Fall Fun

Our Fall Fun began Wednesday when our youth department put on a Fall Festival for our Discovery Bible Clubs:

Thursday the Fall Fun continued at work with some decorations and trick or treating through out the office:

And our Fall Fun ended tonight with a visit to a Fall Festival at a church where most of Aunt J's family attends for some photos ops:

Hope your week has been as fun as ours. Happy Weekend.

Friday Favorites

My Friday Favorites today are my favorite second and third grade teachers in my family. I had the opportunity this past Monday to spend the day with some second graders and what fun I had. I can tell you that these two teachers have a heart for the children they teach. Just wanted to let them know how proud I am to be their Aunt J. Love ya M & D.

Cute Kids

Some of our Wednesday night Kidventure Kids a few years back:
The Discovery Bible Club Fall Fun 10/29/08:

Little Munchkins

A picture taken in Oct. 1999 of a couple munchkins that Uncle D and Aunt J love:

Here they are last Saturday:

Thankful Tuesday:

I'm thankful that this little tiger and clown have grown into very responsible adults with great families:

Monday Memories

Uncle D & his two little sisters a few Halloweens ago:

October Fellowship Meal

Once a month our church has a fellowship meal and I'm going to share a few pics from our lunch today:

What a Day That Will Be

I'm missing my mom & dad today. It will be five years this coming Thursday that my dad went home to be with the Lord. I know that I'll see him and mom again in heaven because we all have trusted in what Christ did for us on Calvary. That is a hope that I cling to. If you'll indulge me, I want to share the words to a song that has been running through my thoughts today:

What A Day That Will Be
Words and Music: Jim Hill

There is coming a day, When no heart aches shall come, No more clouds in the sky, No more tears to dim the eye, All is peace forever more, On that happy golden shore, What a day, glorious day that will be.

What a day that will be, When my Jesus I shall see, And I look upon His face, The One who saved me by His grace; When He takes me by the hand, And leads me through the Promised Land, What a day, glorious day that will be.

There’ll be no sorrow there, No more burdens to bear, No more sickness, no pain, No more parting over there; And forever I will be, With the One who died for me, What a day, glorious day that will be.

What a day that will be, When my Jesus I shall see, And I look upon His face, The One who saved me by His grace; When He takes me by the hand, And leads me through the Promised Land, What a day, glorious day that will be.

Sunday Blessings

My 2002 Sunday School class :

My 2008 Sunday School Class:One of the biggest blessings is that I taught the moms and dads of some of these kids in my pre-school Sunday School class a few years back.

Saturday Fun

We started our day early doing our civic duty, voting early in the Presidential election. It was great, no lines and done by 7:30 this morning. Then off to breakfast and received the Senior discount again (yeah!) even though we told the waitress we were not quite seniors, she gave it to us anyway. Then off to Walmart to buy the stuff for Uncle D's famous Mexican cornbread - he makes it spicy. We rounded out our morning with a little:

After the game and a couple of stops, we headed home to cook cornbread and chocolate cake. Then headed out to some friend's house for our annual Sunday School hobo supper. A great time of fun, food and fellowship:

Any day ending with roasted marshmallows is a good day.

Friday Favorites

BFFs - aren't they grand! You know how sometimes you just make a connection with someone and you know they are going to be a good friend? This is how I felt when I got to know my lunch buddy, LaDonna. She and I share similar upbringings, outlooks and faith. We both love to sing but she has the talent and I only have the love of singing. She has even been known to break out in song in the breakroom which sometimes gets us some really funny looks. She is a member of Sweet Adelines International which is a world-wide organization of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony. Her chorus is leaving for Hawaii for competition in November and they have been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in NYC in February 2009. They also have a show tomorrow night "The Road to Broadway" and I hope it goes well. I'm glad to say she is my favorite lunch buddy.

Fall is Finally Here

I am loving the cooler weather. I knew fall was finally here when I woke this morning and the heater kicked on for the first time of the season. I even savored the dusty heater smell that always accompanies that first heater blast of the season. Can't wait for the leaves to start turning.

Confession & Prayer Request

Uncle D often tells me that it's not what I say but the way I present myself when I say things. I am anticipating a day where my words and presentation may need some help so I ask that if you check this blog today that you pray Psalm 141:3 for me inserting Aunt J where "my" appears: "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: keep the door of my lips."

Thanks for praying, I had a good day with my words and presentation.

.

Thankful Tuesday

My church family:

Monday Memories

Every Monday, I go through pictures that Uncle D's mom put together in a memory book for us a few years ago as well as pictures that Aunt J's mom had and it always brings a smile as memories flood back. Today are pictures that Mammaw & Pappaw had on their wall of some people they loved dearly. I know they would be so proud of who they have become and the families that they have.

Sunday Blessings

Uncle D and I are both blessed to be able to teach Sunday School classes in our local church. I teach in the preschool class, kindergarteners. Today, I taught the story of Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego and their choice to obey God even knowing that they were facing the fiery furnace. What fun it is to see the kids grasp bible truths and hide God's word in their hearts. Today we were making the transfer of SS workers and Children Church workers, when 2 new little boys came into the classroom. The CC worker was taking care of greeting them, when I noticed their parents at the door. What a blessing to see my nephew, his wife and older son there. I then recognized the 2 little visitors as my great nephews. God is using a young couple in our church to reach out to them. I have it on good authority that the boys really enjoyed church and are hoping to get involved in our Wednesday night Bible Club as well as Sunday school next week. Please pray that this happens.

Fun or not so Fun Saturday

We started our day going to Target for Flu shots but both ended up with Flu and Pneumonia shots which would have been $148 but with insurance cost us $ .00 =). Thank the Lord for insurance. We then headed over to catch a little baseball which Reagan's team won. After the game, we headed over to pick out frames for new glasses for Aunt J. I love Brenda at Pearl Vision who helps us. We have built a relationship with her over the last several years and she is really fun to deal with. After picking out some frames we headed to Don Pablo's for a little lunch and then back for the dreaded eye exam. Truthfully, I would rather go to my dentist than the eye doctor. Nothing against him, because he is extremely thorough and very nice guy but I just HATE having an eye exam. Oh well, after the eye exam, we go back to Brenda to drop off the RX only to find out that the frames that I choose earlier really weren't going to work. Brenda already had my new frames picked out which were great and the cost of the glasses were even less than the first pair =). Again, thank the Lord for insurance. From there, we headed to Sams and ran into some really good friends from E. TX that were visiting in town and it was fun catching up with them. After dropping off our Sams goods, our last outing was to Walmart which Uncle D always loves (ha!ha!). I picked up a RX that the eye doctor had given me for allergy eye drops and nearly choked when I had to pay $25 but when I got home and saw that w/out insurance it would have been $103, I again thanked the Lord for insurance. Now we're home, doing laundry and watching some videos we picked up at Walmart. Have a GREAT Saturday night.

Friday Favorites

Now that the weather is getting cooler, I begin to think about the soups, stew and chili that will be a staple in our house during the fall and winter. My favorite accompaniment to those are Spicy Crackers and I'm going to share my recipe with you. You'll need:

Box of saltine crackers (you can substitute oyster or Ritz crackers)
1 1/3 cup canola oil
1 pkg dry ranch dressing mix
2-3 tablespoons of red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you like them)

Dump all the crackers into a gallon container (original recipe said this container had to be glass but a gallon zip lock bag can be used). Mix the canola oil, dressing mix and red pepper flakes together (I usually whisk to make sure it is mixed really good). Now pour this mixture over the crackers and then jiggle, flip and work with the container until all the crackers have been coated. Then jiggle and flip the container a couple of times each day for the next 4 days and then enjoy. (We never can wait 4 days and have been known to start eating them after letting them marinate for 2 days or so.) I promise these are really, really good to eat by themselves too.

More promises

Isaiah 43:2

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee: and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned: neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Romans 8:37-39

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Have we arrived?

We had a first happen to us Sunday afternoon. We went out to a buffet with friends after church and as Uncle D was checking out the receipt at the table he discovered that we had been given the: Senior Club Disc. To set the record straight we didn't ask for the discount 'cause we aren't exactly seniors (yet), but apparently we must have looked the part. Oh well, we saved $1.50 on our lunch bill and anyone who knows me knows that that made me happy. =)

Thankful Tuesday

During these turbulent times of our economy, we can remember that none of this is taking God by surprise and that He is still on his throne. I also am thankful for His promises that I can claim:

“Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5)

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

“I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." (Psalms 37:25)

Monday Memories

This picture of the LWBC Victory Class was taken in December 1996. Most of these saints are now in heaven with the Lord but each holds a special place in our memories. God used many of them to influence our lives and Christian growth. We are very thankful for the faithful testimonies that they lived before us.

Sunday Blessings

Three blessings God has given me are my brothers. Today is one of their birthdays and I want to honor him by letting the world know what a GREAT guy he is. He loves the Lord, his wife, grandkids, and his kids and I think in that order. He is a great poppy to Andy and Ben, just ask them and they will tell you. Not only does he love his immediate family he loves the rest of his extended family and people in general and he shows that love in his actions, not just in his words. Today I want to wish Ronnie a very Happy Birthday!

Ronnie shares his birthday with another member of our family and I want to wish Kimberly a very Happy Birthday, too!

Saturday Fun

We started our day doing laundry and then made our usual trip to our local:



After dropping off our loot and eating a little lunch, we were off to watch a little:

After cheering them on to a victory of 8 - 0, we headed to the church for a fish fry and fellowship:

A fun time of fellowship and food was had by all but I really enjoyed the time I had with one of my most favorite one year olds:

All in all it was a great Saturday.