Random act of kindness....

A week ago we went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. As we were waiting to be called to our table Buck observed a young soldier and his family ~ a Sergeant. He overheard them talking about how he would be shipping out for Afghanistan soon. After we were seated at our table and had placed our order Buck asked our waitress to find that young man and bring his ticket to us. What a wonderful random act of kindness! As we were leaving the young man caught up to Buck and thanked him. This will be his third tour in Afghanistan. Buck, a Vietnam veteran could relate to him and we thank him for his service to our country.

Thanksgiving

Tis the day after Thanksgiving

Black Friday they call it

also the day of THE BIG GAME

Alabama vs. Auburn

Do we eat ourselves into oblivion with the leftovers?

Do we shop 'til we drop with the unwashed masses

who have been standing in line for a good deal since midnight?

OR do we settle in for a football game?

Hmmmmmmmm..... how about none of the above??Lisa decided she would make veg all

casserole for her friends.

(check the recipe

it got too close to a hot stove eye)
Setting the oven

Mix well and. . . .
Viola veg all!!

This is a red velvet cake in disguise

(Lisa took it home with her)

We went to Mother's for supper. She planned the menu and gave me and Kim things to cook. Lisa provided cranberry sauce and Teresa brought drinks.

Mother baked the turkey

and made veg all and dressing

not pictured is mac and cheese made by

Jakob and Christopher and mashed potatoes by me

Skoot was like "are you going to eat that??"

Caught Teresa with her mouth full!

Jakob, Skoot, Topher, and Kim

Buck and me

(not our most flattering)

and of course Mother had a story

I made a banana pudding

Kim made red velvet

(the way it is supposed to look)

The End

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

Reach out and hug the ones

who are with you

And take a moment to remember

those who are not

Enjoy your holiday....

Sweet Bay Coffee

Sweet Bay Coffee ~ French Silk ~ Hot
Nothing compares ~ not even Starbucks ~ although I've been known to drink a grande white chocolate mocha from time to time. But, I digress. . . .
When we lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas ~ Sweet Bay Coffee was just down the street ~ easy access ~ always available ~ I took it for granted ~ I admit it!
Now that we live in Alabama, there is NO Sweet Bay Coffee just down the street. There isn't even a Starbucks just down the street. Shoot ~ the only thing just down the street are a few cows and some donkeys that bray at each other.
So, when the opportunity presents itself for me to drive to Jennifer's in Colorado ~ there is USUALLY a detour through Fort Smith, Arkansas for Sweet Bay Coffee ~ French Silk ~ Hot.

You are probably asking yourself

what could possibly be BETTER than

driving down the road with a Sweet Bay?

Well, driving down the road with

Sweet Bay for two.

If. . . .

If you planted hope today

in any hopeless heart.

If someone's burden was lighter

because you did your part.

If you caused a laugh

that chased a tear away.

If tonight your name is mentioned

when someone kneels to pray,

then your day was well spent.

Claire's Birthday

It was, as Claire said,

"a chocolate, chocolate, chocolate day"
Yum!

Buck has been telling Claire

it was HIS birthday not hers.

She was so sweet when it came time

for gifts ~ she let him open one.
Claire shows her "unwrapping" flair

From the look ~ I'd say she likes it.

(Dora the Explorer mermaid)

A new blanket made by Mom

(it is snuggly and soft)

How old?? Four!!!

Arie picked the candles

(the relighting kind)

Claire was not amused!

Two Weeks????

Two weeks?? Has it really been two weeks since we left Colorado and headed back to Alabama? Two weeks is such a short time but to a Magra's heart it is SO LONG! Two weeks can mean a lost tooth, a new skill learned, a distance covered by reaching across cyber space and into the lives of our grandchildren.

Sweet Sarah

How can that pretty little head hold all the information she is learning at Windsor Charter Academy? She can hold her own in conversations and will challenge your facts.

Cuddly Claire
A Magra's dream! She is a sponge that soaks up all that goes on around her but is much quieter than Sarah in her opinions. She is more cautious when it comes to strangers.
My girls
who didn't want us to leave and ran down the sidewalk waving as we drove away.

On the road trying to enjoy

the view without thinking of

those we left behind

A Magra's heart

beats for those she carries there

There's room for all

without question and without demands

A Magra's heart is open

but will close in a blink

if those she loves are threatened

Beware the Magra!

Trick or Treating

Kim dressed appropriately for

school on Halloween Friday.

We left Colorado on Sunday afternoon so we missed the official Trick or Treating but Windsor merchants opened their doors to the children on Saturday for some downtown trick or treating. WalGreen had a backdrop set up in their store and snapped photos of anyone who wanted to drop by. You could go back later to claim your free photo.

Jennifer and the girls made these

cool spiders that decorated their

front door.

(there were a few scattered inside as well)

Princess Claire
models her royal cape that
Jennifer madeThe crown and boa
were gifts from Sarah

"I do declare" is that
Miz Scarlett?
Sarah as a Southern Belle
(you KNOW I loved that) "Peace, baby"
Jennifer decided to dress up
this year.

The girls

We've gotta get Arie into the "dress up" mood next year, the girls shouldn't have all the fun. When he saw Jennifer his reaction was "you aren't going out in that are you?" She did and he went with us ~ and enjoyed the whole thing. We parked at one end of town ~ walked the length of Main Street then crossed over and walked back down the other side gathering candy all the way. There was a beauty shop that offered to "fix" Jennifer's hair. Which is funnier ~ Buck with hair

or Buck "getting down with his bad self"?

Jennifer liked her outfit so much
that she wore it the rest of the day
minus the hair.

Time to do some house work ~ Peace Out!

A pumpkin by any other name....

We went to a pumpkin patch and picked two orange and two white. Buck was gracious enough to help with the "gut" removal. One year, Jennifer toasted the seeds but this year ~ they got trashed. Nothing says Halloween like the smell of a freshly killed pumpkin. The girls got to help with the design options. Jennifer and I did the carving. Arie's job was to pick up some tea lights for illumination.

I did the ghost

Jennifer did Cinderella

and the spider

And I did Tinkerbell

Cinderella and Tinkerbell each have toothpicks holding those thin lines together ~ AND I only sliced one thumb!

Claire's Birthday Eve

Jennifer and the girls are BIG readers. It is customary for me to read their bedtime books when I am visiting. The girls like to read during the day, as well, and will sometimes get in a cuddle while Mom reads to them.

While waiting for Granddad to get

ready, Claire got in a cuddle and a

good book with Jennifer.

Arie worked on Friday and Sarah had to go to school so Claire's Birthday Eve was all about her. After I dropped Sarah at school, we headed to the mountains. We didn't go all the way up to the snow but to a beautiful little park somewhere between Windsor and the mountain tops. It was a glorious day.

Their trees still have plenty of leaves.

(not like our yard that is blanketed with leaves)

The creek makes a lovely background

noise ~ reminds me of the Smokies.

The playground was well kept and had several benches scattered around so parents can be near while their children climb and slide and giggle and squeal.

Claire is a brave climber
As you can see ~ the wind was blowing!

This is one thing I really like about the area Jennifer and fam live in. There are SO many parks throughout the area you could pick a different every day of the week.

Jennifer and Claire made their way to
the water's edge and felt the COLD
rushing water.
(Didn't see any fish)
Our youngest girl and our oldest girl
Claire and Jennifer beside the water
Granddad assisted Claire in digging
(machinery and digging in the dirt is what he does)
What a couple of cuties!
Not sure which of us is muggin'
for the camera more

What does it say about an area if they post warnings about BEARS in the park? We kept an eye out for any and all wild life. . . .

I checked the stall before entering the restroom ~ didn't want to come face to face with a grizzly curled up in the corner.

A "cityfied" version of the outhouse.

No flush ~ just a hole with what looked like

an upturned bucket and a seat on top.

Wow~ a picture of Buck and me together!

After the park Jennifer said we needed to stop at the dam store. WHAT!?!?!? Jennifer doesn't usually talk like that!

The Dam Store is exactly what it says

a store built close to the dam

It is filled with Colorado souvenirs ~ including tee shirts that read ~ I got this at the DAM STORE. We didn't buy anything but it was a fun place to browse through.

Claire modeled a moose hat

don't cha just love that face??

We made our way home by way of a pumpkin patch where we purchased four nice pumpkins ~ you'll see those on a later post.

Today is Mother's 81st Birthday.

I'm going to be her driver today.

I hope you have a good day.

And check back in a couple of days

for more on our trip to Colorado.