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!