Christmas in PA

Happy New Year!!! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I just got home from Pennsylvania last night. We left on Monday, December 21st, and headed to PA for Christmas with dad and Glenn. We went to DeSoto and met up with Steph and Ross and stayed at Ross' mom's house that night. On Tuesday, we drove 10 hours to Nashville, TN and stopped for the night. We purposely left at 6:00 in the morning so we could see some of Nashville. I am so glad we did because we checked into our hotel around 5 and then went to eat at Darfon's, a local restaurant that someone recommended to us. Then we went to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and drove by the Grand Ole Opry House.





The Gaylord Opryland Hotel is huge! It was the perfect time of year to visit because it was all decorated for Christmas. The lights and decorations were so beautiful! Everywhere you looked there was something to see. There is even a river that runs through the hotel complete with boat rides....it reminded me of the River Walk in San Antonio.

Christmas lights inside the Gaylord Opryland Hotel

Outside there were even more lights and decorations! There were hundreds of people walking through the hotel looking at the lights.

I loved the beautiful Nativity Scene they had outside!

Early the next morning we left and headed to Canonsburg, PA to meet up with dad and Glenn at Glenn's apartment. On the way, we stopped in Ohio at a gas station and saw these Amish people selling baskets out in front of the gas station.

Our first Amish sighting!

I know that the Amish don't like having their pictures taken so I took this through the car window. We got out and looked at the baskets and were able to talk to the man and his son. It was really cold outside and we asked how they stay warm while driving. They told us that they just cover with a blanket....I can't imagine that, I mean it was COLD!! Of course, the baskets were hand woven and so beautiful. It was funny though because the gas station had a McDonald's attached to it and when we first saw them they were sitting in their buggy eating McDonald's hamburgers.....I guess I just didn't picture the Amish driving through McDonald's.

We went to Glenn's apartment in Canonsburg and then headed to the farmhouse. It was about an hour drive from Glenn's and we went through Pittsburgh. We stopped an ate dinner at the Georgetown Inn in Pittsburgh. It is a really nice restaurant that sits on a hill and overlooks the city. Mom, Steph, and I really dressed to impress in our sweats and lounge clothes we wore in the car :)

This is a picture of the restaurant overlooking the city.....It was so pretty at night!

Next door to the restaurant was a lookout spot where you can take pictures

After we ate, we drove to the farmhouse. It was dark outside, but there was snow on the ground and everything looked so pretty, especially the closer we got to the farmhouse. It was off many rural country roads and the drive was beautiful even at night!

The Farmhouse

The farmhouse was even more beautiful than I imagined! It looked so beautiful covered in snow. We were told that it was hit or miss this time of year that there would be snow, but thanks to the blizzard the week before there was plenty! This was the first snow that this part of PA had so far this winter. I thank God for leading us to this farmhouse. Mom and I must have looked into hundreds of places to rent and we were so blessed to find this place.

The kitchen

Shelly, The lady who owns the farmhouse, inherited it from her uncle. It was built in the 1800's and it had been in her family for a long time. She restored it recently and just started renting it out. She did a great job with updating it and still keeping period details like the claw foot tub.

Shelly called us a few weeks before we left and asked if it would be okay if her parents brought us a Christmas tree and decorations. Her parents own a Christmas tree farm nearby and wanted to give us a tree. It was so sweet of them and we were so happy to have a Christmas tree! Glenn slept on the fold out couch in the living room.

Mom and Dad's room


Stephanie and Ross' room

My room


The farmhouse sits on 100 acres

The next morning the guys had some fun throwing snowballs at us :)

Being from Texas and not exactly having allot of experience with snow, we attempted to build a a snowman and had no idea how much work it takes. Glenn and Ross would shovel the snow and Stephanie and I attempted to make it into one big round ball, but it was not easy. It looks like a breeze in the movies! Our snowman never got much taller than it was in this picture :)

There was a fire pit outside and we enjoyed sitting around it drinking hot chocolate and making S'Mores.

Weenie Roast

We decorated our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve

As we were sitting by the fire one day, we saw a deer walking across the field behind us. It was not scared of us at all...it almost walked right up to us and I got some good pictures!

We borrowed a friends tripod and took family pictures

We spent most of our time at the farmhouse just relaxing, watching movies, sitting around the fire pit, cooking, playing cards and Scrabble together. One day we got out and drove around to look at the scenery and go to the grocery store. We also went skiing at the Hidden Valley ski Resort that was nearby. The drive to the ski resort was so beautiful!

Ready to ski!

Mom and dad are not skiers so they sat inside in the lodge and took pictures of us. Mom took this one and I love it because she got all of us in it. Glenn is at the bottom, me, Steph and then Ross. It was a perfect day for skiing. It was not that crowded and it was sunny. We skied the twilight hours from 1-10. During twilight they turn on lights and you can ski at night. None of us had ever skied at night and it was fun, but we only lasted until about 7:00. I woke up the next morning so sore....you use muscles skiing you didn't know you had and I fell a few times :)

The day before we left, we woke up to snow falling. It snowed pretty much all day and I tried to get some pictures of it. This is my favorite one with the rocking chair on the front porch.

We spent 7 days at the farmhouse and time flew by. On our way back home Nashville was our stopping place again. The drive from the farmhouse to Nashville was 9 hours and we left later so we got to Nashville pretty late.

Music Row

We drove down Music Row and I tried to take pictures while we were driving. I thought we might see people singing on the street, but it was a weekday and it was late.

Country Music Hall of Fame

The Pancake Pantry

The next morning we ate at the Pancake Pantry before we left to come home. It is a really popular place in Nashville and we were told that no matter what time of day you go there is always a line curving around the building. We stood in line and it was freezing outside.

They have every kind of panckae imaginable, but I had to get my favorite..blueberry!

Mom ordered the pecan pancakes with pecan syrup and we shared. The pecan pancakes tasted more like dessert. It was so good. Stephanie ordered sweet potato pancakes with a special syrup and Ross ordered the cornmeal pancackes with bacon, eggs, and jalepenos in them. It was worth the wait!

We drove throguh Memphis, TN on our way home so we had to stop and eat barbecue. Memphis is famous for its barbecue and we ate at Corky's. It was featured on the Food Network for one of the best places to eat barbecue. We ate really good on the way home! And since we were in Memphis we had to visit one more place...

Graceland

We found out Graceland was only 20 minutes from where we ate so we drove by. We didn't have time to stop and tour it, but we were able to get pictures of Elvis' house from the street.

This is the best picture I could get of Elvis' house. There was a huge Nativity blocking most of it and I was surprised the house was right off a busy street. I always pictured it way out in the country somewhere. Across the street from the house was a musuem and his private plane, the Lisa Marie, that you could tour. My pictures of it didn't turn out.

The Gate to Graceland

There is a brick wall surronding the house and it is covered with notes written to Elvis and thousands of signatures.

All together we were in the car driving for 40 hours roundtrip. We went through Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Ohio, a small part of West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. I am so glad that we drove so that we could see everything along the way, but I think we all agreed that next time we are flying! We can't complain too much because Ross drove us the entire way.....we didn't force him to he actually wanted to drive because he was more comfortable. I am just so thankful that we are all still speaking after that many hours in the car together :) It was such a blessing to be able to spend Christmas in a snow covered farmhouse in Pennsylvania. God is so good and full of surprises! We prayed that Dad and Glenn would get off that week and He answered our prayers and more! I look forward to 2010 and all the good things God has in store!!

Chritmas Party

The Women's Ministry at my church is called, Joy Ladies, and we had our Christmas party last night. I enjoy hanging out with these ladies so much and we had the best time.

My Pastor's wife, Kathy, is the one with patch on her eye. She poked herself in the eye with her mascara brush and ended up having to go to the eye doctor and found out that she had a bristle from the brush stuck in her cornea....bless her heart!

This is me and baby Sam, who I am just in love with. That look on his face is priceless..he had just woke up and wasn't quite sure what was going on yet. His mom, Stacy, is on our worship team at church and I am usually the one that gets to hold him on Sundays. We have this sweet bond now. Literally every Sunday, I get him and he lays his head on my shoulder and falls asleep during the entire worship. Stacy said that he only does that with me...awww!

Linda, the hostess, has dress up clothes for her grandchildren and we had fun putting wigs on Samuel. He was so cute because we all cheered and clapped when he came out with the wig and he loved all the attention. Don't you think he makes a pretty girl :)

....and here's Tina. This is my favorite one! He was so funny waving at everyone and clapping with us.

We also ate good food, played games, and had a kitchen towel and Christmas sock exchange.

Monday, we are off to PA. Please pray for good weather and safety as we travel. I turned on the t.v. today and saw the headline "2009 Blizzard in the Northeast" and called dad. He said that we should be fine, that the part of PA we are headed to is not being affected by the worst of storm and the weather will be sunny on Monday through Wednesday. Of course we will be watching the weather closely and taking our time.

Women's Worship Weekend

This weekend a group of ladies from my church were invited to go to the Abiding Place in Centerville for a women's worship weekend. Bob and Teresa Nix are close friends with my pastor and his wife and they have come to our church and ministered to us several times. They have a beautiful home out in the country called the, Abiding Place, where they hold retreats and conferences throughout the year. The last time Teresa came to Joy Church she felt that the Lord told her to invite us to the Abiding Place and have a women's worship weekend. 14 ladies came from my church, including my sister Stephanie, and we had a wonderful time.

Joy Ladies

I am so thankful that Stephanie got to come. We had so much fun together and it was a great mother-daughter-sister bonding time!

Me and Sara

Sara and her sister Cecilia are on the worship team at my church and they did the worship all weekend. They write most of their own songs and they are so anointed and gifted in what they do. Hopefully, this year they will be recording a worship CD with their own songs on it and I can't wait to get it!

The Abiding Place

The Abiding place is literally out in the middle of nowhere off country, dirt roads. Stephanie had the address and put it in her GPS so she thought she would be able to find it without any problem. The GPS lead her to an old, abandoned house off this dark, dirt road. We laughed about it later because she was thinking, "What kind of place is this?" Mom and I got lost too, but we eventually all got there safe and sound.

The pond in the backyard

We woke up Saturday morning to this view, coffee and stuffed french toast! I was a very happy lady :) Teresa spoiled us this weekend with delicious food and desserts.

I just got a new camera and I enjoyed taking pictures of the house.

Birdhouses on the front porch.

Every room in the house is named after a fruit of the spirit and the pillow cases and towel sets are monogrammed with that name on it. We slept in kindness! The bedrooms are decorated so cute. I love how she decorates...it is so cozy,warm and inviting.

Front door

I feel so refreshed after this weekend and everybody kept saying how much they needed a weekend like this. We talked, worshiped, shared our hearts, relaxed, ate lost of really great food, cried, laughed, and got to know each other better. I am so thankful for my church family. I feel so blessed to know each one of these women and they have really become like family to me.

Let is Snow!

Yes, you are seeing snow in Southeast Texas! This makes the second year in a row and I am loving it. I went to work this morning and all everyone was talking about was the possibility of snow today. Finally, around 3:00 one of my students came in the room and told us it was snowing! I took my class outside and let them watch it fall on the playground. I was just as excited as they were. What a perfect start to December! Mom talked to dad and Glenn today and they were shocked that we got snow before they did (they are in Pennsylvania). Who would have guessed?

This was the view from the front door when I got home from work.



The snow just starting to come down!


As it got later, the snow really started to fall.

Mom's birthday is this Sunday and she loved her early birthday present :)

I love love love this picture with the snow and the Christmas tree in the window. The snow started to accumulate on the ground and the roof and it was so beautiful!

Snow falling in the night sky

This just makes me happy!

View from the front porch at night.

This was such a wonderful surprise! I hope this continues every year. I already love this time of year and this just put the icing on the cake. After standing in the cold taking tons of pictures we went inside and ate a hot bowl of chili. We don't get to experience this often so I hope you enjoyed the snow today as much as I did!