This is the day...

that the Lord has made - we will rejoice and be glad in it. Tonight we will be celebrating Jesus Jubilee at church. The kids are excited about dressing up. Wooten is going as a secret service agent. Anna Gracen is going as a fairy and Christian is going as a pirate. Nana got Anna Gracen and Christian the cutest costumes from Cracker Barrel. Thank you, Nana!! They love them! I'll post pics tomorrow.

Jesus Jubilee consists of a hot dog dinner, a costume contest, lots of games and candy, a cupcake walk and a hay ride. Last year Tom and I won the adult costume contest - I was a Carolina Hurricane hockey player and Tom was a Hurricane fan. Anna Gracen won in her age group - she was a colonial girl - too cute. I had thought of dressing up as Sarah Palin tonight (with Wooten as my security) but my hair is too short. I might dress up like static cling (wear all black and pin dryer sheets and clothes to me). Whatever I decide, I know we'll have a good time.

Unfortunately, we'll miss the Wildcats last home game of the regular season against Smithfield Selma. Fortunately, I have contacts who will call me and keep me updated on the score. GO WILDCATS!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to Jill (Tom's cousin) and Rebecca (our niece) today! Hope they each have a wonderful birthday!!!

John McCain Rally

The following are pictures I took from the John McCain "Road to Victory" Rally yesterday in Fayetteville, NC. This is an important election for our country. Look at the truth, look at character, look at the views and values of the candidates. Pray and vote. My choice for America is Senator John McCain and running mate, Governor Sarah Palin. I believe his values are in line with my values. I base my values not on party, but on God's Word. We are not defined by our party affiliation or race - what defines who we are is our character. Whose character do we follow? As Christians we follow Jesus.

No matter what the outcome is in this election - I will continue to pray for our country and those in leadership. The lack of respect for the leaders of this country is most disappointing. Instead of complaining - pray. Let us remember that God is in control!

Senator John McCain as he shook Wooten's hand. I was taken by Senator John McCain's humility. He has served our country since the age of 17 when he joined the Navy. His arms have limited movement because of the torture he endured as a POW. He is proud to be an American and will continue to fight for our country.

Hank Williams, Jr. was on hand to entertain the crowds - and entertain he did.

Here are some inventive Americans being creative with the thunderstix that were passed out.

Here's Wooten before the rally started. This shows how close we were to the podium. We had God's favor in being able to stand this close. We arrived at the Crown Center at 11 am (4th and 5th in line on the East side). The doors opened at 2 pm. We made friends while standing in line and ended up going down to the floor with those friends. We were all excited to be this close. The long wait paid off.

Wooten said, "This was a once in a lifetime opportunity." As much as I enjoyed seeing all that we saw and hearing all that we heard, what I enjoyed most was spending time with Wooten and seeing his excitement.

Happy Tuesday!

Well, the Wildcats lost their game last night (38-27). I know they are disappointed, but I bet they'll be ready for Friday night's game against Smithfield Selma. A 10-1 record for the season sounds good - not to mention what they can accomplish in the playoffs.


Wooten and I will be heading to Fayetteville for a John McCain rally in a little while. It should be interesting. I'm looking forward to spending some one-on-one time with Wooten. All three kids doubled up on their schoolwork yesterday. Anna Gracen and Christian are going to enjoy not having school today and having some Daddy time.

I hope to get some good pictures to post tomorrow. Have a great Tuesday!!!

Wildcats Squared

The West Johnston Wildcats did not play last night. The game was postponed until Monday night because of weather. They face Knightdale (3-5 for the season). Go Wildcats!!

Anna Gracen, Christian and I went to the first showing of High School Musical 3: Senior Year yesterday afternoon. There were a lot of people in that theater! We ended up sitting in the second row which was great because I didn't even have to wear my glasses. When the movie started Zac Efron's (Troy) sweaty face filled the screen (he was playing basketball for the East High Wildcats). I kidded with Anna Gracen that we were so close to him that I could smell his sweat.

HSM is a GREAT movie!! It's nice to see a musical with talented kids that's rated G (unlike one of my childhood favorites Grease - talk about mature themes). The music makes you want to get up and dance (if it weren't for my ankle and the fact that my kids would have died of embarrassment I would have). The choreography is awesome! Here's a clip of one of my favorite dance scenes. Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway - we highly recommend this movie. The funniest thing to me - in one scene Troy feeds Gabriella a strawberry. She takes a bite and then he eats the rest of it. The kids in the theater joined in a collective "Yuck". It took me awhile to figure out what had disgusted them so. I guess the whole cootie thing and them sharing food was more than the kids could handle. The theater was eerily quiet when Troy and Gabriella shared a simple kiss - I didn't look, but I'm guessing there were lots of little hands over little eyes. The smiles on the faces of all those leaving the theater was priceless - not to mention the excitement on the faces of those entering the theater.

I'm still here...I think

Just kidding - I'm still here. I just haven't felt like blogging - I know, I know, check my head for a fever something MUST be wrong. No, nothing's wrong - well..... Christian is getting over a cold (he hates being under the weather). I did something - sprained, fractured, twisted - my ankle last Friday. Oh my, it's been a week (and it's still sore). I wish I had a video of how I hurt it - I'm sure I'd win $10,000 from America's Funniest Videos. I decided to try croc surfing under my carport - I wiped out! (More like I was walking up to the door and slid down on the slippery pavement. Just doesn't sound quite as adventurous.) I immediately started crying like a baby. Christian just stood there in disbelief. You should hear his imitation of me asking him to go get Tom. It is priceless.

Anna Gracen and I have really gotten into "Dancing with the Stars". We called in and voted this past week. Of course we don't have just one couple we're pulling for - we voted for 4! (Lance & Lacy; Warren & Kym; Cody & Julianne; Maurice & Cheryl). Luckily they all are safe to dance this week. See all votes do count!

Wooten is heading off for a beach retreat tomorrow afternoon. He's going with the same group he went to camp with this summer. He's really looking forward to it. I know he'll have a great time!

Anna Gracen, Christian and I (Tom will be working) are planning on checking out "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" tomorrow night. The Wildcats are playing tomorrow night after having last week off. Because of Christian getting over a cold we won't be able to brave the cold rain that is predicted.

We're having a fish fry at church Sunday night. The men are doing the cooking. Should be fun!

Wooten and I are thinking of taking a road trip next Tuesday. Senator John McCain is going to be in Fayetteville, NC. We received a recorded phone message about it tonight. When I mentioned it to the kids, Wooten said he thought it would be interesting. What an awesome home school field trip. Think of all the teaching moments that would present themselves. Would make for an interesting post also.

I do have some prayer requests:

*Wooten, kids and adult leaders - middle school beach retreat
*Tricia and Nate
*Darby - for complete healing
*Our friend, David List and his family. He was given the report of intestinal cancer. Whose report will we believe? We believe God's report - total healing in Jesus' mighty name!

Do you know the muffin man?

I love muffins. Anna Gracen and I decided to try a new recipe - raisin bran muffins. I found the recipe on the Cooking with Amy blog. We liked that in addition to raisin bran you add chopped apple and walnuts. They are yummy! All three kids love them. Here is Christian reaching for one (or two).

It was Anna Gracen's idea to show what the inside of the muffin looks like.
This morning before church I put a meatloaf and potatoes in the crock pot. Wooten requested a meatloaf the other day. I searched online and found this recipe:

2 lbs. ground beef (I used a little more)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup cracker crumbs (I also used a cup of Italian bread crumbs)

8 oz. tomato sauce

Small potatoes, cut up (leave skins on, so the potatoes don't turn dark)

1/2 cup chopped green pepper (I didn't have one so I omitted this)

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

Mix all ingredients except potatoes. Shape into a loaf. Place in crock pot. Place potatoes around the sides. Cook on High for 4-6 hours.

When we got home from church it smelled wonderful. I cooked up some green beans and heated up some bread with butter and we were ready to chow down. It was a hit and oh so simple.

Anna Gracen wants to make a pineapple casserole and some sweet potato french fries to go along with the left over meatloaf for supper. She got the idea about the pineapple casserole from Nana who made several this weekend for a dinner. She got the idea about the sweet potato french fries from Wooten. He had some at Aunt Vicky's house and loved them! We better get to cooking!

Busy week

I didn't realize this week was going to be so busy.

Yesterday Christian went fishing with the home school group's Boys' Club. Wooten was a youth helper. 28 boys went out fishing on a hot, fall day. They had loads of fun. My hat is off to the moms that head that group up. Anna Gracen and Lindsey helped Mrs. Laura and myself with Jr. Boys' Club. The little dudes had a blast on a fall scavenger hunt that Laura designed. The theme was "Fall in Love with Jesus". They had to use a map and find craft items hidden around the playground. Then they used the items they found to make a craft. I wish I had pictures. They were too cute. A craft stick cross with a heart in the center attached to a rock with eyes (keep your eyes on the Rock of our salvation, Jesus).

Today the kids had appointments with the dentist. They all did very well. Wooten has the beginning of a cavity which will be fixed next week. Nana (my mama) works at the dentist office. She showed Wooten his x-rays that revealed at least two very loose teeth. Being the determined young man he is - he pulled one this afternoon.

Tomorrow morning we'll be heading to my Alma mater, Beddingfield High School, to see the play "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown". I'm excited to see how the school looks now. Oh, my, it has been 19 years since I was a student there. That is hard to believe - some days it seems like it was yesterday. I think most of the teachers I had when I was there have retired - a clue that it's been almost 20 years since I was a Beddingfield Bruin. We're looking forward to the production.