Birthday Girl

Ian took this picture of his mother,

our daughter, Jenny recently.
Happy Birthday, Jen~

you've made so many of my dreams

come true. And we positively adore you!

Raymond Elliott, a dear friend of ours,

took some snapshots recently in Bear Creek Swamp.

No, I do not know where this is.

I just liked the pictures. He has a blog highlighting

some of his hunting tales that you would find amusing.

Johnny chuckles out loud each time

we receive one of Raymond's writings.

I thought you might enjoy another reminder of the season,

along with this awesome liquid from the skies we are presently enjoying!

We're Home!

and we had the most relaxing time! It was overcast and cloudy most of the time, but as Johnny said years ago "a rainy day in the Smokies beats a sunny day in Alabama". We love our time in the Gatlinburg area and this trip was just as nice. My brother, Nelson, and his wife took her parents and they will all return tomorrow. One night we got together to play dominoes and eat ribs. I fell asleep listening to John and Brewer arguing over keeping score. {I do NOT play dominoes with Johnny Hood. He is too competitive for me. Besides, he always wins.}

It's been three weeks now since the surgery and I'm healing well. The binder aggravates me but I only have to wear it three more weeks! I still tire easily. Taking naps helps and I don't mind snuggling down for one! Thank you for your prayers! Hopefully, this will be the last medical procedure to correct a mistake made two years ago.

Thank you, too, for those of you that read Jenny's page and have prayed for my mother. She suffered a slight stroke Sunday and is presently in rehab. We saw her this afternoon and she's doing much better. She was growing tired by the time we left. They plan to have her up and in therapy early tomorrow. Please keep her in your prayers as she struggles to recover. She's a strong woman and I'll be glad to see her return home.

I can't wait to visit everyone and see what you've been up to! I've been to Jen's page and loved reading her 'Seen and Heard'. Hope to see some updates on other sites as well! We forgot to take the camera, bummer!, so there are no pics of our trip. But, I Googled one!

We're off for a week of total relaxation and enjoyment!

John and I have been traveling to the Gatlinburg

area for 25 years and go several time each year.

We never tire of it.

Keep us in your prayers for a safe trip

and I'll check in with you upon our return

and post some fall snapshots of the area.

My brother, Nelson, and his wife are also going,

which will make the trip that much more fun.

{That didn't sound like correct English. Oh well}

talk to you later!

Wordless Wednesday

I'm praying for this, but know that the following to be something I can definitely believe to take place~

By the end of the day today, we will know a lot about the future of the United States . You might be surprised to learn that I am about to predict the outcome - I am about to predict what will happen after the election. Before the votes are counted, even before the voting booths close, I can predict with 100% accuracy that the following things will happen
~
1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praise of His people.
5. God will still pour out His blessings upon His people.
6. There will still be God-anointed teaching and preaching.
7. There will still be singing of praise to God.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love His own.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.

Whatever the outcome of this election, remember, God is still in control. Today, tomorrow, forever... God is still in control.

Thank you, Sherrie, for sharing this with us tonight!

VOTE

Vote as if your life depended on it.

Pray fervently tonight.

Fervently.

UPDATE: Jenny had such a cute means of asking you to vote, I wanted to share it here with all of you. Click here to see how Ian wants us to vote~

I've shown our sweet Alaina as Tinkerbell,

Austin as superhero SpiderMan,

now check out Ian as Indiana Jones,

and our curliqued Noah as a Golfer!
I.Am.So.In.Love! Isn't the realm

of Grandmotherhood
a beautiful one, Judy?!

And Lynne? Anita?

If you're a follower, or a lurker, and you are a grandparent

do leave me a comment and let me know how many,

along with the ages of your oldest and your youngest.

And have a beautiful, blessed weekend~

Sweet 'Laina

Stacey sent this of Alaina

and I fell in love with the child

all over again~

We plan to go over the second week of November

and it can't come soon enough!

Pa and Nan love you so much, 'Laina!!

A Loving Neighbor??

This Halloween, I will be practicing a fair redistribution of candy with trick-or-treaters that come to my house. We're just trying to spread the wealth around a little.

* Trick-or-treaters who have under 50 pieces of candy in their bag will receive 10 pieces.

* Trick-or-treaters who have between 50 and 100 pieces will receive 5 pieces of candy.

* Trick-or-treaters who have between 100 and 150 will receive nothing and I will probably take candy away from you next year, but I want your support now so I'm not going to mention that.

* If you have over 150 pieces, I will take away half of your candy and require you to provide candy to all of your friends that have under 50 pieces. If you do not give your friends candy, then I will take away the rest of your candy and give it to them myself.

* If you have no candy at all, I'll give you 25 pieces of candy and a college scholarship.

Your loving neighbor,Mr. Obama

Thank you, Chad, for this so-true-it's-scary scenario!! As Chad ended his post, "WAKE UP, AMERICA!"

This snapshot is not the sharpest pic on the block,

but it's the cheapest electric candle you'll find!

I ran to Kirkland's this afternoon to check out

the SALE items ~ and of course,

it's Halloween items!

These items were 50% off

and less than $6 each!

And these next two were just too cute! It's been a grand day~my surgeon was pleasantly surprised
to see me healing so well and says I won't have to come back
unless the lower incision develops a hernia.
{Yeah, I know! what a thing to tell someone
recovering from hernia surgery!}
John got his nuclear stress test completed and right now?
Well, right now we're sitting here
enjoying a gorgeous fall afternoon
and waiting for two of the cutest
little trick or treaters in Alabama!
Brandon & Jen took the boys to the CandyWalk
downtown and are swinging by here to collect
trick or treat loot. I know,
it's a day early,
but why not celebrate off and on all week?!
That's the way I celebrate birthdays!
and Christmas??? Shoot.
I celebrate Christmas from the first of December
until the first of February!!
So what did YOU do today?!

Some Recent Family Snaps~

Jen's son, Ian, with his pirate face

{Pumpkin Patch trip}

Jenny, Noah, & Ian at a Halloween party

{Kim & Todd Wheeler's annual sheabang!}
Stacey's princess and Spiderman!
{Alaina and Austin!}
Stacey & Leslie traveled to New Orleans this past weekend with a couple of friends and family members. They had such fun and said the weather was so cooperative! I'm overdue for some Mississippi pampering!!
Our golden haired child, Noah.
I will definitely cry when these curls
are no longer attached to this sweet, sweet head~

Just a Funny~

So, Leslie called tonight and she was so happy to hear me sounding stronger and better than I have since the accident! Jenny came by after bible study with Brandon and the boys and they both said the same thing! Yay, I'm getting back to me. Now for the 'joke's on you' deal.

Leslie asked what pain med they sent home with me and I replied, as I did here on the last post, what it was. She sounded puzzled, so I got up and read to her what the label said. Well, there is a dash and four letters AFTER the Oxiwhatever, which makes all the difference in the world. The reason I feel the same relief with Xtra Strength Tylenol is that the pain meds are on the same level!! argh, and here I've been thinking "wow, these make me sleep so good". Leslie assured me they will help me feel a bit better and yes I am probably sleeping better but it's most likely because I'm up and about more now than I was.

The power of the mind. A powerful agent. Of course, I'd love for him to ask me if I need another prescription for pain tomorrow. {wink, wink} Kristi!! What can I ask for that will be stronger??!!

Tomorrow morning the staples come out and then I think I'll come home for a nice long nap. John's nuclear stress test is tomorrow afternoon and although they don't think his problem lies with the cardio factor, they want to rule it out. Please keep him in your prayers. His family is riddled with heart problems and he is the only one to have avoided it. We want to keep it that way~

And aren't you just loving this weather?! We'll be in Gatlinburg the second week of November and found out this afternoon that my brother will be there then as well!! He and his wife are taking her parents up there, so we'll have lots of fun tramping around the town and taking in the views. I'll take pics to share!! Enjoy your Thursday and I do hope you find many moments to laugh out loud!

Jennifer! I love you, too, and know you'll have the cutest little cowboy on the block this weekend!!

Hey! I've taken two of those lovely little pills called oxycodone and am feeling well enough to sit here. I hate whiners and the past two days have found me whining! Poor John.

One of my girlfriends came today bringing chicken noodle soup and commented, upon seeing me at the door, "you look horrible". That was all it took to get my head under the faucet, washed, dried and curled. A bit of make up, some time outside on the porch, some silliness from her and I began to feel as good as I did Saturday. Dr. Foxhall's nurse called this afternoon stressing to take it S-L-O-W. And I hate doing that.

But for the sake of taking care of his surgical work, and the sanity of John, I will. We were told, several times by the intern and enough by the surgeon, that there was some major problems encountered and he had to do more than he expected. He still isn't sure why the first surgery back in '06 went the way it did, but it's all patched up and fixed up now. I've lost several major muscle bands, but that gives me an excuse for the ab scrunches not working! {wink, wink}

For all of you that came, brought food, called, emailed, prayed, left comments, checked on Johnny and or Jenny, or in any way showed you cared about us, we thank you from the bottom of our heart. Know that I feel the same about you.

Okay, so I'm finding it painful to sit here any longer. Even with the pills. Have a great evening, hope you slept well, and that the morning dawns on a bright and beautiful Tuesday for us all~

this is johnny, Nancy is fine but in pain. Thank you for your prayers.


Bless his heart. He so hated doing this for me {smile, smile} but it does hurt and I have no interest in sitting here trying to find a comfortable spot. For now, just keep praying and I'll try and get back asap. Thanks for being there~