I cannot believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Time has flown and I still have lots to do.
Here is another saying by Max Lucado for Christmas:
Jesus humbled Himself. He went from commanding angels To sleeping in the straw. From holding stars To clutching Mary's finger. The palm that held the universe Took the nail of a soldier. WHY? Because that's what love does.
The gift of God....The birth of Christ.This is Christmas...This is love.
Here are some pics from Chimney Rock. That place was COLD! Constant wind... I learned very quickly I was not adequately dressed. I was glad our first time there was without the kids. I would have been a nervous wreck with them on top of that thing. Beautiful view of God's Creation.
Can you tell it was windy and I was COLD????
Steve and me standing in the "Opera Box".... the flash blew out the background, but you wouldn't have seen our faces if I didn't use it.
God's ways are good and bring you joy.... His ways are right and bring you wisdom... His ways are true and bring you freedom.... His ways are pure and bring you refreshment... His ways are sure and bring you strength... His ways are best and bring you love.
Here are some more pics to show from our trip. I am still in denial that it is over. :)
Our Bed and Breakfast
View from the room... it was cloudy/rainy on Saturday... Sunday was beautiful but cold and windy.
This was the living room area... so pretty in here...
Main staircase... just beautiful. Steve wanted me to set up my tripod and take a pic of us walking down the stairs the night we went to the Candlelight Tour... I just didn't think that would happen - and it didn't. lol
Dining room where we ate breakfastKitchen Sitting area by the kitchen Beautiful front porch area What you saw from the front porch area.... the following three pics.
Right before we left to go to dinner at Biltmore and then the Candlelight Tour of Biltmore. We ate at the Deerpark Restaurant on the Biltmore grounds.
Since I couldn't take pictures inside of Biltmore I had to settle for the outside. Kind of hard to do in pitch black for the most part and doing it all handheld. Not too bad, though....
I wish I could have taken pics inside... it was so beautiful in there. I continue to be in awe of this house!
I was enjoying my wonderful weekend with my wonderful husband. I guess you can see I didn't try really hard to find an "internet cafe" or anything of the sort.
Can you tell from this first picture which way we headed?
My sweet husband surprised me with the most wonderful trip to the mountains of NC.... Asheville, to be exact. We stayed in the most glorious Bed and Breakfast near Asheville and then did the Candelight Tour last night at the Biltmore. WOW... beautiful and I couldn't even capture it with my camera. He took me out to one of the restaurants on the Biltmore Estate before we went on the tour. We also went to the Grovepark Inn earlier yesterday to see the Gingerbread Houses that are displayed there every year with the competition that is held. (We met a really nice couple at the B&B and we actually went with them!) Today, we went to Chimney Rock and back to Biltmore one last time before heading home. It all went too fast.
It was a truly romantic weekend with no TV, phone (except for our cell phones if we needed them), or computer. We've never stayed in such a place before.... here are a few photos of where we stayed. I'll share more photos later of this place and the places we went.
My Christmas present from Steve this year was magical. I'll never forget the precious time I spent with him - just the two of us.
Well... we're about to leave on our trip! I have had so many people tell me today I need a laptop. lol I'll TRY to find an internet access somewhere so you all can know where we are.... if not, you'll just have to be PATIENT as I have tried to be patient these past three weeks... hee hee
Here is Wesley's and Mikayla's Christmas train Santa gave them last year. This is played with more by Wesley but Mikayla tags along sometimes. :) (In fact, instead of getting to bed right now he is messing with this train. ) It has brought a lot of joy and I am glad he is enjoying it. He uses his Lincoln Logs to create barns/buildings all around the track. It is quite neat to watch him play.
Today we did our annual half day ritual of going to a movie with the kids and then going around at night to see Christmas lights. We packed up some grilled pimiento cheese sandwiches, waters and some cookies and headed out. I must say, there were not a lot of "festive" houses this year. I only took a few shots of the one house near ours that goes all out every year. It was kind of depressing!
Well, only 1 more day!! We packed our stuff this afternoon. The kids have gotten out their things but we haven't officially packed them at the moment. They are as excited as we are that they get to spend the night with Mom and Dad for three nights. lol
My body is ready to crash.... been a long few weeks. Can't wait for tomorrow, though!!! :)
It went beautifully today. I was able to "sit back" and enjoy it better than yesterday. This play is my most favorite and every time I have heard it, it touches my heart. I am going to show pics of Wesley and Mikayla in the play as well as parts of the play. I wish you all could have seen it. (Let's just say it is quite difficult trying to direct the play and take pictures of your children at the same time....)
Mikayla as a tree singing in the "I Have A Dream" song. Mikayla's group sang the special part for "Annabelle".... the tree that wanted to hold beautiful treasure. She ended up holding treasure.... the treasure of Jesus in the manger.
Wesley dressed as the tree "Gabriel."
Wesley's answer to what his dream is: "I have the grandest dream of all.I just want to stay here in the forest forever. What could be better than standing on this hillside and pointing people toward God?"
Wesley says to the other trees: "Shh... Shh.... The Woodcutters are coming the Woodcutters are coming!"
The Woodcutters chopping down the tree. Wesley's character didn't want to be cut down and so he bowed his head in disappointment.
The Narrator talking after the tree that became the fishing boat where Jesus preached: "Not long after that, Jesus faced another storm, one He chose not to silence.He was accused and called guilty.He was betrayed andbeaten.
Then soldiers took His clothes and led himthrough the streets to a hill where they nailed Him...to a tree...a tree that dreamed of standing tall and pointing people to God."
The "Soldiers" took Wesley up the steps to the "Hill of Calvary" and put him up. He was so ashamed and hung his head. Then, one of the "Roman Soldiers" said "Truly this man was the Son of God!" and bowed before the cross. Wesley's character, "Gabriel", then raised his head because he knew his dream really had come true.
The last little guy in the play said this: "So what do we plant when we plant the tree?We plant a story for all to read, of the manger that grewfrom a tiny seed, the boat on the Sea of Galilee, the cross that was raised at Calvary.That’s what weplant when we plant the tree."
We then sang this song. First time we sung it was a small group, the second time was the entire "cast" of the play. The words are beautiful:
Let me live to serve You Lord
Trading all my dreams for Yours.
Help me each day, to trust You more.
Let me live to serve you Lord.
Looking back now its so easy to see
All of the blessings You've given to me.
You've shown me that You are the Lord above all,
So keep me from praying a prayer...
That's too small.
Let me live to serve You Lord
Trading all my dreams for Yours.
Help me each day, to trust You more.
Let me live to serve you Lord.
I have thought of this so much as we have practiced this play. So many times what WE plan is not what God plans. When we look back on those times we can truly see how God saw the bigger picture and His way was so much better... it was perfect.
