Christmas and New Years

Well I know I am jumping ahead of myself for it is book 4 and we had a good Christmas in Virginia and we went to church Christmas Eve and the kids participated in a play about the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ-it ia amzaing that the King of Kings, the Savior of all those who believe in Him should have been born in such a lowly manner in barn in Bethlehem all because Joseph and Mary had to travel there to pay their tax.  The angels announced his birth to shepherds not to the religious leaders of the day but it is fitting for what they did not realize is that Jesus would some day be called the Good Shepherd. Afterwards we came home and Peter read the Night Before Christmas book and the story of Christ's birth and the kids put cookies and milk out for Santa and a carrot for the reigndeer. We put them to bed and we got ready for Santa as well and wrapped some last minute presents. The next day we had a special breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and we also ate a birthday cake for Jesus. The kids were excited to see what Santa brought them and then we opened presents. Later on that day we went next door to Peter's parents home and Peter's sister Kelly and Paul and their kids were there. We ate a big dinner and afterwards we opened presents with them as well. A couple of days later we were on a plane and flew to Scotland to spend a belated holiday with my family and Amy and Nicholas' family. It reminded me of all those years ago when Peter gave me a special engagement present. We got home on New Years Eve just in time for Peter and I to go out with some friends at their house to welcome in the new year even though we were both tired from the time difference and the long flight home. We got home around 1 a.m. and we were glad the kids were with their grandparents. I wish you all a blessed New Year.

Thanksgiving

Hi this is Lindsay again, I hope you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving. I feel so thankful for our Lord and Savior Jesus for loving us in spite of ourselves. I am am thankful for my family my husband Peter and our children and our extended family. We spent the holiday with Peter's family his mom crammed 25 people in their house which is not as big as our home for even though they are well off you would not know if for they live modestly and she taught me to clip coupons and be on the look out for bargains. Jane likes to help those in need and missionaries. Peter's sister Kelly and Paul and their children Matthew and Natasha were there.  Peter's aunt and uncle and his cousins were also there as well as a few people from their church that did not have family to spend the holiday with. We feasted on turkey and I made crock pot macroni and cheese and sweet potato caserole and Kelly made brocholie caserole and pumpkin pie and Jane made everything else. My favorite part of the day was when we went around the table and said something they were thankful for. I wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving.    

Lindsay's updates-Peter and aAnna's birthdays

The last time I posted anything on here was in July but the computer died before I could post on September 3 which is Peter and Anna's birthday (Peter said that his daughter is his favorite present even though she was born a month early under difficult circumstances.) That afternoon we had some of Anna's friends over to the house for a party and her grandparents (Peter's parents) and her aunt Kelly and her cousin Matt were all there. That night the kids' grandparents stayed at our house so we could go out to dinner for Peter's birthday and some of his friends met us at the restaurant and he opened some presents. Later on we came home and ate some cake and ice cream. I feel so blessed to have my wonderful family. My parents did send him a Christian book and they sent Anna a doll.  

Laura's update

I am sorry I have not posted anything in quite some time I was having some computer difficulties and ended up getting another computer but I am back now.  I hope you all are doing well. I have personally been dealing with a lot last month I was sick with a sinus infection which cleared up in time for us to take our self-advocates of Meck. group on a cruise to the Bahamas. When we got home my husband Rob got sick and ended up in the hospital with a bacterial infection-he is well now thank God. The car died and we had to get a new one. Our beloved cat Tigger 2 ran away on Halloween two weeks ago and has not been seen since but we are still praying that he will by some miracle return home.  My husband Rob is out of work and is looking so hopefully he will find something soon. He has mostl  recently been working with people with developmental disabilities. I have not been doing so much writing lately although my friend Daniel is editing book 2 so hopefully we can find a publisher that won't charge a lot of money like I had to pay to get Lindsay published and will pay me to get the other books publishd since I don't have so much money to pay a publisher at the moment so don't give up on Lindsay and her story and get the word out about it so we can get more copies of Lindsay sold. Lindsay is now on display at the downtown Charlotte library and is for sale at the Park Rd. book store and you can always order a copy on http://www.xlibris.com/.

Our anniversary

It has been a while since I had written on here but June 22 was our anniversary and we left the kids with their grandparents in Virginia and we went down to North Carolina and went to the Smokey Mountains. We rented a cabin in Maggie Valley and we also went to Cherokee and saw the native Americans (formally called Indians even though they are not from India but that is a whole other story) but we went to a museum and saw an outdoor play called Unto These Hills-I think is a shame the way the American government displaced them so many years ago when Andrew Jackson was President in the 1830's.  We also went to Asheville to visit the Biltmore House which is magnificant mansion and their gardens.  It is hard to believe we have been married over twenty years now and they said it would not last.  Peter arranged a restaurant to come to our cabin while we were away and create a romantic dinner for us to celebrate the occassion.  

Charleston

Peter and I went to Charleston for Memorial day weekend-the Spoleto festival was going on and I got to enter a couple of pictures in an art show.  We also visited the market where people from the past 200 years would come to shop-there were no slaves sold there but people did send their slaves to buy food and other stuff there as well-of course now it is used as a flea market.  I love shopping for bargains and I got a pearl ring for $5.  We did go to the slave museum-it is a shame that people thought it was acceptable at one time to own another human being and make them work for you. Peter said some of his ancesators had own slaves something he is not proud of.  I like to think slavery would have ended on his own when the ecomony changed from farming to industry but unfortunately it took a war the Civil War to end such an injustice. We took a boat ride to see where the Civil War started at Ft. Sumpter.  Peter is a history buff so really enjoys visiting historical sites.  We also went to Folly Beach and enjoyed the beautiful sunny weather and it is already hot and it is not technically summer yet so the ocean water felt good. It was good to get away for a romantic getaway plus I mixed some work with it as well with my art work.   

Mother's day

I am going to jump ahead here to Lindsay book 5 and say that I enjoyed my mothers day with our kids. We went to church where they recognized all the mothers and grandmothers by having us stand up and on the way out the door we were each given a rose.  Later on we went out to dinner at Chili's. That afternoon I got to take a nap uninterrupted. Later on that night they gave me presents and Peter gave me a necklace and matching earrings and they also gave me an ice cream cake with cookies in cream from Dairy Cream which is one of my favorites. I feel truly blessed to have such a great family.