Week of Thanksgiving and Family

We had a little escape from last Saturday till this one. As soon as I finished with work stuff, we headed out of town. Misha was graciously watched (and loved) by my amazing student.

We met Jenn and Taylor in Greensboro, because Jenn had a fantastic idea

She learned about Disney on Ice and thought Asher and Taylor would love it- sure enough, they did!  The amazing costumes, scenery, acting, and skating was just beautiful.  It reminded me very much of watching NEMO at Animal Kingdom.  They both LOVED it very much.  Me too.  That was such a fantastic treat.  Jennifer, thank you!

Monday was spent in the pool, then Jenn and Taylor came over for Navajo tacos (yay, flatbread!)

The next day, we went to the very cool PIRATE MUSEUM in Beufort.  There are no pictures allowed, but it was excellent.  The interior contains a lot of really cool artifacts from a sunken ship (Queen Anne's Revenge) and focuses a lot on the area pirate, Blackbeard. 

Tuesday night, we went to Jacksonville.  I went with Jenn and Taylor to get a look at the new baby- 15 weeks old now, while Asher played with Taylor's toys under Matt's care.  We came home, and Jenn made an Italian feast (YUM!)

We found out...

Taylor is going to be a big sister.
So the next night, we had a celebration!
 I made homemade chicken pot pie for Jenn and Taylor, and Asher picked out this cake.

On Thanksgiving Day, we drove to Jacksonville and had an amazing, delightful feast.  Seriously, it was divine.  Just as everyone was loading up their plate, Michael called.  We got to talk to him, and that was blessed.  I hate that he is so far away.  Especially in a war zone.

We stayed and talked to Jenn until pretty late in the evening.


Black Friday, we took Asher to 2 playgrounds, and it was 74 degrees, so the beach was just... amazing.  I thought, "WE SHOULD TAKE SOME PICTURES!" So that is what we did.

You simply can not get him close to the ocean and not expect him to get wet.  However, he got SOAKED, and the cool wind had him shivering.  Luckily it was a quick walk to the warm car, dry clothes,  and a blanket.

THEN, we went to Swansboro to watch the Christmas flotilla.  How awesome is THAT?!

Afterward, we had sandwiches in Morehead City, and then we came back to the condo.  Asher and Taylor had a present from SANTA!  ELVES!!

I can hardly wait to see what these Elves are up to and what their names are.  OUR elf beat us home, and was sitting on the shelf in the dining room today!

We are so thankful for the use of Matt's parent's timeshare.  We really just got to relax, cook meals, spend time with Jennifer, Asher and Taylor... and I tell you... that did my heart such good.  I really love my family.  I am so grateful for them.  I really thought about love and the blessing that is in my life over the last week.

I really missed Valerie, but she forgot she had asked me to go to the beach at Thanksgiving, and her grandma planned her 16th family party for Thanksgiving.  It is really hard without her.  I miss her every day, but especially on holidays.

I look forward to journaling about the Christmas season over the next month.  I, for one, am really seeking to be like Christ to those around me.  I feel like it is so important to seek out the needs of others at Christmas.  It is so easy to get caught up into the purchasing of Christmas, but I know for sure, I had the best week this past week, and I kept the spending to a very minimum, and I am so, so much more balanced for it.  I am so grateful for the knowledge that there is no happiness like love for friends and family.