A Quick Bit of Family Time

The Elf had a college trip to take in Georgia, so all the ladies of the family piled into the truck and headed South -- and what a lovely direction to travel that is. We all kept remarking how wonderful it was. What can we say? There's something so wonderfully unique about the South, and we're ever so proud of it.

After the trip, we were able to spend just a few days in Florida, a whirlwind of a time with Mammy and Pop and then a bit eastward back at home! Our only regret was that there was simply no time to squeeze in a time to get to BeBe and Poppy's before Thanksgiving! :(

Speaking of Thanksgiving, though, we had a miniature one while in Tallahassee with Grandma, Mammy and Pop, Aunt Rufus and Uncle Buddy, and Mr. Paul and Mrs. Sheila. (When Mr. Paul walked in the front door, Emmy asked Mammy who he was. "You're mom's godfather," she replied. "He's GOD?!?!" Emmy answered, a bit on the astonished side. ;D)

  

The next night, Pop favored Mom's rather un-subtle hints at how long it'd been since she'd had a fish fry, and we got to visit with his side of the family. It was all delicious, but after Thanksgiving one night, Olive Garden for lunch, and a fish fry the next, they almost had to roll us home!

Friendship...

is a very sweet thing!

We've been so well taken care of by our church family back home, receiving care packages from each caregroup regularly.

And, we had quite the surprise when one arrived from the Atlanta church! These gifts have been such blessings.

Of course, nothing beats having friends send themselves! Our pastors and their wives came up to Maryland for the SGM Pastor's Conference and were able to stay with us. It was so nice to see some familiar faces...

And so hard to say goodbye to them! Until next time!

Bonfire!

Corn Maze

We had something of a miniature family reunion while Mammy and Pop were up here, for Aunt Rufus and Uncle Buddy were visiting Aunt Lee and the family in Virginia. We met up on day for a fun outing to a farm that had a corn maze and other autumnal activities.

Of course, we had to take pictures before even leaving the house! (One cousin is, sadly, lacking; Paul didn't feel up to all the estrogen that day. And who can blame him?)

Our first activity upon arriving was a "hay ride" ... of sorts. ;-)

It ended at their pumpkin patch which proved to be another picture-perfect set.

Then came the corn maze! We, unintentionally, split into teams and had a fantastic time wandering about through the pathways. Of course Team Males chose the easy and more amusing way out -- watching all of us womenfolk wander around like chickens with our heads cut off from the look-out.

Our favorite aspect of this corn maze was the treasure hunt quality it had. Before entering, each person was garnered with a piece of paper with a list of places that had to be found. Each station had an activity or puzzle to figure out. If the wanderer found each station, he received a prize at the end. Not an easy feat, I assure you.

After the corn maze, everybody enjoyed the other games at the farm.

And we all had fun feeding corn to the goats! :)

Such a great day!

Mammy and Pop's Visit

Mammy and Pop, self-avowed leaf-peepers, came for a visit in October, and as opposed to the unfortunate case with BeBe and Poppy, we were able to grab some pictures!

We took a few outings to some local trails to enjoy the brilliant colors, mysteriously undocumented in these pictures...

Trust us, though. The leaves have been absolutely stunning in all their autumnal radiance (especially for Floridians).

Last year Mammy and Pop stayed in and toured the Amish country -- and promptly fell in love with it! So they took us over to Pennsylvania to experience it for ourselves.

Far from disappointed were we! It was a beautiful picture of rural America and, in a sense, a peek into the past!

But if you were to ask Emmy, the highlight of the trip was when our buggy ride host handed the reins over to her! Be very afraid...

Snow!

So we knew that the weather here in Maryland would be very different than our typical Florida year, and for the most part, we are excited to experience new seasons and such. However, we weren't necessarily expecting snow in October...

And while it didn't stick for long due to rain and sun, we enjoyed watching it gently fall and the confectioner's sugar-like dusting that covered everything! Speaking of confectioner's sugar, we had a ton of fun making (and eating, of course) some celebratory donuts!

Harvest Party

Covenant Life's youth group hosts a harvest party for children in the area each year, and we had the privilege of attending with this adorable little clown. :)

Also in the party were Pocahontas, Belle, and a colonial milkmaid, plus a few non-costumed people.

We met up with a few of our other friends -- Snow White, Cinderella, and a couple of ninjas.

After a few other staged photographs, the girls were ready to play some games (and earn some candy, too).

Quite a few rooms in the church were set up with a different stations with different games. After the children played, they could collect some prize candy.

Daddy was able to come upstairs and join us after some long study hours!

Though she protested, Emmy Xiang participated in this donut game and shared her reward (the donut) with us!

A fun evening, for sure!