Reason # 4,182 Why I Love Our Small Town:

Tailgating before High School football games!

(Did I ever mention that I love our small town?)

Happy Independence Day!

I am grateful for small town celebrations of independence that include prayer...


patriotism...


potluck...


and performance of patriotic music...

Happy Independence Day...

From Our Small Town!

Lovin' Where I Live

Top Ten Reasons I Love Where I Live (in no particular order):

1. The people - everyone is so friendly and nice. We speak to each other in the aisles of Walmart even if we don't know each other. You don't have to know someone to get a wave from them as they pass by on the road.

2. Our small town - We had only lived here a few months when my hubby and I remarked to each other how "at home" we already felt. The aura of a small town is so great. I love the activities like Patriotic Celebration on the square, High School Homecoming Parade, Harvest Day and so much more!

3.We have a town square. It's the place where many of our town events are held. I go there to meet some friends every morning to walk for exercise. Our children can play in the square while we walk around the outside.

4. The food - yum! I love the good ol' home cooking: lots of veggies and smoked meats. There's the bread, too. And scrumptious homemade desserts! Gotta watch out for those. Too much of a good thing adds pounds to the waistline!

5. Our church - what a loving group of people.

6. Our house - we are so blessed.

7. The beautiful plants and flowers that flourish in our warm, humid climate!

8. Our proximity to the beautiful gulf beaches.

9. Our friends - we have been blessed with many relationships that mean so much to us. We didn't grow up here, but have been welcomed and loved as if we did.

10. The pretty vistas that characterize a rural area.

11. (I know, I cheated. But, I couldn't leave off) SWEET TEA!

My thanks to my Colorado friend, Mer, for the idea. You can check out her list here.

So what about you? Why do you love (or for that matter, don't love) where you live?

Small Town American Fourth!

Today, we met one of Joel's sisters and her family half way between our homes (they live 4 hours away) and had a patriotic picnic. It was nice to visit with them, and our children enjoyed seeing each other.



Our town's celebration came earlier in the week, however. This past Tuesday, a celebration was held on our town's square. The Tri-State Community Orchestra and our town's community choir performed patriotic music. People brought their lawn chairs and sat in the evening breeze to watch and listen. I joined several families who spread their suppers together and shared them potluck style.


I also participated in the community choir. This was a lot of fun, and as I stood on the gazebo singing patriotic songs, I was moved with emotion. I am so grateful that God has granted us the freedoms we have, and I pray that He continues to do so.

waiting our turn to sing (the orchestra is set up in the tent you see in the background)

my view from the back row of the choir

the community choir
photo by Lynn Sanders

For several weeks, my children have been wanting to have a lemonade stand. They saw someone on tv running one and they thought it would be fun. They even got out their paper and markers and drew a picture of what it would look like. My friend, Connie's kids have been begging her to let them sell baked goods at the ball field. So, we put their ideas together and let them do it at the patriotic celebration. They didn't really know they would make money, just wanted to have fun. And it turned out great. People were so nice to come by and chat and pick up some lemonade or a brownie. They had so much fun (and made some money, too)!

photo by Lynn Sanders

Y'all, its events like this that make me love a small town. This big city born, Midwestern girl always dreamed of living in the South....and here I am in a small town in the deep south and lovin' every minute of it!

Out And About Town

This is my camera:

It's a nice camera that my hubby bought me a couple of years ago. I love it. It takes good pictures. It's digital (which my previous camera was not), and it is small enough to fit in my purse.

But, its just a "point and shoot" and has limited megapixels and optical zoom.

I told you all of that as a HUGE disclaimer! I love to take pictures! I love to take pictures of the things I see everyday. I love to post said pictures on my blog. But as much as I would love to be a professional photographer, I'm not. I'm sure my pictures lack a lot that you knowledgeable ones notice. But I'm gonna post 'em anyway....cuz I like to....and I want to torture you....and I can..cuz this is my blog.........and I like pictures.......

So, today I noticed a beautiful Japanese Magnolia tree (or Tulip Tree, as I like to call them) near a local church. I couldn't resist stopping and taking some pictures. And I'm posting them here cuz I can and I like to torture you.....you get the picture.

I Love Going To The Polls!

I am a patriotic person! I love my country and the freedoms that I enjoy in it! I gained this love from my parents who from an early age taught me about the Constitution, our freedoms and the sacrifices required to have those freedoms. I grew up at political rallies, on battlefields, and in museums. I learned quickly what a privilege it is to be able to vote for our government officials.

So today, as Alabamians took to the polls in the Presidential Primary, it was with pride and gratitude that I walked into our small town polling place. The weather was balmy, promising of Spring, and I took a moment to contemplate the enormous privilege of voting.

But now that I live in a small town, going to the polls is even more fun. It's not just an enormous privilege, it's a fun social event. At the door I was greeted by a friend who chatted with me about dinner. I joked with our music minister and his wife, and I asked another lady about her pregnancy. As I signed my name and picked up my ballot, I planned a breakfast get-together with a pollster. I greeted numerous friends and acquaintances and even discussed a science class with a home school mom.

Those of you who grew up in a small town may think, "what's the big deal?" But I grew up in big cities and going to the polls was just that....walk in, vote, walk out. I love the feeling of belonging and community that I find in my small town polling place! If your state is holding primaries today, get out and exercise your freedom....small town or big city.

Been Busy....Been Missing Y'all!

I have been very remiss in my posting this week. But its been for a good reason. The fun things about the Christmas season are happening, and I just had to let go of the blog to take part in them!

So here's a quick report on what's been going on:

*Working my homeshow business (yea, Christmas money!).

*Babysitting for a friend so she can Christmas shop.

*Attending our small town's Christmas parade.

Our daughter rode on this float...she's the one bundled
in the lilac coat just above the letter D.

Here's a self-portrait of our son and me as we wait
for the parade to start. The weather was actually a little nippy
on this night, and we got to bundle up!

*Eating yummy Saturday brunch at a friend's Pampered Chef party (loved the German Apple Pancake).

*Making pretzel wreathe ornaments with my kiddos while dressed in our pjs!

Here is the wreathe before I put the bow for hanging.

*Laughing with friends at our Sunday School Christmas party.

*Creating Christmas ornaments at my daughter's Keeper's At Home meeting.



*Crying tears of pride and joy as I watched my children in our church's children's Christmas musical.

That's my son singing Christmas songs with
the preschool choir (he's the one in the middle).

We were thrilled that our seemingly shy 6 year old
did a wonderful job singing
"Away in a Manger" solo! My heart was bursting!

*Decorating cookies....my kiddos made some really colorful ones!


If you've made it to the end of this post, you must be Grandma or Nana to my children...or you are a sweet friend who humors me by reading my blog....or you're pretty bored today and having nothing else to do. I know this post was lengthy, but I had to make up for a whole week of not posting, didn't I? Regardless of your reason for making it this far, thanks for stopping by. I hope you are having fun living Christmas with your friends and family, too!

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)

The Breakfast Club

I have this great friend, Connie, who just knows how to gather lots of friends around her. She does it by being hospitable. A few months ago, she invited several of her random friends to her house for breakfast. We had so much fun that we decided to have the breakfast once a month. The place of the breakfast varies as do the people invited. Its so fun to see who shows up from month to month depending whose off work, who invited someone new and so forth. Everyone brings their favorite breakfast dishes and we have a feast. But the best part is the chatting! We bring along our kiddos, but they are busy playing with each other so we adults get to visit to our heart's content. These pictures were taken at today's breakfast. Can't wait 'til next month!

"Thank You God, for Our Country and for the Rain"

Our town held a patriot concert on our town square last night. Local business brought in the Tri-State Community Orchestra which performed several patriotic numbers. It was raining when the event began, but no one seemed to mind. A good number of townspeople came to the concert carrying their lawn chairs and umbrellas. There was no complaining about the rain or staying home because of the 'inconvenience' it caused. You see, we've been experiencing a drought lately, and many people have been praying for rain. So when a local pastor began the festivities with an invocation, the opening line of his prayer was, "Thank you God, for our country and for the rain."

New Restaurant In Town

Yesterday was the grand opening of a new restaurant in our little town. This year has seen some exciting additions to our town, including several restaurants! This restaurant is on the square of our town in an old building. I have special interest in this one, though, because a friend of ours is the owner. Our friend, Melanie, and her family took an old building that was in very sad shape and did a LOT of work on it. I must say they did an excellent job of making it look great! I applaud their hard work.

I was excited when Melanie asked me to do the wall decorations. She wanted pictures that depicted some of the history of our town. She also wanted pictures of hometown heroes and hometown sports heroes. I had SOOOO much fun researching, talking to people and hunting down pictures! I learned a lot of interesting facts along the way. Like the hometown football star that went on to play for Florida State, then joined the Air Force, fought in Vietnam, made the military his career and became a Major General before retiring. Or the man from our town who served 8 years in the State House of Representatives.


As I mentionned, yesterday was grand opening. Because the first day is so rough and I wanted to help my friend, I worked with her during supper rush last night. Now I've never had a waitressing job, so there are probably some of the finer points of the job I don't know, but I had a good time. It was very busy (we even had a large group come in for a birthday party) and I worked hard - never being still for even a moment. And when the need for a waitress lessened, I did the dishes. Whew! I now have a new found respect for those who do this regularly.

All in all, I had a lot of fun. Since we live in a small town, I know most of the people who came in. and it was fun to chat with them! I hope Mama B's (that's Melanie's Mom) does great and is around for a long time!

Morning Jaunt in a Small Southern Town

As I left on my morning bike ride, I waved to the next door neighbors leaving for work. I turned into a neighboring subdivision and started to pedal. The first car to pass me was occupied by a young man who attends our church. He was either heading to work or to class at a local college. We waved as I sped through the first long downhill portion of the route. I said "good morning" to the little old man who is watering the plants in his front yard just like he does every morning. He's a sweet man who is partially blind, but somehow always knows you're there and is quick to call out a greeting. I took the big curve that winds around the pond (it's covered with scum and always makes me pedal faster for fear of swarms of mosquitos suddenly attacking me) and began the first slow ascent. The huge great dane came out to wag his greeting and my legs started to burn from the climb. I noticed a mom loading her kids into the car on their way to school. I got a little break as the terrain leveled out and I admired the rose bushes, yellow, pink and red blooming beautifully in someone's yard. I'm gonna have to plant some of those in my yard soon! I climbed another hill then turned around to do the whole thing again in the opposite direction. As I was savoring the fragrant smell of the honeysuckle vines that covered the trees, Chad's (a member of our church) shiny red truck drove by. At the turn heading back by the scummy pond, a lady drove by with her window rolled down and yelled, "have a good day!" After climbing the last loooonnnngg uphill portion of the route (formerly the first long downhill portion), I turned into our driveway with my heart pumpin' and ready to start my day. I thanked God for the friendly people and beautiful sights afforded me because I lived in a small, southern town.