Christmas Cards

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with lots of blessings and things to be thankful for!

I realized this morning that Christmas is a MONTH away.  It's time for me to start thinking about Christmas cards.  We are getting our cards from Tiny Prints this year because they have some really cute designs, great prices, and are offering 50 cards for free just for blogging about them.  You should do it!

I have been browsing their website.  I love how you can click on the cards that catch your eye and then compare them after you go through them all.  I have 17 in my "favorites" folder right now.  Hopefully one of those will work since I have no idea what picture we are going to use.  I had originally planned on using a family picture but that is much easier said than done. :)

I found an idea from Pinterest on what to do with your Christmas cards after Christmas.  Mine usually just get stuck in a drawer and never looked at again.  This year if you send us a card they will go into a book like this.  All you do is punch holes in the cards and bind them using an "o" ring.  You can add the ribbon to make it a little more fun.  Someone was sharing with me the other day that they used a book similar like this as a prayer book.  As they looked at each card they prayed for the person/family it was from.  What a great idea!!  

I will leave you with a few of my favorite cards so far. 

Halloween

I just noticed I forgot to post any Halloween pictures.  I think I got caught up in seeing everyone else's cute pictures on blogs and Facebook that I never got around to posting any.  We started out the month by going to the Pumpkin Patch to pick out a few pumpkins.

We also went to the Fall Carnival in Opelika.  Trevor was thrilled to see Aubie there and ran right up to him.  Can't you see the excitement on his face?  They had a lot of age appropriate activities for Trevor and it was spread out well.  Definitely something we will do again next year.

Trevor had a carnival at school with his class.  He requested "Cookie Monster"as his face paint design.  Before it was time to go we let them have fun with the hay.  You could tell a few of them had been wanting to throw it the entire time but couldn't with everyone around.

Trevor was a dragon on Halloween.  I bought this costume a while ago at a consignment store.  When I bought it I didn't realize it would be in the 80's the whole month of October.  The dragon costume is like a snow suit.  It was perfect for Halloween night since it got pretty cold and we were outside the whole time.  Thank goodness my friend, Nancy, let us borrow the M&M costume so Trevor wouldn't sweat to death at the carnivals.

W.C. and Vivian really helped teach Trevor what trick-or-treating was all about.  He went to every door with them and attempted to keep up with them as they ran from house to house.

I am not sure what this police officers name is but he was SO SWEET!!  He saw the kids walking and pulled over and asked W.C. if he wanted to sit in his car since he was dressed as a police officer himself. He even turned on the lights and siren. He also handed out candy.  If you know his name please let me know.

Veterans Day

It is Veterans Day.

Here are the first people that come to my mind when I think of Veterans past and present.

My grandfather James Gunter.

Travis's Dad (and his grandfather although I didn't have a picture of him).

Our friend Ryan Gamston and his wife Courtney.

Our friend Sam Ketchum and his wife Dorsey (my childhood best friend and college roommate)

We have so much to be thankful for today.  There aren't enough words to express how much gratitude I have for all of the service men past and present that have/are fighting for our freedom.  I am reminded today of how much I take for granted.  The problems I face on a daily basis are NOTHING compared to what anyone in the military (or their family) deals with on any given day.

Here are a few pictures from the internet that really made an impact on me.

As a mom and wife my heart if even heavier for the women that have let their sons and husbands fight for our freedom.  I can only imagine the fear and worry your are consumed with every second your loved one is away from you.

So today I want to tell each and ever military service man past and present that you are a ROCKSTAR!!!  We pray for your strength and courage daily.  Without YOU our country would not be the same.  I don't know how you do what you do but I will never be able to thank you enough!!  When I see a person in uniform I just want to go up to them and give them a big hug and tell them how special they are.  If you see one today will you tell them?  Thank them and their families for everything they give up so that you and I can enjoy living in freedom.

a birthday celebration

We got to celebrate a very special birthday this week.  

My Dad's birthday was on Monday.  We started the celebrations this past weekend since April, Mike, and Trent were in town.  My Dad is the hardest worker I know.  He puts God first with his family following right behind.  He never wants any recognition and avoids the spotlight at all possible costs.  (He is never thrilled when his pictures make the blog.)  He was always the "fun" parent when we were growing up.  That is until we hit teenage/dating years....then his fun ran out. :)  However, now that he has grandkids that fun has returned and multiplied times 100.  

We spent some time outdoors this weekend.  The cooler weather meant roasting marshmellows and hotdogs over a bonfire.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate such a great guy in our life.  We love you Dad and enjoyed celebrating another year with you.  Thank you for being such a great Dad and Daddy G.  We love you!!!

Shoot for AFRICA

Remember when you were little and you had very little to worry about?  Nobody tells you how much hurt and suffering is going on around you and around the world.  They don't warn you about the devastation and suffering you will experience and see with age.  It is easy to get comfortable with the luxuries we live with everyday and often (if you are like me) take for granted.

Here are some pictures of boys and girls that can't even begin to understand what it is like to have running/clean water, food, and consistent power/electricity.  These little people are some of the future faces and leaders in Africa.  They are suffering and hurting right now.  They desperately need HELP!!!

Thankfully God has put it in the heart of several people to make a difference in the lives of many people in Africa.  Four Corners Ministries is an AMAZING organization that exist in order to spread the Gospel of Christ by demonstrating unconditional love and by building relationships to serve orphans and families in Africa.  

In there own words...

"FCM has launched a new project called Abaana’s Hope (Abaana is an African word that means children), a comprehensive children’s village that will provide holistic care for orphans. The ultimate goal of Abaana’s Hope is to help raise future leaders, to lift them up and fill them with love and hope so that they might do the same for their neighbors. They also facilitates short-term mission trips from the United States to South Sudan and Uganda in order spread the unconditional love of Christ and to expose people to the work God is doing through the ministry (Matthew 28:19). FCM trips focus in four specific areas, education, emergency relief, evangelism and orphan care."

Meet Matt and Jamie East along with their two boys... 

They followed the Lord's calling and are currently living in Uganda and serving as the Directors of Abaana's Hope.  They are changing lives daily as they adjust to life in Uganda and get to know the people living there.  You can follow their personal family blog here.

Please join us in helping raise money to help Matt and Jamie as well as the entire Four Corners Ministry Team as they "Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow" ~Isaiah 1:17.  

Travis will be participating in the first Annual Four Corners Ministries Shoot for Africa this Friday.  Each participant has set a goal to raise $3,500 directly for Four Corners Ministries.  Please consider helping Travis meet his goal by donating here.  Every dollar helps and no donation is too small!!  Thank you for your help and for your prayers for the ministry and the individuals involved.

Pictures and some wording was taken from the Four Corners Ministries website as well as from Matt and Jamie East's blog.  

thank you for praying

Thank you for all your prayers for my sister and brother-in-law.  It is so encouraging to see God's hand at work.  I never get tired of hearing people say, "We are praying for Mike and April."  I usually just reply with a simple "thank you" but that almost doesn't seem to be enough.  Your prayers mean the world to us.  Thank you for pleading before God on Mike's behalf.  Please don't stop!!  Mike and April do a great job of keeping you up to date on his website.

baby girl, Pappy & Memaw, cold relief, & playground fun

Since my sister and brother-in-law found out they are having a GIRL I have been on the look out for cute girl stuff.  I love helping other people spend money. :)  One item I have learned that's a must is a car seat cover.  It saves a ton of time and energy when you child spits up or has a blow out.  The cover is easy to slip off and wash and put back on.  Here are my two favorites from www.2littlemonkeys.com  that I sent my sister.  A friend told me about the website and they have some cute stuff.  

Travis's parents came to visit for a couple of days.  We stayed busy shopping, eating, playing, and watching Travis play softball.  Travis brought home an empty washing machine box from work and cut windows out for Trevor.  It is the best toy the child has ever had.  He wants everyone to get in the box with him.  Pappy sure was a great sport about it.

I wanted to share something with you since the weather is starting to change and we tend to get sick more.  One of our friends at Our Home Pharmacy (it's the new locally owned pharmacy/coffee/gift shop in the Moores Mill shopping area) told us about Aleve-D.  I am getting over a cold and this stuff has been my BEST FRIEND!!!  The worst part about having a cold is NOT being able to breathe through your nose.  You know what I am talking about.  You can't sleep unless you have your mouth open and then your throat dries out and you wake up feeling awful.  Or you walk around with your mouth open through out the day hoping a bug doesn't fly in.  I have taken just about every type of decongestant in the past but this is by far the best.  It gave me 100% relief in my nose so that I could breathe.  It lasts 12 hours so you don't have to worry about taking it every 4-6 hours like some meds.  The only downfall is that it will help get the mucus out so that means it usually drains down your throat.  I was fine with that as long as I could breathe through my nose.

We went to the playground this afternoon.  We saw our sweet friend Noel.  After playing for a little while she walked over to her bag and brought back two suckers.  One for her and one for Trevor. 

We have a busy weekend planned.  I hope everyone's heat is working with this cold weather.