Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Haiti in January

Sometime in the future, I hope to explain a little further about my work and my involvement in Haiti. But for now here are pics and a video showing how beautiful this country is...


I wasn't able to upload the full version because of size, but this is a good picture of Port au Prince. Double-click on it to see it a little larger.




This cute little girl had on a beautiful princess dress that I was sure Caroline would like to see.


These are some of the kids at Belloc. I hope to post more about my hopes and dreams for Belloc in the future. But for now here are some adorable children that live in this community.


Here is a small glimpse inside the church at Belloc.


He looks a lot cooler than I do in my sunglasses...


Here is Caroline's snowman that she wanted me to take to Haiti.




-jonathan

Monday, March 9, 2009

Fun with Daddy!

Caroline sure does love her Daddy! In the mornings, she always calls for me and the first thing she asks when I walk in her room is, "Where's Daddy?" I always respond, "He's at work today. But he'll be right back!" Then we have a morning hug and go on with our day! I think that's so funny! Anyway, so this is a post about some recent adventures with Caroline and her Daddy.

First, a Daddy date to Sprout Studio...


Making a cake with Daddy at home...


Daddy and Caroline's 'dates' often end up at Walmart to get a few things we need around the house! Here Caroline works on her strength training...


Also, Daddy dates sometimes include special treats that Mommy wouldn't always approve of! :) Here Caroline samples some Cinnabon at the mall.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Dressing Up!

Caroline is a gal who sure likes to dress up! Here are a couple of recent dress up choices.

An elephant...


P-Joe's hat and her two international necklaces...


-Beth

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Anniversary Trip

Our anniversary is December 29th...we've been married 7 years now! This year, we decided to visit Biltmore Estate for our special day. It was so fun! Inside the house, the decorations were unbelievable! There was also entertainment throughout, like a wonderful Christmas choir, ballet dancers, and even actors performing beloved Christmas tales. The huge fireplaces (think floo network capabilities HP fans) were lit and the atmosphere was really grand. One of the main attractions was the forty foot evergreen in the enormous dining hall. It was covered in colorful bulbs and huge gift-wrapped boxes. This is exactly the way that George Vanderbilt had decorated for the first Christmas in Biltmore House...in 1895!! Can you imagine seeing those electric bulbs and the lavish gifts displayed in 1895!? It's eye-popping even still! We had a fantastic time.







-Beth

Friday, March 6, 2009

Christmas 2008

Wow! What a Christmas season we had! With seven separate family Christmas celebrations and one very overwhelmed two year old, we certainly had out hands full!! Caroline simply did not deal well with the chaos that invaded her little world during the week or so surrounding Christmas. Many new faces and new experiences led to a toddler on the brink of meltdown! In fact, on Christmas morning, Jonathan and I basically put all the presents away and instead just played and played with Caroline. It really made for one of the best Christmas memories ever! Our little family moment amidst all the craziness.

So...aside from working hard to keep Caroline from spontaneously combusting, we really had a great time with friends and family! Thank you to everyone who hosted us over the holiday season. We certainly ate some delicious meals and got to see so many loved ones. That is truly a blessing. One thing that we especially enjoyed this year was getting to spend some extended time with Uncle Tim and Aunt Ashley. It was really great just to hang out and laugh together. Tim will soon graduate from seminary, and we look forward to seeing what God has in store for them in the coming years! We love you guys and we are praying for you!

I apologize for the lack of Christmas pictures. That's sort of a function of the above stated difficulties. Please enjoy the few pics that we did manage to snap!


Caroline playing under our Christmas tree at home


Wendy joined Caroline at school for her special party...a snack with Santa Claus! See the red suit in the background? The 'big guy' even shared a cookie with Caroline.


What a beauty! This is after Redeemer's service of Lessons and Carols. Mommy sang in the choir.


Daddy traveled to Washington D.C. just before Christmas. He made sure to send his girls a picture of the Christmas tree on the White House lawn!


Super fun times with the Mize clan! We braved the frigid temperatures to walk through Christmas at the Cove...basically a big light display at a park here in town.


Christmas morning. Take note of Miss Grumpy Face on the right!


Caroline started a tradition of playing 'Bonk' with Uncle Mike


Caroline takes Aunt Ashley and Mommy for a ride in Nana's new truck.


-Beth

Thursday, March 5, 2009

And also, Michael’s show...

That same weekend, Michael rocked the house at his piano recital! It was his first one, and he seriously did an awesome job, with a very lively (and seemingly complicated for a 6-year-old) version of “Up on the Housetop”. Way to go, buddy!



-Beth

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

“You tell me of Catha’s show?”

These are the words I heard many many times in mid to late December. Caroline wanted to hear over and over again the plot of “A Christmas Carol”...Catherine was in a local performance of the musical version on December 6th 2008. Great job Catherine! Bravo!





An after note: One of Caroline's favorite things to do over Christmas was to retell the story herself. Although we tried many times, we never were able to catch her rendering of 'Ebeneez Scooge' on film. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles never fear though...there is a four minute video of us nudging her through the whole story...just not as good as the "in person" version!!

-Beth

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

All Ready for Christmas!

Showing off her newest Christmas threads.



-jonathan

Monday, March 2, 2009

Christmas in Kentucky!

We had a great trip to KY the weekend after Thanksgiving! With a delicious holiday spread and the annual gift swap (I can’t believe Caroline didn’t steal that silly monkey, Uncle Tom!), we had some really good family time. Nannie even made an oh-so-cuddly snowman blanket for Caroline, along with a quilted bookbag with a treasure inside...a Jan Brett story, The Three Snow Bears! What a treat! And of course, Caroline loved visiting Cinco the donkey again and meeting the new baby horse (see video below), Wishart’s Legal Trick (Wishart, for short...this guy could be a prize winning racehorse someday!). Not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this on the blog, but if you are ever headed North on 75 thru KY, take time to stop at the KY artisan’s center in Berea. Both Nannie and Grandad have featured pieces there. They are both acclaimed artists...in many areas...but particularly wood carving and lathe work for Grandaddy and quilting for Nannie. Check it out!

Also check out this small article on mace that Grandad made for his alma mater Maryville College.

Thank you for my snowman, cousin Rachel! He’s so cute, he’s making my room a little merrier right now! With love, Caroline


Visiting the animals...




-jonathan

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Favorite Christmas Song

Here is a quick video of Caroline singing her favorite Christmas song back in November.



-jonathan