Dear Journal~

A very happy Louisiana Sandusky writes in her journal today.  Why am I so happy?  Well, at church, thirteen people went up to accept Jesus Christ into their hearts during altar call, my family is well, and my beloved Louisiana State-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns beat North Texas!!  And, to top it off, the Tennessee Titans won as well!

The only blemish:  The Tennessee State Vulunteers lost.  They got beaten by the Louisiana State Tigers.  (While I am overjoyed for the Tigers, I am sad for the Volunteers.  Both teams played their hearts out, but then Tennessee goofed up, and LSU got the win.  I sure wish I had been there at the game; that would have been heart attack city!!)

It is a beautiful early fall day here in the hills of Tennessee.  The trees are exploding with color.  Fall is a stunning time here, and we love looking at the bright reds, oranges, greens, golds, yellows, and browns in the leaves.  We also saw flocks of Canada geese winging overhead as  they head southward.  A sure sign of things to come.

The weatherman is projecting a cold, snowy winter here.  I believe that, watching the squirrels and other critters hastily gathering nuts and seeing the plump woollybear caterpillars resting on leaves or flowers.  The woollybears are almost all black, with just a thin strip of red/orange in the middle.  This winter is going to be interesting is all I can say!

Poor Bill won't be able to sing tonight on the worship team: his voice is gone.  He spent all day yesterday watching the game between LSU and Tennssee.  Best I can get out of him is a raspy "hello"; he sounds like a very old man.  LOL

Ronee' is another casualty of the LSU-Tennessee game too.  She is hoarse as well.  She won't be singing either.  LOL

Both of them sound like croaking frogs.  LOL

Johnathon is doing well in college: he loves it!!  He is gong to Tennessee State, where he wants to become an interpreter for the deaf or a professional writer.  He is busy with homework, but yesterday he took a break, so he could watch the football game.  He is a very sad young man today because his beloved Tennessee "Vols" lost. 

I feel his pain.  So does daddy and his sister. 

The other kids are doing great.  School and family duties keep them pretty well grounded.  I'm just looking forward to Thanksgiving next month because the kids who live out of town are coming in to spend the holiday weekend with us; it will be a house full to near bursting!  Yet we don't mind because we get to see our grandchildren again and spoil them!  LOL  (And we get to go out for Turkey Day: we're eating out at the Golden Corral after the parade, then come home and watch the football game and let our full bellies flop around.)

Hard to believe, but Ian and Isaiah, our twins, will be three years old!  Seems like only yesterday they were in diapers!  They are talking up a storm, learning new things every day.  Like for example, Ian: he's learned to open the door all by himself and his brother has learned to climb up on the counter to get at the cookies.  *Sigh*

Last week, Isaiah was sick for two days because he managed to eat a bag and a half of Oreos.  Bill and I were not happy with him.  He gave himself a violent tummy upset.  *rolling eyes*

Lesson learned.  Ever since, Isaiah hasn't gone near the cookies.

The littler kids had been outside all day yesterday, jumping in the leaves (under grandpere' and gran'mere' 's supervision, of course); today they stayed in their rooms and entertained themselves with their movies or books.  They went to church, and then when we got home, they disppeared.  Haven't seen hide nor hair of them, but will pretty soon, if they want to eat supper: today it's chili over mashed potatoes, guacamole salad, and for dessert, homemade apple pie.

Well, I hate to rush off like this, but we have to eat, or else we won't make it to church.  I will write in here again soon.  I hope to write more than I have been as of late.  I've been terrible with my writing!  Forgive me?  Until later, take care, and may God bless you always!

~Love, your friend in Tennessee, Louisiana Mayrah.