Tinsel Angels!

In this mornings message, Andy mentioned how his mom would put tinsel all over the Christmas tree.......so much that it turned the tree all silver and how he thought, it just didn't belong on the tree. Well tonight a few of the teen girls (we'll call them Tinsel Angels) busted through the doors, ran up on the platform and covered everything with tinsel. It was the cutest thing you'd ever see! They were trying to hurry before Andy came back into the auditorium! I wish I could have video taped it. You should have seen Andy's reaction when he came back in and noticed it, as they leaped off the platform. He got such a kick out of it! You should have seen him fishing the tinsel out of his glass of water. This was so funny! Way to go girls!!!!

I wish I had taken a picture of the entire platform, but this gives you sort of an idea of what it looked like. If you click on the picture, you can see a closeup of the tinsel.

After the service they wanted a picture with Andy! So very cute!

Do these girls look like angels to you? Well, I think so!

Annah shows off her awesome tinsel bow in her hair!

Hayley with her tinsel bow that she wears so proudly!

Aliisa poses with her beautiful tinsel bow!

And lastly, the 3 Tinsel Angels!

HAYLEY

ALIISA

& ANNAH

Thanksgiving Day!

Tim and Misty invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them this year and it was a very relaxing day. Misty and I were smart and cooked what we could the day before, so that made Thanksgiving so much more enjoyable. It was so nice to be able to just kick my shoes off, not wear any makeup, play with Tucker, and play Jenga with Misty, Kasey, Tori and Timber.

The food was fantastic despite what Misty thought of my casserole......she's just jealous because my casserole was better than her cheese-meat thingys! Yeah that's right! No really it was all good and I especially loved the Raspberry Pepper Jelly with cream cheese and her sweet potato casserole. I ate so much food that my stomach hurt! The day would have been perfect if Michael and Jaymie could have been with us. (P.S. A little fairy swooped in and deleted the pictures of Kasey that I had taken. I've seen this fairy before and I think her name starts with a K. Mmm hmm, I bet you can guess who it was......)

Ok, I'm not that short, Andy! You really didn't have to bend down!

Awww! Aren't we a cute together?

Timber took this picture of Andy and I right before we left last night. He's a good little photographer!

Tucker and Misty!

This is the best lookin' turkey I've ever seen! Isn't he handsome?

Tori and Timber start to wrestle.

Brotherly, Sisterly Love!

They were so cute! This reminded me of when Michael and Kasey were little.

Look what Tim did to Tucker's hair!

Andy, Tori and Timber pose for a picture!

Tucker, Andy, Tori and Timber! I wonder what that is in Andy's sweatshirt pocket? Do you think maybe he's smuggling some turkey in there?

Oh that figures.....after the meal is finished and the dishes are done and it's time to leave.....we find the REAL turkey!!!!

Tucker Destroys Jenga Game!

Remember to pause the music player at the bottom of the page before clicking on the videos.

Tucker says, "Wow!"

Tucker playing with a candle!

We ended on a good note....

To top it all off we ended with some strawberry cheesecake and chocolate cream pie! Oh man it was so good!!! And I'm not going to mention that we ate a whole chocolate cream pie the night before too. Shhh! Don't tell anyone! I think we started a new tradition....Pre-Thankgiving Pie the night before. Sounds good to me!

I ended up bringing a whole cheesecake home, so guess what I had in the middle of the night last night? Yep, it was cheesecake. It's so good it calls your name.....so how could I resist? If anyone wants the recipe I would be glad to post it. This is a super easy recipe and I've never found a person who didn't love it.

As for the chocolate cream pie, well Tim and Andy put a ton of that away. It turned out to be Tori and Timber's favorite. Next year I will have to make 4 instead of 2. I will probably only do 2 cheesecakes again though, so that way I can make pumkin pie and pecan pie too. Kasey was shocked that we had no pumpkin pie this year, poor thing. It's been hard living without an oven to make those special dishes and pies my family loves. Next year everything will be back to normal again though and I'm excited to have Thanksgiving at my house again.

Of course, we have to return the favor and have the Guest's over, since they so willingly fed us turkey dinner this year and the year before last. I think they were afraid we were going to starve or something and they felt sorry for us. Ha ha, just kidding. Last year we stayed home and ordered turkey dinners from the Pig n Pancake and watched movies. It was a quiet relaxing day, but I have to admit the food wasn't that great and there just wasn't enough of it. I mean come on I want leftovers!

Thanksgiving Memories...

I can't sleep tonight, so I thought I would post my thoughts on my blog. I was thinking about how much I loved spending Thanksgiving with family when I was just a kid. It was so much fun playing with my cousins, my brother and sister, and eating all that turkey and chicken and dumplings or gumbo etc. Oh how that makes my mouth water right now! What I would give for some collard greens. We would always go to my Little Granny's house and also to my Mammaw's at the Hargrove Hotel. I always looked so forward to those holidays!

I also have such fond memories as a teenager too....oh the fun I had with Karen Kay, T.K. and Debbie! I so enjoyed spending holidays with them. Of course the food was always fantastic, but the fun we had together was the best! I remember discovering that I loved dressing (stuffing) and I don't mean stove top stuffing either. I can't believe I had been missing out on it all those years because for some reason I thought I didn't like it! Silly me. I also discovered broccoli and sour cream, which now has become a tradition, as I have to have it every Thanksgiving. Yum!

And oh how I miss Thanksgiving at Andy's mom and dad's with a house full of people, kids everywhere and food that never ended. Seriously I'm talkin' lots of food...pies, cookies, candies, cheese cakes.....you name it, we had it, plus the turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, rolls, dressing etc. Oh and I can't forget Evelyn's chocolate roll...Andy still raves about it! Wish I knew how to make it. How I loved watching my kids play with all of their cousins because I knew they were having a blast, just as I did when I was growing up.

I have so many fond memories....too many to mention them all. As I reflect on these special times in my life, I am ever so anxious to make many more Thanksgiving memories!

Wow! It's really starting to look like a house now!

I love the way the front porch is turning out! Our neighbor lady said she loves it and wishes they would have done something like this with their porch. I can't wait to see it when it is finished.

Ok, I have got to quit taking crooked pictures. I was in such a hurry and I was standing in the mud, so I didn't really take the time to aim.

The slab looks great and I love the flowerbed that's in it! Can't wait to plant something there this spring. I can already invision the basketball hoop too.

A Reason To Be Thankful!

This is a picture of Michael's car after his accident. As you can see it was totalled! While I am sad and heartbroken for Michael because he no longer has his car, that he loved so much, I am so thankful that we still have him. It's times like these that remind us that there's always a reason to be thankful. We just never know what tomorrow holds, so we had better make today count. I mean, a loved one can be gone in the blink of an eye! So this Thanksgiving, I have so much to be thankful for. I can't wait to wrap my arms around my family and hug them tight!!!

Monday, 11-24-08

The front door and columns are on, as well as the trim around the windows. They still have to put the trim on the columns and build the arch.

I didn't know my tennis shoes glow in the dark! I have to change into them every time I go to the property because there's so much mud and because I'm a girl and I don't want my beautiful shoes to get dirty!

The septic system is being put in! So glad we are getting some good weather right now.

I've got to quit taking pictures right before dark!

I LIKE TO MOVE IT...

I just had to share these videos of Jadyn because I enjoyed them so much. She was very animated all evening and I got such a kick out of it! (Remember to pause the music player at the bottom of the page, before you click on the video).

Jadyn was our entertainment at Kenny and Denise's house that night!

Jadyn dances with a toy doggie! Isn't she cute?

Pause music player at bottom of page before you click on photo book!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Friday ~ 11-21-08

Cement steps and slab were poured today. I took these pics as it was getting dark, so you can't see it very well. Sorry!

Close up picture!

Front steps!

Master bathtub and shower!

Oh man, I can't wait to soak in my bathtub!

New Layout!

I'm so excited about my new layout.......I really hated my previous one. Thanks Michelle for helping me with this! I'm learning a lot, even though, I still have so much more to learn!

Master Bedroom Door!

This is so cool how the blinds are in between the glass inside the door! There will be no dusting these blinds!!!! Woo hoo!

It's Looking More Like A Home Everyday!

The Roof is finished, the gutters are up, the plumbing is almost done, the master shower stall is in, the electrical work is being done and the forms have been set to pour concrete tomorrow. After we get the concrete poured we will be able to put the front door on. Woo hoo!

We finally found a bathtub for the master bath and it will be delivered on Friday morning. Who knew it would be so hard to find bathtubs?

P.S. Don't forget......you can click on the picture for a closeup view!

Forms are set for front steps and concrete slab!

We are supposed to pour concrete tomorrow, so I'm praying it doesn't rain! The two square forms on either side of the steps will be planters. I have to have flowerbeds!!!! There will be two columns on either side of the doorway and I can't wait to see what that is going to look like.

Forms are set for the driveway!

The driveway slab will have a planter over to the right to plant a small tree and maybe a couple of plants on either side of it. Not sure what I'll plant yet.....maybe some lavender and a Japanese maple or something. Does anyone have any ideas?

The First Bathtub/Shower Is In!

I took this picture of the guest bathtub at 7:30 PM in the pitch dark and it turned out great! I love my camera!!!

Saturday 11-15-08