Quick run to Memphis and the End of a Great Holiday

Well, our trip was supposed to end with 2 days in Memphis, but on the evening of the 30th I got really sick...I got the bug that Twayne's family had. So, I was in no shape to make the trip to Memphis. Thanks to my wonderful husband, all was not lost! He made a quick trip to Memphis, delivered the things we had to get to Tanner and went with the kids to pick a place for the rehearsal dinner. They found a great place that everyone was happy with...thanks Jerry for saving the day!! I am better now and I will be heading to Memphis at the end of Jan to see the kids.

So, after Jerry's quick trip (down and back in one day) to Memphis...he packed up his some what better wife and we headed back to Maryland. We only drove about 1/2 way the first night...I wasn't 100% still...so we stopped just over the state line in Virginia and spent the night. The next morning we got to drive for a couple of hours through a rather scary ice storm. Below you will see two pictures of the ice that built up on the truck as we drove, one of the side mirror and one of the antenna. We had to stop at one point and break off some of the ice. But we made it through just fine.

Happy Birthday to Mom...

While we were in Kentucky we also got to celebrate Mom's birthday. We just had one celebration after the other!! So here you will find a few shots from Mom's birthday dinner...enjoy!!

Christmas in Kentucky

Well, Christmas at mom's this year was pretty much a several day event. We got to her house the day after Christmas, but Twayne's family and Tanner & Courtney didn't get there until Sunday night. Twayne's crew had all been sick and they had to have some recovery time. Tanner had to work everyday up until Sunday so that was their first chance to get there. Kevin, Cindy, Nick and Matt were there off and on. So, we just sort of opened presents when ever someone was there to open them...so I have tried to include a few shots from the various "openings"...hope you enjoy them!!

Thanks mom and dad for another great holiday!!! We love you guys!!

Christmas in South Carolina

OK, so after the run in with the deer we finally made it to Jenny and Brandon's. On Christmas Eve we went over to Brandon's grandparents (Oree and Lana). We had a wonderful evening with them. We had some dinner, then we sat together and sang Christmas carols. Brandon's aunt read a very sweet story called "The Christmas Orange" and we spent time just visiting. It as a very lovely evening and we would like to thank Brandon's family for always making us feel so welcome...you are all wonderful!!

On Christmas morning we got up and opened presents with Jenny and Brandon.

Oscar got a lovely sweater...





Jenny got a suprise from Tiffany's...

Brandon had some new church clothes...







After all the gifts were opended we went to Ginger and Shaun's for breakfast. It was so good and we had a ton of fun watching the boys...

Thanks Shaun and Ginger for including us...we had a great time!!

After all the presents were opened Jenny cooked us a wonderful dinner...Thanks to Jenny and Brandon we had a fabulous South Carolina Christmas...we love you guys!!

Truck meets deer...

We left from work on Christmas eve and we headed to Jenny and Brandon's in South Carolina...we got really close...like about 20 miles away and a big 4 point buck decided that he wanted to meet the truck. So, as we were going down interstate 20 he decided to jump right out in front of us. It was pretty scary for a minute or two but Jerry did a great job of staying cool...I just closed my eyes!! The truck is going to be fine...it's at the truck hospital as we speak...a week and $2300 and it will be as good as new!!

Christmas in Maryland

Well, Christmas for us this year lasted several days...we started with Christmas at home in Maryland on the 23rd. We tried to keep it a little smaller this year...

...that smaller thing only partly worked, Jerry gave me a very nice diamond bracelet...I guess the definition of small can be different...it sure is beautiful!!

Even Spike had a good time!!

So, the Christmas season begins...

Last of the activities before Christmas...

After we laid the wreaths at Arlington we had some friends over for a Holiday meal. I was having a bit of holiday cooking withdrawal...we traveled this year for Thanksgiving and we are traveling again for Christmas...so I need a cooking fix. So we invited a few of our close friends over (about 12 or 13 people) and had a wonderful meal.

We don't have a lot of pictures because we were all too busy eating and visiting to remember to take too many pictures. But, Asher loved the train table as did all the other kids...Tim, Daniel, Micah and Ava...we just failed to take pictures of everyone...we'll do better next time!!

We had a couple of new friends join us...David and Ronnie. They are young soldiers from Ft. Meade, they are both from Alabama and they are attending church with us. We enjoyed spending some time with them.

It was just a house full of extended family and it was great!! We love all you guys!!

Then on the 19th Jerry took me to see the Nutcracker at the Warner Theater! It was fabulous!! We don't have many pictures from that either...but they won't allow pictures so we did the best we could...one on the outside and one on the inside...may not have many pictures but we sure had a good time!!

Last but certainly not least was a night with Jim Brickman!!! It was his Holiday show so you know it was great!!

Jim had Tracy Silverman with him again and...

...Mark Masri. Anne Cochran was there too but we didn't get a good picture of her...too many fans around her!! This was a group of hugely talented people and it made for a very lovely evening.

So, hopefully have have got everyone caught up on the before Christmas events...we have one more hurdle to get over at work...the annual Christmas breakfast, where we feed 300+ people in our headquarters spaces...it's a little hectic at times but it can be done. This will be our 3rd time to prove it that we can make it happen!! So, wish me luck...tomorrow is the big day (23 Dec) and after this it will be on to the Christmas travels. I will have lots of blogging to do when we return!! So, to all our friends and family - have a wonderful holiday...Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!!! Be safe and enjoy time with your family and friends...Jerry and I plan to!!!