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.

Birthday Countdown

Well... I am about to turn 30 years old!

Andrea surprised me with a huge basket full of presents. She planned it so that I can open one present everyday until my 30th birthday. What a great idea!

Thank you so much Andrea for your thoughtfulness and your sweet heart.

I look forward to opening a little surprise everyday!

Thanksgiving

Normally we would have gone to Searcy, AR this Thanks - giving to be with parents, but this year they are on an overseas program with Harding University in Greece. Instead, we went to Jackson, TN to be with Andrea's parents (John and Freda). We were able to have close one-on-one time with them since Andrea's sisters also do an every-other-year rotation.

Before we had our Thanksgiving meal, this year we decided to do something a little different. We cooked cookies and went to a Soup Kitchen to share some Thanksgiving joy. We met a man outside in the parking lot that enjoyed watching Abby walk around.

Afterwards we went to a park and played around on the equipment. After getting tired and working up an appetite, we went back to John and Freda's house to have Thanksgiving lunch.

Instead of cooking a huge meal and spending 20 minutes to eat it all, we ordered out from Honey Baked Ham. Boy, that was a good choice!.

We started a new tradition this year! At the end of our meal we each tool 5 corn kernals and took turns saying one thing we are thankful for until the kernels were gone. It was a great exercise to help us remember how God is faithful and how He provides for us.

For more pictures go to my Thanksgiving Picasa Web Album.

Vanderbilt Football Game

Garrison and Annie Strickland invited us to go to the Vanderbilt vs. Florida football game this weekend.

We had a great time playing in the Fun Zone before the game, enjoying the food, watching the football game, and enjoying our time with friends.

Thank you Stricklands for the good time and for thinking of us.

Trick or Treat

We dressed Abby up in her first Halloween costume and took her trick or treating tonight. As you can see, she was a beautiful little flower.

Although we didn't let her eat the candy, she enjoyed playing with it and holding the candy bucket.

Maybe next year Abby can share in some of the candy she gets. This year, however, her daddy enjoyed much of it.

Assisted Living PreHalloween

Andrea and Abby went to the Waterford Assisted Living facility with the Bellevue Mom's Club to encourage the elderly residents and give out candy to them.

One of the elderly ladies was so moved by the children that she said that this was the best Halloween that she has ever had.

Another woman, as depicted in the above picture, had a great time and gave kids rides on her walker, including Abby.

Paternal Grandparents

My paternal grand- parents called the other day and mentioned they were in the Nashville area. They used to live in Tennessee, but they now live in Search, AR close to my parents.

They came by this afternoon and it was really good to catch up with them. They both looked very well and appeared to be in good health. It was great for Abby to see and spend time with them.

We should be back in Searcy, AR later this year after my parents return from Greece.

Disney Cruise

Ahh... we just got back from our first Cruise experience, and boy... let me tell you, it was wonderful!

We went on a 7 day Disney Cruise to Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Castaway Cay ( Disney's Island ) with Andrea's immediate family ( her parents, sisters, and their children ).

Abby had a great time at the beach, getting pictures with the Disney characters, and watching the shows performed at night. It was so fun to watch Abby experience all these things for the first time.

We highly recommend a Disney Cruise to anyone interested. The service is 1st class. Those Disney people know how to do it right!

For more pictures go to my Disney Cruise Picasa Web Album.

Dollhouse

Andrea bought Abby her first Dollhouse from a local garage sale.

After Andrea cleaned it, we put it on our back porch and watched Abby play with it. She had a lot of fun laying the toy people to sleep in their beds and pushing them back and forth on the swing.

For more pictures go to my Dollhouse Picasa Web Album.

Firetruck

The Bellevue Mom's Club went on a Pegram Fire Department outing.

They got to see the firemen in their uniforms, learned about fire safely, got a tour of the firehouse, and got to play around on the firetruck.

For more pictures go to my Firetruck Picasa Web Album.

Luchauer's Visit

Erik and Sonya Luchauer, our close friends from Harding University, came to Nashville for the annual Zoe Leadership and Worship Conference.

We were glad to have them over to our house after the conference for dinner and fellowship. It has been so long since we have seen them. It was refreshing to catch up and see how God has been working in their lives. I hope it won't be as long before we meet up again.

Erik and Sonya, may God continue to bless and guide you as you both serve and grow close to Him.