I am thankful for

my family...all of them!










"Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family." ~Anthony Brandt

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu

Families are the compass that guide us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.
~Brad Henry

Thankful~
Laurie

I am thankful for

my friends!


Friends grow up together (thirty years strong!)...


Vacation together...



Stand in line to vote together at 5:45 a.m.!!!


Giggle together...


Have plain ol'fun together...



"I keep my friends as misers do their treasure, because, of all the things granted us by wisdom, none is greater or better than friendship." ~Pietro Aretino


Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. ~C.S. Lewis


Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same. ~Flavia Weedn

Feeling lucky~
Laurie

I am thankful for

our church...

www.afumc.org

Why? Well, an easy example..... the first story of this week's sermon was about our minister going to the dermatologist to have a wart removed! Yep, and it only got better from there! He is quite the storyteller and does a perfect job of tying in his stories with the teachings of the Bible. Even a wart!!!

Now, if we can get ourselves in there every week, who knows what else we'd hear!?!?

Learning from His stories~
Laurie

I am thankful for

this preciousness....




Amen~
Laurie

I am thankful for

my good-looking, loving, hard-working, bike riding, hunky, fit, fun-loving husband!



Giddy as a schoolgirl~
Laurie

Get over it, "Thomas" Beattie.....

you are not a man and there have been no miracles! It's just gross!



Enough already, ICK~
Laurie

I am thankful for

these two cute, high-energy, mischievous, loving, bundles of hugs...



Smiling~
Laurie

I am thankful for

the beauty of fall...



Awed~
Laurie

Sore loser??!? Naaaaa....

So Tuesday didn't go my way. Well, my way and that of many, many people I know. I'm really not exactly sure what to say except that I believe that God has a plan and that we will see it play out in the future.

In my mixed collection of emotions, I am proud that America has looked past prejudice and hatred to elect the first African American as President. No, I didn't vote for him, but not because of the color of his skin, because of his views...views that I do not agree with. But that aside, we have overcome a hurdle and that is something to be proud of!

Am I a sore loser? No. (I can still roll my eyes when I see people high-fiving over Obama's win. But I'm not a sore loser.) I will now just hope and pray that he does the best for our country!

Still lovin' the sweet land of liberty~
Laurie

Oh, for the love of pumpkins!!!

The change of the leaves, the crispness in the air and the fun of costumes and candy...I just love Halloween! And we had a great one this year! Some things I love about October...

You know the "haunting" season is officially here when this comes on t.v.:

Then the fun of deciding on your costume:

Of course I had to participate...Officer Moore (More on this pic later.)

Then you get all dressed up and head out for the traditional "trick or treat" excursion. And let me tell you, we have one heck of a neighborhood when it comes to this. Look at their "loot":

Seriously, we learned last year, that we need to carry a grocery bag with us because we have to empty the trick or treat bags periodically! HA! Please don't show this picture to our dentist!

Speaking of our awesome neighborhood (and that picture from earlier) we have a Ladies Night every other month; so for October we did a costume contest on the Wed. before Halloween. Not to brag...but I won with my police uniform --perfect for the neighborhood co-president!! HEE! After ladies night, I arrested Col. Sanders - he was being unruly!

We also coordinated a scarecrow contest for the neighborhood and had some great entries...

Sarah Palin (No worries, they're Republican!)

Dr. "McScreamy" (This is ours! Complete with a brown curly wig!)


S. Crow Landscaping

The Headless Horseman

Col. Sanders


We also had a "Kung Fu" Scarecrow and a Hula girl! We weren't sure how many homes would participate, but for the first year, it was great! The headless horseman won, with Dr. Mc"Screamy" coming in second! Can't wait til next year!

We ended the day with hosting the neighborhood "Pre -Trick or Treat" party! Lots of food, friends and fun!

The kids in "the hood"!





Still on a sugar high~
Laurie


P.S. Here's our scary pumpkin ... creepy!