Where The Orange Blossoms Grow....

Hello! Welcome to the Stricklen's blog. We hope to keep our family and friends up to date with what is going on with our family. You will find a variety of experiences posted here -- you may find pictures of the never ending project of building our house, Callie helping William with his first steps, Mary studying a rare insect species, or perhaps you may be terribly bored with Molly's numerous fruit trees, berries, vegetables and rare plant pictures! Who knows what we may find Chris and CJ doing -- probably something having to do with a tractor or machine of sorts. Abby and Margaret will keep us entertained with costumes from other lands or a fairy story. Whatever we post, we trust it will lift your spirits and bring honor and glory to our Lord!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

December Happenings

~MY BIRTHDAY WITH MAMA~
Mama takes us girls out to a tearoom and/or antique shops on our birthday. Mama and I went to The Barn Antiques and had lunch for my 15th birthday. A picture taken from the windowsill:) Meet my little Gnome:):) (:More antiques:)

~OUR BIRTHDAY PARTY~

CJ turned 6 years old:)
~Me with G'mama and G'daddy~

~:-:~:-:~:-:~:-:~:-:~:-:~:-:~:-:~:-:~


CJ loves his new cap gun!
~Grandma Sue and I~

CHRISTMAS CAROLING
On Sunday night, our church (except Grandmama, Granddaddy and Grandma Harris:( went Christmas caroling. The men loaded up Daddy's trailer with hay, and we drove around downtown Bartow singing Christmas carols and playing instruments!!!


All ready to go! Our first casualty--We lost a bail of hay....... YUM!!! Hot Chocolate Having FUN:)Little Isaac:)Happy and not happy:):)YAAAAAAYYY!!!! I got a picture of Grayson!!!!!!!!Now he's happy!
Anyways..............God Bless y'all, MERRY CHRISTMAS, (Even though its two days AFTER Christmas--The Stricklens are late again...;) and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!
Posted By: Mary Noelle

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Hey, Y'all!
Sorry it's been so long since we posted! I'll post pictures starting with Thanksgiving, (Yeah, I know it's pretty pathetic!) and whatever comes next in order. So, here they are -- Enjoy!
May the LORD richly bless you and yours this Christmas season!
~Mary Noelle~


Thanksgiving PreparationsThe finished product--Apple Pie! YUM!!!
Mama and Deeda picking the Collards for Thanksgiving dinner
A bountiful Harvest!!!
More preparations :)
Sour Cream Coffee Cake--It was DELICIOUS!!!
(Callie received "Considered for TriColor" Award
at Polk County Youth Fair last year for this cake)
"Over the cow pastures and through the groves to Grandmother's house we go"
Sweet Potato Casserole--A Southern favorite!!!Very Short, Very Tall, Very Big, Very Small
My attempt at a Dr. Sueuss Rhyme:):)The lovely tables and a cozy fire (The cozy fire wasn't really necessary, but we had to have it just for the fun of it:) Napkin Folders:)
Mama and her mother, the lovely hostess!
"Meet Mr. Gobbles!"
Of course this picture was taken before the horrific accident that later befell our unfortunate friend....... Say what???? You haven't heard about the accident??? Everyone has, don't you know? Yep--It's been all over the news! The accident occurred while he was being washed in a load of dishes after doing his honest day's labor of holding cranberry sauce! Didn't you read the front page of the newspaper the day after Thanksgiving??? "TURKEY GETS HEAD SMASH ON THANKSGIVING DAY" It was a shocker! Oh, I cringe to think of it! Poor Mr. Gobbles was COMPLETELY DECAPITATED!!! Oh, but wait! There is a ray of sunshine! After a long, agonizing 50 seconds work with a tube of superglue, Mr. Gobbles' head was restored almost completely to it's original condition! WOW! What a story, huh?????
Most of the Thanksgiving bakers with their baked goods
My sweet Daddy and CJ:)
~Sweet Pals~Kitty and Mama Granddaddy reads the providential story of the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, and the poem, "Five Kernels of Corn" by Hezakiah Butterworth ~Listening Intently~

More Later.......