Farewell my beloved 20's

    At the stroke of midnight, it will all be over. Dooms day is staring me dead in the face. There's no going back after tomorrow. It's all downhill from here. I usually demand a week's worth of celebrating this time of year.  I gave my husband a hard time about it a few years ago.  He hasn't heard a word from me this time.  After tomorrow, it's all stuck where it's at and the wrinkles only get more defined. Gravity has won it's battle by now.
    I have yet to tell anyone that I will be turning the big 3-0...tomorrow! My whole life I wanted to be a 20-something-er. I remember being a teenager and thinking that being 22 would be glorious! That 25 would be the absolute most perfect age. It would be the peak of my life...
   I have never been concerned about age, taken my "Asian" blood for granted. No matter how much Clinique de-puffer I use, the dark puffy lines beneath my eyes are here to stay. No offense to my friends, but I think 30 is old. I guess I can say that now. I DO FEEL OLD! Everyone keeps telling me that their 30's have been the best yet. If that's so, I'm going to be blown away with what all God does to top my 20's!
   When I turned 20, I met one of my best friends- Kalee and her mom Debbi. God fulfilled one of my 2, lifetime dreams by allowing me to go to the Philippines to share the news of Jesus Christ in villages along the Agusan River Valley on the island of Mindinao. I lost my real mother/sister to heart failure that summer too. When I was 21, I celebrated it with the Maid of Honor from my wedding, Mary Martha. I spent that summer in China, planting seeds of the Good News in Harbin. I lost another sister the next year to heart failure as well.
   When I was 22, I think, I am already losing my memory, Mary Martha and I had the ultimate privilege of spending 3 months in Thailand, teaching English cultural classes at a college in Bangkok, traveling throughout the northern hill country near Burma. Even spending a week down in the deep southern part of the country near, Cambodia, which was probably wiped out by the Tsunami a few Christmases ago. I even spent the night in a Thai hospital with the flu, sinusitis and bronchitis that summer. It was a whirlwind, but sharing the Gospel with everyone we met was at the forefront of our minds. School was sort of a distraction!
  Then, I GRADUATED COLLEGE!!!!!!!!  When you are in 9th grade, graduating college never really seems a reality, kind of like the drive to Disney World, you never think you will get there. The end seemed like light years away!
   At 23, I attended the International Mission Board Conference in Virginia, and chose a missions position to be a salt trader in northern India. The next day, God, through the Holy Spirit, told me to go home. He had other plans.
    At His word, I moved to Okolona, MS, of all places, and had a dream job at Ann Taylor Loft in Tupelo, when, a month later, God blessed me by fulfilling my second life long dream--meet the man of my dreams, fall head over heels in love, get married, make babies and be a mommy! No lie, I wrote this one down in a journal somewhere so I would remember it. I only ever wanted to be 2 things growing up-- Miss America (I would have settled for Miss Mississippi! haha) and to be a mommy.
   My best friend Martha Ann and I married our husbands, a month a part.  At 25, the age I thought was the perfect age, I had my first child, less than 2 months later, we moved to Washington, D.C., and Jim had, what he thought, was his dream job.  At 26, I hadn't a care in the world, an entire foreign mission field in my condominium,  was a part of a growing church plant in Annapolis, MD, and being mentored and taught how to love my husband and children by an older lady in our church. I made one of my favoritest friends ever...Kate. She's a real life ballerina! God drew us close over the 2 years our little family lived inside the beltway.
   By age 27, Jim's job had moved us back to Tupelo, I had our second son and we lived in what seemed like an abandoned subdivision with only 2 other neighbors for the entire next year!
   Jim threw me the best ever surprise birthday party when I turned 28. Turning 29 wasn't so bad, I was preoccupied with just having my first baby girl and Jim was starting his mid-life crisis by starting an entirely new career. Oh, and the Green Bay Packers did win the Super Bowl while I was in my 20's too!
   I now know why Jim wanted to avoid the hype when he turned 30...it's dreadful. Like coming home from church on sundays to a messy house, hungry screaming kids and a headache the size of Texas-dreadful!
   I never could have imagined God would bless my socks off like He did over the last 10 years, but He has. I don't doubt for one second that He couldn't or wouldn't do the same over the next 10.
  Over the last few weeks, I've been praying about this. Pouring my heart out to God about my role as a wife, mom, and child of His. When I was young, early 20's--I hadn't a care in the world. Only myself to think about. No excuses to not be in God's Word daily. Absolutely no excuses or reserves when it came to sharing the Law with the people I met.  Now, even as an extrovert, I crave quiet, lonely moments, just so I can collect my thoughts, and focus on talking with God. Finding moments for Him to restore the joy of my salvation!  I find excuses all over the place now for why I didn't stop and love that person, or share the Gospel, when that is exactly what we should be about.
  So yes, I am sad about seeing my 20's go. It was a time of tremendous growth in my relationship with the Lord, lost loved ones, took a million and a half journeys, and began a family with my soul-mate.
   My hope and prayer for this new era (yes, I know I'm being dramatic!) of life, is that my zeal for Christ would only grow stronger and deeper.  That I would be even more burdened for the spiritually lost.  That I'd seize opportunities to share the Gospel and teach my children the same. MAKE EVERY MOMENT COUNT FOR SOMETHING! 
Oh, and that my memory would improve and that I would learn to embrace those gray hairs that keep popping up!
   Yep, that's about it! So, farewell 20's. It's been nice, sweet and even plain awesome!
  

Christmastime

   My fondest childhood memories are of Christmas. My mama always made this time of year extra special. It was packed full of traditions.
   Our tree was always cut from the back pasture and never resembled a triangle. Colored lights and silver tinsel were our theme.
   We had the green porcelain tree that had a light bulb inside that beamed through the little colored pegs on the tips of the branches. It stood in the center of the mantle above the fireplace beside the mechanical Santa and Mrs. Claus. I don't recall ever having stockings.
   My dad still has the candle lanterns we always placed in our windows. You remember, the ones with the white bulbs with orange tips? I used to love going through the house plugging those in every night.
   Mama always seemed to be in a jolly-ish kind of mood from Thanksgiving, throughout December. I'd sit and watch her meticulously wrap every present. {I now do the same thing myself}
   She baked a lot. I don't remember a lot of the details, but everyone always requested her Rum Cake for bake sales and gifts. Her chocolate pie was out of this world. That's a goal on my list next year...make the perfect chocolate pie!
   On Christmas Eve every one of my siblings were there for supper, and their children too. It was great! The cousins would bring their significant others and friends, even unannounced sometimes. That was okay with mama. She worked at a hosiery mill and always kept a few extra boxes of socks in the hall closet. If you were a girl, she'd pull out one of her Southern Living items that she had stock piled in said closet!
   There was always plenty of food. We finally got to use the fancy dishes. 
   When they would begin to arrive at our house, my sisters and brothers in law would tell us that they had seen Santa in the sky, or that they had heard on the radio that he had taken off from the North Pole and was headed our way. I was the youngest person in our family. I ate the whole thing up. It was a fun, cheerful time. Not a care in the world down there at the dead end of Reece Road.
   And then, when the all the presents had been passed out, I would duck and peek, making sure that none had been forgotten under the tree.
   Then, the second wave of people would come. Daddy's side of the family. Our house was packed! It was great! They'd come for dessert and coffee. Then we'd do the whole thing again, I saw Santa here and there they'd say. He never seemed to be going in the same direction.
   Then, when all had quietened down and all the guests had gone home, I'd lay awake in my bed for what seemed like an eternity listening for the slightest foot step of the big guy in red. I was always so worried about him getting burned by the embers in the fireplace.
   Before I knew it though, it was morning! And Santa had indeed come and I must have fallen asleep because I never heard him!
   Christmas Day was just as special, just as fun. Not only did we celebrate the fact that it was Jesus' birthday, but it was also mama's birthday!  The family was all together again that day. And MORE dessert!
   Christmas 1992 was mama's last Christmas.  I was 11 that year. It's never been the same. There's been a void ever since.  Santa never came after that. If I had known then what I know now, I would have bottled it all up and poured it all out for my little family now. {I can't listen to Faith Hill sing "Where are you Christmas" without balling my eyes out!}
   We aren't usually at our own home on the actual Christmas Eve and Day, and so for as long as we can pull it off, there will be 2 of each of those days for my kids! We usually celebrate Christmas Eve and Day with our little guys {and gal this year}, ahead of time, before we head up north.
   So, tomorrow, Friday, December 17th, is Christmas Eve and Santa comes tomorrow night! And on Saturday, it's Jesus' birthday, and we'll treat it as such- with a great breakfast and a birthday cake!
   But Jim's mom, she's got it going on! We head up to northern Illinois during the holidays, where there is almost always a promise of a White Christmas! Jim's whole family is there.
    We are there for about a week and there's always something baking, coffee brewing and Christmas music playing on the kitchen stereo.
   And on Christmas Eve...we all head over to Jim's grandma's house, just like they have Jim's entire life {he's the oldest of all the grandkids}. This year, the final tally comes to 33. From 5 months to  86 years old!!!
   And they have so many traditions, I'm still trying to figure some of them out.
   On Christmas morning, Santa even comes and hands out all 19 stockings to those of us at Jim's mom's house. Then we have a breakfast that is out of this world. Followed by the gift exchange, in order from the youngest to the oldest.
   So for now, I'll pour out all I can for my little anxious munchkins, mustering up all the great memories and creating some of our very own.
   Christmas Eve, crammed in a tiny, hot, suburban home might not be all that appealing, but my children will remember every second of it, and love every minute.

From our family to yours, 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

from the Brown's

It's all he knows

   I met a young man named Willie today. At least I thought he was young, I can't tell anymore, they seem to be younger and younger these days.
  He was pushing a broom around, dusting the floor. He was going back and forth. He had a raspy voice that was hard to understand. The stripes on his pants were the same mint green color that is on my bedroom walls.
  I've never met anyone like him before. I am naive. And seemingly, uneducated, at least for the day anyway. He comes from a world I have never known.
  He was about 6 feet tall. He was a trustee - "doing his time."  Willie also delivers packages between the government buildings downtown. All I could think of was a big manilla interdepartmental envelope.
   He was bussed in this morning from a minimum security facility. He has 2 months left, well, as soon as the county jail reports the time he served detained there. Otherwise, Willie would be there until February.
   Naturally, I asked him what he did to get arrested. Proudly, he said he made checks. You make checks, say what? "Not like regular checks, business ones, like from Geico."
  Country girl here might have been around the world a few times, but it had been a long, long stressful day. Part of me wanted to laugh at the absurdity of his joy in breaking the law and the other half was praying, Oh Lord, you want me to say, what? The boy needed to hear the Truth! Total Moses moment. I wanted to make like Jonah and head to Tarshish.
  So, Willie, have you learned your lesson? Will you ever do it again. Through a grin, he assured me, if he had to, he would. Sad.
  Well, what are you going to do when you get out of here? Get a job that actually gives you a check and you don't have to make them yourself anymore? Of course not! It sounds so judgmental for me to say that, but I don't lie, he told me this himself. I did think it odd that he and the bail bondsman sitting next to me were on a first name basis, even knew that Willie was from Philadelphia and his mama goes by Miss Maddie.
  He was relaying a message to the bondsman to give to Miss Maddie. He's going on house arrest soon and needs her to send money.
   When he stepped out of earshot, I shook my head, asking, he's seems so proud to be a criminal, to break the law.
   In a sigh, the bondsman told me, "that's all he knows."
   The tones of the thoughts going crazy in my head changed.
   As Willie made his way back in our direction, the floor perfectly shining by now, he propped his broom against the snack machine and told me he had been doing it since he was 15 years old. I thought, cleaning government buildings? I think he understood my puzzled look. I was numb. My brain couldn't wrap itself around such things.
   "Naw, I went to college to learn about computers. Then, a guy there taught me how to use computers!" He said nodding and grinning with a smirk on his face. I couldn't help but giggle. It was 2 in the afternoon and I was having this conversation with only a banana in my stomach since 5:30 a.m.
   He was good at it too. He only got caught this time because he had a young, inexperienced guy working for him and he went to the wrong teller at the bank. He had a girl at the counter that would usually cash the checks for him. GASP!
   I asked him what he thought God thought about this. Was he not concerned about how this would look when he stands before the Lord one day?  He assured me he was forgiven and He won't hold it against him. Even sadder. That's the Truth, but not the whole Truth.
   The subject was changed quickly to all the material possessions he had gained by ripping off banks and businesses. Cars, shoes, jackets, stereos, the list went on.  He got to keep all of it, even after he was incarcerated. It's there at Miss Maddie's waiting on him. The authorities couldn't touch it. He had put it in his mama's name.
   I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, this is wrong!!! You should be shameful, embarrassed, somewhat remorseful, at least. But he was happy, almost gleeful. He was really good at making it look as if he was making the best of his bad situation.
   At least I knew now. Me and my big mouth. My nosey self. I just had to ask.
   I never expected his openness or willingness to share his story with me.
   I had seen Willie several times throughout the morning as I had traversed back and forth the government square. People walk by him all day, nodding to say hello, as we do here in the South. I wondered if they think the same things I think in those moments...wonder what he's in for? Oooh, did he kill somebody? Of course not, they wouldn't be a trustee if they killed somebody, would they?
   It doesn't really matter what I think, or his mama thinks, it matters what God thinks. God cares. He cares what Willie is going to do when his time is served. He knows Willie will most likely go back to the very same environment from which he came. He'll be faced with the same decisions again and again and again. But He loves him just as much as He loves my innocent toddlers. He cares about his soul.
   How can I show him grace and love if I don't open my mouth? People won't know I'm a daughter of the King if I just smile politely, open the door for them and try not to stare.
   Our conversation ended very soon thereafter when my business was complete.
   As I walked out of the building, Willie held the door, still clutching his broom.  I thanked him and pointed my finger at him and told him to stay out of trouble. Just like a mama.
   I thought about Willie on the long drive home. I prayed for my friends who are a part of the jail ministry here in Tupelo and north Mississippi.
   It was a lemon of a day, but for this moment, it wasn't as bitter. I'll be back in that same place next week. Maybe Willie and I will meet again. I wasn't finished with our talk.

One adorable Mug!

     Have you met Andrew? No? Well, you should! He will give you baby fever for sure. Most of most days I'd have a desire to have more kids if I knew they would be like him...he's just that adorable. {Not to say the other two aren't adorable, they are, I'm just giving Andrew a little extra attention today!}  A few days ago I posted this picture on FBook, titled The Face of Trouble.

{That's lotion he's getting into, he's going to eat it}

Some people were having a very hard time believing that this face can be trouble! {Let me just say this, Andrew is a very normal 20 month old}

Shall I remind you of this:

     He did this, not once, but THREE times! We have a child safety lock on the pantry door, but the little guy is a smart cookie! He watched his brother open the door, now he knows how to get into it. We even moved stuff up higher. But this weekend Jim woke up, went into the kitchen, and there he is again, standing on a chair in the pantry finishing off a box of Valentine Sweethearts!!!!!

     I'll reiterate---If the boy wasn't so stinking cute, Jim and I wouldn't be in the trouble we are in now! He smiles and Jim melts. He smiles and I crack.

     He listens very well, he knows what and where time out is. On Tuesday night Jim sat Andrew in his room for time out during supper because he kept pushing away and screaming for no reason---refusing to eat. After 2 minutes, Jim goes to get him and Andrew is sitting in the middle of his bed, reading a book! I thought it was cute...Jim scolded me! This is why Andrew is the way he is! On Wednesday night, same scenario...Andrew was fussing during supper, pushing away from the table and refusing to eat. I told him if he was going to be fussy he could go to his room. He poked out that bottom lip and slowly walked down the hall--sqwalling the whole way.  My house rule is--if you are going to be fussy, go be fussy and whiney in your room, when you stop, you can come back. He was still crying a few minutes later, when I realized he wasn't in my shadow. I found him, sitting in the dark, on his bed, back to the door, crying.  He just needed a good cry...It was soooo cute. I know, I'm a wuss!

     When he doesn't get his way--his brother has something he wants, his milk isn't warm enough, we can't hold him, the animal train went in the wrong direction, this is what he does...he throws a tantrum. Throws his arms out in front of him, hits his knees and bows down.

     Then he does stuff like this-hides in the curtains--all the time--thinking you can't see him.

     He's a quiet little guy. An introvert, just like his daddy. He's got brown eyes, olive complexion and curly hair AND he still smells like a little baby! LOVE IT!!! He will do something just awful then flash his signature grin.

It's irresistable.

    

     Yesterday, he thought it would be fun to start potty training. I am not really wanting to encourage this at this very moment, I think it might be just a little overwhelming. Could you imagine us out in public! One busy 3 year old, an infant attached to mommy and a 1 year old screaming to go potty!!! I couldn't keep his diaper on him! He peepeed AT the little potty twice. He wouldn't keep his diaper on and he kept going to the bathroom. Both times he pooped, he went to the bathroom, closed the door and did his business! I will just die if he does any of his business on my blessed dry clean only rug!  On Tuesday night Jim was getting him ready for a bath. He had a poopy diaper and as Jim went to throw it in the garbage, he sent Andrew to the bathroom while the tub filled. When he returned, Andrew left Jim a nice treat through our room to the tub! You should hear Jim yell! It's so funny because it's so rare! Andrew was so proud of himself!

    It's easy to understand why no one believes me when I say he's TROUBLE! He's just into everything. He sure chose the perfect time to come out of his shell! I'll say it for the thousandth time...Even on our worst, most hectic days, I'd stop time right now, right here. One day he won't want to give us eskimo kisses at bedtime or say 'gnigh' as we shut the door as we leave.

     This chair is trouble too! Its the one he gets when he wants to get into something he shouldn't! On this day, I caught him using it to try to escape the jungle! He was trying to unlock the dead bolt lock and get out the front door! He slighly slid off onto the floor, pretending to play with the rug....Yah!

Oh Happy Day!

     My 19-month old, Andrew, just wimpered, he's waking up from his nap, early no less, and my milk let down! Oh, I do love my babies! Ca..razy!
     My mind is fadunkled {I made that word up} today.  God has blessed me immeasurably over my life and especially more so over the last 2 weeks. I gave birth to our third child 10 days ago. That's 3 in 3 1/2 years. Jim and I have decided that now, with three, we are certified nutcases parents...not that one doesn't make you a parent, but now we feel like pros! {Who are we kidding...we're a circus act about to make it to the big top!} We'd like to be done having babies, but we all know Who's really in control of that.
     My friends here in Tupelo, and those from afar-via email/facebook, have gone above and beyond blessing our socks off with their love, generosity and cooking! It looks like Reynolds wrap threw up in our fridge! No lie! I haven't had to crack a pan since I came home from the hospital...except Jim did make me breakfast in bed for my birthday on Sunday. They've come to visit, sit with me, play with my kids {they just want to hold the baby, I know how they are!} remind me that the world still exists even though I am too chicken to leave my house! It's been so great and so wonderful. I can't thank them enough! You girls know who you are! {Cris, Deanna, Tammy, Sandy, Anna, Jennifer, Bebbie, Rebecca, Martha...and the list continues!}
     With new chapters, new changes get to occur. This spring Jim and I will be in the middle of some 180 degree changes in our life, we'll celebrate our 5 year anniversary, new professions, new roles...and me...I've got a new plan! I'm going to slow down.
     I thought Jim was going to spit his chocolate pie out of his mouth last night when I told him that I have loved not getting out, not having any plans, no demands of things to do {this coming from a very task-oriented person}  If bedrest and pregnancy didn't keep me down...being strung out on pain meds {not really, but I was last night}, no sleep and nursing around the clock will! Because I've sat still, my house has been cleaner, Jim says I'm nicer {??}, I've gotten to play on the floor with my boys, concentrate on nursing more.      
     I've made new goals...daily goals...
Like...today I will shower; tomorrow I will empty the trash; I'll do only one load of laundry a day; vaccuum the floors today. So far, it's felt great to mark off on my to-do list...even if there was only ONE thing on it!

    Well, now both of my boys are standing in front of me squalling, with eyes full of tears...I have no idea what they are crying about...don't think they do either...so guess I gotta go save the world!

Precious Child of Mine

     As a parent you can doubt yourself quite often when it comes to whether or not you are teaching your children the right things and if you are setting an example for them that is pleasing to the Lord. In my short 3 and a half years as a parent, I have felt this A LOT. I'm constantly asking the Lord if He is pleased with the job Jim and I are doing, what more can I do, am I doing enough? Am I being a good enough example for Taylor that will want him to know and love my God as I do? Have I messed up so badly at times that he will deny God's gift of eternal life--Lord, have mercy on him and me! Amidst my doubts and questions, God always seems to give a glimmer of hope and a little thumbs up as to say...You aren't doing so bad my child!

     At the grocery store last week I came across a book rack that had "The Berenstain Bears: God Loves You!" on it....stopped me right in my tracks...backed up and OH WOW.....Taylor and Jim love The Berentain Bears and wow...there's one about God, Sunday School and Prayer!!! WooHoo....for $4 I got the God Loves You one and on Monday night, Jim was reading that book with Taylor for like the 50th time since Friday! Seriously! Upon opening the book, it has "God is Love." - 1 John 4:16, inscribed in the front cover. Towards the end of the story the cubs learn about the rainbow and why God gives us rainbows.

     Here's where this 100th post gets interesting! Taylor then asks Jim, "Daddy, where does God live?" I am in the kitchen washing the supper dishes when I hear this and I am eager to hear Jim's answer for him because I get it all the time from Taylor.  Jim responds, " He lives in Heaven." "How do we get to Heaven daddy?" I am serious! I'm not exaggerating one bit, I promise!!! Jim thinks a second as how to answer this BIG question from such a little guy... "Well, Taylor, we get to Heaven by trusting in Jesus, believeing that He died for our sins." By now I have turned the faucet water off and am trying to listen very carefully...this was getting interesting! Taylor then climbed off of Jim's lap and sat on the couch beside him, clutched his hands together and bowed his head, and prayed. "Dear God, thank you for the rainbow, thank you for my vegetables and I trust in you, AMEN!" I hurried over to them and asked Jim if he just said what I thought I heard? He nodded, with a smile on his face. Taylor jumped up from the couch and yelled, "Mommy, I trust in God, can I go to Heaven now?" 

     Oh, how I love that zeal of a child! I sat down  on the ottoman and pulled Taylor onto my lap and he asked again, "Mommy can we go see God in Heaven now, I trust in Him?" "Taylor, I want you to go to Heaven, but not right now, I want you here with me right now!, I heard what you just said and I hope and pray that one day you will actually understand what you just said." A little disappointed that he couldn't go to Heaven at that moment or that I didn't mention a timeline for when we could, he hopped down and went on with his next piece of business! Oh wow, is all I could think. I rubbed Jim's knee and said, "Well hun, we're obviously doing something right!" 

     I returned to the kitchen, thanking the Lord for that little piece of encouragement, maybe I haven't ruined Taylor after all. How glorious it will be, that day when Taylor actually does understand he has a sin nature and that Jesus took the fall for him and that HE is the one and only way to God.

     If we do nothing else productive as Christian parents, let it be that we teach our children about Jesus and His saving power from death and hell. In Ephesians 6:4, Paul teaches us, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." It doesn't matter if we ever teach them proper grammer, their alphabet or even the importance of eating their vegetables, what's important is our purpose as parents- To raise our children to be disciples and missionaries of the Lord Jesus Christ! That's our ultimate goal and our mission as Christian parents.

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Proverbs 22:6

BTW....this is my 100th post! Unbelievable, I know. I started blogging back in October as an outlet for my angst and to help me sleep better at night...it has worked...maybe too much because I'm addicted and can't seem to get enough of others' blogs either! Jim has really enjoyed getting to "read" what's on my mind and many times he'll say...oh...I didn't know you did that, or I can't believe you blogged about that! It has been so much fun and I am so thankful that God has provided this outlet for me! So, have a great day and happy 100th post to my Lemonade Stand!

Our Sunday School Christmas Party '09

     Can I just tell you how much I love our Sunday School Class? Not just because of their generosity, sincerity or their genuineness (Jim's wording there!), but for their great cooking skills too!!!!! Seriously I have absolutely loved being back in this class over the last year and a half. The people are real, honest and there for you anytime you need them. They have a strong desire to grow in Scripture and in the Spirit and have allowed Jim (yes, my Jim) to take them on some deep walks through some hard stuff in God's precious and Holy Word!!! We absolutely love to fellowship, we even make up our own occassions and celebrations. One thing that is always present is food! And usually, lots of it! This year Adam and Anastasia Tullos hosted our Christmas party at their home. The grill was smokin' and the Wassail brewin' by the time everyone arrived. (I am soooo thankful I am pregnant and was able to wear elastic wasteband britches this evening!!!)

Adam skewering Antelope Kabobs

I have learned from cooking club to try everything, and I have to say....OH MY WORD...these things were soooooooo ggooooooooooood

Adam also threw on some Mallard Duck Poppers

They were spiced up with jalapenos, but paired with the blue cheese dressing, they were absolutely perfect!

This is the first time I ever had a Deep Fried Turkey and I have to say it is the juiciest turkey I have EVER had!!!

    

Frank & Jen brought some Deer Sausage, a spicy and a non-spicy version.

Let's just face it, there wasn't a thing I didn't like!!!!!!

Frank paired it with this Onion Blossom Horseradish Dip--Which was GREAT!!!

Rob & Shonda brought some very very very delicious Deer Sausage Balls.

The steam on these Baked Potatoes & Onions speaks of their deliciousness!

Cristina brought her favorite, King Ranch Chicken, it's a very very YUMMY recipe from Company's Comin' at celebration Village.

Jennifer also brught this great Chinese Coleslaw!!!

Anastasia also prepared this yummy Shrimp Chowder!!

Lori made this Greek Pasta Salad.

This is the first time I ever had Wassail and I can't wait to have it again!!!!

These little bread things were great....who brought these?

Jim LOVED this fruit salad....

And you can't have a Christmas dinner without a Sweet Potato Casserole!!! Doesn't it look perfect!!!

The Chrismonds brought this OH MY WORD so good Greek Spaghetti!

I have no idea what this is, but I remember I ate 2 helpings of it!!!!

We also had a lucious chocolate cake that I wanted to dive into head first...It was Oh SO Good!!! There was a Paula Deen Pumpkin Pie, and so much more that I have forgotten or missed! Guess next year you will just have to come and taste for yourself!!!! Thanks to all our class for such a wonderful evening of food and fellowship. We love you!!!!

Birthday Party for Jesus!

    We I have been so busy lately, I just got laundry folded that has been piled on the couch in my bedroom for almost a week! I noticed I really needed to get on those this morning when I saw Jim walking around in reserves.  It's all my fault. I am way too task-oriented and have always got something going, whether it is in the kitchen or in the craft closet. It would be so much easier to just buy stuff, but it's so much more resourceful and fun to make things yourself. Those things mean more to me anyway. So today, when we got home from playgroup, I made it a point to sit down and fold the laundry {sister on speaker phone the whole time, so I didn't feel like I had to do it by myself} so then I could feel free to tell you all about my wonderful playgroup, how much I appreciate our weekly get-togethers, and the oh so cute ornament we made today!!!
     I have the best playgroup friends around...us mommies have decided playgroup is as much for us as it is for our kids! It has to be, we'd go nutty otherwise! We all have our own little circus, it's great, just set us all up in our own little tents and we could make a fortune!!!! It's a blessing in itself to just know you are not all alone under the Big Top!!!  Today we had our Birthday Party for Jesus!! Jennifer and Kasey made some oh so yummy cupcakes and oreo balls. The other girls and myself provided tons of other food to graze on! We sang Happy Birthday, had the VeggieTales Christmas DVD and the real Christmas story to share...I was working on ornaments, not sure if any of that actually got carried out though, besides the singing, I do remember that! We had 12 kiddos there, making for 20 total, I think. Last week we made the cutest little block ornaments with our kiddos' pics on them. You can see Kasey's here. You can be looking for my post with it's tutorial, but it won't be until after I have given the ones I made to the recipients...can't ruin the delight just yet!
     Today's ornament was a borrowed idea from different preschools who have done this, and here is proof that you can do it with an 8 month old as well! I bought big shatterproof ornaments at Walmart...12/$5, perfect for our group today! I already had all the paint supplies in my craft closet so all else that was needed were the hands and our munchkins provided some perfect ones!

After writing each of their names on one side of the ornament, we painted their hand with white paint and pressed it against the other side of the ornament...Cristina has that pic...I'll post it when it arrives!

Then I added a top hat, face and his buttons all the way down his torso using puff paint. Then I used orange paint for a nose and scarf.

The handprint doesn't have to be perfect, as you can see here by Andrew's....he only has 4 snowmen...the way you accessorize yours will determine how good he looks regardless of the handprint.

Taylor had some good ones! Tie a cute ribbon and add it to your tree!

 Come to think of it, I need to go back and write the year on them.

Thanks girls for such a wonderful time today and for the last year of weekly playgroups! It has been a blast. Can't wait to see what 2010 brings for our Big Tent of circuses!

Rock on Jim

     My Husband....Can I just tell you about my wonderful husband? I don't think I share enough about him. I am always talking about ME and my lemons, but the truth is, God uses Jim in amazing ways to turn my lemons into some of the absolute best lemonade!

     This weekend Jim ran the Memphis St. Jude Marathon. We had decided that we were done with marathons when he started cutting minutes off his 5K time...He trained hard and cut 45 seconds off in a matter of months! His coaching friend gave him a new marathon training plan that he wanted Jim to test out for him and asked him to do it for the St. Jude marathon. He reluctantly signed up, thinking, oh well, at least we will have a nice weekend at least. This was our 4th year to do Memphis. Jim's best marathon time was 2 hours and 51 minutes. For this race he set the goal of anything below 2:50. I always try to challenge him and promised him all kinds of special promises if he ran it faster than 2:46......When he came through at the half, 13.1, He was 1:21. I thought, hmmm, he is either going too fast and will hit a wall at 20 or he's doing really good. We waited at 26....I wasn't expecting him when he got there. When I recognized him I started screaming. It was way too early for him to be coming by. When he saw me he began pumping his fists and smiling SO big. He looked great! He gave me a high five. I told him to finish hard....He put the pedal to the metal and ran those 26.2 miles in 2 hours and 43 minutes!!!!
     One thing that Jim doesn't lack is determination. He is so focused, it drives me crazy sometimes, but if it wasn't for that determination, he wouldn't be who he is today. He's as serious as can be. He has a lot on his plate right now and I admire him for his desires to serve God first and foremost. First of all, he is a political reporter for American Family Association News {http://www.onenewsnow.com/}, Co-host of the AFA Report which airs online and on the air everyday at 12 noon central. He teaches one of the Adult 2 Sunday School classes in our church, spending at least an hour every day preparing for the lesson. Most recently, he has added a new desire under his belt. He will sign a full-time contract with Modern Woodman of America as a Financial Representative in January. He's been working part-time for them for the last few months. He's still going to keep his day job, but do this stuff on the side. He LOVES it. It takes him away from the stress of the news. Then on top of all that, he does an incredible job of being a husband and daddy to 2 of the most adorable boys ever.
     When I was waiting for God to bring Jim into my life, friends would say, "Candise, do you really think God is just going to put him right in front of you? Do you honestly think that you can just look at him and say, he's the one." I always responded, yes. Jim's a yankee! He's from northern Illinois. For some reason I was a Mississippi snob and thought that if there was any guy in MS that was the one for me, then I would have surely met him by now. I was right! haha. The first time I laid eyes on Jim, I thought, I could marry that guy...I quickly changed my thoughts to something different, I didn't want to jinx it. Then after the first conversation we had together, under the back porch of our church, for 3 hours, we both knew--we had met the one!
     I love him more and more everyday. He is smart, he knows all the intelligent stuff like politics, theology, sports, finances. Not so much about any of the other stuff! But that's okay, I know some of that stuff! He's the most honest guy I know. He's definitely the nicest guy you'll ever meet! He has integrity, dignity and eloquence. I have to pinch myself just about everyday, just to make sure I'm not dreaming! Amanda posted on her FB one day, You know you are in love when reality is better than your dreams-Dr. Seuss. I don't think I could have said it any better myself doc! Congratulations Jim, I am soooo proud of you!

How the kids entertained themselves during the race!