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.