Our Weekend in Missiouri...

Well, the trip went very well and we had a TON of fun in the 'Show Me State'! We packed up on Thursday evening and arrived at Greg's parents around 11 pm.
On Friday, we relaxed, played games, ate together, made last minute party plans for Saturday, etc. Aly sure enjoyed being out of that car seat and able to 'roam about'!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/MissiouriBirthdayTrip#

(The 'link' above will direct you to our Photo Album, "Missiouri Birthday Trip".)

Around lunch time on Saturday, we had our BIG combined-Birthday Party with a ton of pizza and two... yes, I said 2 Ice Cream Cakes! One for each, being as this was such a big year for both, Wes (18) and Whit (16)!!!

That evening, Greg, Dad P., Aly and I drove to Columbia to see the Collingsworth's in concert and had a fine time! It was fun to finally get to introduce Aly to Phil, Kim and the kids... just sad that it has taken almost a year to do so!!!
Sunday, we went to Church with the family and were able to meet their new Pastor and his wife, had a yummy meal and another enjoyable day with the In-Laws and kids!
Monday found us back on the road toward home, arriving around 10 p.m. all worn out, but very happy to have had such a wonderful weekend together!

Bye for Now...

...Watch us go

As soon as we're done with work today, finished running errands and our packing is complete... we're headed to MO. for a LONG weekend!!!

ASAP, after our return home, we'll post a BLOG of our weekend away... hope ya'll have a wonderful weekend, as well! Be sure to get out there and enjoy the beautiful weather God is giving us! Take care...

Happy First Day of Fall, Ya'll!

I wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a very Happy Fall! It's difficult to believe it's already this time of year, again! However, it's not difficult to believe that we are more busy now, than we were during the Summer months!
We're in the middle of the Sunday School Fall Drive at Church, we're helping plan a HUGE Celebration Service at Church (to be held on October 5th for the general Church of the Nazarene's 100th 'Birthday'), we're in the beginning stages of Christmas practices with the Adult Choir / Children's Choir and the list goes on and on!

Well, we took Aly to her 2nd wedding this past Saturday and she did a fine job... with the exception that she began to 'sing' so loud, her Daddy had to take her out for a bit, so she wouldn't take attention away from the bride and groom! LOL
We'll be heading toward Missouri this coming weekend to visit with family, celebrate a couple of Birthdays, see the Collingsworth Family in concert, etc. We're really looking forward to an awesome weekend filled with fun, family and of course... FOOD!
Please continue to pray for our Nation and the outcome of the Presidential Elections! There are rumors that something BIG is about to take place on the Democratic ticket. If indeed this 'rumor' (the dismissal of Biden) does take place, we could be involved in yet an even worse situation as a Country (the addition of Clinton), than we ever imagined... Pray people PRAY!!!
Please take a moment to read over our 'Older Posts' via the link near the bottom of our BLOGS. Any time we change backgrounds we lose the previously written BLOGS. However, they still can be found in our archives! (Thanks for the many wonderful email comments VIA 'Yahoo', as well!)
That's all the time we have now for BLOGGING, but we look forward to next week, another BLOG to write, the posting of more pictures and to the many wonderful scents that "Fall" brings with it... spicy pumpkins, baked apples dipped in caramel, etc.

Happy Fall, Ya'll!

Elections Are the Name of the Game...

Well! As if we're not excited enough about the Presidential elections coming up in November... Greg is in charge of the Fall Sunday School Drive at Church this year and guess what we've chosen as a 'theme'?!?!? "Get Out and Vote For Sunday School 2008!" We've filled the building with patriotic decor' and are looking forward to increasing our S.S. attendance for the upcoming Church year!

Needless to say, we've been up to our ears in prep-work this week, but this 'drive' has brought with it more of a need to pray and not ONLY for our Country... the Church is in the process of beginning a building project soon and we are all trusting God to provide for this particular need!
Greg and Alyson playing 'Tug O War' this afternoon...
As far as family news goes, Greg began a different work schedule today and will now be working 1/2-days on Mondays and 9-hour days Tuesday through Fridays. He has previously been working 4 10-hour days (T-F) with Mondays off... the new schedule will make our evenings a bit nicer and give us more time together during the week! PTL - it is also going to be somewhat 'flexible' when it comes to our trips home to MO.

Aly after she WON at 'Tug O War'...
We've certainly had a very busy week, the weekend actually began on THURSDAY with a great deal of decorating at the Church and ended on Saturday evening when we finished the 'labor' part of the job!
On Friday evening, we ordered 'take-out' from GT South's BBQ and took it to Mamaw S's house for a bit of a break and a chance to be with the family for a bit.
Alyson and Papaw trying on her 'Princess' crown...
Saturday was the 'final' work day and Sunday morning we officially began the 2008 Election Campaign. The Sanctuary was filled and we had a great turn out! Sunday evening following the service, we had an ALL-Church 'Pie Fest'... MY OH MY! All I can say, is that I'm glad my diet was to begin TODAY and not yesterday!!! LOL

Aly reading in the car tonight...
(By the way! There are a few other pix that we were able to snap today... if you have a second you can view them by simply clicking on any former Photo Album or Slide Show, click again on our 'Public Gallery' and you'll see the Album, "Aly Showing Off Her Teeth N Having Fun".)
Before signing off, I'd like to post a quote that John McCain said regarding Hurricane Ike. I'm also posting a link below, to a video the McCain /Palin Campaign put out on the 12th of this month, about Obama's disrespectful efforts to attack and smear the name of Governor Sarah Palin...

"I am increasingly concerned that there may have been a substantial loss of life (with Hurricane Ike). We do know that the economic impact from this storm will be severe. Like most Americans, my concern has been reinforced by scenes of widespread flooding and ferocious winds. And like most Americans, I remain concerned about the impact this storm will have on gas prices across the country, but our priority now must be to help the relief effort in any way we can, and to pray for the safety of those in the storm's path."

A "Stop" made earlier this week with McCain & Palin...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b0pSXmT10I
(The above mentioned Obama 'clip')

"Country First in 2008"...

What a grand week this one has been in the Political arena! The 2008 Republican National Convention took place in St. Paul, Minnesota from September 1 through September 4. The first day of the Republican Convention was Labor Day, the last day of the popular Minnesota State Fair, due to Hurricane Gustav. BOY! Are we ever 'pumped' for the upcoming elections!
GO MCCAIN-PALIN IN 2008!!! We truly enjoyed the speeches and were so pleased with the addition of Gov. Sarah Palin to the Republican ticket. She may very well be the 'salvation' of this 'party'... we pray she is and that God's will be done in November! Just two months before joining the Republican ticket, while giving a speech to troops in Iraq, Gov. Palin said these words, "We pray for you, (our military men and women) who are striving do to what is right. Also for our country, the leaders, our national leaders, that have sent you (the troops) out on this, a task from God. This is what we have to make sure we're praying for --- that there is a plan, and that plan is God's plan." Mrs. Palin is known to be 'pro-life' and a spokeswoman says she is 'pro-Israel'. Palin's former pastor says, 'he has no doubt her religious beliefs will influence her decision making when it comes to government policy'. Our deepest desire and prayer is, that we as Christians, will ALL get out and cast our votes to help to make the CHANGE happen that America needs at such a crucial time... Country First!
Since everyone in our family were out of town this past weekend, at special Events or in local Revival's, the three of us rode over to Mamaw S's to just 'hang out' on Friday evening. Though it had been an unusually busy week, we were able to get out on Saturday to simply enjoy a beautiful sunny, yet windy day and 'snapped' a few photos while we were at it!
(We're experiencing a bit of trouble, AGAIN... our Slide Show will not post at this time... please 'click' the LINK provided below to view our Photo Album. A few of the pix are better than the others, but what can we say, it was WINDY and she was having such fun!)
http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/ASunnySeptemberSaturday#

Until next week... God bless America and God bless each of you!!!

Labor Day '08 Party, Pool-Time and Piles of FUN!

Here's the long and short of our Labor Day '08 weekend...
On Friday night, we headed to 'Rascal's Fun Zone' for Cuz Corey's Birthday party and had more fun than the law should allow! Alyson loved the Ice Cream and couldn't seem to get enough!
Saturday, we were able to attend yet another Birthday party, of a friend from Church and the meal was 'to-die-for'!!! Aly loved being at a new place and checking out all their stuff... she especially loved the 'Princess Tea-Pot' set, that "Unkey" Jeff and "Aunt" Rhonda let her play with! (The only thing missing was the fact, that Memaw and Papaw left for a vacation in TN. earlier that morning!)
Sunday, found us at Church, as usual. The Holy Spirit came in a special way and the service was indeed a good one! We spent the afternoon at Mamaw 'Who's', with the rest of the family and enjoyed a fabulous meal and more great fun! Sunday night, following another wonderful service at Church, 'Unkey' Mark, Aunt Nita and Cuz Nate came over and hung out with us... we grilled 'Dogs', with the works.
Monday, Labor Day, the family were supposed to have gotten together for a family picnic, but we all chose instead, to eat a late late lunch at a local 'Taco' joint... quite a good idea if you ask me... no cooking to do, no dishes to clean up, etc.!!! Afterwards, we all headed back to Mamaw 'Who's' for Games, Snacks and a little 'Pool Time' for Aly. Following all that fun and food, most of us crashed, to watch a bit of "Narnia".
We wanted to take just a second to thank all of our 'E' friends, that read our BLOGS on a regular basis and send us replies VIA 'Yahoo'! We consider ya'll to be just another part of our Blogger-Family and love keeping up with you, as well!
Needless to say, we had an extremely busy weekend but it was filled with so much fun and excitement, we're certainly not soon to forget it, that's for sure...
(FYI: If you 'click' on the video above, you'll be taken to the actual Album W/ captions!) Trust all of you had an incredible weekend, as well and we'd love to hear all about it!