Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Sunday's Blessings

Last Sunday we went to Friends and Family Day at Roebuck Church of Christ. My dad's family all go there. My uncle said if we come, then we'll all get to get at the front of the food line at the fellowship meal! lol He's silly! My parents couldn't come so it was Jared, me, Pam, Joseph, and Xander. Xander thought the church and everything about it was "awesome!" He was especially excited to get to see Chandler. As we were walking up the stairwell to find a class for Xander, he was fascinated with his echo and proclaimed that it was the "coolest thing ever!" He went right in to class like the big boy he has become and we were so proud. Chandler was not there yet and Xander didn't know anyone there, yet he was happy to be there. It is our prayer that he will always think the Lord's church and people are awesome and will grow into a christian young man. As Jared told Sister Cagle later that night in reference to bringing Xander to church, "Well, we love him and we want him to go to heaven!" AMEN! Anyhow, after class we sat in the balcony (Jeff sits up there because Chandler is a little loud you might say!) :) When we stood up to sing Xander yelled, "Jojo, I can see my house from here, can you?" lol We were facing towards some windows. He even sang along with the worship songs and it was the most beautiful sound to hear! He had a blast and I was near joyous tears all morning as Jared, Pam, Joseph, and I would give each other looks- we were all proud of the little man!
Wait... as I type Xander is sitting next to me on the couch watching SpiderMan and he says, "Emily...I love you!" It doesn't get any better than this!
Anyhow, Xander wanted to go home with Jared until the youth devotional. We listened to the "Secret Agent Man" theme song, btw, Joseph told Xander that morning on the way to church that the song was about him. Joseph told him his secret agent name was "Secret Agent X." Then he would sing the song to him. I have the theme song on a cd in my car so we listened to it a gazillion times from Roebuck to Adamsville! He thinks the singer is Joseph! Nice compliment, eh?? :) So, if you see Secret Agent X, do not blow his cover! He is out to fight the bad guys of the city! So...shhhhh...his identity is TOP SECRET!
Well, we stopped by to pick up Keri for the youth devotional, (she got to hear Secret Agent Man, the lucky duck!) and Xander accidentally let it slip who he was, but Keri promised not to tell anyone!
Xander got to ride the church bus for the first time and really enjoyed it! He started off sitting in front of me next to Keri. At one point he turned and looked at Keri and said, "Why is this bus going so fast?" lol We had a great time at Logan Martin Church of Christ! John Rice did a fantastic job, as always! Xander did GREAT! The crowd maxed out at 262 people!!! The ladies at Logan Martin C. of C. had prepared sloppy joes for 200! They ended up having to go out and get pizzas as well! There were chairs in the aisle and the singing was BEAUTIFUL! I am so glad we went! While we were there, Jared told Keri that she had to introduce herself to one person she didn't know before we left. He reminded her of this when we were on our way out and told her she could not get on the bus until she met a new person. So Keri walked up to a lady and said, "Hi, I'm Keri, he's (pointing at Jared) is making me meet one person before I can go home." Nice Keri! lol Jared told her that she did not fool him and that next time she had to meet two people and they had to be her age!
Monday, during the faculty meeting at work, I get a call from none other than David C.! He was letting me know that Mark Wylie was gonna baptize Keri that evening at the church! We were so happy for her and the big decision of becoming a christian! Several of us got to witness this important step in Keri's life! I pray that Keri continues to be a great example to others! We love you Keri!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

A Blustery Fall Day

I just love this time of year when the air gets cooler, the leaves are changing, and fun times with family. I love my drive to and from work. My drive is mostly lined with trees on both sides of the road. I really enjoy my fall tunnel as I drive! It is so beautiful to see God's handiwork and a great reminder of all He's made. The last couple of days have consisted of a nice wind that stirred the colorful leaves up. As the leaves fell it looked like confetti being thrown up into the air and again, it was so beautiful!
Today Jared and I went over to Pam and Joseph's to visit and have lunch. Pam made a delicious meal of chicken picatta. Then we went outside and played on the rope swing that Joseph made. He would hook us up to his rock climbing harness and then attach it to the rope. Then he and Jared would toss us around as we swung in the air. It was so much fun! They really had fun pushing Pam so that she would slightly hit the bushes and then come flying back. It was funny because she would just laugh and laugh. We had fun goofing off like the big kids we are!
Jared, Andy, and Casey are here now watching the Alabama game. From the sounds of the hooting and hollering I conclude that they must have won...yep I just went to ask Jared and they did indeed win! Roll Tide!

Book Character Day

Yesterday was Book Character Day at school. We were to dress as our favorite book character and bring the book in with us. I went as Harry Potter. I had fun pointing my wand at my students when they walked up to me and yelling, "Expecto Patronous!" at them. They would laugh and give me a look like I was strange weirdo. They had no idea what it meant. I told them it was a force that kept them from coming any closer to me. They would laugh and then go sit down so I guess it worked! FYI, it is the spell that keeps the death eaters from Harry Potter. Ok, so I am a big dork and I know it! Joseph told me I was made to be a teacher because I enjoy doing these kinds of things. lol




Several of the other 2nd grade teachers dressed. We had Harry Potter, Johnny Appleseed, Puss in Boots, Fancy Nancy, and Amelia Bedelia!


My 5th Grade Scholar

Monday night Jared and I went to see my sweet cousin, Brianna, receive an award. The program was called the 5th Grade Scholars Awards. To qualify you must have a certain score on your SAT's as well as have very good grades. I am so proud of Bri and can't wait to see what her future holds!


Here's our scholar!


You may not recognize her without her curly locks!


Nolan annoying his sister!

During the program they honored the veterans in that were there and had them stand. This included my uncle!
Afterwards we had dinner at Pizza Hut with Brianna, Nolan, Stuart, Dawn, Uncle David, and Aunt Edith.

Pictures of the Bent-N-Dent Store

Here are the pictures I promised from the previous post, Redneck Tour of Alabama!