Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to pop in real quick and tell you Happy Thanksgiving. We'll be heading out in the morning and we'll be going the rest of the weekend! I can't wait to see our families and eat some yummy food! I'm baking a chocolate chip pie, a triple layer pumpkin spice pie and a green bean casserole. If it were up to me, all the desserts would be something pumpkin but my family doesn't have a deep love for pumpkin like I do!

I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving and remember to give thanks to the One who deserves all our praise!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever." Psalm 136:1

Halloween 2009

Halloween at Emma and Dougie's school is a big deal. They have a school wide costume parade and it's amazing some of the costumes you see each year. This year Emma and 3 of her friends were Mt. Rushmore and Dougie was a vampire. I only got one picture of each of them. Here's the vampire but notice the kid behind Dougie? The one who looks like he's a face in a book? See what I mean about the creativity level of these costumes!?

Mt. Rushmore~
They won best costume for 6th grade but more importantly the candy bags!

On Halloween, we took Caleb and Asher to the FallFest that our city does. Emma and Dougie were at their dad's. At first, Caleb didn't want to dress up, he's not a fan of costumes but eventually he decided wanted to. Caleb was a little freaked out by everyone being in costumes but he eventually began having fun and really enjoyed getting candy.

Here they are before we went~
Asher is wearing the pumpkin outfit that has been worn by his sister and both his brothers, I think we'll retire it now!
Caleb tossing the bean bag and Asher just hanging out......
Ok, I think I've FINALLY caught up!

Friends for Life!!!

Go with me back in time......
It's August 2005. Steven and I are newlyweds, adjusting to being a blended family and less than a month into our first ministry together. Steven comes home from the church one day and begins to tell me about a family he met that day. Our church had a want-ad for a nursery position and a couple came by the church to inquire about the position. This couple had just moved to the Army base that was about an hour a way from our church. I couldn't believe what Steven told me that day. This couple was newly married. The wife had 2 kids from a previous marriage and their daughter and son were the EXACT ages of our daughter and son.
After that meeting, despite the distance, this family became one of the most committed members of our church.
Sean, Dee Dee, Kiara and Jacob are some of our dearest friends. Sean, who was a Chaplain Asst. in the US Army, is a gifted singer and musician and he eventually became the worship leader at our church. (Dee Dee is a gifted singer as well!) We always knew their time at our church was limited because of the Army and Sean's plans to eventually go to seminary so he could move on to the Chaplain program. This past October it became official. Sean was discharged from the Army so he could attend seminary and God opened a door for him to be the Youth and Music Pastor at a church in their home state.
Here's some pictures from a going away luncheon~
Dougie and Jacob Emma and KiaraWhen Sean was released from the Army, he was commissioned as an officer into the Chaplain Program the next day. It was a very informal event but monumental in Sean and Dee Dee's life so we were honored when they asked us to attend. I couldn't understand why he would be discharged one day and commissioned the next but it was such a rare occurrence that the Colonel pictured below had never been a part of an event like this in his 30 years in the Army. Pretty cool, huh?!
The Colonel sharing some words of wisdom with Sean~

The Colonel, Capt. S. and Sean. Sean being congratulated by his fellow comrades. Sean and Steven I can't tell you how much I love this couple!!!!Even though I miss them, I'm so excited that God has started this new chapter in their lives. One thing I learned from Pastor Johnny is that when people follow God's call into ministry and leave your church, you're not "losing" them but sending them out. If we're losing them, then it's about us but if we're sending them, then it's about HIM.

Sean, Dee Dee, Kiara and Jacob, we love y'all sooooo much!

Catching up......

I'm going to catch up this blog today if it kills me!!
Back in October (is it really almost the end of November?!) we took the kids to the Fair. It was a perfect night, the weather was a little chilly but not enough to make you miserable. This was Caleb's first time going to the fair, I think. Well I know it was the first time that he understood that it was going to be F-U-N!!!
The night we went to the fair, it seemed like all of the kids from school were there, so Emma spent like the first 3 minutes with us and then she was gone! Dougie founds some buddies to ride with too. Emma's on the top row (that you can see) and far left.
Dougie is in the red car and one of his best buds is in the green. Caleb and Daddy on Caleb's favorite ride! And here's how Asher spent his time at the fair! The child can sleep through ANY-thing!

Dear Anonymous, I didn't delete your comment....

Last week, I promised to catch up on all the exciting things that we've been doing around here and eventually, I will. But last week I received a comment on my Getting Off The Dino Train post that I wanted to share. Here's the comment:

"Anonymous said...
@JenMom: I think you're right to make sure that your kids are only indoctrinated with the things that YOU want instead of those that are supported by silly things like facts and science.

@Cheryl: "The last time I checked humans didn't fall under the same scientific classification as animals." What? What source did you check that last time? Humans ARE animals.

The only basis you have for your scientific knowledge is what the Bible tells you. The problem I (and a lot of other people) have with that is that it's self-confirming source. Scientific sources have to be confirmed by outside, independent sources. The Bible, on the other hand, is right because it's the Bible. Who said that the Bible is right? The Bible.

I know I'm shouting into the wind here, and I know that you'll likely delete my post as soon as you see that I'm questioning your views, but I just had to post. "

November 10, 2009 11:09 AM

Dear Anonymous Friend,
First, let me say thank you for leaving your comment. I was in no way offended by you sharing your thoughts and in fact I appreciate being challenged to defend my beliefs. Secondly, not only did I NOT delete your comment from my blog, (as you assumed I would) but I'm writing a post just for you!
After reading your comment, I did some research on scientific classification (which I didn't do while writing the Dino Train post) and yes, humans are classified in the Animalia Kingdom. Which means we are multi-celled, have a central nervous system, are capable of spontaneous movement and can't reproduce our own food. So in that respect, you are correct. But like you said, "Scientific sources have to be confirmed by outside, independent sources." So next I went to the dictionary, (I'd consider that an independent source) and the first definition was what I stated above but the second definition said: "any such living thing other than a human being." (I added the emphasis on other.)

As for the Bible, it is historically correct and it is scientifically accurate. It's not true because I believe it to be nor is it untrue just because you believe it to be.
It IS the Word of God.

I know I haven't really given you any great bits of information to help you see things from a different perspective. The only way you will know the truth is to search for yourself. I challenge you, as we Christians are told so often, to be open to a different way of seeing things. Read the Bible for yourself. It's not just a book full of stories, it is a love letter from God written just for Y-O-U!

I hope you'll continue reading my blog and you don't have to be anonymous next time you leave a comment!

I dearly love you my friend!

Catching Up.......

Ok, I am so far behind but I'm going to try and catch up. I may even try to do a couple of post today, ambitious I know, but we'll see!
As I'm pretty sure you know, Dougie played his first season of football this year. It's a league for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. Most teams play their 5th graders because they're bigger. Our team had only 4 5th graders. Our defensive team was 3 5th graders, 4 4th graders and 4 3 graders. So you can see that we had a very young team! I said all that to say, we didn't have a very good season. We won our very last game and that was our first win. But boy was it sweet!

To end the season, our team plays in a Jamboree. In one of the games at the jamboree, Dougie scored his first touchdown!!!! Woo-hooo! I just happened to be videoing some of the game and got it on video. I wish I could upload it here but then again, you probably don't want to hear me hoopin' and hollerin' in the background! :) Dougie was so cute after he crossed the goal line he turned and ran back out towards his teammates and had his arms spread wide with the ball in his hands. I told him he looked like Knowshon!

These pics are from the jamboree, it pretty much rained the whole time and it was freezing!!!

Dougie always stayed by the coaches while he was on the sideline!

I snapped this picture of Dougie in action, he made an awesome tackle! He was 1st team defense!

Dougie getting his trophy from the coaches at the awards banquet.

Even though it wasn't a winning season, Dougie really enjoyed it and I think it solidified his love for football. (He almost always sleeps with his football, don't tell him I told you!) And since our younger boys got alot of playing time this year, they will be even more ready for next season!

GO BIG RED!!!

Treasure Hunting.......

I have been such a terrible blogger lately and didn't even realize how bad I've been until I was flipping through the pics on my camera and realized ALL the things I need to blog about. I've at least uploaded the pics and hopefully will get them here soon but I've been sidetracked by a challenge......

Lisa, The Preacher's Wife, has suggested a scavenger hunt for the minister's wives on her M2M blogroll. It will be a fun way to get to know each other and since it's a scavenger hunt, there is a prize involved. And since I've been known to be a wee bit competitive, ok lots, I really want to win!

So if you're not here for the scavenger hunt, just enjoy this post (or not) and we will return to our regularly scheduled blog posts after I beat, I mean, meet the other pastor's wives. ;~)

The Treasures

1. First Name. Cheryl

2. State and Country of Residence. Ga., USA

3. Husband’s Ministry Title. Pastor

4. Length of time in Current Ministry Location. {IMPORTANT: There are several of you who may not be in a current ‘official’ pastorate/ministry, etc. That makes you no less a minister’s wife! You play along, girlfriends, and let us pray for you!}
We resigned this past August from our current church. We were there for 4 years.

5. Children? If yes, give gender and ages.
girl- 11 although she would say 12 in 25 more days.
boy 1- 9 yrs. old
boy 2- 3 yrs. old
boy 3- 6 months

6. Number of unique homes in which you’ve lived during your marriage.
Just one! We were married in 2005. Now if you're new here, after reading the previous question, you're probably thinking, huh? The 2 older kids are mine from a previous marriage. Like Lisa, I am NOT the typical pastor's wife!

7. Cook Sunday lunch or eat out? Over the past year or so, we would eat lunch with a dear family either at their home or we would all go out. I soooo miss our Sunday lunches with them. :(

8. Typically on time for Sunday School or not? typically on time.

9. Favorite TV Show. LOST but I also love HGTV, Food Network, TLC. Don't really watch alot of network shows. Just realized that I named a bunch of channels, not really shows, oh well!

10. Something you watch/like/do that you would never tell the church people. (Except now you just did…lol) I really like chewing tobacco....I'M JUST KIDDING!!!!!

11. Most annoying church-related pet peeve. People who don't tithe. *gasp* oh yes, I just did!

12. One thing you need to throw away but can’t bring yourself to do it. my husband's many boxes of cassette tapes from other preachers. Wait, I have tried to throw those out, he just keeps catching me!!! There are very few things that I hold onto that would make you say, "you really should just throw it away." I'm the one usually making that statement.

13. The one food you can not live without. chocolate, preferably dark

14. Parsonage or have your own home? parsonage at least til the first of the year, after that...?

15. Freak when the doorbell rings or always ready for a visitor? well somebody stopped by the other day and they caught me still in my pj pants and a tshirt and no makeup. I told her, "come on in, we're still in our pj's around here, the house is a mess but oh well!" She came in for a few minutes and we had a good visit. The best piece of advice I got before I married my preacher husband was, "Cheryl, you just have to be yourself. You can't try to be something or someone you're not." And that's what I do!

If you're a Pastor's wife, or if you're not, and you struggle with people placing their expectations on you, remember this verse (it only reads like this in the KJV):

"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him." Psalm 62:5 (KJV)

Thanks for stopping by and don't feel bad about losing the cookbook, I'll post about all the great recipes that I'll be cooking for my family! ............just kidding, y'all!

Love y'all dearly!