Sweet Beulah Land

Grandma went home to be with the Lord today. While we are immensely saddened by her loss, we celebrate the life that she lived and the love that she showed us. We know that today she is in a better place, seated at the throne of God along with my Grandaddy. We will really miss her. She was a great Grandma, but she was also a great friend. She was a woman of prayer, and she has prayed me through everything. I will really miss phone calls to her and visits with her

One of her favorite things was to hear my sisters and I sing the old hymn "Sweet Beulah Land." In fact, she was listening to a CD we had made of this song this afternoon when she took her last breath. God is good.

Sweet Beulah Land

I'm kind of homesick for a country
To which I've never been before.
No sad goodbyes will there be spoken,
And time won't matter anymore.

Beulah Land, I'm longing for you,
And someday on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal,
Beulah Land...sweet Beulah Land.

I'm looking now across that river
To where my faith is gonna end in sight.
There's just a few more days to labor,
Then I'll take my heavenly flight.

Beulah Land, I'm longing for you,
And someday on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal,
Beulah Land...sweet Beulah Land.

I love you grandma!

Jenny's Baby Shower

Several weeks ago we had a baby shower for Jenny in Statesboro. She is due very soon! We had a good crowd of family and friends who were able to be there and celebrate with us. We had sandwiches and several good salads for lunch. Oreo ice cream was the dessert, and Alissa had cute monogrammed cupcakes for everyone.

Grandma & Georgie have always been buddies!

Grandma & Jenny

Scott & Hudson (Alissa's cute little boy)- I just included this picture because I thought it was so cute.

The cousins...
Jenny got a lot of cute things including some outfits, a pack and play, booster seat, piggy bank, bathtub, and lots of other fun stuff. I think she is about set, and we are definitely ready for Beckham's arrival.

Jenny & Mymama

Keep this in mind next time EITHER candidate mentions "energy independence"

A good read from John Stossel on the idiocy of "energy independence." Both Obama and McCain need some good basic lessons in economics.

h/t: Instapundit

Coke vs. Pop vs. Soda

Typical conversation in the south:

You: Hey...wanna Coke?
Me: Yeah, sure.
You: What kind?
Me: Oh, a Diet Dr. Pepper would be good.

And absolutely no one around here would find anything strange about that conversation at all. I mean, "Coke" is the same as Kleenex, Xerox, Band-Aid and other brand names that have become synonymous with the overall product genre. Not so much in other areas of the country where people use strange words like "pop" and "soda."

Click on the map for the full size version, or click HERE for an interactive map where you can see the survey results by clicking on any state.

Proud drinker of "Coke" (which includes Diet Coke, Diet Dr. Pepper, Mr. Pibb...)

Ramp Project Part 2 - We Got Skillz

If you were impressed with how a bunch of amateurs could build such an impressive ramp, just wait till you see how we finished it. Same crew, different Saturday. This time, though, we got down and dirty with some concrete. We finished up the ballusters on the ramp railing and poured a sidewalk from the end of the ramp to the driveway.

David and I got to work attaching the ballusters to the handrails of the ramp. This should keep my granddad from driving off the side!

In order to further exaggerate our professionalism, we rented a concrete mixer. I don't think the one load is going to be enough. Good thing Dad picked up 1,600 pounds of Quickcrete at Hope Depot (the bags in the background)!

Being in construction I see guys pouring concrete all the time. But like many things, seeing it done and actually doing it yourself are two different things. We were figuring it out on the fly!

Me and Dad floating and finishing the concrete under the watchful supervision of the boss(es).

Now it is really finished! Like I said before, if you didn't know any better you might think we actually knew what we were doing. I think we are all proud of our work and happy that my grandparents will more easily be able to get in and out of the house, and it was great getting to spend time with David and Jason. But if you've got a project in mind for your own house, don't go getting any crazy ideas...we don't work for cheap!

Keep this in mind when watching the news...

A recent study of federal records showed that political donations by journalists during the current election cycle favor Democrats to Republicans by a 15:1 ratio. The ratio of donations directly to Barack Obama over John McCain is even greater at almost 20:1.

But I'm certain that because they are "professionals" that their personal preferences don't affect their reporting.

I'm just sayin'.

h/t: QanO

Tiger Woods - He's Just That Good

A while back, when EA Sports released the Tiger Woods PGA Tour '08 video game, some people thought that they had found a glitch in the game. As you can see in this video they posted to YouTube, it would appear that Tiger has a special "Jesus Shot" (its not really called that in the game) where he walks on water. Check it out...

Well, the folks at EA Sports have responded in a new commercial...

Yeah...He's just that good.

This just about says it all...

Barak Obama's response to a question from Rick Warren in this weekend's Saddelback Civil Forum at Saddleback Church has generated a lot of feedback on Obama's history on abortion bills in the Illinois State Senate and the US Senate. The question and response (and just ignore that he didn't actually answer the question that was asked):

WARREN: Now, let’s deal with abortion; 40 million abortions since Roe v. Wade. As a pastor, I have to deal with this all of the time, all of the pain and all of the conflicts. I know this is a very complex issue. Forty million abortions, at what point does a baby get human rights, in your view? [emphasis mine - SS]

OBAMA: Well, you know, I think that whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.

I think this response to Obama says it all...

And just for the record, Rick Warren didn't think his answer was good enough, either.

ht: protein wisdom pub

Oh, Glorious Day!

There are a lot of questions surrounding the Georgia Tech football program. New coach, new offense. But...no matter the outcome, not much excites me more than being in Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field when toe meets leather. One of my favorite days of the year is when that special package shows up in the mailbox. My season tickets!

Just 12 more days till opening kickoff! I'll be there...will you?

Family Vacation

Most of you know that I love the beach, and I love my family. I am really happy when I am with my family at the beach. We enjoy just hanging out at the pool and the beach. We read, cook, sleep, take pictures, watch TV, go shopping, visit Starbucks, and go to Publix everyday. :) Here are a few pictures from our time in Daytona this summer.
We took a trip to Krispy Kreme one night in honor of "Celebrate Mama Day."

I love watching the sunrise over the Atlantic. (Yes, I did get up to see it!)

Fun in the waves...


Rice Krispy Treats are a tradition at the beach.


The boys also pulled several cars out of the sand. It is a daily activity to watch people get stuck on the beach in their cars.

Scott likes to take pictures of us. Yes, we could have asked someone else, but it is more fun this way.

My best friends...
We enjoyed watching many storms from the balcony of our condo.

We had a lot of fun!

Ramp Project

An architect, a contractor and a minister walk into bar...

OK...so we didn't walk into a bar, but it does sound like the start of a funny joke.

Saturday, me, Dad, my uncle David and my cousin Jason set out to complete a ramp building project at my grandparents' house. Dad, David and my other uncle Gene had started the framing work last weekend. We started about 9:30 Saturday morning, worked through the stifling heat of the afternoon and finished work about 7:00 PM Saturday evenining just before the storms came. We got everything done but the ballusters on the railing, but at least now my granddad can drive his Hoveround from the house to the driveway! Some photos from the day (click on the image for a bigger view)...

We started out the day getting the ramp framing assembled and in place. David dug the holes, and we started "planting" the posts that would support the ramp and create the handrail.

More post planting and a little better shot of the length of the ramp.

Dad and Jason cutting the decking to length.

Me and David screwing them in place. Would you be surprised to find out that my back was killing me on Sunday?

My granddad tests out the first section of the ramp to get his picture taken with the crew.

Me and David cutting off the posts while Dad runs to Home Depot to get one more piece of deck material that you can see we ran short of. We briefly considered leaving the posts at full height and putting a canopy over the ramp, but my grandmother didn't care for that idea!

Screwing the last toe board into place. Looks like a government job, doesn't it?

The nearly-finished product. All we've got to do now is put the ballusters on and paint! I'm pretty proud of it myself, and if you didn't know any better you might actually think that we knew what we were doing!

My husband

He is Hot!

Celebrate Mama Day

Today is Mama's birthday, but she prefers that we don't mention her birthday. Several years ago we started calling August 2nd "Celebrate Mama Day." Here is a list for my Mama on her special day.

10 Things I never would have learned or been without my Mom:
1. I wouldn't have a passion for cooking large quantities of food.
2. I wouldn't know how to love people unconditionally.
3. I wouldn't understand a strong work ethic (like shucking corn & shelling butter beans)
4. I wouldn't understand the role of a godly wife & mother in the Home.
5. I would never have heard, "You are are acting just like your Daddy."
6. I wouldn't be able to make a "fun activity" out of trip to the grocery store or even spend an afternoon browsing the store.
7. I wouldn't have loved music and learned to play the piano.
8. I wouldn't have learned to laugh at myself and at life.
9. I wouldn't have witnessed an unwavering faith in God.
10. I would be so much like my Daddy it would hurt. :)