Ewwww

This is the first time Emily remembers carving a pumpkin. She sure didn't remember getting her hands in the goo.

Git er done!

Audrey concentrating on getting it done right!

Job Well Done!

Not bad for their very first Jack O'Lantern completely by themselves!

Pumpkin Time

LOOK!!!!!

It must be getting close to Halloween; the Christmas stuff is out at Wal-Mart!

Just in time for Halloween

New for Christmas 2007 - A Gothic Christmas. Yuck! Can anything be worse?

Muskogee Air Show

I went to the Muskogee Air Show at Davis Field last Saturday (since there was no OU game). It was a really great time, except that I got sunburned. The weather was absolutely perfect and they had a fair turnout of attractions. They had about 15 WWII era planes which was pretty cool.


A look at the tarmac.

A beautiful trainer.

Blue Angels

The Blue Angels were the featured attraction.

Their formation flying was incredible.

Muskogee Air Show

This WWII plane had 6 kills.


A "self portrait".

Yippee!

Only two months until Christmas!!!!!

I can hardly wait to start decorating!

Sick Kid

After our trip to Silver Dollar City where both kids ended up being sick, we took Audrey to the doctor on Monday and she was diagnosed with strep throat. She missed Monday and Tuesday, but since she didn't have any fever, she went to school Wednesday to turn in her projects and get her homework. I had her stay at home from church last night because I thought she needed the rest.

When she went to bed last night, she was coughing pretty bad. This morning at 2, she said she woke up pretty sick. She finally made it into our bedroom at 4:45 this morning burning up with 105 fever! Sally ran and got her some ibuprofen and I got some wet rags and began to try to get the fever down. Finally, after about 30 minutes, it was down to 102. We all eventually fell back to sleep.

When we got up this morning, her temperature was back to normal and she said she didn't hurt like she did last night. Sally called her doctor and he is considering prescribing a different antibiotic.

Meanwhile, she'll be spending another day at home.

Ice on the Windshield

This morning, at 7:45, when Emily and I were getting in the car to go to school, I noticed that the heavy dew from last night had turned into solid ice on the back windshield and the roof of my car! My thermometer read 37, but obviously the surface of the car was colder than that.

I'm sitting in my office this morning and it is a crisp 61 degrees! We haven't lit the heaters in the church yet. This hot coffee sure feels good!

COLD!

Boy! Am I glad I lit the heater last night. When I looked at my thermometer, it showed 39 degrees this morning!

The parsonage has one of those new fangled furnaces. It doesn't have a pilot light; it has electronic ignition. After two trips to Wal-Mart to get a new filter, I then had to figure out how to "light" the silly thing. All it has is a little (hard to see) ON-OFF switch!

What will they think of next!?!

Current Happenings

Just so you'll know.... I lit the heater tonight.

Overheard at Wal-Mart

I overheard a man and woman telling the clerk the following exchange at Wal-Mart a couple of hours ago:

Man: Yeah, yeah, she got out of jail on Wednesday; I got out of jail on Friday and we got married yesterday. he he he

Woman: yeah, yeah, yeah... I sure hope this one lasts!


(me: Oh my goodness!! Yes, I hope it lasts, too)

Billy Gail's

A little way from our motel, we found Billy Gail's Cafe. OH MY GOODNESS!!! They served the biggest pancakes I have ever seen in my life! Take a look at these bad mamas! They literally hung off the plates! It was so much fun and they were really good. It was definately a place that I would recommend and that we would return to. I'll probably even make a post on the Hungry Traveler about this one!

Silver Dollar City

No trip to Branson would be complete without a trip to Silver Dollar City. This time, we all got put in the pokey.

Yakov Smirnoff

If you ever have the opportunity to go to Branson, make SURE you plan a visit to see Yakov Smirnoff! It was an incredibly funny and uplifting show. I think Yakov loves America more than most native born Americans! For tickets, call 1-800- WHAT A COUNTRY!

Captain Kids

Both kids got a chance to actually drive the DUKW's. They received really cool "Captain Certificates" after we arrived back at their office. Both girls really enjoyed this fun!

Ride the Ducks!

We had a fantastic time in Branson; we rode the Ducks! DUKW is a converted WWII amphibious vehicle. They have put in seats and other niceities and charge to take you on a tour of Branson and a little ride out in Table Rock Lake. The best part was when the captain "floored it" and drove like a lunatic into the water. It was really cool. This Duck pulled up right behind us as we were leaving a scenic overlook of the lake.

NOT FAIR - Not fair at all!

Well, the new polls are out and Oklahoma is number 4. OK, no problem with that necessarily, but LSU is number 3! That just plain stinks! ARRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!

Boomer Sooner!

Home Again

We returned home yesterday from a fun trip to Branson. Unfortunately, both kids are sick this morning. Emily was sick on Thursday, Audrey on Friday, both yesterday, and both again today. YIKES! Low grade fever and headache seem to the be course. Emily did get car sick yesterday coming through the Ozarks, but I don't know if it is related.

I have lots of wonderful pictures to share when I get the chance.

Oklahoma 17 - Iowa State 7

Phewwww! A real nail biter. Since we were traveling, we didn't come into "radio" until just before the 14 yard kick in the 4th quarter. We listened to it all the way home, then got home to see the last 2 minutes or so on the tube.

Boomer Sooner, baby!

CAT-astrophe

Yes, we are in the middle of a family crisis. The neighbors who abandoned our cat, Patches, have returned, claiming they never abandoned the cat and they want her back and want her back now. No amount of negotiation could remedy the situation, so now we have two VERY SAD little girls.

I told them that we would discuss our pet situation early next week. Until then, well, at least for tonight, we are a sad, sad household.

Oklahoma 41 - Mizzou 31

That fumble recovery/TD by Brown on the 1 clinched it for us. What a great game!

Boomer Sooner!

The Stuff is Finally Here!

Yesterday morning, about 8:45, the moving van arrived carrying our treasures (and junk) from all over the world. The two delivery men were young. I shared the Gospel with one of them, after several extemporaneous comments about things made me realize it wasn't a mistake that he was working that day. He did not receive it well, but I think he heard it. So, pray for Isaac.

What a mess!

We had 111 pieces delivered to our house yesterday. We have started the unpacking process. For the first time in any of our world moves, we have casualties. So far, we have had one of our good china plates , a regular plate, our huge dinner platter, and a casserole dish broken into millions of tiny pieces. Oh, we also had two of our favorite souvineers from Dakar, Senegal, broken, too. They were paintings on glass, and the glass has been shattered. Sally said that she was waiting til this morning to open another box that she heard the tale-tell sound of broken glass. Hopefully, it is something that can be replaced.

Starting to unpack

Sally in her 'natural state'.

Hopefully, this will be the last time we move for a VERY LONG TIME!

Where to find Osama Bin Laden

(click on image)

Only 78 more shopping days til Christmas

And, just in case you were wondering what I wanted, click here.

Ho Ho Ho!

Patches

Yes, we have a cat. A pleasant little female calico named Patches. The folks who lived behind us moved and left her here. Currently, she is an "outside" cat. She is going to visit the vet this week. The girls love her and are so happy they finally have a pet.

A letter from President Bush

A few weeks ago, Audrey got inspired to write a letter to President Bush. The gist of the letter was to encourage prayer to return to public school and to say that, as a student returning to US schools from overseas, she thought the US educational system was too lax; that they students weren't being challenged enough.

Well, yesterday, a big manila envelope arrived in the mail addressed to Audrey from the White House. It was a very nice letter from President Bush and a photograph of the President and First Lady.

Pretty cool, huh?

This past month, Emily was selected as her school's "student of the month" and this past week Audrey was nominated for a National Junior Leadership Conference Scholarship in Washington, DC!

I am very proud of both of my girls!

"Blast" from the past

How long has it been since you've seen a sign like the one above? I haven't seen one in a very long time. I found this one on the old Muskogee Public Library building, which now houses something else. I hope that they don't ever take the sign down. (or, if they do, they'll give it to me!)

The Continuing Saga...

Well, I got a call from Muskogee Transfer and Storage that said they had received our shipment and it is now arranged to come to our house on Tuesday. Tuesday's forcast is for clear and sunny with highs at 80. It should be a good day to get our stuff.

I'll post pictures after the big event.

Oklahoma 28 - Texas 21

How 'bout them SoONErs!



Boomer Sooner!

The Saga Continues....

I heard from the Travel and Freight Department at the Board this morning. They said our stuff is being loaded onto another truck in Houston and will be delivered to a warehouse in Muskogee, due to the fact that a Semi can't deliver our goods very well. I contacted the outfit in Muskogee, and they said that they will receive the shipment in tomorrow, but they won't be able to deliver it to us here in Wagoner until sometime next week. He'll get back to me.

This is why Oklahoma is so great!

Beat Texas!

New Church Website Address

Well, after much anticipation and (research) I have finally created a new website address for Immanuel Baptist Church! It is: immanuelsouthern.com. You can simply type that in your address bar in your browser or type in www.immanuelsouthern.com. Either one will work.

I am also beginning to add my sermons online. You can find that link on the church website.

Avoid the Rush....

hate Texas now.


At least that was bumper sticker I saw going around back when I was at OU!


This week is the Red River Rivalry. OU-UT shooting it out.


I think the picture below shows some of the reasons you are in bad company if you root for Texas.

5 Happy Words

Five little words to make my day better:

"Your shipment has cleared customs..."

Yippee!!!!!

Now, where are we going to put all that junk when it finally gets here?!?

Emily's 8th Birthday Party

Birthday Time

Happy Birthday to you....

Birthday Fun