I am such a dork!

Am I tired or what??? I typed up 2008 in review...not 2007! I even posted on a few blogs: Hope you have a great 2009! I bet they're wondering why I don't wish them a happy 2008! LOL

I am TOO tired! I think I'll go back to bed for a year and then it'll be 2009!

HAPPY 2008!!!

Tagged!

by Perri: Here's how it works:


Link to the person that tagged you (check)


Post the rules on your blog. (check)


Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, (this is hard!)


Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. (random..as in strangers?)


Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


Seven Random Facts about Teresa:


1. My name is Teresa and I am called Teresa...not Terri. Not that there's anything wrong with that name, but when I introduce myself as Teresa, please do not say "Nice to meet you, Terri." (been there, done that...cringed)

2. On Thursday of last week I found out that Hydrogen Peroxide is a great blood stain remover. That may explain why I was strangely happy when Neal cut his finger on a nail Friday and got blood on the carpet. Sick, huh?

3. I was also sickly excited when Ben had a nosebleed Saturday morning and I had another blood stain to clean up.

4. Hydrogen Peroxide does work in cleaning up blood stains!

5. I have a calendar fetish. I have a calendar in almost every room in my house: kitchen, school room, Beth's room, Ben's room, the kids bathroom, and our bathroom. I also carry a pocket sized calendar in my purse.

6. After two years, I am almost finished with the "read the Bible through in a year" plan! Maybe I'll make it through in one year in 2009!

7. I am opposed to "Blu Ray Discs." Why can't they stop at DVDs and leave well enough alone!

Okay, that's it about me. Here's who I tag:

1. Amy
2. Andi
3. Jenny
4. Lyn
5. Sarah
6. Anthony
7. Marsha

2007 (not 2008) in Review

Perri tagged me for another post, but I'm having a hard time coming up with things to write for that one...so I'll start off with reviewing 2007 (not 2008). I've typed the first sentence from the first post of each month in 2007 (not 2008). If you want to read further about that particular post, you can click on the sentence. The first three months are from my old blog. Here goes...

January: My 2006 in Review

Okay, I got this idea from my friend Perri.

February: SNOW DAY!

Shortly after waking up this morning, I shuffled into the kitchen, flipped on the radio, and started the coffee.

March: It's Working -- Too Late

I can't believe it's working now...my blog that is.


April: Baseball and Allergies

Warm temperatures, tulips, daffodils, green grass, budding trees, POLLEN!

May: Driving???

Here's Ben "driving" and Beth telling him what he's doing wrong!

June: Our Super Baseball Player

Ben had a fun season playing baseball with a local church league.

July: Happy 4th of July!

I walked through a county courthouse square,

On a park bench an old man was sitting there.

August: It's Friday! Yaah! I love Fridays!

September: I'm a Girly Girl

I found this on Amy's Blog. Let me know if you do it.

October: Potato Soup Pizza

Since I've been grinding my own wheat the last 4 months, we eat a lot more pizza around here!

November: Yuck!

Last night in the gym at church:

Ben: "I have some bad news."

December: Late Thanksgiving Post

I just downloaded the pictures from my camera and came across this picture of my Cranberry Supreme Salad.

That was kind of fun...for me, anyway. :o) It's fun to look back and see what I've written. Lots of things I would have forgotten if I had not written them down! If you do this on your blog, let me know!

Happy 2008 (not 2009 -- although I wish you a happy 2009 in another year!)!!!

Just Call me Carol...

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Very Brady Christmas

For you, it's all about sharing times with family. Even if you all get a bit cheesy at times.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

My Skating Rink

I was able to download a short video of my skating rink. I love the music, but after a while it gets tiring...I'm so glad there's a volume control on it!

(Okay...I was able to see the video when I previewed my post. Is it showing up for anyone?)

A Few of my Favorite Things

These are a few of my favorite things around the house right now:

I have a huge Christmas village, but this year I only set out a few pieces. I was overwhelmed at the thought of having to pack them back up after Christmas! I kind of like it simpler this year for some reason.


This is the skating rink that Neal purchased for me many years ago! The skaters actually skate around and there's Christmas music playing. The ferris wheel moves, too.


A close-up of the tree stand. I would love to buy a tree there!


Here's our tree this year. I just love to sit and look at it.


Every year Neal and I purchase an ornament with the year on it. This is the ornament from our first Christmas as a married couple.


This ornament was made when Ben was about a month old. His hand is so tiny! I love this ornament!


A couple of years ago, Mom gave me some ornaments from when I was a kid. This one was one of my favorites. I can remember decorating the tree while we played Christmas records on the stereo (yes, records! You know...big CD's.) I love the old Christmas songs performed by Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra.


Have to have a Virginia Tech ornament or two on our tree!


This is one of the ornaments I decorated early in our marriage. I set out to have a "Victorian Tree." It worked until the kids came along, and then any thoughts of a theme tree went out the window! (But that's OK!) :o)


I'd love to see other people's favorite ornaments and decorations! Let me know if you post them on your blog.

Some thoughts on....

The Golden Compass.

No surprise...I'm not going to watch it, and I will not allow my children to watch it. I read an excellent post on a blog that I read that explains very succinctly the way I feel about supporting this movie. I'm going to paraphrase a part of her post for those of you who don't have the time to go over and read her entire post:

There are missionaries all over the word who are dying (yes, dying)or risking their lives due to their commitment to spread the gospel and tell others of Christ. So why in the world would I want to go and support a movie that does the exact opposite of what these missionaries are doing?

Instead, take that money and do something worthwhile with it: support a missionary, or an orphan in a foreign country, or, heck, why not right here in the good ol' USA?! Help out a homeless mission. You don't even have to be a "Believer" to see the common sense in using your money in a more worthwhile way.

There are several "children's" movies/tv shows that we do not allow our children to watch simply because they're a waste of time, or the kids have terrible attitudes that I don't want to portray as okay to my kids, or for other reasons. This movie, however, I will not support just because it is dangerous. Yes, the movie is supposedly watered down and does not have an overtly anti-religious theme (although there are some things in there that I've seen even in movie trailers), but it will just lead children to want to read the books which when you get into the 2nd and 3rd books in the series are very anti-God. Why would I want to support that or the man who wrote the books?

By the way, if you're an athiest doesn't that mean you don't believe in God? So, if God's not real why spend so much time and money trying to kill Him in the eyes of children?

Cookies

Here are two really good (if you like peanut butter) recipes. And they are SO easy!


Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

1 cup peanut butter (I like chunky)
1 cup sugar
1 egg

24 Hershey Kisses

Mix top three ingredients together. Form into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Pull out of oven and place unwrapped Kiss on top of cookie. Place on cooling rack or waxed paper to cool. It will take a few hours for the kisses to harden (if they make it that long!)


I Don't Know the Name of These Cookies, Cookies

Box of Ritz Crackers
Smooth Peanut Butter
Chocolate Bark

Spread peanut butter on one Ritz Cracker and put another cracker on top. Melt chocolate and dip peanut butter crackers into it. Place on waxed paper to harden. (You can also use white chocolate bark. And if you want to decorate them you can sprinkle the colored sugar on them while they are still wet.)

Duh...

I hate it when I myspel words or names, and I really did a doozy this time. (side note: did you know that doozy is not a word. I know because we play Scrabble last night and I looked it up. It's not a word!) Anyway, I did a doozy. I announced a couple of days ago on my blog that Neal and I are supporting "Mike." (BTW -- I was quite disappointed that the news channels didn't carry the story that the "B" family has come out in support of Mike Huckabee. They told that Jerry Falwell, Jr. was supporting him. Hmmpff (don't know how to spell that one either). Anyway, I digress. The other day I misspelled Huckabee. I actually misspelled it today on Andi's blog, too. Embarrassing! It is not Huckaby...it is Huckabee. So don't vote for Mike Huckaby. Vote for Mike Huckabee. :o)

(Edit: I misspelled misspelled when I wrote this. I would also like to know why when I did my spell check that they gave me the option of the word Gospel for myspel. Huh???)

Have You Ever...

You know when you pay for something with a credit card at Walmart or some other store, and one of the last questions the credit card swipey machine asks you is "Is this Total okay?" Don't you seriously just want to look at the clerk and say "No, I would like a lower total, please?" And then just stand there with a deadpan look on your face and watch her squirm?

Our Day Started With A Thump...

Neal decided to take today off to go deer hunting. So at 5:45ish this morning he got up and got ready to go. I got up a little after 6:00 because I had a busy day ahead of me and I knew if I didn't do my Bible reading first thing I'd never get it done. So while Neal finished getting ready I sat on the couch and read my Bible. Around 6:30 he kissed me goodbye and went out the front door. About 3 seconds later I hear "THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.". It didn't really sound like that, but I don't know how to spell bwoom, bwoom, bwoom, bwoom, and I hear a big groan and then a big moan (you know the difference don't you?). I rush to the door and flip on the light and there my husband is on the ground at the bottom of the stairs. Unbeknownst to us, it was raining outside (what's the big deal, right?), but it was also 28 degrees! His feet flew out from under him before he even took the first step down! Poor guy! He slowly got up to his feet, and said he didn't break anything and went on hunting. So after my heart slowed down, I sat back down and continued my Bible study after praying for my husband. :o)

I had an appointment 20 minutes away at 7:50 am, so at 7:15 I *carefully* went out and started my car. Boy, was it slick out there. I still hadn't listened to any news or weather reports though. I'm thinking "no big deal, it won't be slick on the roads." Well, it was a big deal...the roads were covered in ice. The first accident I saw (or at least saw the traffic backed up from it) was just past our house. We have a bridge near us that goes over a bypass...the cars were backed up for who knows how long on that road. Still, I thought "no big deal." I had to go to this appointment so I really didn't have a choice. The only other option I had was to go later in the day, but I had a full day scheduled and didn't think I could fit it in.

Long story short...it took me over an hour to get to my appointment. I passed at least 5 accidents on the way...bad ones. One was on a bridge that goes over the James River. A large panel truck rear ended a small car...the car had a carseat in the backseat (the ambulance had already taken the people away). I prayed that child was okay. The second was a few yards past the bridge, and it was a very large SUV on its side. Scary.

Before I left my appointment to come back home, I called the house to check on the kids. Neal answered the phone. I excitedly asked him if he got a deer (since he was home already). He said "no...I'm in pain...it's raining...and it's COLD." He came home. He has been parked in the recliner all day icing his back. When I got home I looked at it and his lower back was swollen and a knot had formed. We think he broke his coccyx (sp?). I think only time will heal this injury...I just hope it's not too long for his sake.

So that was our day up to 9:30 am. I was ready to go back to bed and start all over!

Tiger Beat Questions

I found this on Perri's blog who found it on her friend's blog. Just some goofiness from a 1967 Tiger Beat magazine on this cold December morning:

what is your favorite flower? Carnations (bouquets with all different colors)

what is the most insane question you’ve ever been asked? Do your kids get enough socialization? (Please if they were any more socialized I couldn't stand them!)

what word in the english language do you wish you’d invented? logorrhea (we use this word often to describe our daughter's talking habits)

where would you like to live? I'm quite content where I am...just add on a garage and a screened in porch and I'll be even happier. :o)

what is the first quote that comes to your mind? "I'm your huckleberry." Yes, I am stuck on Tombstone right now.

what do you miss about your childhood? Sitting on my Daddy's lap and listening to his heart beat.

who's your favorite villain? Villian? Hmmmm....Spiderman movies are big at our house right now so I'll choose the Sandman.

what was your favorite subject in school? computer lab

in what hour of the day do you function best? from 5:00 to 6:00 pm (that's when I'm moving around making supper)

if you could change your name, what would you change it to? I'm already Mother Teresa, so who can beat that?

what is the main fault in your character? faults? I don't have any faults? Who are you kidding??? (pride?)

who is your favorite historical figure? In recent history I'd say Ronald Reagan

what in the world do you least desire? Being stuck upside down on a roller coaster.

finish this sentence: “happiness is a thing called…” Love! (the love of my Heavenly Father, my family and my friends)

I Got Elfed!

Hey, I just made a total elf of myself. Check it out by clicking this link below.

If that doesn't work, you can copy and paste this into your browser:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1174042109


Thanks, Jenny, for this funny idea!

I Like Mike!

Less than a year until we have to choose a new President. Yikes! Well, Neal and I have finally decided on who we would like to see be our Republican candidate. There are others that would be good choices, as well, but Mike Huckaby is our favorite.

I was looking at Jenny's blog tonight and found this clip and it just added to my reasons why "I Like Mike."

For those of you who've watched the movie "Tombstone," here's my slogan for Mike:

"I'm your Huckaby."

Priceless

Beth just told me what her Daddy told her the other night on their date. He said, "Tonight is like one of those commercials:

Gas to drive to restaurant: $3.00

Cost of meal: $75.00

Date with my daughter: PRICELESS!"

Beth's Birthday

Beth's new bedspread. She wants to redo her room in blue and brown. Next we'll have to paint the walls.

Neal took Beth out on a "date" for her 13th birthday. They went to what is probably the nicest restaurant in our town (and most expensive, too). She got to experience having several courses, different forks, and a server who would refill her drink after she would take a couple of sips. She really enjoyed the restaurant and experience, but mostly she enjoyed valuable time spent with her Daddy.

Neal also gave Beth a ring. He called it her "Princess Ring." He told her that when she looked at it she should remember that she is her Daddy's Princess, and that she is also a child of the King (speaking, of course, of God our Father).

Late Thanksgiving Post

I just downloaded the pictures from my camera and came across this picture of my Cranberry Supreme Salad. It was the first salad I'd made in a gelatin mold. Not difficult, just a little time consuming. I'm not a big gelatin salad fan either, but for some reason I was in the mood to try one. Several people said they liked it though. :o)

1 3 oz pkg raspberry-flavored gelatin (I used sugar-free)
2 cups boiling water, divided
1 16 oz can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 3 oz pkg lemon-flavored gelatin (again sugar-free)
1 3 oz pkg cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)
1/3 cup mayo (reduced fat)
1 8 1/2 oz can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup whipping cream (I used 1 cup of Cool Whip)
1 cup miniature marshmallows (I used, uh, well, miniature marshmallows ;o)

Dissolve raspberry gelatin in 1 cup boiling water; stir in cranberry sauce. Pour into an oiled 1-1/2 qt round mold. Chill until partially set. Dissolve lemon gelatin in remaining boiling water; set aside. Beat cream cheese and mayo; gradually add lemon gelatin. Stir in pineapple. Chill until partially set. Whip cream; fold into the lemon mixture. Add marshmallows. Spread on top of the cranberry layer. Chill until set. Yield: 12 servings.

I'm the Parent of a ....

TEENAGER! Today is Beth's 13th Birthday! We're calling this her "Princess Birthday." I'll explain more about that Friday. I don't want her to read anything she shouldn't yet. ;o)

She is such a blessing in our lives, and I'm so thankful that God allowed us to raise her!

I love you Beth!

Postcards Across America

As I mentioned in a much earlier post, Ben is doing a state history project where he is collecting postcards from all 50 states. These are the states we still need:

Arizona
Colorado
Georgia (I can't believe that!)
Idaho
Kansas
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Utah
West Virginia
Wyoming

(I do have a Hoover Dam postcard that I can use for Nevada, but we're trying to get the state on the front of all the postcards.)

Do you live in one of these states??? ;o)

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the puzzle if you want to scramble it and put it together. It will take you to the Jigzone puzzle page though. Come on back after you solve it and tell me what you think.

My Family Life

Perri found this in a Family Circle magazine in a section entitled "My Family Life" and posted the questions on her blog. If you answer the questions on your blog, let me know...

I don't want my children to be spoiled so I make sure they...
Do chores ... even the stuff they don't wanna do, and we don't give them everything they want.

I may not be a perfect chef, but my kids love it when I cook....
just about anything! But they especially love anything Mexican I make.

I felt like Super Mom when I .....
gave birth to my children!

I realized I had turned into my mom when I heard myself say.....
"Your eyes are going to stick that way!"

They may not thank me now, but when they're older my children will thank me for....
Making them work around the house and do their school work!

My proudest moment as a mom was...
Wow, there are so many. I guess anytime they think of others before themselves.

My most prized gift from my children are...
Besides stretch marks??? The photo collage they gave me for Mother's Day this year.

My kids know not to interrupt me when....
I'm taking a nap. ;o)

Okay...let me know your answers!

Bloglines

I finally signed up for Bloglines and I really like it. I have a little icon at the bottom of my page that alerts me when one of the blogs I read has a new message. Pretty cool! I don't have to surf all over the net trying to find out who has blogged.

The downside to Bloglines is that some of my friends also have it, and they don't post on my blog much anymore. I can understand because you can read the post on your Bloglines page, but I miss my friends coming and letting me know they were there! So, if you are one of those friends, please pop on over every now and then and leave me a message! I need the encouragement. :o)

It was her lucky day!

I went hunting with my husband yesterday. That's a first for me! I grew up with hunters, but had never gone hunting.

Neal is not a hunter. He doesn't enjoy it, but we enjoy venison and we're all out! So Neal went hunting yesterday morning and was gone four hours. He didn't see one deer. Then yesterday around 4:00, he and I set out to see if we could get one in the late evening hours. We walked back on our property and found a spot on the side of the hill up above the big creek, just below the meadow. I carried a blanket for us to sit on (and boy was I glad I did, because that ground was cold). We sat there for almost an hour with only seeing a squirrel. Then I see Neal's hand slowly come over and grab my knee and with a slight nod he showed me where the deer was standing. After my eyes adjusted to the area he was nodding toward, I could see her standing there. Then she slowly turned her head and looked at me. Right in the eye (or so it seemed). She was so beautiful! I thought "how can we shoot her? Maybe I should make a sudden movement and save her life." Then I remembered...."doe season doesn't start until tomorrow."

It was her lucky day!

Neal just left to go hunting again this morning. I had to stay home because I have a cough and it's pretty bad in the mornings. For some reason he didn't want me out there hacking and coughing! I bet that doe will wish I had come!

The Spirit of Christmas Award

My friend Amy, awarded me with The Spirit of Christmas Award. I was very touched and honored when I read what this means:

"This award is for those who talk about and show the spirit of Christmas in their blogs.

What is the Spirit of Christmas you ask?

Quite simply it is those that have a generous and giving nature. Those who care about others. Those who have a kind word to say or a broad shoulder to lean on in the times that others need that. Those who display the “Spirit of Christmas”.

I am giving it to five and you should too. Those that have touched your heart with their kind and giving and caring nature."

I want to give this award to the five following bloggers, because they are so good at encouraging and lifting me up...even if it's just through my reading their blogs, or nice comments they leave on my blog. Thank you, Amy....

Marsha at Our Homeschool and Other Such Happenings

Perri at My Life in Bits and Pieces

Jenny at Virginia's Family Adventures

Angie -- Even though she doesn't have a blog, she exemplifies the Spirit of Christmas Award. She does have a website for her face painting business though -- Faces Alive.

Beth -- my lovely daughter, even though it would be nice if she blogged more often!

Woo Hoo

Isn't it great to get money in the mail? Ben got this card from his Uncle Darrell and Aunt Jan.

On the inside it said "Feel Free to Woo Hoo" and he did!


Thank you Darrell and Jan! The Wii fund is almost complete!

Here are some pictures that Beth and I took of each other last Friday.

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm......

I read this on Amy's blog and thought it would be fun to do.

The rules are: Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the questions. They must be real places, names, things … nothing made up! If you can’t think of anything, skip it. You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question. If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can’t use my answers! So join in the fun…

My name: Teresa
Famous Singer: Tony Orlando (that's a blast from the past!)
Four letter word: Trip
Street: Taylor St.
Color: Tan
Gifts/Presents: Toys
Vehicle: Taurus
Things in a Souvenir Shop: taxes
Boy’s Name: Tony
Girl’s Name: Toni
Movie Title: Top Gun
Drink: Tea
Occupation: Taxicab Driver
Celebrity: Tom Hanks
Magazine: The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
City: Tallahassee
Pro Sports: Tennis
Fruit: Tangerine
Reason for Being Late for Work: Tire was flat
Something You Throw Away: Toenails
Things You Shout: Totally!
Cartoon Character: Tom (as in Tom & Jerry)

TAG! If you’re reading this and want to Participate, then you’re tagged! But please let me know you did it so I can come read your answers! It’s fun to do!

Beth's Bed

There are three things to look at here.

1. The bed -- we moved Beth into this bed a month or two ago. She had a single bed, and really wanted a full size. This bed was the bed Neal and I used for the first 8 or 9 years of our marriage, and it used to belong to his great-grandfather.

2. The blanket -- this blanket came from South Korea. Beth's grandparents had a friend of ours who is in the military buy it this past spring when he was in Korea. They saved it for her birthday (well, almost....they gave it to her a month or two early when she got the bed) It is the softest blanket!

3. The cat -- that is Beth's pride and joy -- and my adversary! He is beautiful on the outside, but not so much on the inside. The only time he's friendly to us is first thing in the morning when he needs to rub on someone/something, and when he's cold. Otherwise, forget it!

Cheesecake

We had our November birthday dinner at my in-laws last night, and I made this cheesecake. Perri gave me the recipe, and it is pretty good. I didn't process the graham cracker crumbs long enough, so the crust doesn't look too good. I also cut back on the amount of chocolate chips to one cup, and it was still rich enough.

Can anyone tell me how to move a cheesecake off of the springform pan bottom and onto a plate? I always keep it on the pan, but if I wanted to make one for someone else, I wouldn't know how to transfer it.

Mom's Birthday

Sunday was Mom's birthday. She turned 73! When we got home from church we fired up the grill and grilled ribeye steaks and I made baked sweet potatoes and green beans. For dessert I made a peach cobbler! Yum!
Mom and I holding the card I made for her

I loved this picture of Mom and Ben walking back to the car after the Veteran's Day ceremony

Veteran's Day

Sunday, November 11th, was Veteran's Day, but since it was on a Sunday this year it was observed on Monday. The kids and I have been doing a unit study this past week about Veteran's Day. It's been a good study, and now they have a better grasp of what our soldiers are doing and what the soldiers in the past have done for our country. Whether a person supports the war or not, our soldiers are all around the world protecting our freedoms. So support our troops! My friend Perri put this link on her blog. Go to it and you can easily send a soldier a post card! It will take about 30 seconds. I don't think that's too much to ask of us sitting here in our comfortable chairs, is it?

Yesterday Mom and I took the kids to a local Veteran's Day ceremony. For those of you who don't know, my Mom is a veteran. She served in the U.S. Army for two years, from November 10, 1954, until November 9, 1956. She had the rank of Corporal when she finished. I'm very proud of my Mom. Her Mom had 11 children....8 sons and 3 daughters. All 8 sons and 1 daughter served in the military. Some were prisoners of war, and some were wounded, but all came home. Not every parent was that blessed.

Here are some pictures from yesterday:

This is the monument where we gathered

Mom, Beth, and Ben remembering our soldiers


A Veteran saluting as his branch of the military is called out

The Ragged Old Flag (click here to hear this poem/song that they sang while we gazed at this ragged flag)

Another Birthday

Ben is turning 10 tomorrow! I can't believe my "baby" is 10 years old! Where does time go???

Our kids get to have birthday party's on their "even" birthdays, so this was Ben's year to have a birthday party! We had a "Super Hero Training Camp" party on Saturday. He invited 8 boys and they all came! It started at 12:30 and they made their masks. Beth had made several different templates for them to choose from, and then they could decorate them any way they wanted. After the masks, they made posters for a little 10 year old boy named Seth who is having open heart surgery later this month. You can read more about him here. Ben really loved the idea of having everyone make posters for Seth. I came to the realization (again) though that boys really are very different than girls. If I had planned for the girls to make a mask and make a poster, I could have counted on at least an hour to do both of those things(probably longer). Some of the boys were finished after 15 minutes! And, yes, you can tell which ones by looking at their masks and posters. LOL

After that activity we were going to eat, but these dark clouds started rolling in, so we decided to do our outside activities first. They started out with calesthenics, then went to the monkey bars to see how fast they could cross them, then tug of war, and then relay races. By the time the boys finished all of these activities, they were famished. We had hot dogs, chips, carrot sticks and rootbeer. (guess how many kids ate carrot sticks? ONE!) Then we had cupcakes and ice cream cups for dessert. One of the kids suggested making rootbeer floats, so some of them did that.

Back outside for a little more play time, and then time to open the presents! Instead of the typical "open my gift first!" problems, I had them play a game. They all sat in a circle, and I gave one of them a miniature pumpkin (any small object will do). I turned on the music and they started passing the pumpkin. When the music stopped, Ben opened the gift of the boy holding the pumpkin. The kids loved it, and it cut down on a lot of annoying whining! ;o)

After the party, 5 of the 8 boys went with us to a Fall Fest out at a farm. A family in our Sunday school class has our class out every fall and we have hay rides and a chili/soup dinner. They clean out their barn and set up tables and hay bales and we have a great time talking, eating, and going on hayrides. We usually have a bon fire, but this year there's a burning ban because it's so dry.

Finally, both Ben and Beth had a friend spend the night. The boys had fun playing with Ben's new toys, and the girls and I drew/colored pictures for Seth until 11:30. :o) It's fun to sit down a draw pictures!

Happy Birthday, Ben! I love you!!!


No cake this year...just cupcakes (Much Easier!!!)

Here are some of the boys making masks. Neal's looking at the sky to see if it's going to rain! (It didn't, btw!!!)

Here are all the boys. Ben's the one in the short sleeve shirt and fist in the air!

Here they are passing the pumpkin.

One thing I forgot to mention is that each boy jumped on the trampoline and gave us their "super hero pose." I thought this one of Ben was cool, even though you can't see his head. "I'm FLYING!"

Ben running his relay. Go Ben!

Birthdays, Birthdays, Everywhere!

Neal's 41st birthday was last Tuesday...November 6th....Election Day. Poor fella, he works part time for the Registrar's Office in our county and he had to get up at 4:00 Tuesday morning and didn't get home until a little past 10:30 that night! Not much of a birthday!

Since Tuesday and Wednesday were a bust (after work Wednesday he crashed), we decided to celebrate on Friday. I made him one of his favorite dinners: Spicy Curry Chicken and Cous Cous. I made some Flan for dessert (I cheated though -- I used the Jello mix. Shhhh...) Then we went to a play at a local college. They put on a very good production of The Rainmaker. After the play we went to Dairy Queen for a post-play dessert ;o). We all had a great time celebrating with "Daddy."

Who's Smarter than a 4th Grader?

(Observation made by my "almost" 10 year old)

Ben: "If I were on the tv show "Ten Years Younger" I'd disappear."

Mom

For those of you who know my mom, and know she's been having some health issues, I have good news. She had to go to the hospital today for an invasive procedure to check her heart. It wasn't a catherization. They actually went in through her throat and did an ultrasound from the inside. The doctor did an echocardiogram last week and found something unusual at the back of her heart. He couldn't get a good picture of it, so he scheduled todays procedure. It only took about 15 minutes for the test, and then he came out and told me she was fine. He thinks the abornormality with her heart has probably been there since birth. Everything looks fine!

So, after about 3 weeks of going through different tests, it looks like she's free and clear! Thank you, Lord!

Awana Grand Prix

Last Saturday at church we had our annual Awana Grand Prix! Each car kit is five bucks, and you start out with the same size block of wood and set of wheels. Then you can let your imagination fly! There are three categories: Racing Style, Creative Style, and speed. Each grade (3rd - 6th) gets 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each category. Here's a shot of most of the 3rd and 4th grade cars (they weren't all put out yet):

Here's Ben's "Batmobile." He and his Daddy worked very hard on this car and had hours of fun together! (That's the best part)

This is the track they raced on. One of the men in our church made it several years ago, and it is awesome!

Ben was so happy and surprised to get 1st place in Racing Style in the 4th grade division!

Mr. G and his friend Danny Doolittle entertained us before the race. Mr. G (a former Word of Life missionary) gave a short devotional, as well.

Here are some of the creative 5th and 6th grade cars:
Tow Mater (From the movie Cars)

Frog

Hay Wagon

Leopard