Christmas Memories. . . how they linger

Christmas this year was spent in Indiana and we had such a great time!

On Saturday before Christmas, we went to Muncie, IN and had Christmas with Grandpa Young at the nursing home.

Then we went to Grandma Young's house and opened presents there.

On Christmas Eve, we went to Upland, IN and had Christmas at Grandma Herring's house. Melissa (Aaron's cousin) was opening an "interesting" gift and all eyes were on her.

All the cousins always play games after we do gifts. This year the favorite was Catch Phrase.

And then on Christmas Day we stayed home (at Aaron's parents house) and had our Christmas there. We always start with stockings filled and overflowing with really cool things (De-Icer, Butterfingers, Dark Chocolate Doves, LipSmackers chapstick, socks, etc.).

Cameron is now 14, which is the year he officially starts his toolbox. He got this nice metal Craftsman toolbox and a nice screwdriver set to start it off. From now until he's married, he'll get a new tool each year. Aaron loved having all these tools when we got married. After all, you typically don't get stuff like this for wedding gifts. :-) .


This gift really made him smile - a cell phone of his very own!
(with very strict instructions of no texting, no sending pictures, and if possible, only talk to "Verizon" customers to benefit from the free mobile-to-mobile) :-)


Cameron got a remote controlled helicopter from Uncle Hugh and Aunt Cindy and absolutely loved this thing! All we heard from Christmas Eve night on was the whrr whrr whrr of this thing. It was really neat - and actually very hard to fly.

After finally getting the hang of it, Cameron successfully landed the helicopter on the fan blade . It took several hours (or was it a couple of days?) for him to learn how to do this. Maybe the $5 challenge from his dad had something to do with it.

Merry Christmas!

Breathless

Yes, that is nearly how I felt tonight. Not only did I feel this way, but I heard this very song tonight - LIVE and in person by Kenny G!

Wow! What an amazing concert! We went with Ron and Jennee to Music Hall in downtown Cincinnati tonight to hear and see Kenny G on his holiday tour. I have loved his music for years, but never thought I'd actually be able to go to one of his concerts. I knew it would be good, but I had no idea how good it actually would be!

We had some awesome seats (thanks to Aaron's Christmas present to me)! In fact, Kenny G came out at the beginning of the concert, walking down the aisle from the back playing a song. He stopped right at the end of our row and stood on this box. Ron was on the aisle and was so close to him that he could have reached out and touched his shoe! We loved the concert so much and agreed that when he comes back to Cincinnati, it's definitely a "do again" thing.

It is Finished!

Whoo - hoo!! It is finished!

I'm done with school!
I passed my last class!
I just logged on to Liberty University
for the very last time.
THIS is cause for celebration.

I love old people!

Wednesday night our young adult Sunday School class went caroling at a local nursing home. We had so much fun! Some nursing homes I've been to in the past have made me a little nervous, but these people were great. They were SO excited to have us there and sang the carols right along with us. At the beginning of our very first song, one lady really started crying. She was sitting there in her wheelchair with tears silently pouring down her face. It made me sad and glad at the same time. They loved having us there. We sang for quite a while and then spent time talking to each one. Nathan Dahler had arranged this since he used to work there, and he told us that these nursing home patients would talk about this event for the next 2 months. Wow! I'm so glad we did this.

We loved the lady in purple on the right - she was so "fixy" it was hilarious. Really, check our her hot pink hat, nails, jewelry, and blue watch!

I was fascinated with this lady - she spoke French!

This dear lady captured Kelly and Emilie.

This man would direct us while we sang in his room. (Mr. Wolf would be proud of his wide-open mouth!)

And Dakota was fascinated with this man's wheelchair! :

Oh - the stories they could tell if only someone would listen!

GBS Christmas Program

One of the privileges of working at GBS is attending some really amazing events - one of which is the annual GBS Christmas program that is happening this weekend. Even more amazing is that I get to take pictures and record these special events. This year's program is outstanding! I love the added drama and the emphasis on the shepherds. Enjoy!

Mary and her mother (Heather Frazier / Rachelle McQuary) both do a really good job!

The students always enjoy the lively market scene.

This is my favorite picture! The shepherds in the cold, dark night. brrr!

The shepherds sing a really fun song - one of my favorite songs in the whole program.

Ahh - Baby Jesus has arrived. I love this picture too!
A very special baby Jesus this year - Hannah Deuel!

And of course, no program is complete without a fabulous orchestra!

A Good Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays and this year we celebrated with my family in Missouri. We had a GREAT time.

Tons of food - and tons of goodness!

The girls always have craft time in the afternoon. We did two fun crafts: frosted glass on jars and fall leaves with Modge Podge (a new word and new concept for me). They were both great fun!

My finished jar project - well almost.
I'll tie a ribbon around the top and put a red candle inside.

Working away on all our creations.

My finished project - craft #2.
I wish I would have taken a picture of the other boards. It was really neat to see everybody's ideas.

Yes - we hit the stores on Black Friday. Aaron and I didn't have anything that we were "dying" for, but we went along with Mark and Jana and had a blast! Mark literally ran thru K-Mart just being funny, but he did get his cordless drill that he was after. :-)
Yes, it really was that dark. We left the house at 3 AM just to get to the stores by 4:30 AM (yeah, the main stores are kind of far away from my parents house)!

And of course, pictures are so much fun to look at after you take them. Kelsey must always see the finished image. :-)