SUPRISE!!

Are you shocked? Now that you have picked yourself up from off the floor where you fell from the utter shock and amazement that I have actually posted something new, I would like to say: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And while I am at it, here are all the other holiday and special greetings I missed out on wishing you during my absence form "blog world/land": Happy Fall, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Birthday Paul, Happy Birthday Delaney, and Happy Birthday Granny! Awful isn't it that I would let so many wonderful chances go by without a single word or pic on my blog. Want to know why, do you even care? Well I will tell you why. I wrote a great post about fall and our fall festival at church complete with a slideshow, but everytime I pasted the slideshow into my post, what I ended up with was not my family at all! I did this many times, even starting from scratch a few times, all with the same aggravating results. So, to keep my sanity and salvation (lol) I took a break from my blog lest I break my computer!!! Well, once I took my break, I began to feel overwhelmed with all the things I needed to catch up on and just remained out of blog world. I didn't even visit my favorite blogs because of the guilt and conviction I would feel at not updating my blog. So for all of the faithful few who have regularly checked back on my blog, thank you. Thank you for believing in me, for believing that I would one day return to take up this blog and once again enlighten all that read its words on the happenings of my little family!!! So I will be spending the next few days updating, adding photos and hopefully slideshows, and maybe even some useful tidbit of information in amongst the other stuff. Till then, I will leave you with these photos I took today of the kids before our wonderful Christmas Service.

How many people have YOUR name?

There are 3 people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Southern Belles

*Southern women appreciate their natural assets:*
Clean skin.
A winning smile.
That unforgettable Southern drawl.

*Southern women know their manners*:
*'Yes, ma'am.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Why, no, Billy!'

*Southern women have a distinct way with fond expressions*
'Y'all come back!'
'Well, bless your heart.'
'Drop by when you can.'
'How's your Momma?'

*Southern women know their summer weather report:*
Hot, Humid
Hot, Humid
Hot, Humid

*Southern women know their vacation spots:*
The beach
The rivuh (River)
The crick

*Southern women know the joys of June, July, and August:*
Colorful hi-heel sandals
Strapless sun dresses
Iced sweet tea with mint

*Southern women know everybody's first name*:
Honey
Darlin'
Shugah (sugar)

*Southern women know the movies that speak to their hearts:*
Fried Green Tomatoes
Driving Miss Daisy
Steel Magnolias
Gone With The Wind

*Southern women know their religions*:
Baptist
Methodist
Football

*Southern women know their country breakfasts*:
Red-eye gravy
Grits, Eggs
Country ham
Mouth-watering homemade biscuits with momma's homemade jelly

*Southern women know their cities dripping with Southern charm*:
Chawl'stn
Meem fis
S'vanah
Foat Wuth
N'awlins
Addlanna

*Southern women know their elegant gentlemen*:
Men in uniform.
Men in tuxedos
Rhett Butler

*Southern girls know their prime real estate*:
The Mall
The Country Club
The Beauty Salon

*Southern girls know the 3 deadly sins*:
Having bad hair and nails
Having bad manners
Cooking bad food

*More Suthen-ism's*:
Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissy fit and a conniption
fit, and that you don't 'HAVE' them, you 'PITCH' them.

Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas,
beans, etc., make up 'a mess.'

Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of 'yonder.'

Only a Southerner knows exactly how long 'directly' is, as in: 'Going to
town, be back directly.' (correctly pronounced 'drectly')

Even Southern babies know that 'Gimme some sugar*' *is not a request for the
white, granular sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the
middle of the table.

All Southerners know exactly when 'by and by' is. They might not use the
term, but they know the concept well.

Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a
neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of
cold potato salad. If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also
know to add a large banana puddin!

Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between 'right near' and 'a
right far piece.'

They also know that 'just down the road' can be 1 mile or 20.

No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn
signal is actually going to make a turn.

A Southerner knows that 'fixin' can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.


Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines, . .. and when we're
'in line,' We talk to everybody.

Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they're
related, even if only by marriage.

In the South, y'all is singular, all y'all is plural.

Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.

Every Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are
perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; and that
fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food.

When you hear someone say, 'Well, I caught myself lookin',' you know you are
in the presence of a genuine Southerner!

Only true Southerners say 'sweet tea'and 'sweet milk.' Sweet tea indicates
the need for sugar and lots of it -- we do not like our tea
unsweetened. 'Sweet
milk' means you don't want buttermilk.

And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old
ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say,' Bless her heart' ...
and go your own way.

To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southerness: Take
two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the
morning. Bless your heart!

And for those that are not from the South but have lived here for a long
time, all *y'all *need a sign to hang on *y'all's* front porch that reads 'I
*ain't* from the South, but I got here as fast as I could.'

Just a little Southern humor for all my Southern Sisters out there. We know who we are!! By the way it is hard to raise daughters to be Southern Belles while living on the West Coast, but I am tryin' my best!

Kids say such funny things!!

Thanks to my Dad for sending these to me. A reminder of the innocence and sincerity of children is just what we need right now. Hope everyone gets a chuckle out of this. I did! Have a blessed day!

Beautiful days and Old friends

Well, apparently I was in a nostalgic mood tonight without even realizing it. I was sitting in the living room listening to my two youngest play as loud as they could on two Kindermusik harmonicas and I started to hum a tune and then sing. "It's a beautiful day, a beautiful day. Sunshines come into my heart to stay. It really doesn't matter what the weather men say. It's a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful day."

That song took me back many years to when I first heard one of my best friends sing the song she wrote for a school contest. So I began to try to remember all the words and didn't take me long to remember this:

"Somewhere it may be raining; somewhere the cold winds blow;

somewhere it may be snowing, but this one thing I know:

It's a beautiful day, a beautiful day. Sunshines come into my heart to stay.

It really doesn't matter what the weather men say. It's a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful day.

Somewhere over the rainbow, I've been told,

there lies a place called heaven. Streets are purest gold.

Some day I'm going to go there but till then,

I'm going to walk in God's sunlight . . . and live every day for him.

It's a beautiful day, a beautiful day. Sunshines come into my heart to stay.

It really doesn't matter what the weather men say. It's a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful day."

I love that song. It may have been written by a child, but the words are oh, so true. What a beautiful day every day is when we are serving God. Growing up, our church motto or theme was "Serving God is Beautiful." Of course there is wonderful song that goes with that theme,

"Serving God is beautiful. Serving the King of kings.

I serve Him because I love Him you see.

Serving God is beautiful to me."

(written, I believe, by Sis. Ronda Hurst, my pastor's wife at that time in my life.)

Life will present us with challenges and problems, trials, etc, etc. But you know what, it's still a beautiful day, a beautiful life, because the King of kings is in control and He is making me into what I need to become to fullfill His purpose. My life is about more than the day to day obligations or even the plans I make for the future. It is about the eternal purpose of God. That is important to remember when trials want to drag me down or I want to worry about problems. I just need to cast my cares upon Him. After all He cares for me and loves more than I could ever fathom. He has a plan for me and a future, plans to prosper me and keep me, and not to harm me. So it is a beautiful day, no matter what the weather man or any other man or devil, might say, because I am walking in God's sunshine and living every day for Him!!

Okay so after I spent some time singing the kid's song, I started trying to remember another song my friend wrote as a young teen.

"I wish you well. I wish you well.

You're my very special friend, and I wish you well.

Wherever you may go, I want you to know,

We'll be friends forever and I wish you well.

If I could paint a picture, here is what I'd do,

I would paint a rainbow and a bright sun, too.

And when the paintings over, a story it will tell

Of happy ever after and I wish you well.

I wish you well. I wish you well.
You're my very special friend, and I wish you well.
Wherever you may go, I want you to know,
We'll be friends forever and I wish you well."

I may not have remembered every word correctly, but I wanted to say a special message to my "very special friend." If you are reading this, I want you to know that I haven't forgotten. No matter where we are in life right now, the water that has passed under the bridge, I still remember and I still count you as a special friend. I don't think you came to mind so strongly tonight for no reason. I believe God laid you on my heart in a special way tonight. Maybe one day we will have the chance to get together, to catch up, to watch our children play together, but if not, you are still in my heart and prayers. Love you, girl!

Happy Birthday, Jaci

Happy 1st Birthday to Jaci! Her birthday was yesterday, but I did want to wish my little niece a very special happy birthday. You are so precious to us. Denae always tells me her name is Jaci when she is "pretending" to be a baby (like she has to pretend to hard. She's only 2 1/2 lol) We all love you bunches!!!

Happy Birthday to a great father, Poppa, friend, advisor, mentor, man of God, and the list could go on and on. Hope you had a wonderful day and enjoyed the little seranades you got from your grandkids today. We all send our love and we can't wait to see you at Thanksgiving. You have been the best father a girl could wish for and I appreciate all of the help you have given over the years. There are so many little things that I like to look back on from my childhood and most of them involve my daddy (and mom too, but this post is about you lol), like you playing games with us and the neighborhood kids on Melinda Lane (t-ball, toss-the-tennis-ball-over-the-roof), wrestling and playing keep away and football with you in the living room (3 kids against 1 daddy) you teaching me to ride my bike, the stereo cabinets you made each of us one Christmas for our new stereos, the smell of the wood shavings in the garage when you did your wood working (I still love that smell because it reminds me of you)learning how to drive with you in the passenger seat, the feel of your hand on my head and the sound of your voice as you prayed for me on many, many occassions, and walking down the aisle with you at my side on my big day. You were always there at each big moment in my life and all the not so big ones too. And you still are, because even though you can't always be with me in person, I know you are always there in love and support. I love you and happy birthday. Love, your 'baby girl'

First of all, let me say a very happy birthday to a very special man: my hubby! Kevin's birthday was yesterday but due to a busy weekend with Ladies Conference and Retreat, I didn't post yesterday. But, I do want to say what a great guy I am married to. He watched the kids for me so I could take off on his birthday and go to Retreat. And he didn't complain at all. I want to say, I love you and happy birthday!!


Second, all I can say about Ladies Retreat was WOWOWOWOW. It was absolutely awesome! Bro Todd Nichols preached Friday night and Saturday and he had a word from the Lord for the Ladies of the Rock. It "makes me want to shout, Hallelujah, Thank you Jesus, Lord your worthy of all the glory and all the honor and all the praise!" I am so excited to think about what God's doing right now in us and with us. What a revelation to realize the power that God has given us is being exactly how He made us to be: meek, compassionate, virteous. A miraclulous change will take place in our homes and our lives when we learn this truth that the world tries to twist and manipulate into something crude and loud and ugly. And we are waiting on God's promise, not allowing the birth of an Ishmael, a mocking spirit, but waiting for God to fulfill His promise in our lives. And the spirit of prayer that moved on our ladies group this morning was phenomenal and life changing. Like I said, WOWOWOW.

I am excited about next year, especially with the format being the same: Conference services on Friday night and Saturday at TRC with Food and Fellowship at the Retreat hotel Friday pm and Lunch after service Saturday. We had a blast at the hotel after service this year. I was up til 3 am playing games and talking. Fun, fun, fun!! Jill did a great job getting it all together with her team of helpers. Anyway, I am marking my calendar for Oct 9 and 10 next year (sorry, Kevin, its your b-day again, I know, but hopefully the changes you see in me after this retreat will make the sacrifice worth it!! love you!)

And anyone who can make it next year, needs to plan on it. The sacrifice of time and money (which is minimal) are worth it when you come away with your spirit renewed and refreshed, your mind set on the promise of God, and your heart clean and full of the Holy Ghost.

Happy Birthday to a Special Lady

Happy Birthday, Mom!! We love you so much and miss you everyday. Wish we could be with you on this special day, but since we can't, know that we are with you in our hearts and are sending all of our love your way. Hope your day is as wonderful as you are.

You have had a tough summer. I think you were in the hospital more than you were out of it. And you had just moved into a new house. And you were trying to study for your big CTR Certification test through it all. But through all of that, you had the faith and the strength to lean on God and you persevered! You are getting better, slowly but surely. You passed your test and are now a CTR with a great new job. I am proud of you. You have showed me time after time that if a person trusts in God , giving it her all, she can accomplish anything.

You are an amazing example and mentor, a lady of God, a devoted wife and mother. You are a Proverbs 31 woman. I am blessed to call you mom. Kevin has the best mother-in-law (even he says so!!) My kids have the most loving and wonderful grandma in the world. You have been there for us through thick and thin, loving us and supporting us and encouraging us. Have a very happy birthday with many more to come. We love you bunches!!

A New Story

Delaney recently wrote a story and wanted to post it on my blog. Hope you enjoy!

A Butterfly's Wish

By Delaney Reighard

Once upon a time, a little butterfly larva was eating food. Then a big butterfly flew by her. The little larva said to the big butterfly, "I want to be like you, a big butterfly."

"Well," said the butterfly, "You have to do a lot of eating, turn into a pupa, and then form a hard case around your body, which is called a chrysalis or a cacoon. When you emerge you're a beautiful butterfly!"

"Like you," cried the larva.

"Yes, like me," said the butterfly. On and on the butterfly flew to find nectar.

The larva obeyed the butterfly. She ate and ate and ate until she was ready to be a pupa. When she was a pupa, she formed a hard case. Then when it was time, she emerged as a beautiful butterfly.

Now she will tell her children what she did and tell them to tell their children what will happen in their life.

Can you tell she was studying the life cycle of a butterfly in school?

She also illustrated her story, but I wasn't able to post those pictures.