From our home to yours....

Signing Day for a WONDERFUL young lady....

When I grow up, I want to be like Emma Herren. :)

She's a real rock star in the classroom, on the court, and as a leader at her school and community. She is an amazing athlete and it has been a joy to watch her dedication, hardwork, focus and determination result in her basketball scholarship to play for the Faulkner University Eagles!  Go EM!

We were blessed to have the opportunity to be at her signing.  Her future coach at Faulkner opened his time with prayer...and then spoke of the excitement he had for Emma's future as an Eagle.  But did y'all hear me, he OPENED WITH PRAYER....God is so good.  Coach also invited everyone to come watch Emma play next year at Faulkner....and you can bet that's been duly noted at the House of Bowling....we love Em and can't wait to show our support, in fact, my kids have already asked for Faulkner clothes for Christmas! :) 

Of course we're also ready to cheer her on during her senior Wildcat season this year as well!

Congrats, Em, you are very deserving! I am so proud of you and love you very much!

You NEED to make this....

.....and you can thank me later. :)

Seriously, it is the best and fun to let the kids help out in the kitchen....they will love getting to cut a cinnamon roll up into 8 pieces and throw them in a casserole dish! This is the easiest, yummiest, one dish wonder you can make on Thanksgiving morning if you're planning a late afternoon turkey meal, or great for Christmas morning, New Year's Eve, a family treat for the weekend, heck, I'd make it for an afternoon snack even, it's just good, people. That is all. Enjoy!

*Options....almonds were used int he photo above but pecans are obviously a great choice as well.  I usually only put nuts on 2/3 or the casserole, Baby Girl does not like nuts so I save room for her! I also use almond flavoring because that is what our family tends to LOVE, but again, vanilla is fine and I've used it before when we were out of almond flavoring.  And if you want, after baking and cutting a piece for your plate, you can drizzle on a little dab more of Golden Eagle Syrup, totally up to you.

Try it and let me know what you think!

My little Braveheart....

Because it's November and I need a weekend at the beach....

God is always in control...

Short and sweet.

I try to relate our verse every month to situations/events/moments in life relevant to the time.  Although, honestly, the Bible is relevant to your life each and every day, regardless of what the world puts forth, there is an answer in the B-I-B-L-E (sing it with me, "yes that's the book for me! I stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E!").

For this month's H3 I chose a verse from the Old Testament....a reminder for today from long ago.

 He changes the times and seasons;
He removes kings and establishes kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding.

~Daniel 2:21

Indeed, God is always in control....yesterday, today and forever. And we are but a fool to think otherwise.

No tricks, YUMMY treat!

Elder Son -- Friday Night Lights Edition

Both of my boys are members of the Varsity Football team, and Middle Child plays on the JV team as well.  And both of my boys have played on Friday nights in the past....like for mere minutes at the end of the 4th quarter when we were winning by a large margin. However, recently, Elder Son, who is 2nd string on Varsity, played the entire second half in Friday's game....both ways, on offense and defense!!  I was so proud of him. 

Here he is blocking to help make a hole for his friend...who made a touchdown on this play!!!  I know you can't see them very well, but the other 3 white jerseys in this photo are some of Elder Son's closest friends and teammates....and ironically enough, they are #'s 5, 6, 7 and 8.  Pretty neat, huh?

OH. SO. CLOSE.  In fact, mere inches away from the goal line.  Elder Son caught a pass and was running it into the endzone for the 2 pt conversion after the aforementioned touchdown.  And he was stopped just shy of the making the score. Shucks. But at least his Aunt Karisa keeps him in good underwear. :)

Two of my favorite boys...a little father and son chat in the huddle.

Middle Child...never judge a man by the size on the outside

Because you have NO idea the size of the heart, will, fight and sheer determination on the inside.

Yes, it's lots of photos, but that's just a sign of a proud mama.

Baby Girl had one of her FINEST meets ever earlier this month in Birmingham.  Scoring some of her highest scores this year on almost every event!!!  Even making a personal best record on uneven bars...her big nemesis!  She amazes us daily at training in the gym and during her competitions....

VAULT:  Not her best event, but improving and that's all we can ask for....I know I wouldn't want to run full speed down a runway lane headed straight at a vault table.....but she does it, day in and day out.

Squeeze!!

Stay tight!  

Land it.... 

Oh man, I know, I know, I took a step on the landing.  

Always make time to discuss the gameplan with friends!

BARS:   An event she has struggled with for a couple of years, but she's getting stronger week by week and finally putting together a pretty clean and connected routine....and reaching her personal goals....so KUDOS to that!!

Mouting the uneven bars

Low bar work 

On to the high bar skill set

Pointed toes, straight legs, tight body 

ditto. nice. very nice Baby Girl.  

Beginning release move.  

BEAM:  Her favorite event.  Better known as the place where she ROCKS her routine.

A beauty to behold.  

Landing a leap.  

SOLID. I mean S.O.L.I.D. 

high jump on beam.  

see, isn't she a beaut?  

And here she is receving big high fives from Coach Devon....

and hugs from Coach Erin (former Alabama gymnast) for her stellar performance on that 3.9 inch beam!!  

WOW!!!  Look at that...the judges thought it was STELLAR as well....9.475!!! 

Way to go Baby Girl!  

FLOOR:  A chance to show off her strength and personality....and we all know she is full of that!

Beauty 

and Grace 

all tied up in a bow. 

And a WINNING SMILE!!   

Love that girl.



Sweet Promises

"How sweet are Your words to my taste!

Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

~Psalm 119:103

You know what can be found in God's Word (the Bible)?  Promises.  He offers us plenty of them. And unlike our family, friends, co-workers, teachers, students, bosses, UPS workers, football teams, choir leaders, used car salesmen, etc.etc.etc., THE LORD KEEPS HIS PROMISES. 

I chose this verse a few months back and saved it for now.  Selfishly, to use in a timely fashion for me...to speak directly to my heart.  But who knows it may speak to yours as well.  You see we have owned Golden Eagle Syrup company for a year this past September.  And in the last 12 months there have been many days I wondered WHAT IN THE WORLD the Lord had in store for me today at the syrup plant and WHY IN THE WORLD the Lord allowed my husband to have this deep hankering within to acquire it to begin with....

But also within the last 12 months I have learned to trust in the Lord's promises.  I have had to, there was no choice.  I did not know the first thing about owning a business, running a syrup plant, or making a batch of syrup.  Many days would come that I thought surely folks would just have to learn how to live without Golden Eagle Syrup....but alas, we trudged forward.  Blindly, half the time.  And so, for the first 3 months I prayed FERVENTLY for the Lord to help me daily with each new task I had to learn.  And then do you know what?  I turned around and it had been a year.  I had survived the whole first year with only a few battle scars. Solely because the Lord KEEPS HIS PROMISES. 

All the days I thought a syrup spill would be the death of me, or a leaky pump, hot boiler, finicky label machine, broken down pallet jack, sticky conveyor belt, and on and on would prove to be more than I could handle....He was right there the whole time.

His promises are sweet to my taste!, they are not bitter, they do not bite back, they do not turn sour, they are not so sugar coated or so salty that you can't stand them to touch your tongue, no, instead they are perfectly pleasing to your palate.  

Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! And do you know why?  Because the Lord only knows and only promises HIS perfect will for your life. And for mine.  Which no one could have told me would include Golden Eagle Syrup....other than soppin' it on a biscuit at home. 

I know I'm late posting this month's H3 verse, and it makes me so mad when I have a good verse picked out and then forget to post it on time!!  But I could hardly wait to 'hide His words in my heart' this time. And I pray I keep them there to remind me to trust in the Lord and his promises..... 

Presidential Wit

Ronald Reagan:

"When I was in fifth grade, I'm not sure that I knew what a national debt was.  Of course, when I was in fifth grade, we didn't have one."

Never talk with your mouth full.

Here's Middle Child breaking the huddle running to the line.

When you line up as a receiver on the end there, you have to get the referee's attention and let them know you are "on", meaning you are "on" the line of scrimmage. Don't ask me why they can't see it for themselves, all I know is it's some silly rule....

Anyway, the point is to look closely at Middle Child below....he went to tell the ref he was "on" and his mouthpiece came spewing out....but he managed to catch it in the nick of time....

and still get lined up ready for the play!

She flies through the air with the greatest of ease...

On the vault...

as well as the uneven bars...

with pointed toes

a beautiful straight line body hold

and a high bar release

her level 5 teammates

the three musketeers

her gym BFF

(who's been with her since they were little tots just beginning the gymnastics dream)

my little medal wearing star

Baby Girl has been improving with each and every meet this competition season.  A few weeks ago at the beach meet, she placed 3rd on beam with a 9.125---she rocked beam! And she was actually competing against several older girls in her age group, she had just turned 11 and many of her competitors were 13 & 14 year olds.   She was placed in the same age group again this past weekend at the Battle of the Bay meet in Daphne.  She placed 3rd on vault, 4th on beam, 5th on bars and 4th in All-Around.  I was so proud of her.