SPECIAL REQUEST POST

Okay friends and friends of friends and even friends of those friends. Please repost this for me on your blog. Twitter it, pass it around on Facebook. Please EVERYONE (no matter where you live!) go to www.refresheverything.com/northviewcougarplayground  and vote for our local primary school to receive $50,000 for a new playground!

We are the only school in East TN in the running so pass this on to everyone you know. You can vote EVERY DAY through the end of November. It only takes a second to click and vote. Thanks so much.


Refresh our Northview Cougar Playground in Kodak, TN! Vote for the most refreshing ideas to win Pepsi Refresh Project grants.

Voting ends November 30th. Yesterday, we were ranked 240th. Today we are ranked 56th. This kids worked so hard to put this together so they appreciated any votes they get. Thanks.

Odds & Ends

Thankful thought of the day - Today I am thankful for faith. Without faith, we have no hope. Without hope, we have no future. Without a future, we have no joy. And without joy, we have no life.

I love this time of year when all the stores start selling Christmas and Winter items. I'm a sucker for glasses and mugs and have to have a new one every winter. (Of course, every few years I have to yard sale a few to make room for new ones.) I was at Kroger's yesterday and found this adorable snow flake mug for my hot chocolate.

Have you ever heard the expression "blind as a bat". Well, the older I get the more my eyes go "batty". I started out in fourth grade with glasses. Then when I got in my 40's they informed me I was going to have to get no line bifocals. When I hit 50, I was doing so much up close work that they changed them to no line trifocals. It took a while to adjust but I did. I can't tell where one line section ends and the other begins. Recently, I've noticed that I see great except when I'm reading or working on something up close. So I called them to ask if I should have a separate pair for reading. They said that in my case for the up close work, I could use the 1.5X off the rack reading glasses. So I bought a pair and the change is unbelievable. I was used to looking through that little 1/3 section at the bottom of my glasses. Now with my "store bought" glasses, my eyes are looking through the whole lenses and the magnification is awesome. So I found out that the $1.00 tree carries these readers. Can we say NEW OBSESSION? I've already purchased three or four pairs and change them depending on my mood. I'm sure I'll be buying more. I get to experiment with different frames and styles. Here are two of my favorites:

My sister came down recently and brought my birthday present to me early so she wouldn't have to ship it. I love tea for one sets and have been wanting one with apples for a long time. I love it. My Mom brought my birthday present down also, but that's not getting posted until I decorate for Christmas. It's adorable and I love it, too.

Found this old looking canvas print at a shop in Wears Valley. Not sure where the green stripe came from. It must be from the camera flash. This is painted on canvas and the fabric is stretched across a wooden frame.

I hope everybody has a wonderful and blessed weekend.

Choices

Thankful thought of the day - I'm thankful for God allowing us the right to make our own choices.

Choices...how many do we make a day? We don't realize how many times a day we make a decision, whether it be conscious or unconscious. We start our day by waking up thinking should we get up or try to lay there a while longer. We decide what to wear; we decide what to eat.

Over the course of a lifetime, we come to many crossroads in our life and have to make choices; be they major or minor. One of the great freedoms we have is the freedom to make our own choice. Some choices are made based on pure instinct; some are made on research and fact. Some are made because we are led by our mind, and some because we let our heart lead us.

Sometimes our choices are the right ones and sometimes...not so much. God provides us with a mind of our own and allows us to make many choices in our lifetime. As I look back over my life and think of some of the choices I've made, I can imagine His reaction. There are times, I'm sure He has watched me struggle and when my choice is made, He probably leans back on His throne, smiling serenely and whispering "Good job." But there are probably just as many times, if not more, that He has collapsed on His throne, sighed a deep sigh and said "Oh, what am I going to do with that child. What in the world is she thinking."

So even though my choices are mine and mine alone, I look to God for guidance and support. Sometimes, when a choice needs made and it just "feels" right, I've learned to trust the Lord that it is the step He wants me to take. I try to never second guess those moments. Call it gut instinct, call it woman's intuition, call it what you will, but if it is the right choice for you, it's probably the hand of God guiding you.


                                

A holiday feast....

Thankful thought of the day - I'm thankful for the service men and women who give of themselves daily, whatever is required, in order for us to enjoy freedom.

I hope everyone is remembering to start their day with a thankful thought this month. I put mine at the beginning of my blog each day so you can see what I'm thankful for before you read my blog for the day.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is 3 weeks from tomorrow. Where does the time go? It's time to start preparing for the holiday season. I have many new baked goods I want to try. As we near Thanksgiving, my mind turns to food. I can't help it. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite times to eat. In addition to the holidays, we celebrate 4 birthdays between now and Christmas. It is a wonderful festive time of year.

I will be in list heaven this month and next. My lists will have to have sublists. I love visiting with family and friends so I have much to look forward to. It all kicks off with a Thanksgiving feast and celebration of my daughter-in-laws birthday. Then we launch right into Black Friday with the craziness of Christmas shopping. Following 2 days of crazy madness, I decorate my house for Christmas. Then the fun begins. More Christmas shopping, a get together to celebrate my children's birthday and mine. I'll have church functions and Christmas program practices and the program itself. I'll bake all the goodies I like to give as gifts to friends. I'll need to schedule time to wrap presents. It boggles the mind to think of all that will be going on soon. But it's no more and no less than I have going on every year.

I have learned never to stress over the holidays. I buy gifts I can afford so I can pay cash and not face huge bills in January. I bargain hunt to find the right things at the right prices. I rise early and stay up late to get things done so I'm not stressing at the last minute...wait, I do that all year.

But amidst all the hustle and bustle I NEVER lose fact of the reason for the season. That's why I'm being thankful every day. Without the birth of Jesus, we would not have the wonderful, crazy, fun-filled lives we have.

My new love...

Thankful thought of the day: I am thankful for the love of a wonderful family. Their love is everlasting.

I think I'm in love. As many of you know, I am an avid reader. I cannot get enough of books. I belong to book clubs; I scour yard sales; I visit book exchange stores and I swap with family and friends. When Amazon released the Kindle, I thought "That's pretty cool, but I wouldn't want one." As I am becoming more and more of an electronic junkie, I started thinking, it might not be a bad idea. I love to read when I eat lunch and it is so hard to prop some books up without them continually falling over while you eat. I love to read at the beach, but the wind blows your pages and it gets aggravating. A Kindle would solve many of my problems, so I thought "It would be neat to own one. I might like it."

Well, yesterday I had to do a run to Staples. They are now an authorized dealer for the Amazon Kindle. There, displayed in all its glory at the end of the aisle was Kindle. I picked it up. I held it in my hand. I read a page. I turned the page. I experimented. I fell in love. Oh my gosh! They are awesome. I have now added a Kindle to my wish list for the holiday season.

They are so sleek and lightweight. I did not realize they were so small. Only about 6" diagonally and the height of a normal Ticonderoga pencil. If you have been thinking you might like one, jot over to Staples and hold one in your hands and you will fall in love as well.

Guess it's time to start my birthday and Christmas wish list........

Giving Thanks

November, a month we are reminded to give thanks. Each day this month I will post something I am thankful for. It goes without saying that I am thankful for God's love and His guiding hand in my life. I cannot in my wildest dreams imagine my life without Him by my side. So today, I am thankful for God's unfailing love.

When we were finished eating Saturday night at Apple Barn, we were all handed our little books with our bill for dinner. My sister handed me a little card. She said she had bought them on line and every time she leaves a tip at a restaurant, she leaves one for the server. I thought it was a great idea and wanted to share it with you.

{FRONT SIDE}

{BACK SIDE}

I went to the website where she bought them, http://tractleague.com . It is a great site with lots of cards and tracts you can purchase at reasonable prices. Here is the direct link for this particular card http://tractleague.com/tracts/thanks-206.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. - Mark 16:14-16

"So much" Saturday & Sunday

What an awesome weekend!  It started Friday night by going to my son's house with my mom, sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew-in-law, who were all visiting from West Virginia.

Colby conked out on Cousin Amy

Snuggling with his Great Aunt Rachel

Saturday was spent shopping the craft stores in Wears Valley, then the Tanger Outlet Mall. After returning to the hotel to freshen up, we had a wonderful supper (yes, supper, we are in the South) at the Apple Barn. Started out with a little apple julep, apples fritters and homemade apple butter. Then a delicious meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes & corn.

When we were in Wears Valley earlier that day we visited a little store called Moonshine Ridge. Bought some delicious Snickers Fudge and Pay Day Fudge. They had so much stuff their to sample....fudge, salsa, jellies, chips, dressings, dips, etc. We had lunch in their cafe. Homemade tomato soup, chili, hot dogs, all awesome.All in front of a warm fire.

While I was out shopping, I received a text from my son. The oldest grandson, Garret, got an 8 point buck during youth hunting day. 



Then my daughter sent me a pic of the middle grandson, Caleb, at trunk or treat. He was dressed in bike gear, like his daddy wears when he rides.

Then Sunday after church, I went and picked up my daughter and the two granddaughters and we were off to spend a glorious afternoon with Disney Princesses on Ice. Here are my two little princesses before the big event. Excited doesn't even begin to cover how they were.

Cinderella up close and personal. She looked right down at Alexis and waved. Since Cinderella is her FAVE, she was in 7th heaven. 

I loved seeing Tinkerbell. She would skate around between each segment and point her wand and ferry dust would sprinkle everywhere. Totally an enchanting afternoon.



Here are my two little princesses after the event. Can anybody say "Worn Out" ?

We had so much fun this weekend, so much family time, so many blessings.