My 37th Birthday!

We enjoyed the last week of the year with Lois and her family.  They came Christmas Eve and stayed till the morning of the 28th.  One afternoon we invited some families to meet us at the church to run around and play games. 


Our friends, the Mayfields, met us there and brought lots of fun outdoor toys.  We played outside till the sun went down.




I finally did the first coat of white paint!  Need to do another coat and paint the door.  And then paint against the trim with the gray color.


We had fun hanging out, watching movies, and eating treats--a perfect way to enjoy the last week of the year!

The Heits left for Mississippi on Wednesday with Clark and then we took off the next day at 2:41 am! We spent the New Year holiday with my sister Lena and her family.  Deb and her family also met us there. I woke up originally at 1:25, and actually felt fine, but decided that a little more sleep would be good.  So we finally got up at 2:15.


We made great time and arrived just before 3pm.  We met everyone at the Mississippi River museum.




Their downtown is so cute!


That night we drove over to someone's house that has awesome Christmas lights synced to Christmas music.  We really enjoyed that.






When we arrived back at Lena's we enjoyed a hot chocolate bar! I did a hot chocolate bar and did not bring enough hot chocolate for the whole weekend.  I was really surprised that whenever hot chocolate was made, people rushed the station and it was quickly gone!  It was really fun to have one.




You can't tell, but Elden lost a tooth at Lena's!


I turned 37 while down South!  I had a nice birthday.  I love having my birthday in between holidays.  Usually I'm with lots of family and there is a natural break in the everyday schedule.  I loved getting many birthday wishes from family and friends.  I felt very loved.  I feel so blessed for this wonderful life.


And bunny ears for good luck! On my way to 40!


We forgot to bring my presents so Lee and the kids drew pictures and wrapped them up.  I unwrapped the drawings to see what they got for me.  Deb and Lois were helping Lena organize a craft/play room and found this massage book.  It was kind of funny.  And funny that the lady is duct taped.  They also found some old notes and letters I had written when I was in middle school. Crazy!


Some of the kids received a face paint job, if you hadn't noticed!


Shanna's was a bit creepy.  But she loved it.


After my birthday celebration we headed to the nearby military park and saw an old battleship from the Cival War, the U.S.S. Cairo.




Cal was able to visit General Pemberton's headquarter's for his Citizenship in the Nation merit badge.






One of the kids took this picture.  It looks kind of fake with the lighting.


That night the married adults all went out to eat at the Walnut Hills Restaurant. They had a fun family style menu.  All the food was put on a lazy Susan, so we could pick and choose what we wanted.


The catfish was really good, and so were the beans and the rolls.  There was fried okra, collard greens, coleslaw, and green beans.  For dessert we received a small serving of yummy pudding and cake.  Too bad the picture is fuzzy..... Later that night we watched another movie and had ice cream.






Another year gone, and another one to look forward to!