Ode To Joy!

Every now and again I am prone to bouts of "Joylessness." However, most people would never know it because... I am a true southerner flashing a big 'ol smile and throwing out a "how are y'all," "Oh I'm great." God in His infinite wisdom knows this about me. He knows the condition of my heart. He knew along time ago I would need a song, a tune to remind me to be joyful! To be rather than to seem. In 1824 when Beethoven composed "Ode to Joy" he didn't know it would become our family's anthem. Reminding us that no matter where we are or what we are going through that GOD loves us and that makes everything okay. When Brady and I were walking out of the chapel after saying our vows we exited to "Ode to Joy." Riley and Hallie played it for their first piano recitals, four years apart and with different teachers. Thankfully, Hallie continues to play it daily. I've been needing a daily, sometimes hourly, reminder to be joyful. And most recently I smiled, as I heard it as the credits rolled on one of the Wall-E cartoons. In "The Great Songs of the Church" Hymn book it is good ol' number 55. And I am thankful for the sweet words penned by Henry Van Dyke in 1907.


Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

Joyful Joyful we adore the, God of Glory, Lord of Love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before thee opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

The other verses are just as beautiful and serve as a prayer for when I am feeling JOYLESS.

HAVE A JOYFUL THANKSGIVING!

Have A Crepey Day!

Do you like our decorative "Dixie" plates?

We had a sleep over last night with three extra girls (Jay was in heaven)! Brady and I took them all to see Bolt. Then, this morning Riley and her sweet friend Olivia made us crepes. Whenever you want a Jr. Higher to do something just tell them it is too hard! Brady and I told Riley that making crepes was difficult and that we didn't know if she would be able to do it by herself. She looked up the recipe on the Internet and sweetly proved us wrong! She has done this two weeks in a row! I'm ready to adopt it as a new Saturday morning tradition! Maybe one day she can open her own restaurant and call it "Have a Crepey Day"!

Happy Birthday Dear Brady

Brady's Birthday happens to fall on October 31st. Instead of trick-or-treating, we invited our friends over to help us celebrate. I dressed as Sacajawea and Brady dressed as Lewis or Clark, complete with coon-skin hat. Riley did a little Internet research to find out who had a "thing" for Sacajawea. Evidently, it was "Clark." He offered to help raise Sacajawea's baby Pomp. There's a little something you may not have learned in American History. Since Brady has learned to play the guitar this year, his mom got him a guitar cake! We had a wonderful time with our friends and about a million kids.