December 18, 2010

Grandpa with Tyler & Derek We had cereal and sweet rolls for breakfast on Sunday. Then we got everybody ready and went to church at Hartwell with Dads. Instead of a sermon they decided to have a song service instead. Paul Gingerich called on the Strite men for some impromptu men’s singing. It didn’t go very well…. :) We had a good time though singing and visiting with the folks there. We came back to the Center for dinner of BarBQ sandwiches, baked beans, collard greens, and caramel custard. We had a nice relaxing time of games and fellowship in the afternoon. We all shared the leftovers for supper and got left for Govan around 6:00. It was very cold tonight with some small snow flurries.
The children playing "Drivethrough Restaurant" I made us ponhaus and “daddy eggs” (fried) for breakfast Monday. Ina Sue started the laundry. It was cold enough again that she had to do the drying inside again. We had taco soup for supper. Ina Sue worked on finishing up the laundry while I took care of reading the children their stories and getting them in bed. The big wind on Sunday brought down a bunch of pecans so I actually went down to the square after dark and picked up a bunch of pecans by the headlights. Nearly froze myself!
Having left-overs for a quick supper Carolina Sue and I left for work and school on Tuesday. Ina Sue kept Jake while Marcia went to the prison. She said he was good to keep but with four preschoolers she couldn’t get much else done. She did mix up a batch of cookies and baked them after Carolina Sue got home. We had baked macaronis and collards for supper. Afterward Ina Sue wrote up her Christmas cards for our church folks while I got ready for our trip tomorrow.
Savannah & Jake Heatwole Landon and I left for Virginia at 8:00 on Wednesday. We took Carl’s truck and a load of 400 pounds of pecans for our extended family in Virginia. The pecans were actually just a secondary reason for our trip. When I married my wife over 9 years ago I told her that I was going to give her a china press for our wedding present. Unfortunately it took 9 years but Uncle Charlie called us the other day to tell us it was ready. Thus the quick trip to VA. We got in a traffic jam on I81 and didn’t’ get there until about 4:00. We got the press loaded up and strapped it down good with lots of padding before heading back. We stopped in at Robert’s on the way home and picked up a little children’s “Gator” vehicle for our children to use. We made good time on the way home but hit small showers just south of Columbia. I pulled off at a gas station and tied a tarp over our china press then headed on to Govan. Got home around 1:30
Traffic jam around Lexington While we were gone, Ina Sue made up a huge batch of party mix, washed the floors, and got some of our 2nd hand Christmas presents cleaned up. In the evening she stayed home with the two little ones while Carolina Sue went with Wendells to prayer meeting.

I asked Carl and Hendrick to come over Thursday morning and help me unload the china press. Ina Sue is very pleased with how it turned out. Then I headed in to work. I had a very busy day catching up from my time off. Ina Sue made more cookies with Carolina Sue. She fixed us a delicious chicken & spinach pizza for supper. I spent the evening with the children while Ina Sue worked in the kitchen.
Aunt Marsha with one of her puppies Mary Korver dropped off Erica here with Ina Sue on Friday then took Carolina Sue with her to school. Carolina’s class had a field trip today to the Lexington County Museum. She seemed to really enjoy it. I spent the day at work while Ina Sue did the cleaning at home. I came home a little early and helped get things ready for our evening. We had Gordons, Andys & Carls over for a light supper and to watch the Messiah with us. A nice evening eating and visiting around great music.
Having fun with the new "Gator" I had planned to mow our yard and shred our leaves on Saturday. Nelson had said I could borrow his mower/bagger for the day. Unfortunately, when we woke up it was raining so we had to change our plans. Instead we drove over to Aiken and did some Christmas shopping with the children, The rain and cold made going in and out of stores a pain but the day was overall enjoyable and the children had a good time. We got home around 4:30 and got the children all bathed and in bed by 7:30. A nice long evening for us to enjoy with just the two of us.