Christmas Eve 2018

This is our 4th Christmas in Virginia and it has been filled with many blessings and family traditions begun on our first Christmas here. From going to see a Christmas Carol to Christmas Eve services it has been a wonderful start to Christmas.

The Nutcracker 2018

This year both Emma-Caroline and Sophie danced in the Moscow Ballet's "Great Russian Nutcracker" at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville. Sophie danced as a boy party guest and Emma-Caroline danced as a Snow Maiden. It was such a treat for me to see my girls dancing in a professional version of my favorite ballet. The girls and I have gone to see the Nutcracker since they were little beginning in Knoxville at the Tennessee Theater and continuing here in Charlottesville. Sophie has danced in the Nutcracker ballet with her studio the past two years and this year of course with the professional ballet company. On the day of this year's performance, Charlottesville got a foot of snow, so the atmosphere for the ballet was magical. It is a day I will always treasure.

Celebrating 70!

This past weekend we traveled to Melbourne, Florida to visit my dad and Pam and to celebrate my dad turning 70 years old! It was so wonderful to get to spend his birthday with him and especially wonderful because he is battling colon cancer right now. He is doing well and has until February before his chemo treatments are finished. We are so grateful for our dad, GDaddy, and we are very happy we got to spend so much quality time with him over the weekend. Here's to many more birthday celebrations and good memories together!

Halloween 2018

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays to celebrate. Some would say it is not a Christian holiday, but they would be mistaken as it is All Hallows Eve that is Halloween, a holy night to remember those who have died. People dressed in costumes so that bad spirits would not recognize them as they traveled to the grave yards and cemeteries to remember their loved ones on All Hallows Eve. This year Emma-Caroline dressed as a Dia de los Muertos woman and Sophie dressed as a Pink Lady. Each of them went trick-or-treating with their friends in our wonderful kid friendly neighborhood and we had Aunt Kelly and Uncle Leif with us too to celebrate the night. It was a wonderful Halloween!

Master of Make-Up!

Emma-Caroline was invited to a Halloween party last Saturday. She is dressing up as a Dia de los Muertos Catrina woman for Halloween and wore the same costume for the party last weekend. The key to this costume is the skull face make-up that has to be done to make her look like one of the sugar skulls. Sounds gruesome, but these are actually quite beautiful. My sister Kelly came for a visit last weekend and used her make-up artistry to create a beautiful Catrina face for Emma-Caroline. She won best costume at the party! I'm grateful that Kelly will be coming for Halloween too to do EC's make-up again.

Yearly Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

Over the years with our girls we have made many trips to the Pumpkin Patch. In Knoxville we traveled to Maple Lane Farms, Oak Farms and Cruze Farms. Here in Crozet, Virginia we have visited Chiles Orchards and Farms over the last three years. On Sunday we made our fourth trip to Chiles to pick out a couple of pumpkins again for Halloween carving. I'll never tire of going to the Pumpkin Patch to get our pumpkins. It's a tradition that brings lots of joy and happy faces.

A Visit to a Real Life Harry Potter World

Staunton, Virginia is a beautiful town just 20 minutes from where we live. With it's charming historic downtown and plethora of Victorian houses, Staunton lends itself to feeling more like an English town than an American town. With all of it's charms, Staunton decided three years ago to turn it's downtown area into a Harry Potter world once a year in late September. We were delighted to visit this year and found it a magical experience indeed!

Back to School 2018-2019

Summer Vacation is behind us and the girls are now back in school as new 6th and 8th graders. They will begin their second full week of school tomorrow. So far so good in their new grade levels. Sophie has adjusted to being a middle schooler and Emma-Caroline is enjoying being at the top of of the totem pole as an 8th grade. My prayer for them this year is that their minds will grow in learning and their hearts will grow in friendships and that God will be ever with them in all that they do.

A Visit with Dear Friends

My friend Jessica and I have been friends for 30 years now. We were each other's maid/matron of honor in our weddings and wore the same exact veil! Our children have know each other since they were babies and we have shared countless fun times together with our families. On our way home from the beach, we stopped in Evans, Georgia to see our dear friends the Weinsteins. We always have such a wonderful time with Jessica, Harris, Jonah and Sam. We can't wait to see them again soon!

Beach Fun!

There will never be a day in my lifetime that I will not enjoy going to the beach, that is if it is a beautiful sunny day :-)!