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

Farewell and Homecoming All Rolled Into One Weekend

It seems fitting that I would find time today, Veteran’s Day, to Blog! God bless the men and women who give and have given their all, for the freedoms we all hold dear! Wesley is now among those heroes and we are ever grateful for his desire, to ‘stand in the gap’, for his Country!
Aly and I certainly have had an interesting week! This past Wednesday evening, following church activities, Greg and I put Aly down for the night and it was the last time she saw her Daddy, until Monday evening when she awoke from her afternoon nap! To keep her calm, we didn’t talk about what was happening, until bedtime on Sunday night, we felt she would understand a “one moon” a little better than “five moons”.
Greg slipped away at the end of his workday on Thursday and headed to Missouri, where he spent a final weekend with Wesley, who was to leave for USAF Boot Camp. The two of them were also able to enjoy a bit of ’manly’ time with Grandpa and Uncle Chad over the weekend, as well! Grandpa P., Grandma P., Uncle Chad and Greg drove Wes to Jeff City on Sunday morning, where he was shuttled to St. Louis, for an early morning flight to San Antonio on Monday. We already miss him, but know that God is there with him and has big plans for him and his future! We trust God to see Wes through and will continue to pray daily for his safety!
While all of this was happening to “Daddy”, Aly and I had quite a bit of excitement of our own… ’Uncle’ Scott and ’Aunt’ Suzanne (cousins) from beautiful Louisiana came to town for a visit! We all had a ball! Tons of laughter, entirely too much food, viewing family photos, etc.! We made marvelous, magnificent memories together! Nothing beats time with family, even if we were missing our “Daddy”, at the same time! One of the highlights of the weekend, would have to be when we went shopping at the Mall, (We found it hard to believe Santa was already there!) then lunch together at “Johnny Rockets”, was yet another grand and glorious memory made! Thanks, Scott and Suzanne for coming up to ’Yankee land’ for a few days and reminding us of just how much we miss YOU and the South!!! We love you both! “The love in our family flows strong and deep, leaving us memories to treasure and keep.” (unknown)



The ultimate ‘sad’ news of this post would be the fact, that we do not have ONE single photo of Greg’s trip to Mexico, nor ONE single photo of our weekend here in Indy! However, I have included three pictures for you, 1 of Scott and Suzanne (taken at Cousin Jordy and Jessika's wedding), 1 of Wesley’s Graduation Day portraits and 1 old favorite of Greg (and Aly) who was missed terribly while he was away. We WILL try to do better at posting pictures in the future!

Marvelous Mother's Day Moments...

What a wonderful Mother's Day Week!!! It is so much fun being a Mommy, a Daughter, Grand-Daughter and a Daughter-In-Law! Mother's Day was an exciting day for Angel-Alyson and myself... we were able to spend it with my darling Mother and my precious Grandmother S.! What a wonderful heritage I have been given and hope to hand down to Aly as time allows! We missed getting to be with my sweet, sweet Grandma J. and favorite Mother-In-Law (along with Greg's side of the family this year), though! However, we'll be with his family next week and are looking forward to it with all of our hearts! We actually spent the day, Sunday, with the entire Indiana side of the family, which made Aly very happy, being as she firmly believes that Cousin Cassie hung the moon and maybe the stars, too! One of my favorite quotes on Mother's would have to be that of Abe Lincoln, when he was spoke of his Mother. "All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my Angel Mother" and that is exactly the way I feel about my beloved Mother! Mama, I love you and I owe you more than I'll ever be able to repay you!

(Mother's Day 2009 with Alyson & Mother)

There have been several activities that have kept us busy this past week... in addition to Wesley joining the USAF and his upcoming High School Graduation next week, Whitley and her Track Team have been breaking all sorts of records lately! All Conference 4x100, 4x200, 4x4oo and the 400 Meters Individual are the most current stats we have. She is incredible on the track and we can't wait to see what will happen over the next two years! You go, girl!!! Greg's brother, Chad, recently received his Masters in International Business. Please help us pray for he and his wife, Sunny, as they go forward in their educational journeys. Also, our Cousin Nate became a College Graduate, from Ivy Tech this past Saturday. He plans to continue his education next year with yet another degree! Nate, we are so excited to see what God has in store for you... Love ya!

(Cuz Nate, Our Whitley and Our Wesley)

http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/MarvelousMotherSDayMoments?feat=directlink ...Click Here! for our Marvelous Mother's Day Moments Photo Album!

(Aly and I on Mother's Day at Mamaw S.'s house)