Saturday Shout Outs!

It's baby week on the Shout Outs!  Seems like every time I turned around this week there was news about babies being born or getting close to arrival.  So today (among other things) I'll take some time to catch you all up on the baby news.  But first, by popular demand (OK, so two people on Twitter asked for it) here is my recipe for Sausage & Cheese Balls.  They are a breakfast staple at the Jones' house, and especially popular this time of year.  All you do is mix 3 cups of Bisquick, 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese and one package of hot sausage (Tennessee Pride if you can get it) in a mixing bowl.  Then just get in there with your hands and mush it all together until you have one giant ball.  Tear off pieces and roll them into small balls, place on a cookie sheet and bake for 13 minutes at 350 degrees.  They are best when eaten straight out of the oven.  Invite me over if you need a tester!  OK, on to the shouts:

• This week on Facebook there was a "numbers game" making the rounds, as well as mass confusion over whether changing your avatar to a cartoon character was honoring a charity or helping pedophiles.  In response to all of this nonsense, Kelly Allen Olmeda (Springfield Friends) posted the following message: "So be careful guys...pretty soon we may learn that the whole NUMBER GAME was a plot started by terrorist pedophile tree monkeys plotting to invade our homes and steal the cookies and milk left out for Santa on Christmas Eve, using the numbers as some sort of code.  Just sayin..."  Too funny.  Kelly you are hilarious, and Tyrone is a liar...  (Inside joke- see Floridays 1990 post for details!)
• Congratualtions to Sara Thacker Reiter (FUMC-K) and her hubby Mark on the birth of Sadie Virginia Reiter.  She was a month early, but everyone is doing fine.  Congrats also go out to Uncle Ben Thacker & Aunt Dani, grandparents Rusty & Cathy Thacker, and might-as-well-be aunt and uncle Jerry & Melissa Hanbery.  Sadie is a very lucky girl to be born into such an amazing family!
• Also welcomed to our world this week was Jeffrey Clifford Bard, son of Carrie Lewis Bard (FUMC-K) and husband Wesley, and grandchild of Craig & Joanne Lewis.  Uncle Connor Lewis is bursting with joy as well as he and his wife are expecting another child in 2011!
• Johnny Depp was on Letterman this week, and he told a joke he learned from Al Pacino.  "A skeleton walks into a bar, and orders a beer...and a mop."  Think about it.  Apparently Al find it hysterical...
• Jason & Kass Fry (FUMC-K) are closing in on the birth of their first child, and we will keep you posted.  Or you may just hear Grandpa Jim and Grandma Karen yelling all the way from St. Cloud.  And staying in the family, Sarah Crudele-Fry had a birthday this week.  I hope she and Josh celebrated in style!
• Meagan Hill Halquist (FUMC-K) continues to roll on towards her due date.  She and hubby Rich are making preparations for the arrival of Cooper, and you can read all about it at her very entertaining blog. 
• And finally, our old friends Ray & Katie Luther (Springfield Friends) received an answer to the long-standing prayers of many this week when the child they have adopted, Carson Nehemiah Luther, was born in Kissimmee.  They were down for the birth and should be home by now.  For those who don't know, Ray followed me as youth pastor at Springfield and then moved on to become Senior Pastor there- a position he still holds.  He and Katie were unable to have children of their own, and this story of adoption has several miraculous turns.  The birth mother, a single mom of 4, went to have an abortion, but could not go through with it.  Later on she had a vision of what the woman who would be her child's mother would look like.  When she leafed through the adoption book, she saw Katie's picture and knew it was her.  God is truly amazing.  And one final cool thing for Marilyn and I- he was born in Osceola Regional Hospital, less than a mile from FUMC-K and our old house in Kissimmee.  Go God!

That's it for today.  As always, thanks to all of my readers. I hope you are feeling the spirit of this holiday season and remembering that the birth of Jesus was gift of the grace that saves us all. 

Jesus- the only hope for me is you...and You alone!