Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Some Halloween History

 
Happy All Hallows Eve! Did you know that the word Halloween itself is a shortened form of "All Hallows Eve," the day before All Saints Day?  

Here are two articles that have some great Halloween History that I wanted to link to for my own reference and to share with my readers:

How Halloween Can Be Redeemed

The Catholic Defender: Halloween




And here's how our family celebrated All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day last year:

All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day Celebrations 


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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Reformation Day: What the Original Protestant actually Taught



I first heard of "Reformation Day" a few years ago.  I didn't know exactly what it was, but my initial thought when I first heard of it was a feeling of sadness since I gradually realized that "Reformation Day" is a day people celebrate being in protest against Christ's one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. 

But, do those who celebrate "Reformation Day" and Luther's separation from the Catholic Church really know what he was against and what doctrines of Catholicism he agreed with?   Below is a post written by Tiffany at Catholic Sistas, who was once a Baptist and converted to the Catholic faith in 2009, that clears up some misunderstandings Catholics and non-Catholics alike may have about Reformation Day.   

I hope this post, written so beautifully by Tiffany, will give all of us a deeper understanding of Church history.


Click title of post below to read: 

Reformation Day: What the Original Protestant actually Taught


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Friday, October 19, 2012

Happy 11th Birthday to Cupcake #2!

11 years ago today, our bouncing baby boy blessed our family, friends, and all those he meets with his adorable personality, beautiful smile, his dark curly hair, and above all the special way he nurtures and loves all of God's creations!  I found some of my favorite pictures of our son from the past when flipping through our photo albums:
 
He loves his Mommy! 

He loves to laugh, but he sometimes says he doesn't love his curly hair :(

He loves nature, being outside, and dirt!

He loves his sisters! (and loves teasing them too!)

He loves playing/watching sports, especially soccer and football!

He loves special outings with Dad!  Go NC State Wolfpack!
 He loves having fun with his sisters!

He loves to smile! :) 

He loves serving God and we hope and pray he always will!

Happy 11th Birthday!  We love you!  

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Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Fall Family Vacation: Part Three: Georgia Aquarium

See Fall Family Vacation: Part One: Carowinds HERE
See Fall Family Vacation: Part Two: World of Coca-Cola HERE

After visiting the World of Coca-Cola on Monday afternoon, we walked around downtown Atlanta and went to the Olympic Park where the 1996 Olympic Games took place.  The kids loved running in the big open grassy area surrounded by all the tall city buildings and we snapped some pictures of our visit.

There was a fountain with the 5 Olympic rings designed on the pavement and the water would randomly shoot up around the rings.  The kids loved dashing in and out of the rings trying to avoid getting soaked.  Only one of our daughters got really wet.

On Tuesday, Sept. 25 we went to the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the world!

We saw so many fascinating sea creatures and we were able to take in a dolphin show which was amazing!  I couldn't take pictures during the dolphin show or video, however. 



One of our favorite animals that we observed was the Sea Otter.  It was Sea Otter Awareness Week so there was information and activities about this fascinating creature.  Here we are feeling the incredibly soft fur of the Sea Otter.  

Did you know that the Sea Otter has the most hair than any other mammal with up to a million hairs per square inch and they have no blubber to keep them warm!  Amazing!  All the animals at the aquarium are fed really well with restaurant quality food.  A lady told us they spend 50 million dollars each year just to feed all the animals that well.  Then my husband joked with her and asked if the food in the cafe area was the same quality as what the animals get! :)    

Sea Otters eat all day since they are so active and it gets so cold.  Here is a video of a Sea Otter trying to crack a crab leg against the glass. I could have stayed and watched these playful mammals all day!   

In a huge tank there were 4 of these whale sharks.  The tank held 6.3 million gallons of water!  WOW! 

We also saw a 4-D theater show with cartoon fish teaching about saving our oceans from pollution.


   After spending a good part of our day at the aquarium we surprised our children and made a quick stop at Legoland Discovery Center which was in a huge nearby mall in Atlanta.  I only got a few pictures because my cell phone battery died and my husband's camera wasn't working right.


The Legoland Discovery Center had a small ride in it where you have laser guns and try to shoot targets to rescue the Lego princess and it had another small ride that the kids and even my husband enjoyed.  There was also a small 4-D theater and we were able to see two short movies since it was not crowded.  After leaving Legoland Center we traveled to SC to visit my brother and sister-in-law and my children loved seeing their cousins. 

We had a great vacation and made many fun memories with our family!  Now it's back to the books again for 7 weeks and then a week off for our Thanksgiving break....

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Fall Family Vacation: Part Two: World of Coca-Cola

See Fall Family Vacation: Part One: Carowinds HERE

See Fall Family Vacation: Part Three: Georgia Aquarium HERE 

Then after Carowinds we headed to Atlanta on Monday to visit the World of Coca-Cola. Our hotel room was a few blocks from here so we walked to World of Coke on Monday afternoon and it was alot of fun.  Anything and everything you want to know about Coke is in this place!
 This was the oldest artifact in the museum part dating back to 1886, when Coca-Cola was invented.  I think it was used to mix and serve the Coke.

Our family was bubble-sized!  

Coke wood art 

Do you recognize this couch?  

Does American Idol come to mind?
Yep, the red couch was used on the Season Four set of American Idol in 2005.

My husband trying to create the secret formula of Coca-Cola virtually on a big screen.  A little of this and a little of that....

One of our favorite parts of the World of Coke was the "Taste It!" room where you could taste Coke products from all over the world.   Some were yummy, others not so much.  But, you can taste as much as you want.  I personally got a headache from the sugar rush and our family did opt for the water option that came out of the electronic vending machines.  

Coke products from Asia


We also saw a 4-D show in a theater.

We had to find clues in one area of the museum in order to enter another room that had the vault that actually holds the secret Coca-Cola formula. 

Have a Coke on us!  Everyone got to take a glass bottle of Coke home as they exited the museum. 

Cheers!

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I'm Tracy. I love my faith, family and on most days, homeschooling my 5 blessings. When I'm not busy baking cakes for my family or making memories in real life or dreaming I had a housekeeper or professional chef, I enjoy documenting a slice of Smith life in blog land.

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