It's December

Our front door at night...

The front of the house from the driveway

We still need the inflatable snowman in the front yard. :) (Molly and Leah want inflatable yard decorations, while Ashlyn and I think they are on the tacky side) but, I've come to the conclusion that they are only little once, so we'll have the inflatables. (Maybe just one)

I'm so excited that the Christmas season is here! We were able to spend Thanksgiving in Tampa with my sister-in-law and her family, and also found out that I'm going to be an aunt again. How fun to have another baby in the family! When we came back home, we got our Christmas decorations out and started filling our home with signs of the season. Here are a few pictures of the things we have completed so far. I forgot how much work it is, but it's well worth it in the end.

Leslie's tree...

Next is our family Christmas tree. It has the ornaments we've accumulated through the past 16 years. Some are from the girls when they were little, some are from an ornament exchange group that I was in years ago, and some are from The Franklin Mercantile, a local shop that specializes in unique, handmade ornaments that can be personalized. It's so fun to reminisce as we place them on the tree.

Don't you love the fireplace full of poinsettias instead of wood??? (we miss our fires!)

These are on top of the kitchen cabinets...

This time of year makes me especially thankful for family and friends, and also the real meaning of Christmas, our Saviour's birth. We have a lot of activities coming up with the adult choir and children's choir at church. Molly's Sunday School class also has plans to make fruit baskets for some of the widows in the church. Her class did the same thing last year and were so well received and blessed that they want to do it again. Hopefully we'll be able to experience many wonderful memories this Christmas, and keep in mind the true reason that we celebrate.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Leah's Trophy

YOU MIGHT BE A REDNECK IF.......







YOUR EIGHT YEAR OLD DAUGHTER HAS KILLED A DEER!








Al may not have any boys, but he's got some sharp shootin' girls. Leah killed her first deer tonight. This week is anterless deer season, so he was hoping that the girls would be able to kill a doe this week. Al and Leah went to the farm in Lulu and came home with this cow-horned spike. When Leah called to tell me, she was so excited! She told me that the horns were about 3-4 inches long. Al says they are 10, and she shot it with a 243 rifle from about 60-70 yards away. It is really cold tonight, the temperature is supposed to go down into the 20's. I guess that had the deer really moving around. Way to go on your first deer, Leah!





Beware, this video is not for the squeamish!

Ed or Stan???

Is this our head coach, Stan, or is it Edward Norton??? Stan is a good friend that loves God and offers his time to spend teaching our kids about Jesus and His love for us. We get a kick out of teasing him about his uncharcteristically similar looks with the famous movie star. We were sitting in the stands supporting our AWANA kids and noticed this lady in front of us following Stan around with her camera. By the time I put the camera on her, it was about her 4th taping. (Scary, huh??) Stan said that there were actually people coming up to him and asking if he was Norton. If you would like to see the similarities, go to http://www.edward-norton.org/ Thanks for the laughs, Stan!!!

AWANA Olympics

Josh with his "snack bag"

The proud 1st place teams!!!

The silly 1st place teams!!!

The balloon relay

The dedicated fans. GO BLUE!!!

Olivia, our youngest supporter, here to cheer on her big brother, Blane.

Some of our teams before the olympics started

AWANA Olympics

Leah and Allie were in the 3 legged race. They started practicing just last week, and Beth (Allie's mom) and I were concerned, because when we got them together to practice all they could do was giggle. They managed to hold it together for the race, and we got some pictures of them and some of their teammates sporting their gold medals after the big win.

AWANA Olympics '08

This is Leah's first year to compete in the AWANA Olympics, and what a fun day we had! The 3rd - 6th grade boys and girls from our church that have been in the AWANA program, and completed the requirements to participate, were able to travel to the Olympic games this year and compete against other churches from the area. To be able to qualify, the kids have to complete 10 sections in their books, that consist of memorizing scripture, or answering questions concerning scripture. We had two teams out of 16 that represented our church. Both teams came in first place, which was very exciting, since Molly and Leah were on opposite teams. It is always fun to cheer for the kids (and the coaches). You can't help getting into the spirit of the games. This is Leah's first race, the baton relay.

Veteran's Day 2008

I want to take a moment on Veteran's Day to thank all of the veterans that are serving our country, or have served our country in the past. I am so very thankful for the freedoms that we have because of them. I was reminded this when I went to the Veteran's Day program at Leah's school today. We truly have so much to be thankful for in the United States of America.

When Molly came home from school today, she brought a paper about Veteran's Day history that I am ashamed to say I didn't already know, so I will share with you the things that I learned. Veteran's Day was first called Armistice Day. This day signaled the end of World War I, which had 35 countries involved, and was fought from 1914-1918. An armistice (truce) was signed on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The unidentified American soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery at 11:00A.M. on 11/11/21 and his grave is known as the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier". On that same day, a soldier from France and a soldier from England were buried in their own countries giving special recognition to the end of the war. The U.S. Congress changed the name from Armistice Day to Veteran's Day in 1954. The U.S. government holds its annual Veteran's Day ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Thank you once again veterans for all the sacrifices you have made and continue to make for this great country. God Bless America!!