Valentines Day

I am a bit late with this post and believe it or not, this is not to report an exceptional event. We went out for the day and had a lovely day together.  Sometimes just being together is special. What now still seems special are the roses that I got for Valentines this year.  They were absolutely stunning and still feel exceptional as I post this photo.

Jenna, Jack and Sam

How much fun can we pack in with Jenna and the boys in a couple of day?  Well, we did our best and had a crazy, busy wonderful time. The weather was perfect, the drive down with Jenna and the kids was great and they hit the pool as soon as we got here.  What a luxury to be able to swim in January...dinner would just have to wait.

The next day we were off to Gatorland, I have never seem so many massive gators in one place in my life. We even saw snakes and rare white alligators.  I knew that the boys would love it and the adults did too.  We caught all of the shows including alligator wrestling and watching them "jump" out of the water for food. 

Next day, off to play putt putt at Congo River.  Jack had his reservations, he was sure that it wouldn't be fun, but was quickly converted.  Sam actually had a lot of fun climbing on the rock formations, which were pretty cool.  A delightful bonus at Congo River was fishing for baby alligators.  Small chunks of hot dog at the end of a fishing pole are apparently extremely inviting to these little guys. It was so much fun that I had a hard time deciding which pictures to include.  Afterward, I held one of these small gators so we could see them up close and personal and learned that the hissing sound that they make is a call for mama gator.

As promised, we made a stop at Tastee Treat for ice cream.    Mint chocolate chip was the flavor of choice for the guys.

We blew bubbles, played catch, ate pizza, went swimming every day followed by popcorn and hot cocoa and had a simply wonderful time.  There is nothing quite like seeing the world through the eyes of a child. 

Merry Christmas 2014

Let's be honest, when all is said and done there is always a Christmas gift that is your favorite.  We are not supposed to admit it but it is true.....and I am going public. Here are pics of my very favorite gifts this year.

                                                          Time with all of the girls

                                           Papa snuggling with Jack who was a little sickly

                                         My 2015 calendar - birthday gift from the Popes

                                                    A picture from Celia of Nana with her girls

                        A framed photo of me with my brothers at Billy and Christina's wedding

                          My very favorite gift is always time with the people that I love!!!!!!!

                                              Happy New Year and blessings to all!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me!!

Life is not always what you would expect it to be.....at 63, I am happier and healthier than I thought I would be, I cherish life and celebrate everything more than I thought I would and I love more deeply and am more grateful than I knew was possible.  We truly made it a weekend of celebration this year.  Not all of it was purely birthday but holiday festivities abound.  Thursday night John and I had dinner at Boston's Fish house, which was wonderful as always followed by The Morse Museum/Winter Park Christmas Concert.  I was a beautiful evening... Friday we attended Guys and Dolls, a Solivita event, and enjoyed Carrot Cake with Candy and Darryl and friends.  Saturday my Vine women's group in Solivita went to the Barn in Lake Alfred for our Christmas luncheon.  Sandy LaBram, my long time dearest friend join us for lunch and stayed for the weekend.  That evening we went to Celebration to see the flurry of soap bubbles a.k.a snow flurries while we enjoyed peppermint ice cream. These are just a few of my favorite things......  I am so blessed!!

We love our church...

Searching for a church in a new community is painful.....but when you find a place that feels like home you just know you are in the right place.  Thankfully St. Giles felt like home for both of us from the start.....welcoming congregation, incredible minister, wonderful heart for missions and on and on and on.  We are so grateful and blessed to be a part of this fellowship of believers.  We have both joined the choir ( they haven't asked us to leave yet ) and helped out with the pumpkin patch ( a fund raiser for the youth program).   Florida will steal us away for a while but we always look forward to returning.

Fall is here

Fall has been simply glorious this year.  Cool temperatures, beautiful color and believe it or not even snow in Greenville on November 1st.  We had no idea that ever happened here.  So with the new excitement and chill in the air we ventured out to Chicora Alley and found our new favorite downtown restaurant.  Great flavors, cute place and we look forward to trying something new on the menu next time.  Downtown is bright and vibrant, loud and interesting.  There will be new adventures to be had here!!

Just how much fun can one person stand??

Sometimes in life you just have to do a thing even if it doesn't really make sense.  This day Celia, Jack, Lily and Sam all spent the day with us.  The opportunity for total chaos is real but they divided , Lily and Sam had a blast playing with the parachute and Celia and Jack did big kid stuff,  and it was a great success.  I do love having so much love in one place at the same time.

            Jack celebrated his birthday at Paris Mountain State Park and we all joined in the fun.