Some Time in the US

Paul and I had some meetings in the US early December and decided to take the rest of our vacation and add it on to see our kids and Moms. We started out in Chattanooga with Anna (and her housemate Esther) who lives in our house in St. Elmo. We spent a week redoing our kitchen floor and other odd jobs then having Wil and Amy over for Thanksgiving dinner. The floor turned out looking great.

From there we went to see Wil and Amy. It is always so relaxing in their home in Murphy, NC. They live out in the woods so it's peaceful and beautiful. We played lots of cards and got to see one of their indoor soccer matches. It was nice to visit their church and meet some of their friends.

On to Orlando to see Erik, Rinnie and the girls. It was so fun to be with them all. We took Erik and Rinnie out to dinner the first night and it was good to have uninterrupted conversation and catch up on what's happening with Erik's business ventures. The rest of the time we spent playing with the girls and talking with Rinnie. We made a gingerbread house and cookies, went for walks to feed the ducks and read a ton of books. We miss our granddaughters so much.

Next stop was our Moms. Paul went to Las Cruces and I went to Quarryville with my sister, Sally. We both had good visits and found our Moms to be doing pretty well. I was very encouraged, actually, since the last time I saw Mom she could hardly walk. This time she was walking some (with her walker), eating better, holding conversation, and singing Christmas carols. Her voice may not be what it once was, but she loved singing. I think the most special moment for me was when we were ready to leave she prayed for my sister and I. We were both in tears, hearing Mom's sweet voice talking with the Lord about us.

After our meetings at MTW we went on to Kirk and Sarah's. It was great to see Sam since the last time we saw him he was just born (March 2008). Joanna was so cute. When we got there she said "Come on, Granny, here's our room". So we shared a room with Joanna and just had a blast. We got to be there for her third birthday. It was fun chatting with Kirk and Sarah, and just spending time together. We went to see the house they are buying so are happy we'll be able to envision them there once they finish the renovations and move in.

After that, we were on the plane back to London to get ready for Anna to arrive Christmas day. But that is another blog post..... If you'd like to see more pictures of our time in the US you can go to: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1885549&l=c9450&id=624702564 and
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1885332&l=5898f&id=624702564