Weekend Happenings, Blog Linkage, Crock Pot Cheesy Ravioli, If I Could Turn Back Time

Good Friday morning!

We've got a lot of "stuff" to cover, so let's get busy!

RANDOMNESS #1 - Roxie played in her last JV Volleyball Game of the season Monday night against Curry.

That's right.

I said Curry.

"Where is Curry?" you might ask.

I have no idea, but I'm thankful for the people I followed to the school during the daylight hours and the WONDERFUL woman I followed HOME in the dark.

Friday's post is dedicated to them, because if they had not helped me, The Big Gold Van and a carload of JV and Varsity Volleyball chicks would probably be on the side of a lonely, country road right now waiting for a Big Gold Van Rescue Team.

Not to say it wouldn't have been fun, but leaving Gardendale at 1:30 p.m. on a Monday and successfully returning HOME to Gardendale at 8:45 p.m. on the same Monday night is a good time, too!

She gets her "I'm going to kill this ball" stance from me.

I stand like this all the time.

And she gets the "duck walk" from her Dad.

Just so you know, Kennedy not only looked ready... She WAS ready. This ended well. Very, very well.

If I had a ponytail, I would play sports, too. All kinds of sports.

And I would rock a sporty chick ponytail.

This is our Kelci. She (and her family) belong to The Faulkner Five. She plays on Varsity, and Varsity won AREA CHAMPS last night. That means they go on to the next tournament.

And I have a feeling they're going to win that one, too.

This concludes the 2012 portion of The JV Volleyball Season. Get ready for basketball pics... and lots of them.

RANDOMNESS #2 - I took a little nature walk from The Big Gold Van to the back door of Faulkner Farms (circa 1842) this morning, and these are just some of the sights I saw...

We have 13,000,000 acorns in our front yard.

I'm not exaggerating.

I counted them all.

I love how this little tree is ever so S-L-O-W-L-Y turning red... one branch at a time.

RANDOMNESS #3 - Mikie's going out of town this weekend. He's leaving Sunday afternoon for a conference in Colorado.

I'm staying here.

Although it may appear to the innocent bystander I have a really good attitude about it... not so much.

I'll keep the home fires burning, but don't expect me to be happy about it!

I'm posting this picture so we will not forget what Mikie looks like while he is gone.

RANDOMNESS #4 - I know you're asking yourself, "If Mike is going out of town Sunday, how are they going to take their weekly Fun Fall Ride?"

Good question.

Fortunately, Mike thought about it, too. He called and invited me on a rare Friday picnic to eat fried chicken and soak in all of the Fall goodness before he gets on a plane Sunday.

And I accepted.

Guess where we're going?

That's right. The Temple has a beautiful picnic area.

I'll take some pictures of the picnic area, and maybe you and yours can plan a picnic there soon.

RANDOMNESS #5 - As of today, I have 1,917 pins on my boards on Pinterest.

As of today, I have tried 64 recipes/ideas/tips.

I think there's something wrong with those two numbers!

If I Could Turn Back Time - I've been thinking about a new topic to talk about over the next few weeks, and it came to me a couple of days ago.

I'm kind of/sort of at the point in my life where I can look back over 21 years of parenting, and think of some things I would do differently if I started over today.

This topic will only be beneficial to starting out moms, but...

If I could turn back time, I would read my Bible and do my daily Bible devotions IN FRONT of my kids more often... instead of "before they wake up."

I know kids can be a distraction, but between you and me, it is so true that children learn much more by watching how a parent lives their day-to-day Christian life than by being told how to live it.

I have no data or poll information, so please don't ask me to support my findings.

Can you tell I've been watching too many debates lately?

Blog Linkage - Go to The Dating Divas under My Blog List and read today's post entitled "Rockin' Review Paging Supermom." I believe I'll be visiting the "Paging Supermom" blog again and again.

Crock Pot Cheesy Ravioli

I found this recipe on Pinterest and made it Wednesday night for dinner after church.

You will need the following:

1 large jar of pasta sauce (about 50 ounces)
1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
1 can of Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 bag frozen cheese ravioli (25 ounces)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray.

2. In a separate bowl, combine pasta sauce, tomatoes, cheese soup and garlic. Mix well.

3. Spoon 1/3 of the sauce into the slow cooker.

4. Top with 1/3 of ravioli.

5. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of each cheese.

6. Repeat twice.

7. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours.

While Mikie said it was "okay," Josh and Roxie liked it very much, so I probably will save it for a teenager/company dish.

Weekend Happenings

Okay. Here is our weekend in a nutshell.

Friday - Roxie is going to the high school football game with friends. Mike and I are going shirt shopping. Austin is working on his internship at JSU. Josh wants to watch a movie with his Dad after our shopping trip.

Saturday - Mike and Josh are continuing their annual tradition of watching Auburn play at a different SEC Stadium each and every year until they have been to ALL of the SEC Stadiums. (They are heading to Nashville early in the morning!) Roxie is sleeping very, very late, and then we're going shopping and "Grandmother visiting" before she gets together with some friends. Austin is working on his internship at JSU, but will be home late Saturday evening.

Sunday - We're all going to church. Mike is leaving for Colorado in the afternoon. Josh is playing football with some new friends. Roxie is napping. Austin and Melia are carving pumpkins on the back deck. (I will be taking pictures of Melia and Austin carving pumpkins on the back deck.)

And that's it, Guys. A typical October weekend at Faulkner Farms!

Have a lovely weekend. I'll be back Monday morning with stories, pictures and hopefully, some FUN FALL FAMILY IDEAS.

Take care, and I'll talk to you next week.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda