Three of my four children decided that they wanted to have a pumpkin painting contest this year. [The biggest boy declined the pumpkin painting festivities to play disc golf. Pooh on him.] They are asking for your votes on best pumpkin.
Pumpkin A
Pumpkin B
Pumpkin C
Please leave a comment below to vote for your fave pumpkin. [Trust me when I say that they will be HIGHLY disappointed if all 5 or 6 of you that read Step Away don't take the time to vote for their pumpkins.]
Whoa Nelly! [Not really the appropriate time or place but I wanted to use that at some point in my life.] It's been a while. Can you say warp speed? My life hit it about three weeks ago and I ain't quite had time to do much of anything. I've missed my blogging time. You see, that used to come late at night when the Shorties were in Dreamland but I've been getting up at 5am so that I can go run so my late nights have turned into Help-I-Can't-Keep-My-Eyes-Open-And-It's-Only-6:30pm kinds of nights. I know you've missed me...admit it.
This past weekend marked my second time being a part of Judgement House at my church. [Now for those of you thinking I needs to check me spellin' the word is correct.] I was in my first one two years ago as an angel in the Heaven scene. It was such a neat experience so I was glad when I was asked to be a part of it again. I am a bonefide angel [as if we didn't already know that] with a white robe and wings to prove it. One of my students that came through over the weekend told me she didn't realize I was in the play to which I replied, "But you were not surprised to see me as an angel were you?" Molly is also in the Heaven scene as an angel so we've been able to spend some time together.
My son got to spend his weekend in Hades Torment. He is playing the character that chooses not to accept Jesus and ends up going to hell. [NOT a reflection on my son by any means...just how he was chosen.] He actually does a really fantastic job with his character. And I am OK with him "playing" the part because he is secure in his faith...he knows that he knows that he knows that Jesus is his king. In fact, many of our youth have been put in some tough situations by playing those that are injured, dead, and even sent to hell. It is a ministry for them and they are all doing such a fantastic job. Many people made first time decisions for Christ this past weekend and many more re-dedicated their lives. What an honor to be a part of this wonderful ministry ~ to God be the glory!!
As for the Shorties, I will leave you with this little Gabe factoid. He loves to play with Craig's iPhone [funny thing...he could play with mine...but I don't have one....gave my upgrade to Craig...because I'm an angel like that....] and he apparently recorded himself singing. [Apparently, he loves his name because that is what he is singing. That is, until Craig wants his phone back.] Memo by Missy Byrum Short
We laughed so hard listening to this...over and over and over again. He is a nut and I love him so much. I cannot imagine this house without that sweet voice and crazy laughter. I love all those Shorties. Sometimes, I look around I cannot believe how very blessed I am with all of this love and God's grace just shining. There isn't one thing I deserve yet I am so richly blessed with this amazing family. Thank you God...Thank You.
Last Sunday, my mom and dad celebrated 40 years of marriage. My sister and I planned and pulled off a surprise party. We had such a wonderful time and my parents were totally surprised.
I did ALL of the planning for this party late at night. Late as in usually close to midnight and after. [Most of you know that I don't sleep a lot through the week - it only takes a few minutes to see the bags under my eyes to know that little fact.] I stalked my mom's facebook to find people. I emailed many people and asked them how they knew my parents and if they would help me. My sister and I came up with a huge list of folks - from high school to work to old dance buddies to church. My mom and dad are both almost 60 and they've been married for 40 years....that is a lot of folks!!
We also put on a variety show. [I would say talent show but there wasn't much talent there...trust me] My parents love WSGE out of Gaston College [Cooper always says that should be your first clue: never listen to a radio station out of a community college] so we set up the show to be like a radio show. Cooper was the announcer [7PM Tim] and we were the songs on the show. Two famous and "former" members of society [aka dead folks] made an appearance...Jim Croce and Elvis. [Lucky me, I am married to both of them.] Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings were also present, along with Jimmy Buffett, the Fifth Dimension, the crew from the Cosby Show, and some women with huge black drawers on [Baby, meet me with your black drawers on...]. It was so much fun watching my mom and dad laugh. [Not so sure that everyone appreciated our humor but we had a ball putting on the show.] Summer and I wanted the night to be perfect...and it was! The cake was amazingly beautiful, the food turned out great, and the eclectic guest lists totally surprised my parents.
One of my favorite Broadway musicals is RENT and my favorite song from the show is "Seasons of Love". It begins with, "525,600 minutes...how do you measure a year?" That was my theme for the video we put together because 40 years = 21,024,000 minutes. I wanted everyone to know that my mom and dad built this awesome marriage with hard work, dedication, commitment, love, and laughs. Ultimately, they put God at the center and allowed Him to work on them and through them. I was so excited that the video turned out so well [and I totally loved adding several embarassing pictures of the two of them]. I love my mom and dad...they are truly amazing parents.
[Sidenote but one that infuriated me. It was God's divine intervention that allowed my devotion to be about grace just before this happened.] In creating the guest list, I knew that I would leave someone out. I certainly didn't try to do that but, honestly, short of asking mom and dad who I should invite, it was a shot in the dark. Well, sure enough, a few folks decided to post, on Facebook [and we are talking adults here] about how they weren't invited. You know what I say to those comments? Build a bridge...please...and get over yourself. It wasn't about you. Don't take it out on my mom, in a public forum, with nasty comments. Put your big girl and boy panties on and realize that it was darn near impossible to invite everyone from their lives...not an excuse but a fact.
Outside of the party I have been so busy with school and kids and football and blah, blah, blah that I haven't had time to even think about blogging. I will try to do better for those of you that like to keep up with the Shorties.
