Does Everyone Already Know This?

My friend Connie clued me in to Pandora Radio. This is so great....its free internet radio. Just type in an artist or song that you like and it will play (uninterrupted by commercials) songs in that style. For example, type in "Away in a Manger" and it will play Christmas music. After you register, you can create stations with different styles or artists to return to and play whenever you wish. I have enjoyed it all afternoon as I've tidied the house. I can't believe I've never heard of it.

Did you already know about this? If not, click on over quickly and check it out!

I Couldn't Resist...

....taking pictures of this beautiful tree.


As I was visiting a friend at our local school today, I spotted this beautiful tree whose leaves were creating this spectacular yellow carpet.


I had to stop and take numerous pictures. Today was an overcast day, so I'm tempted to go back tomorrow if its sunny and take some more. Aren't you glad God gives us pretty things to look at?

Funny Kids!

Tech head: this mohawk brought to you by headphones!

What an inventive child: her hands free solution for nasal drip!

More About Last Week:

Click here.

A Day of Firsts!

Today was a meaningful and fun day for our family:

Jennifer (my friend who is visiting us) and I cooked our first complete Thanksgiving meal. We usually just eat...never have had to prepare the whole thing ourselves. (Thanks, Mother, for all the work you've put into past Thanksgiving meals!)

That means we cooked our first turkey! It was yummy! Thanks to Pioneer Woman, I learned about brining a turkey, took the plunge and followed her directions. It was worth the extra step, because my first attempt at cooking a turkey was moist and delicious!

I also tried Butternut Squash for the first time. Once again, I found the recipe from Pioneer Woman. Granted, I was the only one to enjoy it and most wouldn't even try it. That means I can eat it all myself. In fact there's so much of it, I'll have to freeze it in small portions and eat it for the rest of my life.

I also made gravy SUCCESSFULLY for the first time. ...And the award goes to Pioneer Woman!

I used my wedding gift crystal for the first time ever! Can you believe that? For the first 7 years of our marriage, they were stored in the original boxes in the attic, because I had no place to display or store them. Since we've moved into our current house, they've been on display. But today, I got them out and actually used them!

When we sat down at our dining room table (recently inherited from my hubby's Grandmother), my hubby commented that he'd sat at that table for many a Thanksgiving and Christmas.
What a meaningfully reminiscent thought!

We had a fun day and look forward to Black Friday shopping tomorrow!

Don't forget what this holiday is all about. It's about thanking God!

For more details and more pictures of our day, head on over to Jennifer's blog!

Look What We've Discovered!

It just might take the place of Phase 10...maybe...we'll see.

To see more of the fun we've been having, check out this post on Jennifer's blog.

This Week in Alabama!

Scary, isn't it? My friend Jennifer and I are having fun! She and her family are here all week (they live in North Carolina).

Here are all the kids on the way to church Sunday morning.

I won't be around the blogosphere much this week. We're too busy having fun. On tap for this week: hotdogs & s'mores over the fire in the back yard, fishin' at a friend's lake, playing outside, Thanksgiving dinner, Black Friday shopping, Phase 10 games, movie watching, x-box playing and so much more.

Phantom softball in the front yard

These pj clad kiddos don't look like they are going to bed any time soon!

I hope you are enjoying yourselves this week too. And don't forget why we're celebrating: God's goodness to us! We have a lot for which to be grateful both personally and as a nation!

"There's No Place Like Homa!"*

Today marks the Centennial of Oklahoma statehood. Why does this excite me? Because I call myself an Okie! I was born there, spent most of my growing up years there, graduated from high school there and got married there. I enjoy a lot of paternal family hertitage in Oklahoma as well.

I love the stories of Oklahoma. I enjoy reading about Indian Territory, Geronimo, Stan Watie, and Will Rogers. I especially enjoy the stories about the 1889 Land Run. I have particular interest in the land run, because my ancestors participated in it. My parents still own the luggage trunk that made the land run with my ancestors.

When I think of Oklahoma statehood, it reminds me of my Grandpa! Grandpa was a wonderful, godly man. He was a great Grandpa, and I was so proud of him. He was a preacher in the state of Oklahoma for more than 50 years and even served as the President of the Oklahoma Baptist State Convention. Many people sat under his preaching and/or knew who he was. It was a common occurrence for me to be asked, "Are you Anson Justice's granddaughter?" I was always proud to acknowledge that I was.


But those aren't the reasons the Centennial of Oklahoma statehood makes me think of Grandpa. It's because Grandpa was born one month before statehood. He was born in Indian Territory in October of 1907. This fact has always fascinated me. This fact also caused Grandpa some problems. The first time he traveled overseas, he had trouble getting a passport, because he had no birth certificate! :) Grandpa lived a long life filled with service to God and love for his family. He witnessed a lot of change in the state of Oklahoma before passing away in 2003 at the age of 96.

I am grateful for my home state's 100 years, and I am grateful for the family heritage with which God has blessed me!


*This creative title is not original with me. It is the title of a musical that will be performed at my high school alma mater next week in celebration of the centennial.

Superwoman!

As you traverse the blogosphere, have you seen the "Tackle It Tuesday" posts? I have, and they make me feel guilty and overwhelmed all at the same time. I feel guilty, because I don't participate and overwhelmed because I want to. The reason I haven't ever participated is because by the time I tackle teaching first grade to my daughter and then tackle keeping the house from looking like a whirlwind just blew through or a group of hogs has made its stinky, muddy home here, I barely have the time or energy left to tackle putting a decent meal on the table. I mean, who wants to read my "Tackle It Tuesday" post about how I swept under the kitchen table 4 times that day?!

Before you think I've lost my mind, I'm writing this post to brag about something I tackled (and actually completed with minimal interruptions) today. I cleaned my daughter's room!

Now you really think I've lost my mind, don't you? You're saying, "What's the big deal? I clean my daughter's room all the time." Or better yet, your saying, "My daughter cleans her own room all the time."

Yes, my daughter is required to clean her own room on a daily basis, but somehow the mountain of toys in there just continues to grow and grow. It must be because it is piling up on top of every piece of artwork she ever drew, every worksheet she ever brought home from Sunday School and every single sticker anyone has ever given her. And while I'm on the topic of mountains of toys, can I just say that the girl has more than enough toys! I agree with Lara Gallagher when she says too many toys make it hard to teach a child to clean up after herself. (If you have children, this article is a must read. And Lara's blog is fun to read too.)

So, I finally decided to move that mountain, and here are the pictures to prove it:

Here is the before. I want to point out that I'd already taken a mountain of
stuff off the shelves on the right before I thought to take a picture. So this is
just a foothill!

And here is the after. Notice how most of the toys are on the top shelves
out of reach of my daughter? While I agree with Lara, I just couldn't
bring myself to throw it all out yet. So, I placed it out of reach and will
rotate the toys around when needed.

My daughter's room is not the only tackling I've been doing this week. I've already tackled my son's room and the master bath. (Don't worry, my child's education is not suffering. I'm just pretending to be superwoman, because we have guests coming to visit next week!)

Don't Miss This 5M4M Giveaway!

Here In Your Presence

The time is now
The place is here
We come into Your Presence
You melt away our fear
We lift our lives
We lift our hearts
We praise You Lord
For Who You are

Here in Your Presence
Grace conquers sin
Mercy and love overflow
Here in Your Presence
Again and again
You wash us whiter than snow

And when we fall
You lift us up
You bathe us with Your Mercy
You fill us with Your Love
Your Breath of Life
Renews the soul
And once again
You make us whole

Here in Your Presence
Grace conquers sin
Mercy and love overflow
Here in Your Presence
Again and again
You wash us whiter than snow
The time is now
The place is here.

CLI Song No. 4930903
© 2007 Word Music, LLC | Two Fine Boys Music | Juniper Landing Music (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.) | (Admin. by Word Music Group, Inc.) | (Admin. by Word Music Group, Inc.)
Claire Cloninger | Robert Sterling
CCLI License No. 192553

A Series: Fall in Lower Alabama!

* the smell of sawdust and cow manure
* ferris wheels and tilt-a-whirls
* youth in helmets wrestling heifers


* dusty roads and parking lots
* ranchers betting on the weight of that large Brahma bull
* children begging for more tickets to use in the Midway
* loud music blaring from speakers
* lots of camoflage and cowboy boots
* the smell of funnel cakes and kettle corn
* monkeys dressed in clothes, elephant rides and camels
* photography exhibits and vendor give-aways
* pigs greased in peanut oil
* pageant queens
* barrels of free peanuts to eat!

These are the sights, sounds and smells of the National Peanut Festival on farmer's night.

"The Lord Has Done Great Things For Us; We Are Glad." Psalm 126:3

Today was an exciting day in the life of our church. We held our first service in our new building! After years of prayer and planning, we held a service of Doxology today. We praised God for His holiness, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence and faithfulness. The following is photo documentation of the physical changes that have been taking place over the past 2+ years.

Ground Breaking Ceremony June 2006

Construction December 2006

Construction April 2007

Previous Sanctuary: This building is 98 years old.

The new sanctuary pictured with the previous one .

For our last service in the previous building, we celebrated our heritage. We had a moving service where people told of their memories of that building. Our pastor spoke out of Psalm 16 about our beautiful heritage. Then today, we continued to praise God for the great things He has done for us.

Last week:

This week:

Last week:
This week:

A Series: Fall in Lower Alabama!

A local Botanical Gardens hosts "Scarecrows in the Park" each year. Local businesses submit themed scarcrows which are placed throughout the gardens. We spent part of last Saturday walking through the park viewing these creations.




I also took the opportunity to dress the kids in their fall clothes and photograph them. It was a beautiful (and not hot) day!