Introducing...

... ME and MY FAMILY!

I know that none of my followers have ever seen me or my family's faces. Because of Internet safety and all that good stuff, Dad didn't want me posting faces of us... but, that changed. A few days ago, he finally said that I could show y'all what we all look like. Hurrah!

Ok, now on to 'da photos...

First and foremost... Mom and Dad! These are the most wonderful and awe-inspiring people in my world. They are amazing. I'm dead serious... they have raised and are raising us kids in the way of the Lord. They continually care for us, laugh with us, and help us in the "growing up stages" of life. These are the kind of parents that you can talk about pretty much anything with... they don't mind if you speak your opinion (as long as it is spoken respectfully ;) and will talk through things with you until a situation is resolved. Not to mention the fact that they have been married for 23 years (I think), and have stayed together through thick and thin.

Mom and Dad, you are amazing... I love you so much!

*Gasp*! I know. You're thinking, "Gee whiz! This lady is gorgeous, beautiful, etc. etc. etc." Yea, that gorgeous gal with the green eyes just happens to be my oldest sister, L4J. She is very talented, can groom any dog to perfection (perfection in my eyes at least), crochet, knit, sew, and all that good stuff. Honestly, I do more crafting and whatnot than she does, but whenever L4J does decide to craft her results come out way better than mine. Oh, and did I mention that people think that I am her twin? Yup! That's great and upsetting at the same time, if you know what I mean.

And, here is my crazy brother, Patrick. Yup! that's the guy that plays the piano like an angel, produced a CD (which is published with Tate Music Group) by the time he was 17, AND currently works as a web developer. Am I proud of him? Heck, YEA! He's a nutty, friendly and outgoing sort of guy. Patrick loves to hang out with people and is always making us laugh dreadfully hard. Seriously... one day, he's going to make one of us laugh so hard our lung will get coughed up, or something.

Mhm... that me. The best blond brunette you'll ever find. My brother says that I should be a comedian... not because I can crack a witty joke. Oh no, I'm not that witty... It's because I say crazy random things at crazy random moments. It's ok. I'm learning to live with myself (and I say that jokingly :D).

Oh me, oh my! This pretty gal is Anne (who has a blog, and calls herself PolkaDot)... down-to-earth with a bit of sass mixed in would describe her wonderful, crazy personality. Honestly, she and I are, in a lot of ways, opposites. Which of course makes us best friends forever!

This is our green eyed, rosy cheeked, dark haired beauty named Mary. She is a quiet sort of person with a glorious smile that brightens a room instantly. Mary loves to make things and is interested in becoming a chef. Yes, I GREATLY encourage her in that interest. Who doesn't want an awesome cook in the house?

Ah, the brain of the family! This is Alva... he is very academic. I mean, this kid is quite a few years younger than me and he says things like, "Did you know ______ ?" and I'm just going, "Um... yeeeaaaah. Of course I knew that *racking my brain for information that just isn't there*!"

Oh yeah! This is Abigail (The one on the left)... our toad grabbing, lizard catching, dirt loving, caring little tom-boy. One time, she saw a squirrel get killed... did she even think of being grossed out? Noooo, that's not how Abby is. She grabbed that bloody squirrel up in her hands and ran to Mom.

"Mom! I think it's dead. Can you fix him?" Poor gal. She was really concerned about that poor squirrel!

Thankfully, Dad was in the room when Abby ran in. Otherwise Mom (who's a through and through city girl) would've gone ballistic grabbing Dawn soap and any other disinfectant she had available to wash Abby's hands.

Awwwww!! This is Joy. She is our adorable, princess, city girl who loves lace, jewelry, earrings, lip gloss, lipstick, mascara and anything girly. Mom has to hold her back and make sure she doesn't get really, really"big girl" things until she is a "big girl"!

This is Grace and I. Grace is cool... she really is. She is a sweet little spitfire that is a wonderful mix of girly and tom-boy. Her imagination is nothing like I've ever seen. When she was 3 or 4 she had an imaginary farm... the horses were pink and the sheep were green with panties on. Wouldn't you love to see a farm like that?!

This chubby-cheeked little boy is Robert. He is the last of Mommy and Daddy's 10 kids... and is very obviously THE baby. Robert says the most adorable things, that makes me want to laugh all day. Do you want to hear one of those adorable things? Oh yea... I knew you would.

Me: "Robert, where did you come from? (I was expecting to hear, "From Mommy's tummy" or something like that)"

Robert: "Um, Jesus." Out of the mouth of babes, y'all...

Oh, and did I mention that when you get him to give you a hug they are the squishy-est (this is a word in my dictionary) most cuddly hugs on the face of the earth? Well, he does gives that kind of a hug... but I have dibs on them first, ok? He's my bro.

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We are like every other family out there:

We get mad at each other.

We sometimes yell at each other.

We say things we shouldn't.

We apologize over and over again.

We have devotion together.

We hide cookies, bags of chips, and cans of soda from each other.

We watch Tim Hawkins together.

We laugh up a storm.

We fight over who gets to read "that amazing new book from Amazon" first.

We go to church together.

We do "karate" at each other.

We go camping together.

We annoy each other until the person getting annoyed wants to punch somebody.

We love each other.

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Because that's what families do. We are a family and we are thankful for it.

Craft blog loveliness

I have found a new hobby.

Do you want to know what it is?

It's reading CRAFT BLOGS!! I know... it's not really a hobby. But it makes me feel good to call it one... humor me, ok?

There are so many people who love to use their God-given talents and create "something out of nothing". Below are a few of the blogs that I love to read and learn from:

Elle Apparel
Erica B.'s-DIY Style
I Am Momma Hear Me Roar
Sew Coco
The Story of a Seamstress
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I've tried to make "something our of nothing". But, somehow, my projects turn out looking strange or to my dissatisfaction. But, I'm gonna keep on trying. Yup... I'm not going to give up! And even if I trash a lot of my projects, the one that turns out beautiful makes everything else worth it, right?

So, what blogs do you like to read?

Can you turn nothing into something? If so, give me some pointers!

Calling all jewelry makers!!

Hey y'all... I need some help. I've got theses adorable flowers attached to earring hooks. But, I don't know where to go from there in design? How do you think I should brighten up and add more flair to these babies?

Hi my name is Moe...

A Southern Gal has been sadly lacking in posts! I really don't have an excuse other than not really feeling like blogging much. I have been having a serious blogging slump! I have read most everyone else's blogs though, and must say that everyone brightens my day :). Y'all make such lovely posts!
Here's to a wonderfully restful summer!! What have y'all been doing?

Another giveaway...

Hey y'all. Atlanta from Story of a Seamstress is hosting a wonderful giveaway. I'm serious. She is giving away the most adorable shoes ever! Go look. You'll be glad that you did :).

Emily...

Hello... I'd like to share a blog with y'all today. This girl really, really needs your prayers and support. Her name is Emily and she has cancer. The chemotherapy has not helped and she has decided to discontinue her treatment. HERE is her blog... would you pray for her?

Protected?

Hey y'all. It's been a long time! So sorry for the delay in posts (*hangs head*). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story...

Angie ran down the rock path and stopped as she neared the big red oak tree.
She rested her hands on the 'y', formed by the two trunks. Leaping, she let her feet fall between the trunks. Balancing herself, she pulled up to the branch above and jumped onto her grandparent's roof.

Angie slowly walked half way up the roof's peak and flopped down. Her mind wandered to one of her most asked question: How much does God actually protect me? How many times have I put myself in real danger and God has had mercy and saved me from certain death? She recited a well memorized verse from Proverbs 2:8, "He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints."

Angie leaned back and looked up at the clouds and sighed. She doubted she'd ever get an answer to her inquiry.

Ten minutes later, Angela sat up and walked back to the tree and began to climb back down. Her foot slipped! Frantically, Angie grabbed the trunk. But wait a minute... hadn't someone grabbed her waist and hoisted her back onto the branch? Slowly, Angie turned around and then opened her mouth and tried to scream. A girl about her age was standing behind her.

This girl had blond hair and dark blue eyes that seemed to be perpetually lit up. She smiled at Angie, gave her a wink, turned, and then shot up into the sky and was gone.

(what I think Angie's angel would have looked like...)
{credit}
Still gaping, Angie got off the tree and ran up to the large deck in front of their house. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw her 3 year old brother, Bobby, being followed around by a person. Angie watched as her 5 year old sister, Jasmine (or as they called her, Jazzy), come out of the house with a person trailing her as well.

Jazzy grabbed a stick. "Bobby, w-, w- we're gonna play jump-over-the-stick. I'm going to spin this near the ground," Jazzy waved the stick around, "and you jump..."

Angie's eyes almost popped out of her head as she saw the person following Bobby put his hand over Bobby's left eye just as Jazzy's stick whacked the left side of Bobby's head and scrape over his eye.

"Ow!" Bobby began to cry, then got mad and began to run after Jazzy.

"Oh no you don't, young man! Stop right there," Angie led both kids inside to Mom and looked back at the man who had helped Bobby.

He looked at her, smiled, and said simply, "God told me to do it."

Angie nodded. "This is weird! Who are these guys? Who was the girl who helped me earlier?"

"Well, we're angels on an important mission," Jazzy's angel began. "And God assigned us to these two children to make sure they don't hurt themselves or others. However, we only protect them if God says to. If God says to leave them alone, then we just stand by and watch."

Angie looked at them. "I guess God told you what I was thinking, huh?"

Both angels let out a deep laugh. "Yup," both said in unison. They smiled at her, then, just as the girl that had helped Angie had done, shot up into the sky and was gone.

Angie didn't see any more angels until night time. Then, as she was putting Bobby and Jazzy to bed, the two angels suddenly appeared. Angie had no idea where they came from... they were just there.

She didn't say anything to them. Just nodded to them in acknowledgment and went to bed
herself. As she drifted off to sleep that night the last thing she remembered after thanking God for protecting Bobby's eye, was the girl coming in and sitting on her own bed, and herself thinking, "It's kind of strange that I don't feel weird that someone is watching me so closely."

When Angie woke the next morning, the girl was nowhere to be seen. However, when Angie, her mom, Jazzy, and Bobby were coming home from grocery shopping, all three angels appeared again. All three waved and smiled at her as they flew along behind the car.

"Mom! Speed up!" Angie shouted. A car was coming 90 mph toward them. As Angie's mom smashed down on the gas pedal, Angie watched in amazement as the girl grabbed the back of their car and began pushing. Angie turned to watch the speedometer go from 60 mph to 80 mph. She snapped her head back. Jazzy and Bobby's angels were bracing themselves against the oncoming truck, slowing it down faster than normal.

Angie looked at her mom. "Did you pray for safety before you left the house, Mom?"
"Well, yea. I always do," Angie's mom checked her mirrors to make sure the truck was traveling at a normal pace. "Why?"

"Just wondering what would have happened just now had you not prayed," Angie shrugged her shoulders. "Do you pray protection over us kids?"

"First thing every morning."

Angie nodded. It made sense.

Angie sat up and yawned. "Dude! I have got a sunburn!" Angie winced. "Wait. Didn't I just about die? Where's the car? Where's Bobby and Jazzy's angels?" Angie shrugged. She didn't care if she had dreamed all that. She was grateful to God for answering her question in such an awesome way.

She slowly walked to the edge of the roof and set her feet on the tree trunk. She stood up. "Oh great!" she thought as her foot slipped. She grabbed for the trunk and caught hold. Her feet were now firmly on the tree trunk. Angie smiled. "Thank You, God. You're more than amazing. Thank You."
Angie began to laugh when she neared their deck. There was Jazzy waving her stick and Bobby angrily chasing her around the deck with a red patch on the left side of his face. Angie began to laugh.

"Oh no you don't, young man! Stop right there." Angie led her siblings into the house and shut the door wondering if those three angels were laughing with her.

Written by Moe.

Bunny Craze

I guess we can officially be labeled a bunny crazy family (let's face it. We've had at least 9 bunnies in the past). You know what? I don't really care. Bunnies are AWESOME!! Speaking of which, my sister, Anne, just got one. An adorably soft, pudgy, Holland Lop with ears that flop over. Oh, that's why they call 'em Holland Lops. Their ears are lopsided :D! I guess he doesn't have enough muscle to pull those whopper ears up.

Thing is, we have a problem. We are at a loss for names for this little guy (yes, he is a boy). *Gasp* I know... that's why I'm asking y'all to comment and give me some suggestions! Actually, I did suggest Chubbers. I have no idea why Anne didn't go for that. I SO would have named him Chubbers.
Just make sure your names (which I'm sure will be great :) are adorable enough for this cutie pie.

I am now a fan of Holland Lop bunnies. Period.

Giveaway!

Moriah @ Uniquely Fashioned for His Glory is hosting a giveaway. Be sure to follow the button and take a look :).

Ultimate Dog Tease

Hey y'all! I hope everyone is having good Sunday morning :). And if you aren't... well, I pray it will get better. But, in the meantine, watch the video below. It is seriously the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. Enjoy!

Yea... it's pretty good, huh?