We Made it!

So we made it! Back home from the big Florida trip...now to catch up on everything else.
Loved travelin' with my car buddy-Isabear! She's great!



But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.-Psalm 5:11

BBQ

I don't know that I've eaten so much bbq in a week in my life! I was in FL and had bbq, kind of unusual but we made our rounds. Had some Texas bbq at 4 Rivers Restaurant and I don't know what other kind! I think I liked Bubba's BBQ the best. This place was quite something. I got the biggest drink I think I have ever seen in my life. Bigger than McAlister's! and they are pretty big! 4 Rivers also has a sweet shop where my cousin Shoshanah works and their desserts are wonderful! They have some pretty funky cupcakes too like the best seller-Mountain Dew and Doritos cupcake!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve we went to a lovely Candlelight service. I loved hearing and singing "O Holy Night' and "Agnus Dei."



The crew/fam!

Then we went home and had a few left overs and Christmas! We got presents from PJ the elf of course, shared some peppermint hershey kisses and toblerone, and gave dad birthday presents! Grandma got quite a few presents too! (Thanks Alli for the pics!)

Settlers of Catan

We also attempted playing Settlers of Catan! Somehow I had the longest road but still managed to lose miserably. Oh well, Josh was victorious 2x! and Grandma was really close the second time we played. Alli just missed winning the first time but played her turn anyway to see how the winning would have gone down. It's a strategy game but sometimes strategy just isn't enough. We still had lots of fun! (Again thanks for the pics alli!)

Barbara Manatee! Manatee! Manatee!

The highlight of our trip was going to see the Manatees (hard word to spell, I know!) They come to a warm spring in Florida because they have to have warm waters or they die! What an incredible creature! Visits like these make me marvel at our Creator! The little guys, well they aren't so little, have to surface about every 2 minutes for air! They snort and it's very cute! The warm springs and walk were just beautiful, I enjoyed the nature walk almost as much as the manatees! The water was crystal clear and gorgeous! We even sang the manatee song on the way there to get us in the mood! There is also a historic house on the site where we learned about the family who worked the land. Very interesting! Can't imagine what it would have been like to discover and live at a place like this!

We all went a little camera happy! Near the end of the trip my camera started doing the focusing thing and I was a little bit confused. I keep figuring out new things that my camera can do without realizing it. I didn't take the time to read the book so then things like this happen and I think Oh that's cool! So I took about two artsy pictures without realizing it.

Florida for Christmas

This past week we went to the wonderfully sunny and large state of Florida! It certainly did not feel like winter but we enjoyed some fun in the sun!

We got to see just about everyone from my dad's side of the family, which is kind of a lot! The Beates', Unce Dave and Aunt Liz, cousin Randy and his wife and soon to be little one!, Aunt Laura from Oklahoma, and Grandma!

It certainly wasn't the same without Grandpa but I'm sure he enjoyed his Christmas in Heaven, He got to spend it with Jesus of course!

The week started with a Christmas party-games and pizza! I did pretty well on the trivia and word scramble but I couldn't remember "Miracle on 34th Street." Uncle Mike won most of the competitions as normal. Unfortunately it wasn't dad, he is also named Mike, but Uncle Mike Beates. Although the pair did have an excellent Star Wars/Trekk themed Christmas mad lib. I personally liked the one Abbie and I created about Johnny Bravo and the 1,000plus pink reindeer. We finished the game with a paper plate illustration.




You had to draw a Christmas scene step by step with your plate on top of your head!




Pretty tricky and funny!



Winner! I'm not sure if he won this round as well but he won most of them, probably this one too! Yay Uncle Mike!

Happy Birthday

My Heavenly Daddy and my daddy share the same birthday! This year Dad turned 50! It was a quiet birthday but we were blessed to be able to share it with him and have fun remembering half a century....ok we didn't remember that much but we enjoyed the day!
This pic just makes me smile, we love you!

Christmas

I think I have a new favorite/classic Christmas song. Take a minute to stop and think about the words of "O Holy Night"....it just might change your life!



Doin' a little research (I know wikipedia isn't always the best resource) and found that it was based on a poem....click here, here, or here to read the rest of the story!

For all the Little Ballerinas...

Just got back from a Floridian Christmas! Will post pics and a recap soon but until then, enjoy the video! Thanks to Joanna Tan for sharing it on facebook....

Sarah

Drove about an hour to Commerce, GA today for my bi-annual meeting with Sarah! We try to get together over holidays or breaks. Even though she's at Clemson and I'm at Belhaven, we found some spot sort of in the middle. Ok, its not in the middle but it's a lot closer thank Jackson, MS! Had Five Guys, probably one of the few times I actually eat there and walked around the Tanger Outlets. It's always great to catch up with an old friend from high school! She will be graduating with a nursing degree in the Spring and I'm so proud of her! She will be an excellent additon to the medical field! I didn't get a pic so this will have to do....hard to believe it's almost been four years!



Also, I can't believe it is almost Christmas!

Guest blog post! Read here.

What do you want for Christmas?

God's heart for missions....

"'But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?'"-Jonah 4:11

"Jonah was more concerned about shade from a tree than the salvation of a city."-Pastor at First Baptist Conyers

Reminds me of the song by Big Tent Revival, "What I want for Christmas"

Christmas songs....

Good Day

Pic compliments of Anna Lois Callen

Yesterday was a big day! Well I didn't do much school wise, which is great! Had two dance shows for fellow students who were in a choreography class. Their pieces were both based on the story of Abraham sacrificing his son and God providing the lamb. The first piece we performed took that idea and integrated the theme of birds and birdlike qualities while the second one had a theme of using hands, letting go and letting God take over. They were both really neat. After watching a video, I think it looked better than we felt performing them. It was a lot of fun and I was so blessed to be a part of it!

After dancing, I watched the rest of the pieces, had a quick warm up in jazz, and headed to our annual Olive Garden date! Since Freshman year, we have been blessed to have a girls' night at Olive Garden! I just want to try everything on the menu, but settled with spaghetti and meatballs. I know, go to olive garden and what do I get, the simplest meal! But I always have leftovers which is mostly why I get it :).

Watched some of a Friends episode with Kimber and then got to catch up with an old friend.

Didn't have to set an alarm this morning which is lovely as it's study day. Now the problem is finding that motivation to actually study for my two exams tomorrow.....hmmmmm.

Christmas Dance Extravaganza

Went back to our first visit with Dance Ministry and did a Christmas performance! It was full of tap, Jingle Bells, and Tinsel!

Singing Christmas Tree

We bundled up for the 79th Annual Singing Christmas tree at Belhaven! It wasn't the same as a lot of our friends who made it so fun graduated but it was still great. They have a new and improved tree! It's all green and much more sturdy! They even have greenery on the bottom rung and a new lighting design. There's a cross that shines on it for some of the songs! And with Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer....they called Rudolph "names like Justin Beiber" and Rudolph will "go down in history like Fithugh"-always love the inside jokes at Bu. It wasn't as cold as normal but it was still a good run. Best memory ever? When it actually snowed during the song "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas."
Compliments to Mysie for the phone pic!

Guess Who....

We went to the Bethlehem Christian Center to share some memorable and favorite book characters! Sometimes its fun being an El Ed major :)




Thing 1 and 2, The Big Bad Wolf and the pig (3 in 1), Tinker Bell, Fancy Nancy, Eloise, Junie B. Jones, Lion, The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, and Little Red Riding Hood came to visit.

People are so creative, I'm sure Ms. Quinn has fun seeing everyone over the years!

Gave my presentation for Kingdom Life so I am finally done with the class otherwise known as Kingdom Strife! It wasn't so bad after all. Happy to say, I'm still sticking with Education and I'm pretty sure after four years of worldview, I should not be lacking in that department and I know what I believe!