OK – so there’s not a lot of decorating space in our little home, but I did what I could. Gary was pretty surprised that I had any Christmas decorations with us (it’s surprising what you can fit under that bed!), but since we were going to be stationary through December, I couldn’t resist making home just a little festive. And so we deck our halls….

In other news….
We made our once-a-week trek to the Big City (Dothan, AL) this weekend. With the closest grocery store (and a Piggly Wiggly at that) about 15 miles away and the closest Walmart and Home Depot (not to mention any other store/restaurant that you would be interested in) 35 miles away, we spend the week just writing lists about stuff to pick up once we hit civilization. It’s a fun outing (doesn’t take much to get us excited these days, huh?) – next week maybe we’ll hit the big flea market – whoeee!

And around here? Well, we’re getting to know the folks we’ll be calling family for the next several months. Gary’s official “job” hasn’t started yet, so he’s been busy doing odd jobs – installing a washer & dryer in the kitchen, building shelves, finishing walls, and the like. I’ve been a floater – answering the phone, doing kitchen laundry, fixin’ mustard greens…..whatever! It’s been kind of laid back for us, which I confess has been nice. I’ve been busy working on Christmas surprises….:-).

Have a good week – I think our frigid nights (in the 20′s) are a thing of the past. Should be in the sixties and seventies this week. Ahhhhhh…..

Beautiful beautiful December Full Moon – often refered to as the Long Night’s Moon due to the fact that it hangs on the horizon for such a long time. I think we will rename it Cold Night’s Moon. With that nice clear sky, all the heat is escaping and the temperature is expected to bottom out in the 20′s tonight. Oh, the Brrrrrrrr of it all!

On other fun notes – here are some new cute photos of my favorite granddaughters!
This is Hayley cuddled up in the doll quilt I made for her for her 2nd birthday – guess it was a hit!

And here is Ellie cuddled up with her Daddy!

And finally the two angels together. Something tells me they might not always be angels, but who’s to know?

So we’re huddling under the down comforter and sleeping close tonight.
Florida, eh?

This is a shot from the top of Stone Mountain, GA taken last month. I’m testing out a feature on my Flickr photo page and figured the least I could do is post a pretty picture!

Soon-to-be daughter-in law Abigail just sent some engagement pictures they had taken by a friend. I thought they were pretty wonderful, so I’m sharing them with you….

I wrote earlier how we are settled here in Bonifay for spell. Just thought I’d let you see the neighborhood. Get it – NEIGHborhood!

Gotta love this life!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! While our first choice would be to have been with the kids, since we were about as far away as possible (Lancaster, PA – Marysville, OH – Santa Clara, CA – and Bonifay, FL), we were delighted to spend (for the third year in a row!) the weekend with our friends the Sensings at their beach house on Amelia Island. It was just the five of them and the two of us, so it was a lovely laid back couple of days. We ate too much turkey, took long walks on the beach, watched the youngins’ play in the surf , watched the whole 10 hrs. of Pride and Prejudice, slept late and drank coffee in our jammies with friends. Heck, we even went shopping in our jammies! The weather was bright and clear, and though too chilly for most of us to go in the water, we spent time at the beach each day. It was truly a lovely time.

The Sensings headed north on Saturday morning, and we headed just a little southwest to Jacksonville where we spent the night with Sower friends, Jim & Lillie Walker and their family. That evening we went into downtown Jacksonville to see the Christmas Boat Parade and fireworks. The parade was fun – but the fireworks were SPECTACULAR. Certainly the best we have ever seen. And well worth the crowds along the riverfront.

So now the weekend is but precious memories, and we are settling in at Teen Challenge Boys Ranch in Bonifay, FL. We have signed up to be “Sower on Assignment” which mean that we’ll be here for several months while Gary works on a specific project – in this case heading up the installation of the heating and A/C on a new building. So, the awnings are out, the outdoor mat is down, the birdfeeder is filled and hung, and we’re hunkering down for the winter. I might even go out and buy a potted plant for “landscaping”. Since we’re only about 5 miles from Alabama, we won’t be walking around in shorts, but we’re happy to be out of the snow at least.

Christmas (in Columbus with everyone except Abigail!) is less than 4 weeks away! Sweet.

Here are some pictures from our weekend –
Our walk after our big meal on Thursday..

The BIG Game

The Beautiful Family!

Sunset at the Walkers (yes, that is the view from the house!)

This is a pretty pitiful “representative” photo of those great fireworks, but I loved the way the moon was hung in the sky.

Like I said – a Great Weekend!