This is Christmas!!

I guess we all have a little inner child in us, but I get so excited around Christmas! Mostly because I know better than ever that we celebrate our Savior's birth!! I love the songs we sing together! I love the worship we do together! I love our families getting together! I love the prayers we offer of thanksgiving for a gift so underserved! I love it all!!
BUT.... also, the excitement of our children. The wonder of waking up Christmas morning to see what Santa brought. Opening the gifts to each other to see things we normally wouldn't buy for ourselves. I just love this time of year! The cold on your face. Curling up by a fire (even if it is gas logs!) Hot chocolate. The smell of the Christmas tree. MMMMMMMMM Just great times for all the senses!
Schedule:
Friday Morning: Breakfast with my parents and grandparents, followed by opening gifts with my parents and sister's family (this year that will be via skype, since they couldn't come down from Cleveland).
Christmas eve service at church ended by silent night by candle light!!
Saturday morning: Wake up to see what Santa brought followed by breakfast at Granddaddy Austins with all my aunts uncles and cousins.
Lunch with my dads side of the family and opening presents!
Sunday worship at church followed by NOTHING!!! I like the way Sunday sounds already!! Don't you?
Have a wonderful CHRISTmas everyone!
C

Anniversary

What an amazing weekend!!
Donna and I slipped away Friday night for our 17th anniversary!! I can't believe we have been married that long! It seems like yesterday that she hit on me in Calculus II class! Time has flown by! Donna is hotter today than she was when I met her and she still makes my heart jump when I look at her! I'm in love with her! She is my best friend and an incredible woman, mother, and wife!!
We had a great time talking and laughing together! We went to dinner and did some Christmas shopping and, well that's all I can discuss in a public blog! Ha.
We got back to C'ville for Grif's first basketball game of the season! He did great and scored 2 baskets. He is out of shape though and needs to do some running!! Saturday afternoon the SEC championship started and we watched the first quarter at home before heading to El Nopal in Adairsville to meet our Sunday School class for our class Christmas party. We had a good time with each other and watched Auburn win the SEC championship! Then we headed over to Hometown Karyoke to sing a little. We didn't get to stay long enough, but we had a blast with our bible study class. Only 3 of us got to sing, before everyone had to head back to church to pick up kids!! I hope we get to do that again.
Sunday was a great time of worship at church! I love Christmas carols and Christmas songs! It is going to be a great celebrating the season of Christmas with our church family! Sunday afternoon, Grif and went to pick out the perfect Christmas tree. We got home and started decorating it, followed by a little hot chocolate for everyone when we were through!
There are wwwwaaaaaaaayyyyy too many items on the calendar during this time of year, but in all of our celebrations, parties, get-togethers, and such, as long as we remember The Reason for the season, I will be happy to be busy!!
Also, the end of last month was my 2 year blogging anniversary. Hard to believe, but definately cheaper than therapy! Ha.
C

Amazing worship on a Wednesday!!

I had an amazing day yesterday!
Work was extremely busy, so the day flew by!! Woohoo.
Donna and I were invited to a prayer group early at church, to pray for a miracle for a couple of friends of ours! It was an amazing time of worship! We were able to stand beside those we love and pray for something that has no earthly shot at happening! I can't wait to see what God does!
Craig

Telling the truth!!

This will be a very short post!!
I would rather be working a poll today than at work!!
C

Molding

Long time no post!

It has been a wonderful fall so far!!

Bailey's softball is now over and Grif's basketball season is about to crank up! This past weekend was BUSY, but the weekend before that was just restful and wonderful!

Two weekends ago, Jon H. got a blow up movie screen for his back yard and it was a PERFECT fall Saturday in the south!! We sat out back and watched football, ate, and enjoyed each other from Noon until 10 pm!! All day outside!! Wonderful! Grif drove a four wheeler by himself for the first time and had a blast! We had so much fun we decided to watch the Sunday night game by a bonfire with the movie screen showing the Colts and the Redskins!! absolutely perfect!

Then this past weekend was the exact opposite!!
Friday night Bailey's softball banquest.
Saturday was my 20th class reunion.

And Sunday was church with Team Impact!! This is a great group of guys and Shawn really made Grif feel like a MVP!! We went out to eat with the Hodorff's and Shawn and Chip from Team Impact on Thursday night and Shawn fielded 100 questions from Grif!! He was great and Grif thinks the world of Shawn!! So Shawn invited Grif to the church early on Sunday night to eat with the guys before the service and to "help" set up the stage!! Grif just knew he was big time!!

Grif helping set up under the watchful eye of Shawn!!

Grif eating with Shawn and Cesar before setting up the stage!

Dancing with the HOTTEST woman ever!!

Great times!! I love fall!! Just great events seem to happen this time of year!!

Anyway, now to the molding!! If you have a chance to say a prayer for me today, I would appreciate it!! My wonderful son has become "curious" about the opposite sex and has chosen to view some inappropriate things on the internet!! The internet is a wonderful tool, but there is also some evil stuff out there! Anyway, I get to do the not so fun part of parenting when I get home from work! I want to do this correctly, so that he doesn't have "issues" with sex (which is a BEAUTIFUL thing!!!!!!!) later in life, but I also want to do sternly enough that I teach him A LOT about respect for women and the appropriateness of curiousity!! Praying that God gives me the perfect balance for this discussion!! Need WISDOM! I love being a parent, but this part stinks!! I wonder if that's the way God feels about disciplining us!! It's got to be done, but I'd rather being playing ball with him in the front yard!! LOL

C

...with heart abandoned...

The vocal team class last night went well past the hour we expected!! But that was OK!! It turned into something different than we planned. It ended up being 2 and half hours of prayer. Praying for each other, our church, our community, laying hands on each other and lifting each other up. It was DEFINATELY something we have been missing and needing as a group. It was tough to be in that room for me though. Although I needed it, I've been running from or fighting God on prayer for a while. I don't know what I feel about praying and that is a painful spot to be in.
I want so badly to believe and pray for big things. But when I have, nothing seems to change. And if God isn't moved by my faith to pray for "big" things, then why would He be moved by my prayer for "small" things, or anything. It has been a tough 6 or 8 months in that regard. Our life is pretty smooth right now, except for this battle inside me. We (my family) are running pretty smoothly, but prayer is something God has called me to do more of. I've been doing less. It hurts to step out on something and VIEW no results. BUT, I'm tired of wrestling.
So... I stand, with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe, of the one who gave it all.
And I pray.
C

Random great day for the Guyton's

How about just a random Tuesday becoming a phenomenal day! I love it! First off, my gorgeous bride came down to have lunch with me!! We went to Willie Ray's on the Marietta Square. I would have loved to have eaten outside, but it was HOT!! (Like 95 in the middle of September!! ugh!) Anyway, we had a great lunch together and it gave me a great mid-day break from the normal work grind! Made my day!!
Then I get the exciting news that Griffin made the jump rope team at Mission Road Elementary!! A VERY high honor and I didn't know if it would happen for him, BUT it did! He really wanted it bad, because Bailey had been on the jump rope team when she was there (and whether he would ever admit it or not, he looks up to her something fierce!!).
Last, and YES very least, my daughter is dating! Not big to me since she ain't goin NOWHERE with any BOY yet!! But, it is a desparately big deal to an eighth grader and she is on cloud nine. The boy "asked her out", "to go with", "boyfriend and girlfriend" - whatever you call it, directly and not in a letter or anything, so I give him props for putting himself "out there" like that, but the only good thing I will say about the young fella is he's got GREAT taste in girls! Like I said, it wasn't a big deal to me, but it means a lot to Bailey, so I put it in the "great day" category!

C