Family and Fun

It is always great to visit with family and this visit was especially fun for us.  Laurie and TJ were gracious enough to host us for the weekend, with lots of family time, storytelling and oh my goodness great food.  So much for dieting this weekend!

Mina, Alina and Emma were hard to catch for a photo, but easier when you can catch them chilling with a movie.

 

Kendall sitting very patiently waiting for dinner.

Emma and John became fast friends when she realized that "Grandpa" was good at chasing her around the house.  He got quite a "run" for his money.

Gretchen with Lila, the newest member of the family.

Katie, Shenouda, Gretchen and Lila

 

Beth and Katie also waiting patiently for dinner

John's Uncle Ray and Karen joined us for lunch. 

After the stone

To make a house a home one must add their own touches and one of our additions is a stone front. 

grandchildren

We have had several occasions to spend time with the kids and it couldn't be more fun, loud but fun.  They are growing up so fast , I can't keep up.They have my heart!!

 

What a beautiful smile Sam has and talks a mile a minute , so far I am still translating.

We went blueberry picking while they were here,Celia she filled her cup.

Lily loves to dress herself and has an eye for outlandish combinations, much to her mother's dismay.

Jack gets to sit in the Toy Story chair, pink is for girls.

Twelve years and a lions roar

Our 12th anniversary is today!  It has been a wonderful journey together and we are both very  grateful to have each other.  However, our ideas about celebrating that sometimes varies.  I love to celebrate the joys of life, John, not so much.  This year my hearts desire was to see The Lion King, and he granted me my wish.  I have wanted to see this production for years, and I was not disappointed.  The staging was impressive, the puppets were fascinating, the music of course was just great fun, the costumes were beyond imagination and the actors were impeccable. That level of creativity blows me away.  I was drawn in from the first moment and loved every bit of it.  It was simply wonderful, and John enjoyed it too.

At intermission he asked me if I was up for another 12.  I am going to take that as another marriage proposal and a renewal of our vows all in one.  Happy anniversary Sweetie!!

My bucket list

 

I don't know that I really have a bucket list but there are a few things that I would like to do or see and RIVERDANCE  just happened to be one of them.  Last week we were gifted with  tickets to see, guess who. It was just wonderful.  The music, the theatrics, the dancers, the costumes,...I loved it all. 

Hello South Carolina

I call North Carolina home...I was born, raised, educated and had two of my children in and around Charlotte. North Carolina feels like home.  However during the course of my life I have lived in Georgia, Florida and now South Carolina.  We have been here for a month now.  We are surrounded my our things, we've met new people, even gotten our bearings and visited several churches.  I love the area, close to Greenville and close enough to Hendersonville and Asheville.  What is not to like, right??  We live in a community called Cherokee Valley. 

 

 We have a 50 acre farm as our backdoor neighbors. 

 Great neighbors complete with horses and cows.

 We are not hard to find,  between Hendersonville and Greenville in a town called Travelers Rest.  Come see us!

Back in North Carolina

Back in North Carolina our house had sold, much to our surprise.  We had called this place in Fairview home for almost 10 years but it was time to leave. Sad to go, you have been a wonderful home for us!!

With little time to find a place to live we were quickly on the road searching for our new home.  Weeks of looking were not turning up the property that we had in mind, so we broadened our search, including South Carolina.  By the end of April, when it came time to close, we had already moved into a new place in Travelers Rest, S.C.