The Greatest Place on Earth

The reason I haven't blogged since forever is because I was on another continent! We went to the most wonderful place on earth - to be with family and precious friends. Doesn't get any better than that!

Yes, I had access to the Internet....at lightening fast speed (compared to Gabs)....but I was having too much fun with family and friends...and eating out!!!!!

When we planned this trip - we also made our list of 'places we must eat'. (Sidenote: Gabs does not have ANY of the fast-food places we enjoy from the States. You don't realize how much you take McD's for granted until it is no longer an option.) At the top of my list was Chick-fil-A. At the top of the girls' list was a Happy Meal from McD's. Their choice won out for our first dinner in the US (but only because there isn't a Chick-fil-A nearby....my parents need to change that.)

R as she proudly poses with her Happy Meal box. The simple things in life.

B with her Happy Meal - and the MOST important part....THE PRIZE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our first weekend home, the girls attended our church's annual Fall Festival. Here they are with their best buds. Here we have a Cowgirl, Cheerleader, Glenda the Good Witch and a Monkey! Yes, we will embarrass our children years from now with these pics!

While home we were able to see many of our precious friends, go shopping!!!!!!!!!!! and spend time with family.

Taken just before the Thanksgiving feast began....complete with turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, field peas, collards and biscuits.
For dessert: sweet potato pie, pecan pie AND key lime pie.

Our Thanksgiving Day tradition is to spend the day at my parent's house with family, enjoy a meal together, laugh A LOT, and decorate the house for Christmas. Here's the tree, which my mom and children decorated during the week. So, on Thanksgiving Day we hung wreaths on the outside of the house on the windows. Sorry - don't have a pic of that!

The Christmas Tree
Last year my mom had decorated her tree in just gold and red. It was beautiful. But, I LOVE the sentiment of the mismatched ornaments that each have a story to tell. I am so sentimental. I decorate our family's tree each year with the ornaments the girls have made at church through the years. They are a treasure to me.
For this year, mom decorated the tree with all those beautiful, one-of-a-kind mismatched ornaments. Beautiful.

Fall is my most favorite time of year. The vibrant colors just warm my heart. We don't have fall in Gabs. We have just 2 seasons: winter and summer. One is really hot, and the other not-so-hot and sometimes even cold. No such thing as fall colors in Gabs. This beautifully colored tree in my parent's front yard was like a gift to me from my Lord. Thank you, Lord.

More pics.......

These are the BFF girls. (Best Friends Forever) We are thankful to have their precious family in our lives.

And to go even further back in time on this blog post....to document the passing of my 40-something birthday....I had TWO surprise parties (in Gabs, before we left for the US).

Here is the beautiful cake made by a dear friend. My husband surprised me with this cake at a function I was attending. I didn't have a clue about the surprise. Well done!

'Happy Birthday' being sung to me by 30 or so friends. A great time!

My 1st surprise birthday party of the day. We had spent the afternoon with friends - the girls all played in the pool - while my friends from South Africa and Germany surprised me with a cake! The Lord has blessed me so much to have such precious friends here. I am truly thankful for and blessed by their friendship.