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Saturday, November 27, 2010

Sweet Stuff…

Thanksgiving week was such a SWEET week for so many reasons…

Not the  least of which is this little love…so fun-filled like her namesake:)  stephanie and thanksgiving 242

This is a photo that my auntie Joyce scanned and posted on facebook on my mom’s birthday…I love how our little Susie reminds me of this picture in these fun smiling ones here!

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One of the amazing things about Thanksgiving week is that our dear friend and STINT sister spent a good bit of time at our house, flying in from Oklahoma to be with us and another family that was with us in Hungary.

JJ loved her…of course!  Here he is catching the ball and…

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doing a victory dance…

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stephanie and thanksgiving 250 Outside in our Happy Place (you can follow the link to read about it!)

stephanie and thanksgiving 251 JJ throwing the berries as Stephanie was showing him to do this…very fun and then Susie couldn’t get them and eat them!

stephanie and thanksgiving 253 stephanie and thanksgiving 255 stephanie and thanksgiving 261 stephanie and thanksgiving 264  Auntie Step-a-nee! We love you so!!!

stephanie and thanksgiving 267 stephanie and thanksgiving 275 stephanie and thanksgiving 284 stephanie and thanksgiving 286 - Copy Yes, BEYOND adorable…I know…she kept getting frustrated when they fell off and she couldn’t get them back on…she knew she was “the STUFF” in them…

stephanie and thanksgiving 287 We had a wonderful, unexpected Thanksgiving.

I share the story here of how God took my sadness and disappointment preceding and gave the most beautiful of Thanksgivings in so many ways…

Trust you all had a blessed day too!

stephanie and thanksgiving 291 Donny from church, who teaches JJ’s toddler class Sunday mornings, spent the day with us:):):)

stephanie and thanksgiving 295 Our Moroccan neighbors were with us…

yes, so cool!

(Khadija and Firdaus (sp?))

stephanie and thanksgiving 296 Aziz

stephanie and thanksgiving 297 We got out the Little People’s Mayflower and Thanksgiving set my aunt had given JJ for his first Thanksgiving and shared the story…it was wonderful!

stephanie and thanksgiving 303 No Black Friday shopping. 

Instead, we met up with Jillian and her family and Stephanie and saw some manatees!  It was wonderful!

stephanie and thanksgiving 311  stephanie and thanksgiving 313 This is how Stephanie and Jillian traveled to Jillian’s family’s Thanksgiving…very funny:):):)

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Be blessed one and all!  Trusting and Praying that the wonder of Advent will be real and you will live in a centered way as the Hustle and Bustle abounds…whether in shopping or making, decorating or wrapping, or doing something altogether different, may He be the center of your heart’s song in this season and always!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

PopPopK and NaNa Marie Visit Part 2

When my Dad and Marie were here, we went to

the Holy Land Experience

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I admit, I was unsure about it, but it was really a very won

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They didn’t want me to take more than one,

I should have;)

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Look Who Was in Noah’s Ark!!

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Two Little Allemans to preserve their kind:):)

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Jonah in the belly of the Whale

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Outside the Big Ark

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This was a very fun re-enactment of David and Goliath. 

Lots of wit and interaction…it was great!

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The next scenes are from the Passion Play they do daily…

It was very crowded and hard to see, so I actually relived it most through the pictures my zoom grasped.

(WARNING:  there are some crucifixion pictures that might be a little graphic)

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  Gethsemane

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Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 030  Judas with the thirty shekels of silver…

Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 032  Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 034 Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 035  flogging…

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This was very powerful…

the walk to the cross…so well done

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JJ was very interested…

The wait was so long, Jared occupied them for quite some time

Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 050  Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 052  Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 054 Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 055   Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 058 Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 059  Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 062  Susie was all over too…but still it was good over all

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Carried to the tomb

Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 069 Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 070      He IS Risen! 

I didn’t like any of my pictures for this, though powerful, I didn’t want to put something up that would do it so little justice.

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Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 101 We left and went to eat at a Wendy’s and then returned.

Enough to get these fun pictures.

Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 084 Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 085  Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 087  Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 089 Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 090 Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 091 Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 092 The Temple Facade

Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 093  He is Risen Indeed!!

Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 095  Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 097 They are building something new, but we didn’t know what it was.

My favorite time here was at “the Wilderness Tabernacle” where I wasn’t allowed to take pictures…the man who led it was wonderful, blew the Shofar, gorgeously and I teared up at the symbolism of the Tabernacle having just read through Exodus…As I was sharing with my Dad after, the more you walk with the Lord and see the Scriptures, the more you see Christ in everything!!!

wilderness tabernacle

Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 098 The Scriptorium:

An Amazing History of the Bible and how it has been preserved through Time.  Something that only the Holy Spirit could have done. It was truly worshipful even though we were quite distracted by where the kids were at…both done at this point having done so well all day with no naps!

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Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 106 Susie was so interested in the Scriptures from the Holy Land Experience, she was looking at them with Pop Pop K.

Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 108 Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 109  Dad & Marie, Fall Retreat, etc 111 she’s still not walking (14 months), but if my Dad would have stayed, she would have walked for him…they do have something special:)

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We love and miss you so Pop Pop and NaNa!!!  But we are so, so thankful for your time here!  Thank you Aunt Mim for making this possible!

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