P is obviously for PUMPKIN

P was just too easy for October. The first annual Links Cove Halloween street party will be held on our street Friday night..with everything from hotdogs, fog machine, bobbing for apples, to sno cones (yes, I'm pulling the old sno cone maker out!!....see summer post on the sno cone maker) We will end with taking all the kids on a hay ride around to a couple of neighborhoods in Caroline. Well, a Pine Straw ride I guess. We couldn't find hay left anywhere. I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures to post. We started decorating tonight and putting up tents. By the way, we couldn't let our neighbors dog have a costume and our little Honey not have one...as you can tell, she is not too thrilled with her hotdog costume. I've got to alter Poncho's just a bit. More pics to come on that. Drew left for drill this weekend so he'll miss the whole thing!! Hope he didn't take all of his army uniforms...I'm planning to wear one tomorrow night with my Sarah Palin mask.

Hannah and I decorated the front this evening with an idea I got at Callaway's Yard and Garden..except theirs was MUCH more expensive than mine!! What'cha think about the pumpkins in the urns???!?

Hannah's pumpkin she carved..and then decided it needed eyelashes...and alot of other paint.

LOVE this time of year!!!! Don't you?!?!??!

O is for Oh my stars!!

Oh my stars...my neighbor's chiuaua has a Hannah Montana Halloween costume!! I will get a picture Friday!!

N is for Nanny

Nanny, housekeeper, professional domestic engineer, best friend, etc....whatever you want to call it...This is our Odessa...a.k.a. Dessa, Soot...and many other names. Dessa came to work for our family in the mid 1960's when we lived in Fayette. I was born in '69 and we moved to Meadville where I grew up. Dessa learned to drive and followed us to Meadville where she continued to be a part of our family for about the next 30 and some odd years. It goes without saying that she raised us. She and my mom were as tight as could be and my dad praised her wonderful lunches. There are many things that I do today that I only do because I saw Dessa do it that way...the 2 main ones are ironing and making gravy for biscuits. She would arrive at the house every morning around 8:15 to find me hiding under the bathroom cabinet in the utility room. I would jump out and scare her and I promise..she acted REALLY scared every single time. I grew up watching the "stories" (soap operas) with her and we talked about how crazy they all were in Salem. She retired a few years ago...my mom has been through a couple of more "Dessa's" but none compare. She is truly a grand lady. Got to see her Saturday at my niece, Lauren's wedding. She looked fabulous!!!!

M is for McDonalds

McDonald's is NOT one of my favorite places. It will do in a pinch if there is absolutely nothing else in close distance. Seems alot of people that work at McDonald's are not very happy..so is the case at Home Depot or Lowe's..unless you go very early in the morning. I watched a man just about go postal in McDonald's in Ridgeland the day after the April 4th tornadoes in Jackson this year. Apparently he had waited on his food long enough and he snapped and started yelling at people back in the kitchen. It was funny to watch people witness his absurdity. Some nodded their heads in agreement with his ranting and some just shook their heads in disbelief...thinking "what an idiot.." I was just worried that if they didn't get this poor man his food..because after all, I'm sure he was starving to death...that something really bad would happen and we'd end up on the evening news. Anyway, that's not where I was going with all of that...when I was in elementary school, we went on a field trip and stopped by a McDonald's to eat. They let us all loose and everyone scrambled to the counter to order. Order? Order what?? I remember thinking that. My mom always just got my food and brought it to me. We weren't really big on eating out anyway..so I wasn't real sure of the menu to even order from. I remember it being my turn and I just copied what the girl said in front of me..."A hamburger and a coke, please" Then came all of the, "what do you want on it?" I told her nothing and hoped she didn't ask me anything else that I didn't know....then the worst part came...friends all laughed at me and got the biggest kick out of the fact that I got a PLAIN hamburger. I felt totally humiliated! I was very glad when that whole public meal experience was over.

Needless to say...Hannah Clark can order for herself , with or without me, at every restaurant in Jackson and surrounding areas!!!

L is for Live Out Loud!!

If you don't know it already, Live Out Loud is an old song written by Christian recording artist, Steven Curtis Chapman. I've always loved this song and think that the lyrics speak volumes about how I'd like to live my life. Whenever it comes on, we always turn up the volume very loud and sing to the top of our lungs..Hannah and I that is...Drew is not much of a singer. Steven says many times in the song..."this is life we've been given, meant to be lived out..so live out loud.." I think there are alot of "dead" people walking around that aren't living life to the fullest. He goes on to say, "I was a dead man called to come out of my grave.." After the recent accidental death of his youngest daughter, Steven Curtis Chapman continues to live his life out loud. I can remember the first time I heard this song and really understood the words...it was like a light bulb came on within me...I hope and pray now that every time you hear it..you'll think of this and remember to LIVE OUT LOUD!! Click on the link and listen..2 or 3 times if you have to!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJNixHQ4sAc

K is for Kids

Will
The Clan
Ansley
Zach
Meg (with funny glasses)
the b-day boy..Peyton

We've become fast friends with 2 families in the neighborhood. Hannah is out playing after she finishes homework until after dark most nights. MUCH different from our other house. We're very happy she has friends to play with and that we've made some new ones. Last night, it was our friend, Peyton's birthday. We ate at Soulshine Pizza and then on to Maggie Moos at Renaissance for ice cream. If you haven't been here yet, you must try it!! We finished the night by spraying Peyton with silly string. Hope he had a great time. Happy Birthday Peyton!!

J is for the perfect PB&J

This is an issue sometimes at our house....the jelly part. For Hannah, it MUST be mayhaw jelly. I like grape and Drew doesn't really care, but mayhaw is his favorite. Matthew likes strawberry preserves. Andrew doesn't really care either. I almost need a separate fridge for all the different types of jelly we have...not to mention all the jars I put up when we picked blueberries...(see May post) Back to the PBJ...Hannah likes more jelly than peanut butter...and she likes it mixed together so the jelly won't leak out of her sandwich and be a holy mess by the time she gets to the lunchroom. I had never seen jelly put on cheese toast until I met Drew...now he's gotten me started with it...and Hannah. I guess you could say we are jelly connoisseurs. We'd be "that family" that are members of a jelly of the month club...except Hannah, she's faithful to mayhaw. What in the world is a mayhaw anyway??

I is for I can't think of anything!

Ask my friend Lindsey..I have seriously stressed over this letter I...just absolutely could not come up with a thing. I thought for sure the wedding over the weekend would bring me an "i", but..nothing...SO I thought I would just post a few pictures from the weekend. It was all lovely and we had a great time. I love weddings..I always get a lump in my throat when I hear the wedding march. The boys looked so handsome and Hannah was a doll. Matthew broke his finger Wednesday and had surgery on it Friday morning, so he was not too happy at the wedding, but he survived. (3rd surgery on this kids right hand!!) Anyway, before I get started on that..here's a few pics...

This is the bridesmaids. Drew's sister, Monique is standing behind Hannah. Some of Drew's friends call Hannah, Little Monique.
Thought this kitty matched Hannah's dress and hair really good! Her name is Gertie. Hannah fell in love with her.
Andrew, Hannah and Matthew..no need to say a thing..Don't they look great!!!
And last but not least..me and my man....we clean up pretty good huh?

H is for Heaven

H's are my life...there's me..Heather, our Hannah, our little Honey dog(our dachshund) H should be my easiest blog, but I just couldn't let it be that easy. Descriptions of Heaven have always intrigued me...almost as much as angels..(see A is for Angels) I found this little excerpt about it and wanted to share it. Take some time to read it. Pretty good stuff...
There is a common stereotype often given concerning heaven: someone sitting on a cloud, strumming a harp, seemingly bored out of their wits. Is that what heaven will be like? It's highly doubtful.
Think about it: we're talking about God. As you've probably noticed, he's pretty creative. If you're in doubt, just gaze at a sunset, or try to fathom how the universe is held together, or think about the vastness of space, or read about DNA. Yes, God knows a thing or two.
So, what do we know about heaven? The Bible says that, "There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain." That's huge, isn't it?
No more "death"? You mean, no cancer, AIDS, wars, or murders? Sounds pretty good. No more "mourning"? You mean, no young widows trying to raise four children, no toddlers kidnapped by psychos, no crosses on the side of the highway signifying someone killed by a drunk driver, no whole cities perishing in an earthquake? Ever? Sounds great!
No more "crying" or "pain"? You mean, no divorces ripping homes apart, no daughters being violated by fathers, no teenage boys or girls selling their bodies for money, no people feeling insecure because they're too tall or short or fat or skinny, no villagers starved out by governments, no lonely grandmothers whose husbands died twenty years before they will, no talented people wasting their lives through a heroin addiction, no gin-infested husbands using their wives and children as punching bags, no insults or malice just because someone has a different skin color, no hateful words spoken or heard? That sounds like a great place.
What else will heaven be like? No one but God knows for sure. But obviously it will be a whole new way of life. And, if the current world is any indication, we can expect the next one to show even more of God's creativity. We're talking different dimensions of time and space, and new activities and recreations we never even dreamed of. And that's just the point: it's beyond our imagination.
Do you think you could have come up with the idea for the giraffe? Or the tiger? Or the zebra? Maybe. Okay, you're feeling pretty confident. What about the four seasons? What about having the earth spin on its own axis while it rotates around the sun? (That's a pretty good one, you have to admit.) Or having the moon effect the ocean tides here on Earth? What about the human eye? Okay, what about sex? (That got your attention.) Have you ever wondered if God has something better than sex planned for the next life? You say: "No way!" But what if he does?
The point: God is very creative. All we have to do is look around us. Our world is amazing. And yet, it could be that God hasn't even shown off yet. It's likely that he hasn't. But we can be confident of this: whatever heaven is, it will be much more than we ever imagined, or could imagine. We just have no idea.

G is for...

G is for Going for the Goal!!! She didn't quite make it in but she definitely got an A for effort!! She was up late last night, so maybe that had her all messed up.
G is for baby goats that we fed at the fair last night. They were adorable!!!!
G is for baby gator that our friend so bravely held!!!

F is for Fleece

I surprised Hannah with one of those fleece blankets that I made the other day. She LOVED it and calls it her special magic blanket...whenever she feels sad or lonely she said she is going to cover up with it and that it is our official Sunday afternoon nap blanket. She took a cat nap with it after school Monday and won her soccer game that night..so of course..it's lucky now also. She begs one of our dogs, Poncho to sleep with her every night but he refuses...since I made the blanket..he's all over her every night...again, a magic blanket to her. Who knew it would be so special to her!?!?