Busy Thanksgiving Week

We arrived back home from our adventures around 5:45 p.m. It was a week filled with fun, family and food. Tuesday night, we left home and headed to Pigeon Forge. Wednesday, after Mich got off work and James and Jerrod got out of school, we left for Stedman, NC. A few months ago there was a rock slide on I-40 near Asheville so traffic has been re-routed. So, instead of taking I-40 through North Carolina, we took I-81 and went through Virginia. That was soooo neat!!!

**Side note - this was my second time to go to Virginia. The first was in November, 1999. After Mike finished his weekend drill in Johnson City, TN after the Marine Corp birthday celebration, I asked him if we could cross the state line since we were so close. He agreed so we crossed the VA/TN state line, took the first exit and turned around JUST SO I COULD SAY I HAD BEEN TO VIRGINIA!!! We had so much fun laughing about it. After we passed under the first exit's bridge, I got excited all over again.

We arrived in Stedman around 8:30 local time (I think; I can't remember exactly). The kids had a blast. Hannah played with Ashtyn, Isabelle, and Gabby while Will and Andrew played with them or the other cousins. (Hannah and Ashtyn are the only girls in their respected families. Since they are only two months apart in age, they really enjoy getting together once a year and playing.)

Thursday, we ate, and ate, and ate. Barbara, Sharon and others out-did themselves again. The food was awesome!! Thursday night we had a scare, though. Mike's Uncle Woody had a seizure while we were getting ready to have a Spades tournament. Thank the good Lord above, he is doing fine and is now at home.

Friday, Rich, Mich, their boys and I went to the movies and saw "2012." It was pretty good. The special effects were good. It was sad in parts but was interesting to see how the director and writers depicted their take on the end of the world. As I watched the movie, I kept thinking that I was glad I know the Maker of Heaven and Earth and that He holds me safely in the palm of His hand. Since He is the ONLY one who knows when the end of the world will actually end, I can rest in the fact that He will take care of me until then. After the movies, we went to Joe and Sharon's and joined the rest of the family for dinner. We had Carolina barbeque, baked beans, cole slaw, chicken tenders, and hushpuppies. It was the first time I had Carolina barbeque. It was good. I prefer Memphis barbeque since that is what I grew up with but the vinegar base of theirs was delicious.

Saturday afternoon, we left North Carolina and headed to Pigeon Forge where we spent the night. We got up this morning and left around 9:30 for home. Traffic wasn't too bad at all, not like it has been in the past. We had sunshine most of the way, then a few clouds. We encountered some misting after Nashville for about 20 miles then again once we got closer to home. It started raining after we got the van unloaded and settled in. We had a great time but it is good to be home.