Christmas in Virginia

Shane and Abigail enjoy playing in the snow on Christmas Eve

Luci is waving to us!

My big girl can stand up!

The children enjoy opening their gifts!

Some of the family are gathered around the table for Christmas lunch

The children have their own table for Christmas lunch

Nicholas enjoyed the dinasour that John and I got him for Christmas

Shane and Abigail really do love each other even though they fight quite a bit!

The grandchildren gather around the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve

A picture of our dear mother - a precious gift from Sharon.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

It was sunny and bright on Christmas Eve so I bundled the children up and let them play outside in the snow for one last time as it was calling for rain on Christmas Day. Shane and Abigail enjoyed it very much and since it was no longer over two feet deep they were able to move around it better than before. We went to John's parents house for dinner at 6:30 p.m. and had a very good time together. I had three of my children with me on Christmas Eve and dream of the day when all four will be with me and my little precious grandbaby! We ended the day with Shane and Abigail in the bed between us all excited about Christmas morning coming soon. As soon as they were asleep, they were put in their beds to dream sweet dreams of Christmas morning. It was Shane's fourth Christmas in America and Abigail's first. We counted our blessings as the day ended. They were both blessed to have celebrated Christmas at New Day before joining us.

Shane awoke first on Christmas morning around 7:30 a.m. Abigail followed shortly after and I held them off from opening their gifts as long as I could as our tradition is for Sue, Sharon, and their families to join us at our house for a "grand" gift opening ceremony. It was the usual chaotic opening of gifts with kids everywhere in the living room and gifts being opened so quickly that the kids have no idea who gave them what. It is always such a joy to watch and we have been doing it for many years now!

Lunch was 1:00 p.m. and the rest of the family joined us. The highlight of the day was when we skyped with John, Melissa and Luci at 2:00 p.m. It was great to watch Luci open the presents we had sent her. It is hard to believe but she actually tore the paper off like she knew what she was doing. She amazes me! We had a wonderful day and as it was wrapping up and everyone was gone back to their homes, I found a card that Sharon left for me. It had a picture of our mother when she was a young woman in it. It touched my heart deeply. It was a precious gift. Memories and pictures of all that we now have left of our dear mother and she is missed very much.

Shane's First School Play and Our First Snow of 2009!

Can you believe that this is Luci and she is not 5 months old yet??

Can you see the snowman that is being built in the background?

Shane and Abigail are ready to go play in the snow.

John is busy shoveling snow while it is still coming down.


Shane smiles big for the camera after doing a great job with his school play.

"And Joseph also went up from Gailee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; Luke 2:4

December is going to a month of "firsts". Shane had his first school play on December 10th. He played a friendly rooster. It was a fun time and he did great. I am amazed at what a great memory he has. He memorized Luke 4: 2-7 word perfect. He does a great job memorizing his memory verses each week and he normally has 3 to memorize. One for school, King's Kids at church and for Sunday School.

We had our first snow on Friday, December 18th. It started snowing around 3:00 p.m. and by nightfall, we had several inches. The forecast called for around 3 inches during the night and we woke up to around 8 inches of snow on Saturday morning. By nightfall on Saturday, we had well over 2 feet of snow. We all went outside to enjoy the snow on Saturday morning. Nicholas and Shane were typical boys and explored the entire yard and surrounding area. It was difficult for them to move around as the snow was up to their waists. Abigail was a typical girl and whined when she could not move around in the snow freely. I only made one trip out in the snow. On the second trip, the boys went out and Abigail and I stayed in. We lost electricity for several hours on Saturday but thankfully it was restored by nightfall. We had a birthday brunch planned for Sharon at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday as it was her 44th birthday. Of course, the brunch was canceled but since she and her family lives next door, they hiked it over in the snow for breakfast with us and I managed to bake her a birthday cake before we lost electricity. The forecast for Christmas Eve has the potential for more snow! The children love it and it is now Sunday and the sky is blue and the snow is gorgeous. The kids are outside making a snowman.......

Our Trip to San Antonio

Shane and Abigail dressed in their Chinese clothes for the Christmas dinner
Savannah and Shane in front of the Christmas Tree

Shiloh -Susie's 2nd child

Luci and her mommy enjoying a nap together.

Me with Faron and his family

Me, Mandy and Faron

The San Antonio Riverwalk

The Riverwalk

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Luke 1:28

Mandy and I flew to San Antonio on December 4th. I had to be there for a conference and Mandy went along for the shopping and relaxation. We arrived in San Antonio to cold temperatures and a forecast of snow!...and we thought we would be leaving the cold and enjoying warm weather. We checked in the hotel and I set up the exhibit booth and stayed in for the first night as Mandy fell asleep around 7:30 p.m. Mandy had a great time shopping as there was a 3 story mall adjacent to the hotel and we were on the Riverwalk so she could explore it while I worked the conference each day. The weather never did warm up while we were there and it ended up raining on Monday. Faron, my cousin who moved to San Antonio when we were children, came to visit on Sunday evening with his wife and youngest child. We had a lovely evening of dinner, walking on the Riverwalk, and visiting. We flew home on Tuesday. Sharon kept Abigail and she and John shared responsibility for Shane. I am so blessed with family that helps out with my children. On Saturday, December 12th, we had our annual Christmas dinner at church and we took Susie's children with us so she and Buddy could go on a date. I took several pictures of her and my kids in front of the Christmas tree before we left for the dinner. We are skyping at least once a week with John, Melissa, and Luci and I so enjoy getting to see them even if it is on a computer screen!

Jeremy's 22nd Birthday, Andy's 44th Birthday and Getting Ready for Christmas

Luci and her mommy are getting an early start celebrating Christmas!

Luci sitting on Santa's lap for the very first time!

Kelsey, Shane and Abigail enjoys playing in the leaves.


Abigail with her reindeer ears that her Uncle Bernie gave her.

Jeremy and Christina celebrating his birthday - what a cute couple.

Lunch is enjoyed by the gang.

Roy having another reflective moment - he seems to have a lot of these lately....

Buddy and his ole faithful Dallas Superbowl sweatshirts - just for you , John Anthony!

The little ones love the outdoors!

Daddy and Poppy (Bernard) -my two favorite "older" men!

Sharon and Andy enjoying lunch.

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth". Colossians 3:2

As usual, I am behind blogging.... We celebrated Jeremy and Andy's birthdays on Saturday, November 28th. Jeremy turned 22 and Andy turned 44. Did I mention that we always get together to celebrate birthdays -even for the adults? It is a great way to keep us a close family and we do truly enjoy each other's company. We literally have one or more birthdays each month of the year. Mom was the only February birthday and while she is not here to celebrate it with her, she is certainly in our hearts and minds each day, but especially on February 9th. We enjoyed the celebration and the younger children enjoyed being outside while we were inside. Jeremy was home for Thanksgiving break so he didn't even have to make a special trip home for the celebration.

In keeping with tradition, I put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. Abigail and Shane are routinely found touching the ornaments. By Christmas it will be looking pretty rough from all the "handling". Presents are starting to gather under it and the little ones are getting excited. A trip to San Antonio occurred next and will be on the next post......Christmas and then another trip to Boise to see John, Melissa, and Luci!

Thanksgiving Day

Luci enjoying a ride on her daddy's shoulders
John and his brother, Bernie, enjoying Thanksgiving lunch outside.

Lorene is busy getting drinks for everyone.

Bernie bought all the children reindeer ears so Savannah, Kelsey & Nicholas decided to wear theirs!

Buddy and his four children also enjoyed the meal outside.

Nicholas lost his first baby tooth during Thanksgiving lunch!

Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. I Chronicles 16:8

Our family has so much to be thankful for. Our church had a testimony time last Sunday night and it was a blessing to hear the many testimonies of our church family. I have so much to be thankful and one of the things that I am most thankful for is that all four of my children were in church together on November 8th. As I reflect on 2009 it has been quite a year. We traveled to China and brought Abigail home on April 2nd. We had waited two long years for the day that we would be united with our daughter. It was a very good trip and we were blessed beyond measure.

Our first granddaughter was born on July 27, 2009. It was difficult knowing that we had a granddaughter and not knowing when we would see her for the first time. God blessed me with the ability to travel to Boise on August 20th. It was love at first sight! Luci has stolen our hearts and we all long to see her, John, and Melissa again soon.

Shane started pre-school in late August and it has also been a blessing. He loves school and it has allowed me and Abigail time together that we previously did not have.

Jeremy returned to Liberty University in mid-August to begin his Senior year. As always, he had done very well, take his studies very seriously, and has begun dating a lovely young lady that we are all growing fond of quickly. Again, we are blessed beyond measure.

Our family traveled to Boise in October and spent a wonderful week visiting with John, Melissa and Luci. We were thrilled to have Lorene and Bernard travel with us and were blessed to be able to bring Luci home with us for two weeks! It was a precious time for our family and one that we will always cherish. John and Melissa flew home on November 7th and our first Thanksgiving celebration of 2009 took place on November 8th. We had 35 people celebrate an early Thanksgiving with us and it was a wonderful time of fellowship.

Our second Thanksgiving celebration took place at Lorene's house on Thanksgiving Day. We very much missed not having John Anthony and his family with us so we made a short video and sent it to them. It was a great day even though daddy wasn't feeling well and did not join us and Roy and Carol could not attend as they were celebrating with her family.

The Lord has blessed our family with so much this year and we have so much to thank Him for.

John & Melissa Fly Home and Early Thanksgiving Celebration

Our family many years ago when it was just the four of us
Our family in 2006 - Melissa and Shane have now joined the clan!

Our family in 2009 - we now have Abigail and Luci!

Everyone enjoying the warm sunshine after a big meal.

The children enjoying wrestling with one of the older boys -I can't tell who it is.

John, Melissa, Kelsey and Lisa waiting their turn for food.

Roy watching the children play and perhaps reflecting on the day.

More fun to be had by attacking one of the older boys.

"Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, said the LORD of hosts". Zechariah 1:3

Our two weeks with Luci flew by and it was a precious time of bonding with our granddaughter. We were blessed to have the privilege to bring her home with us and very much appreciate John and Melissa allowing us to do so. We know how much they missed her. John and Melissa flew home on Saturday, November 7th. We were excited to have them with us. John had not been home since my mother passed away in June 2008 and Melissa had not been to Virginia since June 2007 when her brother graduated high school. It was a joyous reunion for our family to see them again, especially for Jeremy since he did not make the trip with us in October.

We had an "early Thanksgiving" celebration on Sunday after church. I invited Melissa's family to dinner. Counting babies, and there were plenty of babies!, we had a total of 35 people at our house for dinner. How blessed are we! I was also thrilled that John and Melissa joined us for church services. All four of my children and my granddaughter were at church together. It doesn't get any better than that! The weather was warm and it was a blessing. As you will see from the pictures, children of all ages enjoyed the warm Fall day and hours of fun playing outside occurred after dinner. It truly was a special time for many reasons and one of which was that all four of my children were home for the very first time! Our family has grown significantly over the years so I am including pictures reflecting us "then and now". There is never a day that I don't miss my mother but gatherings such as these are a poignant reminder of how much she is missed by our family. I hope she is looking down from Heaven and smiling at us all.

We enjoyed the remainder of the week visiting with John & Melissa and dreaded the time when they would leave and return to Boise. John, Abigail and I drove them to BWI on Thursday evening. It was rainy drive and while we enjoyed our last moments together, we were all sad to be saying good-bye again. We all miss them very much and I am already counting down the days until we all together again..........a little trip to Boise after the holidays may be in store for me!

Back Home to Virginia and Shane's Third Anniversary for Gotcha Day

Shane in his "King's Kid" t-shirt (a program for young ones at our church)
Shane in August 2006 (17 months old) opening up the gift package we sent him.

Shane as a baby at New Day. How cute was he???

Shane at 7 months old when he arrived at New Day.

Luci and Shane spending some bonding time together.

Luci just had her hair washed and a nice warm bath!

Luci likes her cousin Kelsey!

Luci really enjoys the outdoors and being strolled.

Great-granddaddy Leroy getting to know Luci

Luci's first morning in Virginia! She is happy to see grandma!

"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou riseth up". Deuteronomy 6:18

We left Boise, Idaho on Saturday, October 24th. Saying good-bye wasn't as nearly as difficult as it normally was because John and Melissa had already purchased airline tickets to fly home to Virginia on Saturday, November 7th so we knew that we would see them in two weeks! I mentioned on my last post that we had a new addition in our house and it is Luci! We brought our precious granddaughter home with us to meet the rest of our extended family and to give her mommy and daddy a little "down time" as they both work full-time and share the babysitting responsibility. I respect and admire them for this but know how hard it must be to work full-time and to watch a 3 month old baby full-time when you are not at work. We were overjoyed to have the opportunity to bring her home with us. We arrived home around 3:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. We were all exhausted but glad to be home. As usual, my sisters stepped in and help out even when I am not home. Sharon and Andy put up the crib, boiled water for Luci as we have a well, put the car seat in the van for little Luci, etc. so when we arrived home, all was was set!

Saturday, October 24th was a big day for several reasons and one of them was that October 24th is Shane's adoption day. It is hard to believe how quickly 3 years have passed by. We brought a 19 month old home with us and now we have a 4 1/2 year old that is in pre-school. I am including pictures of him at 7 months old when he arrived at New Day and a few as he has grown into the big boy that he is today!

Two weeks have flown by and Luci did wonderfully! She slept all night every night except for one in which she woke up briefly. I had to go out of town for work for two nights so she stayed with her great-aunt Sharon during the night and with Mandy, Susie and Lorene during the daytime. We call her the "community baby" as she was sometimes as three different houses in one day! She even went to church several times and did great with all the strangers admiring her. On the days that I was home, we went for a stroll every day and she loved her stroll! Our house is overfull with a car seat, bouncy chair, stroller, baby crib, swing, etc. and I love it!

Shane and Abigail adore Luci even though Abigail has had to adjust to not "being the baby" of the house. She seems to have great motherly instincts and tries to take care of Luci. Our big family "early Thanksgiving celebration" is the next post. As always, God is go GREAT!