HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, FAITH AND CHAD!!

Today is Faith and Chad's anniversary! It doesn't seem possible that it has been 8 years since this beautiful bride walked down the aisle and married the man that her dad and I had prayed for since she was born.

Everything about the day was perfect.  It was a Christmas wedding complete with Christmas trees, poinsettias and lots and lots of tiny white lights and candles!  It was magical!

It has been so exciting for us as parents to watch God work in their lives in so many ways since they took that first dance!

Faith and Chad, as you embark on another year, we cannot wait to see what God is going to do in your lives! There is no limit to what God can do with a couple that is "sold out" to Him like the two of you are!

We love you more than words can say and could not be any prouder of the two of you! 

We pray a special blessing on you as you celebrate this special day!  May God grant you both the desires of your heart!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Faith and Chad!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHAD!!

Today is my sweet son-in-law's, birthday! I cannot even imagine our family without Chad in it. He brings so much joy to our family with his wit, his humor, and his fun-loving spirit!   He has a deep knowledge of God's Word and a great love for the Lord. 

From the moment that we first met him, we knew that he was the one that we had prayed for for our daughter!

Chad has the sweetest spirit of any man that I know and is such a godly influence in many people's lives.

He is the best "Bubba" that any little girl or boy could ever have, too!

He is s huge Red Sox fan!

A great cook!

And a VERY important part of this family!  We all love you very much, Chad, and may your birthday be just as special as you are to us!

May God grant you the desires of your heart and may this be your very best year yet!

WE LOVE YOU TO PIECES!!

All My Children!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE SON-IN-LAW !!!!!

A Very Special Gift From A Very Special Friend!

I was sooooo excited this evening as I turned into my driveway after work to see this very special package on my front porch.

I knew it was something from my sweet blogging friend, Becky ! I recently won her giveaway that she had in honor of her 100th post and I have been so excited to get the package that she was sending. As you can see, EVERYBODY at my house was excited about the arrival of this gift!

"No.......you open it!"


"No...... you open it!"

I did the honors and..... drum roll........

Could these Christmas towels be ANY cuter! I mean really! Becky had also included some cute little napkins and a very special Christmas card.

A Christmas card with a picture of her precious little grandboys --- Reid, Cade and Ridge! It is the cutest thing ever! I absolutely LOVE these little guys!

What a special gift to come home to! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Becky!

I so wish that we lived closer to each other because I am convinced that we very possibly may have been separated at birth and I know that our girls and our grand-babies would love each other, too! I'm so thankful that I discovered you in this blog world because I so enjoy reading your blog and getting to know you and your precious family better.


Your grand-babies are on my fridge and I will think of you every time I look at their picture! I have the towels already in my guest bathroom and they are just perfect!


Thanks again, sweet friend!

Thanksgiving 2008

Lewis trying to go as a "stowaway" on Poppa's and Bubba's hunting trip.

"E" checking out how the deer antlers would look on her!

Poppa getting excited about wearing all of his "get up" !

 

Bubba donning the antlers, too.

"E" loving her some "Callie Boo".

Do you remember THIS guy?  Look how BIG he has gotten!

Champ playing some "keepaway" with Turk. Cutest "cousins" ever, huh?

Josh is always appointed to be the carver.

Mimi's Making Meals, of course!!

Sisters having some "Girl Talk". (Moms not invited!)

Finally.....ready to call everyone to the table! (Note: Fancy jug of sweet tea already waiting!)

Hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of great family memories!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Ephesians 1:3 (NIV)

An Award and FIVE FABULOUS BLOGS!!

What a great surprise! I received this award from Jodi at Live Today, Cherish Yesterday, Dream Tomorrow. I have just recently discovered her blog and have really been enjoying it!

The rules of accepting this reward are that you have to list 5 favorite addictions and then pass along this award to five other fabulous blogs!

Now...let's see if I can narrow it down to just FIVE favorite addictions...hmmm:

#1 would have to be DARK CHOCOLATE. I LOVE dark chocolate! My absolute favorite is this:

And this would have to be a close second:

But, don't get me wrong, I'm not above settling my craving with a good ole' H@rshey's Speci@l D@rk from the grocery store!

#2 addiction - BIG SEXY HAIR SPRAY AND PLAY hairspray. There is no substitute! I have tried all kinds of cheaper alternatives and I don't even waste my time (and money) anymore. This is the only spray for me!
# 3 addiction - VINEGAR. I wouldn't know what to do without vinegar. I use it to clean absolutely EVERYTHING in my house. It's inexpensive and it works great!

#4 - MUSIC! I love all kinds of music! I have approximately 5000 songs on my IPod and they cover pretty much every genre of music.

#5 addiction - DISHES! I have a dish "fettish"! I have sets of dishes from both of my grandmothers and my great aunt, plus dishes that I have acquired during my married life. I cannot even get them all in my cabinets! My newest set are these beauties that my husband and kids gave me last year! I had always wanted Christmas dishes, but I decided on these instead because they are "Winter" dishes and can be used much longer than just at Christmas.

Another one of my addictions would have to be reading the following fabulous blogs that I would like to pass this award on to:

Jenna at These Are The Days. This girl is funny, witty and wise beyond her years and God has given her a great gift of storytelling. She is part of the most wonderful family and after reading her blog for awhile, you will begin to seriously wish this girl was your daughter, daughter-in-law, sister or best friend.

Megan at Tales of the Trees. She is a newlywed who has also been given a great ability to capture her audience with her words. Her and her husband, Luke, are just the absolute cutest couple and you will wish that you lived close enough to them to be able "hang out" with them.

Dawn at Dawn's Cottage Corner. This girl is one of the sweetest people I have met since joining this blogging world. She and I just hit it off almost from day one and I feel such a kindred spirit with her. She just recently got back from The Mayo Clinic having some major knee surgery and is going through a difficult time right now. Please pray for her as she gets her staples out this week and begins her Physical Therapy.

Faith at Walk With Me By Faith. As many of you know, Faith is my oldest daughter, but if she wasn't I would so want to be her friend! God has given her a remarkable faith (HE named her appropriately, huh?) and such a sweet spirit. She is funny, witty and very talented. Her and her husband are struggling with infertility and we are excited about the miracle that God is preparing, even now, for her and Chad.

Cindy at Army Brats and Me. I met Cindy just a few months ago as she began her battle with Stage 3 Breast Cancer. You have to meet this remarkable young lady. Her strength and faith is incredible. She is such an inspiration to me and many other ladies that are right alongside of her on this journey she's on. She is going through a difficult time right now as her white counts are very low and she has the flu. Please visit her blog and let her know that you are praying for her.

**Note: I do not want Cindy and Dawn to feel pressured to have to list 5 fabulous blogs and link to them. I know that they are not up to that right now, but I love reading their blogs and wanted all of ya'll to visit them and "show them some love" during these diffult times they are facing right now.

OWLS ARE MAKING A COMEBACK!

I spent the day Saturday with my 2 daughters and my granddaughter.  During the course of the day there were several things said in conversation that made me think about my grandparents that have gone on to be with the Lord - MaMa and PaPa. They were both so very special to me. I was fortunate enough to live within walking distance of them growing up and, as a result, I spent quite a lot of time with them.

No one could cook like my MaMa and I think she is definitely responsible for the love that I have for cooking.  (And the love that I have for dishes/china.) As we were eating lunch, my daughter was talking about how much she loved lima beans and it reminded me of how much PaPa loved them.  Many a night he would tell my grandmother (he called her "Baby") that he just wanted a bowl of cornbread and "pot liquor".  (For those of you that weren't born in the South, that's what us southerners call the juice that the lima beans were cooked in.) He would crumble up his cornbread in the "pot liquor" and eat it and, I must agree, it was DELISH! That was one of PaPa's favorites.

That conversation somehow led us to talk about MaMa's love for OWLS!  She collected owls and I was blessed to have received a couple of her owls from my Mother on my last trip home. I thought that I would share a couple of them with you.

This one sits on the floor in my Dining Room. I love the way he is so"weathered" looking.  He just looks so wise, doesn't he?

This one is actually a little sachet holder. It has a ribbon on it so that you could hang it, but I keep him inside my china cabinet.

 
This little guy is actually a napkin holder and he resides on my kitchen table all the time.

Over the years, I have added a couple of owls myself and would very much like to collect more. One of the ones that I have added is a Swarovski crystal owl that my husband gave me. He's a tiny little fella, but so pretty, especially when the light hits him.

By far the most special owl that I have been given is this one made out of soapstone.  My daughter and son-in-law brought him all the way from BRAZIL. They got him for me while they were there on a church mission trip. Isn't he handsome!

Faith has decided that she would also like to collect owls.  She also has a couple of MaMa's owls that my Mother gave her. She told me about a piece of owl jewelry that she was hoping to get for Christmas. She also told me that owls were making a resurgence in popularity! They've always been popular with me!

What about you?  What do you like to collect and why?  What sentimental items do you have that belonged to one of your loved ones?