Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Christmas

The Christmas season has been amazing!! Christmas Eve I had to work for a few hours in the morning. Donna, Bailey and Grif, met me at my mom and dad's for lunch!! Honey baked ham sandwiches, is one of the meals that is Christmas for me!! Regular mustard, swiss cheese, on wheat bread, mmmmmmm...., wait I'm getting off track!!! Anyway, we opened presents from my mom and dad after lunch. It was wonderful, but would have been even better had my sister and brother-in-law been able to come, but he was on call at the hospital and they couldn't be here!! BOOOOO.
The Christmas Eve service at the church was an incredible worship experience. I am just in awe of the talent in our praise team and am blessed to be a part of that group!!
Christmas morning we got up at 5:45 to a roomful of gifts from each other and santa!! Christmas is soooo much more fun as a parent, BUT it was a much easier and less tiring day as a kid!! Grif got his first real rifle, and Bailey got her first diamond ring!! A wonderful morning!!
Off to my maternal grandparents for breakfast, then off to my mom's for paternal grandparent side of the family!! I LOVE SEEING FAMILY THAT WE DON'T GET TO SEE NEAR ENOUGH!!
It was a very relaxing rest of the weekend.
Sunday was Gene Lee's last Sunday leading us in worship, and I can't explain how much of an honor and great experience it was in being led by him for the last couple of years!!
The Falcons won Sunday afternoon and for the first time in my life I can say I am a NFL fan, and I think the Falcons have built a foundation to make us good for years to come!!
I had to work yesterday (on my birthday) and today, but Donna and the family are picking me up at 5 and we are heading straight down to Jackson Alabama to have Christmas with her family and celebrate The New Year. We are going to hunt too much, eat too much, play wayyyy to many rounds of Nertz, and have a great time with our family!!
On a side note, my wife made my 37th birthday incredibly special!! I am lucky and blessed to that God made her for me!!
I hope all of you have a healthy and safe New Year. AND I don't mind telling you, GOD IS going to do amazing, eye opening, miracles in 2009!!! Are you ready??

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Incredibly Blessed!!




Adelynn England and I enjoying the ladies Christmas dinner in early December, and the proof that 420 ladies saw that I can't dance!! I've heard there was a video, but it will be destroyed if I get my hands on it!!
I am sooooo looking forward to Christmas and New Years!! Time off from work, time spent with family, I am excited for the entire season!!
Merry Christmas to all!!!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

It's Christmas Time!!

All the hustle and bustle of the season, would be why this time of year is one of my favorites. I go to bed exhausted every night, but it is a fun time!!
Saturday, we woke up and I made a pound cake and my mother in law started making the chicken for chicken and dumplins!!
Both kids had a basketball game. Grif's team won and he scored 6 points. He got the offensive player award for the game!! Bailey's team lost, but played much better than the week before. Bailey improved A LOT since her first game. It was a blast.
We came home and finished the dumplins and took them and the cake over to Jay and Dawn's for dinner. It was a wonderful visit and their house was gorgeous with Christmas decorations!! The deer mount makes the living room PERFECT!! (Sorry Dawn, LOL) Jay was pretty sore from his surgery, but it was great to see them and have dinner together.
Sunday, we worshiped at church and had an amazing time!! The praise team ladies sang "O Holy Night", and it was INCREDIBLE!! (I wish they would record a cd, cause I would buy it!!)
We got home and I went straight to the kitchen and got busy for a Christmas dinner party we were hosting!! I love being in the kitchen!! (Not so big on the clean-up, of course!!) I spent the better part of 5 hours straight in there! Salad, chicken casserole, pineapple cheese casserole, home grown green beans, carrots, sour cream pound cake, and pecan pie were the menu for the adults, while the children enjoyed pizza and home made chocolate chip cookies!! The Hodorffs, Lovetts, and Englands came over with all the children and we had a wonderful time!! If God has blessed you with a great family and great friends, you are a rich person!! I feel like Bill Gates!!
We did take some time to play Nerts, a fun card game that is more fun with the more people you have!! Of course with Jon England's type A personality, we may have created a monster!! LOL.
This week has been busy at work, but that is a blessing too!! There aren't a lot of people that can say their company is busy, so I feel blessed!!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

How can you not feel comfort?

We serve a risen Saviour; He's in the world today.
I know that He is living, whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He's always near.

He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.
He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.

Whatever is in your life right now, it is very small!! It feels big because our finite brains can't wrap around it!! Just know, don't think, KNOW, He Lives.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Odds and Ends

I love rainy days!! However; it does make me long to be home snuggled with Donna!! We desperately need the rain, so I thank God for it.
There is something going on every night until Christmas, which makes for long days!! But as the song says it is the most wonderful time of the year. With our children still being young, it is also a magical time!! I am excited about Christmas morning already!!
Last night was the ladies Christmas dinner at the church to benefit the ladies resource center in C'ville. It was a phenomenal event. The hostesses did a wonderful job of decorating their tables. The ladies looked beautiful (though I personally thought Donna was the most stunning (but I may be a touch biased)). The men have the distinct honor at this event of wearing black pants, white dress shirts, and red bow ties to serve the ladies!! (I've told them we should do without the shirts and go with a little chip-n-dales theme, but not appropriate is always the responce!! go figure, LOL). During Beloved's performance (which was incredible!!) they brought 6 very lucky men on stage to prove to the 420 ladies there, that we can't dance!! Yep, you guessed it I said we because I was "lucky" enough to be one of the 6 and got to prove to half the women of C'ville that I can't dance!! But it was good natured fun, and from the laughter, I think provided plenty of comic relief!!
Poker night in the neighborhood went very well!! We got started a little late, thanks to everyone having something to do early in the evening!! But the boys were good to me last night!!
On a side note: At the event last night I got to hold Adelynn, Jon and Mandee England's youngest, for 5 or 10 minutes!! She is so precious I could just eat her up!! Adelynn just has the best demeanor and was smiling at everyone that walked by and spoke to her or me!! To precious!!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

"Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies!"

Proverbs 31:10. Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. Another translation reads, Who can find a wife of strong character? For her price is far greater than jewels.
15 years ago today Donna Higginbotham said "I do" and became Donna Guyton. It is incredible to me that I blinked my eyes and all of the sudden it is 15 years later!! She IS a wife of strong character and her "price" to me can't be measured in gold, jewels, or anything else earthly!! Kind of like those credit card ads: priceless!! She has given me 15 years of happiness beyond my wildest dreams!! Two wonderful children. Strength. Support. Love. And the greatest of these is Love!!
To adequately describe my feelings, I would have to be much more eloquent than I am!! Therefore; I will just sum it up by saying, I love you more today than the day we were married!! I love you, I love you, I love you.
I love you Donna Guyton.
Happy 15th Anniversary!!
Thank you for the last 15 years!!
You are an incredible, strong woman!!
You are a phenomenal wife!!
You are the love of my life!!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Something is going on!!!......

I guess it is the season of Thanksgiving, that we of course should have year round, that makes me constantly think of the great things God is, has, and (praying) will continue to do in my life and the life of my family. 15 years ago today I was getting ready to go to a wedding rehearsal and dinner with my family and my future in laws. I couldn't have begun to know then what joys God had in store for me or our marriage!! Donna is the most wonderful wife. She is strong, smart, loving, and not to mention beautiful!! My heart still pounds when she kisses me, and I can't imagine why God has chosen to bless me with such a woman!!
To say that our children are blessings to us would be an under statement!! They are both incredibly smart, and I can't wait to see God's hand in their future!! I pray that we do a good job with these beautiful children God has entrusted in our care.
Work is going well, which is a blessing in this economy!! The LA Fitness is open in our shopping center, and that has seemed to help with the walk-in traffic portion of our business!! I continue to pray that God will bless my company.
The title of this blog is two fold. First, you know what I mean when I say that every day this month, something is going on!! This is the season that we should stop, more so than any other season, to reflect on the gift that God gave whosoever should believe, but seem to have the least amount of time for that reflection!!
BUT, above that, something just seems to be going on. I can't explain it eloquently!! Everywhere I look, it seems something is happening, that is leaving me anticipating!! From simple things, such as our church growing leaving me anticipating something GOOD, or our anniversary leaving me anticipating the next 15 years; to big things, like the state of the world, leaving me anticipating God's return!! Or my sister expecting her first baby, leaving me anticipating a larger family!! Or standing with Shep and Andrea watching Caroline's (Raphaela's) progress, leaving me anticipating a HEALING. I don't know, or can't explain, there is just an "are you ready?" question looming, no, not looming, dancing in the air over a lot of my life. "Prepared?", "Excited?", "Anticipating?", maybe more than anything else: "EXPECTING?" Do I live EXPECTING God to show up any minute? Sounds strange I am sure, because I can't explain it well, but something is just going on!!!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Tired, tired, tired!!!



What a Thanksgiving Holiday we had!! We left Wednesday afternoon, heading to Jackson, Alabama. We got there in good time. Thursday morning we woke up and the cooking was underway!! My sister-in-law's house smelled soooo good all day!! I made 2 pecan pies for lunch as well. The guys headed up to the hunting land, to sight in our rifles. Griffin got to shoot a gun for the first time!! He shot a .22 rifle and after warming up with his first three shots, his next 6 shots were in a group about the size of a half dollar!! That is some good shooting.
We then went back for lunch and ate wayyyyy to much!!
We sat around visiting and such for a while, then we went hunting. Griffin got a shot at a deer, but it was WAY too late to shoot (my father in law was with him!!). He missed, but seemed to take it in stride.
The weather in L.A. turned bad Thursday night!! From Thursday night until we left Sunday morning they got approx. 5 and 1/2 inches of rain. (Wouldn't that be nice in GA!!) Anyway, we watched a lot of football, ate way too much, and played pinocle and nerts the rest of the weekend!! It was a great trip.