Bulldogs, Birthdays & a Baby Shower!

We had a great time in Starkville this past weekend! We stayed Friday & Saturday night in West Point at Brian Flowers grandparents place and loved getting to hang out with him & his
new cute "friend", Meg! :) Kim & Brad and Parker & Whitney got into town Friday night just in time for us to grab dinner at Anthony's---we hadn't eaten there in so long so we all ate way too much but loved every bite! We did a little tailgating on Saturday afternoon and that was fun. Thanks to Brad & Kim for pimpin out our tailgate :) If it hadn't been for them our table would have been the ground and we would have gotten soaking wet because we wouldn't have had a tent and then our guys wouldn't have been in as nearly a great of mood without a TV that had the LSU game on it! :) So THANKS!! :) And of course it's always good to see the Bulldogs get in another win!! :) (From left to right in top picture: Me, Whitney Reece, Meg Daughdrill & Kim Bradberry Maxwell).

On Sunday afternoon I headed up to Memphis for a baby shower for sweet Kathryn Vaughan (Hooks). She is due in about 6 weeks and they are having a little boy. They are naming him Caleb Cole Vaughan! She looks fantastic just as you would expect her too :) She & Kennon will be such great parents--little Caleb is very blessed to have them! I had my camera but didn't realize until I got there that I had failed to recharge the battery before giving it another good workout :)

On another note, my brother Stephen, AND Larkin's dad, Mr. Bill have birthdays this week. Bill's was Sunday and Stephen's today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY again to you both!! We love you so much and send many good wishes your way...

Beth Moore...

It seems like I have been hearing everybody talk about Beth Moore the past few weeks!! From her being in Nashville a few weeks ago at Deeper Still to friends starting one of her many bible studies, her name has been directly in my path lately...So I am kind of thinking that Jesus might want the three of us to start having some time together! :) I ran across Beth Moore's blog the other day and found myself to be so encouraged just in the first few post. She & her oldest daughter are the contributors for this site so it's neat to read from her daughter's perspective as well. I looked at the Living Proof Ministries site, too, and the next time she will be close to this area will be next June in Atlanta...

Check out the video recap here from the conference in Nashville...it's a good one...the Lord was ALL OVER that place! :)

Have a great weekend!

10 year reunion

Larkin had his class reunion over the weekend so we have been in the delta the past few days. He is a grad of Indianola Academy...I think a good time was had by all and he enjoyed getting to see everybody. We went to an IA football game on Friday night and then the "big party" was Saturday night at the Country Club. Instead of putting a video together of high school pictures they decided to watch the Jr/Sr skits. It's a really big deal at IA and the junior class practices like crazy getting skits together to introduce the prom theme (Hollywood) to the senior class (we watched them as juniors as they introduced it). Anybody and everybody in the junior class can participate and it was hysterical!! The Spartan cheerleaders were VERY popular around that time and so that made up one of the many skits...need I say more? I almost fell OUT of my chair from laughing so hard! Needless to say, that was the latest we had "been out" in forever :) It was a good time...It's crazy to think that my reunion is only 2 years away! Has it really almost been ten years??!!

AND, of course, we could hardly contain ourselves during the state game on Saturday. We were glued to the TV to say the least! I think I was more nervous during the game than Larkin was...I really think I sat in about 5 different places throughout the game and even paced the floor at some point...you think my dad & Larkin have rubbed off on me at all?! :) We're looking foward to cheering the Dawgs on this weekend...

Hope you can get out there and enjoy some of this great fall weather this week...I am planning on it and hope you are too! :)

Some good greens

Let me preface this by saying that I have never really been a big spinach eater...I guess it's not that I didn't like it but it just didn't really do too much for me...didn't have alot of taste and there were lots of other green veggies that I rather eat than that!! BUT I have really come to like it especially when you add real healthy things to it like evaporated milk and cheese :) "Spinach Madeline" is my new favorite dish. We had it at the beach last week and we loved it. I found a great recipe for it in Bully's Best Bites so cook it up if you get the chance! And besides, who doesn't feel like they haven't eaten healthier after they have had spinach? :)

• 2 10 oz. packages frozen spinach
• 4 tbs. butter
• 2 tbs. onion, chopped
• 2 tbs. flour
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup reserved vegetable liquid
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 3/4 tsp. celery salt
• 3/4 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 6 oz. package jalapeno cheese
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Cook spinach according to package directions. Drain and reserve liquid. Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Add onion and cook until soft. Blend in flour, stir until smooth but not brown. Add vegetable liquid and milk slowly, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Cook until smooth and thick. Continue stirring. Add seasonings and Worcestershire. Cut cheese into small pieces and add. Stir until melted. Combine with cooked spinach. Serve immediately or put into 2-quart casserole, top with bread crumbs and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until heated thoroughly. Flavor improves if casserole is refrigerated overnight. Serves 5.

**I added a little cheddar cheese and just put a few slices of the jalapeno cheese..unless you want it VERY hot I wouldn't put in the whole 6 ounce package**

On the move

We had a great Labor Day weekend that actually got off to an early start last Thursday. We went to Starkville for the game that night and were really hoping for a better outcome...but oh well. It was fun to be there even if we did lose :) We stayed with Kane & Katey and loved that as always...I think I could hear Camp say "Waakin" and "Jen Juice" a million times :) And I am pretty sure he said it 1/2 a million :) On friday morning we got up early and headed to Gulf Shores for the weekend. We met Whitney & Parker down there, along with Parker's parents and sister, Lauren. And can't forget sweet little Taylor :) We had such a great time...good weather...good food. John, Kendy & EK were hoping to make it but John has something called "residency" that he says is real important :) We are already praying that he can make it work for next year!! This was definitely the last time to see the sand & water until '08....

We will be around this week and weekend. We are excited to have a weekend at home. It seems like we have been gone most of August so it will be a welcomed break from the road! No more home improvement projects for the time being..we're hoping to "pool it" and grill out and actually enjoy the work we have done! I have decided that I am going to try and be like Betty Crocker this week and attempt some real good cooking. It's been a while. Rebecca's recipes sounded yummy so I am going to try a few of those. We had enough grilled cheese sandwiches and soup last week to last us a while :) Time for some good stuff....