**Urgent Prayer Request**

I received news last night from a friend of mine, that she's currently trying to counsel a woman out of an abortion. This 24 year old woman is 5 weeks pregnant and went to a local Planned Parenthood on Friday to get a medical abortion (Mifepristone, formerly known as RU-486--VERY dangerous) but thank God, the clinic was closed!

I do not know this woman's name, but PLEASE be in prayer for her and her unborn child. She seems pretty set on the abortion. But God is mightier than our enemy who wants nothing more than to kill, steal and destroy.

Will you please pray with me?

Hard Core Rockers

My husband, the rocker.

He LOVES music, namely....80's hair metal (barf). How can we be so different? I'm all about the 90's boy bands.

"But it ain't no lie, baby bye, bye, bye..."

Ahem. Where was I?

Oh yeah...

Not too long ago, my hubby had some friends over and inevitably, the Rock Band came out and 80's music filled the air. My husband is actually a very talented musician. He plays in our church's praise band and can play at least three instruments, that I'm aware of.

So, he takes his Rock Band playing pretty seriously (hence the headphones on his head, ha!)

I think Ethan my be headed in that same direction. I do

hope so. I'd love for him to be musically gifted like his daddy is. I also hope he loves sports like his mommy does. The best of both worlds, ya know?

An athletic musician. I can see the swooning girls now.

Ok, scratch that idea.

Maybe he should just be a hermit.

Anyway, I think it's pretty adorable how Ethan wants to do everything his daddy does. He was desperate to be a part of the Rock Band session held in our den that night.

It's also helpful that Bob's friends are dads. They completely understand little kiddos intertwined into the mix. They were totally cool with Ethan's off beat drumming...on a drum that sings the ABC's when it's drummed on, no less.

Will Ethan be a hard core rocker like his daddy? Maybe.

But maybe I'll pull out my old N*Sync or Backstreet Boys CDs and give him some of the good stuff.

On second thought, I think I'll be content to hear the ABCs a little while longer.

Recipients of the Choicest Bounties...

"We have been recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven.

We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity.

We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown;

but we have forgotten God.

We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace,

and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us;

and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own."

~Abraham Lincoln, from a proclamation issued March 30, 1863

~~~~~~~~~

As we approach Thanksgiving, let us remember that all the blessings we have been given have come from the hand of God. It is not from our own hard work and creative minds, but from the Almighty Himself. So let's give Him the thanks and credit due!

What a great God we serve!

Now I'm off to the kitchen to prep some dishes, and then to finish getting our house ready for Thanksgiving company!

Enjoy your time with family, friends and food!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Heroes

"You don't raise heroes, you raise sons.

And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes,

Even if it's just in your own eyes."

~Walter M. Schirra Sr.

Holiday Tea-Off

Our city's little Main Street holds an annual Holiday Tea-Off where local shops open up their doors and invite the townspeople to kick-off the holiday season with them.

Most of the shops hold a drawing of some kind and also share a multitude of Christmas goodies to hungry customers.

My mom, myself, my sister and sister-in-law finally joined in on the festivities this year!

Looking South down Main Street.

Trolley rides added to the excitement of the upcoming Christmas season.

~~~

An adorable Christmas store front.

I almost squealed with delight when I saw this!

A Chocolatier. I want to be his best friend.

This store was crammed full of all the holiday treasures a girl could want!

The building itself is well over 100 years old. So neat.

Deco poly mesh Christmas trees

This seems to be the "in" thing this Christmas season.

There were several wreaths made from this material, too.

And then we came across this...thing.

I was nauseated a solid 20 minutes after smelling it.

I was expecting the smell to be pretty bad but in no way was I prepared for the reality of the stench.

Sorry for the very unlady-like discussion.

Moving right along...

"Giggles and snuggles & pudgy little toes make it all worthwhile"

And all the moms said, "Awww!!"

Ok. Let me be honest here. I don't like spending a lot on my merchandise. Call me frugal. You can even call me cheap. But this price right hear caused my jaw to drop. It's cute...but not $70.50 cute. That's just me.

This tree was magnificent!

~~~

After all the shopping, and taste-testing our tummies could handle, we headed to the square where the Farmer's Market is usually held. There we found out who the winners of the drawings were (None of us won. Booo..)

We were also able to go into the city's museum. I'm a history lover so this was one of the highlights of the night for me! Nerd, I know.

However, the best part of the Tea-Off was definitely being able to spend some girl-time with my female family!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I'm a Mess

Ok, y'all. I'm a mess.

I was looking through some old blog posts and when I came across this one, I just about lost it.

It seems I blinked and Ethan went from baby to boy.

And it hurts my heart a bit.

I know he's supposed to grow. That's how childhood works. But it still hurts.

One day my baby boy will grow up and move on to start a life of his own. Without his mommy.

I think about that often, scared of how fast it might come. My mom has told me over and over how fast our childhood went for her.

Sometimes at night, I peek in on Ethan while he sleeps, and will him to stay a boy--still a baby, really--just awhile longer.

If I could freeze time, I would do it now.

But since I can't, I'll tuck these bittersweet thoughts away and focus on treasuring the moments I have with him while he's still "Mommy's little boy".

I'll hold his little hand awhile longer...

And linger at his bedside when he asks for me to rub his head, awhile longer...

Watch him race his cars over and over, awhile longer...

And even deal with tantrums...awhile longer.

Because one day he'll be someones husband. And daddy.

And I'll be a grandma. And...

Oh my. Stop it, Kari . Just stop it right now.

A tall glass of milk and a cookie (or two...ok, three) are officially in order.

I'm a mess.

Look-alikes

I never realized I had so much hair as a baby.

Ethan was pretty much bald for the first year of life, so we were completely shocked when Emma was born with a full head of dark hair.

When I found out I was expecting again, my mom jokingly told my husband that because Ethan was the spitting image of Bob as a baby, #2 better look like me!

So here's some proof that that's exactly what happened!

Me. 1984. Emma. 2011.

Thanks, Mom. hehe.

Do you have a look-alike picture of you and a parent?