Happy Birthday Spencer!!

Spencer turned three today. My, where does time go? It seems like only yesterday that I heard his first cry. I wish that I could just stop the clock and make these years of his life last a little bit longer.

Spencer has been able to celebrate his birthday for 4 days!! He took cupcakes to school on Thursday and had a party with that class, cupcakes again on Friday for that class, party at our house on Saturday, and then today, a reception at church and time at the park with church friends that he claims were his parties too!!

His "real" party was actually on Saturday. He wanted an Indiana Jones party this year. It is funny how much influence an older sibling can have. I was thinking maybe Mickey Mouse or Diego, but he was set on having an Indiana Jones cake. Nana, Paw, Austin, and some great friends, Tom, Regell, Thomas and Sarah all came. He was so excited!!! This was the first year our dear friend Ellen couldn't come. She is in language school in Guatemala before going to serve as a missionary in Peru. She was greatly missed!!

Here are a few party pictures.....

Moving

The Farris family is moving!! As most of you know, Mark has been serving as the pastor of First Baptist Jackson's Madison Campus for two years now. God has let us know that it is time to move on and that our time at the Madison campus has drawn to a close. We are blessed and thankful that God allowed us to be a part of such an amazing thing. We have seen the Madison Campus grow leaps and bounds. I can't wait to hear about the great things that happen for the church in the future.

We will be moving back to Petal! Mark will now be pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church. We are excited to be going back home. Both mine and Mark's parents are in the area and are just thrilled!! Please keep us in your prayers as Mark goes on to Petal and the kids and I remain here for the house to sell. I am a bit nervous due to the economy, but I also know that God has led us this far and won't leave us now. Pray for a quick sale!!!

Captivated

For months, I have heard people give reference to the "Twilight" books. I had never given them just a whole lot of thought or consideration. Vampires...PLEASE!! One day, my sister called me from a book store and asked me if I knew of a book she should read. My response was, "I have heard that Twilight is supposed to be good...try that and see." So, she bought it. Much to my surprise a day or so later, she called back to say that she finished it and already had the second one. It took Ashley a total of two weeks, to read each book in the Twilight Saga. She was so impressed and couldn't put them down and encouraged me to give them a try. Mind you, I was very skeptical...again, VAMPIRES...PLEASE!!!

While doing some Christmas shopping with my mom, we were in Books a Million and she asked if there was a book that I would like to have for Christmas. Being eager to see what all the hype was about, I gave in and requested Twilight. I began reading Twilight on the Sunday after Christmas. I am excited to say that it is exactly 13 days later and I have finished reading the entire four book saga...yes, that is approximately 2500 pages!!! What can I say, I was completely captivated!

I am absolutely amazed at the ability of Stephenie Meyer, the author of these books. I have always wanted to be able to write a fiction story/novel. I, however, just don't have it in me! The way in which this woman was able to write such a fantastic story that spans four novels is unreal. There was never a lull in the story, never a boring part. The characters were almost real, putting the reader right in the middle of it all. There were moments when I shed an embarrassing number of tears and times when I was so anxious that I didn't know what to do.

I know that my husband and children must be tired of me reading...nearly non-stop. But thanks guys for letting me escape reality. Several of my friends wonder how I could get so into a vampire book. I keep reassuring them that it isn't like that at all. It is such a clean, beautiful love story about finding one's true sole mate. If you happen to read the first, be careful!! Once you start, you won't be able to stop until you have finished the whole saga. Happy Reading!!

The Moran Christmas

Each year, my parents and my sister and brother-in-law come to our house on Christmas day. This year, I was so excited that my Maw Maw was able to come with them. It has been a tradition for our family to read the REAL Christmas story from the Bible each year before we open presents. My Paw Paw was the one who read it for most of my life. In recent years, due to Alzheimer's and later my Paw Paw's death, my daddy took over the reading. This year, however, we had a new "reader"....COLE! I was so proud!



Cole got a steer head and a rope. He has been working with a man from our church that does rodeos. He is getting pretty good!

Christmas Morning

Mark and I were very surprised that we got to sleep late on Christmas morning. Our kids didn't wake up until 7:00am!!!! (And yes, that is late around our house!) Cole was glad to get a "nerf-type" rifle and an inflatable deer target. Unfortunately, the gun had a malfunction and has to be taken for an exchange. He also got a really neat robot making kit. He has wanted one for a long time. Molly was most excited that she got Kit AND Ruthie!! These are American girl dolls...made famous by the movie Kit Kitredge: An American Girl. Spencer got what he calls a "real" Batman. He also really liked his pirate ship. What a great morning!!

Christmas Eve at the Farris House

On Christmas Eve, we went to Petal to have Christmas with the Farris's. After a good lunch, the kids were ready to dive into the presents. Russ (Mark's brother) thought that it would be a neat trick to make Cole, Molly, and Spencer think that they were getting an orange...and only an orange...like on Little House on the Prairie! As a mother, I was so hoping that they would be gracious and not have a really spoiled brat response. Cole and Molly did great...Spencer, not so good! Cole and Molly both said a nice thank you and smiled. Spencer, "an ORANGE?? I don't like oranges!!!" It was actually very funny to watch. Of course, Uncle Russ and Aunt Kelly then brought in the real gifts.