Halloween 2009

Happy Halloween everyone! We had a great Halloween this year. Here's our front door!
We knew we would have special trick or treaters so I decorated a bit! Here are 2 books and "Dreadfully Delicious" Yankee candle.
We had a big candy bowl and I made these ghosts and put them in a pumpkin!

We had a few snacks for everyone too. We had Sweet and Spicy popcorn mix, homemade halloween sugar cookies

and we even had Green Goulade! EEK!

We were pretty excited!

Who is this? It's Connor and Faith!

Oh and "Pirate Joel" came too with...

LSU Cheerleader Bryleigh!

And look who has their 1st Halloween-Baby Leighann!

We had to take a picture together!

Again, Happy Halloween ya'll!


Verse of the day:

Jesus replied, What is impossible with men is possible with God. Luke 18:27

Jack-o-Lantern Date

The other day, I found this shirt. I thought it was cute for Halloween. Halloween is not my favorite holiday of course, but I like to celebrate anyway. It was $8.00-I thought it was a deal! lol It kinda looks like I have tattooed arms! HA! Anyway, Wednesday night, Russell and I decided to have a little "Fall date at home" and carve pumkins! Yes, we have a tradition and TRY to carve pumpkins every Fall! There is just something about it! Oh, and Daddy carved them a lot with us too. He always would light a candle, and wait til the wax melted a bit, then gently pour the wax onto a jar lid and use that to put in the ole jack-o-lantern! I think it is so neat how he did that!
Russell is one master pumpkin carver; let me tell ya'll! :) He can also get all that goopie stuff out of pumpkins too. I try, I really do, but it is soo slippery. It's hard to yank that stuff out! Here is Russell and Belle wants to know what we are about to do! It's the first time she's been around this stuff!

Ta-da! Exhibit 1 of 5 pumpkins! (I only got a picture of 4 though. I was worn out by the 5th one! HA!)

And here's one of my jack-o-lanterns! This year, I decided to carve Joshua 1:9.

So here are 4 of them! I carved the two on the left. I love music, so I carved a treble clef and eighth note. Russell did the other 2. Oh and the last one on the right is supposed to be "Jigsaw" from the movie Saw. EEK. NO I will NOT watch that movie. Thank you very much! Russell will, however. I'll go hide if he watches it. Or maybe I'll just pop Steel Magnolias in and watch that via laptop! HA! Anyway, we did have fun. Ya'll are wondering, "where are you going to put all those pumpkins??" Well you will have to wait til tomorrow! So ya'll tell me, do you have any Halloween traditions? Carving pumpkins, dressing up...anything? Let me hear ya'll! :)

Verse of the day:

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death. Proverbs 14:27

Special Birthday Message to Logan

Do ya'll know who this is? It's Logan! He is TEN years old today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN!

Wasn't he a cute baby?

Logan,

These 10 years have been more fun, more blessed, more fulfilling, more memorable, more cool, and a lot more awesome with you in it!

Logan, I remember when I first saw you sit up, I was there the first time you crawled. I remember when you first smiled!

Our family is even more cooler with you in it! :)



I wish you could have been my date to "Caddies"! HA! You are always so fun to be around!


Logan, you are so special to Russell and I. Your mama and daddy have done so great raising you! Remember to thank them! :)

Logan, we need to go to a Razorback game sometime together! I loved your Arkansas Razorback birthday party a few years ago! My how time flies!

Logan, I know you enjoy hunting. You are such a good little hunter!

I remember when you were born, your daddy walked in the waiting room and said, "IT'S A BOY!" We all screamed so loud in the waiting room, but JJ jumped off the ground! :) I have loved being your aunt for 10 years now and I hope you have enjoyed me too! :) I think you are the best nephew in the world.

Love you,

Aunt Meredith

What sums up the weekend

This: This:
and this:

Pretty much sums up the weekend! I hope ya'll aren't sick too. I know a lot of people who are. Sorry I don't have more to blog about!

Verse of the Day:
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage, be strong. I Corinthians 16:13

Good Family Times and a Makeover!

Hello ya'll! I have not blogged in a while! That is because I was at my sister's house visiting for a few days! I got there on Monday and Kelly and I had lunch at Cheers-a yummy restaurant in the area. We had a lot of fun there visiting! We also picked up Logan and Lauren at school and they were so surprised we were there earlier to pick them up! Look at Logan and his electric guitar! He and Eric are taking father-son lessons together! Logan can play part of Smoke on the Water pretty well!

Tuesday, I went to Kelly's classroom for the day. Kelly is such a great teacher! They are singing a song in this picture!

We went to the Pumpkin Patch with her class and another class too. It was so fun and cute to see all those boys and girls having a great time and they even got to pick out their own pumpkin! Here are Kelly and I on the hayride!

Pumpkins!

Lauren's favorite book is Fancy Nancy! She just loves her! We read this book together!

Mama even came up to see us for a little while and we went to see the movie, "Where the Wild Things Are." It was a cute movie! Do ya'll like the children's book of it?

Logan and Lauren love KK!

Logan is in 4th grade and he showed me his best project yet-his pirate map! It is so cool!

Oo bad pic of me, but I had to document this! Last night, I pulled Logan's tooth! I remember once I pulled Lauren's tooth a while back. I can't remember pulling Logan's tooth! But I did! He reminded me of myself when I was his age. My Daddy was always the one pulling my teeth. But I was soooo scared too! Finally, Logan gave in and let me pull it! HA! Oh the joy of family!

Oh! I am sure you noticed the new blog look. What do ya'll think?? I needed a blog makeover desperately! Hope ya'll have a great weekend!

Verse of the Day:

The grass withers and the flowers fall but the word of the Lord stands forever. I Peter 1:25

Custom Design: Meredith's Moments

Test Post

This is an example of your post text.
Your photos will be bordered as shown below!

Hello All!

Hey ya'll!

I will not be able to post this week until Friday so I hope ya'll have a great week!

Meredith

Pretty Crafty!

This weekend just went by so fast! WOW! From Thursday til today NWA has had many craft fairs going on. It's a big deal every year around here! Many people come from all kinds of different places to the craft fairs! Russell and I decided to go on Saturday. We went to War Eagle Mill and browsed! Right when we got there, I ran into..... My sweet cousin, Jacque and her husband Michael! **(Can you believe that, Aunt Nancy! HA!) They live in South AR, so we didn't expect to see anyone from there! It was a great surprise. We hardly get a chance to see them either! I love family!
I had to take a picture of this! I have said before, Russell and I are from South Ar, so my hometown has the "famous Barn Sale" every September. They usually always have kettle corn! I know some of ya'll are from different states who read my blog. I thought ya'll may think this is interesting! :) It is like sweet/salty popcorn that is made in a huge kettle shown in the picture above! Neat, huh?

I had to get this yesterday too. It's a personalized cake pan. A sweet lady engraves them and does such a great job! We thought it was special and neat too!

After that, I made soup and the "Great white pumpkin cheese ball" for an appetizer. We were going to have friends over last night, but they got sick yesterday. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made this cheese ball just for Russell and I. HA! Look on my cooking blog for recipes! :)

Church was so great this morning! After that, we had lunch w/ friends. I have been helping with our church's children's choir this Fall. It has been really fun so far. I LOVE children! I help w/ the 3 and 4 year olds. We sang songs, had story time, and snacks for the kids! :) I think that the snacks were the kids favorite part! :)

Verse of the day:

I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers. Philemon 1:4

Love ya'll!

Meredith

Honestly....

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32

Okay, it's time to get totally down right, heartfelt, honest with ya'll! As one of my best friends, Lindsey says, I am "writing from the depths of my soul" today. Okay, this year......to sum it up has been absolutely by far the hardest years of my life. And no, this is not a "pity party"; some people may think it is. But hear me out here. My father passed away in February as ya'll know. Well the date that happened was February 19th. Russell, my husband lost his job on February 20th. Yes, it was one boom after the next. Since those 2 days, every day has been a test....a test from God. Honestly, I am human and there has been many times when I have been.....get ready ya'll....angry at God. I hate even saying that, but hey, I am being honest. Different issues have come up, like sometimes I have had a hard time getting out of the house and only wanting to just stay in. A lot has happened in the past 8 months. Emotions are like a roller coaster-especially with grieving. Every now and then I would read my Bible, or listen to Christian music, but mostly, I would spend a lot of time on the internet, staying up late, or talking on the phone. My heart was not open to what God wanted to tell me. And having an open heart in your Christian walk is a VERY important thing, by the way. Hey, I even stopped blogging for a couple months! But in September I did start reading my Bible more and reading it on a regular basis. What I am trying to say is, no matter what the situation may be; whether or not it is a great one or a horrible one, keep on keeping on! Always have faith! Keep your trust in the Lord! Since I have exercised my daily walk with God, I have felt a sense of peace overcome me more and more. God shows me many things that amaze me! Like, yesterday, Russell and I went riding around to look at the Fall scenery in the Arkansas Ozarks, and I felt God right beside me. We listened to Christian music like Casting Crowns, Skillet, and just more on KLRC (our fav Christian radio station) and it meant so much more to me. The words of the songs made me want to cry! And last night, we decided to stay up late and watch one of our VERY favorite movies, Fireproof. I cried and my heart had flutters! I got chill bumps! It was awesome! It's like the little things mean a lot too! And ya'll-every day is not going to be perfect. The only thing that is perfect is God! There will be hard days, BUT there will also be the best kind of days that you just will never forget! Russell had an interview today with a company here in NWA. He has had other interviews, but nothing like this one. He applied for this job Monday, they called him yesterday and today and he met w/ the manager today! He will find out in about a week or two if he got the job. I know it has been 8 months since the "walmart layoffs" but we have both learned a lot during these months! We both have a peace about this job interview. God only knows if he will get the job or not. We prayed very much about it yesterday, we prayed more and more about it today! And I cried more! It's a good cry though! I will say again, I am not perfect-no one is! However it is EXTREMELY important to have the Lord in your life. If I did not have God in my life, I don't know how I would have gotten through or where I would be now! HE IS FAITHFUL! HE IS JUST! HE LOVES US! Invite HIM into your heart! Ask Him to forgive you of all your sins and come into your life. God loves us even though we do not deserve it! God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross and take the punishment for our sins! If you are reading my blog post today and have not asked Jesus in your heart, I sincerely invite you to ask Jesus in your heart right now and say this prayer to Him:


Dear Jesus,
I know I am a sinner, I know that I need you, Lord!
I am asking you for your forgiveness, Lord.
I trust you with my life.
I truly believe in my heart, and know you sent your son, Jesus to die for us so that we could have eternal life.
I now ask you that you cleanse me from my sins and become my Savior! I give myself to you! I love you! Amen!

To those of you who prayed that prayer: Congratulations! You have made the best decision you will ever make in your lifetime! There may be some that prayed that prayer and renewed their life to Christ! That is awesome too! God will never fail you! He is always there! If you have any more questions about salvation, prayer requests or anything, my email is on the sidebar!


Awesome verses about salvation:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

I encourage each and every one of ya'll to love one another today, and every day. Be kind and compassionate to one another! Even people you may not even know! You never know who you will help today! Live every day like it is your last day! God has given you today!

Love ya'll!
Meredith

Can't wait til.....

OOoh I am so excited about the new Casting Crowns cd, Until the Whole World Hears! It is going to come out in November and I just can't wait! What an awesome music group! :) I love the songs Stained Glass Masquerade, Praise You in the Storm, and many others!

On another note, who watched the Season 3 finale of Army Wives on Sunday night? Oh my word, it was something, wasnt it? Well, in the past 3 seasons, they began each season every June. It's going to be a long wait til June 2010! WOWIE!

Have ya'll noticed I added music to my blog?? What do ya'll think? You may be wondering, "what is the first song?" Well it's my favorite movie, Steel Magnolias theme! It is my very favorite song and just a beautiful piece of music-it's just instrumental. I also have other songs on there too. I also have a cooking blog. I will try to update it pretty often!

Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23

Love ya'll!

Meredith