Caleb's favorite game was the basketball game. It was near impossible to pull him away.



Or putting the Beanie Babies in the Buckets.



The end of a very fun first Pumpkin Patch Party. We'll be back next year for sure!

Christmas Shopping Without the Crowds!

I am sure everyone out there has heard of Black Friday and if not, it is the day after Thanksgiving and is the biggest shopping day of the year. Some people observe Black Friday like it were another holiday and they stand in line at 5 am till the stores open and then they shop all day long. There is plenty of strategy to be had too. Most stores don't advertise their Black Friday sales until the Thanksgiving Day newspaper comes out and if you are an avid Black Friday shopper that can really eat into your Thanksgiving Day. Who wants to miss out on the food, football games, and naps? I know I don't!

Being the Internet crazy person that I am, I LOVE to shop online. It is so much easier for me to sit down for a couple of hours and shop that way than it is to drive 30-45 minutes (depending on traffic and usually more during the holidays) into town only to have to face the crowds. Ick! By now I am sure you can figure that Black Friday shopping has never been an option for me. But, that may change now. Through the website Black-Friday.Net I can view many Black Friday ads now and not have to wait till Thanksgiving Day and I can shop those same sales from the comfort of my own home. I can save the same amount of money as those crazy people in the lines and I'll be cozy at home eating my turkey sandwich. I am already checking out the toys for Caleb on the Toys 'R' Us page and a new camera from Circuit City for Chris and me.

Give your feet some love this year and stay home for your Black Friday Shopping. Oh, and don't forget to sign up for their email alerts! That way they can tell you whenever they post a new ad. How easy is that?!

Rain Days

The past month has been absolutely lovely down here in Georgia. We have had a good full day of rain at least once a week for the past month. Since Georgia has been in such a terrible drought lately, I am loving these days of steady rain.

I confess that I LOVE the rain and rain clouds. There is so much beauty to be seen in those stormy clouds as they approach you. The way the gray becomes darker and darker as the storm becomes more imminent and the thunder claps in the distance. I especially enjoy watching the lightning strike within the clouds as they light up the sky. I am that crazy person you see running outside as a storm approaches when everyone else is running inside. The way the pressure drops and the wind blows past my face is quite invigorating. When I spent six weeks in England during a study abroad program with the University of Georgia I saw many of my classmates become down and depressed because there were more cloudy days than sunny, but I was quite happy and I enjoyed my many walks around town and in the countryside.

Rainy days also bring wonderful memories created at home. Sunny days, unless they are way too hot, are usually spent going outside to play or run errands. But, rainy days are spent in the house playing, reading together, and cuddling. The rain forces me to slow down enough that I can focus more on my home and enjoy those special moments with my son as he grows up way too fast.

I have heard many people say that rain means life and that it is good luck if it rains on your wedding day. Well, I guess Chris and I got our good luck or the Lord's Blessing, as I prefer to call it, because it did indeed rain on our wedding day. In fact it threatened to rain the entire day with that lovely drop in pressure and wind but it never rained until Chris and I were safe in the "get away" car. The photographer said that someone must have been praying hard because the rain was holding off really well. Praying indeed. My then four year old nephew said he was praying hard for the rain to not come. Thanks, Bud!

I also love to see how things become so green after a good day of rain. The drought stricken ground becomes green and lush. Chris would beg to differ because it means he has to mow the lawn. I think it is lovely, though. The rain brings life to this earth and it is a beautiful thing. Even God thinks so when He puts his signature on a good storm with a rainbow.




Graphic From AllPosters.com

Tribute

I found this video on Snopes.com and I was brought to tears. I am not a beer drinker, but Budweiser does come out with some awesome commercials and this is by far their best. This commercial was released only once, during Super Bowl XXXVI, as a tribute to New York City after the incidents of 9/11. All I can say is, "WOW!"

World Bread Day!

How perfect is this?! I just wrote a post about my passion for baking bread and my new adventures into bread starters and look what I found. I was looking at a great blog called A Year in Bread and I saw a little button and I was intrigued. I did a little Google-ing and here it is.

More to come!

Six Years Later

September 11, 2001

The day started out just like any other day. I was going to school to get my Master's Degree in Biblical Counseling at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. It was my first semester and I was excited to get started. You see, my precious mother passed away on August 10, 2001 after a two week stay in the hospital due to a busted aneurysm. Going to school was my way of staying busy. My Dad had said I didn't have to go straight to school if I needed some more time. Thanks, Dad but I needed to stay busy.

That morning I had already attended my first morning class and I was skipping chapel (whoops) so I could have lunch with my brother (also in school for his Ph.D) at a little cafe called The Corner. They had great chili and it was cheap...just what a poor student needs. I was ordering my chili when I heard the lady who ran the place say to another worker, "Did you a hear a plane hit the World Trade Center?" My brother looked at me and said, "Yeah, did you hear that?" I replied with a no. I assumed a small plane had clipped a corner of the buildings and I enjoyed eating my chili with cheese and sour cream. Yum!

After lunch, I said goodbye to my brother and left for my next class. I could tell something wasn't right on campus but I obviously didn't know why. I walked on as usual. I entered the building where all my classes were and the "something wrong" was even more evident. There were other students milling around with distressed looks on their faces and several students were crowded around a TV. I "politely" pushed my way to the TV and watched all the mayhem. I saw all the smoke and fire coming out of the buildings. I heard the confusion and theories coming from the reporters mouth but I kept thinking about how many people those buildings can hold. And then...I watched the first tower collapse...on Live TV. The reporter was frantic and yet, he kept his cool the best he could. I heard that the towers could hold upwards to 50,000 people. Aaaaahhhh!

I continued on to class not knowing what else to do. Everyone was obviously, and rightfully so, distracted. My professor walked in looking pretty frantic too. He explained that a friend of his was flying out today and he thought could be on one of those planes. He was waiting for a phone call. Needless to say, class was cancelled. I went outside and called Chris. He didn't want to talk about it because it just made him want to throw up. I called the rest of my family and I was comforted by their voices. My Dad said he had watched the plane hit the second tower on TV.

I had to attend one class because it was only once a week and my professor said he couldn't afford to cancel class. We all made it only half way through and my notes were only scribblings. I went home and watched the news. I was a complete zombie in complete shock. I remember thinking that my Mom was the lucky one. She was in heaven with Jesus and didn't have to experience all this junk. I missed her and I wanted to go home. I did the next best thing and went to my sister's house and stayed there for awhile. I called a friend who's husband worked night shift. She didn't want to be alone, so we went to a coffee shop and attempted to study.

I finally went to bed still feeling like a deer in the headlights. I had been hit over the head with a sledgehammer. I woke the next day and attempted to get my life back to normal....like everyone else....but we all know that our lives will never be like they were before September 11, 2001.

DON'T FORGET!!

Independence Day

HAPPY 4th OF JULY !!!!

Now go hug a soldier or veteran for their contribution to making this day possible.
THANK YOU!

Also, please go read this post over at Laced With Grace. It makes me that much more thankful to be an American.