1989-2009

Isaac and Sarah playing at the park.

Elijah stops for a break....

The three BIG kids pose on the bridge at the park!

Timothy is ready to go!

The front of the school...

The classmates who attended the Picnic/Park time.

Clay County Panthers!!

The Governor's mansion!!

The center piece on the food table....

The cake had their Senior class picture on it.

Those who attended the Governor's mansion time.

I love that man!!

In November we celebrated Bryan's 20 year high school class reunion! I can not believe he has been out of high school for 20 years! It seems like yesterday we were celebrating his 10 year reunion. What is wild is that at his 10 year reunion we had 0 kids....and at his 20 year reunion we have 4....and out of the ones that attended we were the ones with the most kids. How things change. Our day started out at the Ashland Park for apicnic with our families. It was great to see everyones children and give the kiddos a chance to play together on the playgrounds. Then after a picnic and some socialization we all loaded up and went to the High School. There we got to go through the school and see what things had changed and what had not. By this time my kids ( and me) were in much need of a nap! So my family headed to my in-laws for some down time. After a nice rest Bryan and I got ready and headed to Montgomery for the last part of the reunion. My mom and Bryan's mom had agreed to keep the kids and to manage with Timothy (I have never left him yet). Let me explain why we were going to Montgomery....you see the Governor's daughter graduated with Bryan so we were invited to the Governor's mansion. WOW!! It was so nice to be with just the adults for awhile. I know Bryan enjoyed getting to visit with his classmates. The mansion was very nice and Mrs. Riley was very hospitable. This is one of those once in a lifetime things for Bryan and I. Something I will definately have to share with the grandkids. And Timothy did very well without me...Thanks so very much to our Mom's and Dad's (They are so helpful and such a blessing)!!

An early Thanksgiving!

Me and my crew!

Dodey and her family.

This is my Nanny with my Dad. My Nanny had 3 sons and now my dad is the only one still living. They are very close. Dodey's father was one of my dad's brothers that passed away when Dodey and I were in the 8th grade.

The Kids!! This was taken right before they left... it was late and as you can see we had some really tired kiddos!

This is my mother's mom (my grandmother), my mom and Timothy.

The guys! They even went back for seconds...

Isaac and my dad!

The girls at their own little table!

Dodey and I!

I have a cousin that I have always been close to, like sisters! She lives out of town and we only get to see each other every now and then. Her name is Dodey. She came home last weekend and since she wouldn't be back for the holidays we celebrated Thanksgiving early! Her beautiful family, my family, my parents, our Nanny and my grandmother came over to my home. We all pitched in and cooked up some really great food...it was so yummy! Then after our meal we visited a while with my parents and grandmothers. Then my cousin and her family stayed a little while longer and we just spent some quality time together. The kids had so much fun playing together (she has 2 girls) and we enjoyed just sitting around talking. Oh how I wish we had more times like that together. Dodey and I are very close now and it is a different kind of close than when we were little. You see now we have a spiritual closeness. It is awesome to talk about the Lord together and to pray with and for one another. Maybe it is good that we don't live closer because that makes those rare times we have together even more special!! I can say that one of the things on my "Thankful List" this Thanksgiving is my cousin....Dodey. I love you girl!

A nugget of God's truth...

The other day I was having one of those days....where I felt that I had failed as a Mom and there was no going back....I was getting consumed. I don't know if you have ever had one of those days but it is not a good one. Some seasons in my life those days have come too often. As I was going through this trying day I was compelled to call a dear friend, she is one of those friends that God has given me that I know she will pray with me right then. As her and I talked and she prayed for me she reminded me that God's Word says "His mercies are new every morning". That was a very encouraging Word and I pondered that the rest of the day. The next morning as I was spending some personal time with the Lord I was reminded of what my friend had shared with me and I went straight to the Word of God. As I looked this verse up God once again spoke to my spirit and I want to share it with you. Look at Lamentations 3:22-24.....

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul,
"Therefore I hope in Him!"

Notice that it says that through the Lords mercies we are not consumed. That was exactly what I needed to hear. This was telling me that there is no reason for me to feel consumed because I have the Lord's mercies, I have those mercies because Jesus' blood has cleansed me from my sin and has changed my heart....I am a new creation. Then it reminds me that His compassions fail not...God himself looks down on me in my weakness and has compassions on me because I am His child.
They are new every morning;... His mercies are fresh and new every day. Some days those mercies are new every moment for me. And because of those mercies that are new I am not consumed! Thank you Lord that you give me a new day...a new moment. That is the perfect example of God's great faithfulness!
And lastly I need my soul to say that "The Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in Him" . Even if I am having "one of those days" I must remind myself that it is Lord who I will hope in and not the things of this world or in my feelings! So let me challenge you and I with this...the next time you or I are having one of those days and we feel consumed and as if there is no hope...We have God's mercies to see us through and they are new every morning (or moment).

Seeking Him!
Cantina

A Field Trip for the Camp's

On the 3rd of November we took a trip to Cheaha. The weather was so nice and I couldn't resist a perfect chance to take a field trip. Bryan and I asked my Nanny and a dear lady from our church to go with us. I fixed sandwhiches that morning and packed chips, drinks and a snack to take so we could have a picnic lunch. It was so nice and we had so much fun. The weather was beautiful and so was the scenery. The first place we stopped was at the Tower. At the Tower the kids, Bryan and Ms. Shirley got to go up and look out. Isaac actually went up twice...once with Bryan and then with Ms. Shirley. Nanny and I stayed down with Timothy and then I had to go and help Sarah come down because she didn't quite make it to the top (it is a little high). After we left the Tower we stopped at the small playground to let the children play and we sat up for our picnic. It worked out well because there was a picnic table right there at the playground. The Playground was exactly what Elijah loved!! We all agreed that having a picnic makes a sandwhich taste so much better. Then our last stop was to Bald Rock. It is very nice because they have made a walk way out to the end and there are several places along the way to stop and rest. We put Timothy in the stroller and Ms. Shirley and Nanny offered to push him, that was a blessing! I believe Nanny and Ms. Shirley had a very nice time also. One of the things that I really like and enjoy about homeschooling is we can take a field trip as a family and the kids have an opportunity to spend time with other adults and family.

From Our kitchen to Yours....

I had a request from a friend to post a recipe...so I wanted to do that for her and to share with the rest of you all.

Shepherd's Pie

1 lb ground beef (I use ground turkey)
Frozen mixed vegetables (16oz. bag)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 servings of Mashed Potatoes (I use the packets of Idaho- 1 butter and 1 roasted garlic)
Sliced cheese

Brown your meat and drain off grease if used beef. Cook your veggies as directed on bag. While your veggies are cooking mix together your meat and soup. Cook your potatoes. Once your veggies are done then add them to your meat mixture and mix all together. Pour this mixture in a greased casserole dish (13X9) and spread potatoes on top. Place sliced cheese on top of potatoes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

I hope this makes sense. If not please let me know and I will try to explain it better. This is a favorite at our house! I like it because I can give my family a little of everything and don't have to make 50 dishes. I will have to say this is one of Bryan's favorites that he could have weekly. Bryan eats the leftovers by dipping nacho chips in it....it is good! Hope you enjoy!!
Happy Cooking!

Pumpkins and Costumes

This is a picture of the kids painting their pumpkins. When Isaac was little I wanted this to be a yearly event but I have not been very good at that. I have tried and its just one of those things that I can't stress myself over, but if we have had pumpkins and paint then we have painted pumpkins. We painted these on October 30. I laid Timothy down for his nap and got out all our things and let the kids paint away! They loved it and had so much fun. Their pumpkins were so cute and were very original. I also let them paint their hand and I got their hand print on paper so I could scrapbook it (one day).

Just wanted to share a few pictures of my "crew". I didn't include pictures of Timothy all dressed up in the last post, he was napping while we were out getting candy, he was staying with Daddy while I took the other three out and about. Anyway.... on Sunday night our church had a Fall Festival and I dressed him up and took him, so I wanted to post his "dressed up" picture (he is suppose to be a giraffe). As for the family picture I know the background is not the greatest but if you are like me family shots are hard to get so I just grabbed everyone while I had the chance. I just LOVE my little (or not so little) family!!