It's been awhile since I've updated the blog and there's a lot to fill in! Garrison turned 3 in Oct., Josey turned 7 in Jan. and Ryleigh is about to be 9 March 3rd! How time flies! Lindsey and I will be celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary April 1st as well! God has been so faithful to our family and it is humbling to be called His! Lindsey is still enjoying is job of influencing teachers, parents, and students as an Assistant Principle at a middle school. His desire for living a Godly life and teaching leadership to all of those around is a special blessing to me! He has taken on a men's class at church and is sharing how to be a godly leader in our homes, workplace and life. He is such a sweet blessing to me! My radio show has been on the air for one year and the Lord continues to bless me with great sponsors who help. I could not do it without them! Talk of the Town won a national award this year for being the best tv talk show in it's category! Praising the Lord for that! My speaking ministry has been abundant and I'm excited about what He will continue to bring my way for His glory! Family Matters: The girls have started Hip Hop at our local YMCA. They are having a blast and it's been fun to watch them! They are taking a break from soccer this season which, I have to say, broke their dad's heart! Garrison is a PRO at the WII now. He plays it almost everyday and has beat Lindsey and myself at ping pong...and we were TRYING! Lindsey and I have taken up the hobby of tennis. We play mixed doubles and regular doubles. I didn't think I could enjoy a sport this much! I am hanging up my softball cleats for the first time since I was 12. I tore a calf muscle playing last July. I healed up and continued to play tennis where I tore my other calf muscle. So, I've decided to stick with tennis and if anything else breaks, I will go to a retirement home. forever. Life is happening quickly and I have to make myself stop and take it all in. Praising the Lord for His grace, love, mercy, and favor!

Acquire the Fire with Karen Allen

Acquire the Fire with Karen Allen is a real bon-a-fide radio show...which makes me an actual radio show host!! To God be the glory! He has provided sponsors for the show and I will continue to trust Him for his provision in that area! It has been so much fun! Believe it or not, I actually record the show from home (yup, from HOME) so I can still be with my family instead of at the radio station. I record it when Garrison is taking nap. I edit it myself and then send it to the station. Acquire the Fire is on Sunday's at 4:00pm on AM1300 WIMO or online at the same time at http://www.wimoradio.com/. Another way to catch a previously aired show is by logging on to my website, http://www.karenallen.weebly.com/ and go to the media link. The archives are full of previously aired shows. Listen in and let me know what you think. I'm so thankful to be able to spreak God's Word and Love thru the airwaves for His glory!!!

New Opportunity!!!

As faitful as our God is, I should never be surprised when He shows up in my life, however...I stand in awe of His faithfulness yet again! I was asked by our local radio station to host a thirty minute Bible teaching on Sundays. I have been praying for this specific thing for several months now and when I received the call, I was so excited! The name of the radio show is called, "Acquire the Fire with Karen Allen" and will be played on Sundays on WIMO 1300 OR you can listen via the internet at wimoradio.com. It's amazing to think that God could use my voice to teach countless of listeners about His grace, His goodness, and of course, His love. I have a prayer request along with this praise - I am in need of sponsors for the show. Preferbly believers who have a business and would like to invest in my ministry along with receiving advertisement on the show. I am trusting the Lord for His provision in this, as most of you know, I am not a good salesperson. I hate asking for money. So, I am trusting that the Lord's provision is just around the corner...meanwhile, if you know of any business' that may want to advertise thru sponsorship, please let me know. Those who God calls, He also equips. I am praying that equipping now!! I'll keep you posted on the journey...one filled with answered prayer and hope. And soon, maybe you'll be listening to "Acquire the Fire with Karen Allen" on the radio and think, "I prayed...and God answered." Thanks!

New Ministry Website!

"You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 118:28-29
God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good! I'm excited to share with you (If I haven't already) my new Ministry Website. The timing is from Him which fills me with a holy anticipation at what's to come. The website was created by a friend of mine and his wife, who have freely given of their time and efforts just to help my ministry. Brent and Dr. Jessica Richardson will be blessed by God for their faithfulness to Him...and me!!!
Please share this website with anyone you may know that might be interested in a ministry opportunity. Word of mouth is the best advertisement!! There will be a few short video and radio clips added shortly as well. If you can, please pray for me and this ministry. Prayer is the ultimate power when it comes to ministry. Many new things are on the horizon...
Check out www.karenallen.weebly.com and let me know what you think!!

Look Who's TWO!!!!

I'm not sure where the time went but Garrison will be turning two on Oct. 30th. We had his birthday party on Saturday, Oct. 24th. It was a barnyard theme. One of his favorite sayings is "YeeHaw!" and I found plates that said it! I had someone make his cake (it was so cute and tasted amazing!). He really enjoyed his friends and family! MawMaw and Big gave him a Monster Truck and he loves it! They also gave him a cowboy hat and boots (that he calls "boops") Grammy and PawPaw gave him a firetruck that makes a lot of noises and he loves to play with that too! We are so blessed to have this little man in our lives...Happy Birthday Garrison!

Pumpkins 2009

Can't believe it's already time for pumpkins!!! We decided to stay local this year and went to Magnolia Farms pumkin patch. The kids had a good time picking out their pumpkins. We carved the pumpkins when we got home and the kids did so great! Happy Fall ya'll!!!

camping fall 09

During Fall Break, we packed up our camper and went all the way to...Fort Yargo. We strategically planned it so that if we needed to come home, we could. We are quite glad for the forethought, since, of course, we did have to come home. Everything was going so well. The kids were playing so well together outside. We ate pizza and breadsticks, had a fire, roasted marshmallows and all! Around 8:00pm we went in and got everyone a bath and started a movie. We all watched it together and at 10:00pm we called it a night. Sort of. I was wanting Garrison to sleep on the pullout couch with Ryleigh. He did not think that was a good idea. He latched onto me and that was that. He slept on my chest for a few hours and everytime I tried to slide him over onto the bed, he'd hike his leg back over me. Finally at 2:30, I heard him real close to my face say, "mama"...nose, eyebrow, mouth..etc. So, at 4:30 AM, I said to Lindsey, "umm...how about I take him home!" At 4:30 AM we headed back to the comfort of our very own bed. I laid him down and he said, "nite, nite. luv you" and that was that. Despite the night, we had a great time and it was so much fun hanging with our family of five!

Addiction

I just needed to fill you in on a little addiction I have...it's called FaceBook. There must be a 12 step program...I'm waiting for it...Seriously though, Lindsey and I have just gotten into facebook and it allows you to connect with people you literally haven't seen in years and helps you keep up with those you may see every day. So, if you have a facebook account, please look us up. We have our own accounts so you'll have to ask both of us to be your friend...please? I have said it's like being thrown back to the worst time in your life...Middle School...you ask people to be your friend and HOPE they accept you. I will tell you this, it has renewed and reminded me of how many people are hurting and just need to be loved. I see their picture pop up and I am able to pray for them or send them some encouragement. I love how the Lord can use technology to glorify Him while meeting the needs of His people. I'd encourage you, if you are a FB user, you know who you are, to use this as a ministry tool. Not that you HAVE to tell people you are praying for them, but you could. It is such a visual reminder that we have so much work to do here on earth. God's people, whether they are His children or His creation, are hurting and in need of love. Lifting them up in prayer, lovin' on them as needed, and caring about them just might be what it takes to bring them Home. Anyway...I'm addicted...and I'm not ashamed.

New News

I have some new news...no, we are NOT expecting, but thanks for asking! I have another show! Yup! I got a call from my producer who said, "Would you like to co-host another show?" I think my answer was profound. It was something like, "um...duh.." I was asked to host a gospel show called Singing Southern Style. Now, I'm not a big fan of southern Gospel, but I AM a big fan of Christ and this music points right to Him...and THAT'S what I want to be a part of. This show will be airing on ION Television starting in mid February. Just to let you know, ION is also the station that our home improvement show, Remodeling: Case by Case, will be airing on hopefully mid April or so. I asked my producer if it was a conflict of interest to have two shows on the same TV network. He said, "It doesn't bother me if it doesn't bother you." It doesn't bother me. My co-host is a man named Don Elrod and he has been in the radio, music, and tv industry for 40 years. He is amazing and I have so much to learn from him. My role is to help introduce music videos...a VJ if you will...It was really neat to sit down with my producer and Don and pin point my exact role for the show. My job is to connect the viewer at home with the music being played. I do that by bringing the spiritual nature of the song in connection with their own life. I get to be on tv AND talk about the Lord...yipee! This is really a rich environment for me to be in and I can't wait to see how God uses it. It will be airing on Sunday's at 5;30 pm. I'll let you know the start date and you can tune it...even if you are not crazy about southern gospel, He's crazy about you!

Goodness Alive, Josey's Five!

Yup, Jo's in a Monster Truck...she liked it waaayyy too much!

Daddy thought it would be fun for Garrison to ride the jet ski...Garrison did not.


Garrison is FINALLY walking. We thought he'd go to Kindergarten crawling...

Josey LOVED all her presents!

Josey and Ms. Betsy...by the way, she gives the BEST birthday presents!

It's hard to believe that it's been five years since Josey has been in our lives...sometimes it feels like it's been longer... :) We had a wonderful time celebrating her life during her birthday celebrations! She had a party at our house on Saturday the 17th and then we celebrated her birth DAY on Monday, the 19th. Everyone was off for MLK day and we enjoyed the day together! We surprised her with a trip to Chic-Fil-A and Chuck E. Cheese. We really hoped she felt as special as she truly is! For all of you who are in Josey's life that are investing in her character, thank you so much and we pray that you will continue to pour into her qualities and characteristics that will make her as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. So, you only turn FIVE once...Happy Birthday Josey...We love you!

Christmas 2008

The sights ,the sounds and the lessons of Christmas 2008...

The Sights: Christmas at Aunt Joanne's, Christmas at MawMaw & Big's ,Christmas at Aunt Bonnie's, Christmas at Home, Christmas at Grammy and PawPaw's. Lot's of presents, presents, and more presents!

The Sounds: Squealing with delight, wrapping paper being torn to shreds, toys that make loud sounds that need to stay at the grandparents house, cardboard being cut to get the toys out, mom folding the tissue paper for next year, rudolph the red-nosed reindeer lyrics being botched and made-up by the girls...

The Lessons: On Christmas day we took the girls to "Sharing the Blessing". This was located at a local middle school where all those in our community who are in need could come and get a hot meal, a bag of food, clothes, and toys for the children. This is the second year Lindsey and I went but the first year we took the girls. It was good for the girls to see all the people who are in need and that they were able to help them. The lesson every Christmas is that we celebrate Jesus' birthday and that we receive abundantly because He gave freely. This year as well as many to follow, we hope that another lesson is learned, it really is more blessed to give then to receive.

Dressin' Up!

What do a Ballerina, A Bride, and A Giraffe all have in common? Their last name is Allen! Halloween was a fun time to dress up and get some teeth-rotting candy! Ryleigh knew she wanted to be a ballerina for months. We bought her outfit and she had it all planned out! On the other hand, Josey change her mind EVERYDAY! It wasn't until she came down the stairs before we were ready to leave that I knew what she would be. A bride...A bride??? I almost threw up. She might as well have actually gotten married to a real boy that day - it was too much for Lindsey and I! Then there was our precious giraffe. He cracked me up and was way too cute for words! I never thought I'd have room enough in my heart for a Ballerina, a Bride AND a giraffe, but I do!

A WHOLE YEAR ALREADY?

I can't believe it has been a whole year since Garrison arrived! His birthday was October 30th! We celebrated on November 1st which was exactly one year to the day we brought him home from the hospital. His birthday party was fun - I made him a baseball cake and he had his own cupcake to tear into. I've never made a round cake before and I will tell you that "round" was relative when it came to my cake. Good thing is that Garrison didn't care. I was anxious to see what he did to the cupcake. He has a little of his mom in him and he picked that cupcake right up and put it to his face. It's hard to believe that his birthday came and went and I'll never be able to sing "Happy first birthday" again. Where did the time go? Oh yeah, just look at the wrinkles around my eyes and the gray in my hair and you'll see where the time went!

So, my baby is a year old. Hmmm...kind of bittersweet.

SHOW BIZ UPDATE

Here's the latest on the show biz scene. The meeting in Bethesda went well. I have to say that I just might get used to the "star" treatment. We were picked up in a limo at the D.C. airport with our production company "Seven Star Media" on it. We ate lunch at a fancy French restaurant - I'm not sure what I ordered, even more disturbing is that I don't know exactly what I ate. We met with all the folks and pitched our show and our ideas. Then, we flew back home that evening. Jimmy Carter was on our flight home and shook every one's hand on the plane. I have to say that I felt mighty safe with all of his secret service guys with their earpieces in. They were probably listening to music, but whatever. After several weeks of them meeting with their alliance partners (Home Depot to name one) and then just last week they received their numbers for the last quarter and had the worst quarter in their history, money has become a huge factor as the economic crisis is not bias on who it destroys. With that said, CASE has offered us all their resources but no monthly financial support. They want us to proceed into the Atlanta Market with ION which reaches 2.3 million homes. We are going forward with that and in doing so, hopefully CASE will see the benefits for them. We'll see what God has in store. In the beginning of this, our vision was set on the Atlanta market and that is exactly where we are headed. Our goal is by March 1, 2009, you will see our show, Remodeling: Case by Case on at 9:00 am on ION network for those of you in the surrounding area. Wherever God takes us is exactly where we want to go... Please continue to pray for His best!

Go Big or Go Home

Here's the latest on the show biz scene. I will be flying to Bethesda Maryland on Tuesday, Oct. 14th for a meeting that could take us national. A few weeks ago, we met with the marketing exec. of Atlanta from ION Television. She was interested in putting our show on her network. In order to do this, we had to have a national sponsor. My co-host, Tracy Tesmer owns a Case Design and Remodeling Franchise in Gainesville GA. He mentioned that maybe we should pitch this sponsorship to the President of Case, who's headquarters is in Maryland. The call was made and they couldn't believe the fit. Case had just held a meeting discussing the desire to have a "Branding" and what better way to brand yourself then with a TV show. They also talked about how they wanted to cross advertise with their suppliers, one of whom is a little home improvement store, also known as Home Depot. Our meeting on Tuesday will include our crew, Rhonda from ION in Atlanta, and her boss, the Chief Marketing Exec from LA. We will meet and see if Case is on board. We've talked as a crew and decided to Go Big or Go Home - I'd like to go big if that's what God wants and I'd be fine with going home, if that's what He wants as well. Would you please pray for His very best! This could very well take us national and we just may be on your tv - Regardless, I know God is in control and I covet your prayers for this journey. I'll keep you informed...in case this goes big, for those of you who knew I was destined to be on TV because of my "drama ability", you can now say, "I told you so."

All Three!

Well, I FINALLY have a picture of all THREE of my children. It's only been, what, a year? So, here are my babies, growing and growing. Garrison will be 1 in just a couple of weeks and I think I'm in denial (and it's not just a river in Egypt)! It seems like it has flown by, but in some ways, it feels like forever ago I was pregnant! I can no longer use the phrase, "I just had a baby..." Life is crazy with three but "crazy" is what I understand so it's a great fit! Be in prayer for Lindsey as he endures the procedure that will ensure that life will be crazy with three children, instead of four.

First Days of School!

Good Morning Sleeping Beauties - it's time to go to SCHOOL!!!!!!!
Here's a picture of Josey giving her teacher, Ms. Holly, a present for her first day!

Well, it's official...I have two kids in school - yikes! That doesn't make me old, it does, however, make me tired! The reason I don't have pictures of the girls in their "specially picked out dresses" is because I can't figure out how to rotate their pictures from the long way to fit onto the blog - I welcome any help! Anyway, Ryleigh had a great first day with a wonderful teacher named Mrs. Woeste (pronounced Wasty). I asked her what her favorite thing about her was and Ryleigh smiled and said, "I like her face". She's pretty and apparently that speaks to Ryleigh. Josey's first day was great too! She got in the car after her day and I asked her if she had fun and replied, "yeah...I learnded a lot!" We have a little to work on...Now, for the picture of Garrison. We had just dropped JoJo off at school for the first day and I asked Garrison what he thought about having mommy all to himself. Yes, that is the response of a mama's boy!!

Happy First Day

Welcome to our "Happy First Day" party. You have to sing it to the tune of "happy birthday" - like this: Happy first day to you, Happy first day to you, happy first day, Ryleigh, Kyle and Josey, Happy first day to you -cha,cha,cha!" Fun huh! We celebrate the first day of school with our best friends The Jones. Kyle is going into the first grade at Kennedy, Ryleigh at Holsenbeck, and our newest member of the cool school group is JoJo. She is going to pre-K three days a week at Union Baptist, which is our church. We had dinner together, ice cream cake and of course, a fun run thru the banner. Our hope is to get the kids excited about school - it seems to work...for now. Wait until their a senior in high school and have to run thru a banner - I can see their eyes roll now! I'll just smile and sing, "Happy First Day to you"!!

dreaming...

Oh, to be a baby again...Garrison fell asleep during one of his feedings and we couldn't help but get a picture or two. He was doing an awful lot of grinning too...not real sure what he could be dreaming about. A cow maybe? I don't know but whatever it is, it sure is sweet to see. Did I mention he sure was a messy eater? He is a messy eater.

Ryleigh Graduates

Well, Ryleigh is a first grader...can you hear my heart breaking? Her ceremony was great and she won a few different awards. She received the Awesome Author award from her teachers because of all of wonderful writing and she received the Art award from her art teacher. She has really surprised us with this talent. We have framed a huge pumpkin picture she did in the fall and she has brought home several sculptures that were amazing. Her art teacher rewarded her for her crafty mind. The last day of school, at her party, her teachers gave away one more set of awards/certificates. You are not going to believe this one...Ryleigh got the best dressed award. Yup, the teacher said it had to do with how well she "accessorized". The lepoard print silk scarf was the topic as well as her lip gloss and her jewelry. Oh boy...I guess I mean...Oh Girl! We are so proud of Ryleigh, our little big first grader!