Merry Christmas everybody! Although this had potential to be a sad occasion (…the last time we’ll celebrate in this house & all…), it turned into one of the best Christmases ever. This year it was easy to see that we don’t need any more “stuff”, and we were able to really focus on having a great time with the fam & celebrating the real reason for the holiday.

Yesterday we had a great brunch with the Tarpley family. It was sad the Garlington’s weren’t there, but we’ll get to see them this weekend. After lunch we visited an old neighbor, our 1st grade teacher, and some other friends. Later, we went to First Baptist’s Christmas Eve Service like we do every year. There are always some amazing singers, and this year was no different.

Once we got home, Mom assigned us the task of making this really good looking “Black Bottom Pecan Cheesecake Pie”. Due to a minor mathematical miscalculation it ended up more like a pudding, so we’ll just change its name & move on.

We then watched my personal favorite holiday movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Such a good movie…I catch something new every time we see it.

This morning we woke up, exchanged some gifts and had a devotion. We went to the Tarpley’s to see what Santa brought the 3 mini Tarpleys. Hung out with them for a while, then made our way up to Turner Field to volunteer for the first time ever with Hosea Feed the Hungry. We’d never really done anything like that before, so it was a great experience. I think we’re going to do something similar every year from now on. They gave us a great “beginner” job…we were in charge of manning the ‘volunteer gate’ & getting all the volunteers to sign a “don’t sue the Braves” waiver.

It really is amazing how many people they serve. We never got to see the meals they were serving, but I do know that almost every homeless person left with their very own 2-pack of whole cheesecakes & Monster energy drinks. So, if you’re planning on wandering the streets of Atlanta tonight, beware the hyper homeless.

Anyway, can’t wait to make our way over to Louisiana to see the Welch’s this weekend. Hope y’all’s Christmas was amazing!

Yesterday was the big annual Cordle Christmas. We had a pretty good crowd, despite the lack of a few of our cousins. Uncle Jimmy took the cake with the tackiest attire by robbing his Christmas tree of it’s skirt.

Everybody got really into the whole “Tacky Christmas” thing and we had a lot of fun. After a really good lunch of Gumbo & Fruit Soup we opened our White Elephant gifts Dirty Santa style. Mom got the mosquito head net she’d always wanted (“You could steal bees with that thing!” -Nee Nee) and Anna scored some sweet doilies.

We certainly missed Rad, Peavey, and their families, but we had a great time catching up with everyone else. Watching Dad try to carry on a serious conversation while wearing a dickey was certainly a sight to behold.

Anyway, hope everyone else’s Christmas is going well so far…only 4 days left!

Ecclesiastes 3:4 says There is a time for everything, a time to laugh and a time to cry…

For anyone reading this that doesn’t already know, Robert found out on October 3 that he no longer had a job. WOW.. we sure didn’t see that coming! A time to cry…

The Good News is.. it sometimes takes things like this to remind us of who really is in charge, and it’s NOT us! And THAT…is a REALLY GOOD THING!

We are truly clinging to “THE ONE IN CHARGE”… Our Faithful Heavenly Father.. Our Almighty & Awesome GOD. We appreciate your prayers as we seek Him with all of our hearts(Jeremiah 29:13). HE has THE BEST PLAN and we want to be right in the center of it..HIS plan.. NOT ours!

Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Lamanin? You’ve got to watch this video!

HE IS THE ONE who is holding us together in more ways than we even realize!

ROBERT EARL CORDLE III made his entrance into the world somewhere around 1:00 that afternoon. What a miracle! Overwhelmed with Joy! Our first born.. A Baby Boy! The Lord rocked our world ..it would never be the same! By blessing us with such amazing love for this little guy He sent down from above! As newborn parents we didn’t want to put him down..so we rocked him and we cuddled him and we rocked some more.. “passy” and “pippy” were his favorite friends.. so full of adventure, curiosity and fun.. that hasn’t changed any and he’s only just begun..

As parents so proud of you now as we were then… Our little “fella” grew up and what a man you’ve become! There’s a girl out there somewhere (I pray for her daily) who when the timing is right will meet the “catch of a lifetime” and be blessed beyond measure!

With a heart of gold and a sense of humor to treasure.. you make life so much more fun whenever you’re around! You just never know where you might be found.. fulfilling your dreams and making them come true! You inspire all of us why not just do that, too! Where in the world is Walbo? Where will he be next? Family, friends, coworkers, too.. you are loved by all, this is so true! (I suppose you’ve made someone mad along the way, but they probably still think that you’re OK!) You teach us so much about many things… but when it comes to computers, technology, and such.. without you where would we be?! Your gifts and abilities came directly from The Lord.. they sure didn’t come from your Dad and me!

We give our thanks to God for blessing us with you.. and really can’t wait to see what all He’s going to do.. IN YOUR NEXT 25 YEARS!

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Mom on J 93.3

Great Job Mom! We’re so proud! Oh, and thanks for the shoutout

“Gracious Uncertainty”

Our natural way is to always try to forecast accurately what will happen next and we look at uncertainty as a bad thing.  But when we allow God to be our Source we can be certain in our uncertainty.  To be certain of God means that as we may not know what tomorrow may bring…instead of sighing with discontent it should be with an expression of breathless expectation.
As soon as we abandon ourselves to God, He begins to fill our lives with surprises.  When we can let go and just Trust Him, our life can be full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy.

May the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

WOW!

mom