Thank You Papaw!

A couple weeks ago Jacob's grandfather, Papaw, got to go on one of the "Honor Flights" to Washington, D.C. The Honor Flights are where World War 2 veterans from all over the country are flown to the nation's capital to be honored for their service during the war.

Papaw left the airport early one morning with 123 other veterans and late that night, this is what they were greeted by when they got off the plane...

Tons of people waiting to welcome their friends and family home!

Papaw's wife and daughters

Some of his grandsons...Jacob doesn't always dress like that, we came straight from a concert. ha!

One of his great-grandsons

All the people there were in two lines with an aisle in the middle. The veterans names were read one by one and they walked down the long aisle greeting everyone. It was incredible! There was also a band there playing patriotic music. It was an emotional time as our hearts swelled with pride for these amazing men!

Our hero!

He hugged each individual family member and told them how much he loved them.

It was amazing that Nanny was feeling well enough to be there!

Precious Nanny and Papaw

We were so proud of him!

Thank you, Papaw for fighting for our country! You are our hero!

For more Veteran's Day posts, visit The Happy Housewife.

Crazy Busy Weekend Review

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on my last post. Your prayers and encouragement mean so much! The Lord has been so good to give me such great friends.

So, on to our weekend recap! On Friday, my sister and I went to a rummage sale. I could not believe how much stuff there was piled all over the place! Or how many people were there, it was crazy! Here is what I got:

A doll cradle (that needs to be sanded and painted), brand new game of Taboo, I Spy preschool game, 4 books and a free loaf of bread! I paid $4.50 for all this stuff! Amazing, huh? Myra posted her awesome deals here, so go check it out. Funny thing is that we both spent $4.50...we hadn't added it up or anything. Guess it's just a sister thing! ha.

On Saturday, Jacob had an orchestra rehearsal with the symphony he plays with in the morning. Then one of the youth orchestras he conducts played at a Christmas fund raiser. And then he had a wedding to play for. The wedding was outside at a beautiful old house.

This sign was at the end of the driveway leading up to the wedding. Isn't it so cute?! I thought it was a neat idea to use an old beat up door since it was kind of a rustic wedding.

I sat in the car during the wedding since it was just a "job" for Jacob, we didn't know the people getting married. It was a beautiful evening and I got a lot of knitting done. Oh, I forgot to mention that all the wedding guests parked in a big cow pasture!

After the wedding we ate a yummy supper at Ruby Tuesday and killed a little time walking around the mall before we headed to the concert hall for the symphony concert. It was a super long, but fun day!

Sunday was another busy day. We had church in the morning, then Jacob's youth orchestra had a Veteran's day concert in the afternoon. The highlight of the afternoon for me was when all six levels (from beginning to advanced) of the orchestra were combined to play The Star Spangled Banner! It was amazing! And, Jacob got the privilege of conducting it!

I know it's kind of shaky. I need some videotaping practice! ha.

Ya'll have a great Tuesday! It's raining here today and I'm busy making cookies for the youth orchestra after-concert party tonight.

Overwhelmed

The last few days I have felt very overwhelmed. There are so many, many things that I need to get accomplished before the baby is born. I am about seven weeks from my due date, yes, SEVEN weeks! When I think about that, I think about all the stuff that is not done and ready for Lily's arrival.

The Lord has been speaking to my heart. He is teaching me that I don't need to focus on all the things that haven't been done. Instead I need to take one day at a time, focus on what I can do each day, and trust Him to give me the grace and strength to accomplish each task. And if something doesn't get done before Lily gets here, then it will be ok!

These are the verses I am claiming for the next few weeks. Psalm 61:2-3, 

"When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou has been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy." 

The enemy could be any number of things. For me, the enemy is stress. What precious promises are here: He will lead me, He is my rock, He is a shelter for me, He is my strong tower. There is no way I can be stressed out when I am meditating on these verses. I am going to write them on 3x5 cards and put them around the house where I will see them often.

So here is a list of some of the things I want/need to get done in the next 7 weeks:

• Buy and wrap Christmas presents for our immediate family (at least 14 people)
• Wash, sort, and fold baby clothes (my Mom has offered to help with this)
• Finish the nursery!
• Go through all our baby gifts and stuff we've been given and see what else we're going to need
• Finish the new church directory
• Prepare for and teach 2 coupon classes with my sister
• Clean my always cluttered kitchen counter and table
• Make jar mixes for extended family's Christmas gifts
• Finish making several Christmas gifts
• Clean the bathroom (it is seriously nasty!)
• Make Christmas cookies and labels for goody bags for Jacob's 3 youth orchestras and all his students
• Stock the freezer with about 20 meals to use after Lily is born
• Finish writing thank you notes
• Get Christmas photo cards printed and mailed

Well, that's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there's plenty more, but this is a start.

Happy Friday Ya'll!

Baking Days!

The last two days I've participated in the baking/cooking days that Money Saving Mom and LifeasMom hosted! I have enjoyed myself so much since I absolutely love to cook/bake plus, I've gotten lots of stuff put in the freezer to use in the first few weeks after Lily is born!

Here is a rundown of what I made:
Zucchini Casserole (to give to a friend)
Caramel Pie (also for a friend)
2 Homemade Pizzas (for supper last night and to freeze leftovers)
1 batch chocolate chip cookie dough
Ham & Bean Soup (for supper tonight and to freeze leftovers)
Homemade Applesauce
1 batch Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie dough
1 batch granola
3lbs chicken, cooked and shredded

Back row: 2 containers applesauce (1 to freeze and 1 to use now), 5 bags of pizza (frozen, 2-3 slices per bag), chocolate chip cookie dough balls (frozen), 3 bags of granola
Front row: 1 bag of soup (frozen), 2 bags of shredded chicken (frozen), peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough balls (frozen), 1 pineapple cut up.

I'm very happy with all I got done. I know it's really not that much, but it's a start! I hope to have a baking day once each week to get my freezer stocked with meals so I won't have to cook for awhile after the baby is born.

Oh, and just so ya'll don't think that Jacob and I sit around and eat cookies all the time...the cookie dough is for me to make cookies for Jacob's orchestra next week. They have a concert this weekend, and it's tradition for me to make cookies for the kids at their next rehearsal. I'm so glad to have a head start on it!

Check out Money Saving Mom to see how everyone else did with their baking days!

Pregnancy Update: 31 weeks

Lily Grace weighs a little more than this 3lb bag of apples!

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Fall Pictures

"The heavens declare the glory of God...

And the firmament sheweth his handywork." Psalm 19:1

"The earth is the Lord's...

And the fulness thereof...

The world...

And they that dwell therein. Psalm 24:1

Enjoy God's beautiful creation today and remember to praise Him for it!

Not Me! Monday

I cannot believe I'm going to own up to these stories, especially the first one! I never ever thought I would do this. Ever!

On Saturday night, I was not so exhausted that I suggested to Jacob as we stood looking at our unmade bed (I had washed the sheets earlier in the day) that we just sleep on the mattress pad with the comforter. NO, I would absolutely never ever stand for such a barbaric idea, no matter how exhausted I am! We most definitely did not follow through with my idea, nope, not us!

Facts: I play the organ at church. I've never had lessons. I don't use the feet pedals. I had piano lessons for 14 years. I've played the piano at church off and on for 8 years and the organ for 1 1/2 years.

During singspiration at church last night, I did not begin 2 (TWO) songs in the wrong key. No, I would never do that! Ya'll know how loud an organ is too. eeERRRAHhhhh! After the initial shock of what I'd done, I did not completely pretend that it wasn't me, hoping that everyone thought it was my sister on the piano or one of the other instruments that had made such awful racket! Nope, not me!

For more great laughs, visit my sister. She's got some great confessions today! ha. MckMama will probably not do Not Me! post today because her darling little boy is in the hospital. Please remember to pray for their family.