Emily's Dance Recital 2007

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Hannah's Dance Recital 2007

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Can I click my heels and be home now?

We are finally back home. We had a wonderful time in San Antonio. We enjoyed walking and riding on the Riverwalk, Mexican food, Texas BBQ and seafood, and did I say Mexican food? We enjoy Mexican food, but I do think I got my fill of it this week.

It has been nice to get away with my dear hubby this week and enjoy talking without kids interrupting you. The convention was good and it is always fun to see Baptists get into heated business. Each year for the minister's wives they have a lunch. For the 3 yr I was a table hostess. It is nothing fancy. You just basically get into the event earlier. This year was nice because Dennis Swanberg was the one of the speakers. The lunch was good and was nice to meet other minister wives from across the country.

We were able to take in some of the sights of new and old San Antonio. We saw the Alamo of course, but we then decided to drive the Mission Trail. It was very interesting to see the old mission churches and learn a little history behind them.

As you may have read in earlier posts our flight to TX was interesting why shouldn't the flight home not be as well. We arrived early enough and were going to be on the way home. They announced that the flight was overbooked and were looking for volunteers to take a later flight. We decided to look into it and see how late it would put us and where we would have to fly to. I was already not looking forward to flying for 3 hours in the middle set, so I was just hoping for a little better. The agent was able to find actually a better flight that would get in 1 minute earlier (or so we thought) and we would connect thru Kansas City and not Detroit. So we went for it. We were flying Midwest Air which we found out hands out warm chocolate chip cookies on flights after 10am. Well, our flight was delayed 20 minutes so there went our 1 minute lead and then the pilot announced that due to bad weather we would have to zigzag around them pushing a 1 1/2 hour flight to 2 hours. We only had a 20 minute layover in KC but we found out that we didn't have to disembark because our plan we continuing onto Columbus. Our luggage beat us. It was on our old flight. But I will say we did get compensated for the change. We are happy to be back home with our girls.

I will hoping to post pics from our trip and pics from the girls recital soon. I am just trying to catch up on sleep, so if there are typos I am sorry.

Finally Here

We are here finally and enjoying San Antonio. It is warmer here, but it is fine. First class was nice but didn't last long enough and real glasses not plastic.

Funny thing while I was typing my last blog, I looked up to see Pastor Tim and his wife. They were on the same flight with us to Dallas.

We are just trying to decide which Mexican restaurant to try first.

Texas here we come...maybe?

It is 2 pm and we are still sitting in Columbus Airport. Yes , by now we should be in Texas enjoying the heat and Mexican food, but here we sit. We were scheduled to leave this morning at 7:40 and had left in enough time to get here and make it to the flight. Thanks to the FAA computer problems yesterday threw everything off this morning. Needless to say we missed our flight this morning. We were waiting at curbside check in to only see the skycap to disappear and never to return. We go inside and missed them calling for passengers on our flight and therefore missed our flight. We waited over 2hrs in line to finally get help to get on another flight. We did try calling and getting on the internet but to no avail.

We were so thankful the lady at the counter was VERY helpful and who was working over to help people find flights who were missed or delayed. It was exciting in line. We had nice people to talk to. We got to the the Kansas City arena football team and found out that one of their players played for Auburn.

So, we are sitting here waiting for our flight to leave at 3:30 with a different airline than we booked which was fine. We are very sleepy and ready to get to our destination. There is one bright side to our delay - we get to fly 1st class from Dallas to San Antonio! They were the last seats available so thanks for the upgrade!

P.S. Dance is over for the summer. The girls did great and I will try to post pictures when we get back.

Remember the Alamo!

Happy Birthday Emily!!

It is hard to believe you are 6 years old today. You are such a blessing to our little family. You bring life, happiness, and laughter to all. You are a great sister and daughter. You were so excited to start kindergarten this past year and have been a great student. I pray you will always love learning. Here are some exciting things you have learned since your last birthday.

• Learned to read


• Decided tap dancing is more exciting than ballet


• You have almost mastered the cartwheel


• LOVED Disneyworld


• Gotten your first American Girl


• Lost your first tooth


• Moved into your own bedroom


• Had your first solo and drama part in musical


• completed your first year of Sparks


• Loved Jesus More!

My prayer for you is to continue to love Jesus more and continue to love and care for others. I am so glad God blessed our family with you! You are an important part to us and love you more than you will ever know.

WE LOVE YOU EMILY! Mom

The Carr Family

Friends of ours from Florida just adopted another child from China. This time it was a deaf girl. Pray for this family as they adjust to another child in the family as well as another deaf child. Here is the link to their story http://carrfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/. Be sure to watch the videos with tissue in hand.

Congrats Johnny, Beth, Heather, Jarred, James, and Xiaoli!!!

The Tale of the Toilet

As many of you know the new home we bought was a foreclosure. Foreclosures in many instances are not in good shape, but thankfully not too much was wrong with this house. The only problem we have consistently been having is a toilet in the master bath not flushing correctly. I was thankful it was not the guest bathroom. We would have to plunge it every time we flushed. It was very frustrating. We thought we may have to call a plumber, take the toilet up, or check our homeowners insurance to see if it would be covered. I just wanted it fixed. All the other toilets worked great.

Yesterday my dear hubby bought a toilet auger for one last shot of trying to fix it before taking it up or calling a plumber. The auger brought final success!! You would not believe what was stopping up our toilet - a nose hair trimmer! We guess the former owner or child of owner must have flushed it, why I don't know, but now our toilet flushes. The plunger can now take up residence in the basement.

Happy Mother's Day

This my 9th year of getting to enjoy being a mom. I know my oldest is not 9 yet but is was in March of 1998 that we got the wonderful news that I was going to mom. It was a day that my dear hubby and I could not believe had finally arrived, to get to hear the words, "you're pregnant!". The years leading up to that moment were very hard with many tears and prayers wondering if I would ever get to hear those words. It was very hard to enjoy Mother's Day wondering if i would ever be a mom.

Every year I say a pray for those women who want to be moms, but for some reason it has not happened. It is important to remember these women, because this day is hard for them. They may still have their mom and celebrate her, but in their heart they are longing for someone to call them "MOM".

I am so thankful I am a mom. I am thankful for 2 little girls who brought me breakfast in bed and like me being their mom. I just pray I will be the example to my girls my mom was to me - to love God with all your heart and trust Him for everything.

So, Happy Mother's Day to my mom and thank you for all you have done for me. I love you. Also Happy Mother's Day and thank you to Rita for raising a wonderful son who chose me.

Thank you Lord for allowing me to be a mom!

Enjoying breathing room

As I write this post I am sitting in our new living room with the marvelously painted bordeaux walls. This is the first night I am not packing, unpacking, or painting. Tomorrow we move the last of our stuff from the rent house (a big thanks to all who will help). We have been living in our new home since Monday, and working on getting everything out of the old into the new. Where did all of this stuff come from? Tonight we got to enjoy our first cooked meal at home. I was able to get some boxes unpacked to be able to see the counter and the table. There are so many boxes and I have no idea when they will get all unpacked. The girls keep asking me when I will paint their room, but I just keep telling them when I get to it. There is a thing called clothing that we need, and I am not sure if I can find them all.

The girls are excited about sleeping in their own rooms. Hannah is taking pride in her room and keeping it just so. I just pray this last a LONG time! Emily is a different story. This is the first time for the girls to have their own rooms. I am just excited not to have a share a bathroom with the girls, but I guess I do have to share with my dear hubby. We are just so thankful to God for allowing us to find and purchase this home.

The only down side of this week is that Emily and I have both been sick. She even had a trip to the doc. I think we just have a cold or our allergies have kicked in. So add being sick to being tired and sore from the moving, I am just ready to be done and get back to "normal".

We do hope to start having people over soon, but currently we are just enjoying having breathing room. Maybe I will try to post some pictures of our home soon.

Fun Contest

Fun contest to enjoy. 5 Minutes for Mom is having a contest where you can win this cool Philips digital photo frame. These are the neatest things!! This is a great way to show off all your digital pictures

Study: Religion is Good for Kids

I know some will think this is cheating, but I thought this was a very interesting article. I put it in my blog in case you did not get it in the email. I am also very tired to think of anything to write about.

By Melinda Wenner
>
Kids with religious parents are better behaved and adjusted than other children, according to a new study that is the first to look at the effects of religion on young child development.
The conflict that arises when parents regularly argue over their faith at home, however, has the opposite effect.
John Bartkowski, a Mississippi State University sociologist and his colleagues asked the parents and teachers of more than 16,000 kids, most of them first-graders, to rate how much self control they believed the kids had, how often they exhibited poor or unhappy behavior and how well they respected and worked with their peers.
The researchers compared these scores to how frequently the children’s parents said they attended worship services, talked about religion with their child and argued abut religion in the home.
The kids whose parents regularly attended religious services — especially when both parents did so frequently — and talked with their kids about religion were rated by both parents and teachers as having better self-control, social skills and approaches to learning than kids with non-religious parents.
But when parents argued frequently about religion, the children were more likely to have problems. “Religion can hurt if faith is a source of conflict or tension in the family,” Bartkowski noted.
Why so good?
Bartkowski thinks religion can be good for kids for three reasons. First, religious networks provide social support to parents, he said, and this can improve their parenting skills. Children who are brought into such networks and hear parental messages reinforced by other adults may also “take more to heart the messages that they get in the home,” he said.
Secondly, the types of values and norms that circulate in religious congregations tend to be self-sacrificing and pro-family, Bartkowski told LiveScience. These “could be very, very important in shaping how parents relate to their kids, and then how children develop in response,” he said.
Finally, religious organizations imbue parenting with sacred meaning and significance, he said.
University of Virginia sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox, who was not involved in the study, agrees. At least for the most religious parents, “getting their kids into heaven is more important than getting their kids into Harvard,” Wilcox said.
But as for why religious organizations might provide more of a boost to family life than secular organizations designed to do the same thing, that’s still somewhat of a mystery, said Annette Mahoney, a psychologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, also not involved in the research. Mahoney wondered: “Is there anything about religion and spirituality that sets it apart?”
Unanswered questions
Bartkowski points out that one limitation of his study, to be published in the journal Social Science Research, is that it did not compare how denominations differed with regards to their effects on kids.
“We really don’t know if conservative Protestant kids are behaving better than Catholic kids or behaving better than mainline Protestant kids or Jewish kids,” he said.
It’s also possible that the correlation between religion and child development is the other way around, he said. In other words, instead of religion having a positive effect on youth, maybe the parents of only the best behaved children feel comfortable in a religious congregation.
“There are certain expectations about children’s behavior within a religious context, particularly within religious worship services,” he said. These expectations might frustrate parents, he said, and make congregational worship “a less viable option if they feel their kids are really poorly behaved.”

Quick Update

WE ARE OFFICIAL HOMEOWNERS!!! Park Trails will never be the same when the Dears move to the neighborhood. Anyone for a painting/moving party?

We are just very excited and thankful that God has provided this new home for us, and we want to give Him praise for it. PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Happy Easter

I know I am late posting this, but with all the packing and school I am just behind on a few things. Yes, that is snow you see in the picture. I took this picture before we left for church. It was cold outside, so I told the girls to run out there real quick and I will take the picture before you get too cold. I wanted you to see their beautiful dresses before they had to put on their winter coats. Funny, I thought spring was to be warm.

Amazing Grace - My Chains are Gone!!

I decided to post this because I feel this is just the most powerful song. I know I had the link in an earlier post, but I was able to find this on youtube and post it directly on the blog. Everytime I hear this version, I just about cry. At this time of year, Amazing Grace should ring true with all Christians. It is true what Chris says in this song "my chains are gone, I've been set free". We should live like free people and not slave to what intangles us. This Easter we should be thankful for that "AMAZING GRACE" that was secured for us on the cross and in Christ's resurrection. HAPPY EASTER CHRISTIANS!!

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace


The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine

You are forever mine

Pics of house

Here are a couple of more pictures of our new home. The second one as you see is of the back yard. I am standing in the location the swing set will go. You may notice the BIG deck on the back. We are fortunate to be one of the few houses that have a bigger deck on the back. As our friends in AL know how much we love our deck. If you need us this summer - that is where we will be be. Can't you see my dear hubby grilling and all the people waiting to see what he is cooking up? We are looking forward to having friends and family over. We are just so thankful to God that He has allowed us to find this house. This is house is a gift from God.

So, who is ready to paint?

Random Things

We are sitting here watching our weekly installment of American Idol. I always look forward to hearing Melinda Doolittle. She is my favorite. If you didn't see it tonight please watch the recap tomorrow night you must see Sanjaya's hair. Every week it is something different. Tonight was bad. We were all laughing out loud at the hair. Please America do not vote for him, we are tired of hearing the bad singer. I ran across an article about some of the contestants that is worth the read - http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=25254. I like know that people I am pulling for are Christians. This year to me has not been as good as last year. I think the top ones are Melinda, Lakisha and Jordin. I like Chris and Phil but they are just not in the same league as the girls.



This past Friday my dear hubby and I were able to go out on a date. Hannah asked me why we are still dating when we are married. I told her we enjoy being together. We went to see the Amazing Grace movie. It is VERY good. You get to the back story behind what had inspired the words the hymn. But the movie is about William Wilberforce and what passion he had to see the slave trade abolished. It is about someone willing to take a stand for what he believed and never wavering. He gave his life for this cause. The only thing I didn't like was that at the end they did not play the new Chris Tomlin version which he wrote for the movie. You can see it I believe on the movies website at http://www.amazinggracemovie.com/. You can see the video here - http://search.music.yahoo.com/search/?m=all&p=chris+tomlin.



I am sure most of you reading are wondering about the house. Our offer was finally accepted!! Yea. Praise the Lord!!!Once all the stuff was done we will hopefully have a closing date. We just pray everything else will go smoothly. Anyone in the mood to pack?



Here is it- Our future home

Prayer Request

We received news today about Noel's Grandmother having lymphoma and lung cancer. This is his mom's mom. They have given her a year. Also, his Uncle Tommy (his mom's brother) is close to the end and hopice has been called in. All of this has been tough on Noel's mom, with potentially losing her only brother and mom in the same year. She and Jim are traveling to TX to be with Tommy this weekend.

Please just keep the family in your prayers.
Mildred Ferguson - Noel's Grandmother
Tommy Nall - uncle
Rita Dunaway - Noel's mom

my how time flies

December 2001

My dear hubby finally found some pictures I have been missing. They have been on a hard drive that has been on his computer at work, but he has not been able to transfer them to the home computer. Now that he has his new laptop the pictures have returned home. I have enjoyed looking at them and remembering all the fun we have had. Most of the pictures were around Emily's first year of life, and various other events. The girls have enjoyed looking at themselves. I thought our friends in Ohio would enjoy seeing a picture of the girls when they were younger. It has also been fun to see pics of my dear hubby and I younger as well. So, enjoy. They also still enjoy dressing up.

Question: I have a picture of my dear hubby and his friends at a wedding from about 6 yrs ago, should I post it?

My dear hubby stole my thunder

If you don't know by now, we are looking for a new home. We have our financing and have made an offer on a house. We are praying that it is God's will for us to have this home. We call it a mansion compared to where we currently live. The toughest part is waiting on the bank, because this is a forclosure. If we are able to get it - we will let you know. More later....

I thought I would give you a little update. This is all for now 24 is on. We are hoping Jack will be able to stop the nuclear weapon and find out why Audrey died. He is not happy why no one told him about it. We may be in a nuclear war soon. GO JACK!!

Also - I AM TIRED OF BEING SICK!!! Does anyone have any antibiotics?

Not too much going on, yet.

I don't have any new info as of yet, but may have some soon. My mom and brother came into town yesterday. The girls are very excited to have grammy here. I like when she comes because Noel and I get to go out on a date.

We have a busy couple of months coming up, so I am not sure how often I will get to update. Maybe more than my dear hubby does?

Spring is in the Air?

How happy was I to see these in the store. They only come around one time a year, but when they do - IT'S ALMOST SPRING!! Everyone knows I LOVE chocolate, and I do prefer mine dark, but I cannot resist these. They are like M&M's on sterriods. If you have never tried them - DO. But I will warn you, you can't eat just one.

Emily's Tap Class

I thought everyone would enjoy.

Basketball is OVER!

This was an exciting year of Upward Basketball. This was Hannah's 4th year playing and Emily's 1st. My dear hubby coached both of the girls teams, while I was the "administrator" of their teams. Our Fridays and Saturdays were filled with games. It was exciting to see some kids learn the game of basketball and hopefully learn a little more about Jesus.

Emily was in the Kindergarten group with boys and girls. I just have one word for you "hearding cats". Everyone knows how bad dear hubby is with names. On his team we had 9 players with 2 Zacharys and 2 Nicholas'. You don't need to do that to him. I was sad for Emily though. She could make baskets during practice, but during the game she didn't make any. I don't think it bothered her. Oh well.

Hannah had a great year. She made baskets in most of her games, played great defense and offense, and was very concerned about all of her teammates making baskets. She would always ask her dad who needed to get shots and was willing to bring the ball down and pass it off to her teammates. I told dear hubby if they had the white star award for the season I think she would deserve it. She was always encouraging her team and handing out high 5's. She is looking forward to next year, because they get to steal the ball and keep score. It is exciting to see her improve each year.

We are excited to have our weekends back, but we will be excited when the next season rolls around. Enjoy the videos of the girls playing.

Our Backyard

Here is the our backyard after 6 inches at least of snow and accumulation of ice. You can no longer see the bottom of the step on the slide. The snow will be around because who nows when we will be above freezing. One exciting thing is we have never been in a level 2 snow emergency. Ooooo! Yes, my dear hubby is at work.

Last night we were suppose to go out, but due to weather we are had to postpone. :( I do not enjoy having to cancel due to weather. We are trying to go out tonight - any babysitters out there?

What a week - planes, no trains, and automobiles!!

It has been a crazy past few days. Last week my dh headed to different parts of the country, while our children stayed here with what I lovingly call their Ohio grandparents. In no way would I call us jetsetters, but we took our respective planes to Maryland and Alabama. I believe I have flown more in the past 2 yrs than almost my entire life. I did feel like a slob in my jeans though arriving at the airport with all the other business people heading off to important meetings, but I preferred to be comfortable since I still had to drive for 2 hrs after landing in AL to get to MS. Note for everyone flying out of CMH - they are strict about the little baggie rule. I had to surrender my half-filled Bath&Body Works travel size bottle of body wash or check my bag. I had one bag, and I wasn't going to check it since I was a little under the gun to get to my location. So, I gave it up for national security, because you never know what a sah mom my do with that soap. Maybe wash someones mouth out? I told the nice TSA lady who likes to talks loud, that I guess I will just have to use whatever my mom has to get clean. Oh well, I'm over that.

I did make it on time to my mom's retirement party, with time to spare. She was happy that I came even thought the girls were not able to. I did have pictures to show everyone though. She had a very nice reception. I was able to see people that I had also worked with in the past when I was in college. I did have a nice compliment from a women that has known me most of my life. She said that I have grown up so nicely and looked good. I was so glad I went. It is not very often I get to be with mom without the girls with me. It was nice hearing all the nice things people remember about my mom, and how helpful she was to everyone, and the Christian witness that was evident in her life. I am very proud of my mom, and I am so thankful she is getting to retire healthy and finally getting to do what she wants. I was also thankful for her service to the university because that allowed me to get half of my college tuition paid for! Now, does that carry over to grandchildren as well? As you see in the pics above, the first one is of mom recieving a Gail Pittman plate commissioned by the president's office for his office's use. I hope to get it in the will. The other, I just had to include one of my alma mater.

Being down south allowed me to get to enjoy one of my favorite foods - Fried Crawfish Tails! YUMMY!!! My dh had already been bragging that he was going to get to eat fresh crab cakes in MD, but I would choose my crawfish over crab most days. I was also able to come home with new MSU shirts for myself and the girls - pics will be up soon.

Another item I was able to secure from the Warm South was Mata's Pizza. As many of my readers know my dh bday was this past week. As I have posted before he is the master gifter. He had already purchased his big bday present, but I wanted to surprise him with something. I know pizza is a big deal in Ohio, with every kind of pizza place imaginable, but there is none like Mata's Pizza in Anniston, AL. Mata's is a mom and pop place that has been around for years. My dh and his friends have been frequenting there since at least high school or before. It was started by this Greek couple, and I don't think anything has changed since then. It is nothing to wait an hour on the weekends for a pizza and they are not open on Sunday ever! Oh, and they don't deliver. Needless to say the owner knows my dh on first name basis. He loves the place. We even ate there on our honeymoon. They are known not only for their pizza but their grinders and salads as well. Mata's was on speed dial at our home. Well, I called as friend of ours to inquire about having some pizzas shipped if possible. I found out, yes this is possible, but maybe pricey to ship and the logistics of doing it. Then it dawned on me since I was flying into Bham maybe we could work out something. Thankfully Delta accepts perishables and bags with dry ice. They should since I saw decedents being loaded onto my plane. So here was the plan - Jeff orders our pizzas - Rick realizes who they are for and fixes them just right, wraps them, and freezes them hard for the trip - Jeff purchases the dry ice, labels the bag correctly, gets the bag to Russ - Russ who now works in Bham meets me in the Bhm airport cellphone parking lot for the package drop - and thankfully the airline accepts the bag and it gets check and safely makes it to Ohio still frozen. I surprised my dh with Mata's pizza for supper, and a big cheer for the wife who delivers his favorite pizza from AL - Mata's Extra Special. I had told him I was cooking supper that night when I called him that morning before our respective flight to come home, and he just thought I was bringing bbq. Sorry to all who would like to try the pizza - he is not sharing. So, if you ever find yourself in Anniston/Oxford, AL you must eat at Mata's Greek Pizza and Grinders. I would also like to say a HUGE thanks to Jeff, Russ, and Rick for helping me make my dh bday happy with his favorite pizza!!! So, when we run out will you ship more?

I know I am getting long winded with this post, but the rest of the week consisted of sick kid, sick husband, and myself sick, and then to top it off FREEZING weather. I do not like my husband being out of town when it snows, b/c I have to shovel it. I did enough of that when I was in CA. I am thankful it was only a few inches and not feet of snow.

Oh, I almost forgot. On my 2nd leg of my flight home, I got to sit next to a demo from CA. Don't you know I had an interesting conversation, thankfully I don't think he is going to vote for Hillary. I thanked him for that. He is worried about globally warming, and I told him I was worried about all the unborn babies that will die every year. But the poor guy was seated between 2 Christians, but I am not so sure about the other who believes in doing work for the kingdom, but wonders why you have to join a church and doesn't really believe in denominations. It did make the hour and half flight not seem so long, but I was hoping to finish the new Beth Moore book. Also, my dh and I ended up with the same type of rental car at different airports and different companies - what are the odds of that!

My New Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Reverend Countess Donna the Inchoate of Waldenshire under Throcket Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I thought this would be a more exciting title for my self.

Here is my dear hubby's title as well

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Grand Duke Noel the Ineffable of Divine Intervention Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

SNOW DAY!!

Today was an exciting day at the Dear house. We finally got to have a snow day! We did have church this morning, but cancelled services for tonight because of the potential for ice. Our city after many false alarms and non-events was not exactly ready for the snow showers. So the roads were not exactly ready to drive on. We did do a little sliding into church this morning. I was just thankful the streets were not too busy. We arrived at church today with people busily salting and shoveling sidewalks, parking lots, and steps. I still think the kid in everyone of us gets excited to see snow sometimes, especially us who lived in the south most of their lives. My girls were wondering if they would get to play in it today since it was a Sunday. When I picked them up after church I told them they would get to play in it b/c we didn't have church tonight. Their eyes got so big, and they could not wait to get home.

After lunch the girls could not wait to get their snow clothes on. I think they beat the land speed record getting dressed. I was just thankful their boots still fit. My dear hubby put plastic bags on his feet in between 2 layers of socks. His mom would be so proud. We had fun pulling the girls on the sled, throwing snowballs, but the highlight was building the snowman. Of course you know me, I did take alot of pictures and video. This is the first time the girls have gotten to do that. Thanks to Ms. Angela we had a snowman kit, and he was the most fashionable snowman on the block. I also got to make snow ice cream for the family. We had put a bowl out a couple of days ago when it snowed in hopes of getting enough, but today was the day. In the south you just don't get to have this delicasy very often. If you want it you have to buy it is the freezer section at your local grocery store, it is called Mayfield's Snow Cream. But, the homemade was enjoyed by all!

I know many of our Ohio friends may make fun of us, but we were finally able to enjoy this day because no one had to go to work or school. To all my friend down south - YA'LL COME!

Why did Curtis have to die?

If you have read some of my previous post, you will know that my dear hubby and I have become fans of the show 24. We have been eagerly awaiting for the new season to start. It has been busy around the house so I am so thankful for our dvr or my new favorite word TiFaux. The first 4 hours have been pretty intense so far and it is not even lunch yet for Jack. Yesterday I was checking out various people's blogs, and I think most of the country is obsessed with 24 as we are. If only Jack Bauer was a real person, I believe he could fix most of the problems in the world - Iraq, Cuba, China, and Darfur. This should be an exciting season, especially trying to help my dear hubby remember who people are and what they did in the past seasons. I just do not like having to wait a week to see the next hour! So, if you need us on Mondays do not call when 24 is on (8-9 pm est). We need to know if Jack will save the world, and that we will be safe.

Will Jack try to hook up with Audrey? Will Kim need saving again? Will Jack get to eat a meal? Does my dear hubby really need and assistant like Chloe? Is Jeff B. really Jack Bauer - same initials? It makes you think.

College Football has Ended!!

College football has come to an end for the season, finally! It ended happy for some, sad for others, and for others just mercifully ended. I get my husband back on the weekends. Everything will not revolve around Auburn football. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching college football, but I am ready for it to be over by the end of the season. Now our weekends are filled with upwards basketball till the end of February. I am thankful that Noel does not follow basketball except for our girls playing. We will hopefully get things around the house done and maybe go places.

Thankfully the house is getting over our sicknesses. We have had some snow in which got the girls out of bed quicker. I have probably already taken close to 300 pics with my new camera. I know I am obsessive with it, but I really taking pictures. School is back in session. How do you explain that "am, is, are, was, and were" are verbs when they don't do anything? I have learned the English language can be confusing. How did we ever learn it, and why do we?

Also, I mentioned in my last posting about Noel getting a saxophone. Sadly to say there will be no public performances. It is for stress relief. Please no one put him under or cause him any stress! :)

All is Well

I am sitting here suffering from a cold. This is the third one in the past 2 months. I do not like feeling icky and surrounded by used tissues. Enough about me.

The Dears had a great Christmas. Mom and my brother are here. It is nice to have family during the holidays. The girls loved all their gifts. Hannah got the Smart Globe and is on her way to learning all her countries. One question, when did Oceania become a continent? I thought is was Australia. Emily got her first American Girl - Emily. She was so excited. The girl's girls are now good friends. Noel got me new camera which I absolutely love!! I will not tell you how many pictures I have taken. Noel got a saxophone. For those of you wondering he can play but will not play in public. We got several other things, but I not bore you with that. I can say thought I have the greatest husband. In my stocking this year, Noel got me several little treats I will get to get to enjoy in the coming year. It did not cost him much, but he gets the award for being the most creative this year. I have been trying every year to outdo him, but he is the master gifter, although he would agree when I got him the golf clubs for his bday was pretty exciting.

The girls are enjoying a break from school as am I, but I am trying to get psyched up for the new year.

Our family would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

FELIZ NAVIDAD

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Disney. I am being nice and not putting all the pictures. I took over 300 and I was able to reduce them down to 180 to scrapbook. For my birthday this year I receive stuff to do our Disney pictures - thanks girls, Noel, Rita, and Sherry. I am looking forward to doing the album.

FELIZ NAVIDAD from Mexico

MGM Studios

The girls meeting Cinderella at the Cinderella Breakfast.

Sleeping Beauty or Princess Aurora (Noel overheard 2 dad arguing which one she is) with the girls at the Princess Storybook Lunch at Norway.

Our family would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We are looking forward to hopefully a white Christmas (not a blizzard) and Mom and Joey being here.

Hannah's Birthday Present

How do you like Hannah's new car? She loves it and can't wait till she can drive. - NOT!! Just thought you would enjoy another picture from Disney. (Sam I am 2 up on you)

"The Happiest Place on Earth"

I am sitting here thinking about all that happened on our vacation. I am so thankful we were able to take the girls to the "Happiest Place on Earth" - Disneyworld! We had a great time in sunny, warm Florida. We were keeping up with the weather here in Ohio, and just thankful where we were. For those of you wondering, Noel's ears did not bother him thanks to ear tubes he had put in before we left. We chose this time of year because the crowds are suppose to be lighter. If this is the low time I would hate to see peak visiting time. I was also thankful my children are no longer in need of strollers! They were everywhere!!! As well as the scooters for adults. If you ask the girls, it was the greatest vacation of their lives. We could not of asked for better weather, good flights, hotels, and food. Yes, Disney food is good.

We arrived in Disney last Friday and set off to the parks as soon as we checked in. MGM Studios was the first park we went to. I was saving Magic Kingdom for Hannah's Bday. Hannah was willing to ride anything, but Emily decided not to ride the Tower of Terror while in line and we had to do a parent switch. Emily had a chance to be one of the ride bellhop greeters but did not want to put the costume on because she thought it looked like a boy. Oh well. Hannah got to ride the Tower 2 times in a row, once with Noel and then once with me. I put Noel on it first just to find out how it was. This is a ride that drops you in an elevator multiple times, and you never know how many because it is different every time. It was fun. Our first day was fun, but it was a long day because we had been up since 4:30 that morning, and Emily fell asleep at dinner that night.



The next day we spent at Animal Kingdom and Epcot. At Animal Kingdom they have the coolest ride - Everest. We all rode it (although Emily did it with her eyes closed) and loved it! There is a show at AK that is called "It's Tough to be a Bug", that we went to. Emily who is terrified of bugs even wanted to go. It is one the new 3D movies with air blowing and smells. The creepiest part was at the end. I will not give it away, but it even freaked me out. That night we went to Epcot and got to ride Mission Space and Test Track. Both were very fun. I told Noel Test Track was like riding with him. Also, while at Epcot we went to Turtle Talk with Crush and he told Hannah Happy Birthday which was pretty cool.


Sunday was the most anticipated day - Hannah's Bday and Magic Kingdom. They were so excited to see the Castle and to see Cinderella. Six months ago I scheduled breakfast with the Princess' in the Castle. These are very sought after reservation. I probably could have sold them on ebay. The girls got to have their picture taken with Cinderella and during the meal Belle, Fairy Godmother, Jasmine, and Snow White came around for autographs and pictures. All VERY exciting. We got to ride all the rides, see shows, parades, and fireworks. We told Hannah we had it all arranged for her. (Don't tell her otherwise ;) ) Emily was excited during the fireworks because Tinkerbell flew overhead. We can say we shut down MK that night. We were there till 11 p.m.


I could go on about all we did, but I will not bore you. We rode just about every ride at every park. We ate around the world at Epcot World Showcase, saw Mario Lopez, had breakfast with Mickey Mouse, dinner with Goofy (no I do not mean Noel), rode in the tea cups with Alice in Wonderland, walked for it seemed like miles, and just had a great time. So many things happened, so it is hard to put them all down. I only took about 300 pictures so I will be working on the scrapbook album soon. If you get to go in the future I have one word for you FASTPASS. To sum it all up - memories to last a lifetime!

Will we ever get to sleep?

5 days and counting. Do you remember the commercial of the kids (and parents) who couldn't get to sleep because they were leaving for Disneyworld? I thought that was just a joke and you could possibly be that excited. I was wrong. I am not sure who is more excited in our family us or the girls. It is hard to believe that it is almost time to go. We thought this week would never get here. Several years ago we got one of those big water bottles, and we told the girls when they filled it up with change he would take them to DisneyWorld. Well we didn't get it exactly all filled up, but last year Noel and I decided that we would go. So this trip has been in planning and saving stages for about a year, and it is now here. YEA!!!

I am especially excited, since Christmas is my favorite time of the year, to get to see Disneyworld decorated for Christmas. We are currently watching on TV a special about all the decorations there. Giant gingerbread and houses and carousels made of chocolate. You just cannot get any better than that. Plus getting to see all the lights that are put up there. During Christmas I always say more lights the better.

OK EVERYONE - THUMBS UP FOR THE TIGERS!!

Fear the thumb no longer - it is here !! Hats off to the Auburn Tigers for winning the Iron Bowl for the last five years. WAR EAGLE!! All's well in the Dear House. I know my team lost, but they did have a good showing. We have our rivalry game - can you say EGG BOWL - next week to the other team in MS. Oh and congrats to my Ohio friends - way to go Bucks. Sorry Sean ;(

Thankful for Our Freedom

We have been studying Thomas Jefferson and decided to read the Declaration of Independence. I found this part of the Declaration to be very interesting. I think many people who are against this war and why we are fighting need to read this great document in from history. When there are governments out their trying to destroy ours it is our duty to abolish them. It says so in the Declaration! I know it is terrible when soldiers die, but those soldiers volunteered to uphold the freedoms we have here and that we should be thankful for. If you think back in the many wars we have been a part of we lost more in those than we have in this current one. We should be proud to be an American and not be afraid to do what it right and to help secure rights of others God has given them. Some may say this Declaration may be outdated, but it is what gave you your freedom to what you want and say what you want. Many people in other countries don't have this, and that is what our soldiers are out their doing. Helping them get their freedom. If was not for brave soldiers from our history, we would still be part of England.

excerpt from the "Declaration of Independence" by Thomas Jefferson

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world"

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Sad day for Republicans. Hannah ask me this morning who won, and I had to tell her the other team did. And I quote from her, "Oh, no we are going to have to pay more taxes!"

Yesterday Emily said almost crying, "I'm a Republican, I don't want to be a democrat."

I believe we are raising our children correctly - godly young ladies wanting to change the world.


2Ch 7:14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Mississippi State vs. Alabama

Miss. State 24 - Alabama 16

(click on logo)








GOOOOOO DAWWWWGGGGSSSSS!! (insert cow bell ringing!)

My Dawgs won!!!! For my Ohio friends Alabama is NOT Noel's team. He is celebrating with me on our victory over Auburn's top rival!!!

I'm so thankful for this opportunity. It's such a blessing for a person to grow up in this town, to go to school across the (railroad) tracks (at Central High), to get an education here at the University, and, now, to coach at Mississippi State. If you're looking for miracles, you're looking at one.''-- Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom.

``This is the best (win) we've had since I've been here, no question,'' Croom admitted after State's 24-16 victory.

Beggar's Night

Here are the girls at our church's Trunk-a-Treat in front of our princess table. We were hoping to have it outside, but just as crazy as Ohio weather is, it was raining. Thankfully we could have it in our church's FLC. The girls had fun yesterday painting their pumpkins as princess' of course and getting to decorate their buckets. But I think best of all was getting to be princesses. 29 days till Disneyworld. Sorry there is no picture of me. I was the queen mother, but due to the rain I chose to wear my casual crown, but I did wear my jewels.

Apple Pickin'

This past Saturday we have a fun family outing. The girls and I were able to talk Noel into going apple picking with us. There were no good football games on tv that morning and Auburn was not playing till the afternoon. The weather was perfect as Ohio weather goes. The sun had decided to come out and we were able to be outside without too many layers. This is always fun for the girls especially for Hannah who eats the apples will picking them. This is the 2nd year for us to do this. Last year we picked a bunch of apples and were able to make ALOT of apple butter. Anybody need any? We are trying to decide what we are going to do with them this year - pie, cake, applesauce? We did decide which type of apple was our favorite this year - golden delicious. It is a nice sweet, juicy apple. There is nothing like getting apples fresh from the tree. I will put this Ohio experience as a must do if you get a chance, and one we hope to do every fall.

In Case you are Wondering

1. Name three people you would pick (and why) if you could choose who to be stranded on a deserted island with. - (1)My wonderful husband - obvious reason (2)Jack Bauer - in case we need protection or there is any sort of terorist activity (3) MacGyver

2. What is your favorite genre of film and what is your favorite movie from that genre? Comedy - 50 First Dates

3. Which country would you like to visit and why? Switzerland - Chocolate

4. What are you driving these days? What's it's (their) good and bad points? Would you buy another one, and why or why not? Honda Accord - safety and good on gas mileage/ would like just a little more leg room/ i would buy anything made by Honda

5. "Lost," "24," or both? 24

6. You've been very good this year. What should Santa bring you for Christmas? (the sky is the limit) a new home or a trip to Europe

7. How do you eat an oreo cookie? you take 2 cookies separate them, eat the 2 without the cream and then put the 2 with cream together and then eat those

8. How long does it take you to eat lunch?lunch? do I eat lunch?

9. Caffeine or decaf?caffeine - especially in the morning

10. Chicken or beef?both

11. Pen or pencil?pen

12. Autumn or spring?autumn

13. Baseball or basketball? neither - football is best

14. 'Survivor' or 'The Amazing Race?' - both

She Finally Lost It!!!

Friday morning was an exciting day at the Dear home. After weeks of wiggling, praying, and letting no one touch it Emily's tooth finally fell out. I am just thankful she did not swallow it. We have had several people offer to pull it, but she said she just wanted it to fall out. The tooth immediately went into the bag of the tooth fairy doll and she was awarded with the giant payout of $1 this morning. She was ready to spend it, but Hannah, the saver in the family, convinced her to wait. I guess this is one of many steps to her growing up into a lovely young lady.
If you cannot figure out which one fell out, it is the one on the bottom. She has the gap like her mom and sister. Sorry girls.

My New Indulgence

My new favorite thing - Mani/Pedi. Some WONDERFUL people gave me a gift certificate for one and I LOVED IT!! Sitting there for an hour without anyone bothering you. Who could complain? I have had many manicures in the past before, which I always enjoy, but never a pedicure. Only complaint, OSU playing on the TV. I could get use to getting one of these everyweek. Maybe my wonderful husband would let me get one maybe once a month. I definitely beats doing your own french manicure at home. By the way Sally Hansen French Manicure pen is #1. For all you moms out there treat yourself with this at least once in your life.

Day at the Zoo with Jenny and Ashley

We were so excited to get to see Jenny and Ashley a couple of weeks ago. For those who do not know them Ashley is our former children's minister from AL and Jenny is her sister. The girls love them and we do to. Ashley is now working in Louisville, KY so it is easier for us to get to see her. Jenny came to visit her and they drove up and met us. We took them to the Columbus Zoo. It was a nice day for the zoo. They were amazed how nice the zoo is. We are very fortunate to have great zoo in Columbus. Ashley and Jenny had been to the zoos in Atlanta and Birmingham and commented how much better the Columbus one is. In Bham half the animals are laying on concrete slabs, and in Atl the animals are in their "natural" habitat, but you really do not get to see them up close like you do here. Emily had fun, because she had to have her picture taken with all the sculpture. Most of the animals were active the day we were there. The lion roared, the grizzly was playing in the water, a kangaroo jumped by us, and a cute little gorilla was playing next to the window and reacting to us standing there. It was just a great day with our friends and was capped off with dinner at Cheesecake Factory and ice cream at Graeters. We hope Ashley and family will get to see us again soon.

Lemonade for Missions

I know Noel has already talked about the lemonade stand, but here is the picture of the girls waiting for their first customer. They had a great time serving lemonade. Hannah was in charge of the money and Emily the ice. We had many people stop buy. Thank you to all the church members who came by. The money the girls earned went to Michael and Jonathan George's mission trip to Kenya. We were out there for about 2 1/2 hours. Hannah did not want to come in because she want to get more money for the mission trip. They were very excited about having the stand. They raised $65 for their hard work and are asking when they can do another one. We ask everyone to pray for Michael and Jonathan. They leave on Sept 20th and return on Oct 3rd. Also pray for our team goingto the Ukraine as well during this time. It is exciting to see people in our church to get out of their comfort zone to go and witness to people around the world. Our pray is to become an Acts 1:8 church.

GO DAWGS!!!!

I am so excited about the MSU Bulld0gs playing tonight! I was just looking at the stadium webcam and got a little misty thinking about all the games I attended during college. You know cramming those 4 yrs into 6. I know every year I have do endure the endless abuse of my husband about how bad we are, and making fun of our coach. I don't care. I love the DAWGS and I will never stop pulling for them. I wish the DAWGS all the luck this season. I will be watching for my brother, who will be at the game. Mom got him season tickets for his bday. By the way - HAPPY 22nd JOEY! Present will be in the mail soon. I am including a clip of our fight song so click on the logo and maybe it will work. If not click here. Please yankeeville carry SEC sports, because they are the best. Here is to a great football year, and maybe we can wrap it up in Maroon and White. (I put that in just for you Noel)

Coming Soon to a theatre near you!!!

Everyone should see this movie!! Rarely do you have a movie you can carry the entire family to the movie and not be embarrassed. Thankfully it is coming to Columbus. Noel and I were able to see it at the SBC Convention this summer. This movie is brought to by the same church who did "Flywheel", which is also an awesome movie. Noel said he liked it better than the Passion movie. There is no bad language in it either movie. You will laugh. You will cry. I can not stress how important it is to see this movie on opening weekend. If you like Georgia football Mark Richt makes a cameo apperance as himself. You can find out more info about this movie at www.facingthegiants.com. I cannot say it enough - GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!

Fiesta 2006

I know I am slow at posting pics from VBS. We had a great turn out with our highest day of 149 kids. Everyone had a great time, and a big thanks to all who volunteered and worked hard getting everything together. The kids favorite things were shouting "VIVA!" and seeing Noel and Pastor Wally receiving a pie in the face. Sam you did a great job. I am thankful VBS is only nce a year. Here are some pics from the week.

What's in a Name?

I was checking out a friends blog, and she had posted why she chose the name of her blog. There are some straight to the point and other you wonder where they got that. Mine, endearing as it seems, is oddly enough our last name. Yes, I do get the comments on how sweet it must be to have this last name. Our former pediatrician loved it. You can join the others by adding your reason behind your blogging names at Chelsea Morning blog.

P.S. Here's a shout out to the the Dawg Fans out there. Beat the Gamecocks.

What is this?

Here is a picture I took on vacation. Can you guess what it is?

For the Beggars and Complainers.

It has been busy around the Dear house lately. Here is a quick synopsis of vacation.

• Greenbrier - Wonderful time. I got to wear my new dress and shoes. The resort was beautiful. In the short time we were there I tried to absorb the history and think of all the people that had been there in the past 200 some odd years. All the presidents, dignitaries and movie stars that have vacationed there. We were sad that we did not get to see the underground bunker. They were getting it ready to reopen after we were there. It is neat being somewhere that requires a dress code. We got to eat dinner in the main dining room, which was fabulous. Maybe a dance or two was had, but being Baptist I will plead the fifth. I would recommend going once in someone's lifetime. We can now saw we are part of the history at The Greenbrier. If you do get to go, try the chocolates.

• Myrtle Beach - Getting to the beach we had to take the scenic trip thru Alabama. We received the news will at the resort the Papa Jim's mom had died. We were to pick the girls up in Greenville, SC, but due to the death we had to drive to AL to get the girls. We had put 2000 miles on our car before getting to the beach. Noel and I were tired of driving. We were happy to get our girls back. They had a great time getting to see Nana, Papa Jim, Aunt Stacy, Uncle Todd, Taylor, Noah, Olivia, Zoe, Grandnana, and who knows else. We were all ready to see the beach, since we had not gone in 2 years. We finally arrive there on Saturday night. Our days were spent either at the beach or pool. We played Monopoly Jr. and Uno. Noel and I decided upon recommendation by Jeff to watch 24. So we started with season 4. I think we finished the entire season in about 2 1/2 days. We are definitely fans now. We were excited to be back in the land of she crab soup, Chick-fi-la, Krispy Kreme, crab claws, and Little River Deli. All I can say about Krispy Kreme is 3 words HOT DOUGHNUTS NOW!!! Noel did get to play golf, and I shopped. We just had a great time doing nothing. As I mentioned in the earlier blog, Hannah was an adventurous eater on this trip. She tried fried alligator (I did as well), raw oysters eaten on a cracker with cocktail sauce, wings, and ribs. Emily was not so adventurous except in enjoying ice cream and doughnuts. Emily did become a better swimmer and learned to boogie board. So all in all we did have a great vacation and we are thankful for our church for letting us be gone for 2 weeks. Miles on the car 3200. So here is our picture of "we got to go to the beach and you didn't".

So I hope my blogging fans are happy with an update. I will try to update more often. If you start complaining again I may be forced to put up the above picture again.

Quick update

Sorry for the delay of updates. After vacation we hit the ground running of getting ready for vacation bible school. I hope to give you more detail and pics of vacation soon.

So here is a brief synopsis of vacation -

• week with no children - quiet
• Greenbrier Resort - wonderful, #1
• 2000 miles on the car before we get to the beach - LONG car ride
• Myrtle Beach - fun, fun, fun
• our new favorite TV show - 24

Once VBS is over I will have a little more time.