Silliness

Feeling silly today ... so here is one of my favorite Veggie Tales Silly Songs!

Merry Christmas!

I just keep thinking ... this time next week, it'll all be over! I hope you are all ready for Christmas. I am 99.9% there... but I'll feel much better after my family and I are on the road to enjoy Christmas with ALL my family in Nashville! Whew! Still gotta pack!

Anyway, Merry Christmas from the Groves family, including Puff! (Puff is excited ... he loves a good road trip!) And YES, Justin... you can live without Courtney for a few days! I promise!

p.s. This is my favorite Christmas card ... from Kelly, Buster & Lyla :)

Aliens Among Us!

Hope for those with teenagers, especially high school seniors!

I believe I have received a revelation! Ladies, remember when you were pregnant with your child? When you first found out ... how excited you were? How you couldn't wait for that sweet bundle of joy to get here? THEN ... about the last six week of the pregnancy ... you were SO miserable, you thought you'd be prepared to do anything to get this alien out of your body! When you gave birth you finally had your sweet bundle of joy ... but ... in about 16 months to 2 years , you saw a glimpse of the alien reappearing!

Well, now that I have a senior in high school, "It's 'deja vu' all over again"! I believe God prepares us for birth by making us miserable, then we get a few good years with our sweet children . But THEN ... the last years before our teens leave us, He allows "invasion of the body snatchers" into our homes! (I've had this confirmed by many fellow parents of seniors). I believe this happens so we are prepared to let them go! If God did not turn them into aliens, we'd want to hang to them forever ... but our job is about over as parents ... we did the best we could, and must be prepared to let these aliens go ... gladly!

I hear from parents of older children, they do eventually return from the aliens and become fine young adults! I'm waiting!

And ... until then ... please pray for all the parents of seniors!

Get your Tissues Out!

Logan, The Sky Angel Cowboy

Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!

Let's not forget what it's all about!

Note to Self

This picture reminded me ...

... Don't leave your Burt's Bees Rhubarb Lip Shimmer for your dog to eat, or you'll regret it for at least 3 days! (Don't ask).

This is actually not Puff, but could have been!

Hmmm ... Sometimes My Mind Wanders

Yesterday in Sunday school, my teacher was making a great point on how we are sheep and need a Shepherd. How sheep are never organized without their shepherd ... then it happened...

I was getting visions of Journey through Bethlehem (the live drive through Nativity we used to have here at BCBC) ... and how Steve Aaron had told me about the sheep that kept getting out and how that they were chasing them through the scenes, even when the cars were coming through and how he jumped spread eagle over a sheep to tackle him to get him back in his pen (because these were "rent a sheep")... and ... where were we?

... Hmmm ... Maybe I need to be tested for A.D.D. :)

I'll blog later ... my mind is wandering again!

LOLCAT

My niece (creator of busterandlyla.blogspot.com) introduced me to a hilarious website with LOLCATS ... Of course, you have to have a warped sense of humor like me to enjoy these!

Since my stapler has been missing from my office for about a year now, I thought this one was appropriate! (You'd be suprised what goes missing from a church office!)

Only in Tennessee!

OK, I'm a native Tennessean so Gene, Courtney & I went to Nashville for Thanksgiving.

First, Courtney drove the entire way ... with Gene in the front seat next to her. Gene is not a talker when we travel, but he 'instructed' her the entire time! So Puff and I just slept in the back seat ... if I was going to die, I didn't want to know it :) ... Anyway, she did fine and we made it safe and sound.

When got off the Interstate in Nashville, we were sitting at a stop light when a van pulled up next to us. Courtney starting yelling ... "Ewwwwww"! There were two old ladies in the van and the one in the passenger seat had her teeth in her hand! But that was not all ... she was picking them! I laughed until I cried all the way to my mom's house!

"If you are picking you teeth ... and they are in your hand ... You Might be a Redneck!" :)

Only in Tennessee!

Just Wanted to Blog

OK ... It's almost 9:30 pm on Tuesday before Thanksgiving ... It's been a hectic day! Since I'm trying to get 5 days work into 3 this week (office is closed Thursday & Friday), I thought I'd work on updating brushycreek.org here on Gene's laptop. Our website host is having an issue with a feature I'm trying to use ... so I gave up, sent them a support request and decided to blog.

Let's get my mind off my day and be thankful for something.

I am looking forward to seeing my family this week ... ALL of us only get together about twice a year. I guess the thing I'm most thankful for is that my family gets along so great! All we do on Thanksgiving and Christmas is eat and LAUGH! (and my brother's wife is the best cook in the world). I now have family not only in Tennessee & Georgia ... but in NYC too! We have many, many different personalities, careers, likes & dislikes ... but the thing we have most in common is that we always get along. I know that is because of how my mom (83 years old) and dad (now in heaven) raised us and it trickled down to our spouses and offspring. I know that our "out-laws" think we're crazy, and we are the LOUD Family ... but we ALWAYS have fun!

OK, now I feel better. Thanks for listening!

p.s. Please pray as we travel to Nashville Thursday ... Gene said he is going to let Courtney drive! I mean it ... pray for us! :0

Fun Day Pics

To see some more pics of our Staff Fun Day ... Click here!

I Resemble That Remark!

Christian Comedian Anita Renfroe. She has been looking in my window!

A Day in the Corn!

Yesterday, our ministerial staff generously took us out for a Staff Fun Day thanking us for the work we did this past year, especially on The Greenhouse. First ... thank you staff (especially Angela for planning it all), it was a BLAST!

We went to Stewart Farms in Enoree to their corn maize and pumpkin patch. We split up in teams of 3 and 4 and went off into the maize. Unfortunately, I had just seen some of the movie "Children of the Corn" the day before! They told us not to run, but I said if I see someone coming after me with a bloody knife ... I'm RUNNING! :) Our team was Marshall, David Kay, Eva Croy and me. Let's just say all the other teams were out of the maize (some went through twice) and were waiting on us for around 50 minutes! They finally sent in the troops to lead us out! I haven't laughed that much in a long time! Marshall was analyzing and David was go, go, go ... we had missed the way out several times by just a few feet! (beware the number 8)!

Once we got out we had a great lunch prepared by Angela and all received award certificates individualized for each of us! We then rode on a tractor pulled wagon to the pumpkin patch. We picked our own pumpkins, had our picture made by "The Greenhouse" and rode back up the hill on the wagon for more fun and games.


We had a playdough sculpture contest, tic-tac-toe with Smarties and a pumpkin carving contest. The weather was beautiful and the company was GREAT!

Thanks again for a great day!

Body Shift ... A Woman After My Own Heart!

Christian Comedian Anita Renfroe

Not So Bad!

OK ... I have to confess ... the Corvette Expo wasn't that bad. In the past it had always been at a park in Knoxville, but it has now officially moved to the new Events Center in Sevierville, TN. A really nice place ... clean, organized ... much nicer than Knoxville.


That was Saturday ... we stayed there from around noon to almost 6 PM (when it closed). Gene thought we had reservations at the Holiday Inn. He had called the number that was on the Internet but when we got there, the phone number that was on the Internet was for the Best Western! LOL! Somebody messed up!


Anyway, we found it and went to the Chop House for dinner (next to that new Bass Pro Shop on I-40). Food was great! We then went into the Bass Pro Shop ... now I'm originally from Tennessee and have seen some big hair in my time, and thought maybe people really didn't have big hair anymore ... WRONG! I saw some the biggest hair I've seen in ages! LOL


Sunday we stopped off at the Tanger Outlet in Pigeon Forge ... Gene bought some stuff he needed at the Nautica outlet. Then he told me to shop, too! He wanted to know if I'd rather have flowers or shop for our anniversary ... If I have a choice, I always choose shopping (or cash). They had a Dress Barn (I like their stuff) and I found several cute things to buy.


We took our time coming home ... stopped off in Gatlinburg and tried the "Jigglin' George" (has to been experienced ... can't really explain), ate some good hot wings at Crawdaddy's and drove on through the mountains, via Cherokee, on the way home. Weather was perfect and we saw some beautiful colors!

Anyway ... I apologize for my earlier post ... it was a good weekend!

Anniversary

Next weekend (Oct 28) is my & Gene's anniversary. He said that we would go THIS weekend to Pigeon Forge for our anniversary ... hmmm ... what a coincidence ... Corvette Expo is in Sevierville, TN this weekend! Funny how there always seems to be a car show wherever we go for our anniversary :)
1956 Corvette ... hmm
The year I was born ...
I think I need it!
What a GREAT Anniversary present!

Casting Crowns - Prayer For A Friend

I love this song ... gives me chills ...

Shopping

Just got back from a new store on Haywood Road ... Steve & Barry's. Nothing in there is over $20! I got a Tennessee hooded sweatshirt for $8.99 and it is nice quality. I got Courtney a cute v-neck cable knit sweater for around $12! If you have teens or are not as old as me :) ... check it out! They have guys clothes, too. (baseball hats for $3.99). Worth the trip out there.

This is the Truth

This is an awesome video from Granger Community Church in Granger, IN. They showed this at the Innovate Conference.

What Could Be Better? by 33 Miles ... GREAT SONG!

Church Directory Pics

Gene, Courtney & I just got back from the harrowing experince of having our church directory pictures made. Anyone with teenagers will understand what I mean (right Cindy). Hope all you Brushy Creekers got your pics taken, too.

I saw that precious Bo while we were waiting for our pics to be taken. First thing he said when he saw me was "Fruit Snack!" I guess I'll be known as the Fruit Snack lady among the BCBC Ground Prep group! I kind of like that! (Of course, I share that title with Patti!)

Time for bed ...

Later!

My first blog

This is a first for me! Let's see, what do you need to know today?

In the past month, I've been to Jamaica (with Gene), Chicago, The University of Notre Dame and Granger, IN (with Angela & Carla, the Carter girls) ... more traveling than I've done in a year!

Courtney was mad, 'cuz she didn't get to go on any of the trips ... but she and Justin couldn't have been without each other that long anyway! :) But they did rack up on the goodies we brought back!

Jamaica was HOT ... I found out it was the time of year there are no tradewinds there! Even the locals go on vacation ... but it was still fun! Pic of Montego Bay ... the water is REALLY that color!

Chicago was a blast... (best Pizza EVER). Pic of Angela driving in Chicago traffic during rush hour. She's my new hero!

Notre Dame was interesting (great marching band ... and the football team ...well, maybe next year). Stadium pic.

... and Granger restored my hope in people! (and the best quesadilla EVER). Pic is of Granger Community Church.

Three of us from BCBC (my new bff's Angela & Carla) went to Granger Community Church for their Innovate Conference. I recommend this conference, HIGHLY for anyone! What a breath of fresh air the people of Northern Indiana were! They were even more than gracious at the Target! And for you sweet tea drinkers, ANY Chick-fil-A in the country has Sweet Tea! I didn't think I'd see sweet tea or hospitality that far north!

OK ... that's all I can think of for now ...