Closer to the Hill

Well, I am not over the hill yet, but I am getting closer to it. Today I turned 30 years old!

My parents bought me two authentic antiquities ( as seen in this picture ) from Israel while they were overseas.

The top piece is a pottery oil lamp from the Hellenistic period ( 330 - 63 B.C. ) and the bottom piece is a scarab seal from the 2nd Millennium B.C.

I was thinking I might get a replica of a scarab, but I had no idea that it would be authentic and the oil lamp was a total shock! These pieces are even more special after going to the From Abraham to Jesus museum the other day.

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, my beautiful wife surprised me with 30 birthday gifts and I opened one each day until my birthday. What a wonderful surprise!

Visiting the Reynolds

Today we went to visit the Reynolds ( my maternal grand- parents ) in Fayette- ville, TN.

They enjoyed meeting Abby and watching her play around their home. Although Abby had two ear infections, she behaved very well and had fun at their house.

I hope that our time between meeting is a lot shorter next time.

For more pictures go to my Visiting the Reynolds Picasa Web Album.

Manor Christmas

My parents came to Nashville to be with us the day after Christmas.

While they were in town we went to the From Abraham to Jesus traveling museum at the Nashville Convention Center. The museum was a self-guided tour with a wide variety of authentic antiquities, replicas, and interesting historical facts.

Afterwards, we exchanged gifts and watched Abby enjoy her new books and toys.

For more pictures go to my Manor Christmas Picasa Web Album.

Hall Christmas

This year we hosted Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning at our house.

We had family come together all the way from California, Maryland, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

A highlight of the weekend was when Megan presented a special scrapbook to Moni and Pawi recording their genealogy. Also, everyone contributed in writing special memories that they have had of Moni and Pawi into a box that was presented to them. They really appreciated it and it was fun to hear all the stories and memories.

It was fun to watch Abby get excited about Christmas and being with family.

For more pictures go to my Hall Christmas Picasa Web Album.

Post Office Field Trip

Andrea and Abby took a tour of the Post Office with the Bellevue Mom's Club today.

They got to see how the letters addressed to Santa get processed, they met our mail carrier ( Matt ), and they saw how our letters get loaded into the mail truck.

For more pictures go to my Post Office Field Trip Picasa Web Album.

Abby and Ella

Abby and Ella have been seeing a lot of each other lately.

Andrea and Stephanie Callahan, a neighbor of ours, have started to trade babysitting from week to week.

Ella has been teaching Abby how to dance around in cirlces. It is cute to watch Abby want to be all grown up like her friend. Ella is very sweet to Abby and lets her borrow her Princess Sippy Cup when she comes to visit.

For more pictures go to my Abby and Ella Picasa Web Album.

Friends and Birthdays

Abby's two closest friends, Alana and Jamison, had their 1^st birthdays this past week.

Alana had a duck theme for her birthday and Jamison had a luau theme for his birthday.

Abby gave Alana and Jamison both special homemade books called "Friends" with pictures of them having fun together.

For more pictures go to my Friends and Birthdays Picasa Web Album.

Belle Meade Plantation

Today I took off the first half of the day at work and Andrea and I went to the Belle Meade Plantation. Our friends, the Callahans, took care of Abby while we were out.

The Plantation was decorated for the Christmas season like it would have been back in the 1800s.

I found it interesting how special and unique oranges were during the Christmas season. I didn't realize that it was so expensive to import oranges to the Tennessee area.

For more pictures go to my Belle Meade Plantation Picasa Web Album.

Fun at the Park

Abby has been enjoying the park in our neighborhood.

She can now almost walk all the way to the park on her own, which is a big deal considering her little legs!

Abby doesn't really enjoy playing on the swing, but she loves to slip down the slide!

It is pure joy to watch her having fun, however, it is quite tiring picking her up to the top of the slide over and over again :)

For more pictures go to my Fun at the Park Picasa Web Album.

Opryland Hotel

Tonight we went to the Opryland Hotel with our friends, the Stricklands.

I think it is going to be tradition for us to go to the Opryland Hotel every year to see the lights and take pictures. We went last year, but Abby wasn't quite old enough to be enamored by all the lights and activities. This year, however, she really enjoyed looking at everything.

For more pictures go to my Opryland Hotel Picasa Web Album.