North Carolina Day 7

Today we shopped until we dropped!!! That’s what we did all day (everyone besides my dad and uncle that is.) We got lots of great deals and started some Christmas shopping. It was crazy every where, but we still had fun!

We are heading home either sometime tomorrow or Sunday. I must say that I’m missing everyone at home so much (and out of town friends too!). I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve seen everyone. If I don’t make it home for church this week it will be three weeks since I’ve been there. Don’t get me wrong, we have had a wonderful time as a family together, but sometimes you are just ready to get home! Know that I’ve been praying for each and every one of you! Miss you all and see you soon!

North Carolina Day 6

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Psalm 118:1- “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

Psalm 100:3-4- “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Give thanks to him; bless his name! Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!”

I pray you have all sensed the Lord’s presence today as we have celebrated all that we’re thankful for! Let’s continue to thank the Lord at ALL times for all He has done and given to us!

Today has been a wonderful day with my family! I’m so thankful we are able to be with family from out of town. Today would have been my grandmother’s birthday so it’s really cool that my dad and his sister can be together.

Today’s activities:

-Macy’s Thanksgiving parade
-Grocery store…again! Every time we turn around we need something else from the store.
-Cooking
-Looked over sale ads for tomorrow
-Watched football
-Played with four dogs outside…they just never seem to get tired of going and fetching a ball. It was a glorious day outside today!
-We stuffed ourselves until we about burst =)
-LOTS of dishes!
-Watched a movie
-Ate some more :)
-And now we are watching some basketball

Oh what a lovely day!!!

Cricket loves her daddy :)

North Carolina Day 5

Well, today the cooking and baking started! This morning my cousin Amanda and I headed to the grocery store and got some last minute items we needed to begin. A few of us girls spent most of the day in the kitchen baking for tomorrow and cooking dinner for tonight. Amanda made a bunch of chocolate chip cookies and cole slaw, I made four pumpkin pies and a big pot of chili, and my aunt made a pot of tortilla soup and sloppy joe. I just love Thanksgiving!

Dad and Josh took a trip to Costco and bought an apple pie and a coffee cake (We were planning on baking them, but he decided to go get them since we know they are really cheap and delicious!). He then took Josh, Victoria, and Karah to the movies to see Bolt while all the girls stayed home and cooked.

The cooking will continue tomorrow! I can’t wait! Though it’s a lot of work, it’s a blast being in the kitchen most of the day with family.

Until tomorrow, happy cooking!!!

More of The Biltmore....

The day I posted on the Biltmore Mansion my computer was acting up and wouldn’t let me post any more pictures from that day :( Or the user was just being pretty stupid and couldn’t figure things out =)

Soooo…. Here are a few more!

These ladies made Victoria and Karah sing with them... as you can see they were have a great time :/

All the gals :)

This was inside the nicest McDonalds that has ever been built. It's right outside the Biltmore Mansion and it was really pretty inside. The food was still the same though!

North Carolina Day 4

Because of the weather in the mountains, we decided to leave Asheville a day early and head over to my aunt and uncle’s house in Raliegh. Some parts in the mountains got up to 6 inches of snow and lots of ice! That caused some of the roads to close which meant we couldn’t do anything in the mountains today, so we packed up and left. The drive was about five hours long. It was kind of nice just to sit and do nothing for a while. Even though we are on vacation, it seems like we’ve been going none stop ever since we got to North Carolina. I think we are all happy to be inside a warm house! It’s great to be with our family here. We always have lots of laughs and make some great memories when with them! Cricket even has some friends to play with when we come to visit! =)

Cleaning up!

Cricket loves riding in the front seat!

Karah snapped this picture. Thought it was funny =) They weren't trying to punch each other, I promise!

North Carolina Day 3

As I mentioned yesterday, we spent last night at the Biltmore Mansion seeing the candle light Christmas display. It was beautiful! We went back today to learn more on the history of the house and to view the property during the day. The house is incredible! They wouldn’t let us take pictures inside the house, so I don’t have any to share, but here are a few facts:

-255 rooms
-175,000 sq. feet
-It took 6 years to build (1889-1895)
-43 Bathrooms
- 1,200 servants
- It is still the largest private estate in America

Those are just a few facts….every room in the house was immaculate!

After touring the house we went to the winery and farm on the Biltmore property. Mom and dad did some wine tasting (all of the under age drinkers drank grape juice =) )

The weather today has been very cold, rainy, and windy. The rain has slowed down so hopefully we can spend lots of time around the campfire tonight!

The following verses have been so uplifting to me recently. I know I have heard of a few of you that have been feeling weary over the last few days. I pray you find encouragement in these verses as well! Know that I'm praying for you all!

Isaiah 40:28-29, 31- "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of all the earth. He does not faint or grown weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Mom and dad getting their drink on ;)

Churning butter...

Victoria and Karah would have loved it during Little House on The Prarie days!

North Carolina Day 2

So far today we drove an hour and a half to Cherokee North Carolina and went to the Museum of the Cherokee Indians. After that we walked around in down town Cherokee and went in and out of some shops. We then headed to hike up to a waterfall. The waterfall ended up being frozen but it was worth the hike. It was beautiful!

Tonight we are heading to see a candle light Christmas display at the Biltmore Mansion. We hear it is quite the production.

I hope church went well for everyone today… I was praying for you all, whether in Jacksonville or not! I was able to have my own little church service in bed this morning before everyone woke up. I've been meditating quite a bit on Isaiah 41 and Psalm 62. God’s grace and love has just been amazing me!

There are a few people in my family that are still pretty sick. It’s not holding them back too much, they are just still uncomfortable. Please be praying that the Lord would heal the soon! Miss you all!

It's COOOOLD!

North Carolina Day 1

Today we spent most of our day on Blue Ride Parkway where we drove through the mountains and got out and hiked some trails. It has been much colder than we expected it to be. Last night it got down to 16 degrees!!! I think everyone is loving it though, at least I am! Victoria and Karah have spent about %75 of the time outside wandering around and keeping our fire running. This is definitely their kind of vacation!

Well, I'm off to eat some of my moms yummy beef stew!

Here are some pictures from last night and today…

Cricket is loving it up here in the woods!

We Have Arrived!

After a long trip we have arrived and are set up at our campground.

We left last night around 9:00 and stopped in Walterboro, South Carolina around 1:00am and parked our camper in a Walmart shopping center. We all got a pretty good night sleep and left there around 8:45am this morning. We arrived at our campground around 2:30 this afternoon. While driving today it started snowing and it's FREEZING outside, but I love it!

More updates to come…

Dad called ahead and ordered some much needed fire wood =)