Thanksgiving at Wells Bayou

This Thanksgiving, Brent and I went to my grandmother's house in Wells Bayou (outside of Dumas in the country). We had a great time and a great lunch, although I didn't get a nap. This year, we have something new to be thankful for. My cousin Molly and her husband Matt welcomed their first son, Cade, about a month ago. This is the first baby in our family in about 15 years, so we were all excited to get to pass him around. I can't wait until he gets a little bigger. He looks like Molly did when she was a baby.Dad looks really good for someone taking chemo treatments. This was his good week, and he was his usual self. He did get to enjoy a nap in Pa's old chair. Of course, Brent has to give us the thumbs up.

Here's both of my grandmothers, Nannie and Ma. I am so fortunate to have them!

Josh, Sarah, Mom and Aunt Kay - there's no telling what they were talking about. This is the original kitchen where many, many Norris's have eaten meals. It is still in the original decor, and we all still laughed at Ma for getting rid of the orange Naugahyde couch and rocking chair. Seriously, they were the best!

Matt and Molly - quite possibly the biggest Razorback fans that I know. (And new parents).

Uncle Sluggo...it's a long story on why he's called that. Pa gave everybody nicknames in my family, and this one stuck. Mine is Blue Eyes and Sarah's is Rebel Jill.

Sarah and Mom playing with baby Cade.

More of Cade...can you tell he was the focal point of the day?

So out on the carport, there is some concrete with our hand prints on it. The original stone was made in 1978 and my great-grandmother's name is

there. She died that same year.



Kinda hard to see, but this is the original writing...

Here's the farm shop. There are some neat things in there, and maybe next time I can go inside and take some pictures. Pa had an office where that window is, and on the wall is a HUGE picture of me. You wouldn't know it, but I was the first grandchild.

The grain bins where they kept the rice and other harvests.

Right in front of this tree, there used to be a small store that my great-grandmother ran. I remember playing in the ruins of it when I was little, but it has long been gone.

Can you believe this house was built in the 1920's? The original home place was built on this hill, an old Indian burial ground, and when it burned, the current house was built. This is the house that my dad grew up in, and that I have some of my fondest memories in. There is something special about being in a place where your family originated.

Just a few more thoughts on Thanksgiving, before we turn our attention to Christmas.

Here's what I am thankful for:

• My husband. He loves me unconditionally, with all my flaws and shortcomings. He loves going to church with me, and he makes me laugh. What else could a girl want?
• My church. I've already mentioned how thankful I am for our new friends in our Sunday School class, but I'm also thankful for a church family who loves God and has a sweet spirit. I can't wait to see what's in store at FBC Cabot in 2009.
• My family. This goes without saying, but I have the best mom, dad, sister, and brother-in-law. I am also thankful for a great mother-in-law. We are a lot alike, and I do wish that she lived closer.

Happy Thanksgiving BlogWorld!

Sunday Outing

Sorry for the infrequent posts, but I have been really busy at work and there really hasn't been anything exciting going on at 18 Matthews Lane lately. We've been trying to relax and get ready for the holidays coming up.

I did want to tell everybody how much we love our Sunday School class. They have become dear friends, and I know that those friendships are from the Lord above. It was only a few months ago that I was wishing to be in my home church where people knew my name. And guess what...being faithful in attendance and getting involved does the same thing. I've seen kids from children's choir in the grocery story and they recognize me. (Not that I'm famous or anything, but you get my drift). I am loving me some First Baptist Church Cabot!

So this past Sunday was SUPER busy. After church, we went to Calvin and Ginger Aldridge's house for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner. It was SO good! I can't wait to try her Brisket recipe. We had a good visit with everybody, then the girls piled up in one of the church vans and hit the town. It was so much fun (but not that much fun, Holly), and we're even thinking about taking the van across the river to Memphis. Ginger was the driver and she did a wonderful job. They dropped me off at home at 5, and then Brent and I headed right back up to church for a potluck supper with everybody in the music ministry. I'm not sure this was the best thing to do, but afterwards we had choir practice. I didn't eat that much, so I know some other people had trouble singing. It was a long practice, and I am praying that someone who is lost will hear the message and give their life to Christ.

Here are some pictures from Sunday afternoon...

Kristen and Jake eating her yummy cake she made.

Think I had food in my mouth and of course the cheeseball I'm married to always has to make a face.

A little better...
We are a fun bunch, let me tell you! L to R: Brittany Webb, Kristen Steelman, me, Katy Hill, Ginger, Kari Tate, and her mom Nancy Cardona
Pretty sure they were making fun of us getting in the van so ungracefully.

This afternoon, we're headed to McGehee and then Wells Bayou to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. I am so thrilled to see all of them, even if it will be for a few days.

It Was a Little Windy Today

When I say a little windy, I mean that it was a Twister Auntie Em! Not really a twister, but the forecast was WAY off. Ned said it would be partly sunny with a chance of rain - not one mention of wind. So the cold front came through about 5 p.m. in Little Rock, and I captured this weather footage. Look for me on the next broadcast of Channel 7.

Tonight we had a lovely dinner with our friends Mason and Deanna (and baby Grant), and when we got home we noticed that the table cover was blown off and the chairs were on the ground. Then we found this...

SERIOUSLY??? SERIOUSLY??? Either our back yard is cursed or we're in a tornado alley! Nothing else was moved around much or missing, but the wind did pick up our 300+ pound medal shed that we spent SO MUCH TIME putting together and tumped it on its roof. Luckily we hadn't put anything else in the shed just yet, so we don't have a big mess to pick up in the yard. I guess it is our fault that we hadn't put down any anchors, but we really hadn't gotten around to it yet and thought it would be OK since we're out of hurricane season.

The poor lawn mower didn't deserve this.


I guess you can figure out what we'll be working on tomorrow. Never say never...it will always come back to bite you.

UPDATE: Brent and I went outside on Saturday and put the building back in place. It was heavy, but we managed to roll it over. There were a few dents, but no significant damage. We thought about tying it to the lawn mower to keep it from flying off next time the wind kicks up, but maybe those concrete screws will do the job.

TGIF

I'm dragging today, so I thought I'd do a quick little survey about me...

ABC's ...

A is for age: I turned 29 on October 21

B is for burger of choice: cheeseburger with everything

C is for the car I drive: Black Honda Civic/Chevy Equinox (depends on what day it is)

D is for your dog's name: None right now

E is for essential item you use every day: My new Blackberry - it's my computer and cell phone rolled into one!

F is for favorite TV show at the moment: Life on Mars

G is for favorite game: Mexican Train Dominos

H is for home state: Arkansas

I is for instruments you play: Piano, but I'm pretty rusty

J is for favorite juice: Orange

K is for a habit you'd like to kick: not getting up on time

L is for last restaurant at which you ate: Moe's

M is for your favorite Movie: Love Actually, White Christmas (I guess I'm on a Christmas theme right now - they could change in the spring).

N is for number of piercings: 1 in each ear

O is for overnight hospital stays: none

P is for people you were with today:Work friends, Brent, and tonight, Deanna, Mason, and Grant
Q is for what you do with your quiet time: I should read my bible more.

R is for biggest regret: none really

S is for status: Married

T is for time you woke up today: 5:00 a.m. when the alarm started going off, but actually put my feet on the floor at 6:15 a.m.

U is for what you consider unique about yourself: I can tell it like it is, but I also have compassion for people (that's developed over the years)

V is for vegetable you love: Green beans

W is for wedding date: December 15, 2007 - almost a year!

X is for x-rays you've had: dental, sprained ankles, chest

Y is for yummy food you ate today: so far, just a bowl of frosted mini wheats...later chili....and then tonight, sushi!

Z is for zodiac: Libra (although I don't read horoscopes).

I tag Monkey, Lindsey, Katy Hill, and Kristen Steelman. :)

Kristi's Wedding

So when I got picked up from the airport, Monkey and I headed straight into wedding mode. We were co-maids of honor (I prefer not to be a Matron), and the wedding was very pretty. Again, I'll let the pictures tell the story, but one part that won't be told was how cold it actually was on Saturday. Colder than a .... you fill in the blank!

Rehearsal

Our entertainment for the evening - Tucker Black!

I had to tell the preacher that this wasn't my first rodeo!


I'm a new employee of the Junction City Florist!
Monkey's mom, Mrs. Sharon, said I was a natural!

Oh yes - we are having FUN!

We even made some new friends at the Peabody kitchen.

It's going to be a BIG day!

Co-Maids of Honor

New jackets were required for this event. Monkey got a pink one with pink gloves.

I got a black one to go with my black dress. This is my favorite look.

The pretty bride.

Her new in-laws

Getting across the street - luckily nobody tried to run us all over.

The grooms cake had many items on it...

The guest give-aways table.

They had candy apples and rose petals to throw at them when they left.

Cute idea.

Cutting the cake.

Someone hijacked my camera!

Huh?

Yes, we will be showing this to Tucker in about 10 years!

He's secure in his manhood enough to carry Kristen's purse. What a good man!

Monkey caught the bouquet at my wedding, and she caught it at this one too! I hope she's next, but I'm going to need a few months. HA!

The Allerton Hotel, Chicagoland

This past Wednesday night I flew to Chicago for a business trip. I went to a conference to learn more about employee communications, and it was great! I learned so much and brought back a lot of fun ideas. The meetings were all day Thursday, and part of the day Friday, so there wasn't much time to do any sightseeing on the Magnificent Mile. From the ride to the airport, it looked like a very cool city to go back and see with Brent.

I stayed in the Allerton Hotel, an old but remodeled hotel on Michigan and Huron Ave. It was very modern (with clean lines as they say on HGTV), so I'll let the photos speak for themselves. It was nice to stay in the room on Thursday, enjoy a lovely room-service dinner and watch TV. It was just the thing I needed to prepare for the big weekend that was ahead of me (that will be in the next installment).

The Lobby

From the lounge area (where the wi-fi was horrible). The green thing was a gas fire pit thingy.

Looking out from my window. It opened up and I had a nice breeze until the weather got cold.


The bed - isn't it shee-shee-fu-fu!

It's Finally Over

I said earlier that there shouldn't be any sore losers...well, now's the time to suck it up and be amazed at the fact that we now have our first African American president. No matter what you believe, it truly is history - and we have witnessed it firsthand.

I know the McCain team is disappointed, and I am very disappointed in the passing of the lottery amendment. But I was thinking earlier that God has a plan for us, and no matter what happens, He is in control.

So if you're on the losing team, give a congratulations to the Obama side and say a prayer for him. Cause now the real work begins....

Happy Voting Day!

After two years of primaries, debates, and SNL skits, we've finally made it to Election Day. I'm a little excited, but mostly ready for it to be over with. A few things that we have to remember about the next president:

a. They are human and will make mistakes. Even if your candidate wins, you will most likely not agree with everything he\she will do.

b. We need to pray for whoever is the leader. If we don't put our trust in the Almighty, we will continued to be disappointed with man lowly attempts.

c. Don't be a sore loser if your candidate doesn't win. Obviously it's going to be a close race, but SOMEBODY has to loose.

I have thought a lot about my Pa this morning. He was a staunch Democrat, which was probably due to him growing up in the Depression. I really think that if he were around today, he would side with the Republicans on most issues, but he's in a place where you don't have to worry if you're Red or Blue. My grandparents were very involved in the political process. Even out in the country where they lived, they would open up their work shop to be a precinct poll for their area. I guess I was always in school when these were held, and I so wish that I could have seen it.

As for the other issues that will be voted on today...I still believe in voting NO for the lottery. Creating a big problem to solve a minor problem is not the answer, and I believe that the government has better things to do with their time and money. I don't think people understand that once it's in the constitution, it's there and will be too late.

Also, the ban on gay marriages in California has been in a lot of the entertainment news. It really aggravates me to hear celebrities voicing their opinions for different causes. Yes, they have a right to think whatever they want to, but using their status as someone famous to influence others is wrong. We need more Godly influences so people can hear the real truth. And I'm afraid that if this country doesn't start hearing the truth, we're going to be in for a long ride.

Well, I'll get off my soapbox for now. Happy Voting!