Merry Christmas from the FAM-A-LY!!

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Concert & Class Reunion

Hello friends! Just to update on my tailbone condition: I'm feeling a lot better, although there is still a lot of discomfort. I have to be very careful in the way that I move or to not sit down hard. Once the swelling went down, it started to feel much better. Also the bruising is starting to turn more of a lighter blue now. The dr. said it will take about 6 weeks to heal. Thank you for all your prayers.

Bret & I had a great time at the Casting Crowns Christmas concert last week. Special guests were Michael English, which I am a loooong time fan, Avalon, Denver & the Mile High Orchestra, pureNRG, a new teenage group, & Natalie Grant. We were so lucky to have front row, center stage seats!! What a great view! Here's a few pics from the concert.

















Finally, I went to my 20 year *tear* class reunion in TN. this weekend. Wow, I cannot believe it has been 20 years!! I saw so many people there that I haven't seen in 10-20 years. Not everyone showed up, but we had enough to have a great time. My sweet & gracious friend, Jan & her husband Justin, let me crash at their house all weekend. Jan did a wonderful job of planning all this & putting it together. We had 2 nights of fun. Friday night was a girls night at Jan's house. We had lots of food & sat around telling stories & talking about our families & old times. Saturday night was a fun night out on the town with the guys & girls, along with some spouses. And my 2 brothers also joined us. We did a little dancing & a lot of laughing. It was sooo much fun! We have all committed to trying to get together once a year & doing something. It's great getting to catch up with old friends. Here are a few pix. One of Jan & me (I miss her so much), a group pic of all of us & I can't resist sneaking in a pic of my sweet brothers w/me.

Prayers

I would like to ask for prayers for safety this weekend. I am driving to TN for a class reunion, which wouldn't be such a big deal, but I fell this week & broke my tail bone in 2 places. So, driving has been a little bit of a challenge for me. I've found a way to prop on a pillow to relieve some pressure & I think that I'll be ok.

I'm sure you'll hear all about the reunion when I return, plus I'll tell you about the Casting Crowns Christmas concert that Bret & I went to this week & post a couple pics. It was awesome!! Thanks for your prayers & I hope you have a wonderful weekend doing some shopping or crafting (Kim & Jill) or whatever you choose to do.
Peace!!

**IF THERE IS EVER ONE BOOK YOU READ.....

........PLEASE, let it be "The Shack" by William Paul Young. This is one of the best books I have ever read. It has changed my life forever. I want to read it again! Go to this link, http://theshackbook.com/aimages/bookmarklongad.jpg, & read the reviewes & previews of it. I promise, you will not be disappointed and you will not be able to put the book down. It made me bawl like a baby, then made me laugh out loud at times, but most importantly made me stop & think about relationships in my life & how I treat people. Oh yes, it has DEFINATELY changed me. And please, call, e-mail or text me & let me know how it affects you. I'd love to know if it has the same affect on you that it did on me. God Bless!

Thanksgiving & Family Time

Wow, I am so thankful for so many things & people in my life! Just when you think you have all the love in world from all the people that matter, God drops more love in your lap! The last 2 weeks, I have gotten to spend time with with some of the most precious people in this world. My nieces & my nephews, who next to my children, are the most precious gift that I have been blessed with. I haven't gotten to spend a lot of time w/2 of my nieces, Haylee & Ashlynn. But in the last 2 weeks, I have been back home to TN, & by the grace of God, I had the oppurtunity to get to know these sweet angels. I also got to meet my nephew, who is 5 yrs old. His name is Alex & I fell in love with him also the 1st time I laid eyes on him. And then there's Dakota & Brilee. I have always been in their lives & I can't begin to explain the love & joy they have brought me. We treasure each & every second that we have with all of them. Not only that, I spent Thanksgiving at home with my family. We haven't done that in quite a few years. My Pepaw is 94 years old, and not getting along very well. I am very thankful to have spent some precious time with him these last couple weeks, since I don't know how much more time he has left on this earth. There honestly is nothing else I could ever ask for. Just spending time with the people I love is ALLLLL I ever need. What are you thankful for? Look around you & count all the many blessings in your life. I bet like me, you'll find way more than you thought you would. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! PEACE!

FAIR TIME!!

Ahhhh, fair time in NE Arkansas is soooo much fun!!! This is something we look forward to every year. One thing that I love about it is finding out who the big-name country music singers will be giving FREE concerts. This year, of course, was Chuck Wicks & Luke Bryan. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see either one, this year, but I did get to meet Mr. Hunkie Pie, as you can see from my last post. My children look forward to most of all the rides & getting to run off with all of their friends. They don't get to run off from mom with friends very often. And we all look forward to the FOOD!!!!! OMG, the smells are incredible!!! Funnel cake, cotton candy, roasted corn on the cob, giant roasted turkey legs and they even had deep-fried candy bars this year!!! Wowza, thats a lot of calories! But it's only once a year and it is soooooo worth it. Needless to say, we had LOTS of fun. Just to give a little hint of the fun, I posted a few pics. First is my children & I at the end of the night saying bye-bye to the fair, Bret & Cody with their Cotton Candy, Cody with all of his friends, my BFF-Kim & I & Bret with all of her friends. It's kinda sad to think it's over :(.

Chuck Wicks

Hey friends! I know I haven't been around lately. Just been so busy with kids starting back to school, sports, & everything else they're involved in. Sorry I haven't been stopping by, but I'm trying to catch up on what everyone's been doing.

WOO-HOOO!!!! Look at this Hunkie-Pie that I got to meet this week! Oh yes, that's Chuck Wicks. He was in town this week doing a concert at our fair. He was the sweetest, cutest thing I have ever met. Now, if I could only get Tim McGraw to squeeze me that tight!!!! Well, maybe not. I'd probably faint.

The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian

I took my kids to see "The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian" today. This was their 2nd full week out of school & we really haven't done anything fun yet. Oh yea, we did finally get the pool all cleaned & refilled, ready for use this week. But anyway, this movie is really good. It's not as fairytale-ish as the 1st one, but very adventurous. I highly recommend it for anyone with (or without) children. It's not scarey at all, so any age group would enjoy it. Of course we had our popcorn, soda & candy. That's the best part, ya know! Today we treated ourselves to a special treat of Dippin' Dots on the way out. YUMMY!!! A very good day spent with the kids!!! I took a pic of the kids with my phone today since I didn't have my camera with me. Not the best quality, but at least it's a memory.

Bret Got Her Braces Off!!

BRET--BEFORE JULY 2005
BRET--AFTER JUNE 2008

My daughter Bret got her braces off yesterday. After 3 loooooong years of those things, FINALLY they're gone!!! YIPEE!!!! She was supposed to get them off in January, but had to wear them a few months longer. She's happier than I am about it, though. No more monthly visits to the Orthodontist to get those things tightened & no more whining about her teeth hurting. It paid off though, and she has done such a great job of taking care of her teeth while she had them on. She brushed twice a day, sometimes more & flossed every single day. I'm very proud of her. Now she gets rewarded with Mom buying her some Crest Whitening Strips & such a beautiful smile.

The 1st pic is from the day she got her braces on in July 2005. The 2nd pic is from yesterday after she got them off. WOW, look how much she's changed!!! My baby girl just turned 14 in May. OMG, she's gonna be driving soon & even worse.....DATING!!!!! UGG!!

More layouts

My beautiful daughter - Bret

My grandparents


My kids & my nieces

Feeding the geese @ the park

I was keeping my boss's baby yesterday & my kids wanted to take him to the park & feed the ducks. Well we didn't get ducks, but we got lots of geese. They were sooo cute.

New Layouts W/Overlays

I recently found some great overlays in my stash. I love these things because they are super-duper easy. You can't hardly find these things anymore though - bummer! I love anything that makes it easier for me because I am such a perfectionist. It takes me forever to put a lo together!!

My 1st post

So, I'm kinda new to this blog thing, but I'm excited to get started! Hopefully I'll be posting lots of things about my scrapbooking. I'll probably be posting every time I go to a new concert, especially if it's my Timmy! Besides scrapbooking, going to concerts (of any kind) is my fave thing to do. The last concert I attended was Sugarland & Little Big Town back in April right here in our little town of Jonesboro, AR. We have some really big names come through our little city. My youngest, Cody, went with me to that one. I like going w/friends, but I also like taking my kids to concerts. I love for them to get that experience. We had so much fun!! I'll also be posting things going on with my kids. Please feel free to leave comments.
Until next time.......here's a couple pics from the Sugarland/LBT concert.