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We're home from having a wonderful Christmas celebration in Maryland! I'm going to the vet to pick up Mr. Bear. Poor thing. I bet he thinks we've forgotten him. I'll be back on to post some pictures just as soon as I can. This week is proving to be as busy as last week for us!

Happy New Year 2010 everyone!

See you soon!

Another Tender Tennessee Christmas

Last Saturday night, we headed to Mom and Dad's house to celebrate Christmas with them! It snowed on the way over, and there was snowy wet slush on the roads as we drove across town. It was beautiful! Fleeting, but beautiful!

When we arrived, Mom had prepared a feast for us! We had taco soup, Mexican cornbread, a colorful salad, homemade nuts and bolts and a family favorite, port wine cheese and crackers. I just love port wine cheese! After dinner, we ate my favorite Christmas cookies with red and green cherries and chocolate chips and opened presents.

We had a wonderful time celebrating with them, and Miss Ava enjoyed her little self so much at Mimi and Papa's! Oh, and of course, she spent time with Leo, their kitty -her favorite kitty in the world! Here are some family pictures of our fun evening.

Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad! We love you! Put something in Leo's stocking...like a hearing aid!

Eating our yummy Christmas dinner!



When we weren't looking, Ava climbed up on the table and got a cookie!



Our family Christmas picture



I decided to post two of the pictures with Mom and Dad and Ava. Look at Ava's expression in these. She is turning out to be such a ham!





This is our traditional Christmas picture as a family.



Ava and Mimi check out Granny Lawson's crocheted stocking. She was my great-grandmother, and boy could she sew! Can I? Um, no. Bummer!



Papa and Ava play with her jack-in-the box. It was really a Pooh-in-the box.



Ava opens her gift from Mimi and Papa - her very own red rocking chair with her name on it! This girl loves to rock!







We are loading the car in the morning to drive to snowy Maryland! I hear 81 is clear - hopefully! I'll post again as soon as I can.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! A Savior has been born to us! Hallelujah!

Christmas Decorating, Mischief and Blooper!

Pull up your pant legs, throw your head back, and laugh. About whatever! I love this picture of Ava. I wonder, "Can I capture that in myself this Christmas?" I did the other day, but it involved a blooper on my part!

I bet each of you is in full swing with festivities and celebrating right now. I'm going to tell a story on myself - an embarrassing one, in the hopes that it will bring some Christmas cheer and stress relief to your week/weekend. Kristie, Fletch and Tree, you guys know that this is SO like me! I hope it makes you laugh!

If you must know, I don't have all of my ducks in a row... ahem, ever! Here's an example! I was waiting for an office to open in the mall the other day, and I was sitting on a little bench eating my on-the-go 8 pack Chic-fil-A nuggets. Ava wasn't with me. I decided to run in the public restroom for just a minute to blow my nose (I've had a cold or sinus thing) so I ducked in and blew my nose and washed my hands. I was drying my hands under the dryer when this elderly man-probably in his 80s- walked in. I SO felt for him when I saw the look on his face, knowing he was probably embarrassed,(bless his heart)so I giggled and said something like...

"Oh, that's ok. I do that all the time." Ok, I DON'T go in the wrong restroom ALL the time, but that's what came out. He quickly stepped out and I finished drying my hands thinking about how embarrassed he must have been to see me standing there in the women's restroom.

About that time, I turned around and saw... yes, the urinals. I then walked out and there was that same little man standing there quietly outside the MEN'S restroom waiting for ME to come out! You can imagine the look on my face! What was so funny was that I was trying to make HIM feel better by saying, "Oh, that's ok, I do that all the time!" He probably thought, "Boy, she's a strange one." If he only knew! LOL!

I was feeling quite tense that day anyway, and I guess I needed a good belly laugh. I crack up every time I see that man's face in my mind! I won't tell you how large and bold the MEN'S sign was. Man, and to top it off, I left my Chic-fil-A water in there, and I wasn't about to go back in and get it!

Anyhoo, back to the post of pictures. This is a little of what we've been up to lately amid the hurry and rush of the season.

Ava went to the doctor last week and now weighs close to 24 lbs and is 31 inches long. We held off on the MMR and the chicken pox shot for now, and the doctor said that we made the nurses happy! :)

She blew Dr. Booher kisses when we left, and let me tell you, THAT is a first! She didn't get any shots, and I guess she was just so grateful! I wish I had a video of her in that exam room and me trying to entertain her. That roll of paper on the table looked like it had been attacked by teradachtyls! Anyone??

Here are a few fun pictures for you guys to see. We've had a ball with the Christmas preparations this year, and Ava loves the greenery and the twinkly lights! Oh, and she is into EVERYTHING! Add 15 month old mischief to her cuteness this year!



She loved walking around and around the tree.



Mmmm... smells SO good!



I went to get the scissors to cut the garland apart, and I found Ava in the middle of it. She in the middle or on top of most things right now!



I bought cool buffalo snow for the first time this year. Here it is - there's snow, compliments of Ava, in the tree.



Later that day, I found her in the bathroom. Is this classic, or what?



Helping Daddy put lights on the tree.



She likes to say, "yights."



We're going to my parent's house tomorrow night to celebrate Christmas with them, and then we're off to Maryland on Wednesday of next week to celebrate with his family this year. I hear there's snow on the way to Tennessee and probably Maryland, too!

PS - I put one of my new favorite Christmas songs on the playlist. It's called Winter Snow by Audrey Assad. I just love it. It's so peaceful.

Something Special

Every once in awhile I stumble upon something that I like to share on my blog. Last year, I posted some videos from the Billy Graham special, and a earlier this year, some of you know how I felt about Kevin Skinner from America's Got Talent!

Well, a dear, elderly, grandfatherly man, a friend, sent me this today, and I'd like to share it with you in the hopes that you'll see yourself somewhere in the painting.

God's brushstrokes are on each of us wherever we are in this journey right now. The glorious moments and the mudane all together paint our picture. What stories we'll have to tell!

Be blessed! This is really worth seeing. I'm not a religion fanatic. I'm just a fan of Jesus.

Remember to pause Burl Ives!

A Snowy Day

Well, it's about time we had a December snow! We awoke to a snowy morning last Saturday, and we bundled Ava up and took her outside to play and explore. I've mentioned before that she LOVES to be outside and often cries when we bring her back inside. She would stay out and explore all day if we let her!

She really had a ball and looked like a little snow bunny. Here are a few picture to enjoy from that afternoon.

Surprise! Snow early in December!



I couldn't resist bringing in some snow after breakfast for her to play with.







Almost ready to go outside!



Where's Ava?



Ava and Bear sharing a moment. He was so happy to have some company on this cold day!





Uh, oh.



Ah, nothing like warming up with a mug of hot chocolate and a sippy cup.

Running As Fast As I Can!

Heart-Deep

Hey, everyone,

I'm so sorry I haven't posted pics since Thanksgiving! I've been heart-deep all week in preparing my testimony to share with our class tomorrow. I finally completed writing about eight years of my life, and I'm ready to share. I'm so glad to finally have it written! It's a long story... :) To God be the glory for the great things he has done!

I'll be back to post some great pictures from our adventures recently!

Oh, and it snowed last night! We had an early December snow - unusual for around here, but everyone was thrilled. Miss Ava went out and played for a little while today and had a ball.

Happy December, everyone! Hope everyone is drinking egg nog. :)

Thanksgiving and Gratitude

We had a wonderful Tennessee Thanksgiving this year! Our morning began early as I got up early to prepare our 15 lb turkey. He was a handsome fellow, and I cross-referenced no less than six recipes to decide what to do with him with the amount of time I had!

I ended up buttering him with a rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper rub and stuffing him with half an orange, a head of garlic with the tops cut off and a few springs of fresh rosemary. I never realized that my kitchen could smell SO good! It reminded me a lot of being at my grandmother's house and smelling the turkey cooking as a little girl.

About 1:30, we took the turkey to my Mom and Dad's house to join the rest of my family. Our elderly neighbor, Miss Peggy, came along and joined in the festivities. We all had a wonderful time being together and celebrating our many blessings and eating delicious food! Here are a few pictures from our time together that day. I'm working on uploading a few more, but I can't get to them right now. I'll keep working on it.

Ava and Daddy check out Mr. Turkey. Fine looking bird...



Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade has been a tradition in our families for a long time. Ava enjoyed watching the big balloons and the marching bands go by. I still run to see Snoopy. :)



Turkey is prepared!



15 lbs into the oven...



Ava had a fun morning playing and watching the parade. We looked up at one point and found her wearing this hat.



Ava and Daddy watch the parade together.



Ben said that when his brother, Vince, was little, they used to tie a string to him and hold him up in the air like one of the balloons in the parade. Ben decided to try this with Ava!



The bird is done and ready to go!



The famous Thanksgiving feast. Yum!



Our Thanksgiving table. From left to right are my Mom, "Mimi" and Ava, my cousin Katie, Ben, me, our neighbor, Miss Peggy, my Aunt Syd and Uncle Lonnie, Aunt Jill and Uncle Rick, my cousin Wes, and Daddy, "Papa." My other cousin, Lacy, is in New Jersey dancing this year and couldn't make it home. We really missed her!!!!

Many of the Thanksgiving traditions that we enjoy were started by my grandmother, Ruthie, and this was our first year without her being there. There will never be a Thanksgiving that I don't remember her. We truly missed her this year. What a feast she must be having in Heaven!



I am so grateful for my family, each and every one of them. I love you all!

Thanksgiving Coming Up!

Hey, everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've taken a few days absence from the blog just resting and enjoying good food and family. Ava has also had a little stomach bug with a fever but is feeling back to her normal fun self today! I'm going to post Thanksgiving pictures hopefully tomorrow, meaning Monday.

Yesterday, I was asked to prepare my testimony for our class next Sunday, and, well, I'm a bit nervous. I've told many people bits and pieces in the grocery store or in the P.O., and those closest to me know the moments of sorrow and pain very well, but I've never really written the whole thing out. I've wanted to for awhile, so I suppose it's time. I've always told the Lord that if He wanted me to share my story that I would. There's a lot to tell, and it's all in my heart and mind catalouged in different places. Some of it, I haven't thought about in awhile. Remembering is exhilarating and difficult at the same time. God has completely healed my heart, but I still remember the details, some of which are very hard to think about and remember without tearing up. So....

As I remember the details, please pray that I'll articulate what it is that God wants me to say. It's His glory, not mine, and I really want others to hear and see that.

Lord, please take this where you want it to go. You have the floor, not me.

The turkey pics will hopefully be up tomorrow sometime!

Then and Now

I love to look at photos from last year and compare what Ava was doing then and now. My, how she has grown and changed!

This time last year, Ava was learning to hold her head up.



This year, she is learning to climb anything and everything and pretend play!







She is a very gregarious and adventurous 15 month old!

Refrigerator Raid

I've mentioned before that Miss Ava is a climber. I seriously think that she would be in a tree if we weren't looking!

She spent last weekend with Mimi and Papa while Ben and I went on our adventure, and they had lots of fun together eating decorated turkey cookies, going for walks and playing in the leaves. Oh, and Ava was delighted to play with Leo, her favorite little feline buddy. Right before we left to come home, she got in their refrigerator and browsed. She went for the ranch dressing - like father like daughter.

We're busy preparing to celebrate a Tennessee Thanksgiving with my family this year, and I'm in charge on the baked turkey for the first time! Wish me luck! I'll post again soon.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Mountain Getaway

Last weekend, Ben and I drove to Highlands, NC, one of our favorite mountain towns, for a getaway. We had a great time and took some much needed time to rest and reconnect.

We drove up through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park through Newfound Gap, Cherokee, Dillsboro, Franklin and then on to Highlands. This drive is so beautiful and peaceful, and if you're looking to getaway for some r&r, ahem, and some great shopping, we would highly recommend this drive or visit to Highlands.

Everyone's abuzz this year about the bear activity in the park, and we were amazed to see FOUR bears on the way up! One was in a tree and the others for foraging on the ground no more than 15 feet from the side of the highway. If there's an animal in the park that will back up traffic for miles and cause people to lean dangerously out of sunroofs and windows, it's a bear! Here are some of the pictures we captured. Man, if we had just had a zoom lens! Oh, and we also saw a big elk near Smokemont. He was in a wide open field and seemed to enjoy getting his picture made. Elk were reintroduced to the park a few years ago, and it's been a big success. These animals are beautiful to behold!

This is not uncommon to see along this route. If you see this many people out of their cars, you try your best to park somewhere and run as fast as you can to the scene to get a glimpse of....




A bear!




The following two bears were sighted a few miles up the road from the little guy in the tree.



Everyone assumed they were siblings, and we were DEFINTELY looking for momma, but she never showed. Good thing! Strength in numbers, right? It turns out that these two bears didn't know each other and one turned tail and lumbered off when it saw the other.



This photo of us was taken at Newfound Gap by some very nice folks from Louisiana. The view here is breathtaking!



Here's Mr. Elk. He was very large and quite impressive! Double click to get a better view of him.



Enjoying a delicious lunch at a little cafe in Highlands. I had apple cider ginger vinaigrette on my salad, and I am going to have to find a recipe for that!



The last morning, we went outside on our rustic balcony and had a great talk about where we felt like God was leading us. He's using each of us in different ways, no doubt, and we talked about how the Lord has prepared good works in advance for each of us to do. Some we've likely fulfilled, but there's more ahead, and we're looking forward to that! I think that's so cool about God. He knew each of us when He formed us and said, "I have a purpose for each of them." He gave us certain talents and gifts to be used here on Earth. If you're around me and Ben long, you'll discover that our minds and gifts are very different. Kristie, would you agree? :) Isn't it great that each one of us is completely different!? God uses each of us to fulfill His purposes. We just have to join him. I really would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord and join Him than to be lofty here on Earth and everything go MY way.

You can completely trust that when you were born, God said, "I love this one with an unfailing love, and I have good things planned for him or her. I have a purpose for this one."

Step...step... discovery...step... step...unknown....step... step... faith....step... step... trust. If_______then God.



Oh, and we saw another bear on the way home!



We had a wonderful weekend and look forward to going back someday. The mountains are simply my favorite place in the world to be.