Item No. 21...

For which I am thankful tonight:
21. Sarah and Philip! After the power went out again this afternoon and Tim and Emily left for a weekend in Memphis, we decided it was time to evacuate, too. Once we decided to leave, Jay and I rushed around the house gathering any leftover food, some clothes, toiletries and a few toys for Eve. We called to see if Sarah and Philip would take in a few weary travelling house guests. Of course they were ready and willing for us to come so we made the trip to Bowling Green in time for a hot meal at Logan's Roadhouse. Just when we thought we couldn't be blessed anymore...

God is Good All the Time!!

We have officially survived the mass power outage that came as a result of the ice storm in Western Kentucky this week!!! There are many things about which I could complain here, but instead (as per my only new year's resolution) I will accentuate the positive. The following is a list of things I am thankful for tonight:
1. Our gas logs, gas stove and gas hot water heater.
2. The sun room -turned- walk in refrigerator.
3. That only two ice-laden limbs that fell in our yard... away from the house and cars.
4. That our power was among the last to go out at 3:15 a.m. Wednesday and was among the first to return tonight at 5:15 p.m.
5. TIM, EMILY and ZAK!!!!!! They have been without power longer and have been staying with us since Tuesday night. You truly don't know how much you love family until you live with them and I am proud to say I love them all dearly!
6. Emily's three suitcases full of food and our hot meals eaten by candle light.
7. Car chargers for DVD players and laptops so the kids could have some Mickey.
8. Grandad's knack for cooking on the grill! Yum!
9. Grammy's love for the kids and willingness to "take over" with them when we are tired (and that's not just during ice storms).
10. Grandma Byers's spirit, vitality and sense of humor.
11. Mom, Sarah and Kacey's caring prayerful hearts.
12. Jay and Tim's ability to make us all laugh at just the right time.
13. Flashlights, candles and the big orange basketball phone!!
14. Streetlights! Murray is dark and eerie without them!
15. T-Mac, Mike, Chad and everyone else who works for Murray Electric.
16. News Channel 6... on the radio.
17. Wednesday night church service... turns out you really miss it when you don't have it, especially when you need fellowship!
18. Our precious Eve and Zak who have been real troopers.
19. Snapfish books! (You better believe Emily and I are planning one for this experience already!)
20. The exact moment when I realized the power was back on and we all started jumping, dancing and shouting!
So, refer back to my title... It turns out that if you really look beyond the obvious negatives in a situation you will find that "God is Good All the Time, All the Time God is Good... Even during power outages and ice storms!"

How I Love You...

The sermon at church this morning was taken from the song, "When the Night is Falling." It is a beautiful song and has quickly become one of my favorites mostly because of the chorus in which the phrase, "How I love you, child, I love you," is repeated. After the sermon was over we stood to sing this song today. I was holding Eve, singing in her ear, and she had her head on my shoulder with her arms around me. When we got to the chorus she raised up, put both her little hands on her chest and sad, "Mommy, you love me?!?" I smiled and said, "Yes, I do!" She looked at Jay, who was singing, too, and said, "And Daddy loves me, too?" Wow! Out of the mouths of babes! Though her observation was right... we do love her, it brought into perspective how we feel about God, "God, you love me?!?" We are SO not worthy of that love, but are SO blessed to have it anyway!!!

When the night is falling, and the day is done.
I can hear you calling, "Come"
I will come while you sing over me.
When the night surrounds me,
all my dreams undone,
I can hear you calling, "Come."
I will come while you sing over me.

When the night would hide my way,
I will listen until I hear you say,
"How I love you, child I love you."
When this life is over and the race is run,
I will hear you calling, "Come."
I will come while you sing over me.

-Jernigan

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
For starters, this post is certainly not a copy off of Melanie. I would never steal a blogging idea from anyone... and especially not my own sister's sister-in-law to whom I am not officially related, but strangely, through the cyber-world feel like I am.

At the Stark home this weekend we have by no means been completely non-productive. For instance, we did not pile dishes in the sink, toys next to the shelf and trash by the back door. Likewise we absolutely did not hide baskets of clean laundry in our bedroom with the door shut while church visitors were over yesterday afternoon. We would never hide messes behind closed doors here! Also, we did not move said laundry from the middle of the family room floor just minutes before the visitors arrived.

Jay certainly did not forget to use the gift card we had for our lunch at Cracker Barrell yesterday. Furthermore, he did not move the gift card over from where I had placed it directly in front of his debit card in his wallet in order to pay. (For the record, I was not secretly happy that he forgot, because the fact that we still have the gift card does not mean that we get to go back there soon.)

After we did not waste the rest of our afternoon yesterday, I decided that today would not be wasted, either. So, I did not spend my day off chatting on Facebook and I did not play obscene amounts of solitaire on the laptop while lying on the couch. Above all, I absolutely did not watch "Bring it On: All or Nothing" on E! and I certainly did not like the movie!

To finish our day we went to a Lady Tigers ballgame. The game started at 5:00 p.m. and I did not not pack Eve supper and instead pack ritz and goldfish crackers. In addition, I most assuredly did not allow her to eat an entire popcorn from the concession stand during the game. And never ever would I turn my head as she ate the popcorn pieces she dropped on the floor.

Finally, I will not lay on the couch and watch "The Bachelor" before bed. (And, for the record, the clean laundry is not still in the baskets in our bedroom un-folded.)

Welcome, 2009!

On Eve's first new year I started a holiday tradition. Every new year I make some black and white photos of her in front of a mirror. It is neat to watch Eve inspect her expressions, look at her reflection and smile. As I look back on 2008 I, too, can reflect and smile. No, not all things have gone "according to plan" this year and we were not without heartache for ourselves and others in our life. But, we have arrived at the end of the year with far more than we deserve from God. Isn't it wonderful to be able to count your blessings and know that the good always out-weighs the bad? Despite anything that may have happened (or not happened) this year, I have a wonderful husband, a precious daughter and loving friends and family. Rather than make big resolutions that I am bound to break within a month, I think this year I will choose to take life day-by-day, continuously take stock in all the amazingly good things in my life and (most of all) give God the glory and praise for every single blessing. May you have a happy, healthy, prosperous and blessed 2009!

Santa came!!

Eve woke up yesterday morning to find that Santa had come! She was surprised and very perplexed that he actually ate his cookies and drank his milk. Even the reindeers' food was gone! It was lots of fun watching her open her gifts. Ironically, she was most excited about a $4 afterthought present in her stocking... just a reminder that 2-year-olds don't care how much you spend and are happy with the simple things... we should all be as sweet!

Mamaw, PawPaw, Grammy, Grandad, Micah, Kacey and Finley all came to see what Santa brought. Later in the day Aunt Sissy, Uncle Pip, Aunt Kayla and Uncle Andrew arrived. After Eve's naptime we opened MORE presents. Eve's favorite was her dress-up trunk from Mamaw. Eve's grandmothers certainly know her well... she is ALL GIRL!Christmas is a good time to take stock of all with which God has blessed us. This Christmas especially we are reallizing how truly fortunate we are to have Eve. She is the greatest gift we have ever recieved!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Today was "Stark Family Christmas" day! This morning we headed to Grammy and Grandad's house for good food, family fun, and presents!! We were all very blessed with piles of gifts. Eve's favorites were her handmade tu-tu from Aunt Kacey, her princess dress-up trunk from Grammy and her princess baking outfit from Aunt Emily. Eve, Zak and Finley played all morning long together before opening presents and then settling down for naps. We had yummy snacks to "graze" on all day and a delicious dinner cooked by Grammy that we shared with Uncle Ed, Aunt Sandra and Whitney. We posed the cousins together in their pajamas for our annual p.j. photo at the end of the night.Once home, Eve watched "Frosty the Snowman" and played some of the new games she got from Grammy and Grandad. She picked out two cookies for Santa (we hear he loves cookies from the Cake Lady) and decided he would like chocolate milk instead of white (Mommy agreed). Eve also sprinkled some "reindeer food" on the grass for Santa's big arrival. She fell asleep quickly, anxious to see what Santa would leave her... all she says she wants from Santa is "presents." When you ask her what kind of presents she always simply answers, "blue." We will find out in the morning if Santa met her request!!

Snow Day Fun

We were surprised with a snow day today! Well, actually an "ice day" if you want to get technical. Eve and I took the time together to bake and decorate Christmas sugar cookies. She helped every step of the way and did a really great job! We had relatively little mess to clean up and the cookies turned out well.Of course no day at home would be complete without a little mischief. While Mommy and Daddy weren't watching her very closely Eve pulled the gift tags off of most of the presents under the tree and completely unwrapped one for Finley. I was more than frustrated at the time so I didn't take a photo... but I am sure you can imagine how it went!

Busy, Busy!

Last weekend was a busy one! On Friday night we went to the Lady Tigers game. Eve was the most precious girl there with her Murray cheerleader outfit! Grammy made it just for her! The Tigers beat Lone Oak and Eve had a great time!On Saturday morning Eve and I braved the bitter cold along with Grammy and Grandad (Daddy was at basketball) to watch the Christmas Parade. We bundled up, but were still freezing! Eve collected lots of candy and enjoyed watching the marching bands. Her best friend from church was even there to watch with her!!It looks as though this weekend will be just as busy since we are heading to Lone Oak for a basketball tournament on Saturday and are then hosting our annual cookie exchange on Sunday night. Tis the season for hustle and bustle, I guess!!

Too funny...

This is too funny not to blog about immediately!!
Eve and I are watching "Frosty's Winter Wonderland" while we get ready for the Lady Tigers' Baskeball game later. (A blog entry about that after the game...)
The narrator on the cartoon has the voice of Andy Griffith and he was just singing, "Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland." After a verse or two Eve joined in the singing with a rousing, "Walkin' inna water underwear!!" :)

Sharing Traditions

This is really the first year that Eve has been able to understand a little about Christmas and get excited about the holiday season. It is so fun! She loves to see Christmas lights. We have been taking the long way home from evening church services in order to see them and she always asks, "Just one more road, please?" Tonight we watched "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" on TV. She snuggled up with her "softy" blanket and pillow and enjoyed the show.It is so amazing to be able to pass along favorite traditions and memories from my childhood!

Let the Christmas Season Begin!

This morning Mamaw, Sissy and I headed out to shop the big sales at about 5:00 a.m. I must say that although it didn't start out very promising we picked up momentum once we hit Target about 7:00 a.m. and finished with a trunk-full of great deals around noon! Though we were tired it was a fun time, as usual.

After supper we all headed to the mall where Eve got to see Santa Claus and ride the carousel. She was unsure about Santa at the beginning, but he made her laugh by asking if she wanted a bag of dirt or a box of rocks for Christmas. She had a great smile in the photo, but Santa looked a little rough. He must have hit the Black Friday sales early this morning, too!

Eve loved the carousel! This was her first time to ride one and she had a great time. Daddy joined in the fun with her.While at the mall we ran into some people we know... Chelsea and Justin! The group from Murray who was coming through on their way to see the Calloway County Laker football playoff game stopped off at the mall for dinner. We even saw Uncle Tim and Auntie Em!Tonight Eve has gone to have a sleepover with Mamaw and PawPaw at the hotel. I hope they are all able to get some rest! :)

Happy Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving week has been eventful thus far! On Monday we had a yummy Pre-Thanksgiving dinner at Grammy and Grandad's house. Eve and Zak had a great time together, as always! When Eve said her prayers at bedtime that night we thanked God for the usual family members and before the amen Eve said, "What about Miss. Byers?!?" (Ms. Byers is what Eve calls her great-grandmother Byers.) So we added, "God bless, Miss. Byers," to the prayer and Eve was satisfied. Yesterday we came to Bowling Green and spent the afternoon with Aunt Sissy and Uncle Pip (aka Sarah and Philip). Mamaw and PawPaw arrived last night. Today we enjoyed the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a delicious lunch and fun family time. We talked to family members that couldn't make it on the phone. (Shout out to Andrew and Kayla: You were dearly missed today! We love you!) Eve even helped with the lunch by stirring the hashbrown casserole! This evening we are planning our annual Black Friday shopping trip. Sarah is making the official list of gifts/stores for the day. For the first time ever we are going to wake up and leave at 4:30 a.m. We aren't usually such early risers (well, we typically leave about 5:30 a.m. instead,) but we are hopeful that we will hit many sales and get some great deals. Shopping is never without incident so I am sure I will have more to report tomorrow. :)It would be impossible to list all the many blessings for which I am thankful in mere words. God has truly been generous when looking over the Johnson and Stark families. We are SO BLESSED!God is good all the time! All the time, God is good!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Five years ago today Jay and I were married at University Church of Christ among family and friends. It was a gorgeous day... about 75 degrees! (A far cry from the 32 degrees we saw for a high today.) Our wedding was a long-awaited event. After a really long engagement we finally felt prepared to take the plunge. It has been a wonderful ride thus far and I look forward to the next fifty years. Every year is better than the one before so 2058 should be an amazing time in our life together!!I worked this afternoon to put up and decorate our Christmas tree. It was certainly a fitting way to spend our anniversary. I was flooded with memories as I put our "First Christmas Together," "Parents-to-Be," and "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments on the tree. Then I was taken back even more as I carefully hung my "Baby's First Christmas" ornament and other special ornaments from my childhood. When Eve was finished with her bath she came in to help. I had left all the non-breakable ornaments for her to hang on the bare bottom branches. She was so precious as she tried to choose just the right spot for each one. When we finished with the last one she said, "What do we do now, Mommy?" I said, "Well, now we just look at our tree." She looked up at it and breathlessly said, "Mommy, our Christmas tree is bee-you-ti-full!"

If only the evening stopped here this would be a sweet sentimental story, but now that wouldn't be Eve, would it? About 15 minutes after the tree was complete, Jay and I were watching television while Eve played. We heard a tinkering and commotion from the other room followed by, "I'm so sorry, Mommy. I'm so, so sorry." After a summons from her daddy Eve came rushing in the family room with a bucket-full of ornaments. She said, "Wook! I got all these berries off the tree!" Then she proceeded to empty the contents of the bucket in the middle of the floor resulting in this last picture. Our poor Christmas tree may be in for a long month!!

First Day of School

Thursday was Eve's first day of school! Well, actually she is going to Mother's Day Out two mornings a week at a local Baptist church, but it is school to her. I took the day off so that I could be the one to take her and pick her up on the first day. Daddy ended up coming, too. We had a yummy breakfast of chocolate-chocolate chip muffins (per Eve's request) and watched "Max and Ruby" and Eve's new favorite, "Toot and Puddle." Afterwards it was time to get ready. Eve was dressed in a new outfit from Gymboree (my favorite store and one of my reasons for working) and ahe looked like such a big girl with her backpack on her back.
When we got there she waltzed right into class and started playing. Jay and I gave her a kiss and told her goodbye. She didn't even get up from her coloring, but waved and said, "Bye, Mommy! Bye, Daddy!" I told her I was sorry she was so upset to see us go and her teacher just had to laugh.Supposedly, Daddy had to run an errand at some point in the morning so he drove by the school. He saw all the kids on the playground and stopped to watch. He noticed a child who looked like Eve, but she had on the wrong jacket. Sure enough some other kid had on Eve's precious coat and scarf and she had on another random one. When I went to pick her up she was busily playing. Her teacher said, "Eve had a good first day. Of course, all of this is new to her and it will take a few days for her to get used to our routine and the way we do things. She loved playing outside. She didn't even want to come in." Now, Jay and I are teachers which means we are skilled at the art of decoding teacher comments (for all you parents out there... always read between the lines... we have dreamed up lots of nice ways to put things so that you won't really know what we think.) In this case I will interpret, "Eve had a very hard time listening, following directions and changing activities. Additionally, she threw a fit when we made her come in from the playground."
Overall Eve had a good first day and she is looking forward to going back to school. I realized when we dropped her off that she really didn't need Jay and me there half as much as we needed us to be there. Education is a really big deal to us (obviously) and we want Eve to know that learning is an important part of life. This was certainly a milestone! She's growing up very fast and that IS NOT okay with me!

This island is in the house!

With the money we made at our garage sale in August, I ordered an island cart with bar stools for the kitchen in our new house. I was ecstatic to get a great deal from J.C. Penney complete with free shipping. I was extremely disappointed when I was notified that the shipment would be put on backorder until November. Now that my purchase has arrived, I feel really proud. Although I can display patience about a lot of things, waiting for something I have already bought and paid for isn't my forte. I got a great deal and waited it out... now my kitchen is just as I pictured!Hmm... I wonder how long my patience will last for the formal living room that is currently practically void of furniture and decor...

Beautiful Fall

This weekend we took some pics in our backyard under a beautiful fall tree. The leaves were a perfect shade of red and they blanketed the ground underneath. I just couldn't resist posting them! They will serve as a good reminder that the weather will change again in spring... it has turned cold and rainy here... winter is fast approaching.

A Household of Faith

Everyone who knows us well knows that Jay and I don't always see eye-to-eye on politics. At times like this our differences are really brought to light. We joke that when we head to the voting booths we are there to "cancel each other out." My wish for Eve is that she get the opportunity as she ages to make her own decisions and choices when it comes to politics. But, all political differences aside, Jay and I agree on the biggest and most important issue... God. My prayer for Eve is that she knows that on this front we are not a house divided, but a household of faith. Sometimes we need to remember that regardless of the election's outcome and regardless of who we voted for as individuals, all leaders need our prayers. God deserves all glory (above any man) and should remain our ulitmate ruler. I hope Eve grows up learning this from her parents... no matter which political party she chooses.

Happy Halloween!

This year Halloween was quite an experience! Eve dressed up as a ballerina. She even wore real ballet slippers! She was precious, of course! She really got into the whole process this year. We took her to a few houses near ours. Eve was not at all shy as she marched up, said, "Trick or Treat!" and accpeted any and all candy offered to her. She proudly told everyone, "Thank you!" as we walked away, too! As trick-or-treat-ers came to our house she greeted them all with, "Happy Halloween!" She was constantly snatching treats out of Daddy and Grammy's bowls. She even tried to walk away with some families telling us, "Bye! I go trick-or-treat!"

We had heard that Halloween was a big deal in our new neighborhood. Well, "big deal" was a huge understatement!! Families from all over the county came to our neighborhood, parked their cars along both sides of every street, hopped out and blanketed the subdivision. The first children came at 4:45 and we were out of about 20 pounds of candy by 6:30 p.m. One neighbor had bought $200 worth of candy hoping to last the night. Another neighbor was keeping tally of the number of children. Last year they counted over 700 trick-or-treat-ers!! We had never seen anything like it!!

Just as we were running out of candy, Zak and Trent came to visit. Eve and Zak were eating and playing with no time for photos. So, I turned on the Halloween episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and they settled down. To get them to smile, I said, "Say underpants!" They both giggled, shouted the word underpants and I got the perfect picture! ("Underpants" is their new silly word. They both think it is so silly. They were cracking each other up at supper on Wednesday night saying it over and over and laughing. Who knows what these two will come up with next?!?!)





We ended the night with supper at "High Burger" (I'm not sure of that spelling) with Grammy and Grandad. It was good, but we were all tired. What a day!

Ewww! Pumpkin Guts!

On Thursday Eve and I went to Kroger in search of the "perfect pumpkin." After looking through the crates we settled on one we both thought was perfect. (Eve is eating a cookie in the picture.)After supper Daddy starting carving. He asked Eve to help him clean out the seeds. She reached in, pulled out one tiny seed and said, "I done!"

She did not like the pumpkin guts one bit!

And Daddy didn't help. He swiped his hand by her arm while holding some pulp and she had a fit! Here she is saying, "It's on my arm, Mommy! Cwean it off, please!"

In the end we had our Jack-O-Lantern. Mommy designed it, Daddy carved it and Eve just watched. :)