Jesus Loves Me This I Know!!!!

God is so good! Shelby last night started asking questions about Adam and Eve. So, Jen and I broke out the Bible and shared the story with her. We talked about Adam and Eve sinning and the cost of that sin is DEATH!!!! Jen and I went to bed feeling good that Shelby was asking about God. Little did we know that God was pricking Shelby's heart.

We woke up this morning ate breakfast, went to work and school. Everything seemed like a normal day. Then at supper Shelby asked about God again. Jen and I reminded Shelby of Adam and Eve and the cost of sin. Shelby asked if there were people going to Hell. We said "Yes, but they don't have to. Someone has already paid for their sin."
Shelby said "Who?"
We answered "Jesus."
Shelby said "I want to give my life to Jesus, but I don't know how."

At this point my insides were trembling in fear and excitement. We rushed Shelby to see Pastor Stan. He asked her questions to make sure she had a grasp of the whole situation. Then he said "You know we can talk to God. It is called prayer."
Shelby said, "I know."
Stan said, "What do you want to tell God?"
Shelby said, " I want to ask Jesus to save me and to let him know I love him."
Stan was shocked. What a perfect sinners prayer.

My Prayer is:
Thank you God. Shelby is excited to know that you are preparing a place for her in Heaven. Please help Jen and I lead her in the direction you want her to go. I know you have big plans for her. We give her to you and submit to your plan for her life.
In Jesus name I pray. AMEN!

Hey Pumpkin...you come here often?

A neighboring community had their annual Pumpkin Day Festival! We go every year...unless it rains like last year. Here are some pics.

Shelby loved the horse ride!



There was even a little pony for Beth! She was so excited. I am the creepy guy in the green shirt following her.



The girls got their face painted. Ghosts....SPOOOOOOKY!



Shelby played some games and won a Halloween cup with spiders on it. We called it her goblet of death. (AHHH just what every girl needs)



Someone was giving away free puppies and I had to be the bad guy and say NO! Look at this pic....could you tell her no? It hurts me more than it does her.



Shelby picked out a pumpkin. I baby sat the pumpkin for awhile. I kissed it and loved it and called it my own.



And no Pumpkin Day Festival is complete without a hay ride.



All in all it was a great time. Happy Halloween!

Beth's New Cute Quotes

Beth is growing up so quickly! I thought I would take the time to write down a couple cute things she has been saying. I don't ever want to forget them.

1) Beth's Prayer
Dear God,
We love you very much...Thank you Mom and Daddy...In Jes name I pray...Amen

2) When I have the unfortunate responsibility to reprimand Beth, she always runs to Mommy and says in an upset/sad tone "Daddy told me all about it." It melts my heart!

I love that girl so much.
Dear God,
We Love you very much...Thank you Beth....In Jes name I pray..Amen.

Paybacks are so much fun!!!

Today was great! In my business it is important to keep a good rapport with the banks we do business with. Today....I made some true brownie points. One of the local banks in town (Regions Bank) has an employee (Daniel) that goes to college, works at the bank, and bakes bread for people as a side business (Mr. Graham's Bread). He also likes to prank people. Well...What goes around comes around.

Here is a few facts to make this make sense.
1) The bank branch manager (Chris) is an attorney.
2) I know most everyone in the bank and they know me as a cut up.
3) Everyone in the bank knows I have skills.
4) Chris provides me with a badge that says "Professional Civil Process". Which to someone not scared to death...means nothing.
5) Chris provides me with a letter from a reputable law firm from a neighboring metro area. The letter states that Daniel sold bad bread to a client and the client had to be rushed to the hospital and is suing for damages ($5,000.00).


Here is how it played out.
Daniel is already having a bad day being 15 minutes late for work. I show up and stand in the teller line. When one of the tellers asks if they can help me I answer "I am looking for Daniel Graham."

The teller directs me to him as he responds, "Is that a badge?"

I answer, "Yes sir. Can we please step aside in order to have some privacy?"

He agreed.

As he is putting money into his drawer and preparing to lock it up. Another employee (who is in on the gag) says, "Can I help you sir?"

I answer, "No ma'am, I found who I needed."

Daniel, feeling quite uneasy, comes out into the main lobby. I ask him, "Are you Daniel Graham of Mr. Graham's Bread."

He confirms his identity and I quickly respond with, "You are being served. Please sign here."

Shocked Daniel signs and asks, "What should I do?".

I respond, "I am not allowed to discuss the case with you. Please take the letter I gave you to your attorney and he can explain further."

Daniel politely says, "Ok...Thank You." Daniel tried his best to act cool, but he was nervous. I calmly walked out the door.

After I left, Daniel was quoted as saying, "I can't believe I am not out of college yet and am already being sued."

Daniel runs to the only person that he trusts could give him advise....The bank Branch manager/main instigator, Chris.

Chris leads him on a bit before saying, "YOU HAVE BEEN PUNKED!"

I nailed my part. If any Hollywood producers are looking for a fake process server...I am your man!

I fount me a new SWIMMIN HOLE YA'LL

This weekend Jen, Shelby, Bethany, and I went on a family outing to see some of the beautiful sites of our state. WOW...how beautiful it is! We went into the Ouachita National Forest and visited the Little Missouri River Falls. The drive was not bad until we went on dirt roads. The dirt roads were in great shape, but a minivan is not the ideal mode of transportation on them. Bumpy, slow, and dusty.

When we arrived, everyone needed to go to the "Tinkle Tavern" (that is our family's name for the bathroom). We were glad to see that there were bathrooms at the falls. However, I believe I would have rather used the woods than what we had to use. A GLORIFIED PORTA POTTY!!! It smelled horrid. Thank the Lord that we were up in the mountains where the temperature stays cool. Heat that stuff up and....well it would have been game over for me.

We had a quick picnic...I do mean quick because the aroma of the bathrooms would waft over to enhance our dining pleasure.

Besides that, we had a blast. The falls are gorgeous, even in August when we have not had a lot of rain. We swam in them. WOW WAS IT COLD!!!! We did get used to the temp of the water and had a great time. Being in the mountains and swimming in the icy waters changes a man...no really...my clothes were wet...I had to change. And you thought I was going to get deep and philosophical on you!

Bad Boys Bad Boys What ya gonna do...

We had an incident last night that still blows my mind. For those of you that don't know, I live on a quiet street. However, if you go a few streets Southeast....not so quiet. Sometimes we get a little foot traffic through our area that has nothing better to do than to cause problems. They don't live on this street, but the come through from time to time.

Last night after supper, Shelby invited her friend Madison over to play. I was watching the girls as my wife had two meetings last night to attend. As I was in my recliner Shelby and Madison storm into the house saying that these kids are going to beat Madison up. I looked outside and saw about 7 or 8 kids that I did not know hanging around in front of my house.

There is not a lot I can do about the situation unless they verbally harass my kids or they come unto my property. So I wait. Then one of the kids rides his bike through my lawn. I go outside and tell the kid to stay off of my lawn. (Sounds like an old man, but whatever.)

Then Madison's Mom comes home and I send Madison home. Don't worry...I watched her the whole way. Madison's mom tells the crowd to disburse and go away. The crowd moves down the street and starts to call Madison's Mom a cracker. (Not an endearing term.)

As I am talking to Danny, (my Contractor who is trying to finish my bathroom remodel), we see one of the older girls from the crowd walk up with 4 others and knock on the carport door of Madison's. Danny and I watch. Madison's Mom opens the door and tells the aggressor to leave. The girl screams "No...I'm gonna beat your !$#@%".

So Danny starts over to help as this girl starts backing Madison's Mom into her kitchen. I call 911. The aggressor flees the scene when she finds out we called the PO-PO! Five minutes later the police arrive. We all had to fill out reports and I think the girl was charged with Harassment (a misdemeanor). In my opinion this girl needs to be in Juvee!

I know where she lives and I know who she is. I have my eagle eye on her! I will summon my "Eagle Powers" Sorry that's a line from Nacho Libre. Anyway, I don't think this will be the last time the cops hear of her. She is too bold, angry, and out of control. I wish something could be done now to better correct her before we as citizens have to pay for her room and board in a prison somewhere.

Waiter THERE'S A FLY IN MY SOUP!!!

Ok, not a fly and not soup. Here is the scoop!
My parents came down for a visit this week. I love to spend time with them and I wish I did not live so far away...but back to the story. We went shopping in a suburb of our state capital for Shelby's back to school supplies/clothes. After a long morning of shopping, Jen, Shelby, Beth, my parents, and I were starving. (Ok...not starving..I mean most people who know me will agree missing a meal would do more good for me than not.) We were hungry. So we stopped at Applebees hoping for a good steak to charge us up for the remainder of the day.
Our waitress took our drink orders. When they arrived Jen had a big surprise! A piece of SOMEONES GUM WAS LEFT ON THE SIDE OF THE GLASS! HELLO! GAG A MAGGOT! Papa motioned for the manager who apologized and got Jen a new glass. I know what you are thinking..."Ok, that has happened to me...Big Deal!"
WELL it doesn't end there. My Mom ordered a steak and I ordered a salad and a pasta with chicken dish. When the food arrived everyone was enjoying and laughing about the gum situation. My Mom and I decide to trade plates since I am more of a steak guy and she thought my dish looked great. When I got the steak platter from Mom there was A LONG GNARLY HAIR ON THE POTATOES!!! COME ON MAN...REALLY...ARE YOU SERIOUS! Papa motions for the manager again.
The end result was a meal voucher for next visit and a new steak. In closing...might I reiterate...GAG A MAGGOT!!!!!!