An Indian, a Pilgrim, and a Mouse!

What a title!

An Indian, a Pilgrim, and a Mouse... Oh My!

Last week brought all of the above, plus a bunch of cuteness,

lots of thankfulness, and tons of fun!

I better explain....

Thursday, Cole had his first party in 3P at his new school.

They did a little program in their classroom for Thanksgiving.

They dressed as Indians, sang some cute songs, and had a little Thanksgiving snack!

Cole's class singing (Cole is the second from the left)

My cute little Indian!

Cole and Me! (I made the blog!)

Cole's turkey... It says I am thankful for HORSES!

Who Knew??? I love the answers kids will come up with out of no where! :)

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Friday, Scout's class had their Thanksgiving Feast.

The K-4 classes dressed as Indians and Pilgrims, sang songs, and ate lunch.

Scout's class dressed as pilgrims.

Thursday, she came home as an Indian (Princess Blue Bell),

but she took off her costume before I could get a picture.

Daddy and Scout at the feast!

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Friday night, we celebrated Jake's 7th birthday at Chuck E Cheese!

His real birthday is on Thanksgiving Day this year so we celebrated a little early this year.

He had a sports theme party (Alabama and Auburn).

The boy absolutely LOVES football, and he really likes every team!

He got an Alabama football, an Auburn football, Alabama and Auburn shirts,

glow in the dark footballs, a flag football set, some cool toys,

lots of money, and so much more!
His favorite was his Cam Newton jersey Grandmama and Granddaddy bought him!

Eating pizza and cake!

Playing some games!

And Jake's favorite event of the night...

The ticket blaster!

He got to take one person in with him, and of course, he picked his cousin Connor!

They had so much fun in there! Jake got over three hundred tickets!

He had a great party.

It was a busy, crazy, wonderful week!

Just a Thought

I saw this quote yesterday on a local church marquis.

It was perfect, inspiring, and yet simply said.

Just wanted to share it with you.

The ONLY way to MAKE a DIFFERENCE

is to be DIFFERENT!

The Golden Rule

One thing I would like to teach my children is the Golden Rule.

Yes, the famous rule we all learned in kindergarten...

I know we all remember hearing it, saying it, and learning it.

Wait, did we really learn it?

I am not so sure that we did, or more importantly that I did. I like to think that I think of others, and that I treat them the way that I want to be treated. But a lot of times I am so focused on how someone treated me, or worrying did someone think of me, that I am pretty sure I am not thinking of others because I am in the way. Our society has become so ME focused, and I am just as guilty as the next person.

I worry that our children's generation will suffer even more. I try to teach my children to think of others, to give to others, and to consider others feelings on a daily basis. But do they get the message? Am I teaching the message? Am I living the message so that they can learn by example?

This really hit me yesterday as I helped my oldest son put together a shoe box for a needy child for Christmas for the Operation Christmas Child program that his school is participating in. We chose to do a box for a little boy Jake's age. One of the items I purchased for the box was a football. Jake LOVES football so I thought it would be a perfect gift for another little boy. Jake asked if he could have the football for himself. Jake already has a football EXACTLY like the one I bought for the little boy. His reply... well this one is new, he would just give his old one away.

Hmmmmm...Really?

Well, we did not switch the footballs out (of course), and I tried to explain to Jake that this child probably did not have a football and might not get anything else for Christmas. I think he understood, then he asked what about Santa Claus? Wouldn't HE bring the boy something for Christmas? I think I need to try a little harder. Does he see me giving to others? Not for birthdays, Christmas, or other special occasions, but giving daily to others...


But this is not just about giving gifts, it is about treating others the way we want to be treated. In a world full of email and texting, are we losing the ability to really connect with people? Is sending someone a text message asking how they are, really the same as calling them or asking them in person? I like to text as much as the next person. It is convenient and fast, but it is hardly the only way I communicate with others, or is it? It honestly never crossed my mind until yesterday.

I recently joined a community bible study (thanks to a sweet friend of mine that helped get me in after it started). Yesterday when I got home, I had a message on my home phone, which rarely happens, and I did not recognize the number on caller ID. The message was from my group leader from Bible study. Her voice was so sweet and friendly, and she wanted NOTHING but to say she was thinking about me, hoped I was having a great week, and hoped to see me Wednesday. WOW. I know it sounds unimportant, and even simple, but knowing that she took the time to call meant a lot. She could have text me or emailed me, but she called. That took time on her part. She spent some of her time on me, someone she barely knows. Her calling meant a lot to me even though we did not speak. It made me feel special. I know it sounds crazy, but it did.




It made me think about how often I call my friends to check on them, send them a card, or let them know I love them. Not by a text message or an IM on facebook. Life gets so busy that we forget the important things while dealing with the mundane. I actually bought several cards over two months ago to mail to friends for no reason, just thought they would like to get a card in the mail. I have never mailed them. I have been too busy. Really?


I want to be better and set a better example for my children and for others. People are important and worth our time. Let's put the golden rule into practice. Forgive those who have hurt us, connect with those who need us, and love each other the way God wanted us to love.

Y-Daddy's Petting Zoo

Don's dad, or Y-Daddy as we call him, bought two horses earlier this year,

and yesterday brought three alpacas to add to his collection.

Don calls it Y-Daddy's petting zoo. The kids love it!

Y-Daddy and Jake

We went out there this afternoon to see the new alpacas.

None of us knew what to expect, or for that matter, what an alpaca was exactly.

Here are the new alpacas...

They are very sweet and friendly.

I named them the three stooges - Larry, Moe, and Curly.

They were very silly looking and stuck together like glue.

I thought the names were perfect.

Later, after Y-Daddy and Nanny arrived,

I sadly learned they were already named.

I can't remember the names though!

Think I will just stay with the three stooges! :)

This was Don feeding Curly.

There are also two beautiful horses - Boots and Blue Jeans.

Those are their real names :)

The kids love to feed them,

and Boots (the brown horse) loves every second of it!

He would eat as long as you feed him.

Blue Jeans is not that friendly, but she is warming up.

She let Don feed her today. This was a HUGE milestone.

Blue Jeans

Scout, Jake, Bailey, and Cole
Some of Y-Daddy's little helpers!

Happy Birthday!

November and December are very busy months for everyone,

but in our family they are even busier because

the majority of our family has birthdays during these months.

My mom's birthday starts off the birthday madness on November 11!

We celebrated her birthday last night!

We went to the Olive Garden for a wonderful meal,

and then came to our house for cake and presents!

And that's how the birthday craziness begins.

Check out the rest of the birthdays during the next two months!

My nephew Nicholas - Nov. 21

Jake - Nov. 25

Scout - Nov 29

My sister in law Kellie - Nov 30

My niece Audrey - Dec 2

My niece Bailey - Dec 3

Cole - Dec 8

Don - Dec 27

My brother in law, DW - Dec 29

That makes 10 birthdays!

And that is four of the five members in our house that have a birthday in the next two months!

Looks like a need to go shopping! (As if I needed an excuse :) )

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut!

Saturday, we ventured out to the National Peanut Festival parade and fair.

My sister and her family came down from Atlanta,

and, along with my parents,

we loaded up and headed off to have some fun!

First we went to the parade.

Unfortunately, my camera died and I have no pictures.

But it was so much fun to see the floats and queens and listen to the bands.

After the parade, we grabbed some lunch and headed to the fair.

I have not been to the fair in about 5 years mainly because

Jake is allergic to peanuts. It just made me too nervous.

But we packed up all the medicine and epipen and off we went,

and thankfully didn't need to use any of the medicine!

We looked at a few exhibits first.

Of course, the kids loved the tractors.

Scout really wanted to see a pink pig so we went to the animal barns.

Sadly, most of the animals were gone, and she did not get to see a pig.

SO....

we played a game, and...

and won a pink pig!

All of the boys played too.

Jake, Nicholas, and Cole all won cute little spotty dogs,

and Nolan won a green frog.

Then it was time to ride some rides.

All Scout wanted to do was ride the big Ferris wheel,

and once Jake and Cole saw it, they wanted to ride too.

So I took all three kids on the Ferris wheel. No one else would ride.

Thankfully there was a 12 yr. old girl who needed someone to ride with,

and she sat with us and helped me with the little ones.

This is the view from the top of the Ferris wheel.

After the Ferris wheel, we walked the midway

and found some other rides that were a lot of fun!

Then we shared a funnel cake,

and it was time to go watch the second half of the Alabama game.

Let's just say the fair was a lot more fun than the Bama game.

My Baby Girl

She is growing up so fast!

In the past few weeks, Scout has lost her first tooth

and learned to ride her bike without training wheels!

(Look close- the missing tooth is on the bottom)

She was so proud and excited.

She lost her tooth before school and couldn't wait to go so she could show everyone.

She has become such a big girl,

and she doesn't turn 5 until the end of this month!