Less Than 2 Days til Spring Break

A flashback of the past year in Aly's little life... unbelievable how the time has flown!
Easter Week 08

Spring Swingin 08

Mid-Summer 08

Early Fall Road Tripin 08

Christmas 08

Brushin n Rockin Late Winter 09

Early Spring 09

Well, we'll be on the road headed out for Spring Break in less than two days! There is MUCH that must be done before our trip, so we'll not take a lot of time to Blog for now.

However, we'll do our best to snap a few pix while we're gone and post them, along with a 'newsy' Blog by this time next week! Trust you'll all have a splendid SpRiNgY week and weekend ahead! God Bless...

My Birthday & the Children's Christmas Program Are Over...

...WE'RE NOW ANXIOUSLY AWAITING THE ADULT CHRISTMAS PROGRAM AND CHRISTMAS DAY TO COME!

http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/AGlimpseOfChristmas#
I've decided to post just a few pix of our Holiday decor at home... there's much that I haven't captured, both inside and outside, but I hope to do so during our Open House or soon after! Keep an eye out... they're sure to show up!
I had an incredible birthday (Dec. 5th) this year, Greg took me to see the Gaither Holiday Homecoming show downtown and we had a ball with many of our friends and family! The music was awesome and the 'breakfast' following (at midnight) was quite tasty, too! It was snowy outside which made it just perfect for a Christmas show!
Our Children's program, "Christmas Eve at Hope Haven", went well yesterday though it was a bit stressful getting to that point, the kids did a fine job and Greg and I were very proud of them! Being as we were both IN the Musical this year, we weren't able to take pictures ourselves, but we're waiting now to collect several from the children's parents and will post them for you, as soon as possible!
Well, we're now into the last week before the Adult Christmas program and there's much left to do for that, as well! YIKES! Christmas is such a hectic time of year, how can it be that it still remains my favorite of all???
Plus all of the above, I absolutely MUST begin my Holiday shopping tomorrow, or ELSE!!!!! I'm in a bit of shock and unbelief that I'm only now beginning, but I'm praying for warmer weather over the next week or two and God's grace to help me get it all done!

"Here I am,
it's Christmas time,
the panic's setting in.
No presents bought and
not a thought,
of how I'll ever begin."
(A portion of a poem I read recently and felt it was fitting for one such as me...)

The Final Week Has Begun...

To begin, I'd like to say we had an exceptionally nice Thanksgiving week with Greg's family in Missouri... Uncle Tom and Aunt Janie hosted a yummy Thanksgiving Dinner, which we all ate too much of and we were able to see many family members we hadn't seen in a very long time!
We arrived at Greg's parents on Tuesday in the late afternoon... We truly enjoyed our time together although, it flew by way too fast, as always!
'Mom P.' chose to babysit Aly, while we all hit the Mall on "Black Friday" afternoon, I believe they had a good time playing together and we certainly all had a grand time shopping! In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, with our Starbucks 'in-hand', no amount of traffic was going to stop us! LOL
Personally, I'll be glad when I get over my "new mommy-ness" and decide once and for all, not to stress out over large family get-together's, major events, etc. and learn to take things as they come... maybe if and when that takes place, I'll begin relaxing a bit more! LOL (On a side note, I did de-stress long enough to take 3 or 4 pictures during this trip and I'll share them with you at the bottom of this post!)
Well, I'm about 75% unpacked and hope to finish out tomorrow, BEFORE the Christmas decorating gets done, which is only about 50% complete at this moment!!! As busy as we are these days, it looks as if we'll have to keep our decorations up through the first or second week of January, otherwise we'll not have time to even enjoy them!
Aly is loving all the lights, trees, snowmen, stockings, reindeer, etc. She especially loves her OWN tree with all it's sparkles and she can't get over the freshly fallen snow outside!!!
THE FINAL WEEK HAS BEGUN... We have exactly TWO practices left before our Children's Program at Church! Only TWO? Where has the time gone? Heaven help us all! We certainly have MUCH to do between now and Sunday, that's for sure!

http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/ThanksgivingInMissiouri2008#
~ Happy Holidays

A Breath of 'Southern Sunshine' on A Cool Fall Weekend

Here are a handful of pictures of Aly's Play-Day today...
http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/AlySPlayDayNov102008# Last week was pretty uneventful, except that we were busy getting ready for the upcoming weekend.
It was an AWESOME weekend, too... Some of our Louisiana family were able to come up for a visit and as ALWAYS we had a BALL!!!
We began on Friday evening with an all-Italian homemade meal at Mamaw S's. Spicy Chicken Spaghetti, an assortment of yummy Herb Breads and Breadsticks, Salads and the whole nine yards! YUUMMM... Following the meal, everyone came over to "Penn Place" for a Fall-Themed 'Dessert Bar'. Pecan Pie, Sugar Cream Pie & Apple Fritter Bread. With a choice of French Vanilla, Caramel Praline or Butter Pecan, (and Bunny-Tracks for the kids) Ice Cream. We had an assortment of iced drinks (including Vernors, of course!) and Coffee, too. My personal favorite items of the evening were the Coffee Creamers: Vanilla Chai Spice and Cinnamon Vanilla Cre'me!
On Saturday, we had lunch together at Steak-N-Shake... an Indiana favorite for our Southern family, before the ladies and gents split up for an afternoon of fun! The ladies found ourselves at 'Old Time Pottery' and for 3 entire HOURS, too! The men made their way to Gander Mountain and Dick's Sporting Goods for a couple of hours. Later that evening, we all headed back to Mamaw S's. for a COLD Cook-Out of Pork Steaks and all the trimmings! Thanks, to the guys who cooked out in that weather! It was well worth it, that's for sure!!!
We had a great Sunday, not only at Church, but a relaxing day with family, as well! Another delicious meal only made the day better! Roast, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Sugared Green Beans with Bacon, Cornbread, etc., etc. (I'll not even go into all the desserts we had available!!!) Why is it when humans have a 'get-together', we think food is one of the necessary items, in order to have more fun? In reality, though fun, food really only adds more and more pounds to one's body and what is fun about THAT? LOL
Today~ Aly and I were having a 'Play-Day', a kind of a normal day for us, of "School" and playing together, so we decided to take 4 or 5 pictures while we were at it! (I posted a link above.) This due much to the fact, that we didn't get ONE picture taken during the busy weekend... funny thing is no one had a camera all weekend! (Not even Ronda or Aunt Diane!!!)
Oh well! As you can tell, we had an excellent weekend, with our without a camera and only wished they could've stayed for a month or two!!! The time flew by, but they may make another trip North during the Holidays?!?!? (We certainly hope so!) Hey, ya'll... it really was a "Breath of Southern Sunshine" to have you with us! We are sorry it was so cold while you were here, though! That's all just a part of being in the 'Northland', I guess! We look forward to your next visit and PRAY that we'll be able to make a trip South again, SOON!!!

Palin In Indy!!!

YAY! The great Lady Herself, will grace the city of Indianapolis tomorrow, October 17, 2008! Due ONLY to the fact, that Aly has a cold (cough and sore throat) and we do not feel that we should have her out in the cool evening air and the fact that Greg is working extra hours to pay her previous hospital/birth bills, we will neither one be able to make it to see Gov. Palin. We're upset that we are unable to go... but, know for Aly's sake, we feel it's best! No doubt, Mrs. Palin will do ANOTHER incredible job, as usual! We'll be sure to 'google' a few pix to add to our next weeks BLOG!!!

Have you visited our 2nd BLOG, yet? It's new and based solely on Political issues and materials we find promoting and supporting McCain & Palin in 2008. Feel free to check it out and leave a comment sometime!
http://election2008review.blogspot.com/
Well, Aly will be spending a 'cozy and warm' evening with her Memaw and Papaw tomorrow night, while Greg and I go on a little chilly date... We'll be off on a "Hayride" with a group from Church and look forward to a very fun evening!!!
May God's richest blessings and divine safety be with Gov. Palin, not only while in Indy, but ALWAYS! Take care, ya'll and we'll BLOG again soon...

BOOM... IT CRASHED!

A Virus has attacked and crashed the (home) computer system of your "Penn Palz". They now only have access to a computer from their individual offices at work.
They are sorry and will attempt to BLOG again as normal, reply to your comments, view as many of your BLOGS as possible AND all within the week, the good Lord willing!

They will also have pix to post of the general Church of the Nazarene's 100th Celebration service at their local Church. The 3 of them, along with much of the congregation, will be dressed in clothing of the 1908 era and are all praying for God's will to be done in the much planned for and well anticipated Sunday services of October 5th!
Thank you and may God bless you... (and may God bless their computer, as well!!! LOL)

Just A Portion of Our New Home for "Show"...

Well! Needless to say, we've been MORE than busy over the past several weeks! Moving is such a feat with a baby, but we're thankful to have gotten the perfect home, seemingly made just for our little family! God is better to us than we deserve, that's for sure!!! We've been able to accomplish quite a bit, but there's much left ahead for us to do!

We've had so many requests to post pix, that we've chosen to post a brief slide-show that will have "to do", until we finish the house and can post more. The rooms that are in the slide-show are incomplete but we HOPE to have them complete within a couple of weeks and the rest of the house done by the end of the summer! (The good Lord willing, that is!) HOWEVER, WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED BY FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS ALIKE... THAT THESE PHOTOS DO NOT DO THE HOUSE JUSTICE... PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT WE HAVE ONLY JUST BEGUN AND HAVE MUCH MORE TO DO BEFORE WE'LL BE ABLE TO SAY IT'S 'DONE'! (WE'RE STILL IN THE STAGES OF "CHANGING STUFF" EVERY DAY, MOVING THINGS FROM ONE PLACE TO THE NEXT AND GETTING NEWER THINGS TO REPLACE OTHERS...)

The 'show' below is ONLY of our Living Room, Kitchen/Dining Area and Aly's Room. We will post pix of the other rooms (EG: Entry, our Room and Bath, the Family Room, the Guest Bath and Office) ASAP.

We will need to post another regular BLOG next week, being as we haven't done so, since Revival!!! We'd love to hear from some of you - it's been a while - why not leave us a comment or give us a call sometime soon?

Have a great day and enjoy just a peep into our very 'unfinished' new home...

Alyson's 2nd Visit to the Photography Studio

Alyson is our DREAM come true... the best of babies, she did an excellent job at her second visit to the Studio... Here are a few photos that we had taken of her last week!!!

A baby is cuddles
and tickles on toes,
the sweet scent of powder,
a kiss on the nose!
A baby is Teddy bears,
rattles, and pins,
meals at midnight,
giggles and grins.

Alyson Dawn's Photography Studio Session #2

Here are a few quotes we found online and thought were pretty cute... (We will soon as possible, be adding pix to the Album so, be on the lookout for more!)

• I love these little people. And it is not a slight thing when they, who so fresh from God, love us. (Charles Dickens)
• It's the 'little blessings' that help us see just how lovely life can be. (Unknown)
  
• Reach for the stars and don't worry about falling - Mommy and Daddy will catch you! (Unknown)
  
• Roses 'round the door, babies on the floor, who could ask for more? (Unknown)
  
• We are always surprised to see girl babies behaving like girls from the very beginning, and boy babies behaving like boys; we seem to imagine that we had to learn it! (Unknown)
  
• You rose into our life like a promised sunrise, brightening our days with the light in your eyes. (Maya Angelou)
• Babies are God's opinion that the world should go on. (Carl Sandburg)
• Babies are such a nice way to 'start' people. (Don Herold)
• A good example of minority rule is a baby in the household. (Unknown)
• Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body. (Elizabeth Stone)
• People who say they 'sleep like a baby' usually don't have one. (Leo J. Burke)
• A baby is born with a need to be loved -- and never outgrows it. (Frank A. Clark)
• A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men. (Martin Fraquhar Tupper)

Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail, Hoppin Down the Bunny Trail...

...hippity hoppity, Easter's on it's way!!!


(Alyson Dawn - Early Spring 2008) It doesn't seem possible, Easter is only 2 days away, now!!! We wanted to wish everyone in BLOGGERLAND a very Happy one... filled with God's promises and blessings! Take time to 'breathe in' all the beauty this Season holds!

Don't faint and fall out with this statement, but we plan to take several pictures over the Holiday weekend! Furthermore, we'll post them for you to view ASAP! We realize that we've not done a very good job lately of posting pix - having temporary 'Dial Up' being our excuse! It's amazing how our Alyson is growing, so we feel you've just got to see her! We're not in the least bit proud, either!!!

We also wanted to let you know that God has answered one our many prayers and given us a house!!! We will be eternally grateful!!! God is SO good, isn't He? We will be able to move in by the end of April! With this move, we'll once again have DSL and will in turn be able to update our BLOG and Online Photo Albums much more often! YAY!!!

Due to our 'Template' change for March and April, we have moved all of our 'former blogs' to our "Blog Archive". Please take time to view them if you have not already done so. Lots to see... photos, slide shows, etc.!

Again, we wish you a very Happy Easter and look forward to much more BLOGGING in the near future!!! May the peace of God continue to bless you and your's this Spring!