Christmas 2008

This was our first Christmas here and what a fun time it was! Dave and Eloise came up to help us celebrate. One of the first things we did was go to DC for the day. It was a beautiful day......but extremely cold. The first thing we did was go to the Museum of American History. It was such a great museum! We were there for several hours. Then we went to the National Gallery of Art and saw the Pompeii exhibit. We ate an early supper and went over to the National Christmas Tree.

Eloise is freezing!!
Todd and I outside the Willard Hotel. It was beautiful. We also walked through the lobby....gorgeous.
The National Christmas Tree.
On Tuesday, we went ice skating. The kids loved it!


Christmas Eve was spent playing games and eating. Todd opened his new Risk game. For supper that night, we had shrimp and grits. We also Skyped Uncle Tim over in Japan and he watched "A Year Without a Santa Claus" and "The Nativity Story" with us.
Christmas morning picture!
Go Redskins!
Redskins pajamas!

Uncle Tim also opened presents with us on Christmas morning. Here he is wrapped up in his newest scarf, along with some Christmas garland.
Hannah found the pickle this year! Every year, Eloise hides the pickle ornament in the tree and the kids have to find it. The winner gets an extra gift. Hannah had help finding the pickle.

Baking Day!

It was so cold and rainy outside today......perfect Christmas baking weather. Hannah and I did quite a bit of baking today. Her attention span was much shorter than mine. She would add ingredients, stir, and then run off to watch a Christmas DVD. But it was still fun.
Just one little lick Mommy!!
I just love her gingerbread apron. Laura gave it to Rachel years ago, and now it is Hannah's turn.
I had fun baking with you today my girlie!!

I've Been Tagged

So I was tagged by my sweet friend Kim over at 4522-happenings.blogspot.com. I had to go to my 6th folder and pull the 6th picture. This is a pic of Hannah surprising Rachel on her birthday with breakfast in bed......homemade cinnamon rolls, mandarin oranges, and Starbucks. She also gave Rachel an unabridged copy of Les Miserables (currently the favorite book).

I hope Rachel doesn't look at this blog anytime soon......because I'm going to be in trouble.

So now I am supposed to tag someone else. Do I even know any bloggers other than Kim and Jean?? I better not re-tag them!

Jonathon's 10th birthday

Today is Jonathon's 10th birthday. We started a tradition a few years ago where he and I go to IHOP for breakfast on his birthday. Since I had to teach at 8:30 this morning, we decided to go after I got home at 10:30. After a late breakfast, we did some Christmas shopping.

Tonight was the family celebration. For as long as he could talk, his birthday supper has been mac and cheese, chicken, and yoo hoos......not exactly a healthy fare.
After supper he got on Skype so his grandparents could watch him open the gifts they gave him.
$30.00 in two dollar bills tied together on a piece of thread
His big gift was a new bicycle. He loves it! However, it was dark and very cold outside.....so no riding till tomorrow!

Jonathon, you are such a great joy and blessing in our lives. We love you so much and are so thankful to the Lord for giving you to us!!

Thanksgiving in SC

We had a wonderful, action-packed week in SC. We traveled down on Friday, Nov. 21 and got back home last night. On Saturday, I met Mom and Dad in Newberry for lunch. I couldn't help but stop and take a couple of pictures. The one above is of one of my favorite places to eat. Marti turned me on to this place. I can almost taste the Pecan Encrusted Chicken right now!
Newberry was already beautifully decorated for Christmas. The Opera House looked lovely.
On Monday, Heather and I spent most of the day together. We ate lunch, had Starbucks, and talked all afternoon. I loved our time together my friend. I can't wait till you come at Christmas!
Monday night we celebrated Rachel's 14th birthday. Then everybody was off to a piano concert at Lander University. I stayed home with Hannah.
Rachel was able to catch up with Abbie and Hillary at Starbucks for a couple of hours.
Thursday we were at Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving and Christmas....all in the same day! Todd is the official Turkey Carver for our family.
Hannah loves her new Curious George!

My big/little burly brother with Mom.
On Friday morning we went to the Funke's house. Todd and Andy sat in a corner and talked while Debbie, the girls, and I rearranged Debbie's foyer. It was great having some time with them....I just wish it had been longer.
Later in the afternoon we were at the Sealys. Hannah got to ride a horse and a 4 wheeler! She wasn't ready to go home! The boys all went to the Stumbos and played football.
My beautiful friend Ann......I am so thankful for the time we had to talk. I loved all those hours at Cracker Barrel with you!

There are so many dear friends that we got to see. We are so thankful for the gift of their friendship.
On the way home, we stopped at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte. The house above is the one that Billy Graham's father built and that he grew up in. It was later moved to this site. Inside the barn is a bookstore, cafe, movie theater, and gallery of pictures of the Grahams over the years. It was a beautiful place to visit.
I just finished reading Ruth Graham's biography. She was an inspiring woman!

So now I am back and on my 5th load of laundry.

In the Leaves

We have enjoyed a beautiful fall season. The leaves were spectacular! But then they all fell. So it was time to drag out the rakes. Many piles were made and then of course the piles were destroyed by the kids playing in them! Too much fun to miss out on!

Old Town Alexandria

Where has the time gone?? Are there even people still checking this poor pitiful blog??? Well, I am going to try to update much more often. We have had a busy fall.....school, cross country, church stuff. I'll put up pictures soon. But today......Todd and I went to Old Town Alexandria. It was a lovely fall day. We strolled down King Street window shopping and people watching. We went to the Torpedo Factory. I could have stayed there all day! Thanks Jean for that great tip! It used to a a torpedo factory, but was converted into art galleries and studios.
For supper, we ate at The Fish Market. Our table was on the second floor beside a window looking out onto the street. It was simply charming.

This is Christ Church. Both George Washington and Robert E. Lee attended church here.
My last picture is actually the first picture I took. It has been too long since I updated.......I forgot how! Anyway, our first stop was a great knitting shop where I got some fantastic Noro yarn!!

Thanks Honey for a wonderful day! I love spending time with you!

Summer Recap

I can't believe summer vacation officially ends for us tomorrow! The kiddos start school on Tuesday. It has been a busy summer. Here are pics from things that I never even blogged about! The above pic is Rachel and her friend Hannah at this year's Summer Celebration. It is a week long event held for kids ages 6-10. There were over 500 kids this year. Rachel and Hannah were workers for Summer Celebration.
I love this pic of Jonathon eating cotton candy at a Washington Nationals baseball game. What a fun night! Our church bought 300 tickets and so a bunch of us were all there together.
Uncle Tim brought his brand new Macbook with him to see us. Of course, there were many goofy pictures to be made!!
On my way to Columbia to see Mom and Dad, I dropped the kids off in Williamsburg to stay with Marti and Tim. Here we are at Merchant Square listening to the Air Force Band from Langley playing a concert.
I got a few hours in Greenwood with precious friends!!
Marti and Tim came for the weekend and brought a friend visiting from Kenya. This was Thomas' first trip to the US.
Our precious Laura came and spent a week with us. We all love her so much!
Our family vacation was spent at a beautiful house on the Potomac River in West Virginia. Friends from our church offered it to us. We had a great time just being together. We went biking, canoeing, and kyaking.
We also played our new favorite game, Settlers of Catan.

The last big hurrah was the Youth Retreat. Todd, Ben, and Rachel went with other teens and their parents for this four day, jam packed, fun filled time.

So summer is now over and time for school and all the learning opportunities of the new school year. Hello Autumn!