O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

We've been enjoying our tree for a couple of weeks now. We had a great (and very cold!) time making the trek to Home Depot to pick it out. And as you can see from the middle set of pictures, I had some very valuable decorating help from Viviane :-) And now we get to sit back and enjoy the finished product!

We love reading together!

Catching Up!

Well, alot has happened in the last 3 1/2 weeks, so I'm going to do a general "catching up" post. We've been on the road for 2 missions conferences and leave again tomorrow for another conference in Charlotte at the church where Michael grew up.

So, here's our last few weeks in a nutshell:

Missions conference at Morningstar Baptist Church in Rockford, IL:

First Row (L-R): 1. The Millers, our gracious hosts; 2. Dear friend, Joy McCarnan, with Viviane; 3. Viviane ready for a cold day in Chicago; 4. Michael speaking; 5. Corban and Patience Bixby with Viviane

Second Row: 1. Dr. David Hesselgrave, missiologist; 2. Shannon Brown (our prayer card, website, and display banner designer) and Bob Bixby (pastor); 3. Nancy Hunt and Linda Lee, ladies who served us lunch one day; 4. the Brown family; 5. Bill Hunt (Nancy Hunt's husband and brother of my fifth grade teacher!) with Michael

Third Row: 1. Dr. and Mrs. Hesselgrave; 2. View of Chicago from the Sears Tower Skydeck; 3. on the Skydeck; 4. the Foster family; 5. Bob, Jennie, and Corban Bixby

Fourth Row: 1. Viviane, Liz, and Joy McCarnan at her apartment; 2. Cheesecake Factory in Chicago where we had a delicious lunch; 3. Anouk and Jeremy (part of Morningstar's leadership team) Scott, our hosts for a day in Chicago

Time with Friends and Family in IL after the missions conference:

First Row: 1. Liz's Aunt Clora and Uncle Junior with Viviane; 2-4. at the Merkles'

Second Row: 1. The Merkles; 2. Liz's Aunt Polly and Uncle Nick; 3. Liz's Aunt Janet and Uncle Dave; 4. Liz's cousin Jim with Viviane

Third Row: at the Luttmanns'

Missions Conference at Maranatha Baptist Church in Ashland, OH:

First Row: 1-3. Talking to kids in Children's Church; 4. Pastor Grover and his family

Second Row: 1-3. Hanging out in Lehman's Hardware Store in Amish Country; 4. Bob and Kathy Wolfe, our gracious hosts

Third Row: 1-3. Nursing home ministry with Bob and Ula Newton (1. Mr. and Mrs. Newton; 3. Mrs. Guegold and Liz)

Surprise Date Weekend with Michael!!!

Michael has been secretly arranging an overnight date for us for a couple of months and he treated me to it this past Saturday! Nana and Poppa came down from Charlotte and babysat Viviane at our house overnight while we went off. We had a wonderful time getting Baskin Robbins ice cream, staying at the Radisson, going to hear the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra play in Twitchell Auditorium at Converse College, and eating dinner at Zaxby's! Thanks, Sweetie! I had a wonderful time!

P.S. to Elder Retreat

Here's the waterfall, me walking back to the boat soaked (followed by Michael who is probably wondering whether I'm laughing or crying :-) ) and yours truly on the tube! For the full story, see the post below, "Elder Retreat Weekend."

Elder Retreat last Weekend

The men went down to a borrowed lake house on Lake Keowee Friday night and had a profitable time of meeting and planning. They spent a few more hours meeting together on Saturday morning and early afternoon, and then the FUN began :-) (Well, I'm sure their meetings could be defined as fun also...just not the same kind!) The families trickled in throughout the afternoon and there was opportunity for tubing on the lake. I hadn't taken my swimming gear because I assumed the water would be too cold. I was a little disappointed about that when I realized how much fun it would be to tube and that the water really wasn't bad. Well, let's just say that Michael accidentally gave me the opportunity to get wet in spite of my lack of proper gear! Here's the story: We stopped at a little waterfall, and Harry pulled the boat up close enough for us to wade to shore and explore. (Michael carried me through the not-so-shallow part until it was shallow enough for me to wade with my jeans rolled up.) On the way back to the boat, Michael assured me that he could carry me through the section of water we were in--different route than the way we came--and that it wasn't deep enough to necessitate swimming. He was WRONG :-) He went down and I went down right after--yes, fully clothed and completely soaked! It was actually quite humorous and gave me the opportunity to go tubing after all since I was already drenched. Thanks, Sweetie! It was tons of fun!

Fun-filled Weekend(s)

Weekend before last, Michael and I got to go on a date AND visit both of our sets of parents! My niece Claire was a Munchkin and Poppy in Wizard of Oz down in Anderson, so Mom and Dad Mann babysat Viviane Friday night while Michael and I went out to dinner at Matty's Downtown and then enjoyed the play. After a nice breakfast and visiting with Mom and Dad on Saturday morning, we headed up to Charlotte to spend the rest of the weekend with Mom and Dad Cole. We had a great time! We returned home to "recover" from that weekend before another fun-filled weekend at Lake Keowee for the church elder retreat...pictures of that will come later.

My Paintin' Man

Michael painted Viviane's room last week and did an awesome job! It's now a nice, warm, cozy tan with crisp white trim, baseboards, and doors. I told him it's currently my favorite room in the house :-)

Here's my man in action:

And here's the finished product:

We're also grateful to the Lord for providing a trundle bed for a really good deal. Its versatility makes it a great guest bed since the trundle that's stowed underneath rolls out and pops up to be used as a separate twin bed or pushed up against the "permanent" bed to make a double. And it will be Viviane's first "big girl" bed when she's ready for that step!

Here it is:

Praise the Lord for the strength and ability He gave Michael to complete the painting job and for His provision of the trundle bed!