Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! It is a gorgeous day in Georgia and I find that I have much to be thankful for today. I have decided to bring the family in on this post and let them say what they are thankful for, so here we go...

Kayla is thankful for electricity, running water, family and friends, and school, and Horizons - that's it!

Tyler is thankful for mommy and daddy, cousins, and teachers, and turkey, and teachers, that's all!

Craig is thankful for a week off of work, and a wife who makes really great pumpkin pie! (I did not tell him to say that!)

Lisa is thankful for a wonderful husband and healthy children, thankful for my family and friends, a Savior who loves me and who's grace is always sufficient!

This Thanksgiving is a little different for us. We usually are either having a bunch of people here or are in Tennessee. This year we are dining at James and Shannon's with James' mom. It feels strange not to be scurring around this morning getting the turkey in the oven and getting the fixin's ready! I think it is going to be a very relaxing day! Thank you J&S for spending the day with us! To our parents and family - we will miss you tons, but we are glad that you are spending the day with other family and friends! Have a great Turkey Day!

Furniture Anyone?

Okay, so I have the following items for sale for cheap! If you are interested in either one, call me and I'll let you know the specifics!

Demolition

That is what my house has become - a demolition project! The kitchen is almost finished except the grout on the backsplash and the floor that probably won't happen for several more months. Craig is off this week and he has started on building my closet. Actually the closet is built, but we are closing off one door and moving it around to the kitchen side which means that he is having to drywall and redo molding in the living room. He has just told me that we are getting ready to embark on the messiest project ever. I'm scared!!! We are getting rid of the entertainment center as well and since that is sitting against the wall that he is doing all of this work on I had to empty that out so that it could be moved out to the garage. Our videos, DVD's, and CD's, and games are in a big green Rubbermaid tub and you want to know the funny part??? Our TV is on top of the green tub. Can you say "redneck"? We might put the furniture out on the front porch! Ok, maybe not. So, this week will be filled with dirt, dust, furniture strewn around, and basically, constant upheaval. I'm so thankful that we are not having Thanksgiving here - that would be stressing me out! Pictures and more updates to come throughout the week!

Girlfriends

Tyler was cracking us up on the way home from school today. Now, ya'll know that I do NOT advocate boyfriends and girlfriends until you are much, much older than what my kids are, BUT, Tyler gets so funny about girls sometimes that I just had to share this. He told Craig and I on the way out from school today that he had a girlfriend, named Erin. I said, "really, is she pretty?". His reply - you are going to love this...

"Well, some parts of her body are pretty"!

He was not being mean in the least just stating his observatins. Oh, it made us crack up.

Full Speed Ahead

I have pretty much been going 90 MPH this last week and cannot believe that it has been over a week since I posted last! That is crazy! There has been a lot going on to say the least. I have done a ton of fun stuff with friends the last week and it has been so much fun to get caught up with people and to also spend some time with people that I don't always get to see. I have found a new hobby! I played Bunko with some friends last Thursday and had a wonderful time. Since then I have added two more Bunko games to my December calendar, one of which is a couples Bunko night so that such be a lot of fun. S and I spent a day in the rain last week over in Aiken playing at Hobby Lobby - can you believe that we didn't even buy anything! I also got to enjoy a girl's night out this week and catch up with a couple of friends.

So, while I have been enjoying this very fun social life the past week, my husband has been slaving away in the kitchen! My back splash is all the way up, my pink walls are gone! Yea! I have to say - he has done a fantastic job - thanks babe! It still has to be grouted in, but the tile is all up. He is off next week and we'll be working on the storage closet. From one project to the next!

On a Graceful Designs note, it has been very busy, which is a great thing. However, it was apparently a little bit too much for Gertrude because her mother board gave up the ghost on Tuesday. Can I tell you how very uncool that was? Thankfully, our handy dandy repairman is going to try to get her back to us by the end of the week. Thanks Jeff! She is mine for one more week and then gets to go back to Holly's for the month of December.

I'm starting to really get organized and ready for Christmas. We are going to have a house full of people including both sets of parents and my brother and his family. I'm looking forward to having everyone here! I have almost all of my shopping done so that is a load of my mind. I still have a few things to finish up and hope to get to those in the next week or two.

Does that catch me up? I think so! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Commercial Soapbox

Okay, so yesterday I felt like I had been run over twice by a really big truck so I spent the entire evening yesterday camped out on the couch in front of the television. This is not something I normally do. As a matter of fact, Craig and I have one show that we watch every Tuesday night, we watch football on Saturday, and that is pretty much it. The TV is on at other times, but I'm not usually in there watching it. I know you are all wishing I would get to the point, right? Well, I was astounded by the commercials last night. I may have posted on this before, if I have then bear with me cause I am going to post on it again. First of all, have ya'll seen some of these drug commericials? Oh my goodness! Craig and I were getting the biggest charge out of those last night. There was this one commercial for this depression medication. I'm not down playing depression - I think it is very real and does sometimes require medication, but, come on people. Would you rather be depressed or experience the side effects of this medicine. I am not kidding, it is terrible. "If you take this you may experience fainting when standing, death, high sugar levels that may lead to a coma or DEATH, yellowing around the eyes or difficulty with your liver, tingling in your arms, legs, hands, itchy ears, stinky feet, frequent urination, constipation, diarrhea. I mean the list goes on. Okay, some of those I just added for fun, but seriously, the possible side effects are worse than the drug! Then there was one about frequent urination - yes, I am going to go here! So the commerical shows these guys on this golf course and it is discussing the need to "go" often. The side effects of this medicine - passing out when standing up among other things. Oh, isn't that great, instead of having to use the bathroom on the golf course I may pass out instead. Yea, that wouldn't be embarrassing. At least maybe you wouldn't, you know, "go" on yourself WHEN you pass out. Give me a break!

Okay, then the other one that I saw was just not humorous at all. Have ya'll seen the Macy's commercial about Santa Claus? We don't do Santa. Before you freak out, my children know about Santa, we joke about Santa, we have even had breakfast with Santa. However, we do NOT celebrate Santa at Christmas. My children know that Christmas is about the birth of Christ; we may throw a little Santa in for fun, but that is it. They even know that mom and dad by their gifts. So, this commercial has several celebrities (Martha Stewart included, don't get me started) that are saying different things about Christmas. For a moment I honestly thought, "wow, are they promoting the birth of Jesus at Christmas time". NO, they are not. They kept saying things like, "it only takes the faith of a child", and "it is a love that goes on and on forever".(I don't remember the exact words but this was the jest of it) So you want to know what they were advertising? SANTA CLAUS - apparently at Macy's you can now go and mail your Christmas letters to Santa. It was sickening. I looked at Craig and said, "wow, they just made Santa look just like Jesus Christ". We will NOT be going to Macy's to mail letters to Santa. If you play Santa at your house, I'm not bashing you, but it is so important that our children understand the REAL meaning of Christmas and WHO Christmas is about.

I'm stepping down off of my soapbox now...

Catching Up

Well, here I am again, Monday morning and playing catch up! Last week was a blur. I have been struggling with some things and just did not function well at all last week. I pray this week is better. I have been covered up with Graceful Designs stuff which is a huge blessing. I worked all day Thursday, Friday afternoon, and all day Saturday, and I'm still not caught up, and still have people bringing stuff. It is awesome!

Kayla had a sleepover at my neighbor's house on Friday night and while she was doing that, Craig, and Tyler, and I went out to do a little shopping. Craig and I have decided that for Christmas for each other this year we are going to buy a couple of pieces of furniture. It is so fun right now, but on Christmas morning I'll be sad that I don't have any gifts to open! Pitiful, huh - I'm still a little kid at heart. You know you are too! Anyway, I have been searching the stores for the perfect table/cabinet for this spot in my dining room and on Friday I found it. So, we went and bought it and guess what? It is too big for my spot. Can I just be honest and tell you that for a few minutes I wanted to have a two year old size tantrum and throw myself on the floor and kick and scream? Yea, well, I resisted, but I still wanted to! So, that has to go back to the store, and I will continue to look. We did end up with a book shelf for my hallway and I was excited about that.

On Saturday, Craig played in a golf tournament while I embroidered all day. And then Saturday evening we went to a Sunday School fall fellowship at a friend's house. We had a great time and my children played so hard. Tyler was so upset when it was time to leave. It was a great time of fellowship and food and fun. And it was cold! That just adds something, you know! Drinking coffee around the fire pit and making smores! It just doesn't get any better than that! Thanks J&D for opening your home!

Yesterday started our fall revival at church and I just loved it. I love this preacher's style of preaching. He is very easy to listen to and just tells it like it is. I'm going to try to sneak away from work today for the lunch time message and then we have service Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night. I'm looking so forward to it. He is preaching through the book of Jude.

We signed Kayla up for basketball yesterday. She did not exactly enjoy playing last year so I am shocked that she wanted to play again. I'm also sad because she is too old this year to play with the kids she played with last year, but, I guess we will make friends with a whole new group this season!

We don't have anything extraordinary planned for this week, it will mostly just be work, school, Graceful Designs, church, etc. Not necessarily in that order, but you know what I mean! I hope everyone has a great week!

Smokin' Hot

What is smokin' hot? Apparently, my daughter. Kayla and I had an enlightening conversation this morning in which she told me that one of her classmates told his friend that Kayla was "smokin' hot", in the appearance sense, not the bodily temperature sense. In an age of hot flashes and hormone surges, I'm hoping to goodness she was sweaty and hot after leaving recess or something and Mr. Joe Cool is just making a harmless observation. Not the case. Ya'll, he called my baby "smokin' hot". I just want to go on record as saying that my daughter is NOT hot! Cute, yes. Pretty, absolutely. Hot, NO!!! Smokin' hot implies something very distasteful in my book, especially when you are talking about a 9 year old. May my husband and I instill in Tyler a respectfulness for girls and women alike to not tell somebody that they are smokin' hot unless he is married to her! Do these parents of these boys not realize how much harder they are making my job? We have always tried to teach Kayla that inner beauty is far more important than outer beauty. That if you are the most beautiful creature in the world and are ugly on the inside, that that ugly will always come through on the outside, and that's what will be seen. Arrrgh! Want to know something else? Last week when we were having our annual Halloween dinner with the H's, Kayla was telling about some friends at school and I have to admit I was only half listening b/c she was talking to Uncle James. However, I hear her say something about "making out" and my ears instantly perked up. It seems that some of her friends were saying that this boy and girl were making out at recess or something. WHAT???? They are in FOURTH GRADE! The bad thing is is that I asked Kayla if she even knew what that meant and she did! Let me assure you that I did not teach her about making out! Before half of you wonder if I am going to pull her out and start homeschooling, the answer is no. For all of my homeschool friends, and I have a bunch, I love ya'll dearly, and I think what you do is amazing. I also think that homeschooling is a very special calling that God does not give everyone. If God had not given Craig and I clear directions when Kayla started Kindergarten maybe I would be considering it. Our friend that we carpool with and us had our kids enrolled and ready to start Kindergarten at a small Christian school in the area. In May (school starts in August), the school shut down - no warning, no nothing. At that time Craig and I really explored our options and really felt that God was leading us to Brookwood so that Kayla, as well as us, could be a light and a testimony there. I think we have done that and we will continue to do that until God tells us otherwise, but somedays it is hard. Especially on the days when my daughter gets educated about something that I didn't know about until much later in life! I was just reading another blogger's entry this morning about praying for our kids. We MUST pray for our children, they are under attack in so many ways. Lift your kids up today whether they are doing school in a classroom somewhere or whether they are doing school at your kitchen table - they need our prayers!

The Worst Ever

Yea, that title pretty much sums up my pedicure that I went and got yesterday afternoon. I don't indulge in getting my nails done as much as I used to, but they were pretty bad and I had some time. Let me explain my time. Kayla had a birthday party from 2-5 yesterday and Craig and I were supposed to be in an AWANA meeting at 4:30. So, it was decided that I would take Kayla to the party and instead of coming all the way back home I would do some Christmas shopping, maybe take in a cup of coffee with my book, maybe a pedicure. Craig would take wild boy and go to the meeting. Yea, worked out good for me, huh? So, I set off on my afternoon of bliss. Dropped Kayla off at the party - what could be more fun than lots of junk food, laser tag and putt-putt for three hours? After that I went to a few stores and got some more Christmas shopping done (more on Christmas in my next post!), so then I had about an hour and a half before I had to pick Kayla up. Now, I have a regular nail place that I go to when I get my nails done, but I was on the opposite end of town completely out of my comfort zone and I was on a time schedule. So I finally find this little place that looks like it is not very busy (HELLO, should a light bulb have went off at this point?) and I mosey in there with my book looking forward to being pampered while I read and have my back rubbed by a chair with massaging hands built into it. Sure enough I walk in and notice there is not another soul getting a pedicure, somebody shouts at me to pick a color and then this YOUNG BOY begins to draw water in the tub at one of the chairs. My first thought is "wow, he's young, he must be a helper or something, surely there is someone else to do my nails." Yea, well, that thought vanished when he plopped himself down at the foot of my chair. The next thing that I notice is that there are two HUGE screen TV's up in the place and they are both playing football. FOOTBALL!!!! I can watch football at home; at the nail salon I want Lifetime television or the cooking channel or HGTV, NOT FOOTBALL. The story goes on and I got my pedicure, but I was so close to getting up and walking out and I don't usually do that sort of thing, but I was close. This boy, who was maybe 18, proceeded to give me a very mediocre pedicure all while watching two football games, monitoring his laptop, and answering multiple phone calls on his cell phone! I was livid. I kid you not, he was filing my poor toenails with his eyes glued to the television that was BEHIND him! UUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!! Oh, and on top of that, my comfortable chair, well, let me tell you --- have ya'll sat in these chairs where there are also massaging hands in the seat of the chair? That's right, you basically get your backside massaged along with your back. I'm SO NOT about that! Well, this chair also did this air thing where it kind of filled up with air and then compressed until.... well, I'll let your imagination figure out the rest. I have to admit that I did leave it on for a few minutes hoping to goodness that it would compress a few pounds off of my rearend, but I don't think it helped!