Why Southern Small Town Life is Great

When we moved to Jasper several people asked, "How do you like living in a small town?" Answer: WE LOVE IT! We were both born and raised in small, rural, towns but moved to the city for a few years while we were working on our education. And although we loved the convenience and culture of urban areas we've found there are many reasons to love life in the small town. Here are some of our favorites:


1. It only takes about 5 minutes to get anywhere in Jasper (the downside is there just aren't that many places to go!)


2. Wal-Mart is never crowded no matter what time it is. I used to dread going to Wal-Mart like going to the dentist for a root canal, but here its never that bad. Sure, they still need to learn to open more than 2 registers at any one time but that's just the Wal-Mart phenomenon. At least no one is pitching a fit in line or running you over with their cart.


3. Small-town, Southern people are infinitely more polite than anywhere else in the United States....lots of maam's, sir's, darlin's, sweetie's, honey's, and sugar's.


4. Housing is MUCH cheaper here....you get a lot more for the money! We hope to buy a house in the next few years and about fell over when we scanned the real estate ads. It was a nice change from big city prices!


5. There are no traffic jams (could be due to having only 3 stoplights in town) and road rage is kept to a minimum (at no point is the speed limit higher than 45 mph within Jasper city limits). There's also a smaller chance that I'm going to get lost while driving somewhere. My GPS (Gertrude Garmin) isn't seeing as much action as she did in Kansas City.


6. The waiters at local restaurants know you by name and can usually remember what you order. For example: At Rafael's they know I always order Chicken Slouvaki with Cucumber Dip on the side. The waitress doesn't even have to ask me anymore! I love it!


7. I know my postman's name (Paul) and the sweet little lady who own's the drycleaners knows Kevin and has his order ready when she sees him walk in. What service!


8. Locally owned shops have unique items and low prices. I can get a Marion County Warriors t-shirt at Maximum Sports (on the town square) for $7. I can go to Hammers and get anything (really, I mean anything) for CHHEEAAPPP.


9. The sweet tea is perfection (ask Kevin!) and we lay claim to come of the best cooks anywhere. About once a week Ms. Maudie cooks for some of the older folks in town who can't get out and she always bring a plate over for Kevin and me (its a pastor perk). Her meatloaf may be the best thing I've ever put in my mouth...this is coming from someone who usually feels that the word "loaf" is bad news when attached to "meat." People here take eating seriously and since its our main hobby we fit right in.


10. We've made so many friends that we're getting to know well because life is slower here...people have a little more time for each other. For example, some of my little church girls were in a wedding on Saturday and they came by the house just so I could see them all dolled up with their hair curled. A weekend never goes by that we aren't invited to dinner with a family we know, out to look at Christmas lights, or to one of our kid's sporting events or school plays. Very few rush off after church on Sundays. Everyone sticks around a while to talk and catch up on the week. If your car breaks down, you need a new doctor, dentist, or hairdresser, or your house needs fixing there's always someone who "knows someone" that can fix it for you.


We realize small town life isn't for everyone but we like it. We like it because we're loved by the people here and we love them back. Come see us and you can experience it yourself.


Now we know why Andy loved life in Mayberry,


Mandy

We're Bad at Taking Vacations

Back in November Kevin and I had planned to go and visit Dollywood with some of our church folks during the Christmas season because its beautiful and we hadn't ever been. So we set the date for the weekend of December 19th and were anxiously awaiting a few days off in Gatlinburg. Our friends had heard rain and cold weather were coming and decided not to go but Kevin and I were determined to have a couple of days of relaxation.

We left home last Friday morning and the rain was pouring so hard all the way to Knoxville we couldn't hear ourselves think! Once we got past Knoxville the rain turned to dense, wet, snowflakes. Gatlinburg was beautiful in its white winter-wear; however, a semi had jack-knifed on Ski Mountain Rd. and we were unable to get up the mountain to our condo. Making the best of winter's cruel joke, we rented a hotel room on the main drag in town and went in search of dinner. I usually make fun of Kevin for packing everything we own "just in case we get stranded" I have to admit I was glad he packed my gloves and snow boots! The snow kept coming and we had about an inch on the ground by dinnertime.

Our dinner at the Brass Lantern was disappointing (sadly misused plastic greenery, over-cooked steak, and funky tasting Diet Coke). And just as we were paying for the overpriced fare the power went out ALL OVER TOWN...not so much as a "Don't Walk" sign flickered anywhere in sight. All the shops shut their doors for the night and the place was completely deserted! You would think they'd never seen snow before. AND IT WAS ONLY AN INCH! I was more than a little annoyed that Mother Nature was winning with so little effort.

So, we debated what to do and trudged back to the car through the slush so we could see if our hotel had electricity. Unfortunately, our room was like a cave...cold and pitch black. No one knew how long it would take to get power back because a tree was down somewhere in the national park. Instead of waiting out the cold we reluctantly packed up by flashlight (yet another handy item Kevin insists on keeping in the car) and headed back to home-sweet-home in Jasper. After an unsuccessful hunt for ice cream (Hush! It IS an appropriate comfort food regardless of weather) and a 20 minute detour to a Cleveland Starbucks we made it home by 10:30pm and got to sleep in our own bed.

Oh well, it was a good try. Next time - to the beach....less chance of snow. But then again they do have hurricanes.

I hope your holiday travels are more successful. We're headed to Georgia on Wednesday....and it better not snow!

Mandy

P.S. No pictures....because we weren't there long enough to see anything picture worthy...and it was dark. Really dark.

The Hamburger Chef

Have you ever wondered if you might be the owner of a secret talent that not even you know you have? I don't have any glaring talents so I kind of always hope one day I'll wake up and be able to draw beautiful, life-like pictures, sing like a female version of Josh Groban, or craft Martha Stewart right under the table. I'd even settle for being able to solve the Rubics Cube or complete an entire crossword puzzle in the Jasper Journal in ink. I'm still looking for secret superpower...however, I have discovered Kevin's hidden talent (other than mopping - he is wonderful at mopping and vacuuming)....

He is an AMAZING hamburger chef. Now anytime we're having burgers for dinner he takes over the kitchen. All I have to do is put the french fries in the oven and get out the ketchup! This all started recently when we had watched one too many episodes of Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel and he watched the host attempt and succeed at eating a cheeseburger with 12 patties and 12 pieces of cheese (Yes, its his backup plan if this pastoring thing doesn't work out). While some might think eating that much is just plain ridiculous it actually makes for some interesting late-night television. Anyway, the inspiration was instantaneous. Immediately after that Kevin decided to try his hand at being a Burger Artist and while the results were delicious...the initial burger making process was hilarious. I really never thought I'd have to explain that using the actual lid for my skillet is much more beneficial for the cooking process than laying a cookie sheet on top of the pan. Then again I have to remember that in cooking years he's still a baby. :) I don't have his recipe exactly right (because its different every time and we don't measure stuff very often) but we'll give you the gist and you can try it at home with your own unique twists:

**NOTE** We're not responsible for any accidental weight gain or broken New Year's resolutions created by the following recipe.**

1 lb 80/20 lean ground beef

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Big dash of hot sauce (or more if you like it spicy!)

Big dash of worchestershire sauce

Form your beef into 3 big patties (or in our case 2 Kevin-size ones and 1 - Mandy size one) and put your skillet on medium high heat so it sizzles when you put the burgers in. Let it sear well on both sides then turn down the heat and put a lid on your skillet for about 5 minutes. Add your favorite toppings and some french fries and you'll be set! Enjoy!

Expecting a call from Throwdown with Bobby Flay any day now,

Mandy and Chef Kevin

O Christmas Tree...

The Monday after Thanksgiving the Christmas tree went up. This is our first year to actually have a tree and I was determined it would be a real one. Mom always has a real one and I love the way they look and smell. However, I'd have to drive to at least Chattanooga to find one with no guarantees of finding anything better than a Charlie Brown special. So, I went ahead with this cute little fake one loaned to us by friends. Its only about 5 1/2 ft. tall so I can reach the top. It turned out pretty! I had no idea we had at least 5 "Our First Christmas: 2005" ornaments. (Its a good thing or our tree would be naked). I had fun pulling out the ornaments because I remember when I received or made most of them. My favorite is a red ball ornament I made at Brownies when I was six....its definately covered in multi-colored glittery, six year old handwriting. I don't have many other decorations in the house, but the ones I do have I love!


We also had snow last Saturday. I was surprised because that's unusual around here...AND...I thought I left that all behind in the great Midwest. It wasn't much and it was all melted by 10am...kind of pitiful really. The kids around here get so excited. It seems so unnatural to me to not grow up playing in the snow on snow days. Not to mention, their snow man making skills are just plain sad.



I hope you're enjoying the holiday season. We're approaching the 3rd Sunday in Advent and Christmas is less than 2 weeks away! All of our Christmas shopping is done as of yesterday and it feels good not to have to rush at the last minute. I decided this year that I would not stress over gift buying because the fabled "Perfect Gift" simply does not exist. Instead I'm enjoying the Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel, listening to Christmas music, and searching for good holiday recipes. I hope you are able to take some time and relax this season too. May we not get so busy in our going that we miss Christ in his coming.



Happy Holidays!

Mandy and Kevin

Tree and Nativity

The stockings were hung by the flatscreen with care, In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there....(ignore the vitamin commercial)

First Snow

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow!...look at that...I'm only 1 week behind. Holiday miracles really do happen! Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving in the Knight household. This year was our year to spend it with my family, but instead of us traveling to Indiana - my family made their way to Jasper this year. We thought it might be fun to try something new and it was really nice not to be the ones on the road for the holiday. Mom, Dad, Kate, Lee, and Jacie arrived at about 1pm on Wednesday and stayed until Saturday morning. Wednesday afternoon we spent getting settled in and doing a little hiking at Foster Falls and down the Fiery Gizzard Trail (I KNOW...that's the best name for ANYTHING you've ever heard. What can I say...we do things up right here in East Tennessee). That evening we all went to dinner at Rafael's...the local pizza, pasta, burger/anything else you could want restaurant (Don't knock it til you try it...). Thursday morning we started cooking. A friend of mine smoked our turkey (I wasn't brave enough to cook my own...baby steps folks) and another couple in the church had brought me a delicious Honey Baked Ham so the meats were taken care of. Lee, Jacie, and Mom helped fix all the trimmings and by 12pm it was time to dig in. I didn't get any pictures of us stuffing our faces...partially because that's not flattering and because I was too busy shoveling it in myself. After we could hold no more (we didn't even have room for pie until the next day...GASP!) it was nap time. Once our food had settled we went back up to Foster Falls to hike off some of that turkey and stuffing. We had no idea how out of shape we were until we were hiking back up...yikes. Lee was in heaven...he LOVED hiking. I fully expect he'll grow up to be a forest ranger, Smokey the Bear impersonator, or environmental forestry engineer (lets hope for the last one).

Although she liked climbing rocks in the woods, Jacie had been waiting for Friday to roll around because that was the day we planned to visit the Chattanooga Aquarium where she could see Nemo and Dory from the movie Finding Nemo. The aquarium is great for both the young and young at heart and we all had a good time....That would be a terrible understatement for Jacie....it made her day! Lee and Jacie (okay, the rest of us did it too) petted and fed sting rays and sharks. They had a great time in the butterfly house too. I was just trying to capture those elusive Kodak moments and make sure no butterflies were harmed in the process. When I put Jacie to bed that night I was playing with her hair and as she was drifting off she was still telling me, "I love giant turtles, and fish with pink fins, and the sharks....". When we got back from the aquarium Lee and Dad headed back to Foster Falls without us girls to climb things and stand too close to the edge of cliffs...(you know stuff that would give Mom a heart attack). That evening we played several games of Uno Attack (I was the proud winner of at least 2) whick included healthy doses of heckling, harrassment, and good-natured ribbing. Let's face it...board games aren't much fun otherwise. Everyone was worn out by the time we went to bed. Saturday everyone got up for breakfast (Jacie gets up at 5:30am so it doesn't take long before we're all up :) and then they headed back home. The Thanksgiving holiday was great...I would definately do it again! We missed seeing all the rest of the family (grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and my sister Emily and her family) but sometimes its nice to shake things up. They (and you!) are welcome to come visit any time...me casa es su casa. We hope you are having a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends! Check out our Kodak moments below.

Next post....the Christmas tree.

Love to all,

The Knights

Kate and Jacie....they got their fair share of the pretty genes.

I said pretty genes...not smart ones. Just kidding...Nurse Kate is the brain in the family.

He's a 10 year old boy...what did you expect when I said "Say cheese?"

Lee and Jacie: typical sibling behavior. Someone is almost always screaming and hanging on for for dear life....unfortunately its usually Mom :)

My tiny kitchen staff....my apron covered her whole body.

She makes a mean Green Bean Casserole

Lee: excellent at chopping celery but he draws the line at onions

Anything that resembles a chicken leg is fair game at the Knight house

Favorite post-Thankgiving meal activity

Foster Falls from the overlook

Dad is up on the rock and Jacie is the pink spot on the right..you guessed it...she was headed up to see Dad. No way.

It was way easier going down than coming up

Jacie - Wii Fishing Champion of the World. She can work that thing better than I can and she doesn't know how to read yet.
Petting the sharks and sting rays

Must be sweet

Is that the face of excitement or what?!!!! She had been walking up to EVERY butterfly just waiting for one to land on her....made her day.
He may not show it but Lee was as excited as Jacie when one landed on him

I think the crab was bigger than Jacie

Checking out the fish

Youth Weekend

I know I'm always running 2 or 3 weeks behind on this thing, but we might as well all get used to it. Its the same way with laundry, Christmas shopping, dusting, and cleaning all of Kevin's junk out of the car...it all keeps getting shifted to the bottom of the to-do list. The weekend of November 13th was our designated Youth Weekend (I know you've slept since then but so have I so hang with me). This can be classified in the "good" category of blog posts. The TNU group "Rooted" drove over from Nashville on that Friday afternoon and set up their band equipment in the sanctuary and then joined us for pizza in the fellowship hall. I've discovered that youth gatherings of any kind are really similar to middle school dances....everyone separates into gender-based groups and the two sides never meet. Mingling is a completely foreign concept when it comes to junior high kids meeting new people. Lookout Valley Church of the Nazrene brought about 16 kids up for the Friday night service and we loved having them! Friday night's music was really loud in our little sanctuary so the kids had a hard time following along but we got all the kinks worked out in time for the Saturday evening service.

Saturday morning at 7:30am we met 9 of our kids at the church to take them down to the Chattanooga Rescue Mission. We don't have a church van so some of our parents joined the mayhem to serve as chauffers for the day. A few of our friends from Lookout Valley got up early to meet us down there. We spent the morning cleaning the laundry room, organizing the food pantry, mopping, sweeping, raking leaves, and lugging in supplies. I'm sure it sounds like we worked them to death, but believe me when I say they had a good time (and I have the blackmail pictures to prove it!) The mission is in the process of remodeling and moving into a recently purchased school building. They were running behind schedule so there wasn't too much for us to do that day. Right now the mission is cramming about 75 people a night into a place meant to house about 35 at the most. Until they can move into the new building they'll continue to put mattresses on the floor in the chapel and hallways to get people out of the cold.

On Sundays, Sunday School begins at 10am and morning worship begins at 10:45am. At about 10:15am some people in the parking lot heard a loud pop and the lights went out all over the neighborhood. Yep - a transformer blew. So we had Sunday School in the dark. The TNU kids came to my class and after a short lesson on "joy" I gave them all a chance to talk and get to know one another better. I think it shed a little light on some options my high school kids hadn't every considered. Most of them have never even visited Trevecca. Although its not for everyone, we want them to have the option of seeing what its all about. We're planning a trip in February to take them all to a TNU basketball game.

After Sunday School we were preparing to have church in the dark and the musicians were going to play acoustically since the electric guitars, bass, and keyboards were out of commission. Just as things were getting started the lights came back on and everyone cheered. I think the kids enjoyed experiencing a new music style and having a speaker focused mainly on them. The parents and older folks in our church enjoyed it also and were faithful to support our youth throughout the weekend. We look forward to more events like this in the future.

Regrouping once the lights came back on

Sure Dylan, Matthew, and Brandon (aka: hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil) look innocent...but don't let them fool you.

Group shot in front of the mission

What's raking without a little air guitar?

Josh (pastor at Lookout Valley) and me being stupid with the camera.

I know the tree looks pretty but its FAKE. Who plants fake trees in the front yard?

Chattanooga Rescue Mission: The building on your left is the mission kitchen and housing for the men in the Christian Discipleship Program and the one on the right houses the women.

Blake, Christy, and Dixie...laundry room cleaning crew

Laura, Sawyer, and Hahhah serving lunch

Do you know how to use an industrial deep fryer? Neither did we...but we do now. Trial by fire...or deepfrying.

Still to come..Thanksgiving.

See you next time...

Mandy

Tennessee vs. Alabama

On October 24th we had all the teens and college kids over to the house for a Football Party and cookout. We had about 11 people show up. We grilled hotdogs and had plenty of chili, chips, and cookies to go with them. The kids really wanted to schedule it for the Tennessee vs. Georgia game (in order to heckle Pastor Kevin) but that one was the day after the slumber party and I just didn't think I could handle that all in one weekend. So they settled for Tennessee vs. Alabama since we border that state and have a few Alabama fans among us. Its way more fun to watch a sporting event if you can harrass those around you. Its actually the only part of the sport that I like. I have a previously unknown talent for heckling. We had one lone Alabama fan and everyone else was rooting for Tennessee. Even Kevin was hoping the Volunteers would win (gasp! I know!) because they were the underdog and he thought Alabama was over rated. I didn't really care either way (I figure neutral is good...just look at Switzerland - no one bothers them and they have great skiing and the worlds best chocolate). I guess I'm a Georgia fan by marriage, but I really just like to socialize.

Hannah Shea has not had a quiet moment since the day she was born. I did not duct tape her....the kids did it. I did confiscate her cell phone til half time so she would stop texting. I'm pretty sure she's going to have carpal tunnel.

Josh, Christy, and Blake. Christy was voted most spirited...just look at her socks. Festive AND team appropriate.

Haley had a Halloween party to go to after the game so she modeled her costume for me. Best go-go girl I've seen lately.

Keep our kiddos on your prayer list. We have a youth revival scheduled for them this weekend - Friday thru Sunday. A team from TNU is coming to preach for them and introduce them to some contemporary worship. The services will be at 7pm Friday and Saturday night. We're feeding them pizza Friday before the service so they can mingle with the TNU kids. On Saturday we hauling them down to the Chattanooga Rescue Mission so they can participate in a service project. We want to slowly open their eyes to the hardships many people face and how they can help. They'll be doing light maintenance and serving a meal as well as eating with the homeless so that they have a chance to talk to them. That part may get interesting...I talked to them about what we would be doing last week and I was surprised to find that they're all scared of homeless people. Its not something they see much in their little town of Jasper, TN. I hope they will begin to see that there isn't anything to be afraid of. Maybe someday they'll realize the scariest thing would be not to care or help those in our community who find themselves on the outside looking in. We'll let you know how it goes and post pictures. I'll try not to make it a month late this time!

Mandy

Crow Creek Pumpkin Patch

Most of you know that I have been working as a substitute teacher at Jasper Elementary School until God decides to fill me in on my future place of employment. About 90% of the time I work in the special education class. Is it my calling in life? No way...neither is 3rd grade or teaching elementary school music (anyone who knows me KNOWS I can't carry a tune in a bucket) but it gives me something to do and it doesn't take up weekends or holidays. I have discovered that I like special ed way better than subing in a regular classroom. The student to teacher ratio is way lower....about 12 students, 1 teacher, and 3 aids. The chances of surviving the day in one piece are way higher and I am smart enough to appreciate that. Sometimes I sub for the teacher and sometimes I sub for an aid. It gets chaotic and messy and frustrating sometimes but it doesn't really bother me....just another day in the life of CDC. If you go into any classroom expecting anything less you're asking for punishment.

A few weeks ago it was their turn to head to Alabama for a visit to Crow Creek Pumpkin Patch. We took our elementary school kids, the middle school and high school special ed classes, and the students from Whitwell, TN (yes, those eyes in the back of my head came in handy). When we arrived they loaded us on wagons and gave us a tour of the farm. Besides pumpkins they also grow cabbage and some other stuff. When we reached the back of the farm where the pumpkin patch is we let the kids out, paired them each with an adult, and sent them off to choose their own pumpkins. The only rule was that you had to be able to carry whatever you picked out. Because we've had a REALLY wet autumn...most of the pumpkins had rotted in the fields so the farm owners shipped pumpkins in from elsewhere and scattered them around for kids to find...sort of like hunting really big Easter eggs. After all the pretty pumpkins were chosen, we climbed back in our wagons and made our way to the petting zoo. They had a goat, miniature pony, chickens, and some other smelly animals in too-small pens.

The kids really liked it and they must have completely lost their sense of smell beforehand because it was NASTY. Purell hand sanitizer became mandatory after that because lunch was next on our list. We made our way to the picnic tables only to discover that they were all in use. So we made the best of it and let them all take off their shoes and jump in the corn pit. Yes, you read that right...the pumpkin patch has a 3 ft deep pit of shelled corn, complete with decking around the sides and a slide. I'm pretty sure we could have skipped everything else we did and gone straight for the corn. It was their favorite part and made me extremely nervous. There is no way that can be sanitary or safe. I kept waiting for someone to start bleeding or screaming. It just seems to me that small, hard, pellet-like objects that are easily thrown, swallowed, or stuck in bodily orifices is a bad idea. But what do I know?...I don't have any kids remember. Anyway, we found corn in the classroom for days afterwards and I was real tired of saying "Stop throwing corn!" by the time lunch rolled around. After getting all the shoes on the correct feet we set them down for lunch....they ate at lightning speed or didn't eat at all because of that silly corn pit. As soon as they were done they dove back in. We let them play until the bus came to pick us up and then it was back home to Tennessee. We wore them out pretty good....a couple fell asleep on the way home.

Picking our pumpkins. Isn't that view amazing? The day was just perfect!

Nikki...my pumpkin pickin' partner. There were just way too many choices.

The smelliest goat....ever. N-A-S-T-Y.

The corn pit! Excited does not begin to describe their reaction. There is a smaller (not pictured) corn pit to the left....it was all the same to me.

This sign did NOTHING to stop the corn projectiles. A bull horn or speaker system with a looped "PUT THAT CORN DOWN! ITS ALL FUN AND GAMES UNTIL SOMEONE GETS AN EYE OUT!" would have been much more effective.

Okay, so even though I don't relish jumping in a pit of corn as an adult I probably would have thought it was awesome when I was a kid. Will I let my kids do it?....probably. I'll just have 911 on speed dial - just in case.

I hope you get to do something this week that makes you laugh and play as hard as they did at Crow Creek!

Mandy

The Fall Foliage Is Here!

One of my favorite things about living in Tennessee is the changing of the seasons. Its all made grander by the mountain views. Now, we know we don't have Rocky Mountain grandeur or anything but we love to look out the window all the same! When you have lived in the flatness of Kansas City any hill or valley is exciting stuff.

Now we know why they're the Smokey Mountains

Our front porch view

I know its hard to tell (hey, I'm no professional) but the leaves really were bright and beautiful.

This time of year its easy to see that someone (yep, you guessed it...God) is behind the creation of our beautiful landscapes. I think he gets a kick out of our "ooohhh's" and "aaahhhh's" over the things he's made. So go ahead, tell him how great you think it is....or better yet - How great you think he is.

Mandy

Fall Festival

Last Saturday, October 17th, was the date of our church's first-ever Fall Festival. The Women's Ministry plans 4 big events a year and this year they chose to put together a Fall Festival as a means of reaching out to the community around the church. It took a lot of planning and teamwork. Pat and the ladies on her committee (Charlene and Bridget) did a great job of delegating so that almost everyone in the church had a job. It took EVERYONE to pull this off! I was completely impressed by how organized and willing to work everyone was. My job was to hand out food tickets and register people for the two Walmart gift card drawings. Kevin's job was just to walk around and make sure he met as many people as he could that didn't already go to church with us. He may have also eaten a few hotdogs and oatmeal cream pies but can you really blame him?....it was a Fall Festival after all.

The day of the festival turned out to be the coldest day of the fall season so far. It never got above about 48 degrees and it looked like it wanted to storm all day (the next day there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was way warmer outside...go figure). If it had been 10 degrees warmer we feel like we would have had a much bigger crowd. The day started at 8:30am when the rental company arrived to set up all of our inflatables, teach us how to make cotton candy and popcorn, and set out all the other carnival games. From that point forward we worked to set everything up in the parking lot and our backyard until the festival started at 2pm. By then I couldn't feel my feet anymore but the show had to go on! We were worried it would get rained out at the last minute (after we had set it all up!) or that the cold would keep everyone away. We had about 175 people come and Kevin will be contacting all those that registered that have no home church affiliation. Since we were using this as a community outreach everything was FREE for kids and parents! The Women's Ministry had a great yardsale at the beginning of October that raised enough money to cover the cost of the entire festival.

Each person who came got 5 free food tickets to buy any five food items they wanted...hotdog with chili, chips & an oatmeal cream pie, soda, hot chocolate, coffee, popcorn, or cotton candy. If you were still hungry after that, each additional item was $1. We had all kinds of games for kids...a lollipop tree, duck pond, football throw, hayride, face painting, ring toss, basketball toss, cake walk, putting green, spin art, crazy hat, and ping pong toss. Each game had a prize bucket for the kids to pick from and we gave each child a goodie bag to put all their loot in. The bags also contained information about the church for the parents to read. The Jasper Fire Dept. stopped by with their shiny, red fire truck so all the kids could get a close-up look at all its bells and whistles. We also had a huge inflatable slide and bouncy house for the kiddos to wear themselves out in. I'm pretty sure each kid went down that slide at least 200 times...it was by far their favorite thing! The sumo wrestling ring was in our driveway and it was the funniest thing to watch people try to take each other down while wearing fat suits! Kevin and I didn't get to battle it out because I was at the registration table the whole time but I definately think we should buy one and keep it in the backyard for settling marital disputes. It comes with its own generator and blower and it only takes about 15 minutes to inflate....that's got to be cheaper than marriage counseling.

Kevin was ready to make sure the slide was safe for the children.

I married a 6 year old in a grown man's body, but we have to cut him some slack...it was a GIANT slide in our backyard. Who could resist? I went down a few times too. ;)

THE SUMO RING

Laura and John duking it out.

Tiffany getting ready to take on her husband Brandon...this is what we like to call "Marriage Enrichment"

Jennifer (amazing Fall Festival organizer!), Me, and Marsha...holding down the fort at the registration table. We literally had to hold it down due to crazy wind gusts until Sam and Tim brought us a tent.

The Cotton Candy line never went away! The kids were fascinated to see it made and loved the sugar rush afterwards.

Basketball Toss. One kid got 48 baskets in a row!

It was fun but we shut everything down at 4pm instead of 5pm because it was just too cold outside. Everything was cleaned up by 5:45pm and Kev and I headed to the Mexican restaurant (Los Margaritas IX) with Tiffany and Brandon to recover. We hope that some in our community will consider coming to worship with us after meeting some of our people in a relaxed (okay maybe it was a little chaotic) environment that welcomed the whole family. Maybe next year it will be warmer!

Mandy