The Nutcracker

Three girls from my church accompanied me to see The Nutcracker ballet in Uptown Charlotte this past weekend. We ate at Qdoba, took in the show and then made sure to stop for a Starbucks before heading home. It was actually quite chilly outside which added to the Christmas feel. Thanks for the memories, girls!

Merry Christmas!

A Few Flakes

I saw snow this morning! To be truthful, a flake was coming down about once every twenty seconds and I thought I was seeing things at first, but it was still snow. We have a cold forecast coming up this next week for the South so hopefully I'll see some more of it with several flakes falling at one time. Never thought I'd live someplace where snow was a novelty! :-)

Take Time to Truly Listen

Love this picture. The quote on the email I received with this picture was "Take time to truly listen." Good advice!

Thanksgiving with the Cats

I didn't get many pictures of our Thanksgiving at Jerry and Angela's, just of four of their five cats desperate to partake in the meal with us. Rarely do you see all of the cats like this together when visiting, so the Thanksgiving food must have smelled extra good. The cats names are Chini, Maxi, Cali, Boots and Priscilla (she is the missing one). Jerry looks like he's scolding Boots in the first one. :-)

Molly's Perch

Molly has quite a few spots she enjoys relaxing. In fact, she's sitting on my lap right now as I type looking out the window, probably hoping to spot some birds. Oh - she just laid down and is resting her head on my arm now. :-)

These are two pictures of her on the back of Mark's recliner which is rather precarious at times but she loves it. Thankfully she has good balance!

Autumn Pictures

Sorry these pictures are a little late. They were all taken in November. The leaves are pretty much off the trees now, except for the pin oaks that hold on to the leaves until Christmas time. It's also been a lot colder now, below freezing quite a few nights and just up into the 50's during the day. Obviously, not cold in Minnesota but still a welcome change from the 90's of the summer!

Church Bonfire

We had a fun time at a bonfire/hot dog roast with my church family last night. I haven't had hot dogs roasted over a fire in I don't know how long and it was delicious. Of course, there were smores as well and plenty of chips and soda. The young people played games with flashlights on the perimiter of the property and then they did some line dancing that the adults all enjoyed watching (especially 3 year old Walker!). I don't have any pictures because, first, I forgot the camera and, second, it was dark within 30 minutes after we arrived. (The picture above is from the internet.) Pastor Jon told Mark they were a group of "unstable people!" That made me laugh but I think the slight truth in that is what makes me so comfortable with all of them. The truth is, without Christ, we would all be pretty unstable!

Family in Phoenix

Mark and I recently took a trip to Phoenix and below are just a few of the pictures taken of family. Most are Mark's siblings and nieces and nephews. Lilyana is actually Mark's great niece. It was so nice to see everyone again. I'll try to post more pictures later. Oh, and the first picture is of Sluggo, Andrea & Denny's Jack Russell Terrier. Molly & Major would have loved him!

June Harvest

Planting and harvest times are definitely a little different in the south than they are up in my home territory of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Down in South Carolina there are often two crops planted throughout the year, with one growing through the winter. A few Christmases ago it was completely green in the field across from our house, and I DID NOT like that. It definitely was a downer for the Christmas spirit. This June the farmer harvested some winter wheat which you can see in the pictures below. Our guess is that there will soon be a crop of soybeans put in the ground.

A Visit to the Judds

This post is a little old as we visited our friends, the Judd family, back in early May, but I had to make sure to get the pictures of their beautiful children posted at some point. Davey and Alexis are the older children, and their new baby is Olivia. They are so fun to be around, and we feel special that Dave and Susan have them calling us Uncle and Aunt!

Pretty Peonies

Breaking in the Grill

We just purchased our first grill a couple weeks ago and our neighbors, the Malinowskis, were kind enough to come over and break it in for us. Mike actually did the grilling and walked us through all of it, and then we all enjoyed the feast. We've already used the grill two times since this feast was coooked five days ago, so we are loving it.

Spring Flowers

Visit to Lake James

Thanks for a relaxing day on the lake, Ron & Bonnie (and Cody), and for the tour of your beautiful home. We will definitely be back!!! Mark & Mel