After leaving my parents in Anderson, SC, we went to spend the rest of our vacation in Charleston, SC with Rob's family. The two pictures above are of the girls' "Pre-Present Opening" with PaPa and Grandma Shell. The adults were too excited to wait one more day, so everyone opened a couple presents a little early...the girls didn't mind too much either!
We got to spend a little bit of time with Maggie and Madeline's Great Great Grandma. She is an incredible woman who is 92 years old and still lives on her own!
No trip to Charleston would be complete without a trip to the Children's Museum. The girls love it!! They have a miniature grocery store that Maggie loves, a fishing boat to play in, a castle to dress up in, and much more.
New Years' Eve was so much fun! Some of our closest friends, Will & Lisa Messier and Jamin & Mel Jantz came down to spend the weekend with us. We all stayed at a condo on Kiawah Island (without any children, of course), and made so many memories! When we get together we laugh and laugh and laugh...we did this three years ago with the same friends, and plan on making it an annual event. Then we all went to the Fipps' house for a New Years' Day feast...including Hoppin' Johns and Collard Greens.
Just wanted to add a note about Lisa & Mel...I am so thankful to God for these friends. Our friendship has stood the test of time, and I know that our bond will continue to remain strong for many years to come. The memories that I have with each of them are of laughter and tears, celebrations and sorrow, and I know that their friendship is a gift from God.
On our way home, we stayed with my Grandma Holmes in Kentucky. Maggie loves staying at Grandma's house because of her "doll room" that she gets to sleep in. We also got to spend some time with my Aunt Jana and Uncle Wes and their kids. We only get to see them about twice a year, so we were glad to be able to have some time there.
Our trip "down South" started with a stop at a "show and tell" (Maggie has always called hotels that!). We went to Red Robin for dinner, and made a dessert stop at Krispy Kreme. It was the girls' first experience at the ultimate donut place...they picked one with frosting AND sprinkles!
We got to spend a couple of days with my parents in Anderson, SC. We had a great time celebrating Christmas Day with them, and the girls enjoyed Grandma's hour-long stocking presents (mom loves stocking presents). The trip was cut-short due to a HUGE answer to prayer. My parents finally sold their house in Texas after about two years on the market. They went down to close on the house on the 29th. It has been a huge lesson in prayer for Maggie, as this has been her steady prayer request ever since she started praying. It has been so neat to see her realize that God answered her prayers, and to see her now stopping me mid-day to ask me to pray with her about different things! Praise the Lord! We are rejoicing with my parents over this huge burden lifted! Love you mom and dad!
Madeline super excited about the glitter crayons in her stocking!
I love this picture of my dad...love you dad!!
Madeline and Grandpa
