Thanksgiving Holidays

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I went home to Jasper on Wednesday night, where we had a wonderful Wednesday night service at church. Many were home from college, work, etc., so there was a good crowd. Thursday, John came down early, and our whole family went to Liberty PBC's annual Thanksgiving Day meeting. Dad and Elder Howell were blessed to preach some good sermons. Then, we went to my aunt's house in "Twilleytown", Alabama, and got together with my mom's side of the family. It's always a large gathering, since she is one of nine siblings. Then on Friday we went to my Granny's house. Uncle George (my dad's brother) and Aunt Joyce, my cousin Brian, his wife Lori, and their son Gavin, all came and we got together for Thanksgiving. We had a great time watching Gavin play with all the toys we used to play with. And, since my dad and Uncle George graduated from MSU, we watched the Egg Bowl. What a win! (Next day, another coach got "Croomed". Hehe.) Saturday, we put up the Christmas tree and watched the Iron Bowl. What can I say about that...Alabama lost again for the sixth time in a row to Auburn. I've always lost, and Table's always won. Maybe next year...

Below are some pictures of all my, umm, first cousins once removed?? Second cousins?? I'm not sure how that works. They are my cousins' children. I've been doing some experimenting with photography lately. It's something I would love to learn more about and become better at. Thus, some of the black and white photos.

This is Gavin, my cousin Brian's little boy.


Derrick and Brian

Uncle George, Granny, Dad

This is Noah (my cousin Monica's little boy) and Christian (my cousin Tonya's little boy)
This is Reagan (my cousin Zac's little girl), the only great niece so far!
This is Caleb, my cousin Tonya's youngest son.
Tonya and Christian - this is one of my favorite pics!
And, the newest edition, Jace, my cousin Jason's little boy.

Anniversary Meeting

We were blessed with a most wonderful meeting last weekend. Elder Gary Harvey and Elder Harold Stumbaugh, both from Arkansas, were invited to preach, and the Lord poured out his spirit upon both men and the congregation. Excellent edifying, encouraging, and convicting sermons were preached by both. We also enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship with all. We only have a morning and afternoon service on Saturday of our fall meeting, which allows for fellowship time on Friday and Saturday night. So, Saturday afternoon everyone came over to our house. We played ping-pong, sang songs, ate, and had a great time. It was the first year our meeting didn't fall on the same weekend as the Iron Bowl (something we had been hoping would happen for a while!), so no one was glued to the t.v. Below are some pictures from the weekend.

Group photo from Friday night. We had some talented musicians in the crowd who were able to play for us.

The preachers kicked back and relaxing.

Elder Harold Stumbaugh, and his wife, Sis. Mary. Elder Gary Harvey, and his wife, Sis. Becky.

Group Photo 2 on Saturday night

Ping pong match between Elder Harvey and Andrew.

Duty

I haven't had the chance to watch any of the televised presidential debates to date, but tonight posed the perfect opportunity. Table and a friend were using the living room to study, so I took my dinner to my room, and through the marvels of Google, found a link to videos of the presidential debates. I watched the most recent Republican Party debate which was held in Orlando, FL. The whole hour and half plus. It was fascinating. I loved watching the candidates interact with each other and the audience, and seeing them respond to questions, instead of just reading their stances and ideas on various issues.

As for the title of this post, I felt like I was engaging in my part of this presidential race by doing my duty as an American citizen, and trying to become informed. We have been given such a wonderful gift in the opportunity to vote in this country. THINK about that for a moment. YOU get to VOTE for who you want and ideas you want. As my dad always says, "If you don't vote (and just purely because you don't, not because you aren't able or are of age, etc.), don't complain about who gets elected. You have the opportunity to make your voice known. People, that is power. If we don't like our representative's voting record, then elect someone new! Or, perhaps, run for office yourself! We must act, because it is APATHY which will lead our nation to destruction.

So, even though the presidential election is a year away, start becoming informed now. Talk with friends. Engage yourself. Believe me, the year will fly by.

If you're interested, the link to the GOP Presidential Debate I watched is below:

http://www.youdecide2008.com/video/video-fox-news-republican-debate-from-orlando-florida/

Childhood memories!

So this drink brings back childhood for me. I'm not really sure how to describe it to you. See my family and I take a vacation every year. And for the longest time whenever we would stop at a gas station Derrick and I would ALWAYS get Clearly Canadian Strawberry water if they had any. It was SOOO good and ya know healthy(like we were concerned but whatever). Anyways, all of a sudden they just disappeared it seemed. We still look for them all the time and can't find them. So this past weekend John brought a couple of these back to Alabama for us because he saw some and thought of us. To make this story short, it has made my day! This week has been a rough one, really rough. So it has been nice to enjoy this drink and occasionally think of road trips and good times with the fam. I love them.

P. S. If you have never experienced a Clearly Canadian, you should.

Fall Photos

These were some pictures just taken around the house this past weekend. Hope you enjoy the fading days of fall.

And, Happy Veterans's Day! Thank you to all veterans who have made the sacrifice so we could enjoy freedom. God bless you, and God bless America.

Blessed be the Fall

October gave a party; The leaves by hundreds came -

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples, and leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet, And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band.

-George Cooper

I hope you had the opportunity to at least step outside this past weekend, especially if you live in Alabama. The trees were in full color - bright yellow, orange, and red! I was blessed to be able to travel to Cullman, Alabama on Saturday for a church meeting. Now, perhaps I'm partial, but Alabama has some of the prettiest, scenic drives in the country for just ordinary, day-to-day traveling. So, I drove up I-65, and couldn't help but notice all the various colors, and praise and thank God on my way to church for his creative genius, and blessing us with it. Then, after church, I drove home on Hwy. 69, and saw the same amazing, beautiful sight. I love how God graces us with good things, even as the days begin to get colder and somtimes seemingly more dismal. Enjoy them while they last, for soon they shall begin to fall.