You'll find Jesus here!

Matthew 2:1-2: In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."

Today Joe and I found a way to proclaim that there will be room for the Baby Jesus here in our house this Christmas. We made the Star of Bethlehem and hung it out the nursery window!

Supplies: 5-3ft. long Bamboo sticks....

Small white zip ties...
100-bulb strand of white (green works fine) wire light...

We found that an extra pair of hands and a helpful heart...

Makes for the perfect holiday activity that will fill your house with comfort and joy.

YEA!

1. To make 1 star: On a flat surface, arrange stakes in a 5-pointed star. Using small zip ties, secure the inner 5 points, and then secure the outer 5 points, top. Use a large zip tie to secure each of the outer points. Trim tie ends.
2. Secure plug end of strand to 1 point of the star with small zip tie. Drape strand along the length of stake, and then pass it between the 2 stakes crossed at end. Repeat along the adjacent stake. Drape strand along every stake of star. Secure with small zip ties, and trim tie ends. Repeat to make more stars if desired. (Add more strands as needed to connect stars to one another.)

Enjoy getting ready for the Christ Child!

A day of Thanksgiving

We had a great day...Hope you did too!

....There were greetings

Showing off of new blessings.....

...Grace

More food than we should have been allowed!.....


....fellowship





and joy.....

Except for having any other of our children and grandchildren with us it couldn't have been a better Thanksgiving. Oh happy day, another sweet memory made!

I am Grateful for you....

To all of you, who in some way have touched my life, I am grateful for the influence you have been, for the love you have given and/or for the things you have taught me. Thank you for reading my thoughts and viewing our precious family pictures on Chatterbox. What a delight it is for me to share them. You will be counted among my blessings this Thanksgiving. I hope you rejoice in your blessings wherever you are this day. Happy Thanksgiving!

-Mimi

...and a BIG and VERY special "Happy Thanksgiving" to all those who are gathered at 600 N. Church Street counting their blessings today. I LOVE YOU!

-Merry

Belated Birthday Camp Out at NorthCroft

There is no doubt, Northcroft is for children...and Mimi. I mean, boys can run wet and wild, but somebody has to dry out the boots so mildew won't grow in them!

Truly, this past weekend is one of the reasons I am so grateful for our little place in the mountains. My grandchildren are the best of the best and they have the best of friends...

For his birthday each year, Andrew has chosen to have a camp out at Northcroft. He usually has about a half dozen friends and their fathers. (I really like this idea. I love watching the father/son connection; and I know the memories they are making together are big time important! ) They haul in tons of camping gear, food, gifts and, over the years they have learned to bring extra clothes and warmer jackets. The extras are for the inevitable fall into the creek in temperatures about 10 degrees colder than in Atlanta. I have also noticed newer and better camping gear as the years go by, and therefore happier faces in the early morning hours after a long night on the cold ground.

Kim, Emily, Will (who was mostly wet from being out with the big boys) and Morgan joined Grandad and me inside. Morgan taught Emily and me how to knit, and from that time until they left, their pretty little heads were in the bowing positions, knitting. Cute, cute, cute! From inside the warm cabin, we could hear shouts of excitement during a game of 'Capture the Creek', hundreds of rocks being thrown into the water and then later guitar music and song coming out of the darkness, from around the glow of the campfire.

I love this camp out weekend! I'm glad that my grandchildren love Northcroft the way I do. I adore Tom and Andrew's friends. I love that Mike and Joe are not just family but friends too. I love watching the teaching, the learning, the playing of all things boy.

This year, I loved something else... Tom and Andrew had a prior commitment to the children of the church. They are the Knight and Page of Apostlelot, a troupe of actors that performs an on going Godly story each week during the children's assembly. The children look forward to seeing them and hearing what happens next in the play. In the dark of the early morning, Tom and Andrew got up (Andrew leaving his own party that he was enjoying so much), and went back to Atlanta, to do God's work. That's why you don't see them in the last half of the pictures, but a lot of other children at church saw them. Without knowing it, Tom and Andrew set a life example for us all and Mike hung around till the end to pick up the slack of their absence. Need I say more.

:) Mimi

P.S. By clicking on the slide show you can get to the photo album and save any of the pictures that you want to your computer.

This Season of my Life...

My frequent trips back to Murfreesboro, where I grew up, seem to be having a big effect on me these days. Maybe it's because I have so much time in the car to reflect on where I'm going, as well as where I've been. The trip there this week was no exception...

Upon arriving, I joyfully rushed into the house to find that Mother had not been feeling well for a couple of days. We talked a bit then decided it might help to go out for a cup of soup and stop by my sister Judy's for a short visit. As always, Judy rushed to make her delicious "hurry up, company is coming!" apricot cake. We believe that it's a must to feed each other as a sign of caring, in the hope that guests will come back for more. She had already made certain that I had an appointment with my dentist (at her office) while I was in town, and had checked in on me, by phone, during my journey from Atlanta. Anyway, her daughter Abby was there, a fire was burning in the fireplace, and we had a nice (though brief) visit before leaving because Mom just couldn't get comfortable. We said goodnight with a promise to touch bases later.


Mom had a rough night, so the next morning while I was getting caps put on a couple of molars, she made an appointment to see her long-time doctor, now friend. We spent most of the afternoon waiting for him to work us in, then getting prescriptions filled, and going to the grocery store to buy foods that would be easy on her stomach. When we got home, my brother Hugh and his wife, Natali, were curled up on the sofa in the den. Natali put away the groceries, asked what else she could do, then took over putting the chicken on to boil for soup. She also made a pot of coffee for comfort, while I tried to fix Mother something I thought her stomach could handle after a day of fasting. Hugh, on the other hand, was busy fixing all the little things that had broken, or needed doing since the last time he had been there. After all was done, we settled down and chatted around the kitchen table. Natali talked about the Communist days in the Ukraine and how her life has changed since; Hugh related that they installed a fireplace and built a rock chimney together, that their daughter Becca is buying a house, etc. Mom was just grateful that the medicine was working and her dry baked potato wasn't making her sick. It was all so good, the kind of scene a playwright would not have written because it didn't move fast enough. It didn't really strike me how good, until the next morning...

I got up early to go and pick up Mom's longtime housekeeper, now friend, for work. I dropped Lilly off and was leaving again for my sister's to solicit the help of Louis, my brother-in-law, on a Christmas project I was working on, when my other brother-in-law, Aubrey, pulled up in his truck behind me and blew the horn. Big hugs and words of greeting (along with a little teasing) were followed by his report that he was there to put up a security light on the side of the house for Mom. As I left, it struck me how lucky I was that I could leave my mom and know that she would be lovingly taken care of, and how very blessed my mother was to be so loved, by so many.

Louis and I couldn't do what we intended, so he is taking care of it for me sometime in the next few days and delivering the project to Mother's, where Hugh said he would pick up the surprise and bring it to Atlanta at the end of the month. Can you believe that! None of this was planned, they where just helping...

As I drove the beautiful streets of rust, gold and red and smiled at the leaves blowing in the wind, I came to realize that in this season of my life, the autumn of my life, I need them, and they are still there for me. I am a lucky sister and sister-in-law. They are all teaching me about selflessness and I am grateful.

It's a good time of the year for being grateful. Hope your list of blessings this Thanksgiving is as long as mine...oh!...and it's raining (a bit)! A precious relief in this time of drought.

Thanks be to God.

P.S. Thanks also to Terr, for making it possible (and easy) for me to go back and join this crew of siblings. He has had to come home from a long days work and eat many-a-sandwiches so I could be gone. His gifts to me are huge!

The Final Applause

Bravo Andrew! Your weeks of hard work paid off, your show a success, you did a great job and I hope you have many memories for your memory bank!

Joe's team won the championship game! They were undefeated for the entire season!
Issy finished her Cheer leading season.

Keegan's soccer team won the championship of their league!

Ford's football season is over and he now a member of the Woodward 7th Grade Swim Team.

Morgan continues with her rock climbing. Emily in a member of the bell chime ensemble at Wesleyan. Aidan finished his soccer season and William makes me smile!

All continue to do well, academically.

....and that's the way it is: The Best Of The Best!!

(Speaking of which, the parents of all the above are not doing so badly either, success in business and parenting is beyond compare! Thanks be to God!)

That's One "TERRIFIC" Andrew!

SALUTATIONS!

The Wesleyan Junior High production of "Charlotte's Web" opened tonight with a dress rehearsal and a standing ovation. Although I did not attend (I have to wait until Saturday night's performance), I understand that Charlotte's diligence, Templeton's craftiness, Wilbur's sadness, could have only been out done by the star we call our own; Golly, The Gander.....DA DAAAh!

"I think it's T double E double R double I double F double I double C C C C."....

He can't say it, because he is "HUMBLE", but I have heard him rehearse and I know that he is "SOME P- oops, ACTOR!

I hope you all get to see him perform sometime during the next three days.

Andrew has another reason to be "RADIANT" (thank you, Charlotte). Today is his Birthday! (Already a henpecked Goose at the age of ELEVEN!)

Oh, help me Charlotte, what words can I find to make a perfect wish for Grandson #2....I know! I know! "BREAK A LEG, SWEETIE" and have a "Happy, Happy Birthday!" It gives me so much joy to watch you grow.

"Have a honking good time!"

Mimi

Romeo and Juliet

At a post Halloween, costume party, Mary and Mike came together as Romeo and Juliet. Looks like dressing up sure can be fun........

Joe and Isabelle got to spend the night with Mimi and Grandad!

I am happy to announce that Mike and Mary will celebrate their 14th Wedding Anniversary on November 6th and Kim and Tom celebrated their 17th on November 3rd! Happy, happy Anniversary and prayers and wishes from Grandad and me for many, many more!