Light a Candle

Light A Candle by Avalon


Light a candle
for the old man who sits staring
out a frosty windowpane

Light a candle
for the woman who is lonely
and every Christmas is the same

For the children who need
more than presents can bring

Light a candle
Light the dark
Light the world
Light a heart or two
Light a candle for me
I'll light a candle for you

Light a candle
for the homeless and the hungry
a little shelter from the cold

Light a candle
for the broken and forgotten
may the season warm their souls

Can we open our eyes
to shine through the dark

Light a candle
Light the dark
Light the world
Light a heart or two
Light a candle for me
I'll light a candle for you

And in this special time of year
may peace on earth surround us here
and teach us there's a better way to live
and with every flame that burns
we must somehow learn
that love's the greatest gift
that we could ever give.....

Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Saturday, December 5, 2009, we woke up to see a beautiful snow covered neighborhood. It snowed about 1 inch and as soon as the sun came out that day, it was pretty much gone. However, we enjoyed it while it lasted!

Boo in the Zoo 2009 at Chattanooga Zoo

We were invited by friends to go hang out at the Chattanooga Zoo on Friday, October 30, 2009. Boo in the Zoo is a family-friendly Halloween celebration. The Zoo offers costume contests, candy, games, and crafts as you walk around and visit the animals.

Culture Fest at Chattanooga Market

After church on Sunday, September 27, 2009, we visited the Chattanooga Market. The Chattanooga Market is the region's largest producer-only arts and crafts and farmers' market. It is held every Sunday from April to December at the open-air First Tennessee Pavilion in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The market was hosting the city's 10th Annual Culture Fest. This festival celebrates the cultural diversity of the Chattanooga region through musical and dance performances, educational displays, interactive booths, kids activities, art and food.




Avery and I enjoyed the event....Joe, not so much, but he endured til the end. Avery got a Henna Tattoo for $3.00 and then was mad when Joe pointed out that she could have got one for free at another booth.




CELTIC DANCE




RENAISSANCE SWORD FIGHTING




AFRICAN DANCE



NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTE

Baby Booties- Baby Shower Cake

I hosted a baby shower for my friend Angel on Saturday, August 15, 2009. It was a small shower among a few of her closet friends so I made a petite cake for the shower. The cake is similar to one that I did a few months ago, but this cake was smaller. It had an edible baby bootie topper, more fondant circles and fondant borders instead of buttercream. It's not perfect, but I had fun making it and she LOVED it! It did taste yummy!

Avery Goes to Middle School

Avery started Middle School this morning. She was in a fairly good mood this morning while getting ready, but she had a small meltdown the previous evening at bedtime. She said that she couldn't sleep and she felt like she does on Christmas Eve while waiting to get up and open presents. I had to go rub her back and put on some soft music until she finally calmed down enough to sleep. It was a bitter sweet moment for me, since she is trying to be so grown-up lately. It showed that she still wants me to be there for her and she needs me.
I wanted her to feel good about school so I even made her customized Twilight labels for all her subject notebooks. Joe thought it was a little much, but I wanted her to feel good about school and she is Twilight crazy these days. It's a fad for these young girls and some other young star will steal their hearts in future months. I remember being crazy over some boy band at that age. It's just part of growing up.
Avery has this 80's style fashion thing going on, but she looks stylish. I let her dress up on the first day of school and we even let her wear some light eye shadow, lip gloss, and mascara. However, she did not get to take her cell phone, Twilight book, or Teen magazine that she tried to take...in case she got bored. That's what she said anyways, but I told her that she didn't need any extra distractions today. Just focus on where to go and what to do! She will do great and my prayers are with her.

Fun times at Orange Beach, AL- Slide Show

Avery had so much fun playing with her cousins at the beach. This slide show will allow you to view the place in which we stayed and maybe catch a glimpse of the fun we all had during our Orange Beach, AL trip. The children had fun playing in the ocean and the sand. Avery and Joe found some hermit crabs on their way to the beach one morning and that started a frenzy with all the girls. We released them back to their natural habitat, but the girls had to go buy them one at the gift shop before the trip back home. Avery named her hermit crab "Milky Way", so we have a new addition to our family at this time.

Hope you enjoy!

Orange Beach Alabama 2009

We visited Orange Beach, Alabama the week of July 19th- July 23rd. We stayed at the Phoenix East...thanks to Tom and Linda Sanders (Paw Paw and May May). We really appreciated the trip and we had a good time with them and the whole "fam-damily" (Cary,Amy Odom & girls)(John, Julie White & boys). We had great weather and the beach was so beautiful.

Here are a few pictures of Avery that we customized for the blog. We took some fun pictures of the kids playing at the beach and will post them at a later date.

Summer Fun at the Pool!

Avery and I have really enjoyed the pool this summer. This Summer has been so fun and I am glad that Avery and I are getting to spend some much needed quality time together!

Make a Smilebox postcard

Stacy and Avery's New Hair Do's

Make a Smilebox postcard

Make a Smilebox postcard

Baby Shower Cake

My friend Tisha is having a baby girl and I hosted her Baby Shower on June 27, 2009. I wanted to make the cake and treats for the shower, because I thought that would show her how much I cared about her and make things more meaningful to her. It really was some work to pull things together, but it allowed me to express my creative side and it was somewhat therapeutic and relaxing for me. I have enjoyed my time off from the work force and I am actually getting to do things for myself, family, and friends. When you are used to working 45+ hours a week, you lose yourself and your connections to people. You don't have time for anything but work.
I realize that I only have a month or two until I need to go back to work, but I am hoping to find a job that allows me to have some freedom and flexibility to continue to enjoy my life and build stronger connections to people. I thought that when I finished college in 2003, I could conquer the world and I was very interested in being at the top and financial gain. Now, I understand the burnout of that path and I have had a few months to reflect on "what not to do" for the future. I should do a TV show on "What Not to Do"....kinda like that show "What Not to Wear". My sister in law, Jennifer, said that I should get my own cake decorating show like "Ace of Cakes", but I am far from being that good on baking cakes. However, I enjoyed my little cake baking experiment. It was all about friendship and fun!

Avery's Birthday Party

Avery turned 11 years old on June 12, 2009. She wanted a "Peace Sign" cake this year so I created one for her. It was one of the best tasting cakes that I ever made. However, it tasted better than it looked, but I tried. Had some problems with decorating kit.

Avery with her Papa and cousins, Hayden & Corbin. (Her Mammy in the background)
My Girl!

Fun Day in Chattanooga June 10th

I took Avery and her friends, Stefanie and Savannah, to hang out in Downtown Chattanooga. We had fun walking around the Bluff View Art District, Walnut Street Bridge, and Coolidge Park. They enjoyed posing for the pictures especially at the outside displays of art by the Hunter Museum of Art.






ENJOY OUR SLIDESHOW. IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE PICTURES BETTER THEN CLICK ON VIEW ALL IMAGES TAB.