You like me, you really like me!

Day at Stone Mountain Park

We spent Saturday afternoon with Granny & Grampa at Stone Mountain Park.

We had a great time touring the Museum, Plantation, riding the train and experiencing the 4D Polar Express adventure.

Our Favorite Christmas Moments

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your

good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Matthew 5:16

Our Christmas Card & Letter 2008

Anyone who knows Troy and I knows we truly live out the phrase “one man’s trash is another’s treasure”! Whether  we are on a “Saturday date” (yard sales), spending “half-price day” at our favorite thrift store or the occasional dumpster dive,  we have never been afraid of a pile of trash. We can find the treasure!

This  year we have sorted through a lot of trash,  sometimes having to look extra hard to find the treasure. I think the “trash” has made us even more thankful for the many  “treasure” times this year— a family/Marching Band trip to Disney to see both of the boys march in the parade down Main Street, Mitchell meeting Captain Hook - his all time favorite Disney character (huh?), two super fun seasons of soccer for him,  Makenzie making the Competition Cheerleading team, having a fun & winning season, becoming state champions, Marshall entering high school, being a part of an award winning Marching Band, performing in the Concert Band, getting his  “Learner’s” (“treasure” for him– not me, not by any stretch of the imagination!), hiking trips, too many BRAVES games to count, business success, and most “treasured”,  lots of time spent in our home with family and friends.

Having three children (celebrating birthdays 15, 13 &7) in three different schools this year, very involved in three very different activities, has certainly brought a ton of “trash” into our lives! I am not just talking about the French fry boxes left in the van, I am talking about the “trash” of hours of  practices, football games, competitions (band & cheerleading), soccer matches, homework and projects, you know, all the things that make it a challenge for families to eat together, watch movies together and pray together. It has been in between the “trash” of crazy schedules that we have had to dig deep to find the “treasure” in living in this moment,  watching our children growing—happy, healthy and bearing the name of Christ. 

That is “treasure”!

We know this year, at times, has seemed to be  “trash filled”  for a lot of our family and friends , and our nation as a whole. But, God’s Word is so clear ... this “trash” on earth dos not last, but the “treasure” of salvation is forever. As we celebrate the birth of Christ, who left the “treasure” of Heaven to save a “trash filled” world,  it is the perfect time to consider what we “treasure” and if it will stand the test.

We Pray Your Christmas and New Year Will Be Full of Treasure!

Troy Kendra Marshall Makenzie & Mitchell 

“But keep on storing up treasures for yourselves in heaven,where moths and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal, because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Matthew 6:20-21

Photo taken @ Johnson’s Truck Sales  Norris City, Illinois

(Yes, we are in a “junk yard”!)

My Sugar Plum Fairies

Do I have the greatest job, or what?

Have you ever seen anything cuter?

No, you haven't - I am sure!

Cookie -A- Thon

Today is the day everyone waits all year to come.

No, it is not Christmas.

Today is the day we bake cookies and make candy.

Today is the day we use more sugar, flour, peanut butter,

 pecans,and chocolate chips than the rest of the year

 - combined.

Today is the day we swear we will never eat sugar again.

Until tomorrow.

I Love A Christmas Parade

Marshall is not a big fan of parades,

but I love watching him march.

We always have to have hot cocoa at

the Christmas Parade.

Why do we not have a picture of Makenzie?

Because she stood on the opposite side of the "Duck".

Great picture of her coach, though!

So thankful for ...

thankfulness in review...

where did November go?

an end to a fun and safe soccer season ...

an end to a fun and mostly safe cheer season ...

an end to an election season that did not end the way I wanted ...

still serving an all knowing, in control Savior & Lord ...

a long, safe weekend hiking...

a long weekend in jammies and decorating for Christmas ...

a week in Illinois with family and friends ...

a photo shoot in a junk yard ...

Happy Birthday, Marshall!

I know every Mom and Dad says it,

 but I cannot believe Marshall is 15 today.

 It really does seem like yesterday that we

welcomed him into our lives and hearts.

(looking like this!)

Today while sitting at the soccer field, I realized that we have one week of school and then fall intersession is here! Troy and I were talking about how quickly this school year is flying by. It seems like only a couple weeks ago we were shopping for school clothes and supplies. I remember sitting at the desk with my new calendar, filling up the days and thinking how far away a break was for us. Now, I am sad that the semester is half over! Oh, don't get me wrong ... I can't wait to stay up late and sleep in, wear my jammies all morning, not have to worry about homework and packing lunches,  but I have a hard time dealing with the reality of how quickly time passes.  I just pray that I am savoring this busy season in our life, and not hurrying through from one event to the next on the schedule. Speaking of ... football game last night (Bailey looked gorgeous), cheerleading competition this morning at 8:00, soccer game this afternoon at 1:30 ... a few yard sales snuck in between! Today's best deal ... a huge Pampered Chef baking stone dish - $2.00. I think I will cook lunch in it tomorrow! Today's best find ... a Kool-Aid pitcher ... clear plastic ... it was probably free 20 years ago, but I paid $0.25! Why? Because the Kool-Aid Man is one of Marshall's heroes. (check his myspace if you think I am kidding - like I could even make that up!) I also found a Nutcracker for Mitchell's collection! Not a bad yard sale day, had better, but very thankful for the time to go. Oh, and my new Creating Keepsakes magazine came ... definitely scrapbooking during intersession!

Homecoming Game

Tonight is the homecoming football game. I love this time of the year and all the activities that come; and homecoming just fits in perfectly. I loved the week of homecoming as a teenager, the dance, the game, the parade, the bonfire the sock-hop. (I am sure my kids would be mortified by the fact that I am old enough to know about and love a "sock hop".) Tonight is especially exciting because my niece, Bailey, is a queen candidate. I asked Marshall if they would play at all considering the festivities at half-time, and he said the band director has actually been told "to play so soft that you can't be heard." No respect for the band geeks! Marshall clings to the hope that one day football will be played at half-time... I am just praying that Makenzie gets to come tonight. They had a special practice called this afternoon, and the last time her coach did this it actually turned into another practice that night. Big competition for them tomorrow, so I know everyone is feeling the pressure. I am mostly just thankful that it is Friday. I have had a nasty cold this week and am planning to rest this weekend. (After, of course, our competition tomorrow that we leave @5:30 for and our 1:30 soccer game that we race back for!)