The Golden Compass

Christians who have heard about and/or are thinking about seeing the movie, The Golden Compass, need to read the blog below (click on link below). Dr. Albert Mohler is the Southern Seminary president and has seen the movie and read the trilogy of books that it is based on. He believes that we as Christians should be well informed on what the movie and books are about, so we can accurately represent the truth.

The author of The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman, is a hard core atheist with an agenda. He hates C.S. Lewis, the author of the Christian series, Chronicles of Narnia. He told Hannah Rosin, an Atlantic contributing editor, that Lewis's famous work is "morally loathsome" and "one of the most ugly and poisonous things I ever read." Chronicles of Narnia, he said, "is the Christian one . . . . And mine is the non-Christian."

It is long, but worth the read:
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=1065

Millions of peaches, peaches for me...

So I decided to venture out and give Zayde a snack other than "Gerber Puffs." I gave him some peaches, and he really liked them. It was sooo funny to watch him try to grab them, because they were so slimy- he could hardly get a hold of them. I ended up just feeding them to him myself.

"Yeah, a new snack!!"

"I WILL get this peach in my little fingers..."

"Yummy!"

"Nobody puts Baby in the corner."

'Dirty Dancing' is my ALL-TIME-FAVORITE movie!! It has some of the best dance scenes, music and actors. If I'm ever home alone, bored, in a bad mood and/or sad, I put in 'Dirty Dancing.' I tried with all of my might to persuade Zack to learn this dance for our "First Dance" at our wedding reception, but to no prevail. Oh well, maybe at our 25th wedding anniversary! (hee, hee:) Enjoy Ladies!!

Rock-A-Bye-Baby

Zayde received an early Christmas present from his Great Grandma Guist- his very own rocking horse!! He absolutely loves it! He was just laughing and squealing while I rocked him on it. Now he needs a pair of cowboy boots and a hat!

Yee-Haw! Giddy Up Horsey!!

Throwback Thursday- Cousins Edition (Maxwell side)

My family has always been very close, making it a point to not grow apart. Some of my favorite childhood memories are times spent with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We have made many memories including vacations (which is a whole new post in itself), monthly birthday parties (which we still do), dressing up, sleep overs and much more. When we all got together, I especially remember three things that my sisters, cousins and I did: play dress up, fight over who got to hold the babies first, and sleep over at my grandparents (waiting for our aunt and uncle to come into town.) Here are just a few pictures of my cousins and those memories.

The Hudgens'
Left: Chris (now 23 years old) Middle: Melissa (now 26) Right: Nathan (now 20)

Melissa Lynn Hudgens (Parks)
Melissa is now a stay-at-home mom to two adorable boys, Phisher (6) and Cole (4). She is an awesome mom! She is also extremely talented in many ways, but especially in her creativity and decorating.

Christopher Francis Hudgens
Chris is a newly-wed of 1 year! He graduated from the U of A last May, with a bachelors in Transportation and Logistics, and he and his wife just bought their first house. Everyone is so proud of the man that Chris has become!

Nathan Vaugine Hudgens
Nathan is now a Sophomore at Arkansas Tech University in Russelville. He is majoring in Parks and Recreation, which is right up his ally. He is an extremely athletic guy who LOVES to run, ride his bike and off-road in his Jeep. He can bike ride on any kind of terrain, hill side and distance. It is quite amazing!

The Martins'
Back Left: Whitney (now 20) Back Right: Tavner (now 16)
Front Left: Logan (now 13) Front Right: Hannah (now 12)

Whitney Rae Martin
Whitney is now 20 years old and defines a 20 year old! She formally attended the U of A, and is now working as a waitress at Jose's while thinking about her future. She is also a true red neck who loves big trucks and hunting! She has such a great sense of humor and is so much fun to hang out with!


Tavner Don Martin
Tavner is now a Sophomore at Elkins High School. He is a very ambitious guy, who ran his own lawn care business last summer. He also loves hunting and fishing, going as often as possible.


Logan Maxwell Martin
Loagn is now in eighth grade at Elkins High School. He is an extremely smart guy, knowing all kinds of useless trivia. He is our family comedian, keeping us all in stitches when we're together. He loves to read, play video games and take care of his family dog, Cotton.


Hannah Taylor Martin
Hannah is now in seventh grade at Elkins Middle School. She is such a sweet girl and very mature for her age. She is all girl who loves shopping and clothes!! She also loves babies- everytime she is around, I can count on her to help out with Zayde.


Left to Right: Melissa, Amy, Tamara
Growing up, we LOVED to dress up and put on a show!


We even conned Nathan into dressing up like a girl!!


My grandma had a big tub filled with old shirts, scarves, dresses and bandannas. We would dress up the younger kids and teach them dances and plays to act out for the adults. Good times... (Pictured: Whitney)


Melissa and Amy dressed up in formal wear. We even decorated the table!


Amy and Tamara holding baby Whitney. My aunt lived in Ash Flat, AR (4 hours away). So every time they came to visit, we would all fight over who got to hold the babies first!

Our Elf Family...

Watch Zack, Zayde and I do the elf dance!!
(It takes a while to load, but it's worth it.)

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1179199425

Canton or Bust!

Gas: $55/person
Camping: $20/person
Vintage Earrings: $1
Knock-Off Purse: $15
Maxwell Ladies Annual Canton Get-Away: Priceless

Last weekend, 10 ladies in my family (plus Zayde) took an annual trip to Canton, TX. If you don't know, Canton has the largest flea market in the world called, First Monday Trade Days! However, it is not only antiques and collectibles. They have EVERYTHING else you can imagine for sale: jewelry, designer clothes, doggie items, purses, floral arrangements, wrought iron anything you can imagine, homemade salsa and other goodies, toys, furniture, ribbon, army supplies, cookware, tools, hand-crafted everything: picture frames, door signs, Christmas ornaments, hair bows, pillow cases, bags, clothing, baby items, and so much more!! I did not even mention half of what they have in Canton. It is an amazing place and the ladies in my family have an absolute blast every year on our Canton trip. We shop, eat, talk, laugh, play games and enjoy the weekend without men and kids...

The Whole Gang!
Left to Right: Zayde, Amy, Julie, Cathy, Melissa (squatting), Grandma Joann, Carol, Lisa, Hannah, Whitney, Christa, and Tamara who usually comes, but was unable to make it this year. We missed you, Tamara!

We had shirts made that we wear every year.
Front...

...back

Zayde got sick on the way there, running a 104* fever. He did not feel good at all. His Nana stayed with him at the camper on our first day to let him sleep. He slept ALL day, only getting up a few times for diaper changes and to eat a little bit. Each day he felt better and is doing well now. Poor Baby!

We love to cook and eat on our trips. This year we had beef stew, taco soup and the fixings for dinner one night, and then roast, potatoes, carrots, rolls, and salad for dinner the next night. We also had many desserts and snacks including Chocolate Pies, Pumpkin Cake, brownies, oreos, crackers and dip, and so much more. Mmmmm!

Carol, Christa, Julie, Melissa and Lisa fixing their plates...

Joann, Cathy and Hannah ready to eat!

Yummy... Thank goodness for campers with stoves and ovens!

Zayde took his first two steps on our trip!! I was so excited- it was even on his Daddy's birthday. Yeah Zayde!!!

My cousin, Whitney, had a lot of fun on our trip, too! She texted, talked on the phone and slept!! (Ha, ha! We love you, Whit :)

We are a family that loves playing games. Although we were worn out from traveling and shopping, we just can't help ourselves. We played Cranium the first night and Nerts the next night.

We spend hundreds of dollars between the ten of us, buying a huge variety of items...

A 5 foot Christmas arrangement that cost $25! The man made us a deal to get rid of it, so he didn't have to take it back home with him.

Car loads of purchases...

Some of the bigger items bought were a full size wooden bed, a huge picture frame and a wooden potato box.

Loading up, wondering how we will fit everything in...

My Purchases:
13 yards of oh-so-cute ribbon, a jacket for Zayde (next year), $3 jeans- belt included, a rustic cross, sidewalk paint, a beautiful brown purse, feather boas, vintage earrings, a metal belt buckle for decoration, and a wooden-framed canvas painting (not pictured). All of my purchases added up to under $75!! Where else can you find deals like that, ladies?!