Carah came home with us yesterday after church. We decided that we would watch "The Incredibles". This is not unusual for us when Carah is there, because it is the only DVD that we have that she wants to watch. I had not seen the movie in a while, so I watched it with her. It really is a neat movie. I understand why so many of our kids want to be Dash or Elastigirl. Carah was great as always. This blog is starting to be very Carah and Cate heavy. They have their own blog now. Check it out. There is a link to the page under links.
Our first stop on our night with Carah and Cate was the Rainforest Cafe at Opry Mills Mall. We had a great dinner, but the girls really enjoyed playing in the store beforehand. Carah really liked petting all of the animals and climbing on the rocks in the restaraunt.
Next we went to Build-a-Bear workshop where Carah and Cate busied themselves making new stuffed friends. Carah chose a purple bear with a light Cinderella outfit. She appropriately named her bear "Cinderella." Cate chose a very cuddly light brown bear which we named for her. Based off of my dream of one day becoming a grandparent, we named her bear "Papa Jeff." The girls did not want any help carrying their new best friends.
On our way out of the mall, we just had to stop at our favorite beverage shop. It was just after Christmas so Starbucks still had their peppermint mocha (mine) and peppermint hot chocolate (abbey's). While I stood in line, Abbey had the girls on some chairs not far away. Carah came to me with her beautiful eyes and innocent smile and said, "Misser Jaff, I want to hot cocoa." How could I deny the girl Starbucks? So, here it is world, Carah with her first Starbucks. She could be my own!
We finished off our evening by going to look at the Christmas lights at Opryland and for a ride in the boat. Carah was surprised that we could ride a boat inside a building. Cate was just happy to be on a boat. It was not the same as her Papa's (on the lake) boat though. All in all we had a great time. The girls were great, but that shouldn't surprise you! However, when it was bedtime, Carah wanted Abbey to read her a story and she did not want me to! That hurt my feelings, but her Dad tells me it is the same way with him.
It finally snowed in Tennessee! Abbey, as you might have guessed, was thrilled to have a snow day! I was at Writer's conference all last week in downtown Nashville, so I missed most of the snow. It did snow down there, but Abbey told me that the yard and the house were covered. I have attached a picture of the daughters of our Minister of Education and his wife (who loves the song "Christmas Shoes"). Until Abbey and I have one of our own, we like to steal Carah (left) and Cate (right)away and spoil them. If we can ever find the cord to the camera, we will be downloading some pictures the day C and C spent the night. It was a blast! They are sweet girls! Cate is finally starting to say our names. For a while, Abbey and I were both known as Dah. We are hoping that we will get a really good snow sometime this winter! I thought that when we moved to Tennessee we would be seeing a lot more snow. So far, this just hasn't been the case. I will also post a picture of my writing team from Writer's conference if the EIC remembers to send it to me!
I am sure that no one ever looks at this blog, but I will post with the hopes that someone might actually stumble upon it and have some type of life-changing revelation. We had an excellent Christmas which included time with both sides of our family. We got to see my brother Bobby's new (historic) home. Abbey and I are really jealous because it is a great house and we love older homes. We'll just have to visit more often.December turned out to be one of the busiest months I have had so far at church. On top of that, I was ordained as a minister and I graduated from seminary. Abbey and I were caught off-gaurd by our sentimental feelings about Texas when we were there for my graduation. Life has yet to slow down for us. Abbey and I are now both looking into how we will further our educations. I am set on Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for my doctorate, but I still have to convince them. Abbey knows she wants to do something, but she has not decided yet.For Christmas, I received many great gifts. None were quite so life-changing as my PDA. I was able to retire my notebook in which I listed my daily activities and then distinctively checked them off with a red marker. Now I can sit at my computer or through a boring meeting and come up with tasks. I can even assign them to my assistant! That is so cool! I love it.Abbey has had a hard start at getting back into the swing of things at school. She's an excellent teacher, but I am not sure if she thinks its her passion. We're still praying for a baby, so any extra prayers are appreciated.I have some great pictures to download, but my wife, who is very methodical (in her VERY own way), has somehow lost the cord to the computer. We want to show you our night with Carah and Cate. Maybe this weekend we will get the closet where Abbey's THINKS she might have put the cord clean!
