Catching Up...Pictures Coming

Wow! It has been EIGHT MONTHS since our last post! That tells you a little something about the busy-ness of our lives since then. When I read the last past, I think of the uncertainty of the future. One move later, the loss of Granddaddy that still leaves an empty hole in all of us, a tonsillectomy, a new school, and a renovation later, we are still here and standing strong!
Winston-Salem is now home to us. "Home" for sure. It feels like such a perfect fit. People here are so friendly, the town is comfy and well-suited for a family like ours. We really have enjoyed our time here. It was a great move at the right time.
The girls have adjusted well. We definitely had our share of ups and downs this summer, but they really are resiliant little things.
Pictures are to come asap...I did pack up my camera cords and just now found them, and our computer crashed and lost a lot of pictures from the summer. So tomorrow I will post some updated pics.
But for now just know we are safe and sound and back on the BLOG!!

Changes and One Funny Quote

Tom finalized a deal with Transource, a Mack Truck dealer, to work with them starting March 1st. We are very excited about the new opportunity. We are quickly in the midst of cleaning out clutter and preparing to put the house on the market. Our newest home will be in Winston-Salem! The tough news is that Tom will be living in High Point with his great aunt (that is great news), five days a week. Mommy will hold her chin up and do her very best to keep the clocks ticking here. We have been so spoiled having Daddy home.
In the meantime, we will be hoping for a quick home sale in this economy. Say prayers for us!!
No pictures this time...I'll work on that for the next post. Hope all of you are enjoying your new year.
Oh, Brooke, here is a quick one for you, as Mary Stuart was in the midst of an angry tirade with Tom
"Daddy, I'm going to throw you in the trash and the trashman is going to come pick you up".
I'm keeping tabs on them for you!

So Far Behind!!!

Long time, no post. I know. I'm not alone though. I've tried to catch up with my other friends who "blog" and I think we've all been so busy with the holidays, it's too overwhelming to keep up. That being said, we had some great highlights this December. We started out with a surprise trip for Jeff''s 30th. He knew he was coming home and going somewhere. The Stauffer's have a house they like to rent in Montreat, NC (GORGEOUS place). It is twenty minutes from Asheville. We surprised him at a special lunch there. His brothers (Chuck, Tom), us wives and kids were all there. We then went on to spend the weekend in the Montreat house. It was so much fun. Margaret surprised Jeff with a "boys' trip" of fly-fishing with a guide for the day, and a candlelight tour of the Biltmore for us adults, minus her. She volunteered to stay home and babysit the THREE kids (not an easy task, given the ages!). We really enjoyed that and would highly recommend this...it wasn't one bit crowded and was nice to see the house at night. At the height of our recession, it was ironic to see such a miraculous home, vacation home at that.

Christmas was so much fun this year. The girls are each other's best playmates, for better and more often than not, for worse. But they loved the spirit of church, family time and fellowship, and of course, opening gifts. All of it was new and exciting for them. Do you all have the Elf on the Shelf? I would highly recommend this neatly devised Elf. He saved us from some bad, bad behavior. I wish we had Kip year-round. Even MS still talks about him. We need an Easter, Halloween, etc Elf.

We finished the year with our second annual trip to (same Montreat home mentioned above) the mountains with our dear friends, Jennifer and Derek. They have two kids similar in ages to ours. It was a great time. I would highly recommend a mountain trip for New Year's. It is a way to relax with friends without the hassle of babysitters. Well worth it all!!

So, Happy New Year to all of you. I hope for health, happiness, and prosperity in these trying times. Hopefully I'll be better about our blog in the New Year. I love reading all of yours!! Cheers to 2009!