2009 Holiday Review

We were able to spend much of Christmas week in Missouri with Greg's family. Whitley joined us there, as well as Greg's brother, Chad and his wife, Sunny. We all missed Wesley, but are anxious to hear the details of his time at Boot Camp and are excited for his Graduation, from the USAF, at the end of this week! Thanks, Mom and Dad P. for the presents this year and for putting up with all of us... we certainly enjoyed our time with you, as usual! Aly loved being with “Mawmaw & Pawpaw” just as much as we did!
We were also able to spend a few hours with my "adopted" brother Densel, his wife Michele, Jacqueline and Ty. We hadn't seen them for a very long time and it was such fun to re-acquaint ourselves! Aly had a ball with Jacqueline and Ty, as well... no pun intended, Mr. Ball! LOL
We arrived back home, just in time (due to last second car troubles), for Christmas Eve night with my parents! We were thrilled to have had the opportunity to purchase a camera while on the trip, thus you will be able to view many of these activities, for yourself. Alyson was more than excited when she saw the Kitchen Set “Mimi & Papaw” bought for her. A skillet that 'sizzles' and boiler that 'gurggles'. A working microwave and phone. In Aly's own word, “WOW!” Thank you, Mama and Daddy, for the many gifts and love this year! Aly truly loved every aspect of Christmas this year... from seeing all the packages, to opening the gifts and playing with all the new things! How fun it was to watch her eyes light up at each one!

Christmas Morning, the three of us enjoyed being together and seeing what else “Santa” had in store! We relaxed and played together around the tree, before dressing for a fun evening with the Indy family. As is tradition, we celebrated at Mamaw S's home with a wonderful meal and even MORE gifts! Family and traditions truly are a blessing.
On Tuesday, following Christmas, the three of us joined Mimi and Papaw on a little road trip. As is tradition, we headed toward Dayton and my Dad's side of the family, for another Christmas celebration there! Again, it was a delight to partake in the blessings of God... we have been so blessed!
The time following all of this, was spent trying to get back into somewhat of a normal schedule... then again, what IS normal? Church, Kidz Konnect, Holiday Parties, Choir, etc. We also hosted a couple of Holiday Parties and truly enjoyed those special times with a few friends in our home.
New Year's Eve, found us again at Mamaw S's house, with the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Another fun filled and VERY LATE evening together (ending around 1AM to be exact)! On New Year's Day, we drove downtown, had brunch at the historic LS Ayres Tea Room & browsed a bit, before heading home for a LONG-MUCH-NEEDED nap!!! That about sums it up, as far as this 'chapter' goes, anyway! LOL
Please bear with me as I was unable to 'edit' any of the photos, much to my utter dismay, due to our computer-crash of last week!!! We are grateful for our new camera. Even if it takes us forever to 'learn the ropes' with it! *Drum roll, please... and here is much anticipated 2009 Holiday Review Penn Palz photo album!

Holiday Memories of 2009

Home, Home on The Range...

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FOR OUR LARGEST-TO-DATE

ONLINE PHOTO ALBUM...

OUR ANNIVERSARY TRIP 2008!

(Can you believe that we're still experiencing trouble with our computer, uploading photos, etc.??? So, this is about the best way we can share photos with you for now.)

http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/OurBelatedAnniversaryTrip2008

We had an incredible weekend... if it just hadn't have gone by so quickly! We began the weekend, on Friday evening, by taking Alyson to attend her first wedding... she did a fine job, too. (Thanks to Uncle Danny and Aunt Ronda for helping out!!!) On Saturday, we stopped by Paradise Cafe' and Bakery for Brunch. After arriving at our destination and before we could 'pick up our keys', we did a little shopping. We then went to see our Room for the weekend... it was BEAUTIFUL! (Thanks to Mama and Daddy for such a sweet Anniversary gift!!!) Some day we would love to have an old fixed-up house with antiques similar to the ones at the Inn! For an early Supper, we had yummy BBQ with all the fixins at "Trolly's" (AKA: "The Trolly"). This, followed by wonderful Hor Dourves at the Inn (provided every day in the late afternoon/early evening). Later that evening, we attended a light family comedy Play downtown and were able to get some good laughs in (following the Dessert Bar at the Inn... which is also provided on a daily basis)! Sunday morning, we had a lovely HOT Breakfast which included delicious homemade Pastries and fresh Fruit (also provided daily) at the Inn. We spent most of the day driving through the hills of Brown County, Bean Blossum, IN. (the Bluegrass Capitol of the World), and a variety of State Parks, wound up in Bloomington, IN. where we grabbed a late lunch/early supper, before heading back for a little strolling. (We'd like to add, that Nahsville is a bit of a Ghost Town on Sundays, but very nice and quiet!) Again, we were able to enjoy the Hor Dourves that evening and on top of that, a little later that night, we grabbed some of the Inn's 'to-die-for' homemade Desserts... TOOOOO much food for one weekend! On Monday, we were again at the Dining area for another wonderful hot Breakfast, before hitting the road for a little more shopping. After 'turning in the keys' at the Desk... (we sure are going to miss this place with it's lovely atmosphere, Staff and of course the incredible FOOD!)... we were once again, out for a bit more shopping and strolling. When we felt it was about the time to head home, we directed our car for the Highway... even though a wee sad, we were anxious to see our little Aly-girl!!!!! We grabbed a bite of late lunch/early supper at "On the Border", did a little 'Mall-walking' and then you'll never guess where we went!!!!! (Ugh!) Well, long story short, Greg's back had been 'out' all weekend, so our last stop found us at 'the Doc's'! However, all in all we had one of the best weekends we've had in a very long time and are grateful to once again be "Home, Home on The Range"!

We're IN - Even if just barely!

YES!!!!! We're IN - even if just barely!
We'll be working on things like decorating, painting, etc. for a bit longer BUT, the main thing is that we're IN!!! (More pix to follow next month...)
We were moved enough this past Thursday evening to actually SLEEP in our new place! What fun to watch little Aly and how well she took to her new room... There's still quite a bit to do as far as organizing, painting, etc. goes. However, it's already looking very much like OUR HOME and we're absolutely loving it!!! God has been SO good to us... we'll be forever grateful!!!
To add to an already busy time... we're in Revival this week with Rev. ("Papa") Russ and ("Nana") Barb Coffee. We're not complaining though, because we're aware that we NEED a revival and renewal in our lives. These have been hectic weeks and this Revival has already proven to be exactly what we need right now. God is truly blessing in this Revival and we look forward to many more blessings before the week is over!
We'll be BLOGGING back to normal in May... trust all of our Blogger-Buddies are doing well! Thanks for your prayers and a special special THANK YOU to all of you who helped us move last week! We couldn't have done it without YOU!