December 30, 2006

We made waffles for Christmas breakfast.	We had a full church this Sunday.  A few families were away but we had a fair amount of visitors to make up for it.  Bro. Gary preached on "Jesus, God's gift to the World".  Ina Sue made us a special meal for dinner.  She had cooked up a big batch of ribs then pulled the meat off and fried it up in "Sweet Baby Ray's" BarBQ sauce.  We ate them over rice with sides of zipper peas and broccoli salad.   A wonderful dinner!  In the afternoon we all took a rest then Carolina Sue & I tried to fly a kite but found that there wasn't quite enough wind.  In the evening we went over to Andy Korvers' for supper.  A great evening of fine food and fellowship.
Opening presents...	Monday was Christmas Day.  We slept in a little then got everybody up and Carolina & Landon helped me make up a breakfast of waffles.  After breakfast we sat down and had our Christmas devotions then our gift giving.  Carolina Sue has been carrying the gifts all around the house the last weeks and knew who each one was for.  Opening gifts is on a whole different level when you can see it through the eyes of a child.  What fun!  We had leftover ribs for dinner then relaxed and read during the afternoon.
Operation "Christmas Puppy Move"	Uncle Garys got here around 6:00.  Their daughter Jessica is going to be a nanny for Ronnie & Rhonda Yoder for the next year.  Ronnies make up a team for Gospel Express and spend quite a bit of the year on the road in a bus traveling from prison to prison.  Uncle Garys dropped Jessica off at Enos Yoders (Ronnie's dad) and then came out here for supper and the night.  I fixed us shrimp 'n grits for supper with a side salad and Ina Sue fixed fruit slush & Christmas cookies for dessert.  After supper we visited for a while then Aunt Erma very kindly worked to give Prince a haircut.  It was a very big job made a bit harder for her in that we hadn't given her enough warning to be able to bring sharp blades along for her trimmer.  She kept working away though and the end result was worth the trouble.
Feeding Landon some of his first real food.	We got up Tuesday morning for a breakfast casserole with Uncle Garys before they left.  We were pretty relaxed and they left for Virginia around 10:00.  I decided to take this as one of my Christmas vacation days and volunteered to watch the children while Ina Sue worked at giving our van a thorough cleaning.
Aunt Erma kindly spent about 2 hrs trimming Prince up neat.	In the afternoon we worked on cleaning the house and making supper for our party in the evening.  Rosemary & Bonnie Brubaker are down for a visit this week so we had them over along with Benjamin & Charity Brubaker,  Douglas & Laura Heatwole, and Hendrick.  We had pizza, salad, chips, cinnamon rolls, apples & dip, and hot drinks.  After supper we played some Dutch Blitz together then just fellowshipped.  A nice evening with nice people!
Uncle Gary, Aunt Erma, Jessica, Kyra & Elizabeth Showalter.	I did go in to work on Wednesday.  It was busy but not horribly so after our holiday.  There were quite a few things that I needed to get done before I left though so I didn't get home until about 8:30 in the evening.  Ina Sue fixed us supper of turkey dressing casserole and collards.  After supper we sat down and watched a DVD of "Heidi" with Carolina Sue.  She loved the goats...
What's a party without Dutch Blitz?	The shop was closed down on Thursday but I went in for about 4 hours in the morning to work on accounting and several other tasks that needed done.  Then I came home and and spent the rest of the day with the wife and chilluns.  We picked up a bucket of pecans, weeded the flower beds, picked up sticks, and cleaned up the garden.  We even found time to fly a kite for a while with Carolina Sue.  I also dug up a water pipe out in our yard that has had a slow leak and repaired it.  We had a supper of leftovers and a wonderful relaxed evening at home.
Our guests of honor, Rosemary & Bonnie	We slept in a little on Friday morning then got up and I made us a breakfast of cheese eggs.  We weren't in any big hurry and finally got left for Virginia around 11:00.  With the children starting to need more potty breaks we didn't get there until about 7:15.  Supper at Robert & Lori's was scheduled for 7:30.  Uncle Paul & Aunt Lula Hofer were there along with their children.  Lori fixed us a delicious supper of steak fajitas, relish trays, and cranberry cream pie for dessert.  After supper Uncle Pauls told us about their love story & courting days.  (Uncle Paul was a widower with 4 children from Alberta when he married Aunt Lula who had scarcely ever left the Shenandoah Valley)  Very interesting and amazing how God worked to bring their lives together!
Uncle Paul Hofer family.	We got up early on Saturday to fix food and get the children ready for the Warren Showalter get-together.  I made a dish of baked pineapple and we also took some candied pecans.  While Ina Sue finished getting the little ones dressed I went over to Hickory Hollow (the school) to help get the tables and chairs setup.  Dinner was a carry-in with approximately 155 family members present.  After a nice time of visiting we worked to disburse the 280 lbs of pecans that we brought up from SC.  In the evening we went over to Davey Showalters to see their new house and to take part in their big drop-in party.  A nice time with family & friends.
Picking out pecans after supper.	Playing games at Davey's party.