LAST CHANCE

Well, there has only been one entry in November's "Write the Caption" contest. So if no one else has a submission, I guess this month will be uncontested and Vince will reign supreme! It's up to you.

Here's the photo. What's the caption?

DAILY BAILEY #5

We think that when Bailey sleeps she looks like the FireFox logo.

MISSING BABY JESUS

Alert! Our baby Jesus is missing!
(I'm sure if I were good at that kind of thing, this would make an interesting sermon illustration.)

On Friday, I pushed our little wheelie cart to the basement/parking garage to our little storage cage to dig out the Christmas decorations. We have a cute little pencil Christmas tree that is perfect for our space. And this year we actually have a fireplace mantle to hang our stockings. But most of all, I was excited this year because we have a perfect place to put up our nativity scene, crèche and all! However, after I unpacked it all, I discovered that baby Jesus was missing. I've checked the box and the packaging twice. I don't have a clue where he could be since all of it was neatly packed in the same box.

So I plan to make another trip to the storage cage hoping that somehow he was just misplaced. I'll keep you posted.

I AM THANKFUL

Happy Thanksgiving

Family and Friends, we're missing you today and are thankful for each of you.

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." -Colossians 3:17

...always a good reminder.

A SECRET SIDE

A friend and co-worker sent this around work today with the title, "Spice, has a secret side. Who knew?!?!"

It really made me laugh. I'm a really good dancer! (Make sure you have your sound turned up.) Check it out here.

Oh well, my secret is out.

JEEP Commercial

You may have already seen this commercial...I actually saw it on YouTube before TV because one of our coworkers just bought a Jeep Liberty.

If it has singing and animals, then I'm hooked!

MONKEY MADNESS MILKSHAKE

Tonight we had small group - or as we affectionately call it, Snacks and Slippers (because we eat'em and wear'em.) For snack tonight we had extra special make-your-own milkshakes to celebrate an extra special friend's birthday. I had one of the best milkshakes I've ever had! I called it Monkey Madness.

We made it with:
vanilla bean ice cream
milk
1 banana
2 Reese's peanut butter cups
chocolate syrup
peanut butter
whip cream on top

Oh man, was it good! Several voted that they would have liked it if the banana was left out. I disagree.

Here are some of the other concoctions created tonight. (Of course, none were better than mine!)

1. Vanilla ice cream, Oreo cookies and chocolate syrup
2. Vanilla ice cream, M&M's, chocolate syrup, chocolate sprinkles
3. Vanilla ice cream, Chocolate malt mix
4. Blackberry ice cream, chocolate syrup

If you had these ingredients, what kind of shake would you have made?

vanilla ice cream, milk chocolate syrup, Dove dark chocolate syrup, chocolate chip cookies, Oreo cookies, Reese's peanut butter cups, M&M's, chocolate malt mix, peanut butter, Nutter Butter cookies, marshmallows, mixed berries, bananas, pecans, maraschino cherries, chocolate sprinkles, fall colored sprinkles and whipped cream

MONKEY OR APE?

I'm sure many of you with little ones have probably seen this video, but there may be some of you who haven't. Ya gotta love those VeggieTales!

So I guess I'm an ape...

ht:Taran

DAILY BAILEY #4

TAKE MY LIFE

At church on Sunday we sang the hymn "Take My Life and Let It Be" written by Frances Ridley Havergal in 1874. I am very familiar with this song because it is one that we sang often through all my years of summer camp. (I know some of you BMA-er's read this...don't you remember the Whitefoot special music each week?) It brought back a lot of memories as I sang. But more than that, I was struck by the words. You know how you become so familiar with a song that you stop paying attention to the words? I found the red phrases below especially meaningful. I'm thankful for the reminder...they've been good words to have on my mind all week. If you don't know the song or haven't heard it in a while, I recommend prayerfully reading it now.

Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee;
take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of thy love;
take my feet, and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King;
take my lips, and let them be
filled with messages from thee.

Take my silver and my gold,
not a mite would I withhold;
take my intellect, and use every power as thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
take my heart, it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store;
take my self, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.

VOTING DAY

I know.

I know.

It's been way too long since we had a "Write the Caption" segment. But it's time... Election Day is the perfect day for a new contest. So happy writing. Don't be afraid. Everyone can and should participate.

What's your caption for this photo?

EVAN ALMIGHTY

We watched Evan Almighty this weekend. I thought it was a pretty decent movie and enjoyed it. Of course, I don't review movies in the same way or as well as Mr. Ginger. But I enjoyed it and especially liked the scene with God (Morgan Freeman) and Evan's wife (Lauren Graham) in the diner. Here's part of it:

God: Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?

And, of course, I got a kick out of the baboons in the movie. They helped Evan build the ark and were quite impressive!!

PINK CITYSCAPE GONE

It's sad to see October go...for many reasons. But one in particular is the end of the pink Chicago skyline. Every October many of the skyscrapers in downtown Chicago tint their lights pink in honor of breast cancer awareness month. It's always so pretty.

I remember the first time I saw the city bathed in pink was right after we moved to the area 5 years ago. Mr. Ginger surprised me one evening and drove downtown (about an hour from where we used to live) just so I could see the lights. Driving around the city to see the lights from all angles is the best way to do it. It's impossible to get the real affect from a photograph, but Mr. Ginger took this one from our rooftop deck.