Coker Christmas 2008

Wow! Christmas gets here fast these days!

This year we celebrated at Susan's house! Johnny and Maria were in the states so we got to spend some excellent quality time with them...we ate a "traditional" Christmas dinner of chili! Yes, we like to break the mold! We missed our Tutwiler cousins, David C., Lindsay, Micah, Jennifer and Andy...maybe next year :(

The plan was to eat, do gifts and dirty santa then meet later at the Alabama to watch "White Christmas" but the festivities proved too much for everyone....the die hards (me, Daniel, Karen, Jason, Collin & Brylie Jane) had dinner at Dreamland BarBQ where Collin ate (and loved) his first ribs ever! Brylie Jane...not so much!

I LOVE celebrating Christmas early and then just sliding into the actual day...it proves to be less stressful and when I come out of church at midnight on Christmas Eve...I am focused on what is the most important thing...the birth of Jesus Christ!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a safe New Year!

Thanksgiving 2008

Oh how I LOVE Gatlinburg!

Me, Lucy, Chris, Jacob & Jessica all piled into the cars and headed to the mountains for Thanksgiving. We rented a cabin just off the main drag...went up on Tuesday got settled in...we had a fireplace, a game room and a hot tub! Nice digs...the only thing we didn't have...a working hot water heater...we found this out on Wednesday when all 3 kids tried to take showers :). Me and the kids went on into town while Lucy hung out with maintenance...as we were riding the chairlift we got a call that we had to move...the water heater was not fixable! We played in town a little while longer and then went to load up the trucks and move to Sevierville (sing that last part to the tune of the Beverly Hillbillys). We really didn't want to move that far out but boy were we lucky...we got a HUGE cabin with 2 bathrooms and a working water heater!

We had a great time searching for bears, playing in the creek at the National Park, ice skating, playing Apples to Apples, LaserTag and eating at wonderful restaurants like the Old Mill and the Apple Barn!



We ended the great week by stopping in Chattanooga
to watch the Alabama/Auburn game with Cleo and her family!
ROLL TIDE!!!!

Last Monster of the Season

This post is a little late but I have been QUITE busy!

Our last monster of the Halloween Season was Tony Moran...the original Michael Myers from Halloween...the only one to show his face! He was AWESOME! Stayed the last night until 1:30am to make sure all of the monsters had a chance to take pictures with him and sign autographs. He was impressed with Atrox and I'm pretty sure he will come back just to visit!

I'll keep you posted on who is on the agenda for next year!

Another GREAT weekend in Alabama...

The weekend started on Friday afternoon when my lil sis from Chattanooga showed up at my door to wash, dry and straighten her hair before going to spend the weekend with her friends...I did get a great new shirt from the short visit though....thanks Todo!

Friday and Saturday night was spent with Bill Moseley, a really great guy who makes really awful, violent, scary movies! He could not have been any nicer!

Saturday I spent the afternoon watching the Tide beat Ole Miss (barely!) with my friends Angie, Jerry, Lucy, Princess Lia and one other dog whose name escapes me! We had chili, beer and hot dogs!!! Yea buddy...good eatin!

Sunday was spent at church...then on to the buddy walk...several kids from my Sunday School class went with me to support Daniel Sturdivant - he is in our youth group! We ate lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings....way too many TV's for the ADHD kids I had with me :). We couldn't tell which game people were cheering for so we just cheered EVERY time another table did! I love kids who aren't afraid to make a fool out of themselves...good, clean fun! This is a picture of me and Nimisha - she is one of my 4th grade students who was also at the Buddy Walk!






This Saturday, if you are out and about, come by Sweet Peas in Homewood on Linden Avenue...local artists will be selling their wares, there will be chili and a pumpkin carving lesson!

Enjoy October!!!!

Once a Rebel ALWAYS a Rebel...but...

Well, it goes against every Vestavia Rebel bone in my body but....tonight I actually cheered for the Hoover Bucs! Yes, that's right I did! My nephew Jacob is kicking for the Freshman team and being the good aunt that I am...put aside my personal issues and cheered for my flesh and blood. Boy was he good!!!! The Bucs beat Clay-Chalkville 41-12!!! Here are some pictures of him in action...

Today Hoover Bucs...a few years...Alabama Crimson Tide!!!

Another FABULOUS October Weekend in 'bama!

I love spring and summer but I really think that Fall is my FAVORITE time of the year...college football, leaves changing colors, haunted houses, sleeping with the windows open....it's just AWESOME! I could never live in a place that did not experience a change in seasons! The weather is finally getting cooler (70's & 80's) but the bad thing is it is getting darker earlier...seems it doesn't matter if we turn the clocks back or not...

This week we had quite a scare in the Coker family...my niece, Karen, and her precious little daughter, Brylie Jane, were in a terrible car accident...luckily no one was hurt - except the car of course. I'm so thankful that everyone was okay! This week I taught 9th & 10th grade Sunday School and the topic was "Blessings"...I definetly used Karen's story for the lesson...we take so many things in our lives for granted....food, shelter, clothing, love, family...the list goes on and on....these are blessing that are given to us from God and we didn't even have to ask for them...we need to remember to be thankful for all that we DO have instead of stressed out for what we WANT to have!

On to the haunted house....this weekend I was host to Angus Scrimm, the tall man from Phantasm. He was a precious older gentleman (83 yo) who was a real trouper...he stayed each night at the haunted house until midnight signing a ton of autographs. I had never seen the movies until Friday night...and then I was a little more than FREAKED out when just the 2 of us got back in the car for the trip back to the hotel! But all was well...I am alive! This is a picture of my nephew, Christopher, with Angus Scrimm. (Christopher is the zombie on the left)

Next weekend we are hosting Bill Moseley...I will keep you posted on his movies and how he is to work with...so far all of the celebrities we have brought in the past 2 years have been so nice and so thrilled with Alabama and especially Atrox...the guys out there are always such good southern gentlemen and make a very good impression representing our state.

Atrox Factory

Well, it is haunted house time again!!!! The Atrox Factory opened up again last weekend...my job is to be the assistant for the celebrities that come to the house and sign autographs! It is a fun job and I'm so lucky to get to be able to participate!

The first weekend was Elvira! She came with her manager and her trainer...they are all from Los Angeles...I was a little worried they would be health nuts...but not to worry! Their mission was to eat as much Bar-B-Q as they could get their hands on...we started at Golden Rule on Hwy 78 on Thursday night, Dreamland for lunch on Friday, Demetri's for dinner and Jim N Nicks for lunch on Saturday...even I got sick of Bar-B-Q. They were all SUPER nice and we had a great time.

Elvira is actually 60 years old and looks FABULOUS! She loves to eat...she got the recipe for the chicken dip that me and my sisters make for the beach trip!

Stay tuned for this weekend...Angus Scrim...the tall man from Phantasm will be at Atrox!

My niece - the photographer

Just wanted to share some of the awesome pictures that my niece, Jessica, took while she was in New Orleans....

She is very talented, has a great eye and should really pursue photography for a living...just sayin'!

Roll Tide! #2 on the AP rankings!

I'm still on a true high from watching the Alabama Crimson Tide roll over the Georgia Bulldogs! I was able to watch the game with some of my favorite people and cookout...it don't get much better than that! I love sharing my interests with friends and family...it makes everything so much more fun!