Thanksgiving 2012

We have much to be thankful for... family, friends, the invitation to be part of God's family, health, etc.  Today we had several family members over to celebrate this great day of thanks for the Blessings God has given us, including the abundance of God's love and freedoms we enjoy in our country.



Barbara and Sandra making the gravy.  Barbara says she made the gravy too dark.  Do you think it could have been because of the sunglasses?!



Michael fried the turkey, and Clif sliced it up when it was cooked.




Michael has that look..."who me?  I didn't sneak any turkey!"  Stephen, "no, he didn't I'll vouch for him."



Sandra and Krista were caught being the real "vultures".



Left clockwise to the right...Sandra, Diane, Barbara, Pete, Jim, Michael, Clif, Stephen, Amber, Grandpa (hiding between Amber and Stephen), Krista.


  
We ate outside in the nippy, windy weather.  I thought the highs were supposed to be in the low 70's.  It felt like the 50's with the wind. 



                        In the background, our winter garden is coming along nicely. 

                                                  Amber with her mom, Lisa.



                          Barbara, Stephen, and Ivan (Amber's stepdad).



Then onto dessert.  We decided to stay inside and close the doors.  We all needed to warm up.
Afterwards, we settled down for an evening of games.  A fun day was had by all. Thank you Lord for a wonderful family. :)

Officer of the Year

The Knights of Columbus in Osceola County honored several public service employees for their dedication/service to the community.  We are proud that Stephen was the recipient of Officer of the Year!  He had already received Trooper of the Month in September for Troop D in Central Florida, as well as several nominations earlier in the year.  The Knights put on a nice Thanksgiving dinner for the nominees and their guests.  The food was delicious, and the celebration was special. 


   
                                    Grandpa,  myself, and Clif



                                            Stephen and Amber



                             Leiutenant Heard giving Stephen his award.



                                   Recipients of various Awards

Fall Campout and then some...

November is a very busy month for us.  I was supposed to fly to Atlanta 2 weekends ago to celebrate my niece's baby shower.  Unfortunately, I caught whatever "bug" was going around in the schools.  I wasn't able to attend, but great pictures were sent to my WiFi picture frame, so I felt I was there.  I was blessed not to have work scheduled for Friday/Monday.  This gave me a full 4 day weekend for recovery which didn't take place until I got an antibiotic on Sunday morning. :(

Then, we celebrated my 50th birthday on Tuesday.  Clif made a delicious steak dinner.  He even baked the cake.  Everything was yummy.

This weekend, we went camping with another couple to Favre Dykes State Park near St. Augustine.  It was overcast most of the time, windy, at times raining, and cool.  But, when you are die hard campers, you deal with the elements, and given a choice, I would rather be cold than hot.  We adventured out on the canoes.  The wind didn't kick up until around 11:00.  So half our time it was really nice, and the other half we had to use our muscles to paddle against the wind.  We were out on the river for 3 hours.  We saw lots of water fowl.  We even saw an osprey with a fish who perched on the branch to eat its lunch.



             Peter and Kim, gliding past us.  We just went under the I-95 overpass near MM298.



If you look closely on the arched branch in front of the brown pine needles, you will see the osprey with its fish.



                                                             An egret. 
We also saw lots of Blue Herons, but they always flew off before I got my camera focused.



We also went hiking to Pellicer Bay (a 2.6 mile roundtrip hike).  In the middle of the trail was a piglet.  We saw 6 wild boar and 8 piglets.  We were grateful they were afraid of us and ran the opposite direction.  Not good for snapping photos, but good that we weren't charged.  Those animals can be MEAN!



 The black shadow between the two tree trunks is an adult boar.  The only shot I could get.  They run way too fast!



We made it to Pellicer Point which overlooks Pellicer Bay. This is a place once inhabited by Native Americans.  As you can see in the background the weather is not to good.  We could hear thunder off in the distance, and you could see rain coming across the bay.  We were 15 minutes from the trail end before it caught up to us and soaked us.  We had fun just the same, and decided it was worth the hike to see the 8 piglets running with their parents.  The way their little ears flopped were just adorable. :)

This week school is out for Thanksgiving break.  I am glad because we are hosting Thanksgiving this year.  It will give me plenty of time to catch up with neglected friendships, and clean the house.  Hopefully, I will have pictures to post of our celebration.  We are expecting around 15 people.

Halloween

 

                                                             Happy Birthday Amber!
                                         She and Stephen spent the evening with her parents.
.                                        Our celebration was on Nov 1.  She had a terrific birthday.
                                         Amber enjoyed being able to celebrate for 2 days straight!


Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year.  The house is decorated, and the candy awaits the kids arriving for their treats.  This is the one day a year where I feel I can truly be myself, and not be criticized for it.  Although I don't dress in costume any more, I enjoyed seeing the kids (and parents) who do.   The kids love coming here because as they get older, they get full sized candy bars (yes, even the parents who are dressed up)!  I also enjoy catching up on the happenings in their lives as they have moved beyond elementary school. This year I was especially touched when 3 teens came by. First, they put on a little skit which made me laugh.  I remembered 2 of them from elementary school (from substitute teaching).  They were excited I remembered their names, and I was relieved when I got them right!  Anyhow, they asked if I would consider teaching in the high school.  They miss me!  I was very moved because how many students remember their substitute teachers?  It is also fun to see kids who are now grown bringing their children to the door.  I was shocked that Megan now has 2 kids, one age 8 and one age 4.  Where has the time gone?



I don't do scary.  This afterall is the eve before All Saints' Day, and 2 days before All Souls' Day. I celebrate by remembering all that have gone before us.  I say special intentions and prayers for each one who is placed in my heart that they are living peacefully in the after life.




Thank you Lord for keeping your children safe and in your loving care. :)