Christmas in our new house.

December 25, 2021 | Stacy

The good news is, some two+ months after catching the blog up, I am working to fill in all the missed weeks.

The bad news is, I have forgotten a good many details.

I do remember that one of the best parts is seeing how the kids gifted one another.

Sweet Noelle brought me coffee from Finger Lakes Roasters!

Jeff, Marguerite, Joseph, William, and Victorious joined us for dinner.

Johanna and Katriel got bean bag chairs from Mom and Dad.

Marie and Noelle blessed us with music.

It was warm enough out for a fire.

Mid-day (these photos loaded out of order) we got to watch Encanto. This is my new favorite movie!

Where there is a will, there is a way! We got all of us into the dining room.

Christmas Eve 2021

December 25, 2021 | Stacy

I’ve spent the better part of the last three days shopping or cooking.
Kelly and I broke for a few minutes this morning to be at the mall when it opened.

Marie worked til 2PM, then played some games with her sisters.

Both Kelly and Noelle are here for the holiday.

Church was at 5PM and we were some of the last to leave as we took some photos and visited with our new church family. One of the ladies in our church asked where in NY Noelle was from and wouldn’t you know she has a niece in the area Noelle may have met when they visited her church. God’s world is both BIG and small.

We went home for dinner of amazing snacks.
Veggie tray, shrimp, carmelized pigs in a blanket, spinach artichoke dip, taco dip and beef and turnkey sliders.

And for dessert we had a new recipe. It didn’t look like much and we had our doubts. It ended up being amazing.

Marie and Noelle sang for us.

Operation Christmas Child Processing Center and AHG

December 11, 2021 | Stacy

Nan helped yesterday by getting Marie and Tab to the drop off for their overnight trip to Charlotte, NC. They had a 3-hour shift at the OCC Processing Center there. From 7PM to 10PM the girls helped inspect boxes to verify that the contents met requirements to be sent overseas. They then sealed them and placed in larger boxes for distribution. Each hour they took a small break and heard updates about the ministry in general and the overall progress for OCC this year. The time went quickly and both girls enjoyed the experience immensely.

From there the girls went to a church in the area for the other AHG group they worked with to sleep overnight. They had pizza and chatted late into the night.

They came home Saturday afternoon, tired, but happy.

And they had time to clean up before the Amplify Youth Group Progressive Dinner.

Fountain Inn Parade and “Pak”

December 9, 2021 | Stacy

The Fountain Inn parade was on my calendar, but with our schedule being sooooo busy I was only taking things one day at a time. Since AWANA is done for the season, that wasn’t going to be missed, and Tab planned to sit with her youth group (Johanna was tired after so many busy days in a row).

Katriel’s friend, Paisley, and her mom have a tradition for the FI parade, and we were honored they asked us to sit with them. Thankfully, Mrs. G. had a lot less crazy going on in her world, so she was actually saving a spot while I was still driving people to work!

We got there before the parade started and it was super fun to just have chatting time with Melissa and Paisley.

Near the end of the parade, a company handed Paisley a stuffed frog. Without a beat missed, Paisley handed it over to Katriel. Frogs are Katriel’s favorite animal.

She decided to name the frog Pak. It stands for Paisley and Katriel.
It’s been so hard missing our friend Madeline and Asher. It’s so special to meet an energetic and imaginative friend here.

Simpsonville Christmas Parade AHG

December 5, 2021 | Stacy

So today was a bit chillier, but far from COLD.
Right after church we hurried home, ate lunch, and got prepped for the parade.

Here is a link to the Memorial Day parade Marie, Tab and I were in many years ago in Honeoye Falls.

We walked almost two miles and got lots of smiles.

What fabulous fun.

Saturday the 4th …

December 4, 2021 | Stacy

When I say it was a tight week time-wise, I am not kidding.
My 50th birthday was Thursday and it was only from 5PM-7PM we could do dinner and celebrate…

Because I really wanted to go to the Christmas Tree lighting and fireworks in the Fountain Inn Commerce Park.

I got some yummy peppermint coffee. There was some live music. It was balmy and dry and festive.

After the mayor read from the Book of Luke (really) the tree was lit and then the fireworks knocked my socks off. They were every bit as nice as the ones in Busch Gardens Williamsburg this summer. Just wow.

We headed back home and had some of the most amazing hummingbird cake ever. John made it this year.

South Carolina Thanksgiving

November 25, 2021 | Stacy

Not a cloud in the sky.

So grateful for the Hoyt’s hosting us as they also had guests from New Jersey.

Stewart was at Noelle’s, and Nan was in Webster.

Busy day–Fun day. Soccer and night out in FI.

September 12, 2021 | Stacy

Johanna had a full day. She had a soccer game at noon. (Noon in South Carolina . ) And then had Adopt-A-Road clean up with her American Heritage Girls troop at 3PM.

Village night out rounded out the day.

I love being busy again! But I bet she sleeps tonight!!

After an early dinner, we headed down to Fountain Inn Main Street.

There was a tribute to Fountain Inn Fire Fighters tonight in our little town as a local furniture and electronics retailer hosted “Bike Night.” The Hoyts met us there and Marguerite and I made up for missing our annual 4th of July photo. We were dressed for Patriot Day – so it worked out.

Fourth of July at Busch Gardens

July 5, 2021 | Stacy

We enjoyed an amazing breakfast (grits) before we headed to the park.

we arrived as it was opening with no real touring plan

Sometimes we were a large group, sometimes we were smaller groups.
I found coffee. We bought all day dining (a real treat – every 90 minutes we could queue for an entree, drink and either a side or dessert).