Happy (late) Thanksgiving..
Roll Tide!!..
& Hello December...
(all in one photo post)

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and that December is treating you nicely so far.

Thought I'd share some pictures from our numerous festivities over the last week or so. I hope that's okay with you. :-)

Every couple of years, Gary's birthday rotates around to make him a Turkey Birthday Boy, and this was one such year. So, we had to begin Thanksgiving Day by giving him some gifts (Sydney, of course, had to help him open them all)...

And then we had to move on to our Thanksgiving business, most notably the traditional reading of our blessings. We got out the paper strips that all of us had written on and shared the things we're thankful for with each other (Cute boys! Football! Family! Books! Church! Grace!)...

My favorite moment in the midst of it all was when Sydney read her strips out loud to us. Since she is reading and writing so well, she wrote them all herself. This one said "My. Sisters." Pretty much the sweetest thing ever, huh?

Once we finished with that, we got dressed and ready for the very busy day ahead. Even though we'd be traveling from place to place, we knew that it would be fantastic because, well, it's Thankgiving Day!

Our first stop was Gary's parents, where we ate more food than can possibly be legal. It was asolutely delicious (and his grandmother's dressing lived up to its awesome reputation!)...

After we were sufficiently full (the pants unzipped, the sleepiness closing in), we packed up and headed down to another celebration at my parents' house. Since we couldn't possible eat another thing (at least for another hour or so), we took some time to play football outside...

and pose for some cute pictures as dusk began to settle in...

We were absolutely thrilled that my cousin, Lacy, got to visit this year from Texas, along with her sweet husband Brandon and this angel child...

We had never met Haven, even though we had praying for her since her birth. She has a rare heart condition that is life-threatening (she has spent many, many nights in ICU in Dallas), but she is doing really wonderfully right now and she is surrounded by the most amazing parents and grandparents and friends and people who just shower her with love and let her know that God is taking care of her.

We could not got enough of her sweetness! She smiled all the time, fell in love with everyone she met, and just radiated contentment.

We took SO many pictures of her and with her...

We were not focused solely on Haven (although there's nothing wrong with that!). The girls had a wonderful time with all of their cousins. (There's nothing like cousins, is there?)

(and could be pretty silly with them too...)

The other big thing on the menu (other than a ton of sweet potato pie; seriously, I think I ate an entire pie by myself!) was football! On Thursday night, we even got Haven interested in the Texas-Texas A&M game (thank goodness the Longhorns pulled that one out!)...

On Friday, we all watched (and screamed! and high fived! and hid our eyes!) the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn. The game was incredibly close and we were all a bit traumatized by it (or at least Delaney and I were), but we won and now all that's standing in the way of a national championship game is Florida in the SEC championship.

We spent two night at Mom and Dad's, and then headed home to enjoy rehearsals for this next weekend's Christmas children's play at church. Sydney is doing so great, and she has a solo!

I absolutely LOVE the play every year and if it doesn't get you totally in the Christmas spirit, then you crazy (or an honest-to-gosh Scrooge!)...

After the rehearsal, our church held its Family Christmas Tree Decorating service. It's one of my favorite celebrations of the season, as we all gather for a potluck meal, lots of great Christmas songs and carols, and a decorating of a tree by all the different families in the church.

Delaney and her friend, Kayla, performed "Jingle Bell Rock" for the audience and it was wonderful! (I wish I'd recorded it, so you could hear Delaney's sweet voice. I need to do that sometime.)

After the service, we came home and decorated OUR Christmas tree, and then did our first night of our Advent together (every Sunday during the Christmas season, we light a candle on our Advent wreath, sing songs, read parts of the Christmas story, and talk about the "real meaning" of the season). It's times like these that make it all worth while...

And now, December is here. It's just hard to believe that the Christmas season is upon us!

I pray that you all had a blessed Thanksgiving, and that your December is starting off well (I would love to hear all about it!). I think of all of you often, and love you bunches.

We had a wonderful, WONDERFUL Thanksgiving with so much fun with friends and family! And, to top it all off, Alabama won a great game against Auburn (Roll Tide!).

I plan on posting pictures very soon.

Until then, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well. Love you all!

We are all so thankful...

It's Thanksgiving Week, which means the wonderful onslaught of so many things. Turkey and Gan Gan's dressing. Sweet potato pie. Visiting with my uncle and cousins from Texas. Football and more football. Mashed potatoes. Birthday cake for Gary.

And basically being overwhelmingly grateful for all the wonderful blessings in my life. I have a wonderful family, and fantastic friends, and a healthy body, and a life filled with so many little things that make me smile each and every day.

Because I am so blessed, I really like to have the focus at Thanksgiving on all of those blessings. Amidst the food and the family and the football, I like to encourage me, and Gary, and the girls to think about all the things for which we should be thankful.

So, then, another thing that is an integral part of Thanksgiving Week at the Wrays is a little family tradition we have done since McKenna was just a toddler.

At the onset of the week of Thanksgiving, I set out strips of construction paper and pen and instruct everyone: "It's that time again! Come write down the things you're thankful for."

Throughout the week, I find people sitting at the dining room table writing little notes on the paper strips. Then they put them in a glass vase sitting there, and I'm overwhelmed by how many things touch the hearts of my husband and daughters...if only we stop and think about them.

By the time Thanksgiving Day arrives, the vase will be stuffed to the brim and overflowing with our blessings.

As we wake up on the morning of Thanksgiving, and before we head out to all of our family gatherings, we will read them out loud with another.

Yesterday I put first few strips into the vase and this is what they said...

"I am thankful that we have enough money to pay our bills each month, and have enough left over for ice cream and movies."

"I am thankful for God's grace."

"I am thankful for words and books."

"I am thankful for sports, and the joy they give me when I enjoy them with family and friends."

"I am thankful for my girls."

And since today is Tuesday (and I haven't had an official Random Tuesday post lately here on my blog), here are two questions to share in the comments section or to put on your own blog:

Do you have any special Thanksgiving traditions?

and

What are you thankful for today?

Some Sydney-Sized Life Lessons

In my prayers, I am daily thankful for my three daughters. And when I say a prayer of gratitude for Sydney, I often whisper a statement something like this, "Thank you for the wisdom Scout shows me. Her words, and insights, and laughter, and stories, remind me of what's really important. Thank you for using a five-year-old to get lessons through my thick skull. Because, otherwise, You know that sometimes I'm not listening very well."

Five-year-olds do indeed have a way of getting to your mind and to your heart, and putting things into perspective. Granted, the lessons sometimes involve potty stories or nose picking...but they just as soon involve love and friendship and (the one that gets me the most, because it shows me how God really does think kids are the coolest!) spiritual things.

Just last night, Sydney socked it to me three times in the span of about three hours.

I thought I'd share her wisdom (funny! meaningful!) with you all.

We are living in typical November Alabama weather (i.e., cold in the morning, up to like 70 in the day, cold again in the evening), so last night Sydney needed to wear something long-sleeved to church. She kept on the black leggings she wore to school during the day, and I pulled out some possible shirts for her to pair with them. When I showed her a black shirt (cute, stylish), she shook her head and answered, "I can't wear black and black. I might be goth." What can you say to that response? I just smiled and said, "You've got a point."

Lesson Learned:
When younger kids have older, teenaged sisters, they know a lot more than you realize. When they go to school, they learn even more.

Later that evening, as we got ready for bed, Sydney asked if she could fix my hair. I was sitting on the computer and randomly flipping channels, so I was basically doing nothing of real importance. I set the computer down and answered her, "Sure you can." She then proceeded to fix my hair in piggy-tails...piggy-tails that were uneven (one up my ear, one down by my shoulder) and, how shall I say it?, unkempt. She then asked if she could do my nails. My nails were already painted, but I offered up my toenails to her, and she literally "went to town" on them and painted them a lovely bright pink.

Lesson Learned:
Sometmes it's good to say "Sure you can," give in to the inner child, and receive lots of smiles and hugs in return.

In between the Goth Episode and a visit to Sydney's Style Salon, I sat down to watch "Glee," my favorite tv show of the season so far. Sydney is also a lover of the show, primarily for the music (you should hear her sing "Sweet Caroline" word for word, and also "Bust a Move," both from the Season 1 soundtrack. I'm incredibly proud of her affection for "Sweet Caroline," and have to also give myself a little mother's high-five for teaching her the joy of music by Young MC.). "Glee," though, does have some storylines that are not necessarily appropriate for a 5-year-old. I try, then, to let her hear the songs and then sidetrack her when Kurt professes his gayness or Quinn talks about being a pregnant teen Mom.

While singing some Neil Diamond together she did, however, notice the reprimand Quinn was getting from her parents, who eventually threw her out of their house because she was pregnant. She looked at me with that look in her eye, like she just didn't understand what she'd just seen. And I knew it was coming.

"Why did they tell her to leave her house?"
"Because she's going to have a baby, and she's too young to have a baby and her parents are mad about it."
"But parents should never make their daughter leave."
"You're exactly right, Sydney. They should love her no matter what."
"Yep. Because parents love you more anything...well, not more than God or Jesus or Mary [note to self: find out if Sydney is getting Catholic training in her public kindergarten]. But they love you almost that much."
Imagine too: she is saying all of this with her arms wrapped tightly around my neck; and looking into my eyes earnestly throughout the conversation.
"I love you, Mommy."

Lesson Learned:
Children undertsand what love is all about. And they can teach us quite a bit (don't you think?).

It's a Cupcake Battle Royale

I think you all know me pretty well.

Any time is a great time for sweets...especially cupcakes!

This past Saturday we were home for a rare Alabama football game on television (instead of being at the game) and, when there's a Bama game on tv, there's a Bama party.

In fact, I watched a lot of college football in general (after watching Delaney play some softball), and I decided that it was a good day to make some college football-themed cupcakes.

I made some fun Alabama cupcakes...

And then I made a Boilermakers cupcake for my Purdue fan and friend, Phats...

And, even though it was hard to do so, I made a Notre Dame cupcake for Delaney (as a reward for her playing softball so hard all day long). Sorry that I couldn't make Notre Dame win a game for her (they are baaaad this year)...

And then I had to have my Bama cupcakes involved in a "Battle Royale" with their opponents for the day.

So, the chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting (the "good guys," aka the Crimson Tide) did battle with the chocolate cupcake with the chocolate frosting (the Mississippi State Bulldogs)...

It turned, as expected, into a pretty ugly thrashing, and there was only one cupcake left standing...

Giving Thanks

Do you all realize that it's less than two weeks now until Thanksgiving? (And I'm not even going to mention how close that makes Christmas!)

I love Thanksgiving more than any holiday. There's somethng about the cool weather, and all that delicious food, and the time spent with family (and the fact that gift-giving doesn't get in the way).

What's best about Thanksgiving, though, is the heart of what the holiday is all about.

It's right there in its title. It's not called Turkey Day, or Football with Family Day (although those would work pretty well with how we celebrate the day).

It's called Thanks. Giving.

We give thanks.

So, as we venture closer to the Thanksgiving celebrations, I thought I'd get into a thankful frame of mind here on my blog. I'm going to start today by posting some things that I'm thankful for, and then I'm going to continue doing so until we get to Thanksgiving.

Why don't you join me in thinking about the good stuff...the people and things you're blessed with...the things that we don't stop often enough to give thanks for...the big and the little things.

Here, then, are a few things I'm thankful for on this Friday:

~ I'm thankful for a five-year-old daughter who is learning to read and is absolutely loving it. It's so wonderful to see her eyes light up as she sounds out the words and reads books all by herself. Just last night she told me, "I love, love, love to read." It gave my heart a wonderful little jump.

~ I'm thankful for the promise of getting to see Delaney play softball tomorrow. I've been unable to watch her (because of the Alabama football games I've gone to), but I get to watch her all day tomorrow during the day. She's having an awesome Fall season and I can't wait to cheer her on!

~ I'm thankful for Chinese food. I craved it yesterday, and promptly went and bought me a takeout lunch. Yummm.

~ I'm thankful for friends. Friends from far away, and friends from just down the road.

~ I'm thankful for the beautiful days we've been having lately. A little 45 degree nip in the morning air; warm, sunny, and 70 degrees by mid-day.

~ I'm thankful for my family. I am blessed with wonderful daughters, wonderful parents, wonderful people all around me.

~ I'm thankful for another day to live and love and laugh and learn.

(I'm also thankful for You. And I pray that you have a fantastic Friday, and a blessed weekend. )

Every Girl's a Princess

I pride myself on raising girls who are strong, independent, and free-thinking. Girls who are intelligent. Girls who are comfortable in their own skin. Girls who know who they are. Girls who don't need a boy to define them. Girls who like themselves.

I have also always been proud that my girls like girly things, yes, but that they aren't too girly. I guess that's not fair to all the girly girls out there (because I do think that little girls with hairbows and pressed dresses and all that good stuff are incredibly sweet!), but that's just not who I am. (I tell people all the time that I'm just glad when I can get Sydney's hair brushed before she goes to school in the morning.) My girls are beautiful and have their very fashionable days, but they also like to get dirty on the softball field and feel comfortable wearing jeans and a t-shirt to school.

Anyway...despite my belief in Girl Power...I do have to give in every once in a while to the idea that princesses are pretty special to 5-year-old girls!!

Every girl is a princess, pink is powerful, and there is nothing more special than meeting Princess Aurora in real life.

Sydney attended a very sweet party this past weekend, hosted by a good friend of mine who decided that her daughter (whose had some tough times lately) just needed a special day.

So Sydney, and several other real-life princesses, got to meet Princess Aurora (aka Sleeping Beauty) and got to enjoy such things as talking one-on-one with the Princess, eating pink cupcakes, spinning in their big dresses, learning to curtesy, and getting a special dancing lesson.

What a wonderful reminder of how important it is for little girls to be little girls, and to believe in the power of make-believe and princesses. (It's probably something all of us...no matter our age...need to do more often!)

The Game's On!!!

(UPDATE:
All the good guys won this past weekend!!! Delaney's travel team, the Birmingham Mustangs, won their tournament on Saturday!! Then--of course!!!--Alabama got a HUGE win Saturday against LSU. The game was loud and fun and exciting...and I will have some pics up sometime soon. And then last night, my Dallas Cowboys won again and took first place of their division. A good weekend for sports!)

I was born in Texas. So I love the Longhorns.

I lived my elementary and junior high school years in Fayetteville, Arkansas, so I still cheer on the Razorbacks (despite my girls being quite embarrassed when I show them that I can "call the hogs").

For some reason, Delaney cheers for Notre Dame (while we mostly make fun of her).

And I cheer for several other teams, because I have friends and family who love them. (My blog friend, Phats, has made me a Purdue fan. I cheer for Nebraska, since an old junior high friend is an avid Cornhusker. I even hope the Dawgs win, since my favorite cousin is a Georgia graduate.)

But you all know that Alabama is my One True Love.

I love the school, the campus, the colors, the traditions, the championships, the everything.

And tomorrow...well, tomorrow is our biggest game of the season so far!

Gary and I will be there in-person to enjoy the rivalry and craziness that is the Alabama-LSU game. Seriously, that game is always the most intense and loud and fun game of the season--mostly because of the LSU fans (it's the one game I would question taking my kids to, because the LSU fans can shout some pretty ugly things at you...just for standing there!).

If you're near a television at 2:30 tomorrow, turn it onto CBS and catch a great game full of fire and passion...and really good defenses! And if you don't have a team to cheer for, I give you permission to adopt my Crimson Tide.

To get you fired up (okay, really, it's to get me fired up again!), here's one of the videos that's shown pregame:



(And then also check out my gameday picks as the Guest Picker on Phats' awesome blog.)

I hope you all have a great weekend.

And I hope that your favorite team wins!

What Have I Been Doing Since I Talked with You Last?

Well, I did post a few Halloweeen pictures on my last post to give you a glimpse into our festivities. But once I decided to sit down and post the rest of my favorite Halloween pictures, I realized that we'd done A LOT more in the last week or so.

So...how about an overview of all the fun we've been having?

Last week we had the Alabama-Tennessee game and it turned into a very exciting, nail-bite-inducing, stomach-churning game (we won on a blocked field goal at the end of the game, and I was pretty much hiding in the bottom of my stadium seat with my eyes covered!). I took my nieve, Lori, who had never been to an Alabama game. She had a great time, of course!

Here are a few pictures from inside Bryant-Denny...

Then, of course, it was almost time for Halloween, which means Pumpkin Carving Time...

I also made a bunch of cupcakes. Like these princess cupcakes and tie-dyed cupcakes...

Sydney had a Fall Festival at her school, and Gary and I had a great time watching her have so much and meeting her sweet friends...

(I especially love that last one of Sydney and Leslie. Sydney just loves her!)

Then, it was time for Halloween Bunco. My friend Lisa came as Susan Boyle from "Britain's Got Talent"...

And there was Bleeding Cake...

On the Wednesday before Halloween, our church hosted a Trunk or Treat. It was a lot of fun and we had a ton of kids from the community show up. The girls and I got to unveil our 2009 costumes (Gary was in Las Vegas on business during the entire week, so he was sad that he had to miss the fun!). Sydney kept telling people she was the Wicked Witch of the West, but she couldn't convince anyone that she was anything but the Cutest Witch Ever...

I was a Flapper...

Delaney was an 80s Girl (LOVED her leg warmers and glasses!) and McKenna was a Robot (not bad for a homemade costume, if I do say so myself!)...

Here are some pictures from the evening...

We also celebrated Senior Night at the high school football game, when they recognized all the seniors who are cheerleaders, football players, and band members. The two senior color guard members were Captains McKenna and Stacey...

and when they recognized McKenna, and her girls gave her a gift basket and big hug, she just about lost it...

On the same night, we had to get ready for Delaney's middle school beauty pageant! There was a lot of primping to do before the event...

and then getting ready with her friend Kayla.

I LOVE these before and after shots...

Here's a good view of Delaney's dress...

She did great on stage...

And, before she knew it, it was time to pose with her friends afterwards! I am NOT a pageant sort of person, but Delaney has the right attitude about it. She just loves to dress up and then have a good time with her friends (thank goodness! because if that attitude ever changed, she would not do it again!)...

(I just love that one of Delaney and Jaelyn! And aren't they all just beautiful girls? You know...we make them pretty down South! LOL)

After the pageant, we got a bite to eat

and I got this picture that I love of Delaney and McKenna...

(by the way, Sydney was sound asleep with her head on the table at the restaurant. 10:30 pm was late for her, especially after a very busy day!).

And here are some cupcakes I did for Halloween (the first two are actually cupcake "cakes"--cupcakes frosted to look like one cake)...

On Halloween, Gary made it back into town and got to dress up with the rest of us. Here we are as a Flapper and Vampire...

And some more fun pictures from the evening (some with the help of a fog machine)...

We loved posing at some of the decorations...

and Sydney especially cracked me up...

Boy, that was a lot of pictures!!!

But, you know? I love having all of these pictures to help me remember these wonderful family moments!

I hope you all had a fun-filled Halloween too, and that you are having a fantastic week so far!

We hope you had a super fun Halloween...we sure did!

More photos from all of the festivities (plus beauty pageants! high school senior stuff! cupcakes!) coming very soon.

Seven Things I Love Today

"Glee"

My new favorite show of the season, "Glee" is over-the-top, campy, exagerrated and--oh yeah!--it has awesome music (and lots of great-looking characters!). I'm totally hooked on this show, and am now proudly calling myself a Gleek (Glee + geek = Gleek.) In fact, I may ask Gary for this shirt for Christmas...

College football

The Alabama-Tennessee game last week just about drove me crazy (I was sitting down in my seat, with my eyes closed and my fingers stuffing my ears so I couldn't see or hear what was happening; I was a wimp and paid for it by not seeing the blocked kick Alabama pulled off to win the game!). I love this time of year!

"Bones"

Another new television favorite, although it's not new at all--just new to me. I discovered it on Hulu (another one of my favorite things) and have now gone back and caught it on tv. I love the premise, and the characters, and the clever writing.

Bunco

We had Bunco last night and it's always a wonderful night to look forward to. (It also helped that it was Halloween Bunco. Another excellent reason to dress up in costume!)

My new favorite cake recipe

I've been making a lot of cupcakes lately and my new favorite, "go to" recipe is THIS ONE from my favorite foodie blog (Bakerella.com). It has two sticks of butter, and a ton of sugar, and eggs, and vanilla. No wonder it is so delicous!

Writing assignments

In just the last two weeks, I've written articles about teaching your kids to be thankful; making cupcakes for birthday celebrations; and incorporating spiritual activities into Easter activities with teenagers. Getting assignments has gotten harder as the economy has struggled, so I feel lucky when I get the chance to write something for magazine editors. I'm just keeping my fingers that more will be on the way!

Halloween

I love Halloween...the dressing up, the trick-or-treating (or trunk-or-treating), the candy eating, act-like-little-kids-again feelings. I've got several Halloween events to look forward to--at church, with friends, and with family--and I've got my costume all ready to go (I'm going as a Flapper!). I also can't wait to see the girls all dressed up; I've got a robot (McKenna), and 80s girl (Delaney), and a witch (Sydney). Fun, fun, fun all the way around!

What do you love right now?

I'm a Cupcake Queen

Most of you already know how much I love to bake. I've posted enough pictures on this blog of my cakes, and cupcakes, and brownies, and special treats for you to know how much I love it!

Now, though, I've taken it to a different level and I've decided to open up my own custom cupcake business!

It's one of those things...I've always had people tell me, "You could seriously sell your treats," or "You should make cakes and cupcakes for other people."

And, since I don't really have enough to do already (!!), I decided to give it a go.

My business is called Cupcake Queen and I have a blog...

http://www.cupcakesbycheryl.blogspot.com/ (This is basically a place to share information about my flavors, prices, events, and so forth, but I'll also try and update with pictures of my latest creations and events I do.)

and a Facebook group page... CupcakeQueen group (Come join the group!)

and a Flickr account... Cupcake Queen Photostream (Where I will try and post pictures from all of my events!

I've got plans to do some marketing at some point soon (brochures, and flyers, and postcards, and maybe some shows), but I started by putting the word out on Facebook two weeks ago and I already have several orders. I'm SO excited about it!

This weekend I'm making Tie-Dye Cupcakes for a little girl named Sara's birthday. And then I'm making a Princess Cupcake Tower for 6-year-old Maddie.

And then next weekend I'm doing two cupcake cakes for a little boy named Jack who has a Halloween birthday (one's a pumpkin, one's a mummy), and some mini cupcakes for a Halloween office party.

And I already have a Sleeping Beauty party lined up the week after that!

Since this weekend will be my first paid customers, I'm a little bit nervous about it. I hope the cupcakes end up tasting and looking good, and that the birthday girls all love them. (Keep your fingers crossed for me.)

I had a friend ask me something like, "Don't you already have enough to spend your time on?" LOL...it's true...I am already a busy gal, but I absolutely love to bake and if I can bring some joy to some other people through my dessert creations, that will make me extremely happy!

So, for this morning, I am off to get to work.

I have an article due this afternoon and then, once I hit the "send" button on that, I'll start mixing up some tie-dyed cupcakes.

My weekend will be full of cupcakes and frosting and sprinkles...and a Girls Night Out tonight, and some great Alabama football (Alabama vs. Tennessee tomorrow!), so I'm anticipating a lot of good things.

I hope your weekend is wonderful too!

(And if you're in the Birmingam area and need a cupcake, or cupcake tower, or cupcake kabobs, or cupcake cakes, for any sort of party or event, let me know! Sorry...I can't ship to South Carolina or Oklahoma or Washington!)

Love to you all.

A Really Long Overdue Photo Update

I haven't posted many "this is what's been going on in our normal, everyday lives" sort of post lately, so I'm catching up with a ton of pictures.

Here goes!

We've been going to a lot of high school football games (where we often run into our mascot; yes, we are the Golden Gophers, one of the most unique nicknames you will find anywhere!)...

And cheering on our beloved Alabama Crimson Tide. Whenever it's an away game, our house becomes a party zone..

McKenna celebrated Homecoming Week in high fashion, as she celebrated Senior Toga Day...

And actually "vacummed" the front yard to get rid of all the toilet paper that made our yard home for the entire week (one of her best friends actually destroyed our yard...I'm not using that word lightly...and it was quite a job to clear it up). She looks happy doesn't she? (although Sydney thought it was a hoot to help her out)...

Delaney ran for Student Council President at her middle school for the second year in a row (and won again! Yay!!)...

She also received an award from the Birmingham Urban League, recognizing her for her academic achievements. We were so proud of her...

In between all of the kids' activities (and football! and some actual writing and editing and teaching work I threw in for good measure), I made some of the best cookies I've ever made (made with chocolate cake mix and toffee candy bars). Mmmmm....

And I made the cutest Cupcake Kabobs...

(they consisted of mini cupcakes with chocolate, purple, or lime green frosting; marshmallows; and rice krispy treats)

When the rain decided to ease off for us (it seems like it's rained almost EVERYday in the last several weeks!), we watched Sydney play Fall Ball. She played first base and circle and hit SO good. Look at #5....

Just this last weekend they celebrated the end of the Fall Season with closing ceremonies, where we posed with friends...

and got super-excited about something...

And posed with the Best Coach Ever (also known as Daddy)...

This past weekend, we also got the pleasure of watching McKenna perform with her Color Guard/Dance Team as part of a big high school band competition...

Look at how high that rifle's flying...

And look at the expressions on her face (she really gets into her performance; it's so fun to watch!)...

We've also made it to all of the Alabama home games. This past weekend was the Bama vs. South Carolina game and it seems like every time we turned around there was Mark Ingram (#22) running the ball. (He did set a single game rushing record for our stadium with 246 yards. And he's getting serious Heisman Trophy talk. We're so excited for him!)...

This picture just cracks me up! I looked up and saw that the scoreboard said it was 3rd down and 211 yards to go (our defense was Awesome, and I'm guessing South Carolina felt that way sometime)...

We also got a few good Pumpkin Patch pictures...

We've been having some unseasonably cold weather and it's felt really nice to put on the sweaters and sweatshirts...

I hope that all of you are having a wonderful week so far! I will do my best to pop by and see you soon on your blogs. In the meantime...know that I think of you all often!

The Joy of Watching Them "Get It"

There are many times in our lives as parents when we are just so excited to see our kids finally "get it"...whether it's "getting" a lesson you've been trying to teach them, or an attitude you want to see them express to someone else, or something they're trying to grasp at school (although, looking back on my own experiences, I never ever really "got" anything to do with Math!).

One of the more fun things to see your child "get" is how to read. Right now I'm experiencing this with Sydney and it is so exciting.

We are a family of readers and book-lovers, and it appears to me that we have another one emerging in Sydney.

It's so much fun to see her running to me with her daily book from school, wanting to show me what words she knows. And even more fun to see her begging each night for her bedtime stories. (In the last couple of weeks, Where the Wilds Things Are has been requested many times and you don't know how happy it makes me to hear Sydney exclaim at random times, "Let the wild rumpus start.")

As a parent, I want to encourage Sydney's learning as much as possible so I try and incorporate letter and word recognition, spelling, and reading in every step of our daily life.

We love to play Scrabble in our family (well, maybe with the exception of Gary; he'd rather beat me up in Chess), and Sydney loves to get out the Scrabble board and spell words. Just the other day, I came downstairs and she was spelling words. I asked her to show me some of the words she'd recently learned and this is some of what she showed me...

(You might also have noticed that Sydney also is learning how to put words together for sentences and phrases. Probably her very favorite is "I love you"...the message she put together for me in that first photo at the top of this post.)

Ten Fun Questions on this Random Tuesday

1. What's the last state you visited other than your own?

That would be Florida this past Summer. How I would enjoy sitting on the beach right now.

2. What's your middle name? And were you named after anyone?

My middle name is Annette, which I swear my parents chose from Annette Funnicello from "The Mickey Mouse Club." My first name is my Mom's first name (although she doesn't go by it), but when I watched the MMC as a child all I noticed was that the mousketeers named Cheryl and Annette were one after the other. I imagine that I was named after the two of them!

3. What is something you don't like...even though everyone else seems to?

Oh gosh, there would be a lot of those things. "Grey's Anatomy," scary movies, romance novels, Myspace, hockey (sorry, Jeff!). Funny story, though...I did a list something like this on Facebook maybe two months ago and put "texting" as one of my things. Today, though, I love texting; I told the girls that this was an example of a parent admitting she was wrong about something!

4. What's the first costume you remember dressing up in for Halloween?

Remember when we used to buy Halloween costumes out of a box? They consisted of a plastic costume with a logo or design on front, and a plastic mask. I remember getting a Barbie one of those, and I LOVED it!

5. Have you ever played a sport?

You'd think I'd have been very athletic growing up, considering how much I love sports. But, no, I'm a spectator...not a participant! (I was on a church softball team when I was maybe 12 and I'd stand in the outfield praying that God wouldn't send a ball my way...because, guaranteed, I would drop that ball or it would hit me in the face!)

6. What is a talent you have that people might not know about?

While I didn't play sports, I was a cheerleader years ago. So, I can still do the splits. I also can do that weird yoga move where you cross your legs over each other; and, now that I think about it, I can stand on my head for an extended amount of time.

7. What's the last thing that made you laugh out loud?

Last night, Delaney was showing me a project she'd done on Egypt for her Social Studies class. I told her that I knew of something her group should have done and they would have certainly got an A. Then I went onto youtube and found Steve Martin's verion of "King Tut." We sat there and laughed and laughed. (Which led on a random youtube tour as we shared silly things with each other, including Joe Jonas performing "Single Ladies," Weird Al's "White and Nerdy," and some parody of Miley Cyrus.)

8. Are you an oldest, middle, or youngest child?

I'm the oldest child, and I have one younger brother. I do think I fit into most of the older child stereotypes (high achiever, more responsible, etc.), but there are others that I absolutely don't (I'm very laid back!).

9. What's the best thing you've had someone say to you lately?

Sydney: "Let the wild rumpus start!" (Sydney LOVES Where the Wild Things Are and she just randomly yells that line out at different times. The reader in me smiles big when I hear it!)

Delaney: "Sometimes when things are rough, God uses them to make things get better." (We had some rough spots lately--kids being kids, teenagers being teenagers, parents being stubborn--but Delaney saw how the rough times were necessary, because they were an opportunity for things to get better. What a wonderful lesson we all need to remember!)

10. What are you wearing right now?

I'm usually not shampooed and dressed and made-up at this time in the morning, but I am today because I'm about to head up and eat lunch with Sydney. So, I have a nice black shirt and jeans on (instead of a ratty Alabama or 80s concert t-shirt!).

I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday, and join in the fun if you'd like by posting these questions and your answers (either in my comments section below, or on your own blog).

Hugs to you all!

God & Goblins

I'm letting my five-year-old dress up like a witch for Halloween.

It's a cute witch. It's black and lacy and has hints of purple and neon green on it. It's got a big, furry, fun hat to go along with the dress. She's gonna look quite smashing.

Still, some people would like to tell me that I shouldn't let her dress up like a witch. Or a little vampire. Or anything scary.

Halloween, it seems, is something that Christians shouldn't enjoy. And while I certainly respect anyone's opinion and I'm not gonna worry how someone else wants to celebrate the day, don't act like I'm a heathen simply because I enjoy saying "Trick or Treat," and we have a family tradition of having a "Creepy Dinner" together, and I decorate with little ghost candles, and I enourage my kids to enjoy the day.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm a wimp, really I am.

I hate scary movies. I don't do haunted houses. I'm even afraid of clowns.

But, I'm also a big fan of Halloween. And I don't even force myself to call my celebrations a "Harvest" or "Fall" event. I still call it Halloween.

I hope you all know how earnest I am in my Christianity. I try and practice it everyday in my normal going-through-my-daily-routine life. I pray. I worship. I tell others about my faith. I treat others the way I think Jesus would want me to. I ask for forgiveness when I don't.

But I sorta think that a problem the world has with Christians is that we nit-pick about things like Halloween, when we should worry more about praying and justice and forgiveness.

As a Christian, I also try and do my best to raise children who have that same sense of who they are as a person of faith. I want them to grow up and be confident in who God is and who they are related to Him and His world.

Sometimes I doubt the job I'm doing with that. But, at other times, I think I might be doing something right (at least every once in a while).

The other day, Sydney announced off-handedly (as she often does), "I know why God created Halloween."

I've been around her long enough to know when she makes a comment like that (anything that involves God or Jesus or Love or Life) that I'm about to get a good lesson. I might as well just grab a big tall glass of sweet tea, pull up a chair, and sit a spell.

"You do, Sydney?" I responded. "Why?"

"Well, God made pumpkins. And he made pumpkins with faces on them," she said. "On Halloween, the faces are all lit up inside."

I kinda wondered where she was going with this, then she stuck me with the "message" of it all.

"I think God wants us to be like pumpkins. We need to let the light shine out of our faces, so we can be happy and show love to other people."

Amen, Sydney. Amen.

And that right there--because she's got it figured it out better than most of us--is why I will keep on plugging away. Doing my best to be a good example. Taking her to Sunday School. Talking with her about love and God.

And, yes, letting her be a witch for Halloween. (I might even dress like one with her...although I'm leaning more toward a Flapper right now.)

I'm going with the idea that Halloween is a chance for us to enjoy our families, make fun cupcakes, spend time with friends...and for my children to laugh and giggle and smile (and enjoy all that candy!).

And that it's another chance for me to learn a little more about what it means to let my light shine.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


For some Friday "Eye Candy," this is similar to Sydney's costume. Cute huh? ...


And then I am going to HAVE to try these "crashing witch" cupcakes. Cute too, huh?...

Fall is Here!

We were out in the yard the other day and Sydney said to me, "Mom, I just found some evidence of Fall." Stopping first to smile at her use of the word "evidence" (yessiree, I'm raising another smart one!), I asked her what it was. She handed me a leaf. "It just fell out of that tree," she said, "and, look, it's yellow."

Thank goodness it's October. And thank goodness it finally feels like Fall down here in the South. (I love Summer so much, but even I was getting tired of 90 degree weather.)

So, for your Random Tuesday enjoyment, here are Ten Things I love about Fall...

1. That cool crispness in the air in the morning.

2. High school and college football.

3. Halloween.

4. The first fireplace fire of the season.

5. Bundling up under covers to watch t.v.

6. Fall foods. (Casseroles, soup, roast.)

7. Fall softball.

8. Those leaves.

9. Hot chocolate and flavored coffees.

10. Sweatshirts.

What do YOU love about Fall?

Because I'm a Bit Biased
(but, seriously, aren't they the prettiest girls ever...other than any in your own family?)

I took a ton of pictures this week (I hope to post an entire photo wrap-up sometime over the weekend), but I thought I'd share some I took of McKenna, Delaney, and Sydney.

Being a Mom is definitely a challenge (I've felt that way A LOT lately!), but these girls still make me so proud. They are true gems, and are beautiful on both the inside and out!

McKenna and her band and color guard squad had their pictures taken for the yearbook this week and I, of course, showed up and got a lot of pictures for myself. I especially love that second one (THAT's my girl right there!)...

Delaney is doing the middle school pageant again this year and I took some pictures for her to submit to the Miss Photogenic portion of the pageant. I took like 100 pictures and we loved all of them. These were Delaney's three favorites...

Sydney, of course, wanted her picture taken too...

Enjoy your Friday and your weekend. And, remember...Count your blessings and your joys!

"Say What?"
Top Ten Quotes Right Now

I've heard lots of funny, touching, interesting things in my life lately (that's sorta what happens when you have three girls like mine!), so I thought that on this Random Tuesday I'd give you the Top Ten Quotes overheard lately around here.

(1) "I need to buy an afro," followed soon after by "I'm borrowing a paper shredder."

It's Homecoming Week here in our town and the Junior-Senior Wars are going full-steam ahead. They compete to see who is dressed up best for the spirit days each day (hence the need for an afro...for Tacky Day), but then the competition really heats up every night. The kids begin gathering their "weapons" and head out to roll people's yards (hence the need for a paper shredder...to shred paper up into as many pieces as possible, so it can be strewn all over someone's yard). We've already been rolled twice and last night's work was truly a toilet papering masterpiece. The funny thing is that, when I was younger, people who were unpopular or unliked were rolled. Today, it's like a fun competition to see how well you can roll your best friends' houses. (Last night, the roll-ee came and had me take a picture in the yard with McKenna!)

(2) "I'm so proud that we finally played so awesome."

Delaney's middle school volleyball team competed in the county tournament this past weekend and they did so much better than we anticipated. They had been having some rough matches in the last couple of weeks, but they really brought their A-game to the tournament. We made it into the second day of competition and came two points away from beating one of our main rivals in a tie-break game. Delaney was just so proud to see them do so well finally; she even got a little weepy when it was all over with.

(3) "Roll Tide."

Delaney went with me to the Alabama-Arkansas game this past weekend and we had a wonderful time together. Good mother-daughter time, good snacks, wonderful atmosophere....and it sure didn't hurt that we dominated the game and won 35-7!

(4) "I wanna take my picture with the President."

On our way home from the game, we decided to stop into KFC to grab a quick late-night snack (apparently, all the nachos and Dippin Dots and cokes from the game hadn't filled us up!). As we walked in, Sydney said, "I wanna take my picture with the president." She ran over to a bench in the restaurant and plopped down on it. "That's not the president," I told her, laughing the entire time. "That's Colonel Sanders." (I'm still trying to figure out where that came from. Maybe he reminded her of Abraham Lincoln?)

(5) "Can you make a cupcake tower for my wedding?"

You all know how much I love to cook and bake, and right now I'm sorta obsessed with cupcakes. I've made them for a lot of different occasions lately and I've actually entertained the thought of opening a custom cupcake business out of my house (I bring different cupcakes to the midde school girls class I teach every other week at church and they totally said they would be my advertisting managers; LOL), so I was SO excited when a friend asked me to make a cupcake tower for her wedding. It's a small wedding (I'll make about 50 cupcakes, plus a small cake for the top), but I'm super-excited anyway. Right now we're thinking vanilla and strawberry cupcakes (with my yummy buttercream frostings) and a pink and brown color theme.

(6) "Thanks, Mom."

The last week has had some stressful moments for Cheryl the Mom, and sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the best job I can to raise my girls right. (You know those moments of uncertainty?...when you raise your voice when you shouldn't, when you discipline only to see them doing the same thing, when you wonder if they're grateful for the job you ARE trying to do). And that's when a simple, "Thanks, Mom" means the world to you!

(7) "Can you make me an empanada?"

I had to include this one because it was just SO random. It came, of course, from Sydney's mouth and I had to ask her if she even knew what an empanada was. "It's like a little pie," she answered. I then asked her how she knew what that was. "I just know," she said. Okay, Sydney, I'm very impressed by your intelligence (and I guess I need to find a good empanada recipe).

(8) "Mom always has a camera."

I was taking pictures last night of McKenna and her friend, Chris, shredding paper (for the aforementioned Homecoming festivities) and Sydney said, "Mom always has a camera." She is absolutely correct. I pretty much take pictures of everything.

(9) "It feels like Fall."

This morning, heading out to school, I felt the first real nip of Fall in the air. It must have been around 55 degrees and it felt absolutely wonderful! I'm definitely a warm weather gal, but about this time of year in the South I'm ready for it to head down below the 80s and 90s. And the Fall temps means that football's more comfortable, Halloween's just around the corner, and it's time to buy some fun cool-weather clothes.

(10) "Did you know, Mom, that every day is a good day?"

Sunday was a very good day here in Alabama and in the Wray household. The sun was shining, there was a nice warm breeze in the air, and it was just one of those days when it felt good to be alive. I had spent time at church with good friends, and I had been inspired by the music sung and the words spoken. I had been refreshed by the spirit of friendship actually being shared by the girls (and their Mom and Pop!). So, the day was already going well when Sydney came up to me and provided me with that zinger. I just gave her a hug and said that, yes, I did know that. (But it sure was nice to have her reminding me of it!)

And now...

how about sharing a meaningful (or funny, or sweet, or whatever) thing you've heard in the last couple of days. Share it in my comments section, or post it on your own blog (and let us know you're doing it).

Have a wonderful day!

A Dip into the Archives, as I get ready for the Alabama-Arkansas game
(And some scrapbook stuff for the first time in forever!)

(Tomorrow is the first game of Southeastern Conference play for Alabama, as we play host to Arkansas. I will be at the game---with, I think, Delaney this time--and will be yelling "Roll Tide" as loud as I possibly can. Amidst the sea of crimson I will, though, feel a little jolt of emotion when the Razorbacks take the field. I will want my Bama team to beat Arkansas pretty badly--we need to have an impressive win as the #3 team in the country--but I will also feel some sentimentatily, since I grew up in Fayetteville as a Razorback fan. Yep, I could yell "Pig Sooie" as a child and it's hard to separate ones self from such a "unique" ability or memory. So....I decided to dig into my blog archive and pull out this post I wrote last year before the start of the college football season. It gives some insight into my love of Alabama--as well as Arkansas and Texas--college football. I hope you may not remember it, so you can enjoy it again. And, remember....join in yelling ROLL TIDE as loud as possible with me around 2:30 p.m. Look for me on tv. I'll be the one wearing red and going crazy!)

Before I get to that post, though, I thought I'd share the latest mini scrapbook I've finished. It's my album preserving my memories of last year's Bama season, which ended with an undefeated regular season and weeks at #1. It was a great year and I had taken all sorts of great pictures (I made sure I had at least one picture from every game day, whether we were at the game or having a gathering here at the house). It's a super-simple album, made actually from a book I found at the dollar store and then added pages to.

It makes me happy (and I hope I can make a similarly exciting album for this season)...

And now my archived post:

I guess you could say that I was born with college football in my blood.

Born to college student parents, I lived my first two years on a college campus (a small one in east Texas), where Dad said they'd walk from their married dorm to the stadium every Saturday afternoon and get into the games for free. He still gets a little misty eyed when he tells the tales of those izdyllic days, long before College Game Day and blue-chip recruiting...when a day at a football game was pure enjoyment (and that's all).

As my father ventured into the world of academia, I was blessed to live all of my growing-up days in college towns. And, let me tell you, there is no better place to grow up...surrounded by the smell of books, the sound of ringing chimes, an appreciation for marbled columns, and a love of learning. And, of course, an unabashed passion for tailgating and fight songs, for cheerleaders and marching bands, and for touchdowns and game-winning field goals.

As a girl, my first love came in the hue of burnt orange. My father received his PhD from the University of Texas, and he says he can still remember the look in my eyes when I first heard "The Eyes of Texas" played during his graduation at dusk right beneath the Tower. At just eight-years-old, I learned to yell "Hook em Horns" with the best of them.

But, children are fickle, and when the University of Arkansas came calling, I quickly learned to call the Hogs. I have such sweet memories of going to games at Razorback Stadium (for some reason, the one that sticks out in my mind was one against SMU, back in the days of the Southwest Conference), but even sweeter ones of Barnhill Arena and the heydey of Arkansas basketball.

My loyalties were divided and I often riled up my family when I'd cheer for the Hogs over the Horns (and, in fact, I almost got booed out of a game in Austin one time when they played each other...but, I guess the fans didn't have it in them to eject a twelve-year-old).

But, soon, no loyalties would exist in my own personal world of college football allegiances. My family moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, before my sophomore year in high school. That's never an easy age at which to start over. I cried when we left Fayetteville; cried for my lost friends and the fear of beginning again. And, yes, I cried because I was leaving behind my beloved Hogs.

We arrived in 1983, as Ray Perkins took the helm of the football program. So, no, I never experienced the Bear Bryant era; I never heard him speak or saw him stalk the sidelines (in fact, my only "real life" memory of him is of him beating all the teams I ever cared about as a child).

So, you see, I never really expected to fall in love with the Crimson Tide...but, I did... just as sure as you can't help but fall for the allure of the perfect boy. You know the one? The one with the smile and the swagger and the sense of humor and the style. That's what happened once I moved to Tuscaloosa. I developed a big ole crush on the town and the campus and, of course, the football team.

I spent six years at the Capstone (in undergraduate school, and then again in graduate school) and some of my fondest memories are of the Saturdays spent either at Legion Field in Birmingham or at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. At registration, I got a little jolt of anticipation as I saw the new slate of classes on my schedule; and got an even bigger jolt when I checked the box that said, yes, I'd like to order my student football tickets for the season.

Time has gone by since then, and I've endured the ups and the downs over the years. The heartbreaking losses (how can I forget the loss to Tennessee by two points? We actually sang a dirge in the stands of Legion Field after it ended); the mediocre seasons; the unbelievable wins; and the national championship run (we watch the 1992 game on DVD every year before bowl season, and my three daughters almost know the plays by heart).

Things have come pretty full-circle. Gary and I got married on campus (in one of the three buildings that survived the Civil War), my girls all love the Crimson Tide, and I even do some teaching at the university. It's as if I really can't get away from Alabama...and I certainly wouldn't want to do so!

And, today, there is nothing like heading into Bryant-Denny and see my Crimson Tide face another foe. We are, in everyone's estimation, "back on top" where Bama should be...but that doesn't mean that every game's not an emotional rollercoaster of excitement for me (and whoever in the family gets to go with me!).

I will cross my fingers, say a little prayer (I know that God really doesn't care much of anything about the outcome of a football game, and I usually ask for forgiveness for getting my priorities out of whack when I head to church the next morning), and then cheer for the team that might just fulfill my football dreams this season. Because, you know, the fact that I can yell really loud will definitely spur my team on to victory (you knew that, didn't you?).

It's a bit of an obsession, probably. It's probably not what my Dad dreamed of for his little girl who was born in that small college town (he tells me all the time, after all, that it is "JUST a game"), but it is what it is. (I promise that I still have my priorities straight...God, family, and only then does football show up on the list!)

So, bring on the Hogs tomorrow...and ROLL TIDE!!!