Christmas Day Festivities

Our morning consisted of delicious Butter Brain pastries (my sister-in-law's business), coffee, and fruit. Then we opened gifts which we are able to do in an orderly, adult fashion. It was so interesting to see everyone's interests, tastes and personalities in the gifts. Chad got tons of fishing relating items. Jen was delighted with a cute, trendy bag that we thought matched her new hairstyle. Kirk got a warm jacket and clothes related to staying warm. In our game the night before there was a question "What is your addiction?" Kirk said his addiction is "staying warm." We laughed so hard at his answer. Brian received a "Yale" sweater to help him maintain his "scholarly" image. Kristy received a huge Shakespeare poster to display in her classroom. Very exciting!


The afternoon began with the delicious traditional turkey dinner with all of the fixings. After topping the dinner off with pie and coffee, we cleaned up. Then we headed to Positive Action for more activities. While at PosAct we played Wii, watched a tear-jerking movie The Ulitimate Gift and ate sandwiches.

That evening we returned home and Jen and Chad got packed up to leave early this morning. They are now on their way to the next leg of their journey -- a trip to Mexico. Kirk, Brian and I are staying around until Saturday. The fun continues! See my parent's blog for more pictures and details.

Christmas at the Carlson's

We are having a wonderful time at my parent's. Brian and I arrived on the 23rd after driving from Tennessee all day. We did stop several times along the way, but had a good day driving. Chad, Jen and Kirk had a much more difficult time flying from Milwaukee and Madison. After canceled flights, delays for deicing planes, and looking for missing luggage, the three weary travelers arrived sometime in the middle of the night. However, we were so glad they made it, word was many flights were canceled and travelers stranded until after Christmas.


Once everyone got rested, it was so fun to get caught up on all of the latest news. Mom had done a wonderful job getting meals prepared ahead of time. We have all pitched in preparing and cleaning up the delicious meals. On Christmas Eve we had our traditional dinner with all of the fixings.


We played a fun round of "Loaded Questions" and found out many "new" things about each other! We laughed until our sides hurt. Brian won the prize -- a mini-back massager!! Yeah!
Us "kids" opened our gifts from each other on Christmas Eve. Best of all we are all together. We miss the rest of our family who are spread out over the country (and in Canada). May the Lord bless all of you and please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

School was over on Friday! Yeah! The last month has been a whirlwind! Brian's parents are in Texas with Cindy and her family. So before Darla and Tony, Brian and I leave for Kentucky and North Carolina, we all got together this weekend. This is my sister-in-law Darla who has four boys! We had fun making food, talking and laughing at the boys.

Speaking of the boys, here are two of the them. Most of the Walker family members are die-hard Oklahoma fans. Now the love has been passed down to the next generation. The boys got OU sweatshirts and blankets from their neighbor for Christmas. When I asked them to pose in front of the little tree in my bedroom, they willingly spread their OU blanket for the picture.

Even Essie is getting into the spirit. She thinks the trees upstairs and downstairs are for her. She doesn't know that we'll be leaving for a week, but she will have a good caregiver. Our neighbor boy will be feeding and checking on her.

Well, we just have a few more bags to pack and load. We are traveling all day today. Chad and Jen are flying in from Wisconsin this morning and Kirk gets in late tonight. We are praying that the snow will not deter travel. Will keep you posted! Enjoy this week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We trust that you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving day! This is the delicious feast and beautiful table at which we dined for lunch. Brian's mom did an outstanding job preparing the Thanksgiving feast!

Right before prayer and feasting the traditional Thanksgiving pose was taken. Notice how happy the children look. They know they must smile for the cameras before they can devore the food.

Brian has been gone on three accreditation team visits in three weeks and has been looking forward to this long awaited vacation day. Unfortunately Kristy caught the nasty flu bug from some of her beloved students. She made it all the way until Tuesday afternoon fly high and running in high gear. Then as she was driving home, a troubled feeling in the stomach was all it took to signal things were not well. Since then she has been in bed. She did attend the feast and was able to eat. However, she returned home just an hour later and has returned to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Brian is planning to be at Dillards early to shop!

Community Yard Sale

Last weekend we had our fall community yard sale. Many of the homes in our neighborhood participate and so many people come through our neighborhood. We did not have tons of stuff, but what we did have sold really well. It is a great time to clean out the closets and get rid of the clutter. We had a beautiful day and had lots of fun visiting with our "customers."

This guy is about the 3rd or 4th one to ask Brian what he did to make our lawn green. I told Brian that we should have sold grass seed and fertilizer instead of knick knacks!!

Our neighbor's kitty came over to check out our flowers. They are really blooming now that the weather is cooling off.

Camping with Mom and Pop

After the convention in Gatlinburg was over, we spent Friday night with my parents in their luxurious trailer!! Wow! I call it the "Carlson Luxury Liner." It was cozy and homey -- basically a mini-version of their house. On Saturday we took a trolley and explored the rural areas around Gatlinburg.

As we waited for the trolley at the station, my parents struck up a conversation with an interesting man who was a trolley driver. He grew up in the hills right around this area and shared many memories with us. He even offered to share his lunch with us. So sweet!:)

After our adventures of the day we returned to the trailer and had a delicious cookout. What a lovely, relaxing time we had.

Brian was especially impressed that there was cable TV and he could watch the score from his lounge chair outside the trailer. We returned home late Saturday night in order to be at our church Sunday and to prepare for the week. What a wonderful time we had and how thankful we are for our loving parents.

Teacher's Convention in Gatlinburg

Last week we went to Gatlinburg for the teacher's convention. It was so wonderful to see my parents. Here are my mom and I at the PosAct booth. As you can tell we are "two peas in a pod." I did a workshop for elementary teachers entitled, "Reviving 'Ye Ole Melodrama' to Create Classroom Heroes." I used the melodrama that was from my Grandpa's files and had all of the teachers act it out. It was hilarious! Mom came to that one and enjoyed the show.

Brian loves his wonderful mother-in-law. I love the big smiles on both of their faces.



After a wonderful day at the convention we were finally able to go out for a relaxing dinner at a Mexican restaurant -- our favorite!! I will post more pictures tomorrow and tell of more of our adventures.

Elizabeth

This is Elizabeth. She was my Grandma Cutlan's doll when she was a girl. She has a china face that is in very good condition and real hair. Grandma Cutlan gave her to my mom when I was 6. Two years ago my mom brought Elizabeth to live at our house. She is an honored member of the family. Each year my mom would clean her up, wash her clothes, and curl her hair. Usually mom has helped me attend to the yearly ritual, but this year I was on my own. Here is Elizabeth after her annual spif-up. She is so happy to be looking her best and so wanted me to take her picture. A friend from Normal gave my mom the stroller a few years ago so this is her typical pose.

I put together a shadow box with information about Elizabeth and have it on display in our guest bedroom. The little picture next to the lamp is of Grandma and Elizabeth in 1922.

Another view of Elizabeth and her display. These were the chest-a-drawers that I had in my bedroom while I was growing up. My mom found it in an antique shop and refinished it!

Happy Labor Day!

We hope that you had a wonderful weekend! Obviously the price of gas is on everyone's mind these days. We had a church in our area that sponsored a discount gas day! It is sad that $2.45 a gallon is now considered "cheap," but it sure created a stir around here! I waited in line for about 20 minutes to fill my tank at this station this weekend.

I was very impressed with the kindness, organization and efficiency of this congregation that did this special event to serve the community. They are a young church that has just started.

After mowing the lawn, shopping and going out for coffee, Brian and Essie decided to lay down and take it easy. I thought this picture was so cute! Now we are back to work! Have a good week!

School's Back in Session!

The past month has been a flurry preparing for the start of school. It is finally underway and all is going well! I am teaching General Geometry, Honors Geometry, Honors Algebra I, English 11/12 and Speech. So far I love all of my classes. Although this is the start of my fourth year at Berean, it is the first year all of my classes are courses I have previously taught since coming to Berean. Having notes, quizzes and tests to use and improve is such a blessing!

Last year I was the senior sponsor. Since my class graduated, I have now been assigned a new class -- the eighth grade. They are the class of 2013! I took this picture on the first morning of school. I will be their sponsor until they graduate. I told them that we will take a picture on the first day of school every year until their senior year. What a joy it is to meet with this group every morning for homeroom. I found a wonderful devotional book for middle school students and we are enjoying the challenges each day. We are also memorizing one verse a week together. This week is "All the words of my mouth are in righteous; there is nothing forward or perverse in them. " Proverbs 8:8. I have a list of verses from the book of Proverbs that begin with each letter of the alphabet for each week. I did this when I had 8th grade homeroom at Temple. Those students are now in their 20s and many are still in touch with me. What a thrill to help students hide God's Word in their hearts. It is going to be a wonderful year!

Here I am the first morning. I look very tired because it was early, but I eventually woke up and looked better later in the day!:) This was the only picture I had of my first day of school outfit. I knew my mom would want to see what I wore!!:)

"Seuss on the Loose" Dessert Theatre

This past weekend I went to a dessert theatre with several of my teacher friends. The play was so entertaining and creative. They took different Dr. Seuss stories and acted them out. The top picture is from "The Cat in the Hat" and the one below is from "Horton Hears a Who."

My friends David and Candice are the originators and directors of this ministry at their church. They have presented dinner and dessert theatres each summer for over 10 years. I have acted with them several summers and always have a blast when I do. Next weekend I am going again with my in-laws and Brian.

Here are my teacher friends, Patti and Janel, who went to the play with me. We had a great time together -- we laughed and laughed! Patti's mother passed away a few months ago, and she told me she hadn't laughed so hard in such a long time. That was a real blessing to me! It reminded me of Proverbs 15:13, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. . ."

Morning Blessings

Good night's rest . . . early morning walk . . . beautiful new rose blooming. . .

breakfast together . . . .coffee. . .

spending time in God's Word --

"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed,

because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning.

Great is thy Faithfulness." Lam. 3:22-23

Have a good day!

Another Special Guest

We had a special guest stay with us recently. Our nephew Grayson from Texas! Grayson is a wonderful boy who will be in 5th grade this fall. He spent the night with us and was so polite and thankful for everything. Essie even enjoyed having Grayson, and she doesn't just like everyone!

After he spent the night, we took Grayson to Chuck E Cheese and he found a game that he won every time! He ended up with over 300 tickets and most of them were won playing this game!

Uncle Brian enjoys shooting hoops at Chuck E Cheese as well. I'm not sure who had more fun -- Uncle Brian or Grayson. Also, Uncle Brian is passing on his love for ball hats to his nephews. He treats all of them to one ball hat a year. Grayson is wearing his new Cubs hat (although you can't see it well -- it is cool to wear it backward). He was especially impressed when I told him I used to live in Illinois where the Cubs are from and had a Cubs hat when I was young. We definitely enjoyed having Grayson.

Although we were sad to say goodbye, we couldn't persuade him to stay. For some reason he wanted to get back to Texas to see his parents and his brother! We know he'll be back because Uncle Brian promised another ball hat and a trip to Chuck E Cheese when he returns.

Beading w/ the Girls

Five years ago at our last family reunion my Aunt Becky showed us girls how to bead.

We all enjoyed it so much and some continued to expand their beading abilities.

My sister-in-law Jen has even started her own little side business.

I wore the pieces that I had made to death, but have not made any more pieces. I guess my time gets occupied with everything else. Well, there was a little store by our favorite coffee shop called "Beadin of Eden." Finally on Friday morning I persuaded Jen, my mom and Ali to go to the shop with me.

As a result we were all reinspired to begin beading again. Jen and Ali served mostly as consultants for mom and I, but in the end they made several pieces as well.

Jen even made "beach bracelets" for all of the girls. Fun times!

Here she is -- my coach, Jennifer!

She even let me wear one of her necklaces with my "busy" top.

Now I have to make a long strand with black beads.

These were my creations of the day.

Mom and I both made short necklaces, earrings and bracelets that looked similar.

I am wearing the black/turquoise/maroon "ensemble" in the picture below.

Now I have the tools and the inspiration to create many more pieces of beauty!

Thanks, girls, for the memories!

Feasting at Mako Mike's

Although we ate excellent food all week long, Brian and I both agreed our last dinner on Friday night, July 4th was the best!! Delicious seafood -- shrimp, crab legs, scallops, flounder, calamari!!! You name it, it was on the table!! I love this picture because Aunt Judy and Dana are so intense on their menus -- Jake and John are obviously good with whatever will be served!!

Here are my parents who were the activity planners of the reunion. They found the beach houses we stayed in, scheduled our deep sea fishing trip, scouted out the fabulous restaurants, and were delightful hosts. Notice my dad wearing his father's day shirt -- Brian keeps him supplied with Polo shirts -- and my mom wearing her beautiful bright sweater set with matching jewelry. Several of us girls were making jewelry earlier in the day and she found supplies to make the earrings to match her necklace. Way to go, Mom! Anyway, thanks so much, Mom and Pop, for all of your work to make our trip so special and memorable! We had a blast!

Deap Sea Fishing Trip

One of our fun activities while on vacation was a fishing trip! This was the fishing crew that went -- Dana & Jake, Jen & Chad, Kristy & Brian. Now mind you one of the three girls is not by nature a fisherman, but I survived! My hairdresser told me she had gone deep sea fishing and the crew did everything for them, so that put my mind at ease. The day was beautiful and the scenery was fabulous!

Dana and Jake just moved to Virginia where Jake is a pastor. Dana is substitute teaching so we had much to talk about as we compared notes about teaching. What a blessing to spend time with Dana and Jake; they love the Lord so much. They also love fishing and did a great job spotting the lines that had fish that were biting.

Here is Jake with First Mate Nate (Dana stood by with the camera). Nate would bait all of the lines. Then when a line would start to bob, someone would have to reel it in. We took turns reeling in the fish. This time Jake brought one in. I even worked up enough courage to reel in two fish! As long as I didn't have to bait the hook or touch the fish it was fine.

When we weren't reeling in fish:), we were watching the scenery. I love the North Carolina shore with all of the lighthouses.

At the end of the day we were tired, but we had had a great time! Our boat was the "Jamesey Boy." The fish that we caught that we were able to eat were Silver Mackerel. Jake grilled them that evening for our dinner and everyone got to sample our catch of the day. All week we had good food and good times!