Thanksgiving...

The day we celebrate all the things we we are thankful for is upon us. Tomorrow we will all get up early, put the turkey in the oven and get all the other dishes cooked and ready for our meal. Before all the hustle and bustle of the day begins, I'd like to take a few mintues to say what I'm most thankful for this year:

1. My salvation and the abundant grace and mercy given me to me daily by our Heavenly Father

2. My wonderful and ever so patient husband

3. Our beautiful and healthy daughter, Emma

4. Wonderful friends

5. God's constant provision in our lives

6. A house to live in and care for

7. Our families

8. Friendly neighbors

9. An air conditioner in the summer

10. A heater in the winter

11. A church family who loves us and encourages us

12. A job for Jonathan

13. 2 cars that run and have given us little problems

...and the list goes on. I'll try to add to this list as things come to mind and as I have time. We are on our way to VA to be with Jonathan's parents and grandmother who flew in from TX yesterday.

Happy thanksgiving to all of you. May you also remember the things you are thankful for this year. How gracious and merciful God is to us!

I stand Amazed
by Dennis Jernigan

I see the stars that You have made
I know You call them all by name!
To think Father God
Whom heaven displays
Is thinking of me in intimate ways!

I stand amazed in all of Your glory!
That you would die for me -
I stand amazed!
I stand amazed in all of Your glory
True Love's sweetest story!
I stand amazed

I see the nails piercing Your skin
My wicked heart driving them in
I see the spear piercing Your side
I see the Lamb for me crucified !

I stand amazed at all of Your ways
Me, worthy of death -
You, worthy of praise!
While yet in my sine You died for me!
My God, I will parise you eternally!

For this is what I'm most thankful for this year!

What are you thankful for this year??

60th birthday celebration...

This weekend we traveled to VA to surprise Jonathan's dad for his birthday. Barbara ended up having to tell him that we were coming. :-) But Steve coming was still a total surprise. Barabra had also invited some couples from their Bible study to come over and Pete was VERY surprised. We had a great time. Of course, Emma thought all the people were there to see her and that they were singing to her! :-) Thanks Pete and Barbara for a wonderful weekend and for the gifts you sent home with us! They are much appreciated!


 

Our new bed!

Jonathan and I have never had anything but a metal frame for our mattresses. We are so excited that we were able to buy a bed this past weekend. We want to find a canopy drape for it. We found one we really like, but it's ivory and we need it to be white. We are also going to paint the walls an oatmeal color. :-) I'm so excited about our "new" room! 

It's really fall!

The leaves are just starting to turn in our neighborhood. Isn't it gorgeous?!? I just love the fall in the Southeast! Growing up fall lasted, oh, 2 days. LOL! We didn't really have fall or spring in Texas. It was summer and then winter. The trees are so beautiful here when they are turning. Pictures don't do them justice. A drive in the mountains this time of year is priceless. 

Pumpkins!

We met some friends at a local farm on Saturday to pick pumpkins. I learned once we got out there, that their pimpkins were not quite ready and they had brought some in and placed them out in the patch. I never would have known otherwise! We had such a great time. I hope this will become and annual tradition with our friends! I had aspirations of great fall pictures of Emma, but I have an avtive toddler! She is only still when she's sleeping! Most of the pictures I got of her are blurry or are the back of her head. She's constantly on the move! You can see a few more picutres on her blog.




 

Pumpkin Patch!

On Saturday, we met some friends at a local farm close to our house to pick pumpkins. We learned when we got there that the pumpkins in their patch weren't quite ready, so they had some brought in and placed them out in the field. :-) I would have never known! We had SUCH a great time and I hope it becomes an annual tradition! I was hoping to get some really cute fall pictures of Emma, but she's SO BUSY these days. Most pictures I get are blurry or are the back of her head! You can see a few more pictures on her blog.

 

Who knew...

...that one jalapeno pepper plant could produce so many peppers?!? Anyone know what I'll be making this afternoon? Beth's Jalapeno Syrup and Stuffed Jalapenos









<--- the plant after it was first planted










<---the plant now - WOWZERS! And if you look close enough, you will see that I didn't get all the peppers picked!

Aerated red clay core meets 13 month old...

So if you've ever wondered what happens when a 13 month old puts a red clay dirt plug in her mouth, wonder no more! :-) Last week at women's Bible study, I found out! We were inside plugging (no pun intended ;-) ) through our Bible study on prayer when the woman who was watching children that day (thanks Joanne for your willingnes to serve us in this way!), brought Emma in and called to me. When I first looked over, I thought Emma had eaten glass or something. This red stuff (that looked like blood from where I was sitting) just kept dripping out of her mouth. But she wasn't crying. Her eyes were as big as marbles and she kept sticking her tongue out, like she was trying to get something out of her mouth. She had eaten a dirt plug. (For those of you who don't live in the south, or aren't used to the hard red clay that we have here, in the fall everyone has their yards aerated. A machine of sorts is run over the yard and makes 1/2 inch or so holes in the yard. This helps the yard to breathe over the winter months and the grass grow nice and thick in the spring and summer. The result are these dirt plugs from the little holes. Until we get a really good rain, these plugs are all over your yard.) So I got her inside and put her face/mouth under running water. It was pretty funny I have to say. I wish someone had taken some pictures. It was hilarious. Her little eyes were blinking and she was trying to spit out the water and the clay... HA! The bad part is the red clay she got all over her new shirt. I tried and tried to get it out, but to no avail. It's stained. Have you ever tried to get red clay out of clothes...IMPOSSIBLE! I treated it, washed it, soaked it...next, I will try OxyClean... (update - just got back from the mall and got another shirt like the old one for $2.50...gotta love the sale rack!)

Oh the stories that are being stored up to tell Emma's first boyfriend! ;-)

More Texas...

I haven't had much of a chance to really blog about our trip to Texas. I'm sure you all know it is more work to come home from a trip than it is to get ready for one! :-)

We had such a great time in Texas with my family. It had been 21 months since we had been to Texas, and obviously Emma's first trip. She did fairly well on the plane rides to Texas, but not so well on the trip back. She was exhausted and basically just plain unhappy. But lucky for most of the other passengers, she has the quietest cry of any baby I know. :-) Needless to say, Mommy and Daddy were worn out by the time we got home!

Our first day in Texas was spent with my brother Reg and SIL Tera and their son Trent in Big Spring. Mom and Dad were there too and we had a mini-birthday celebration for Emma. She did better with this cake than the one here in Charlotte, but she was still hesitant! She didn't know what to think or do! She still didn't eat any of it...she just played in it! Mom and Dad (GigiPops) gave her a doll, but she was WAY more interested in playing with Trent's football! Reg, Tera and Trent gave her a Big Spring jersey and some squeaky shoes that are SOOOO cute and she LOVES them!

The next day we traveled to Lubbock where we were for the rest of the week. The week was spent with a day at the fair, a day of shopping, visiting with my other brother Jay, visiting with my parent's friends and visiting with extended family. Oh did I mention great food??

On Friday, we traveled back to Big Spring for the big football game! Reg is a football coach there, so we really wanted to see his team play. They lost, but played hard. The score was 49-56. He coaches the offensive line, so I guess his guys did their jobs! Emma had a blast. Her favorite part was going on the field after the game and running around. Again - there are pictures on her blog. She also really liked the band.

Saturday came too fast! We traveled back to Midland and caught our flight back home. It was so good to be with family, but I do have to say that it sure was good to sleep in our bed Saturday night! We also missed worshipping with our church family the week before, so we were glad to be back in church on Sunday here in Charlotte.

We love all of our family in Texas and hate that we are so far away and that we aren't able financially right now to come as often as we'd like.

Friends...

Right before we left for Texas, our friends Michelle and Vera came and stayed with us. They live in China and were in the States for a few weeks. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have of Michelle! We were a little preoccupied taking pictures of the girls together. :-) You can see those on Emma's blog. In this picture, Michelle is consoling Vera after Emma scared her, by yelling/growling at her! It was SOOO good to spend time with the two of them. Michelle broke her foot while spending time with her family, so she ended up in a cast right before she got to Charlotte. You should have seen us at the mall with me pushing a double stroller and Michelle manuevering a wheelchair. The best was when Michelle pushed the double stroller and I pushed her up the ramps. LOL! Michelle's friend Maria met us at the mall with her 10 month old little girl. We were quite a sight with all the stollers and wheelchair!! 

Trip to Texas

We got back on Saturday from a week long trip to Texas. Here are a few pictures, but you can see LOTS more on Emma's blog. More to come on our trip...it's late and I'm about to fall asleep here at the computer!

 

Trip to Texas...

We got back on Saturday from a week long trip to Texas. We had such a great time! Here are a few pictures, but you can see LOTS more on Emma's blog.

OR

About this time last year, I was in the OR. I had to get two spinals for some reason. The first one didn't work. At 10:18pm our little Emma girl was born... What a blessing!

Arrived...

We arrived at the hospital about this time last year. We had NO idea what we were doing, even though we had been to child birth class. We went up to the Labor and Delivery floor, where they took us to a room. I changed into a hospital gown and the nurse finished our intake...

More to come...

Getting ready to leave for the hospital...

I look like a deer in the headlights, don't I? I think that's pretty much what I felt like as we were about to walk out the door to drive to the hospital...at this EXACT time last year...

More to come...

This time last year...

This almost EXACT time last year, I was standing at the stove boiling water to cook spaghetti for our sauce that had been simmering all day when my water broke. I wasn't sure at the time that it was my water, but after a few phone calls, I was pretty sure. I called the doctor who told me to wait 30 minutes and if I was still "leaking" I should come to the ER. Well, I took a shower and shaved my legs while Jonathan got everything ready for the hospital.

More later...

Weekend...

We had such a good time this weekend with Jonathan's family! His parents and brother came for the holiday weekend and to celebrate Emma's birthday. We were so glad they could all be here together. We realized this is the first time we have all been together at our house. :-) Thanks everyone for the wonderful gifts, fellowship and just plain 'ole time we were able to sepnd with you!

International friends...

Our friend Choon How ( a student at UNCC from Singapore) came for dinner last week. He had just returned to the states from a trip home. He brought Emma a present! We can't wait until she is big enough to wear it. Isn't is beautiful. After dinner, Jonathan and Choon How played guitar for Emma and I. What a treat! Emma danced while I watched! :-)

 

Saying goodbye...

Our good friends from church left for Florida for a month. After their time there, they go back to Bolivia for 3 years to help plant a church. What a blessing it was for us to have them among us at DGCC for a year while they were on furlow. Almost 2 weeks ago, our small group and their care group said goodbye in the best way we know how...with food! We'll miss you Scotty and Lisa, but know that God will use you greatly in Bolivia and among the peoples there. We are thankful for things such as blogs to stay connected with them. We pray God will somehow allow us to go visit them through a short term missions trip in the next 3 years.