Fall Brings More than Changes in Color

Aly and Mommy on the Front Porch~Sunday Afternoon~Aug. 30, 2009

The thought of FALL brings more than just the changing of leaves and their colors… Thus, with the upcoming changes of color, I will be ‘turning a new leaf’, effective immediately! The days tend to be busier lately, with Aly’s school, running errands, even the evenings seem to be filled with more and more items on the ‘to-do ‘list. Because of this, I will be making a couple of online changes and wanted to share them with you.
This past week has gone by very quickly and it doesn’t seem possible that September is already here! Aly is enjoying school, which in turn makes it much easier for me, ‘the Teacher’!
Greg and I will be leaving this coming Saturday, September 5th, for a ’belated Anniversary’ trip, so upon our return you will begin to see the changes below…
Blogger’s: I will continue to BLOG once a week (early in the week) and each post will contain one or two pictures. However, photo albums and slide shows will be added only on special occasions, such as Birthdays, Holidays, Trips and other such ’BIG’ events! This alone will ‘free up’ several hours for me each week! (Please remember: if and when a Photo Slideshow is posted, you can 'click' on the center to be taken directly to the Photo Album!) I will continue to ‘check’ and reply to my post and comments at least once per week, as well. I will also ’browse’ and comment to others, as I have the time to do so.
Face Booker’s: I will continue to post ‘stats’ once or twice a day and depending on my daily schedule, some may only be a line or two. I will attempt to ‘check‘, reply and comment on Face Book every evening. However, when this is not possible, I will respond to comments on my profile, within three days (except in an emergency… such as being out of town, etc.)!
I trust all of you, my online friends and family, will have an incredible FALL season with those you love and enjoy the beauty God gives us on a daily basis. The colors of Fall are a great time to do just that… God bless y‘all!

Did We Skip Over Summer & Fall Right Back Into Winter???

With the chill in the air again, it would seem that we have skipped right over Summer and Fall! Where has Spring gone??? Guess she must just be taking a 'nap'... maybe she wasn't ready to "wake up", yet? No matter, if Spring is awake or not Easter Sunday is just days away and who isn't thinking about the life, death and the Resurrection of Jesus right now? One thought that has been on my mind lately, comes from a great song and says, "Who am I that a KING would bleed and die for me?" However, I am so grateful HE did! The best part of the Easter story is the fact that HE is coming back for ME!!!

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I'm learning a 'new trick', (new-to-me, anyway) on Photo editing and thought I'd share a couple of pictures with you... CLICK HERE to view: http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/ADateAtTheMall?feat=directlink
Well, we've had a very busy week to say the least. We've spent many hours planning the annual Easter Egg Hunt, which is to take place at Church, this coming weekend. Of course, we've spent quite a bit of time on the road shopping for Easter clothes for our Angel-girl, too! Needless to say, Aly is now prepared for Easter Sunday but, there is still much to buy for the Egg Hunt! As you've seen in the photos, we were able to throw a "Mall Date" into the mix, as well!
We would like to send our sympathies out to a dear friend of ours, Dawn (Zimmerman) Pence. She and two of her precious boys suffered a great loss, when her husband, Michael and their youngest son (9 year old) Devin, were killed in a tragic car accident this past Sunday afternoon. Mike had worked the 3rd shift on Saturday night and being very fatigued after the morning services and Sunday dinner, he fell asleep at the wheel. DAWN!!! You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time!!! We are so sorry for your loss! Remember the song lyrics, "It won't rain always... God's promises are true... the sun's gonna shine in His own good time... He will see you through." We love ya'll!
Now, with one last and final wish for a Happy Easter 2009 to ALL of our Blogger-Palz, we bid you farewell until next week!

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!

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')