The Story of My Life

I made a real life friend that I feel like was my friend for a long time now anyways. Dust Bunny Hostage and I were able to meet and chat as our paths finally crossed over the Thanksgiving holiday. She is such a fun friend in the virtual world, and in real life as well. We could have chatted for HOURS AND HOURS. It was such fun to chat, confide and yes, sadly, leave with a hug. I know we will meet again. Soon. I even called Leigh to brag and we all decided to plan a spring Alabama blogging convention so we can all mix and mingle! Leigh called me a name for forgetting my camera.... CAN YOU BELIEVE I left it at my mother's on the counter while going to meet a celebrity like Dustbunny????? Bunny had hers, thank goodness, so we could record our meeting. Bunny said she had Farrah Fawcett hair in these, but I love them and I love my now real life friend as well Baby girl also took some of us with my Blackberry they were cute too.... A perfect Thanksgiving treat.... I really am Thankful...

The children had a blast playing on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. They played hard and crashed where they fell that night. Of course, we, like good parents, left them and went to bed so as not to disturb their slumber. We visited a great city park and the kids played. Of course, I made them pose for a few pictures. After eating our veggies, ham and turkey, we all had a piece of our favorite Chocolate pie. Stuffed!!!

Family, good times and memories. Sunrise and Sunset..... Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Welcome. Our Story Begins here- at Home. As the holiday season creeps in upon us, I want to share our holiday spirit. When I had no children in my home, my holiday spirit was formal, full of crystal and breakables obsessively in perfect order. Now that the joy of my children is breathing in and out of every corner of my home, their presence has made my holiday home much merrier. Every year my holiday treasures grow with memories of good times and love shared. Home is, truly where your story begins! Each year we add a new ornament for each of them to the tree, most of the time a photo is included- you know me! My step mom made each child a tiny crochet bear with their initials and correct eye color when they were born. They hang perfectly beside the 2005 PJ pic.- Included now are years of pictures, cutout red power rangers and Christmas lists made on a spool. Things I would have hung on back of the tree in a previous life. Now I display the hand print snowman ornament, Veggie Tales on a...

I always end up taking more pictures in November and December than the rest of the year combined. Here is Baby girl on her first photo shoot of the season.

Happy Holidays! Thanksgiving brings about my favorite time of the year.....from now until new Years goes by so fast. Here is some food for thought to begin the festivities. What about a huge, yummy homemade chocolate covered apple? Or a vase made from a pumpkin? Look at this beautiful arrangement- perfect for November. I had the pleasure of photographing a dinner at the Cates House, an extension of the Kingwood Christian Church. The house was breathtaking, comfortable and spilling over with southern charm. From pumpkin fudge to read beans and rice, the food was delicious and the atmosphere was perfect! For any party, celebration meeting or occasion, call the Cates House for a spectacular setting. The Cates House 100 Harvest Way Alabaster, AL 205-368-8000 Brenda Lee, Executive Director- who was so efficient and helpful! Doesn't that look inviting? Happy Thanksgiving. Tis the Season to realize how blessed we are.

Well, I am still here. No posts last week... For several reasons. 1. Reading 2. Yard Sale 3. Reading 4. Rosetta Stone Spanish And I guess, taking care of the 2 kids is thrown in there somewhere. We had a successful yard sale and Ebayed several profitable items as well. Friday night was spent at home pricing items. The sale was from 7-12 and made us money for Christmas! Dave Ramsey really says to put it on debt.....any extra you have.....but do not tell him that a Barbie House is really expensive. And 4 girls and one boy. Plus the car, bus and dog. I am finished with New Moon and over half done with Eclipse in the Stephanie Meyer Twilight series. They are wonderful tales and I even dreamed about the characters once or twice-- they are that vivid! And then- we are all learning Spanish via Rosetta Stone. It is fun and addictive as well. My son and I started it this weekend. My husband has been studying for 3 months now. Language through total immersion....interesting. I do like the co...

I took a trip back to my hometown Sunday in honor of my grandmother's birthday. 95th birthday to be exact! The leaves on the mountain were beautiful and it was quite chilly. It was great to see my family and celebrate a beautiful day and a beautiful occasion. My MawMaw is my only living grandparent. She celebrated her 95th birthday with almost all her family. Her daughter and 2 living sons, all but one of her 11 grandchildren, lots of great-grandchildren , and even 2 great-great grandchildren. My PawPaw and Uncle Merle passed away several years back, but MawMaw is still spry. She lived alone until she was 93 and then sold her home and moved to an assisted living facility. She didn't like it at first because she said "all those elderly people who lived around her could not do anything" and she had to take care of them all. She is older than any of them there! She had lived in her little 2 bedroom home with large yard until then, but was not really able to take care of ...

My niece JessJess had been urging me to read the Stephanie Meyer books for a year now.... She came to visit this summer and left me the first 3 books of the series. She came back later in the summer and I had not read the first one, so she took them home. I guess I just figured I, a grown up librarian, literary intellect that I was- could not possible love young adult novels concerning vampires. Was I ever wrong. Jess came back to visit last weekend and brought me Twilight , the first book in the series. I began reading it on Sunday afternoon and was hooked. I hurried the children to bed, took it to work, stayed up way too late and finished it in no time. Bella Swan is the heroine of the tale and we are immediately drawn to her story. Moving to Forks, Washington, the least sunny place in the USA, was a choice she did not really want to make, but one she choose out of determination to do what she needed to do. Charlie is her stranger father and she moves there to live with him and giv...

I have a blogger friend, Leigh, who I have been doing some graphic work for her blog in the last several months. She is a shining Christian blogger that has a gift for communicating. I have always been happy to contribute to her blog and ministry. She has sent me really cool purses in the mail in return for my services. She recently wanted a few more things done to her blog. I agreed to help her. Let me step back and say..... As my blog readers know, we started on a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace plan for our family recently. We have budgeted every dollar the rest of the year and I do not find it impossible. just constraining and different and really NO FUN in the short run. Believe me, the first months on this plan are anything but peaceful. We have COMPLETELY changed our spending, giving and budgeting lifestyle- for the better, I may add- from the past 19 years of our marriage. We are not starving and have more than everything we need. So I do not mean to say that we are- just that chan...

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN GUILTY OF LOOKING AT OTHERS YOUR OWN AGE AND THINKING, SURELY I CAN'T LOOK THAT OLD. WELL.... I WAS SITTING IN THE WAITING ROOM FOR MY FIRST APPOINTMENT WITH A NEW DENTIST. I NOTICED HIS DDS DIPLOMA, WHICH BORE HIS FULL NAME. SUDDENLY, I REMEMBERED A TALL, HANDSOME, DARK-HAIRED BOY WITH THE SAME NAME HAD BEEN IN MY HIGH SCHOOL CLASS SOME 20-ODD YEARS AGO. COULD HE BE THE SAME GUY THAT I HAD A SECRET CRUSH ON, WAY BACK THEN? UPON SEEING HIM, HOWEVER, I QUICKLY DISCARDED ANY SUCH THOUGHT. THIS BALDING, GRAY-HAIRED MAN WITH THE DEEPLY LINED FACE WAS WAY TOO OLD TO HAVE BEEN MY CLASSMATE. AFTER HE EXAMINED MY TEETH, I ASKED HIM IF HE HAD ATTENDED MY HIGH SCHOOL . "YES. YES, I DID. My Alma Mater, " HE GLEAMED WITH PRIDE. "WHEN DID YOU GRADUATE?" I ASKED. HE ANSWERED , "IN 1986. " "WHY DO YOU ASK?" "YOU WERE IN MY CLASS!", I EXCLAIMED. HE LOOKED AT ME CLOSELY. THEN, THAT UGLY, OLD, BALD, WRINKLED, ...

Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies. * Aristotle Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you. * Elbert Hubbard The proper office of a friend is to side with you when you are in the wrong. Nearly anybody will side with you when you are in the right. * Mark Twain Good friends are like stars.... You don't always see them, but you know they are always there. Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty. ~Sicilian Proverb The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend. ~Aristotle In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. ~Albert Schweitzer Friends are God's way of apologizing to us for our families. A good friend is cheaper than therapy. One measure of friendship consists not in the number of things friends can discuss, but in the number of things they need no longer ...