Give Thanks!

Give Thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures forever.
Psalm 118:1

Last Friday night the leadership team for our Sunday School class got together for an early Thanksgiving meal. During the meal we discussed some of our ideas and ways to give thanks to the Lord and remember all that He has done in our lives. Here are some of the ideas we came up with...

A Thanksgiving tree: made from a pot or vase with branches in it. Then, as people arrive they can write what they are thankful for on a leaf-shaped piece of paper and hang it on the tree.

A Thanksgiving Football: Take a football and each year at Thanksgiving write all you are thankful for on the football. Each year as you pass the football outside, you can look back at all that God has done and share those with your kids as they grow up.

A Shepherd's Staff: Our SS teacher brought a Shepard's staff that was made for him and they have the names of all their children burned onto it. When the Lord does a great work in their lives they will burn a new notch onto the staff, and then write about it in a journal.

Thanksgiving day letters: Instead of going around the table and telling what you are thankful for, write each person in attendance a letter in advance. Telling them why you are thankful for them.

What neat ideas our leadership team came up with. We are truly blessed to be a part of the Austhof SS class. After dinner we played the Newly-wed game. We had a blast!

So, leave a comment and tell me what is your family's tradition on giving thanks, and how do you remember all the Lord has done for you and your family...

A bad idea

I used to love to eat spaghetti-o's and Ravioli as a child. However, I have discovered that one of the ingredients (I'm guessing the MSG) causes me to get migraines. So, I have avoided it for the last several years and my children haven't had the chance to try it. Well, I was at Aldi the other day and I just couldn't resist. The Bon Italia brand is only $.79. Who could resist? I thought, my kids are gonna love me! So, we get home today and I fix them this fun lunch, and they turned their noses up and REFUSED to eat it! They wouldn't even try it. So, I had to eat it for them. Almost immediately I started feeling the effects and had to take some Ibuprofen. Well, I guess we won't be trying that again.

By the way, you can purchase everything you need to make a complete Thanksgiving day meal for just $30 at Aldi. I love that place!

Hudson's First Sleep-over

Friday night Hudson had his friend Jed over to spend the night. We had a great time and everyone did so well! Hudson and Jed have very similar personalities. So the goal for the night was to keep them busy, busy, busy! We went downstairs and did some painting.
And we played games...If you close you can see the ball headed straight for Hudson! Unfortunately it did hit him in the chest, but it didn't hurt him.
Having fun...
For dinner the boys and Naomi made their own pizzas. I didn't get any photos, because my camera battery needed to be recharged.
After dinner, Davin played with the boys. Here they are playing Hungry Hippos. I love this game. It's an old childhood favorite of mine.
At bedtime they wanted to sleep in the tent together. That only lasted a few minutes and Hudson ended up in his bed. They slept great and were up by 6 am and ready to go!

Here they are the next morning at breakfast. They ate in a flash. There was just too much playing that needed to be done.

We had a blast! And we were thrilled that we got to keep Jed and let his Mommy and Daddy have a great night out!

All Dressed Up

I didn't get any photos of the kids on Halloween, but last week they decided to dress up. So, here are some pictures of them all dressed up...I really like this one. Look at Naomi checking herself out in the reflection from the dishwasher.

War Eagle

Here is my FIRST SLIDE!!!! We went to the Auburn Homecoming game this weekend. We had a blast.

I love my kids!

Glamor girl...

Sleepy boy...

I thought it would be fun to post a list of five words that describe each of my children.

Hudson is
strong, smart, determined, happy, and mechanical

Naomi is
friendly, sweet, quiet, beautiful, and artistic

So, tell me what you think about your kids!
Leave me a comment and let me know how you would describe your kids in just 5 words.

Potty Time!

I was cleaning the kid's bathroom the other day when Naomi decided that she wanted to use the potty. Here she is going potty...Checking the result...
Looking for her sticker...
Being proud of her accomplishment...
Things have definitely gone much smoother for us with Naomi. She sees her big brother do things and she wants to be a big girl. I have to say, that I am not ready to potty train her! I take the more of hands off approach and let my kids decide on this one. Who wants to spend their days cleaning up potty training messes...Not me!

One year on Weight Watchers

I can't believe that I've been doing weight watchers for a year now! My original goal was to loose anywhere from 15 to 20 pounds. I've lost 16 and it only took me about 4-5 months to do it. And by keeping up with my points I've managed to keep it off. I've lost it all by changing what I eat and how much I eat. I really have only worked-out a few times this last year! I still would like to lose those last 4 pounds. Maybe if I'll pull out the jogging stroller I can do it. Here are some kind of embarrassing before and after pictures. It really helped me to go back and dig these out. I can now see how far I've come.

Before...

After...

Thanks Melea for letting me use your WW stuff, and for being an inspiration to me!

Fall Fun!

I have to say that this past weekend was one of the best weekends we've had in a long time. We literally had nothing going on Saturday or Sunday. We decided to take our annual apple trip up to Elijay on Saturday. The leaves were just perfect and the weather was wonderful. These are a few pictures from our trip.
We stopped off at the Panorama apple house. We picked up some fried apple pies and apple butter. Yummy!

We stopped by Jasper on our way home and spent the rest of the day hanging out and watching football. Go Jackets they defeated the FSU Seminoles!

Auburn Tigers...what's up?!?

Here is Naomi with my Dad. The kids were so excited to see my parents and to be at their house.
Hudson and Gran (my mom).
The kids had a great time Friday night as well. Mimi and Pop pop took them "Trunk or Treating" at their church. Naomi dressed up like a princess and Hudson finally put on his firefighter costume and wore it the last thirty minutes. Davin and I had a early voting date. We stood in line for three hours to vote! Maybe it won't be that bad for you tomorrow...that is if you haven't voted already.