A Day out with Thomas

We went to Nashville on Saturday to spend the day with Thomas the Tank Engine. I'm sure many of you have done this before, but this was our first time. As I've documented, I tried to stay away from Thomas for a LONG time, but when we were potty training Ollie, we gave him one train at the end of a successful day as a reward and we have been all attached to Thomas since then. I say "we" because Jason and I have gotten into it, too. We know all the trains, the songs, the stories, etc. There is a Thomas industry- just waiting to take your money for their small wooden toys. It's like crack for 3 year olds. It's a little addictive for all of us.

So, as a birthday present for Ollie, we went to see Thomas LIVE in Nashville. I knew we would get to ride on Thomas, but I didn't know there were so many other things to do. I kept the bar really low in my mind, so that I wouldn't be disappointed, but it turned out to be much better than I expected! The only downside was that it was 90+ degrees outside and we were on asphalt, so it seemed a little hotter. For some reason we hadn't expected it to be that hot!

They had a big tent with about 9 train tables set up. There are 3 Thomas sets: small wooden trains (we have those), big plastic electic trains and lego trains. Henry was in on the action, too, but neither of them wanted to pose for pictures. They have their priorities, you know.Ollie had an odd reaction to Thomas. He was a little in awe, a little excited, but mainly scared becuase he was so big. He has a great big Thomas face on the front, too, so it's a little frightening, but I imagine he will be more okay with it as he gets older.This is on the train ride that he loved! It lasted about 25 minutes and it went over the Cumberland River. We got to see the Titans stadium and a few other neat things. We got back, had lunch, then saw that they had a petting zoo with a goat, llama, pony and a few other animals. And I knew that Sir Topham Hat would completely scare Ollie. He's not usually afraid of little things, but large dressed up human wanna-bees are not his favorite. So, here are me and Henry. Ollie was to the right screaming. And Henry looks like Sir Topham Hat with his cheeks so red! We kept giving them both fluids all day, but it was still HOT!So, after the mandatory visit to the gift shop (really, you have to go through to get out), and hiking back to the car with 2 strollers, we were all exhausted:


We stopped for gas about 1 minute after we left and this was the scene:All and all, a great experience. I would recommend it, for sure. I think we might try to go to Chattanooga in April- hopefully the weather would be cooler. Let me know if you want to come with us!

And we're eating out tonight...

Q:
What happens when you think you're supermom, put 2 1/2 cups of water on the stove (at high) to boil for rice and a splendid dinner you have planned, then go play with your kids for about 20 minutes?
Hmmmm...
A:
A smoke filled kitchen. And house. And lungs. And clothes that smell like smoke. (If I would have been able to breath I would have taken a shot of the kitchen. It was ugly.)
So, I took the kids on a wagon ride to let the house air out.
AND, we're eating out tonight.
:-)

Can a girl put on some makeup?

The answer is NO! Not if you're a mom and you have 2 little kiddos raring for destruction on a Friday morning.

I went upstairs for THREE minutes (no exaggeration) to finish putting on my makeup this morning and this is what I found when I came back down.

Mind you, there was silence... so I should have known...

What you can't see here is actually good. There is some spit up that Harris rolled around in while playing with choking hazards- also known as Owen's toys that he apparently dumped on the floor.

And this bench is usually up against the windows:And, again, the huge puddle of water can't be seen, but you can probably see the wetness of the rug beside the chair. And the overturned dog bowl should give that away. We have a gate to the breakfast room that I thought was up, but apparently it was not!

Being the time saver that I am, I picked up Harris from this water puddle (grabbed my camera and took pictures), wiped up the majority of the dog water, then used that wet towel to wipe up the spit up on the floor near the toys with my foot and was out the door. Did I change my youngest child? Uh, no. I figured the wetness would clean off the spit up... and he was going to mother's morning out anyway, so he was about to get dirty... blah, blah... you know the rest of the rationalization.

Happy Friday!

Lord Have Mercy, Baby's Got His Blue Jeans On

It was either that title or, "Forever in Blue Jeans". Since today is Henry's first day to ever wear our favorite article of clothing I figured the former would be more appropriate! We're still dealing with the aftermath of Fay, so it was blue jeans and tennis shoes for everybody today.
Happy Tuesday!

Our Week {or 2} in Pictures

Alright, I've been a blog slacker. I admit it. But here are my reasons {and photos to add as proof}:

Ollie's birthday was on Saturday. Holy Cow! We have a THREE year old!! We decided to have his birthday party 2 weeks early this year. We knew we {and a lot of our friends} would be involved with Discovery Weekend the weekend of the 17th. And, we knew that Grandma Dunham's 90th {yes- that's right, 90th} birthday party would be this past weekend in Kentucky on the 23rd- Ollie's actual birthday. So, in order to not interfere with my birthday keep his party away from Labor Day and then into September, we just went ahead with it- he doesn't know, right??

So, he had his 3rd Birthday Party at Pump It Up on the 9th. If you want a no-fuss, all included birthday party, I would highly recommend this place. It's a little pricey, but you don't have to clean your house- TOTALLY worth it. It was a Thomas the Tank Engine themed par-tay and the birthday boy loved it. Like all things, we didn't tell him about it until the day of, so he was excited!

Here is Ollie and about the best picture I got of him. He was just a streak of energy in every other picture- no matter what I set the camera to! Any camera help, here?
He was absolutely sweaty and loving every minute of it.

Henry was not a fan of the big slide- at all! Isn't superdad a good sport?
Here is the obligatory picture of the cake. This is from Publix (of course) and the train actually moves. I found the candle spelled out at Party City. And the "3" was left over from Jason's 33! Ha! I'm a recycler- that's right. On another note, I had to move half of his 2 year old cake out of the deep freezer and into the trash to make room for half of this cake. Someboy PLEASE remind me to get half this size next year!!This is how they open presents. They even keep a list for you of who brought what- like at a bridal/ baby shower and Ollie gets to sit in the big king chair while all the kids look at him opening the presents. He loved it!! And here is Ollie {thrilled, huh?} wearing our party favors. It's a train theme. I love a theme. See our safari room post if you're unaware of this. I'm sure many parents were thinking of a lovely place for my "theme" when I sent all their children home with train whistles hyped up on cake.

OK- fast forward 2 weeks to Ollie's actual birthday. His school does what they call a "Celebration of Life". To me, that sounds like a euphamism for a funeral, but whatever- like most things, they didn't ask me! So, for Ollie's "celebration of life", his mom has to do a lot of homework. You are supposed to sum up each year of their life in a couple of sentences and with one picture. YEAH RIGHT!?! Don't they know this was our first child and we have THOUSANDS of pictures? So, I spent many nights clicking through our files trying to find representative pictures for each time period. I think I ended up with about 8-10 pictures and did a pretty good/ all-encompassing job with the narrative.

So, his teachers set up an elaborate calendar of months on the floor and Ollie holds the earth in his hands to represent the earth (not a stretch) and he walks around the sun (a candle) for each year.

They ask the parent(s) to stay and read the narrative and pass around the pictures AND I get to bring a special snack that day. This is not begrudgedness that you're sensing- it was just one more thing on the to do list. I didn't mind bringing snack, but at 11:00 the night before {after a 3 hours school board meeting}... well, let's just say I MINDED.

Then they all sing Happy Birthday and he gets to blow the candle out. I think this is where the symbolism stopped with the whole ceremony (as the sun is still in the sky) and the 3 year old fun portion kicked in.

So, the overzealous part of me cranked up after I had cut a watermelon for snack- around midnight. I am so thankful to all of Ollie's teachers who have helped us raise him over the years. Truly, they are our partners- even if he's only there half a day- they are special and precious to us. So, I decided to make them little birthday party goodies/ Friday happies. They all got a baggie with cookies and brownies and the little sticker on the outside says: "You have blessed and enriched our lives. Thanks for being a part of Ollie's first 3 years."

Am I a kiss up? You bet your bippie. Am I a little over the top? Oh yeah. But those teachers get paid next to squat, work their bums off every day and do it all just to make my little guy happy and help him learn. So, the least I can muster is a cookie or 2. If I was really on top of things these would have had ribbon, but I was exhausted and I figured that would make the TTC {Time To Chocolate} shorter.

So, after all this on Friday, I rush home to pack us all for a trip to Kentucky this weekend. We had so much fun visiting with relatives and catching up. We hadn't seen many in a LONG time, so it was overdo! Here's the birthday gal- crowned of course.

Her children and spice (plural of spouse) hosted a yummy luncheon and reception at her church and there were over 100 people there! After a while of chasing children and trying to get Ollie away from the potato chip basket, we found the church nursery with toys that were new to our kids= cool, so we hung out in there. And I actually got a half way decent picture of our boys in the same shot! It's not great, but if you have 2 or more children then you know my pain.

So, a great week and weekend and I'm very thankful to be home for a while.

I feel like I'm leaving Henry out, so here's where we've been keeping him lately:

KIDDING, of course. The fact that Henry looks a little like a jailbird in this outfit does make it a little more convincing, though!! This IS one of his favorite places to crawl into. It was Ollie's, too. Poor Luke. No love from anybody around here.

My oh my, Where has the blog gone?

Okay. This week has been nuts! Too crazy to even document it. We are alive and I will do my very best to get caught up tomorrow.
I'll go nutshell for you: class, work, Ollie's birthday, Ollie's birthday celebration at school, gifts for Ollie's teachers the past 3 years (I got a little over zealous here), packing and trip to Kentucky. And I've got class again tomorrow so I'm off to read.
Pictures and details to come...

School Days, School Days

Growing up, my dad would cheerfully skip through the house singing this song on the first day of school around 6:00am:

School days, school days,

Dear old golden rule days.

'Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic,

Taught to the tune of a hick'ry stick.

We would all (my mom included because she was a teacher) pretend to groan and throw things, but deep down we all loved it. I don't think the first day of school would have been the same without it.

So, this morning, Jason squeezed me and threatened, "I'm going to call your dad". I protested, so he sang, "School Days, School Days..."

That's right! I'm back in school! I'm taking some undergraduate courses in History at UAH. Well, I'm actually just taking one course right now and I think I'll take one in the spring. My dream (and this really might be a dream) is to get a Ph.D. in History and either write and teach or both. Since my degree is in English and my minor was History, I have to have a few more undergraduate courses as a prerequisite for a Masters and Ph. D. program in History. So, small steps.

Was I nervous? Not really. I think I can hold my own in a classroom setting. I did think that all the students would be teenagers, but this is a 400/ 500 level class, so they weren't and many looked my age (old). I didn't get to chat with many people since I got there right before the class started. Parking was a nightmare and I didn't know where I was going. But the class info was good and I'm excited. I thought the professor might let us go early since it was the first day and all... yeah right. I had about 6 pages of notes, but he let us out 10 minutes early so he could talk more with the graduate students to tell them the extra work they had.

We have a 16-18 page (double spaced- I asked a girl outside- ha!) paper due with presentation (horrah!), a mid term, a final and 5 books to read. I'm glad I only took one class! I am a little concerned to add this to my present load (too much to list), but I'm really thrilled to be back in school, so that is overshadowing my commom sense factor. And I'm really feeling called to do it- which seems completely illogical- but I'm going with God.

So, off to do my homework! Agh! I've already got a chapter to read in one of the books before Wednesday. Oh, and I will be posting my grades. I'm a smidgen on the competitive side, in case you didn't know.

Discovery Weekend

I knew I would have a fun time at Discovery Weekend, but it was really amazing! The staff that designs and arranges this program is fantastic and I didn't have much to do except hang out with the kids- my favorite part! I think our church does a wonderful job including all types of kids and especially training middle and high schoolers to be leaders. The high school students do all the talks and lead the discussions for the middle schoolers. We're just there to help and guide when needed.
The picture is the one I promised. The worship service on Sunday morning for the whole congregation is always transformed this weekend. We go to a contemporary service that has a big stage, smoke, full band, stadium seating, 2 jumbotrons (I know- hard to believe I love this service), etc. There is also a big fancy traditional sanctuary and service, too. But, all the families and young kids come to the contemporary service, so that's the one we take over on Sunday morning of Discovery Weekend. As you can see, we all had our canary yellow (Amanda said Daisy yellow- whatever- it's school bus yellow to me) shirts with the theme for the weekend- God is Good (taking from the Life is Good logo). We all sat in the front middle of the church to sufficiently "take over" and it's always a blast. Normally there is a conga line and the wave during the praise music time, but those didn't happen this year in lieu of beach balls. The picture above was at the end of the service when a lot of the kids went on stage to sing/ dance to the final song. My favorite sight was a really old guy in the next section whopping a beach ball- a la Misty May- back into the crowd- hilarious.
I didn't have an active youth group in high school and Jason did. We both so desperately want our youth group to stay "cool" and be a fun place to be when Ollie and Henry get older, so that's why we volunteer now. Since we are in that in between age for the youth, I think they still think we're semi-cool. And they love our kids and we find the best babysitters. So, all and all, a great deal! We have an amazing group of seniors this year and I'm already sad that they'll be leaving, but I think we'll have a terrific year this year!
A special shout out and thank you to my sweet hubby who hung out with the kids most of the weekend while I was out playing. Your turn again next year!

Sent from my iPhone

I have Never been on top of technology. Much to my husband's dismay, it really doesn't bother me, either. With cell phones, I would be happy with a bag phone, honestly, if I didn't already have so many other bags to carry around on my shoulder. But today, I have reached a new level. Jason bought me an iPhone 3G. I cannot believe how cool I am!

Several years ago, before kids, I was at a nighttime establishment (ok, bar- I was very legal) with some friends in Birmingham. All of their cell signals on their snappy little phones had died and someone was asking around for a phone. I pulled out my mammoth Nokia green phone from college that just barely fit in my purse. I think my friend Rachel (who is president of Stalkers Anonymous- see below) split her seams laughing at me, but wouldn't you know it, since my battery was the size of a car battery I had a signal! Aha! (This phone was similar to the one Zack Morris used in Saved by the Bell. And I think it was 2003.)

So, as you see, peer pressure really doesn't bother me. It was my husband's insistence that this phone would change my life that finally got me to cave in. He was right about the TiVo, so I'm trusting him. So far, I haven't even touched it (again, Jason will be disappointed), but if it doesn't do laundry- or at least separate it- I'm taking it back. I will keep you updated on my progress with my new toy.

I'm off to Discovery Weekend as an "adult" leader (am I really an adult)? Discovery is a church retreat that our church has each year for our middle and high school students. Jason and I have taken turns being leaders since it started 3 years ago, so it's my year! YEAH! I'll have to post some pictures of the worship service on Sunday. It's awesome!

Happy Friday!

Stalkers Anonymous

Hello. My name is Hillary and I'm a stalker.

I've been stalking for about a year now. Today is my first day to come clean.

I have updated my blog list on the right to include people that I visit every now and again. Some people I just found out had blogs today (Amber, Amy, Eve) and other's I've been checking in on every now and again via somebody else's links. Well, now that blogger has this handy dandy thing for blog lists that puts the ones that have been updated first on the list, I just decided to come clean. This makes my stalking blog reading much easier. Instead of double clicking from one to the other, I can just see who has written something new (when it's working correctly) and just read the top of the list. I know I could go with Google reader, but for some reason I like this better.

So, if I'm stalking you, think of it as a compliment! And I will do the same. I'm so glad to catch up with old friends (from elementary and middle school, even!) and "meet" new people who I think are interesting. Or the people out there that I just know we should have been friends, but somehow missing each other while still having many same friends (Carrie). Well, now is the time that we can be cyberfriends.

Feel free to come clean, too. I will take it as a compliment. Unless you're an actual, certified stalker. Then, I'll have issues...

Sew Proud

I am "sew" excited! I just got several copies of the September/ October issue of Sew Beautiful magazine and our very own little Ollie is in there modeling! You can go buy the issue (Nancy Grace from CNN- or SNL, if you know her that way- is on the front with her twins) and turn to page 47. Or, if you don't sew a lick (like me) and wouldn't use the rest of the issue, here's the only important page:

Isn't that fun?!?!

Our little Ollie is a super model! Okay, well, just that one page. But super models have to start somewhere, right?

Would you like the whole story as to how our little guy is in a national magazine? I thought you might.

I wish I could say a talent scout spotted him at the mall, but the truth is, he usually has a snotty nose or could be throwing a fit for trains at any time. What really happened is a little less thrilling. At a parent meeting for Ollie's school back in February, I saw a mom who wasn't talking to anyone and I felt like she needed a buddy. (I'm sure this shocks you all if you know me in real life.) So, I started talking with her and sure enough her child was new to our school and she had a lot of questions. We chatted for a while and I asked her what she did. She is the editor of Sew Beautiful magazine and I had no idea that they were based out of Huntsville! I'd heard of Martha Pullen- she's like a sewing queen- but didn't realize that she and the magazine were related. They are and those of you that sew (if there is anybody out there in this category) could be laughing at me.

Long story short, the mom needed some models for a photo shoot the next week, asked Ollie's size and he fit! She did see a picture of him before she asked, but I think she would have asked me even if he wasn't so darn cute. We shot this so long ago I'd almost forgotten about it, but it was really neat to do. The coolest thing was the camera that the photographer had. It took pictures several times a second and it was impressive! Especially compared to my digital that always takes forever to reset while I'm missing the cute shot in real life AND on camera.

And another thing to note is that Ollie woke up with some sort of huge zit on the side of his face that morning! I don't think that's ever happened before or after. Anyway, I have some originals from the shoot and they definitely photo-shopped that big ole' blemish outta there!

What does Ollie think of his "rise to fame"? Well, there are a couple of other kids from his class in this issue and one was on the opposite page. I showed Ollie the magazine and asked him who was on the page. He said, "That's Nicholas and he has a train that's broken" (part of the train was on the floor).

At least he's not letting the stardom go to his head.

Confessions, A Shout Out and Life in the 'Burbs

A mixed bag tonight!

Confessions:
My dad used to take us fishing when we were little. I take that back. He would take my sister and I fishin'. And when you're fishin', you have to take bait. Sometimes we would take worms (I'm sure he loved to see US squirm at them) from Kelly's Superstore and sometimes we would take Zeigler red weiner hot dogs (I'm not sure why that brand, but apparently fish like them). The thing I remember most, though, is that we would take Vienna (pronouced- in our house at least- Vi-EEE-Ner) sausages. They were supposedly for the fish, but my dad would eat them on crackers and we loved them, too.
Once I became a teenager and realized that they had the equivalent of Spam in the culture world, I dropped them from my cuisine, of course. Like I'd be caught dead eating those in the sorority house, right?

Recently, when asking for food suggestions for Harris, my friend Tara mentioned that she had given her son those baby food chicken stick things at this age. So, we got some of those and Harris likes them a lot. Jason and I both tasted them and guess what? They taste JUST like Vi-EEE-Ner sausages. I think they are one in the same. So, I found the Vi-EEE-Ner sausages today at Publix, bought several, AND ate THREE a couple MYSELF today!! On a Ritz cracker, at least- not a saltine. Let me tell you- they are knock your mama good. Simple pleasures, right? So, there's my confession.

A Shout Out:

I just finished a Beth Moore study, Believing God. It is absolutely transforming (especially my prayer life) and I truly loved all of it. One of my favorite points towards the end of the study was about praising God when He does good things for us (see Psalm 47). Beth (because we are friends in my mind) was teaching about Joshua and the battle where he asked God to hold the sun and He did (Joshua 10:12). She made a great point about "praying big" because our God is awesome, but she also talked about how nothing is too hard for God (see Jeremiah 32:17-22). What stuck with me, too, was that God deserves our praise- for little and big things. She made the correlation of us giving our children a present and them not saying thank you or acting excited at all. That one really hit home. How many times do I say, "What do you say?" trying to coax a "Thank you" out of Owen for niceties people say to him? I think teaching them politeness is necessary, but sometimes that forced thank you just isn't meaningful. And then watching him open a train or something he is really excited about is totally different. He is jumping up and down saying "THANK YOU! THANK YOU! A TWAIN!!"

I want to be the one who is jumping up and down for our many blessings- and not just the biggies. At what age do we lose that?

Anyway, I'm regaining it!
Jason and I BOTH got raises this week! No glory to us! All praise and glory to GOD!!! WOOHOO!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! Perfect timing (as usual) since we will now have 2 children in childcare. Especially wonderful since we're paying for Harris to go to 2 pre-schools the next 2 months since we're "buying" Harris's spot to hold it until he's 12 months at MSH. Whew! Thank you, God!

Life in the 'Burbs:

We totally live in suburbia and I love it. In fact, our neighborhood has a community watch. Let me prefice with this: I am super thankful for the community watch, we do our part and we are appreciative.

Now, there are some people who are super-over-the-top about the community watch and the "red bag" that is passed from house to house when it is your turn to patrol. The bag includes: 2 magnets for your car that say, "COMMUNITY WATCH" and a log book of months and months or people signing their name, the date and "nothing to report". Every once in a while you'll see, "light out on corner of Huntsville Hills and Tree Line" or something worrysome like that. It should also include directions on how to scowl at people when you are driving around with the community watch magnets, but alas, it doesn't.

The news tonight- the bag is LOST! Heavens to Betsy! And one of the over the top folks- in fact- our STREET LEADER of our community watch called tonight. Jason couldn't get to the phone and so he walked over to see if we had it or had seen it. Then he went to all the neighbors houses and was getting a little panicky. This is where Jason and I got the giggles and started making up our own ending to the story. Like, the thieves have stolen the community watch bag- not anything from our homes, etc.

Gotta love suburbia.

Here's a picture of little man because posts with pictures are more fun!

The First Soccer Practice

Well, it's finally here. An organized sport. Team moms. Uniforms. Minivans. That one thing you forgot. I have a feeling we're in this for the long haul.

Tonight was Owen's first soccer practice.

In case you don't know my hubby, Jason, he is a soccer geek star. He spent 3 of his elementary school years in Germany and played soccer over there, so he got some cool European training. He's a keeper- NOT a goalie- that's hockey. He's played since he was 4, all through childhood and was on the first soccer team his high school had. He's played for traveling teams, adult teams, indoor leagues, has coached all levels... you get it. This was a big day for him. Even when I was pregnant- before we knew we what brand of baby we were having {and it wouldn't have mattered}- he was already talking about tiny soccer balls.

This is Owen at 5 months old- he had just learned how to sit up and Jason was rolling him a ball. {Apparently we were feeding him steak. I had forgotten how big he was!!}

This is Owen at 10 months old watching the World Cup {it only happens once every 4 years} in a soccer uniform from Mexico {courtesy of Aunt Carrie and Uncle Izzy}.

And this is Jason trying to teach Owen how to kick... at 10 months old. FYI- he wasn't even crawling.Needless to say, there has always been a soccer ball around. This is July 4th, 07- Owen was 23 months. So, as I said, today was a big day. Jason was putting on Owen's shin guards and I asked him if he was tearing up. He looked at me and said he might, but then Owen said he was ready for the "baseball field". And we then realized AGAIN that this child is not quite 3 and doesn't understand any of this.

So, off to soccer practice. They did a few drills where they lined up and took turns kicking the ball in the net. Then they played a "game" with the team divided in half. Here's what soccer practice was like for Owen:

Okay, really it wasn't all that bad, but he didn't get the concept of going after the ball- or staying on the field. He was really good at kicking it in the goal when they did the little drills, but I guarantee you Jason will be working with him on the whole "game" idea. The whole practice lasted 25 minutes and then the coach said, "To the Playground!" and everyone ran to the playground. They were super sweaty and hot, but happy! Here are some pictures of Owen having fun before (and the last one during) the "game".

Looks like the U4 league at the Y will at least be entertaining! I'll be sure to keep you updated.

Blackmail Picture of the Day

Church Signs

I'm down in Dothan this weekend to give a wedding shower for one my very best friends from high school- Laura. Most of the gang is back in town for this and I had a wonderful time last night laughing with Laura and getting to know her hubby-to-be, Chris.
Jason opted- on his own accord- to stay in Huntsville with the kiddos. I still can't believe I had 5 hours driving down here to myself AND a whole weekend to not wipe a nose or cut up chicken fingers. WOW! Thanks, Jas! {I must add here that I feel like my right arm has been cut off without Jason and the boys around and I'll be happy to get home, but you know a little break can be nice.}
So, on the way down here yesterday, I got to pay attention to the road and surroundings more than I have in the past 3 years. Usually I'm passing back goldfish, contorting my arm to put a passy in or arranging a blanket in a window to shield the sun from someone. I know this path home by heart, obviously, but it is always changing. Some of my favorite changes are the church signs.
I'm talking specifically about the signs outside of small little churches- not the "Go to church or the devil will get you" sign on I-65; although that one is always a doozy. Gives you that warm and fuzzy of God's love, right? You'll be happy to know that the people who live there have added, "America: Love it or Leave it" to their repitoire of signs on their property. Apparently they have some trouble comprehending the Bill of Rights {although they take a lot of liberties in the freedom of speech area in their yard}, but I don't have time to stop by their water wheel and explain it, so I just drive on down the road.
My favorite little church sign I saw yesterday said, "Your life may be the only Bible that someone reads". Pretty good one. I don't know that I've ever thought about it specifically that way.

Sadly, it's usually the pithy ones that stick with me:
1) God answers Knee-mail.
2) What's missing? CH_ _ CH
3) Eternal life- inquire inside.
4) Without Jesus there would be hell to pay.
5) Come to church and get a faith lift.

I have always wondered if there is a committee that gets together and decides on these. Or is a church secretary? I am pretty sure that most senior pastors don't have time for this. I've never attended a church that had these so I'm not sure of the process. Do they buy a book with 52 of them? Or just get updates through a church service online? It's very curious that there are so many with the same sayings. And yet there are so many with just, "9:45 Sunday School, 11:00 Traditional Worship". I wonder if they didn't buy the book.

What are your favorites? Post in comments if you want to-