{Halloween 2011...}

Well.... our night started out pretty darned SPOOKY with gusty winds & rain.... but dag-on-it- we went any way!!!!!!!!!!! The kiddos {of course} chose their own costumes this year. I think the days of me pointing them in any way towards something I like... is well... OVER. Prissy has wanted to be an Indian Princess for 2 years & the A-man... well he's Star Wars or bust these days!

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Prissy's FAVORITE part was the facial jewelry {I know y'all aren't the slightest bit surprised!}- ha ha!!!

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A-man's favorite part was a tie between the Clone blaster gun & the the talking Clone helmet {which he played for the crowds}!!!!

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They were both {surprisingly} VERY into it this year. Last year we carried the A-man, but NOT this year. He was the 1st man @ the door ringing the bell. He would say "treats please, NO tricks please!"

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I'd say it was our best yet!!!

{even though we had to start layering over the costume as the night got colder... and some certain Indian Princess didn't love that idea...}

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...and when they got home they assessed their good efforts!

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and then JOEY "helped" them sort it out- ha ha ha!!!!

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HAPPY

HALLOWEEN

Y'ALL!!!!

{greek feast part 2...}

... finally I got the pics, but they ain't what they ought to be! I wish I would have taken more, that I would have brought a different lens, & that I could have collected myself enough to get one of Cooner with Prissy or me with Prissy or ANYONE with Prissy!!!! O-well coulda shoulda woulda I guess. Just trust me- that it was a HUGE success!!!!!!!!

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"The Program"

{printed by Mrs. Miller and ripped & burnt by me :). She died laughing when she saw them- I think she is starting to embrace my clearly psycho ways- ha ha!!!

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...I decided to make these little place cards Sunday night about 11ish. {Joey said he was scared about Prissy's wedding & the levels that I might go to... And I think he may be on to something- ha ha!!!}

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Cooner, Prissy, & I made these little party pics for our dessert tray...

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...and it was YUMMY FABULOUS!!!!

{NOTHING was left over when it was over- which I believe translates to a SUCCESS!!!}

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I opted for fancy over functional... and don't get Joey started on that one either! I can't tell you the # of hand towels that are for "show" & not to use {unless you're a guest} around here. But.. the kiddos LOVED the fanciness of it all!!!!!!! Needless-to-say I refilled some cups a few billion times :) !

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My brave Achilles... and I mean BRAVE. Here she is reading her clues to the "who am I" game in front of 60 parents & guests along with the entire school. She did FABULOUS!!!!!

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{Medusa & Artemis}

JC's momma & little sister {who just happens to be one of A-man's buddies}. They are SO fun- I love that they dressed up too!!!! And YES I made Artemis a place card too- she hugged my neck about 100 times. She calls me "Miss Ashly Harris, Ashton's mom"- ALL in one breath! I love her to pieces!!!!!!!!

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The 3rd grade class singing "On a Mountain named Olympus"- I know every word thanks to Prissy!!!!!! And the A-man does too, but he won't admit it- ha ha!! Did I mention how GREAT they were? THEY WERE AMAZING!!!!!!!

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Here is part of the food table. Cooner helped scape the entire thing & it was fantastic!!! We had the real deal in terms of Greek food. I now know that I LOVE it- who knew???

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Gracie's mom made the cutest cheese & fruit platter complete with gold silk & spray painted snakes- LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

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The kiddos also have been working tirelessly on art for the Greek Feast. We displayed some of it so the parents could see as they walked in. I could have picked out Prissy's without help... hers was the fanciest with the MOST accessories!!!!!

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Did I mention that my Prissy was SO great? She WAS!!!!! And did I tell y'all that she promised the A-man that he could "keep" the new sword & shield? He LOVES the whole idea of the Greek Feast!!!!!!!

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Cooner picked up these "Ancient Greek Ruins" at a tag-sale. They were a BIG hit too. I raided her storage shed when we went home for fall break. She is the ONLY woman I know who has 20 gold chargers, 50 clumps of fake grapes, & enough columns to decorate an entire church. I want to go on record by saying "I'm sorry" for ALL of the hoarding jokes over they years. She really came through for us on the Greek Feast!!!!!!

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GOOD JOB Achilles- your momma is SO proud of you. Through this entire Greek study you have proven yourself very loving, very kind, very respectful, very joyful, very patient, very good, very faithful, & with MUCH self control. I see A LOT of Jesus in you & everyone else does too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

{greek feast part 1...}

....so the greek feast went better than GREAT! the kids looked amazing, they knew their parts cold & blew away the audience with their performance, the food was to die for, & the decorations... they were pretty great too {if i do say so myself- ha ha}!!! i can't wait to show y'all pics, but my camera is being mean this morning... so i gotta wait until my mr. gets home to fix it :). now back to the feast- my sweet little girl played achilles {a boy, but that's a whole different story!}. achilles' mom having loved him so much, dipped him in the river of immortality to keep him alive forever {i can totally relate to that kind of love}. alas, she grabbed him by the ankle, thus leaving that little bit- mortal. so as the story goes- paris shot achilles in that ankle killing my precious achilles {but she did die ever so gracefully- even smoothing out her dress when she fell. i had to smile & tear up all at the same time!}. the teachers made a very clear depiction of the hope that we as believers have in jesus. see the romans did not know him. they were forced to put their trust in false gods that will always {like man} let you down. the kiddos got to see the amazing gift that we have in him & got to see how powerless we are without him. it was awesome & i know they will never forget it. in fact the other classes came in to watch & they started talking about their greek feast experience it was so cool how they could really see the big picture.

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i love getting to do these things for my sweet girl! and having cooner here to help... that just made it that much better!!! she left this morning... and that stinks, but i know we have to share her with you indiana peeps. but..... you had better treat her right, or we'll snatch her up again!!!!

{the ROC...}

Well.... our church has been sponsoring the ROC {Reach Out Celebration} ALL about missions. We have been host to 11 different ministries from all over the world including India & Africa. All week Joey Cooner & I have been working our little fingers to the bone for the Men's breakfast this morning- WHEW! At first we were only making bacon & pancakes- that quickly changed {Wednesday night - OH about 11 pm}. The final menu included: pancakes, bacon, eggs, gravy, biscuits, juice, milk, & coffee! It was a resounding success.... but sadly I didn't get 1 picture of the food, the table scapes, the stenciled ROC burlap, the country cut outs... or anything else. We were running around like mad this morning starting @ 5 am & didn't sit down until we got in the car around noon. But.... it was ALL worth it cause the men- they LOVED it! And God- He was glorified!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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... my only picks of the beautiful gilded pumpkins & breathtaking leaves {all the way from IN- THANKS Precious Cooner!!}

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I think this says it all.... I only wish y'all could hear some of the testimonies from the missionaries. I have laughed & cried this week SO many times about how God is SO faithful to His people. The stories of human trafficking {in our country} & unwanted little girls left on the streets of India is so unthinkable.... but true! I we have MUCH to be thankful for!!!!

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Joey & I got all fancy last night for the Adult International Banquet! {with Cooner home with the kiddos- it was so fun going out & playing dress-up!}. Prissy raved over my dangly earrings... she just kept saying "Momma you look so pretty- those earring are amazing!" I think maybe I have failed her as a mother... I always wear studs- ha ha!!!!

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I just want to say... I could NOT & would NOT attempt this EVER without my sweet, patient, exceptional cook & gifted artist of a mother- helping me...... We have such a ball together, we need not even talk while we are working- we know what the other is thinking. THANK YOU Cooner- you are the BEST!!!!!!!!

p.s. and while I'm writing this... the woman is spot cleaning my staircase... the woman is a machine I tell you! Her mansion in heaven is gonna be RIDICULOUS!!!!

{Fall break in B-town...}

FINALLY!!!! I'm gonna share the 2nd part of our trip back home...... We went to the Apple Festival, I helped Cooner & her BFF Brenda get all dolled up for their reunion- too funny, & we went to our Hord Family Reunion {that may have had the BEST food that I have EVER tasted- YUMMY}!! Sorry that it's taken me forever- we kidnapped Cooner & we've been crazy busy with 2 projects that I'll share later.... Here is a peek of our trip!!!!

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Here are the kiddos riding the slide

{BIG thanks for Papaw Bud for carrying the carpets up & standing with them about oh I'd say a 1,000 times!!!!}

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more rides.....

{as corny as it sounds... I love the Apple Festival! I love the food {taco salad in a bag MOST}, seeing people that I never get to see & their kiddos, & mostly just hanging out with my family. I look forward to it EVERY year!!!

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A-man's 1st ever cotton candy {gasp}.

Don't be too sad for him... I think he made up for EVERY sugary thing he hasn't tried & then some!!!

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...and his 1st funnel cake EVER!!!

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and what trip to IN would be complete without some 4-wheeler riding??

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And this time Joey was persuaded to ride along too!!! He was in excellent hands- Prissy showed him him the ropes.... {I wish you could see my parent's beautiful garden in the background- it is still producing. Probably because they are so generous to give so much away- God blesses them months after it should be gone :) }

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Last year my family decided to have an auction @ the Reunion to off set costs. Last year my Aunt Betty's homemade jelly was the biggest ticket item. This year it was her coconut cream pie- TO DIE FOR!!!!!!!! {Daddy bought it for Prissy & I- it's our favorite!!!!}

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Prissy (8), Precious (7), Tuck (10), & A-man (4)

{taking a quick break from fishing & 4-wheeling so I could get a pic of the 4 of them together}

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Prissy fishing a bit.

{Notice the feather in her hair? She wanted to get one in Muncie, but they didn't have any @ the salon. As luck would have it- they did @ the Apple Festival!!}

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Cooner & Daddy getting ready to leave for the BHS class of '71 Reunion. Aren't they cute together? I think so!!!!

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Now I gotta get back to our mission = Men's breakfast & Prissy's Greek Feast.... I wish y'all could taste this food that Cooner is whipping up EVERY night! I took some pics to share, but let's face it- that is NOT the same. We may keep her with us forever!

{Fall break in Muncie...}

We just got home from our annual Fall trip to IN. Muncie was our 1st stop on the trip- home to Grandma Harris, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Carol, Tyler, Allison, Uncle Jamie, Aunt Michelle, Paige, Uncle GB & that's just to name a few.............. We were greeted {as ALWAYS} with love & YUMMY food!!!!!

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Then they persuaded Grandma Harris to take the mower for a spin {they love riding on ANYTHING}!!!

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....more playing around after the LONG car trip!

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We couldn't believe the weather- it was in the 80's & I packed for 60's.... Needless-to-say we had to pick up a few things from TJ Maxx. It was painful to shop, but someone had to do it- ha ha!!!!

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Poor Uncle Jeff.... I bet he slept well after we left. I have NEVER heard him deny my children 1 time.... "Uncle Jeff will you play with me?" "Uncle Jeff will you hold me?" "Uncle Jeff do you want to build Legos?" "Hey Uncle Jeff would you hold me again?" "Uhm when you are finished playing with Ashton, can you hold me again?"

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And SWEET Allison {or Alli-sonny as Prissy calls her} was such a joy to be around. THANKS for showing us some new hair styles. We have already busted out a few!!! And THANK YOU Uncle Carol {as the A-man calls her} for the little $ treat- they got some fun things while we were out shopping!!!!!!

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"Hey Uncle Jeff can I wear your glasses?"- see proof of what I told y'all!!!

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Grandma Harris always has something fun up her sleeve when we come in. This time she had an auction set up for the kiddos. They took turns picking out things {everything from $ to candy to snacks to toys to coloring books. They were completely amazed & so were Joey & I. THANK YOU Grandma Harris for ALL of the special touches. WE LOVED them!!!!!

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Prissy selected a bead kit- luckily the A-man didn't choose it- ha ha. Grandma Harris helped her make some beautiful bracelets. Sadly I didn't get any pics with Uncle Jamie, Aunt Michelle, Baby Paige, Uncle Carol, or playing mini golf. Aunt Michelle had picked up TONS of fun Star Wars stuff for the A-man & some great books for Prissy. She is always so kind to pick up stuff for my kiddos when she sees it- THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!

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THANK

YOU

MUNCIE

FOLKS

for everything....