Today was the annual Bristol Christmas Parade. There was a big crowd at the parade despite the very cold weather. Alison and Nicole danced in the parade ALL THE WAY down State Street (they started at the Bristol Herald Courier). They both did a great job! When we met the girls at the end of the parade route, Nicole started to cry. When I asked her why she said it was because she couldn't feel her feet...ouch! Alison didn't complain at all - what a trooper! Here are a few pictures from today...

Alison and Nicole before the parade

Waiting for the parade to begin...

My niece Bonnie plays the saxophone in the Tennessee High Band!

The girls dancing in the parde...

Tomorrow is the big Bristol Christmas Parade. This is the first year that Alison and Nicole are going to be in the parade. They will both be dancing with their dance academy all along the parade route. They are super excited about getting to wear their new dance sweatshirts and their new gloves!! It is going to be so cold but they will have on several layers of clothing so maybe they will stay warm...I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Now that Halloween is officially over, I have to say that this was one of my favorites!! It all started when we carved the pumpkins. We just couldn't carve normal pumpkins this year. We had to get a little creative. Nicole and I did flowers on one pumpkin and Chris and Ali did a scared face on another one. Then on Thursday we met some friends from church for dinner and then we tried to go Trunk or Treat at Steele's Creek park..that didn't work out as planned but we still had a lot of fun. Then on Halloween, we stopped by mom's house and then went went Trunk or Treating at church. Alison went as a Rag Doll and Nicole decided to go as a bedtime girl. They both looked really cute and had a lot of fun! After going to the church we went to Mamaw and Papaw's and Mark and Karyn's. Then it was off to a Club 56 Event. We went to a bonfire at the Marcus' house. We roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. We drank hot chocolate and then went on a hay-less hay ride. I have never been on a hay ride at night before but I have to say that it was a lot of fun!!

Nicole loved getting the "guts" out of her pumpkin!

Today our family participated in the Susan G. Komen: Race for the Cure. If you have never been a part of one of these events I highly recommend it. We didn't do the timed race but we did complete the 3.2 mile walk. It was so neat to walk in this event with my mom who is a breast cancer SURVIVOR! There were over 3000 participants at this event and over $400,000 was raised to be used in the Tri-Cities area for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research. Here are a few pictures from the event...

The "Hart and Soles" team: Lorrie Smith, Amy Barnett, Debbie Garland, Karyn Garland, Patsy Smithson (the Survivor), Sherry Chambers, Nicole Chambers and Alison Chambers. Mark Garland and Chris Chambers also walked with us but they were the one taking pictures...thanks guys!!The crowd eagerly awaited the start of the Race...

We started walking down Eastman Road...all 3,000 of us!

I was so proud of Alison and Nicole! They both completed the race without complaining ONE time...that in itself is amazing!!

Here is my amazing mother waving to us from the finish line!!! Way to go MOM!! We love you!

"

Last week we celebrated Reading Week at my school. On Friday, we had an assembly where all of the kids (and most of the teachers) came dressed as a storybook character. Alison dressed up as the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. Nicole was Hannah Montana (I know it is a stretch for this to be a storybook character but Hannah Montana does have some books out). I came dressed as Sister Berta...a nun from the Sound of Music. Again, not a storybook character but several of the teachers were in a skit based on the Sound of Music and I had to sing a portion of the song "How do you solve a problem like Maria?"....LOTS OF FUN!!!

Here is a link to a preview of our recent photo shoot with Julie Roberts...can't wait to see the rest.

http://www.julierobertsphoto.com/chambersfall2008

So we started our Fall Break by traveling to just outside of Townsend, Tennessee for pictures with Julie Roberts at Sampson's Hollow. We had a great time and Sampson's Hollow is a beautiful place.

Next we traveled to Seabrooke Island/Kiawah Island, SC. Our friends Jeff and Candy Gurley own a Lollipop Shop there so they invited us down for a few days. These two islands are like Fantasy Island. The beaches are some of the prettiest anywhere.

Bohicket Marina

Looking out at the ocean from "The Ocean Course" golf course.

The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island

The Beach on Seabrook Island

It was cold and rainy on Saturday so we went to Charleston and to Sullivan's Island.

We stopped by to see the "Angel Oak" on John's Island. They say that this tree is 1400 years old. It is quite a site to see!

On our way out of town on Sunday, we stopped by Rosemont Farms. It is really a neat place. In addition to produce and flowers (and boiled peanuts) they have animals for the kids to visit with. The girls fell in love with these cute little rabbits!

We all had a great time and enjoyed some much needed family time!

So I FINALLY got a new computer for my classroom, thanks to the generosity of some parents. Yesterday I went and picked up a new computer desk and today Chris came by after he got off from work to put the desk together. Chris got to school during my lunchtime. He came and sat with me for a little while before it was time for my class to leave the lunchroom. After lunch, my class was at the restroom when one of my little girls came up to me and said, "Mrs. Chambers, do you know who that man was sitting beside you at lunch?". I assured her that I did know THAT MAN and that it was my husband...

Chris spent a lot of the afternoon in the hallway putting the computer desk together. After he was finished, he came into the room and started putting my computer together for me. The class really didn't pay much attention to the fact that he was in my room so we went on with class as normal. Later on in the afternoon, another student asked me if I knew the man in our classroom. I said, "I have know idea who that man is"...just joking with the class of course. Then one of my students said, "People say he is your husband". I assured the class that he was in fact my husband. They asked me what his name was. I said, "His name is Mr. Chambers". For some reason they thought that was the funniest thing. Then one of the girls (in all seriousness) said, "That's your husband? I thought he was the DELL man". To cute!! Then one of them said they thought his name was Walter. Walter???? I am not sure where they came up with that but the whole situation has given me a lot of laughs this evening!!

I took pictures of the church a while back for the Girlfriends Unlimited Cookbook...I didn't use this picture but I thought it turned out kind of cool with the clouds being reflected in the windows!

Well, I finally feel like I am back in the swing of things. For the first week of school 2 weeks of school I had a terrible time getting everything to fit within 1 twenty-four hour day.

The girls have adjusted well to school. I am really enjoying NOT having make a stop to drop Nicole off at preschool before going to school. They are both really learning alot. If Nicole could just learn to quit talking so much (especially in music class) we would be OK.

The girls have both had a couple of weeks of dance classes and that is going well. They have both already learned one complete dance -WOW!

A couple of weeks ago we went camping at Roan Mountain with the Aubreys. The Paulsons joined us on Saturday and that was a lot of fun. The kids all really had fun playing together! We were all amazed at Mandi who ran up to the top of Roan Mountain...

and then back down the mountain.

Last weekend we rented our house out for the Bristol Race. We were a little apprehensive about the whole deal but it really worked out well. The people who rented our house were from Canda (we got to meet them and they were all really nice) and they left our house in great condition. We stayed with mom during the time that the people were at our house. That actually went well...I hope we didn't drive her too crazy!

Now I am enjoying the fact that it is Saturday night I don't have to work on Monday...

Yeah for holidays!!

Here are some pictures from our camping trip...

Today I went to register Alison and Nicole for dance classes. Alison took ballet a few years ago (when she was about 4) but Nicole has never taken any classes. Both of the girls have wanted to take dance for a couple of years so Chris and I finally gave in. We thought it give the girls (especially Alison who stays extremely STRESSED OUT) an opportunity to have fun, unwind after a hard day at school and get some excercise too. Alison has said for a while now that she has wanted to take Hip Hop so it was a blessing that they were offering a class that worked with our schedule...needless to say she is thrilled! Nicole originally said that she wanted to take Ballet but when Alison said that she would have to dance to slow music, Nicole changed her mind. Next Nicole decided that she wanted to take Jazz. She and I talked about Jazz all the way to the dance studio. I asked her several time if she was sure that she wanted to take Jazz. She tends to change her mind alot so I wanted to be sure before I signed her up. All the way to the dance studio, Nicole insisted that she wanted to take Jazz...she didn't want to even talk about Tap or Ballet. When we got to the studio, I filled out all of the paperwork and when I got to the place where I had to write down which class the girls would be taking, I again asked Nikki if she was sure she wanted to take Jazz. She assured me she did and so I wrote her name on the paper beside Jazz. Well about that time, one of the teachers, who was talking to another mom about clogging, picked up a pair of clogging shoes...that was all it took. Nicole heard the sound that the clogging shoes made, her face lit up and I marked out her name next to Jazz and wrote it next to Clogging!! So now, Chris and I are going to have a Hip Hop dancer (who potentially could drive us crazy with the music) and a Cclogger who WILL drive us crazy with her clogging shoes!! Should be fun!

Today was a little eye opening to me...I went to the funeral home to say goodbye to a very sweet lady and then to the hospital to see a brand new baby girl. I thought it was a bit unusual to do both in the same day but it did remind me about how God is in control of our lives. He ordained our days even before we were born. He knows everything that will happen to us from the time we are just tiny babies until the day we leave this earth.

I went to the funeral home to say good-bye to Lena Pate. Mrs. Pate is the mother to one of my friends, and coworkers - Jeannie Evans. Mrs. Pate fought a hard battle with cancer and actual lived a lot longer than the doctors thought she would. Mrs. Pate baked the best cakes that I have ever eaten and fortunately I was treated to her delicious deserts many times at school. When I went to the funeral home, the family had printed some of there favorite recipes to give to everyone and they were burying her in her apron...I thought it was very sweet. God's timing was good as Jeannie was able to spend the summer with her mom, creating special memories (without the stress of school) and care for her in her final days. Mrs. Pate was a faithful follower of Christ so even though her time on earth is through she is now living with Jesus. A place I am sure she longed for!

After leaving the funeral home, we went to the hospital to meet a precious (only a few hours old) baby girl - Callie Faith. Callie is the daughter of our friends Larry and Christy Dickison, and the little sister to one proud big sister, Karisse. When we walked in the room, the room was full of friends and family and you could just feel the love in that room. It was the sweetest sight to see Karisse sitting with her baby sister just hugging and kissing on her. Karisse couldn't stop loving on Callie. When she wasn't loving on her, she was talking about Callie. While I was holding Callie, Karisse (and Nikki) climbed up on my lap so she could love on Callie some more. Seeing this family together with their new baby, along with Larry's parents was just precious. Again, God is good. He brought Callie safely here and kept Christy safe during the delivery!

So as I sit and reflect on today, I thank God for the assurance that when his followers leave this earth, they are taken to a better place where there is no more tears, crying or pain. A place where we are reunited with loved ones that have gone on before us and a place where we can see JESUS and worship Him forever and ever. I also thank God for new life and for the hope that it brings. Each time I see a newborn baby I am amazed at how perfectly God creates us...even if we aren't perfect on the outside, to Him we are perfect. I thank God for friends and family...how in the world would we ever get by without them. So at the end of today, I find myself just being content and being incredibly thankful for God's goodness and blessings...which I don't deserve AT ALL!!

A few weeks ago, Alison took a week long cooking class at the Southeast Culinary Institute. She learned all kinds of neat things and ended her week by cooking lunch for a group of parents and other special guests.

CHEF ALISON

On July 26th, Alison had her 10th birthday party at the Freedom Hall Pool. The Freedom Hall Pool is a great place to have a party!! You get an hour in the party room and the staff takes out the trash and sweeps the floor for you!!! Alison had several friends from church and school along with her family! Everyone seemed to have a great time!! I can't believe that she is 10 years old...it seems like only yesterday that she was a tiny baby!

It has been a while since I have posted anything here so I am going to try and catch up over the next two days.

We all survived out trip to Atlanta. While in Atlanta the girls and I went to Chuck E. Cheese. Nikki won these crazy glasses there! She was quite proud of her choice of prizes!

On the way home, we stopped not to far out of Atlanta for lunch. This cool Kentucky Fried Chicken was at our exit. We were all fascinated by this sign because the eyes on the chicken were turning and the beak was opening and closing. It's not everyday that you see something like this so I just had to take a picture.

We made a stop in Chattanooga on the way home from Atlanta and we all had a great time there. We went to Ruby Falls which the girls both thought was really cool. Then we ate at my very favorite pizza place in the world...LUIPI'S. It is right downtown so if you are in Chattanooga be sure to give it a try. We also visited the aquarium before heading to Bristol.

Inside the cave at Ruby Falls.

Ruby Falls

The butterlies at the Aquarium were so pretty! We spent a lot of time watching them. Chris even had a butterfly land on his shirt. It actually stayed there for some time...I guess the butterfly liked him or maybe it was just looking to hitch a ride out of the aquarium.

Our favorite exhibit at the Aquarium was the Penguin exhibit. We had fun watching the penguins swim and then jump out of the water in there own funny sort of way!

I have a few more things to post but I guess this one is long enough for now. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get all of my posting up to date!!