Asheville

Joel's parents were sweet enough to watch the boys so that we could have one last "getaway" before the baby comes... 4 months from now. Everybody in North Carolina has told us that if we were to only see a couple of places while here, it should be Asheville (and the Biltmore) and the Outer Banks area. And since everyone raved about how beautiful the Biltmore is during Christmas time, that's where we headed for an overnight trip! 

We left the morning after Christmas, spent the afternoon at the Biltmore in the house (almost every room we toured had a Christmas tree, including a 37ft real one in the dining room!) and walking the gardens (the outdoor gardens weren't blooming, but the conservatory was beautiful), an evening eating a chef's tasting dinner  at Cucina 24 on recommendation of a friend (for 3 hours-- can you believe I got Joel to sit for a seven course, three hour meal?!), and spent the night at a bed and breakfast in the mountains. The next morning on their way back to Indiana, Joel's parents dropped the boys off in Asheville and we took them back to the "castle", where they were able to tour the house as well as visit Biltmore's Antler Hill Village which has a barn, petting farm and winery (Joel wine tasted while the rest of us drank grape juice). 

Everyone was exhausted by the time the day had ended, but the trip was a lovely, relaxing time with both Joel and later the boys-- who have asked multiple times if they could go back to the "castle" again!

 the conservatory decorated for Christmas... the orchid room was also beautiful!

the view from the loggia... pictures aren't allowed indoors

At Cucina24. Our courses included raw oysters, cured fois gras, a winter root vegetable salad, octopus, campanelle with black truffle, duck, and sweet potato donuts... definitely different then what we would have chosen from the menu, but we left with diversified palates!

 (Bent Creek Lodge)

 

The boys got a kick out of the green horse. :)

It's turning around and seeing him do things like this that makes me understand why Dr. Alderidge wants him wearing a brace until the end of February.

 A statue of the Vanderbilt's favorite dog, a saint bernard named Cedric

 At the end of the evening, the line to get shuttled back to our car was super long... so while I waited in line, Joel tried to get a photo shoot with the boys. Unfortunately, he didn't have a tripod, and they weren't the best subjects.... believe it or not, Aiden is smiling here. Half the time when you tell him to smile, he scrunches his face up like this now while saying cheese :)

Christmas Festivities

I think the boys are a bit sad it's over...

... but we are still feeling the love through Christmas cards (Joel now has competition over them)!

We had fun with everything that goes along with the Christmas season however, such as...

... making the house festive and counting down until Christmas...

good thing Jesus isn't claustrophobic, because this is always how they wanted their nativity set up!

...they loved setting up the tree with their Daddy...

... decorating the tree with lights and non-breakable ornaments...

Callum would pull off the bells, play with them, and then hang them on the Christmas lights

... even homemade ones...

Who knew baking peppermints could yield such simple (and yummy!) ornaments!

a few of several borax ornaments

... making Christmas cookies...

... and a gingerbread house...

... edible goodies sent our way with love...

... while giving others out to those we love and have given to us throughout the year (whether through their jobs, or friendship)...

... advent countdowns and devotions...

 ... and then Christmas day came along. And we were blessed to not only have Danya and her boyfriend Justin celebrate Christ's birth with us, but Joel's parents and Ruth were sweet enough to make the 12 hour drive to come be with us. 

 Our (2nd) annual Christmas brunch... at Danya's request. (Which unfortunately she didn't even get to make with the family, although she ate plenty after her surgery was done)... Cranberry Eggnog Casserole with cranberry orange syrup, sausage, fruit, and gingerbread muffins. Beth was sweet enough to bring styrofoam plates she had around to save me from doing dishes all day long.

Liam requested to say the prayer. What he said brought tears to my eyes and had his Daddy laughed, saying that a sermon was preached during his prayer (posted here so that I would remember later)...

Dear Jesus, 

Thank you for this day, and that it is a beautiful, warm, sunny day outside
and thank you that we could eat this feast at the table
and thank you that today is Christmas, and that we get to celebrate your birth
because today is your birthday,
and we get presents, but we remember that it's not about  presents, but about you being born,

even though you got presents from the wisemen,

three presents: gold, frankincense and myrrh...

Gold, because you are King

Frankincense, because you are God, and
Myrrh, because you would die on the cross for us.

Amen.

 Yes, yes, my child played outside in a onesie on Christmas day. It was that warm. :)

 So we've had these toys for over a year (a long story between a thrifty, deal-seeking Mommy, and a practical, it's too big Daddy)... the boys have seen them out in the garage, and around November this year started asking if they could have them for Christmas. So we did! Other items asked for and received were legos, an owl book, a Bible, books, combs, and toothbrushes!

 Playing with Danya's present to Callum.

 Danya got Joel and I journals. We bought her a couple of MacArthur books (she listens to him all week long) and medical care for orphans.

 A tough guy with his new tough lego set. :) At least someone is smiling in the picture!

Aiden probably put together this foam puzzle at least 3-4x that day.

 We bought Ruthie some Christian country hymn cds and made his parents a scrapbook of our week in Gatlinburg.

 Danya took a family picture...

 Enjoying the warm outdoor air while collecting the mail for a friend down the road. The boys have been so conditioned to chillier days, that Aiden insisted on wearing his jacket. You know it's warm when Mommy only wears long sleeves though... ;)

 As soon as Liam built his car with Grandpa's help, he wanted to tear it apart and build the dinosaur. Grandpa suggested that he enjoy the car for at least a few hours ;)

 Snacking inbetween lunch and dinner. He climbed up and snagged a foccacia that Joel's mom brought with her.

 Leave it to the engineers to construct the whole huge set and take up the whole loft area :)

 Ready for dinner... ham (courtesy of TJ), sweet potatoes, veggies and a salad, cheese, pear compote and crackers, raspberry applesauce, and...

 another holiday favorite: a chocolate candy cane birthday cake for Jesus!

 Liam was pretty distressed that we didn't have a present for Justin (although he wasn't here earlier when we unwrapped gifts), so he came up with an idea (deja vu to last year and Danya)... Daddy could wrap him up in a box, and since Jesus isn't physically present, Justin could do the honors of unwrapping Jesus' present... a win-win!

 After dinner, we played games...

And when the boys got tired of helping out, they played mancala!

Hope you all had a joyous and blessed Christmas season with your families and friends!!