It has been a busy November and December at our house. We spent Thanksgiving in Tampa with Todd's family. It was the first time we had all been together in about 2 years, so it was great to just see each other and watch the cousins play together! Todd's sister, Katie, is expecting a little girl in February. We surprised Sydney and Sean with a one-day visit to the Magic Kingdom. You can't drive on I-4 and not stop by and visit THE MOUSE! Sydney has been a few times, but this was Sean's first time. We "pretended" to get "lost" and we ended up at the Magic Kingdom. I think Sydney really thinks that her daddy was lost :) We met up with our friends, the Cunninghams, from Hilton Head who were also "surprising" their kids that day as well. Sean just wanted to ride the train all day. Sydney wanted to do the Barnstormer roller coaster all day as well. It was a little cool so the Spectromagic parade was fun to watch sipping hot chocolate.
December has been so much fun as Sean is really talking. Sydney was not as verbal as Sean at this age so it is SO much fun. He is obsessed with trains...even as I blog, he is watching his morning viewing of "Polar Express." He is singing Christmas carols all the time...I included a little mp3 of him singing here...
Download Sean singing carols-2009
We took the kids to Bryson City, NC on December 10-12 to ride the "Polar Express" on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. It was fabulous! If your kids are into that movie and love trains like mine do, this is a great thing to do as a family. We went to the train museum before our train ride...it was incredible. The ride is a little over an hour which is plenty. The kids wear their pajamas (and some adults which was funny!) We enjoyed hot chocolate(in special mugs we keep!) and special treats and Santa joins us on the ride back and talks to every child. It was the coolest thing we have done as a family of four. We stayed at a lovely cabin in Cruso, NC (Thanks, John and Sandy!) and enjoyed building fires and watching Christmas movies together. It was COLD! We wished for some snow, but it definitely felt like Christmas!
Sydney is loving Kindergarten. She is reading so well and is doing great in math. We love Mrs. McCarter and are so thrilled to be a part of HHCA. Here she is singing with her class at their Christmas concert rehearsal. She announced to us that she wants a baby sister...I told her that mommy and daddy aren't having any more babies (a little hard to explain I would be on complete bedrest for any more pregnancies!) and what if we had a little boy? She said, "No thanks." So, I told her to just pray and ask God if he wants her to have a little sister, that he would send us a little girl that didn't have a mommy and daddy. She was blown away that there were little girls without parents. She told me later that she prayed for God to send us a little girl. We will see! (BTW - Todd is freaking out!)
The Hilton Head Campus is doing great! You can follow us on our blog by CLICKING HERE and you can hear Todd's messages online at our podcast on iTunes or at our blog. God is sending us new people every week and I have been blessed with some new musicians this fall. Our Evening in December was a huge success and has opened the door for us to think of performing more dessert concerts to raise money for community outreach. Our goal in 2010 is to become financially self-sustaining as a Campus and God is already opened the hearts of our people to give to meet that goal even now. We love our people and this community and are SO excited about the future here! We have three Christmas Eve services this year (23rd-and 24th) and are excited about having some time off between Christmas and New Years.
We purchased a home this fall and love being settled. EMAIL ME if you do not have our new address. We feel so blessed to have the opportunity to buy on the Island. God truly made a way for us and we are so thankful. We are looking forward to making cosmetic upgrades to our home over the next few years. We have a partial woods and a partial golf course view. We love living on the Island and wearing flip-flops year-round! It gets cold enough to feel like a change of season ( it will be in the low 50's on Christmas Day!) but not TOO cold. Yeah, we are spoiled :)
From our home to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year! No matter the miles, we feel connected to so many of you through facebook, your e-mails, and your calls. May God's richest blessings fill your hearts during this season as we celebrate the greatest gift of all - His Son, Jesus Christ.
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