A Happy Reunion with Texas

You probably thought we had a little trip back to Texas after reading the title of this post, huh? Well, I am sad to say we did not go back to Texas to indulge in wide open spaces and great Mexican food, but we did have some Texas visitors the week after Christmas!!!!!!!

Dad and Debbie, aka Grandad and Dee Dee came to see us for a few days. It was great!! They stepped off the plane in Philadelphia and into Independence Hall. We took the last tour of the day.

Independence Hall is surprisingly small. The buildings of downtown Philly tower over it. We got to see the two main rooms of the Hall. This was the first.....the courtroom.

And this was the second, and most recognized. The room where the Declaration of Independence was signed. And that chair in the back was the very chair that George Washington sat in!!



This is the place where the Declaration was read in public for the first time.

And we got to stand there and pretend we were patriots!!!!!!!!

In front of Independence Hall, there is the statue of G. Washington in the background, but the lighting was really bad because it gets dark here at 4:30 in the afternoon!!!!!!!!

After Independence Hall, we made the short drive back to our place and we exchanged Christmas gifts. Jaron was SO excited to get his new Orca and Northern Right whale. And Grandad and Dee Dee were so impressed that Jaron new exactly what they are called!!!!


Jordan is turning into a Littlest Pet Shop junkie. Grandad and Dee Dee made a good purchase ;)

The next day we got up and decided to go to the outlet mall close to us in Jackson, NJ. It was freeeeeeezing cold outside!!!! The wind was horrible! But Dee Dee and I had a blast digging through tubs of kid's stuff at Oshkosh, The Children's Place, the Gap and Gymboree. We found some of the cutest stuff at some of the best prices!!!! Shirts from Gymboree for $3.99! A new coat for Jordan from Oshkosh for $25.....regularly $80!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the cutest hats and shoes and clothes for Dee Dee's newest grandbabies. It was so fun! I wanna go back already!!! Who wants to go with me?!?!?!?!?!

We stopped at the Food Court and had a quick lunch. Then Grandad and Dee Dee treated us to some truffles from Harry and David!!!! Just for the record, we did NOT inhale them all. We only ate one a day and we still have some left. JUST KIDDING!!!!!! We DID inhale every last one of them, and Dad even snacked on them in the back of the car........

After the mall we drove to the Delaware River to see the place were George Washington crossed with his troops. We parked the car and literally ran to the site of the crossing, took a few pictures and ran back to the car because it was so cold!!!!!!


The Delaware is so pretty. And in the spring and summer and fall when the leaves are on the trees it's even better.

Jordan and Jaron kept Grandad busy playing Mancala over and over again. They were so cute!


Wednesday wasn't near as windy, but it was still really cold. We braved the cold and took Grandad and Dee Dee to Hogwarts, I mean Princeton!!!!

This is the entrance to the university.


Princeton Tigers!

I think Dad took a hundred pictures of this building!!!!! It is a theater.....I guess it brought out the inner architect :)


We also discovered another buried canon.........they have George Washington's canon roped off, but this one was over by one of the administration buildings. We had never seen it before.

My favorite part of our entire afternoon was the chapel. It was the first time I had seen it with all of the stained glass illuminated by the sun. So beautiful!!!






We also walked through part of the Art Museum. Jaron wanted to re-visit his mummy friend and I wanted to see their exhibit of the ivories from the Bering Strait. Princeton Univ and the art museum are one of my favorite places to go around here. For some reason I always feel like I step into a different world when I enter the campus. And it is so fun to share it with our family!!!!! We had a great time with Grandad and Dee Dee, hopefully next time it will just be a little warmer!

"On Christmas Day in the Morning....."

We made Gingerbread men for Santa. The kids decorated them and we all ate one, saved two for Santa and then gave the rest to some of our friends. They were yummy!!!!!





Jordan's finished product.......

And Jaron's........

Then, bright and early Christmas morning, the kids discovered the treasure that Santa left on his visit.

Land of the Lost Creatures Imaginext and Crocodile Playmobil........

Brachiosaurus stocking stuffer


"Chicken Soup with Rice" by Maurice Sendak. Jaron reads this book in his class, practically has it memorized.....so I found it, along with three other books by Maurice Sendak in a "Nutshell Library". It's these four tiny books with a box to keep them in...sooooooo cute!!!! And he was so excited that it was in his stocking ;)



A REAL artist's paint pallet.......

And a REAL easel to paint on.

Jordan's first masterpiece ;)

Daddy had been asking for a Spiderman mask for ages, so since he was on Santa's good list, he got one!!!! Just kidding.........guess who the mask really belongs to?!!?!?!?!?!


It was just the four of us on Christmas day, so we kept things lazy and simple. I made chicken and cornbread dressing and I didn't even cook my own chicken. I got a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Jordan wanted mashed sweet potatoes and rolls, and we had a nice, healthy tossed salad.

I wanted some sort of Christmas-y centerpiece for the table, so I found this real pine tree at Trader Joe's for $5. We are going to plant it in a few weeks-probably out in the woods on some of the reserved land so that it won't be dug up for a new strip mall or something stupid like that!

Aren't these plates cute? I found them at the grocery store on sale. I just loved looking at them, they made me happy!

And the balloons hanging above the table were for Jesus' birthday party!! We made him cupcakes and sang to him. It was a very meager way to express such thanks and gratitude for a priceless gift........the gift of Jesus!!!!

There he is!! He got his mask back!


And Jordan wore her new robe and slippers ALL day.........even on our trip to Shady Brook Farm to see the light show.




Christmas isn't complete without Spongebob and Patrick......yeah right!!!!!!!!!

Wouldn't it be nice if we all wished for peace on earth for Christmas? Instead of wanting more clothes or shoes or video game systems, maybe we could find a way to spread peace among the hurting. And by doing so, show what Christmas is all about...a baby being born one night in Bethlehem. A baby that was prophesied about from the beginning of time. A baby that was part Divinity, part human. And ultimately, a baby that became a man who knew all the sufferings of the flesh. He not only knew these sufferings but he comquered them once and for all!!!!! I don't ever want to forget what Christmas means, how deeply personal it is to me. Thank you God, for Your precious Son, JESUS!