The Blog Is Done

My blog is finished. It was fun working on the animated header. This one will be up for a while.

Under Construction

Christmas is over so I am updating my blog. It may look a little funny while I am getting things in place.

We are so lucky...

to have Jesus as our Savior. I still consider myself a new Christian but it doesn't take too much thought to imagine how bad our lives would be without Jesus. Yesterday was Jesus's birthday. He was God's gift to us and for that we will be forever thankful. We had a wonderful Christmas. I cooked Christmas dinner at my house for the first time since we moved to Tennessee. I really enjoyed the day with my family and our closest friends. It really was a special day.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Breakfast with Santa

The Spring Hill Raiders football league held a fundraiser at Applebees this morning and lucky for us we were able to have breakfast with Santa. I was really surprised with Matthew. I was going to let Chase go first because I thought Matthew would be scared but he jumped right up on Santa's lap and started jabbering away. Then when it was Chase's turn his fingers got stuck in Santa's beard. I thought he was going to pull it off.

Christmas Musical Video

I finally figured it out! My mom bought us a new camcorder for Christmas. She gave it to us early which was cool because I was able to record Sean's musical and I will have it for Christmas morning. It records a digital file to its internal memory so I've had quiet a time figuring out getting the format right and finding a video host that accepts the .mov file type. My aunt told me about One True Media and it took literally all night to upload the file but it worked! I have been trying to do this for three days.

Anyway, this is a video clip from one of the songs that the kids did in the Christmas musical at church. Sean really had a great time and even mentioned that he may want to be in the kids choir. Pretty cool. He's the one with the mo hawk next to the girl in the purple dress.

**Post was edited to remove video. If you missed it, email me and I will send you the link.**

Today's Blessing

Snow - Part 2

Well it has taken me a few days to get back to my blog but I wanted to post some more snow pictures. We were able to go outside for a little while and play in it. Matthew wasn't real sure about it at first but once his big brother pegged him in the head with a snow ball he caught on pretty quick. They had a good time. Hopefully we will have a few more days like this before the winter is over. I love it as long as I don't have to drive in it :0)


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We have SNOW!!! Lots of it!

I'm sure everyone's blogs will look much the same this morning if you live anywhere in the vicinity of middle Tennessee. This post is for my loved ones that are living in HOT, SUNNY Florida. My mom said it has been very hot the past few days.

It's been raining here almost non stop for two days. Yesterday around 4:00 it started sleeting and it wasn't long after that that the flakes started falling. BIG ONES. Within probably 30 to 45 minutes the ground had a good coating of snow on it. This is what we woke up to this morning. It's so pretty. Hopefully we will be able to get outside with the boys and play in it for a little while.

While it is a beautiful site it also brings trouble. The roads are slick and there are wrecks all over the interstate this morning. They are saying on the news that on I-65 between Petyonsville Road and 840 is really bad and there are a few wrecks in that stretch. Danny will be leaving for work soon and has to go that way so hopefully it won't be as treacherous as the media makes it sound.

Anyway, enjoy my pictures and maybe later we will have some of a snowball fight!

Someone Else's Shoes

Saturday was the Stone Soup Christmas camp at church. Danny and I have never worked with special needs families before but we were really being led to serve this ministry. It seems like over the last few weeks it has just been in our face if you know what I mean. It was obvious that God wanted us there.

Anyway, I had the blessing of working with the children of a dear friend of mine. She has twin boys ages 3 that are autistic. Lorinda and I took care of them and their other two siblings for the day. Her children were absolutely wonderful the entire time. And it was a long day for them. I have to say that spending the day with these boys gave me a small insight as to life in someone elses shoes. At first the boys were distant and we couldn't get them to sit in a chair for 5 seconds to do a craft or any activity but we quickly learned that these little angels were full of energy and wanted to get it out! So we spent a good part of the day just letting them run and play. They love things with wheels, especially cars. There was a push cart that they liked riding on. By the end of the day they had warmed up to us enough that they played a game where they would sit and wait for you to open your arms and then run too you and bless you with a big old hug. It was great. The boys don't talk so it was a little tough getting to know their likes and dislikes but we made it through.

Being with these children for a few hours and seeing what their parents go through each day to make life as normal as can be for their families made me realize how truly fortunate I am to have three healthy children. The ability of communication is such a huge gift that we take for granted. Another is the ability for our children to focus and find contentment in the company of others. Now, I'm not saying these children are not perfect in every way. God made them so we know they are. I'm just saying it made me realize that what I go through day to day is nothing compared to the daily lives of the parents I met on Saturday.

The next time I get frustrated with my kids because they are being too chatty I will think back on this and be thankful for it.

If you are not familiar with the Stone Soup story here it is:

The Stone Soup Legend

There exists a tale, handed down from times long ago, of two travelers on a pilgrimage. Hungry and tired from a long day’s journey, they come to a small, impoverished, medieval village, where they decide to rest by the side of the road. One of the travelers builds a small fire, upon which he places a large pot, while the other, having drawn water from the town well, fills the pot and places into the vessel a simple stone. As the two men sit by the fire, bringing their "stone soup" to a boil, the local villagers become inquisitive of the curious antics of these strangers. Eventually, several townsfolk decide to investigate the matter and approach the two travelers to engage them in conversation.

Shortly thereafter, there is heard the sound of merriment, as the visitors, who turn out to be quite friendly, share their tales of the lands and people they have met throughout their journey and pilgrimage with the local villagers.

Finally, a young boy asks the travelers "But why, pray thee, are you boiling a stone?"

One of the pilgrims replies, "So we may eat stone soup."

"It must be terribly bland!" says an old woman. "But I have a cabbage, which will add some flavor!"

"And I, some carrots, which will add color!" says another villager.

"Some potatoes!", offers another, until, shortly, by the contribution of a little by many, a hearty stew was made, upon which the entire village and the weary pilgrims dined... and while doing so, shared their tales, talents, and camaraderie throughout the night.

The very next day, the travelers (who by now could be called "strangers" no more), continued their journey, leaving the little town, and its people, behind. But the villagers never forgot them, and the lesson they had learned. In fact, during the hardest of times, in such a time as this tale, that little village thrived, because the townsfolk never forgot how to make "stone soup".

Such is the legend of the "Stone Soup Story".

A Frugal Affair

My Aunt Erin has joined me in the coupon game and she found some really good sites to help save money. If you click the link to her blog she has the savings sites linked up. I used the info on Southern Savers to come up with a Publix shopping list. For $53 I loaded my cart up with some good stuff!