We Interrupt This Series...

I came across this Vision Forum giveaway (thanks to Olive Tree). I am here to announce that I hope I win this giveaway for $250 in items from the catalog. I promptly made a wish list that is worth much more, but, oh well....

1.10 Volume complete R.M. Ballantyne Christian Adventure Library
2. Complete Henty Library
3. so much more....I love many of the offerings they have. This history major drools over the Vision Forum catalog often.



In other news, I snapped this picture while sitting at a stop-light yesterday. I was amused by the misuse of an apostrophe.

A Series: Fall in Lower Alabama!

Fall Festival At Our Church


Our church hosted a Fall Festival last Saturday. We were excited, because the neighbors on either side of us attended with us. My kiddos are pictured here with the neighbor children. The policeman and black cat live on one side and the girl in orange lives on the other.

A Series: Fall in Lower Alabama!

The Making of a Jack-o-Lantern

In Lower Alabama, Fall does not necessarily mean cooler weather. In fact, it usually does NOT. Case and point: our trip to the pumpkin patch. It took place on October 17th, a date that in most parts of the country would have cool breezes...a little nip in the air...a promise of cold weather to come. Not so here. While we had a really fun time taking the hayride out to the pumpkin patch, listening to a presentation on how pumpkins grow and choosing which two pumpkins we wanted to take home, it was all somehow dampened by the amount of sweat running down my back!

All of that aside, here are the steps to making a jack-o-lantern:

1. Pick out the two biggest pumpkins in the patch so your mom will have so much fun carrying them both back to the car. I mean, what's more fun than watching mom's arms turn to jelly from the weight of the pumpkins! (Truth be told, it was my idea to pick big ones so we could make jack-o-lanterns. I was seriously rethinking my words as I carried them to the car.)

(Do you notice how green everything is in the pic above? No changing leaves here)

2. Choose the most complicated template you can find. After all anything fun has to be extremely complicated, right? About two years ago, one of my sisters-in-law brought some Disney jack-o-lantern stencils to a family reunion that takes place in the fall. My daughter made a jack-o-lantern with Cinderella's face on it. Ever since, she will not settle for a simple face with eyes, nose and grin. She HAS to have a Disney character on hers. (Thanks, Dawn for making things so complicated!)


3. Get all the gooey, slimy, messy stuff out of the inside of the pumpkin. Or, if you hate the way it feels on your hands, make your kids do it!


4. Carve away....being careful not to cut off any appendages that belong to you or your offspring. And if you have a daughter like mine who won't settle for a simple template, have the ice pack ready for your sore fingers and strained wrist.

(Do you recognize the cat from the Disney movie, Cinderella?)

5. Light 'em up, step back and enjoy! This is especially fun if one of the native HUMONGO roaches is inside your pumpkin. There's nothing like the fragrances of toasted pumpkin and roach.

PS. Get a lot of enjoyment out of this first viewing, because the warm, humid climate will rot your pumpkin in about 2 hours!

OK, just in case, here is the disclaimer: The previous post was written tongue-in-cheek (cleverly amusing in tone; "a bantering tone"; "facetious remarks"). No part of it is meant to offend or besmirch (to detract from the honor or luster of) any person or aspect of Lower Alabama. The writer of the previous remarks loves this portion of the country and enjoys living here. She in no way seeks to discredit or sully the features of this region.

A Series: Fall in Lower Alabama!

You've heard me complain about the weather that remains hot and very sticky for way too long around here. So you won't find it surprising that when the cooler temperatures (and by that I mean low 70s with no humidity) prevail, I rejoice. I never appreciated Fall more than I have since living here.

But its not just the cooler temps that make Fall in this area so great. Our rural area is so beautiful in harvest time! I just sigh with satisfaction when I see the big round haybales, wrapped in white plastic, glowing under the huge full moon that never seems as bright as it does in Fall. I grin with pleasure as I gaze at the defoliated cotton plants ready for harvest. It looks a little like snow on the ground, and since that's as close to snow as we ever see, I call it "Alabama snow." The peanut farmers are in full swing, and I love to watch the big machines at work! I love to decorate my house with the orange, yellow and brown colors of fall. I love pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns and Fall Festivals and Harvest Day celebrations and so much more.

So, in celebration of what has become my favorite season, I will spend this week posting pictures and an occasional thought demonstrating what Fall looks like where I live! I hope you are loving Fall where you are and are giving Thanks to God for His provisions.

(the photo above shows some of the fall displays that decorate our town square)

Let Me Tell You About Rachel....

Now those of you who know me IRL, probably think I'm going to tell you something about my sister (which come to think of it, would probably make a good post). But actually, I'm going to tell you about my friend, Rachel and a really great book she recently wrote.

Rachel Masters (or Rachel Gustafson, as I knew her) is a friend of mine from my college days. She was the editor of our University Yearbook, and I served as Assistant Editor under her. In the photo below,we are pictured at Homecoming 1992. She went on to marry her college sweetheart, Darren (standing behind her in the photo) and they now have 5 children.

Not long ago, Rachel contacted me and told me about the cookbook she has written. I was excited when she said she was sending me a copy of it! I proceeded to put it to use and have been enjoying it for about 3 months. This isn't your ordinary cookbook that leaves you feeling guilty for not spending hours laboring in your kitchen to place a gourmet meal in front of your family. Nor does it leave you wondering where in the world you are going to find the long list of unusual ingredients needed for each recipe. No, this is a Mom's cookbook, written by a real mom for real moms everywhere.

Rachel's ideas for the cookbook started several years ago. She was tired of trying to think of what to cook for supper every night and came up with the idea of a rotating meal plan. After writing down MANY meal ideas, it made sense to go one step further and make grocery lists to accompany them. That worked for a while, but the frustration continued when she couldn't find the recipes that went with the evening's meal plan. That led her to believe that it would be worth the time and trouble to compile the meal plans, grocery lists AND recipes together in one book. So, over the course of two years, among homeschool lessons, children's naptimes, helping her husband build their log cabin, and other continuous interruptions, Rachel compiled and revised a 250-page book. -excerpt from Rachel's website

Yes, you heard right! This cookbook gives you 13 weeks of meal plans. Each week not only includes a menu for 5 meals, but also provides a grocery list, all the recipes necessary AND a timetable for when to do each cooking task during the day. I have found this cookbook to be so helpful! Rachel has done all the legwork and taken the frustration out of putting a meal on the table. Of course, my family's tastes and preferences vary some from Rachel's so as I am preparing for a trip to the grocery store, I may pencil in a different side dish or a variation that we prefer and adjust the grocery list accordingly. Preparing for the gorcery store is easy. I make a copy of the grocery list, mark off the items I already have, slip the list into my purse and I'm off!

I have shown this cookbook to several friends and family members and all have been excited about this find! It would be a great gift or even stocking stuffer for those moms on your Christmas list. You must go check out her website, order a few and tell her I sent you!

Say What?

Hubby and I spotted these signs on the door at the new Michael's in the nearby town where we shop. We were amused! I wonder why they haven't noticed it yet? The store has been open for more than a month now.

Puppet Show

This past weekend, our 4 year old son announced that he was doing a puppet show. He set up the kitchen chairs in a row for the audience, then spread a blanket from couch to chair. From behind the blanket, he proceeded to dazzle us with a cast of characters from his toy box. Hubby and I couldn't keep from grinning, and our daughter pretty much laughed the entire time (I guess she "got" the plot a lot better than Hubby and I did).

Announcing the show:

The cast of characters: (do you see the little man talking on the big Barbie cell phone?)

Taking a bow:

Does Having "Old Friends" Make Me Old?

I'm sure it does, but I'll never admit it!

During our stay in Nashville, I had a blast catching up with "old friends." I actually enjoyed 3 rendezvous with family and friends I had not seen in a while.

My first rendezvous was with Greg and Audre. I met Greg and Audre when we were all in our early 20s. We were co-workers at Glorieta Conference Center (in Glorieta, NM) FOURTEEN years ago! Ugh! How could time have passed so quickly. It feels like yesterday we were so young and had few responsibilities. We all did our shifts of work during the day and then hung out and had fun the rest of the time. There are great memories of playing hearts in the lobby or making a late night run to Santa Fe for food. We went on hikes, saw the sights, listened to the musicians at La Cantina, ate the best Mexican food and became close friends. Then life happened and we all grew up and went our separate ways. So after all those years, I got to see a couple of the "Glorieta gang". We had so much fun meeting each other's families and catching up! I love how you can not see or speak to each other for a LONNNG time and when you do finally see each other, its "just like old times."

The Glorieta gang (minus a few). I am the denim clad blonde seated on the left, Greg and Audre are standing in the middle. Glorieta, NM June 1993

At Greg and Audre's wedding 1995 (I'm the blonde to the right of Greg)

Greg, Audre and me at Spaghetti Factory Nashville, Tn Oct 2007

My second rendezvous was with my cousin, Julie. I think its been four years since I've seen her. Even though she has a busy schedule, she took the time to meet the kids and me for lunch. We grabbed fast food to go and went to a nearby park. While the kids ran and played, Julie and I caught up on each others' lives. I really enjoy being around Julie. She is sweet and beautiful in every way!

Julie with my kids! Nashville Oct 2007

Then my third rendezvous was with Stephanie. Stephanie and I were in the same degree program in college and we even roomed together one semester our senior year (we had the best and biggest room in the dorm). We've kept up over the years through email, Christmas cards and most recently through our blogs. You can check her out at Olive Tree. The kids and I went to Stephanie's house one afternooon. While Stephanie and I chatted, my kids enjoyed playing with her three girls! Thanks for letting us hang out all afternoon, Stephanie. It was lots of fun!

Stephanie and me in the good ol' days! 1993

Stephanie and me Nashville, Oct 2007

Nashville

State capitol building from the Bicentennial Mall.

I just wanted to post a few pictures of our trip to Nashville last week. My hubby was attending a conference at the Lifeway Building, and we decided to tag along. He was pretty much in meetings morning to evening, so the kids and I were on our own. Of course, we took the school stuff and stayed in that routine for the most part. The rest of the time, we went sight seeing. Our hotel was right downtown, so we spent a lot of our time there. We walked a LOT! The weather was nice and we had fun!

Our hotel, Union StationOne of several war memorials in downtown. I like the Scripture that you see included
on the monument.

The Lifeway Building

The Farmer's Market

Can I Just Say?

Can I just say....
...that I LOVE to travel!
...that staying in a hotel is AWESOME! I don't have to clean or cook!
...that Nashville, TN. is a beautiful town.
...that reconnecting with old friends I haven't seen in YEARS is the most fun.
...that I love how you can go for years without talking to a friend and when you meet again, its just like old times.
...that I love history, and travel enables me to learn so much more.
...that the Louisiana style sandwich I ate at the Farmers Market was very yummy!
...that my cousin, Julie, is beautiful.
...that I could get used to valet parking.
...that portable DVD players are a great invention.
...that I wish we could travel more!

Thanks for letting me say that! We've been in Nashville this week and had a great time. I'll be posting pictures later. For now, there's a pile of laundry to do as well as some housecleaning before we get out the Fall decorations!

Game Day!

This is what game day looks like in our house! The gator hat was a gift for our son's birthday, but he likes to share it with his Daddy.

Check This Out!

If you don't already read Tonja's blog, check out this post: Gatherings
I think this lady is a very talented writer. I also enjoy reading her blog, because she is a godly example and because she lives in SE Alabama like I do. This post contains both hilarity and a lesson!

Dinosaur Trees!

Are you familiar with Kudzu? It is a vine native to Japan and China but grows well in the Southeastern United States. When left uncontrolled it will eventually grow over almost anything including other vegetation. It is pretty much impossible to kill and so, as you can imagine, is a real pest! It did however supply us with a good grin the other day. As we drove by an area covered in Kudzu, my son yelled out "Dinosaur Trees!" I guess they do kind of look like dinosaurs, huh?