Easter Back Home

After our time in SC, we just moved the trip north to the other Carolina. Luke and I had nice visits with some of my Mamaw’s siblings on the way. When we finally arrived in Murphy, Luke settled in for lots of fun and spoiling with the grand and great grandparents, and especially his aunts. In addition to my sister Michele, Ben’s sister Lauren joined us for the holiday weekend. Galen and Ben joined us all on Friday after work and everyone shared had a nice long weekend with plenty to celebrate: dinner with friends, coloring Easter eggs, taking Easter photos out by the big oak tree, great family dinners at home and at Grandma’s where we hid eggs for the kids. We had beautiful weather and such a nice time Luke didn’t want to leave. We finally made it back to Knoxville and found spring bloomed out while we were gone. Now it’s time to mow, plant, and watch everything green up for the season.

Easter Egg Hunt YMCA

All little kiddies gather round! It’s the first annual Easter Egg Hunt at our new YMCA. We’ve really enjoyed going to the YMCA this winter. Luke and Ben love the pool and Luke is getting better with his swimming all the time. They have a great kid-watch most of the day so I can go to yoga or work out and Luke gets more playtime with friends. True to their family-friendly credo, they hosted a big egg hunt for children of all ages and even had the Easter Bunny available for a photo. Luke was so excited to see the real Easter Bunny and sit on his lap! He found lots of eggs, which he promptly broke into to see what prizes may be hiding inside. It was one of our first sunny warm spring days, too, so all around it was the perfect prelude to Easter and what will hopefully be a nice spring ahead.

Home from the Holidays

We're back home in TN from a wonderful holiday with family and friends, spending time with both sides of our family in NC and GA. We drove over to my parents' home in NC on the 24th, enjoying the Christmas music on the radio and the final build up to the big day. Christmas Eve was celebrated with the Allen side of the family at my Aunt Lydia's, complete with a home-cooked dinner from Grandma Allen and a big warm fire to open presents beside. Luke loved playing with his two little cousins, Delaney (5) and Morgan (soon to be 2). They were all so excited for Santa to come that night and for the fun of the morning to come.

No one had to tell Luke what day it was when we awoke on the 25th. He sat straight up in bed, looked clearly ahead, and said breathlessly, "It's CHRISTMAS!" He raced down the hall to find presents galore and really savored opening each one this year. He's finally more interested in the gift than the wrap, but he took his time playing with nearly every toy before moving on to the next item. We celebrated on Christmas Day and evening with my mother's side of the family, the O'Dells, and had a nice time visiting, eating, and opening more gifts by the fire. All in all, a wonderful and very blessed Christmas indeed......but then there was more ahead!

On the 26th, we drove down to GA to see Ben's family who had gathered at the home in LaGrange. Lauren and her boyfriend Matt were there with Luke's Nonna and Bacca, all ready to make merry and prolong the Christmas season as long as possible. More good dinners, time to visit, and lovely gifts were exchanged. It was nice to all be in one place and to revisit favorites spots in town together, like the obligatory pilgrimage to Charlie Joseph's for "The World's Best Hot Dog." Many old friends and neighbors came by for a little party on Sunday night and it was great to see everyone and for them to see how Luke has grown. He loved all the excitement and having lots of eager playmates 'round the clock.

From GA, we went back to Murphy for New Year's Eve and my father's birthday. We all rang in a new year together and for all its upheaval and transition, we were none to sad to bid 2009 farewell. Here's to a better year for each of us and our country in 2010! We pray there is health, happiness, and renewed purpose ahead for us all.

Babes in Toyland....and Candyland

No reason to pout or to cry here at our house this week. Luke just happened to intercept the UPS man with a very special Christmas present from his Aunt Holly and Uncle David yesterday: a handmade, wooden Marble Track. And as nice as it is, it's really even more special because it was made by the Rothenberger boys in the the family wood working and furniture making business up in PA. We are so pleased to have such an heirloom gift for Luke to enjoy. He hasn't quit playing with it yet and tried to take the large wooden "marbles" to bed with him last night.

Luke and I also had some nice Christmas visits today; we went to lunch with a friend at a tea room and then had more friends over to make cookies and decorate gingerbread houses. We made miniature homes and Luke certainly had fun sampling all the trimmings----I see visions of sugar plums turning to tummy aches later on.

We'll be heading to NC soon and then on to GA for more visits with family. We hope all of you have a blessed and Merry Christmas whereever you may celebrate. Noel!

Holiday Express

We took Luke to see the Holiday Express displays at the UT Univerity Gardens this past Saturday. With more than 100 model buildings and 10+ trains running, it was a little boy's Christmas dream. The bigger boys, Ben included, were pretty smitten with the collection, too. Two engineers ran all the trains in concert with twinkling lights, a waterfall feature, and Christmas music. Ben's favorite train was the Pennsylvania passenger train, while look prefered the green Southren engine---he said he was going to drive that one when he grew up. The collection was entirely owned by one of the engineers, who built nearly all the structures and builidings himself. He said it had taken him nearly 25 years to collect and build it all. He had unique trains with fish-tank cars (quite a ride for little goldfish), a miniature carnival with ferris wheel and teacup rides, and a working sawmill. The attention to detail was amazing and none of it was wasted on all the starry-eyed children and families who attended. Enjoy the photos!

For more info, visit http://www.utk.edu/tntoday/2008/11/14/Climb-Aboard-the-Holiday-Express-at-UT-Gardens/

Christmas Rocks!

It was a dreary, rainy night in Knoxville, but it was warm with the Christmas spirit and rockabilly beats at the Tennessee Theater Tuesday night. For Ben's birthday, Luke and I gave him tickets to the Brian Setzer Orchestra's Christmas Rocks Extravaganza! Now that's a mouthful, but it lived up to the wordy title and then some. We felt like delinquent parents taking a little guy to such a late show, but 'tis the season for special events and getting to stay up late for some holiday fun. They had a great blues act from Chicago open the evening and Luke was shakin' it in the third row! We had great seats--so close we could make eye contact with the performers and best of all, catch Santa's attention when he made a surprise cameo during one set. The Knoxville concert was filmed for a Christmas Eve program for Billboard.com, so maybe you'll be able to see the show, too. Meanwhile, if you are looking for some fun, up-tempo Christmas music to round out your playlists this year, check out BSO---they won't dissappoint!

Deck the Halls

After rearranging the furniture and making a place for the Christmas tree, it was time to start decking those halls with boughs of holly...and pine, juniper, etc. I was pleased to find ample evergreens and berries right in our own backyard to make wreaths and garlands for the house and to spruce up the faux ones still in rotation.

We have a smaller, tabletop tree again this year but it's full of childhood classic ornanaments and even a red-and-white paper chain garland. It's not our usual tree, but it's just right for a wide-eyed little boy with Santa on his mind. Luke has been pouring over his toy catalogs but is also making some connections that this is Jesus' birthday coming up and that is why we really celebrate. The mixed messages are everywhere, but we all keep muddling through them. I have even found myself resorting to the terrible cliche of "Luke, you know Santa is watching you...." when he's starting to act up or feeling uninclined to listen to me. So yes, you know the holiday season is full upon us.

I suppose I already had one of my big Christmas wishes granted when we awoke to about an inch of heavy, wet, wonderfully white snow last Saturday morning. It covered all the trees and houses beautifully and drew even the older children out early on a weekend morning for a quick snowball fight before the sun melted their fun away. Luke and Ben got in on the action, landing a few good shots on the neighbor girl and her brother, and then we went out for doughnuts in our PJs and boots----a pretty wonderful morning whether you are two or twenty-something. I'd love to see some more snow this holiday, but if I don't we at least had a great start to the Christmas season with snow in the first week of December.

A Pennsylvania Thanksgiving

This year we spent our Thanksgiving holiday in Pennsylvania with many of Ben's relatives who either still live in the area or came back home for the occassion. We stayed with his grandparents (Luke's Pop Pop and Gigi) and were lucky to have lots of family come by to visit with us there. Ben's sister Lauren and her boyfriend Matt even made it over since they were in PA for Thanksgiving with his family. We were also fortunate to see Ben's aunt Holly and uncle David up from DC, cousin Peter who lives in PA now, and their daughter Brin who flew in from LA. There were 17 for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, with aunts, uncles and cousins a-plenty. Luke had a great time with everyone and appreciated our hosts Tina and Alan and their children opening their home to a few more guests this year.

My parents also made it up over the holiday weekend, not for turkey and dressing, but to help pick up a tractor that has been in Ben's family since the 1940's. After an extensive restoration, she's all shined up and ready to go down south to stay in the family another 50 years and then some. It made the trip very well and is now resting safely in a garage for the winter.  It is a special memento of the family farm and all who have lived and worked there. 

All told, Luke saw 23 different relatives during our four day visit! It was certainly a whirlwind trip up on Wednesday and back Saturday night, but it was great to see everyone we could and to be there to help decorate for Christmas with Pop Pop and Doris. Our next treat was to see the lighting of the tree in nearby Skippack with Ben's aunt Nancy and uncle Pete. My parents stayed overnight with them when they got into town, so we had a great night out seeing Santa, listening to carolers and eating some delicious Italian food---we started the holiday feasting early with year! Luke had some big laughs with Uncle Pete as you will see in the photos---he knows how to get him going!

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving whereever and however you may have celebrated. I know times are very challenging for so many families right now, but that seems to be all the more reason to simply acknowledge the gifts we have been given, to celebrate our families and friends with grateful hearts as we enter the holiday season. This Christmas is the perfect time to find comfort and joy in what we already have and not what may or may not be under the Christmas tree. 

Remember the Veterans

Happy Veteran's Day to all those who serve or served in our military and to the families who serve along with them. The service and sacrifice of all our veterans is a precious gift for which we should give thanks on more occassions than just this day, but I hope all of you will at least use this holiday to thank a veteran and pray for all those who still serve and/or carry the scars of war with them each day.

We always appreciated all the well-wishing and support on this day when we were on active duty, but we need to remember the veterans at all stages of life. No matter what our positions are on the wars we fight and the missions our military carries out, our service men and women deserve our gratitude for their willingness to defend and protect. So thank you, today and always.

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year, spending the evening at a Halloween party hosted by a friend of Ben's from work and his wife. It was a great party with lots of delicious, spooky foods...think pimento cheese roll "eyeballs," Bloody Mary sauce for rare steak, spider eggs (deviled eggs decorated with Black widows make of olives), mummy dogs, etc.

There were four children at the party including Luke, so he had a wonderful time just playing with new friends. After some pumpkin carving and filling up on the scary snacks for dinnner, we all trouped out to do some trick-or-treating with an elephant, the Little Mermaid, Jack Sparrow, and one more sweet little pirate. Lots of candy was had by all, as you would expect. Many of the houses seemed to be rewarding coming out in the cool drizzle of the evening with extra candy. We finally headed back in once the rain really started peppering down, but no one's spirit was dampened. The kids were thrilled with their candy and since they were younger, honestly seemed to enjoyed receiving the older trick-or-treaters at home as much as going around on their own. Hope you all had a very Happy Halloween, too. Enjoy the photos!

Halloween Preview

Today was the Halloween Party in Luke's preschool class, and I was lucky to get to volunteer to help with the party. All the kids were so cute in their costumes. After they had snacks and treats in their classroom, they all paraded through the other classes and then to see the seniors who participate in an adult care services housed in our church. The seniors had candy for them and gave them all handshakes or high-fives. It was very nice to see the intergenerational interaction.

Enjoy the Halloween costume preview!

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day to all our friends and family, especially all those still serving in the military at home and overseas. We miss our friends from Italy and remember the Festa Americana held on the 4th for the servicepersons and families in Naples. We celebrated here in TN this year by going to the local parade in the morning and meeting more of our neighbors at afternoon-into-the-night block party, complete with swimming, slip-n-sides, BBQ, and a major fireworks display. The firepower reminded us of Italy and how our Italian neighbors shot off impressive fireworks all the time and for not necessarily for any particular reason. Luke was up very late taking it all in, taking serious the party-til-you-drop attitude.

We live on the far west side of Knoxville in a township called Farragut. Their hometown parade was very impressive, with helicopter fly-overs, tons of classic cars, military personnel and vehicles, lots of children's characters, and gobs of candy and freebies. We left after an hour and a half and more floats were in the pipeline. We needed to go before Luke got too much sun or went into a sugar coma; he seemed to attract friendly paradegoers with lolipops. All in all, it was a nice day and we were thankful to celebrate it on American soil this year.

First Camping Trip

Over Memorial Day weekend, Luke went on his very first camping trip in the great outdoors. We camped for a couple nights at Unicoi State Park near Helen, GA. We decided to split our holiday weekend between camping and a visit with Ben's parents at their home in GA. Helen is close enough to my family in NC that they were able to come over and camp part of the time with us, too. For Luke it was the best of all worlds. In one long weekend, he saw both sets of grandparents and his Aunt Chele, slept in a tent, went fishing and wading in the lake, ate roasted marshmallows, and then capped it off with a birthday dinner for Nonna and two days of 'swim camp' at Grandpa Tom and Nonna's pool. He loves the water, so whether lake or pool, he was glad to get wet. The camping debut was a great success, so I'm glad to say it will be the first of many good trips to come with Luke. Ben really enjoyed being out there, too, as it is a peaceful and much needed break from work. One highlight was when we walked up to Anna Ruby Falls to see an amazing double waterfall before heading to LaGrange. Enjoy the photos...can you believe how big a and how much a two-year old can do?!

Happy, Hoppy Easter!

We had a great Easter weekend visiting with Ben's family in LaGrange, GA. With his parents most recently living in WI and Lauren and her boyfriend Matt in Chapel Hill, it was a rare time for everyone to meet in LaGrange for a warm, beautiful Easter weekend. Luke managed to take in two egg hunts, one on Saturday complete with air castles for jumping and sliding and another at Nonna and Grandpa's home on Sunday before church. He had fun picking up the eggs and even found a special prize egg at Saturday's hunt. My parents, my sister Michele and my Mamaw had all sent Easter baskets for Luke since they missed him for Easter, so he certainly had a grand display from the "Easter Bunny" on Sunday morning. As you'll see from these photos, he had a big time and one happy, hoppy Easter.