7 days to go...ho, ho, ho

Thanksgiving seems so long ago...
And we got up our tree...

It's the time for brotherly love...

And time for angels jumping for joy...

And Santa stopped by along the way...

I'm so glad my Savior changed the world by coming as a baby...
Happy Birthday Jesus - please heal us all and bring us your love.

Happy Veterans' Day...

And thank you to all who have voluntarily served our great nation - You know I guess I always recognized that - that our military is an army of volunteers - I am blessed that both of my grandfathers were of that patriotic spirit - This is my mom's dad - he served in Korea; he kept God first and his country next. I admire that. Deeply. Some nations do not allow you to volunteer - that fact hit home when a friend of ours from church who was an exchange student was "made" to return from the States to serve his country's military for specific amount of time. I am blessed - we all are to live in a country where liberty and freedom ring and it's thanks to the founding fathers and a nation full of men and women who understand to their core what it means to be a patriot...to all of you who sacrifice daily for my family - I humbly thank you with all my heart - you keep me and my loved ones safe daily. God honors your service and sacrifice even if at times this country seems not to -- the patriots are still out there and we applaud you.

Saturday was a tea-riffic day...

Yes, I know I'm being punny -- But this Saturday was our church's women's ministry's Christmas Tea. It was lots of fun and with a wonderful message from the guest speaker on how we should give God some "unusual gifts" this Christmas by laying down our "junk" at His feet -- being more like Mary than Martha. Chris played guitar for me and I sang "Oh Come All Ye Faithful," "O Holy Night," and "Jesus, Lover of My Soul." It was cool. Here's some more pics to enjoy...

So, willing and gracious husbands and sons and even paw paws, were our servers -- and this is where they hid during the guest speaker's time and ate all the leftover hot chicken salad, blueberry salad and cheesecake...

Our precious Director of Children's and Women's Ministries at KFBC!!!
It's ironic to me that we see her as such a gift from God and gee, look at what she has in her hands...

And this was for kicks -- so David Scott is the dickens behind the camera and caught me in some bad shots because you all know how goofy I am -- so this is while we were trying to do the sound check on the horrid sound-system-thingy in the fellowship hall -- I think the look on my face says it all. LOL!!! At least I wasn't rolling my eyes -- inside, hill-arious joke for my FBCFM praise team friends.

I'm still laughing...

I was taking a facebook 80's (waste your free time) cartoon quiz and was reminded of how much I loved Jem and She-Ra. I mean I seriously loved those shows - I dreamed for some reason of being a cartoon! I found this openings for them on youtube...you'll laugh...but so explains a bunch! HAHAHA!

Jem's You Tube

She-Ra's You Tube

Yes, please laugh...

Romans 13

Romans 13 (New International Version)

Submission to the Authorities
1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Love, for the Day is Near
8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

11And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

I think perhaps today - the first half of this chapter is hard to swallow for many Americans -- but the second half of the chapter brings hope and great wisdom - our focus, our lives should be wrapped around the life of Christ. I think for too long we have all in some small or large ways strayed from God's will for our own lives and that of our country. Today I am grateful for God's Word that lives and breathes and moves each new day. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Allow God's Word - in every circumstance, not just today's - to teach you, rebuke you, correct you and train you in righteousness so that you are thoroughly equipped for every good work...God is on His throne - it doesn't matter in view of eternity who is in the White House...even if on this earth we will know trials and sufferings...God promises to be with us - how's your heart for Jesus today?

An Election Prayer...

I was reading John Piper's Desiring God blog today and his election prayer just hit me - most of his words do because he's a man of God. I always listen to his speech and when I don't see things his way it provokes me into digging deeper in my Bible and my walk with God. Our pastor has been preaching on that lately -- being "provoked" - we should "stir up" each other to be more like Christ to be Love -- I love that! So here's a link to Piper's Election Prayer - I hope it "provokes" you as it did me.

Happy Halloween and what not!

You guessed it - in the middle of Bulldog territory - EG was a Carolina cheerleader - and believe it or not, lots of people loved that! Ollie boy was Mickey Mouse. He wasn't super keen on it, but after he realized candy was being put in his bucket - he did NOT care!

More Halloween-ing Pics

Pumpkin Carving Pics

We also ventured up to Cagle's Dairy Farm earlier in the day.

It was great - they still had a pumpkin patch - so we got 2 medium pumpkins and 2 tiny pumpkins for under $15. They also had fresh baked yummy chocolate chip cookies and loaves of banana bread (yeah, we bought them.) And the kids wanted tiny play shepherd dogs, too.

We took a tour of the dairy - that's Ollie and I in the milk processing room.
And below is Chris with the kids waiting for our tour to start - we got to walk through a "cow subway" -- a giant corrugated pipe that ran under the farm road, so that the cows and peeps don't get run over by any tractors on the road! We got to feed and pet calves, ride a tractor pulled hayride, watch the shepherd dog, Tib, herd the preggie cows, "cluck-cluck at the yard chickens", and just plain have some fun in the pumpkin patch!

Rest and Recovery...

Emma Grace's Fifth Birthday party...
was last Saturday at Bounce U - as our friend Lisa said,
"It was off the hook..."
It was great and the kids had super fun.

Even the grown ups got to have their hand at playing games and jumping and climbing on the bouncy air stuff! I had a blast. We were so glad that our families got to come down for the weekend, too. We were also glad to not have 11 people in our house come Sunday night when we got to sleep in our own bed again. =)

Ollie and Grandma Barb had fun shooting air guns at mommy - I finally gave up and just starting chucking balls over the net at them both! I'm telling you it really was fun!

A pre-party shot of Grampy Ta and EG...

The youngest Whisonants in the house last weekend...
Can you tell whose is whose and how old they are? =)
Our Ollie is 19 months old on the left and Hayley and Stevie's Noahie is almost 2.5 on the right.
It was a hoot~

Sorry the post took so long - these days posting takes more effort than I'm willing to put forth...but when pops has been posting more frequently than me, well, it was time to improve!!! =)

And one more linky to more b'day weekend pics, too.

And a praise to add -- my mom went back to work Tuesday this week -- it's not full time, yet
but she's happy to be anywhere but stuck in her house all the time
God is good, all the time!

Happy Fifth Birthday, Emma Grace!!!

And yes, I know I have fallen off the blogging bandwagon...see, what I had meant to say was...well...my bad. =)

Today Emma Grace turned FIVE!!! She had birthday breakfast, birthday cupcake snack at school, birthday Zaxby's lunch, birthday ravioli dinner, birthday cupcake and ice cream dessert, birthday presents, birthday dinner guests...do you see the theme? =) We had a great day - our baby girl is five. WOW.

Tomorrow Chris is working from home, my folks are coming, his folks are coming, Uncle Stevie and Aunt Hayley and Noahie are coming --- we're having her party on Saturday and having pumpkin pie and carving pumpkins, too. I love it! YAY!

So here are some pics of the kiddos lately - enjoy!

My Girl - Talkin' 'bout My Girl

Puddin' - my Puddin'

I'm hooked...

Charlie Hall band just released their newest album on 8/19/08 and I'm hooked. Check out his link to read about the album, how the songs came to be, and really just enjoy listening to some music that praises the God of every season.

happy first day of school EG

EG started K4 this morning - just look at our big girl! What a special day to start. Enjoy. Be blessed.

s'mores anyone?

Emma Grace's thoughts on s'mores..."This is a very messy snack, mommy. I don't think I like it. May I be excused?"Grampy Ta was just thrilled to get gooey chocolateness...
Grandma Barb was the mastermind and the culprit! Look at that grin...and then check out what Ollie looked like!
Before...
Almost after...

August 19th - Ollie's first day of school

Okay, so I began teaching the week before this - but Ollie officially began MMO on Tuesday, August 19th.This is what he thought of the idea...


He eventually came out to tell me Bye as I went to get my things for school, little did he know he was going with me! HAHA.
This reminds me of a story that my mom used to love to tell on me to everyone...
I was somewhere between Ollie's age (1.5) and Emma Grace's age (4.5), when mom took me to the pediatrician (which I hated because they always pricked my finger to take blood)...so one day I'd had it...and when it came time to prick my finger...I climbed up under the old timey exam table and wedged myself up against the wall under there with my hands firmly under my backside and worst of all, I refused to come out...my mother was mortified and furious (is that pretty right, mom?) and you can imagine how the rest of the story went...and that I NEVER did that again. It still makes me laugh...and feel bad for the terrible things that I did to my mom! And she still loves me, isn't that amazing? There's something about being a mom, isn't there?

Okay, so I say that...

My kids would have fun with a brown paper bag - which is true -
But this was fun with a brown cardboard box!
Just enjoy...
The kids played ALL day with this box the day it came -
We had to take it away because they began fighting over it.
It was Hilarious!

The day after our 8th Anniversary...

Just chillin' at home...
Faking...

Smiling...

After all, he is STILL my baby...

and a happy boy for the most part...

and did I mention, goofy?
(like his daddy...)

Catching up...

So, wow, we just got in from SC after 8 hours! Lots of time to ponder while riding in the car today - probably too much - but we had a great short trip home to see our families. We love you all so much - we miss you already. So, we're in - the car is semi-unloaded (as am I! HA!) and Chris is practicing guitar for church tomorrow, so I'm gonna shoot out some pics from well, all of August! Enjoy!

Wednesday, already?

Wow, is it Wednesday already? WE are still traveling at warp speed, or warped speed, whatever you prefer. ;)

Just wanted to give you all an update - we had a busy anniversary, which I'm thinking we will make up for this weekend, some time, hint, hint to the hubba-bubba. Thanks for all the calls and love from the loved ones - sorry, I couldn't get to the phone, I am battling some sinus/allergy junk - but gratefully, I got a Rite Aid allergy pack rebate in the mail yesterday for 6 FREE Rite Aid brand allergy supplies! Woo-hoo. We enjoyed some friends over in the afternoon and besides being great company, they brought cookies. Again, woo-hooing! Ollie has a "weird" not contagious rash according to the pediatrician. It's not getting worse and looks a little better from the steroid cream. Yay. Emma Grace finished cheerleading. She loved it! I know she'll be sad that it's over and I'm hoping that she'll begin to enjoy dance lessons again in a few weeks, but if not, we may have to stop tap/ballet and begin cheering or go ahead and start piano lessons. Chris is good - he's been in town the last couple of weeks, thankfully, and managed to stay in town for our anniversary, brownie-points for him! His work keeps him busy and he enjoys it - PTL! I'm gearing up for my first "staff" meeting at Omega Learning Center - while OT starts MMO on T/Th, I will be teaching 4 home schooled high school folks math -- pray! Satan is already trying to defeat me in my doubts and fears by bringing my insecurities raging to the surface on top of all else that goes on in our every day lives!

On that note, keep momma in your prayers...daddy, too, he's a keeper as mom says. But, mom just had her next to last round of "bad" chemo and in two weeks, August 19th needs to have some big tests done and some other appointments made. God knows all that this entails - just lift them up to His throne that His will and glory shine.

I'll leave you with words of praise from the prophet, Habakkuk ---

3:2 "LORD, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy."

3:19a "The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights."

Happy Anniversary, Bubba!

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary! So far, I've received hugs and kisses and a trip to the pediatrician --- Ollie has an unidentified "weird" rash (as the pediatrician put it) -- honestly, I think OT just felt the need to get a couple of red splotches for his mommy.

And a belated happy anniversary to our friends, Evans and Cindy!!!

August Already ?!?!?!

Okay, so the dress code at FBCS now allows preschoolers to bring their own backpacks to school (minus any brand name labels, words, characters) and since Mrs. Wade got me browsing the Pottery Barn kids summer clearance, I was weak and I bought Emma Grace the pink lunch box and Grandma Jane bought her the preschooler sized back pack, but Aunt Hayley started it all at Christmas when she bought EG the pink duffel bag...so it's everyone's fault, but mine for my weakness...and if you'll buy that, I've got some ocean front property for ya in Arizona!

But isn't she so cute!!! It's all bigger than she is, but she loves her new big girl school stuff!
And that's what Ollie thinks of girl stuff!

Our attempt to take pics at church on a Wednesday night, one time, she looks...

Next time, he does...I think they plan this to add to my insanity!

Miss Amy was kind enough, though, to offer to take our pics at church today! The kids have on matching outfits which the preacher's wife thought may have come from a boutique...hooray for my mom...Grandma Barbie made these precious outfits for the kids over the past month. So, Chris and I planned to wear coordinating clothes and this was the best shot of the 4 of us together! You take what you can get in the 'nuthouse.

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