Nothin' much

There hasn't been too much going on in the Adams household lately, so there's not much to write about at the moment. Brian and I had a good Thanksgiving. On Thursday we went down to Spring Island, SC where my parents have bought a lot, and walked/ran in the annual Thanksgiving "Early Bird Chase" (5k). Mom and I walked it, while Brian decided at the last minute to run it. Probably not the smartest idea considering he hasn't run over 1 mile in years. You can imagine how sore he was after running 3.2! I have to give him credit though, he came in 4th place! Of course there were only about 35 people participating, but hey 4th place is still pretty good. He wasn't happy about the 15 year old kid that won first and beat him by a mile that's for sure. I think his quote from the weekend (when asked about the race) was, "Stupid kid." Oh the competitive side surfaces so unexpectedly sometimes doesn't it?

On Friday we went up to Charlotte to have our normal Thanksgiving meal with the whole family. We usually get together on the weekend because that's when everyone can make it. Here are a two fun pictures I took:


My little cousins climbing the tree just outside my aunt's house.




















Mom working hard in the kitchen - what a face!


















In other news, Brian is still unsure about what team he will play for when the season rolls around in the spring. He and/or his agent have talked with several teams, some are interested, others are not. What we're trying to remember is that if God wants Brian in baseball, then he will provide an opportunity with the right team. God has only one team in mind for Brian, and we have to wait patiently on Him to show us who that is. Please keep us in your prayers in that regard.

As the Christmas season begins I'm getting so excited. I love all the decorations, the lights, the holiday movies, the spirit of giving, the music, and of course it's all because of the most wonderful thing . . . Jesus' birth. Speaking of which, I really want to go see that movie "The Nativity." I saw the previews for it a couple of weeks ago and it looks good. I'm not sure when it's coming out, but if anyone sees it before I do, let me know how it is.

Guess I had more to write about than I thought . . .

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Like most people, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! It helps that it's during my favorite time of year - Autumn! I always have much to be thankful for too.

When my family gets together for the big meal, all of the women are assigned a dish or two to bring. I usually get put in charge of the macaroni and cheese. I like almost any kind of mac and cheese because it's one of my favorite foods. I usually prefer the creamy kind over the cassarole kind, but a few years ago my mom found a great recipe that you make in a crock pot. We all love it, so that's the recipe I use every Thanksgiving. Here it is:

Ingredients:

8 oz. elbow macaroni noodles
8-12 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (don't use the pre-shredded kind you can buy in the bag, it's too dried out)
1 stick of margarine
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 can evaporated milk
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Add margarine to hot noodles. When melted, add other ingredients to noodles, and stir together. Cook in crock pot on low heat for 3 hours.

I'm also going to make a pumpkin cheesecake this year. I've never attempted to make a cheesecake, but I thought I'd give it a try. The recipe I found sounded really good! I'll let you know how it turns out, and share the recipe if it's as tasty as it sounds.

Conference

We had a great mini vacation in Carefree, Arizona! Although we did stay pretty busy with all the conference activities. Brian and I learned a lot, and we felt so rejuvenated spiritually, that we've decided we're going to make an effort to attend every year. The main speaker was Joe Stowell, a pastor from Chicago, and he was outstanding. I highly recommend hearing him if you ever get the opportunity. He's written several books, one of which is called, "Radical Reliance." Brian has been reading it and says is very good. I didn't get a chance to take a lot of pictures, but here's one of a really cool cactus that was on the resort!





Here are some highlights from the conference:

1.) Hearing/Watching a comedian/magician who was supposedly voted "the world's best." I thought he was definitely right up there with the best!

2.) Getting to know other Christian professional baseball players and their wives.

3.) Getting to hang out with old friends we hadn't seen in a while.

4.) Learning new things about God, and myself.

5.) Two guys that Brian talked to at the juvenile prison accepted Jesus as their Savior!

6.) I'm sure I really would have liked the talent show and "time of sharing." Brian said it was great, but I had to miss it because of some stomach trouble. I don't know if I had a virus or food poisoning, but it wasn't fun. Hopefully I won't have to miss it next year!

The Latest

Last weekend we had a big birthday bash for my mother-in-law and father-in-law. Their birthdays are only a couple of weeks apart, and they both turned 60 this year! (Marilyn, I know you'll want to thank me later for announcing your age to the world)

So in honor of their 60th birthdays, the children (and children's spouses) threw them a surprise party complete with bbq, balloons, and close friends. As usual, I forgot my camera so I have no pictures to share, so you'll have to take my word for it that we had a great time. And believe it or not, they were quite surprised. No one accidently spilled the beans beforehand.

Unfortunately, some of us caught some viruses over the weekend and haven't exactly felt up to par this week. I got some sort of nasty throat deal while Wava (my sister-in-law) has had a stomach virus! Ugh. Anyway, I'm feeling better today thanks to some antibiotics. And it's a good thing since Brian and I are flying to Phoenix, Arizona tomorrow for a 5 day conference! I'd hate to be feeling bad during that!

I'm really excited about this conference. It's put on by PAO (Professional Athletes Outreach). I don't know a lot about it because I've never been. I do know that we'll be learning about what it means to be a Christian while also being a professional athlete, finances, the Bible, and there's even praise and worship time too I think. The resort where the conference is held looks pretty sweet too. You can check it out at www.carefree-resort.com Brian and I were put in contact with a wonderful man who likes to sponsor one couple every year. So we are fortunate enough to go for free! What a blessing!