Cooking at Aunt Amy's House!

Sunday afternoon I kept my two year old niece, Kate. We had a blast baking! We baked cupcakes with snow sprinkles, sugar cookies with hershey kisses on top, and peanut butter cookies with a reeses on top. This past Fall we baked Halloweek cupcakes together and had a blast. So I wanted to start a tradition of baking with her. From the pictures above you can tell it was fun. Since I'm the aunt, and not the mom, I let her do the bad stuff, like eat cake batter and cookie dough. While decorating the cupcakes she loved licking the frosting off her fingers. I didn't fret with any of that stuff, I just told her to have fun. Since the goodies were going to be eaten by family members her sticking a finger in the frosting and stuff like that didn't matter. Of course we ran out of sprinkles because she covered the other cupcakes with the sprinkles. I didn't fret over that either, these were for her, so I let her have at it. When she was unwrapping the reeses peanut butter cups, she would unwrap them and stack them on top of each other. When I took the picture of her stack she accidently knocked them down. So I took the picture of her stack falling, she thought it was funny. What goodies didn't go home with her, went to grandma and pops-pops' house. All of us knows, kids can say the funniest and cutest things. While we were baking Jimmy came home. Kate loves her Uncle Jimmy. Well, he was in the living room watching tv and he sneezed a few times. Kate said "Bless you" from the kitchen. Jimmy didn't hear her so he didn't respond to her. Then she said, "Him won't talk to me". I was busy with the cooking and didn't acknowledge her. Again she said, a little bit louder, "Amy, him won't talk to me!". So I had to tell Jimmy that Kate told him "bless you" when he sneezed. So he said "Thank you Kate" and she sweetly responded "You're welcome". It was really cute and good to know that her mom and dad are teaching her manners. Children start learning what you teach them at a young age, so it's never to early to start teaching them manners. After the baking was over and we cleaned the kitchen, Miss Kate was tired. So she climbed in "her Uncle Jimmy's" lap and they played tic-tac-toe. I thought it was a cute picture! So I believe, I've started a tradition. Kate has a little sister (6 months old) Claire. So in about two more years I'll have me two little helpers in the kitchen. I can't wait!!

Christmas in Philly

This Saturday we celebrated Christmas with my parents, sister and her family. We usually do this the afternoon of Christmas Eve and later that evening my aunts, uncles and cousins come over the we do another celebration with them. But this year we just couldn't get all of my immediate family together on Christmas Eve. So we decided to get together on Saturday. We had a great time! My niece, Casey, brought her boyfriend, Bryce. This was the first time I met Bryce. He is a really nice guy. I hope we didn't scare him off! My youngest nephew, Buck, loves Star Wars. I got him a Star Wars Monopoly game. So after we unwrapped gifts, we had to play Star Wars Monopoly. Yes, in the group picture, my nephew has taken his shirt off. Those of you who knows my mom, knows that she is very cold natured. So she keeps the house HOT! We all was about to burn up. My little nephew couldn't help it, he started shedding clothes! The rest of us are not that fortunate to be able to do that! ha!

On another note, Sunday, I wanted Jimmy and I to take a nice Christmas picture. Jimmy can't stand to get his picture taken. So usually, he doesn't smile. He has such a pretty smile, when he shows his teeth, but he refuses to do so!! The picture on the far left is all of the smile I can get out of him! Merry Christmas!!

Thanksgiving Fun

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a fun and safe Thanksgiving. Our family sure did! Everyone in Philly had a great time! My cousins, Brock and his family (wife Allyson and children Mia and Braxton), and Brian, came down from Tennessee. It was really great to see all of them. Mia and Braxton are really growing! Kids are so much fun at their age! I asked Mia what Santa was getting her for Christmas, that was a mistake... I forgot that she doesn't like Santa. She told me that Santa was not getting her anything, that she was going to write Santa a letter and tell him not to come to her house, her mom and dad can get her gifts. How cute is that? My sister and her family were there. It's always great to see my niece and nephews, Casey, Jake & Buck. They're growing up! They're not babies anymore, but they'll always be my babies!

We had so much food! My mom made the comment that we had too much food. I am so thankful for an abundance of food because there are so many out there that is not as fortunate! I hope y'all took a few minutes yesterday to thank God for what you have! I am so thankful for everything in my life, the ups and downs! Above are a few pictures of my family from yesterday. We always have fun when we get together!

Michigan Trip

You know what they say, the best way to get over your fear is to face it. Well, I did just that! In an earlier post I told y'all that I am flying (by myself) to Michigan. I did pretty good.... I did use up two tissues on my flight up there. The guy sitting next to me was asleep when I sat down, so he didn't notice my crying. And I'm hoping that everyone else was thinking I had a cold. But anyway, I made it up there and back in one piece. My trip was wonderful! It was all about Benjamin! July was the last time I saw him so I was wondering if it would take a little while for him to warm up to me.... When I got there Friday night he was already in bed, so the next morning I was woken up to a little boy in my bed telling me to get up! So, no, he hadn't forgotten me at all! We played, played, and when I thought I couldn't last a minute longer, we played some more! He has a great imagination! We built a tent by using a blanket; after that we played in the lake. The lake is the same blanked we used for the tent, but by spreading it out on the floor it becomes the lake. This Saturday was his birthday, 3 years old, so he got his presents from Uncle Jimmy and I early. This trip was no relaxing time for me! I did that once I got back to Mississippi. I did get to see some snow! It really didn't acumulate, except on the back deck, but it was very pretty to watch it falling. Benjamin also know what a camera is. I was trying to take some shots of him playing, every time he would stop, look up at me and say "cheese". He loves to see the pictures after I take them, so I got some really cute shots of him. Above are only a few shots, but you can see we were having fun! Will I fly again up there? Absolutely!!

Halloween Night

I'm such a kid at heart when it comes to holidays, and Halloween is no exception. When I was young Halloween wasn't about witchcraft or anything about that. It was about getting candy and trying to "scare the pants off" of each other. More or less, it was all about having fun. This year was no exceptions except I couldn't scare anyone. I dressed up as a witch, or something like that. I think I scared Jimmy more than the kids... He didn't really like my getup. But it was all about having fun! My brother-in-law, Hugh, dressed as the guy on Scream (the movie), my mother-in-law was dressing in her Mardi Gras getup. Jimmy wore an orange shirt, so I guess you could say he was a pumpkin. An orange shirt was all I could get him to wear, I was lucky at that! My father-in-law was under a white sheet and he was going to scare the kids as they walked passed him. But the very first trick-or-treater was a cute little fairy (about a year old) and he just could scare her, so he ended up not scaring anyone. But we all had fun and the children had fun. I just knew that I would scare my trick-or-treaters, but somehow they knew that this was "Miss Amy" and she won't hurt anyone; they just weren't scared of me. I guess I'm going to have to change that next year....

Daredevil Amy!!

I'm doing something I NEVER thought I would do! I'm flying by myself! Ok, first let me give you my flying history..... I have flown several times. I have been told the more you fly the more you like it. But I'm just the opposite. The more I fly the worse I get. Two years ago my sister, Tracy, and I took her two boys, Jake & Buck, to Disney World. I thought I would be ok since I'ld have my two nephews with me, you know, "Aunt Amy" would have to put on a brave face. But we started off and I cried like a baby, tears streaming down my face and all. I couldn't help myself, I hate flying! So back to now.... I am having to take some time off before the end of the year, or I'll lose those hours. So I have put down to have off Nov 7th - Nov 14th, thinking Jimmy and I could do something. But it just so happens he, along with some more guys, are going up to Kansas to pheasant hunt. They're leaving on Nov 7th - Nov 10th. The other night I dreamed about our nephew Benjamin, so I told Jimmy that we needed to go up to Michigan to see him. So he suggested I go while they're gone to Kansas. Well, I just said, "No way am I flying up there and back, plus tickets will be expensive". But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. So I talked with Sarah, my sister-in-law who lives in Michigan, about it. She told me if I was serious about it she could get me a reduced ticket using Mark's mileage points, Mark is Jimmy's brother who lives in Holley Michigan. So last night I got on the phone with Sarah, she priced me a ticket using Mark's points and it was going to be $37.00 roundtrip! Before I knew what I was saying, I said "book it". So she did and now I'm on my way..... She was able to get me a direct flight from Jackson to Detroit and a direct flight back. So it's not like I'll be changing planes and all.... Hopefully I'll be able to handle it.... Pray for me.... Above is a picture of Benjamin and Mark (his dad, Jimmy's brother); and then Benjamin and Uncle Jimmy. As you can see, Uncle Jimmy was trying to teach him something that could get him in trouble, playing in the bucket of water.....

I love this time of year, Fall! I love the orange and brown colors of the trees. The air is cool so that you only need a light jacket or long sleeve shirt. This reminds me of a trip the women and I took last year to Eureka Springs. We didn't know until we arrived that the Corvette car show and the motorcycle ralley was both going on. We were overwhelmed with Corvettes and motorcycles. While walking down the streets of Eureka Springs my mom said that she should get a picture made with a group of bikers so that she could show my dad the fun she had in Eureka Springs. Basically she wanted to do it as a joke to my dad. I saw this group of bonafide bikers and thought, "It wouldn't hurt to ask to take a picture. All they could say was no". So I grabbed my mom and said, "come on". I was really nervous because I didn't know if these bikers were sweet or mean, it was hard to tell by the facial hair.... But I went up to them and told them the story about my mom wanting a picture to take back home to my dad. They were the biggest bunch of teddy bears! They said "Sure little lady, here, sit on our best looking bike, this bright red one". And they all gathered around, smiled and I took the picture. They were laughing, really showing us a good time. They asked us if we knew Jesus and we told them yes. Before we left, the guy who owns the red bike (the one with the long beard) told my mom that he wanted to give her something. He opened his storage container on his bike and it was filled with christian literature. He gave mom a devotional book. To this day, she reads from that book each day and says a prayer for those four bikers who were witnessing. It also proves that we are not to judge a person by their appearance. Even the gruff looking ones deserve to know about Jesus.

Ok.... I'm inspired.... A couple of people I know has started blogging. So, I decided to post start posting more. I can start off with my summer. In June some girlfriends and I took a trip to Natchez, Mississippi. This was my first trip to Natchez. I absolutely fell in love with the town! We ate lunch at the Carriage House at Staton Hall. Staton Hall is an anabelum home, beautiful. We then drove around the town, then drove to the old cemetery, and the military cemetery. That night we went on a haunted tour. The haunted tour was really neat. The guide told us many stories about Natchez. The last ghost story he told was about this tavern, that is now a resturant. So, after the tour, we just had to eat at this resturant named King's Tavern. When we got there they were having their last seating. So, we got lucky. By the time we received our meal, we were the only ones at the resturant. So us girls had a great time giggling and getting caught up with the lastest... The group picture above is all of us at King's Tavern standing in front of the famous fireplace. If you're wondering what's the story behind the famous fireplace, well, you're just going to have to go to find out..... The picture to the left is the view of the Mississippi River from our hotel room and the picture to the right is the Mississippi River Bridge.

I love Natchez so much I just had to go back. A few weeks ago I took my mom (Dee); my mother-in-law (Betty); my aunt (Marsha); and cousin who is just like my aunt (Linda) back to Natchez. We went to the Fall Pilgrimage to tour some of the annebelum homes. We ate lunch at the Carriage House, toured some homes, ate dinner at King's Tavern, then went on the haunted tour. We stayed at the same hotel that I stayed in back in June, so we had a great view of the Mississippi River. We had a blast! We are planning to go back during the Spring Pilgrimage in March. This time the ladies want to take a horse and carriage ride through Natchez. Hopefully, my sister will be able to go with us. She's not much on this kind of stuff, but I do think she would have a good time!

This posting is getting a little lengthy. So next time, I'll continue with the rest of my summer and the latest happenings...

Today is a cold day..... Which I'm loving it! I just love the cold weather. I might change my mind if I had to work in it. I just love it when it's time to start getting my sweaters and winter clothes out. I guess that's when I know the holiday seasons are approaching us. Cold weather makes some people get the "winter blues", but I like to embrace the weather and take what God give us. This is so much like life. When life don't go our way or we don't get what we want. Don't get upset about it, embrace it. That's what life is about.