It has been a
loonnnggg time since i have posted anything. Please don't interpret my absence to mean that I have been doing
nothing. In fact, the opposite is true! I have been doing so much that I haven't been able to spend time with you, my bloggy friends.
I feel overwhelmed by the task of relating all the fun things I've been doing. Instead of doing a series of posts in great detail, I will attempt to give you little sound bites in ONE post. So, here goes:
*Small town Christmas parade: always lots of fun and this time very COLD and rainy. Yes, you heard me right it was COLD! I mention that not because I'm complaining, mind you, but because it is very unusual! The rain made it miserable, though. I was grateful that instead of the originally intended float, our daughter rode in the parade in a bus!
*Speaking of our daughter: She made us proud by doing a spectacular job (if I may say so myself) singing a solo in our church's adult Christmas musical. I was part of the choir for this musical and was truly blessed by its missions emphasis!
*Travel, travel, travel! Have you noticed that our family loves to travel? We met my family in New Jersey this year for Christmas. My sister lives there with her hubby and two children. My brother and his family as well as my parents were able to travel to New Jersey as well making this one of the few times we are ALL together!
(My sis Rachel and her hubby Dave; my bro Eddy and his wife Penny; me and my hubby)We drove from SE Alabama to New Jersey. This was a two day trip, so we made the most of it. On our way up, we stopped in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a quick look at the Liberty Bell.
It was a
very cold and rainy day:
On our way back home, we stopped in Washington D.C. We wanted to see the WWII Memorial. We knew we didn't have a lot of time, so we found a parking spot on the street, put two hours on the meter and took off! We managed to see the Lincoln, Vietnam, Korean, and WWII Memorials. We then walked over the the White House where we checked out the National Christmas Tree.
(This picture isn't a very good one: the camera setting was wrong and my family is not paying attention. But I like it, because it sums up what we saw: memorials to those who died for our freedom)*New York City!!
My brother and family, my family and my parents spent a day sightseeing in NYC while we were in New Jersey. It was a VERY cold day, but we were not about to be stopped from our chance to see the Big Apple.
(Statue of Liberty in background. Can you tell we were coooolllldddd?)
My sister's sister-in-law went in with us as our guide and she did a super job! We had an exciting day! I'm sure there will have to be future posts of pictures I took that day, but there's not room or time here now. One of the highlights of the day for me was ice skating at Rockefeller Plaza!
(Do you see me?)
*Brazillian BBQ: My parents have traveled to Brazil on several occasions and have always raved about the food there. So, while we were all together in New Jersey, my Dad treated us to Brazillian BBQ at a restaurant in Newark.
There were so many new tastes to try! Guarana (a Brazilian soft drink) flowed as well!
Maybe that brings us up to date.....until I get the urge to show you more pictures of New York or D.C. or Christmas....
seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted can not be compared with the means by which most governments have been established without some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage. These reflections, arising out of the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free government can more auspiciously commence." -George Washington, First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789
(My sis Rachel and her hubby Dave; my bro Eddy and his wife Penny; me and my hubby)
It was a very cold and rainy day:
On our way back home, we stopped in Washington D.C. We wanted to see the WWII Memorial. We knew we didn't have a lot of time, so we found a parking spot on the street, put two hours on the meter and took off! We managed to see the Lincoln, Vietnam, Korean, and WWII Memorials. We then walked over the the White House where we checked out the National Christmas Tree.
(This picture isn't a very good one: the camera setting was wrong and my family is not paying attention. But I like it, because it sums up what we saw: memorials to those who died for our freedom)
(Statue of Liberty in background. Can you tell we were coooolllldddd?)
(Do you see me?)
On this 4th of July, lets remember what the holiday is about: Independence. Our forefathers sacrificed everything for this country's independence. What a blessing it is to be free! I recently came across the following quote which is a great reminder of what has been done for us. It is also a reminder of our own role in the preservation of freedom.
Our town held a patriot concert on our town square last night. Local business brought in the Tri-State Community Orchestra which performed several patriotic numbers. It was raining when the event began, but no one seemed to mind. A good number of townspeople came to the concert carrying their lawn chairs and umbrellas. There was no complaining about the rain 
or staying home because of the 'inconvenience' it caused. You see, we've been experiencing a drought lately, and many people have been praying for rain. So when a local pastor began the festivities with an invocation, the opening line of his prayer was, "Thank you God, for our country and for the rain."
