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!

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We left DC and wrapped up our DC touring with Mt. Vernon. I think my last trip to Mt. Vernon was when I was senior in high school! Although I’m sure the house is still pretty much the same, many other features have been added – gardens, a primitive farm, etc. The weather was gray and gloomy, but visit good. Plus they had plenty of room for us to park Lizzie!

And the, westward we go! Manassas here we come! We were able to combine touring the Manassas Battlefield and surrounding area with dinner with some dear Sower friends. It was great combo! These Civil War Battlefields are all so beautiful. It was hard to imagine that such a peaceful setting could have been home to so much death.

Tonight we’re wrapping up a sweet visit with family – my nephew Mike, wife Robyn and beautiful daughter Molly. Mike has just started with a medical practice here in Front Royal (they sure are making doctors young these days!) so it was a treat to be able to connect with them before we head south on the Skyline Drive.

This is a very beautiful area, especially dressed up in beautiful fall colors. We took in a couple of wine tastings, but the scenery was so spectacular it was hard to concentrate on the wine!

Want to see more Virginia pictures? Click here!

Tomorrow morning (Monday) we head down the Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway(hopefully the bumper to bumper traffic has all gone back to work!). Our final destination – Toccoa Falls College, Toccoa, Georgia. It will be our November project and we’ll be working with some dear friends. Gary is looking forward to doing something other than HVAC for a spell. And I am looking forward to getting some quilt projects worked on!

….Monday morning…..my phone charge died before I could get this posted last night. Ah, the joys of internet connections! Quick hugs to the Fitzpatricks and on to the Skyline Drive we go!

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This was the view one morning this past week. We have been blessed with beautiful fall weather – and the fall scenery to boot!
We are only at this project for another week or so, just long enough for Gary to finish up the HVAC stuff he started in the spring. We certainly love New England, so it’s been fun to be back. Plus, we are working with (of course) some great Sower friends! Here are a couple more shots –

Right now (Saturday) we are back in Doylestown. This afternoon we head to the Memorial Service for Wendy. It will be good to hug her family and celebrate her life. She will be missed by so very many, but our grief is tempered by the knowledge of her wonderful home-going.

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Ah, the nutrition of a 10 hr. day on the road! We drove north into Fall and have safely arrived at Straight Ahead Ministries in Hubbardston, MA. It was a perfect day, clear and crisp and our journey was uneventful – just the way we like it!

The past two weeks have been family packed wonderfulness! A great visit with my sister Joie (and husband Fitz) was combined with a work weekend at my niece’s old house. It was inspiring to see all that Hannah & Brian had accomplished, and a bit overwhelming to see all that there was yet to do. Since we’ve done the “This Old House” thing, I could really relate to their progress and their “to-do” list. Gary worked on some electrical and plumbing jobs and started the heat pump installation. Joie & I worked on organizing the kid’s bedrooms and then cleaned up the front yard. They’ve done a great job so far, and we certainly wish them the best.
But on to this past weekend – Dwinell Family Reunion 2006! It was full of small cousins playing, big cousins reconnecting and siblings all getting back in touch. The weather was mostly cooperative (I think a light drizzle actually enhances a game of shuffleboard, don’t you?), the accommodations worked great, the food was all delicious (isn’t everything yummy when you eat it with family outside around a fire?) and the fellowship was OUTSTANDING! I have uploaded a bunch of photos – most of us doing what we mostly did – just hanging around. Here are a couple of my favorites – feel free to go here if you’d like to see more!
Here is The Eight and Under Crowd!

What a bunch of cuties!
Many of us walked up for a beautiful sunset – Here is Exley Bookamer honing her photography skills…

And on a more sobering note – while we were hugging our family and sending them on their way Sunday afternoon, our dear friend Wendy Pappas was slipping into her Saviour’s presence. Good News for her, but a sad, sad time for her family and friends. We will be keeping them in our prayers.

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