We are excited to have some of our kids and grand kids come to visit us this month. It will be our Christmas, just not on the actual Christmas Day. Our son Robby, our daughter Sara and her 3 children will all be here at the same time! Our little 2 bedroom house will be crowded, but that's OK. It is also not childproof so that will be a task to keep the young 'uns out of places they ought not be.

Our son Robby recently joined the Air Force as it awaiting word when he ships out to basic training. He applied to be an air traffic controller as his first choice of job, his other choices were all computer related. He is excited to be going in, and hopefully he will stay at least 20 years. The retirement benefits are well worth the time. Jerry served 6 years in the Army and wishes he would have stayed for 20. Hind sight is 20/20.

On our October trip to the Ark Encounter, we visited a little town called Bardstown, Kentucky. We really loved this little town! We found out they really decorate the downtown area for the Christmas season, so we are going back there this month after the kids leave. We will spend 4 days there looking at all the town has to offer... and we will be looking at houses while we are there. Yep, we are seriously considering moving to Bardstown, KY. I told Cynthia she will have to start rooting for the Kentucky football team and all she said was "Roll Tide". Anyway, nothing is set in stone yet and this is just an exploratory visit. We've been looking at houses online and we really haven't seen any that will suit our needs and is within our budget. The bank says we can afford a whole lot more than we think we can afford. We want to have a manageable house payment, not one we have to fret over. Oh well, we will see. I told Cynthia we could just buy a Class A and roam the country again. Now there's a plan! [109]

We survived a week with the kids and grand kids! Jerry's son Robby and his daughter Sara with her 3 children came to visit us. Robby came from Mobile, AL and Sara drove from from Haslett, Texas. That's a suburb of Fort Worth. It was a joy to have them all here and we were so glad to be able to see them. We're not used to having little kids around but it was fun. The baby, Khaely, is just the quietest little baby. Kinsley and Kendellyn were more rowdy and noisy. Jerry had to tell them to be quiet about 2,000 times. We were sad and exhausted when they left, but we may get to see them again next year when Robby graduates from Air Force basic training in San Antonio. We still don't have the date for that yet. Below is a picture of the 3 girls, they are precious. [111]

Well, it looks like we have a change of plans for Christmas. We decided against going back to Bardstown and we will be staying home for the holiday. That's not a bad thing as we do have a tradition of going to Waffle House on Christmas morning. Plus, we'll save about $800 by not going to Kentucky. We're mulling over the idea of a trip back to the Rio Grande Valley next spring if we can time it when our son graduates from the Air Force training facility in San Antonio. We do know that when we go back through Texas, we will be stopping in Rice, Texas to buy a Casita Independence model travel trailer! [113]

It seems we will be spending our Christmas at home this year. Cynthia got sick with the flu and we aren't going much of anywhere. We do plan on going to Huddle House for breakfast then head to church. After that, we will have our Christmas dinner at home... just the 2 of us. That's just how I like it! Well, Roosevelt will be there, too (our Mini Schnauzer). [114]

Merry Christmas everyone!

We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend, may you get all the presents you wished for and may you never forget that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. If you don't know Him as Lord and Savior, to day would be a great day to accept His free pardon of sin. Find out more... [112]