I Am Thankful

I am thankful. Yesterday I found myself repeatedly thinking about my wonderful country... the land of the free... the home of the brave... the sacred truth it was built upon. It rings so true to me this year. I caught myself wondering if I have taken these blessings for granted in the past. I am certain I have. I want to declare to you that I am thankful. I want to declare this while I can. There may be a point in my lifetime that I will not have those blessings to be thankful for.

My Diary of Thanks:

I am thankful that I can choose to start a business and keep the profits and not be forced to share the wealth. I am thankful that I can freely "choose" to share the wealth if I please. I am thankful that partial birth abortion is still considered murder. I am thankful that we still have "In God We Trust" on our currency.

I am thankful that we still support and defend Israel. I am thankful for our armed services protecting this great nation UNDER GOD and preserving her freedoms. I am thankful for freedom to worship the Living God. I am thankful for the few politicians who still are willing to stand strong on the moral and Biblical principles that this nation was founded upon. I am thankful for those who choose to remember the MEN WHO FOUGHT and the BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS that has made our country the great nation it is today. I am thankful for those who gave their lives to give future generations hope, freedom, and confidence. I am thankful I can speak openly about these things. I am thankful....

I am not ashamed to be called an American. As long as I can be thankful for these things, I am proud to be an American. "In everything give thanks." Why? Because it is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Lets not forget to pray for this great country and her leaders. The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord.

Birthday Pictures

Here are some random pictures of Jeremy's 30th birthday party. We invited some people over Sunday night after church...of which there ended up being standing room only. No kidding!! We loved it. Not only that, Jeremy deserves it. Noah loved it too. He had a blast being the center of attention at his daddy's party. Mom Wilbanks made her famous Santa Fe soup, the Koehoorns brought over cheesy nachos. There were Snicker Doodle cookies, birthday cake, pina colada punch with ice cream, Harry and David's Sweet Onion Pepper Relish cream cheese dip, and lots of gummy worms scattered around to go along with the "Older Than Dirt" theme. I decorated with black balloons and had a picture collage on the cake/punch table. Bro. and Sis. Bittler brought their kids' Wii game for us to set up in the guest bedroom. Some of our friends' older kids claimed this room while the smaller children and older girls claimed Noah's room. The adults "stood" in 3 rooms. lol I say this because we didn't have enough seating in our house even though the entire perimeter of our living room and kitchen were lined with chairs.

Once people started arriving, the flow didn't stop. I got nervous and just started pulling people into the kitchen with me. Thank God for Sis.Bridget, Sis.Bittler, Sis.Kimi, Sis.Mary, Sis.Cheryll, Mom Wilbanks, and Sis.Natalie. These ladies just came in and knew exactly what to do. Also, thank you Bro.Bittler for asking me about pictures. I had gotten so carried away with the busyness of the party and had forgotten to have someone taking pictures. Luckily it wasn't too long into the party that he said something. lol I am grateful. Thank you Aunt Judy for taking pictures for me.

Once everyone had eaten, we lit the candles on the cake and sang while people pulled the party poppers and confetti went everywhere (I'm still finding it behind, around and inside my furniture... lol). It was great. After Sis.Mary helped me serve the cake, the crowd started dwindling down... many people had to get up early Monday morning. However, we had some PARTY ANIMALS stick around and drink coffee and play games and chat until 2am. As those of you who know my husband, he's the biggest PARTY ANIMAL -- always telling people to just stay the night since we have a spare bedroom and we'll stay up all night. HAHA You guys know its true!HAHA so much for getting up early (poor Jeremy had to). It was such a fun party and maybe next year we'll consider our new Fellowship Hall at church.

To my sweet husband of 7 and a half years, I am so blessed to have married you... that you chose to marry me. I thank God for you as often as I think about it. You are a treasure that I prayed for all throughout my single adulthood. Everything I prayed for: that you would love God more than me, that you would be a good example as a Father and a husband in our home, and that you would not waiver in your character, convictions, and in Truth; you are all that and more. God blessed me exceeding abundantly beyond what I asked or thought. You have a love for Truth and what is right. You have strong loyalties to what you believe in. I LOVE that about you... and that you don't hesitate to inspire others to do the same. I love your gentleness with me and our son. I am so thankful that our son has a wonderful example as a Father to look up to as he grows up. Thanks for being who you are. I love you with all my heart... forever. Love, Von de Leigh

Bake a Turkey: "Just Put it in the Sink"

I found this cute article about kids instructing how to bake a turkey for Thanksgiving. You never know what kids are going to say. My days are numbered. Just this evening Noah began experimenting with the refrigerator's water dispenser. I was sitting in the next room and I knew what he was doing because every time I could hear the "click" noise, I would hear this little gasp of air as the frigid cold water would hit him. After a while I decided I should try to prevent any water damage to my floors so I went in and with hands on hips asked, "How did you get so wet?" He looked around the room momentarily and then looked back up at me and said, "A mouse?" I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing. As I began thinking about kids and the funny things they say, I came across this article to share with you. What will your kids say when asked how you cook/bake their fave foods?

"To Bake a Turkey just put it in the sink"
Take a group of 4- and 5-year-olds. Add a Thanksgiving theme, and talk about pilgrims and Thanksgiving Day meals.
Then ask what's their favorite thing about Thanksgiving dinner. Some have to think it's been a while since their last Turkey Day meal. But, with a little prompting from friends and teachers, they come up with some of the traditional vegetables, desserts and turkey.
But, the fun part comes when you ask those children how their moms prepare their favorite foods.
Elizabeth Smith, the preschool teacher at Draper Elementary School, asked her 4-year-old students Thursday how to cook a turkey.
"Big turkey, like this," said Parker Setliff, stretching his arms to indicate the size of the bird. "Mama crush it and then cut it. Mama cut it again."
Gabriel Huffman: "It's already melted. You put it in the oven and you bake it and you bake it and you bake it! You cut it with a knife. Then you put in on a plate. Then you blow it cause it was in the oven. Then you eat it!"
Blake Pulliam: "You cook it in the oven. You put it in a pan, then put it in the microwave. I don't know after that."
David Vasquez Soto: "Eat him and squeeze him. You put it in the sink under the water. When you finish under the water, eat him!"
Megan Powell: "You put it in the oven, then bake it. Bake it and then take it out of the oven, then you eat it."
Sarah Pendleton: "My mama ... we don't eat turkey. We do eat turkey but we don't eat the bones! You stir it. You cook it. You put it in the oven. You cut it and bake it."
The 5-year-olds in Sandra Greeson's kindergarten class got into the Thanksgiving dinner mood, too. They created Pilgrim hats and wore them all day.
Lucas Durham said his favorite holiday food is apple pie. His mom uses apples "that you cook in the oven. She puts them in the pie tin and puts them into the oven for a few minutes. When it's time, she opens it up and gets it out, and we have apple pie."
Baked potatoes are a favorite with Samuel Johnson. "All she does is put the butter in and then she cooks them, and she lets me eat it," he said.
Kenyon Allen prefers his potatoes "smashed." His mother peels the potatoes and puts them a pan. "She smashes them with a hammer," Kenyon said with a big grin. "She puts milk in and then we eat it!"
Pumpkin pie had to be on somebody's list, but Hannah Vernon said she doesn't know how her mother cooks it. "I don't stay long enough to watch her fix it. I don't know how she fixes it!"
Alli Willoughby said her mother's homemade biscuits are her favorite for Thanksgiving.
"She puts a little sugar in a bowl and puts a little flour and then she puts water and we roll it in a ball and puts them in the oven and lets them set in the oven for a few minutes," Alli said, her hands busy and her face expressive as she described her mother's cooking. "(Then she) takes it out of the oven, and it's time to eat. They're very, very, very good!"