James' Birthday

James from kevin whitley on Vimeo.

 
Comment: I made a mistake and deleted the last post; and so, your comments went w/them. Here they are again:
Katie - What a gorgeous tree...and it looks SO cozy in your living room with the hardwood floors and fireplace! My video didn't have any sound, is that right? Now that we've painted the living room and gotten rid of a ton of junk, we are actually going to be able to get a tree this year! I am so excited!
There is no sound to the video, Katie...it's a silent movie.  :)  I would LOVE to see pictures of newly re-done condo. (Candace)
Kristin - I remember Caleb went and cut a tree one year when we lived in Asheville and Mama hated it because it shed its needles so badly all over the living room floor. She made him put it right next to the front door so we could clean it everyday. Thats what is great about a tree like this....beside the fact that it is cheaper. Love the candy canes. Those are my favorite part of decorating. Now you guys need some presents! We will share a video when we put up our tree. Katie, make sure you take a video or pictures when you do yours. Mama and Daddy, you don't put on up do you?
The candy canes are fake...re-used every year.  Yes, the kids are eager for presents!  (Candace)
Mama - No, Kristin, no tree for us. I don't see any sense in it for two old folks and we are not going to be here for Christmas. Besides I am concerned about all of the trees cut down so everyone can have a live Christmas tree. I was very happy to see that Candace's is fake. With all of those live trees gone we will have more polluted air to breath w/an increase in global warming. I wouldn't want that on my conscience.
Well, that was an unusually droll comment, Mama (sounds as if you may have had Daddy's humorous help).  I think you two love birds are spending a little too much time locked away up in your tree house.  (Candace)

Thanksgiving Vaca

We had a full week of activities.  Monday, we had a family from church the Burkholder's over to our house.  Tuesday, Kevin took me out on a date to Ruth's Chris Steak House while Jean and Rich watched the children...and to their delight, took them to Chuck E. Cheeses!  Wednesday, we visited w/Ms Barbara before church.  Since she hasn't been able to come to church for a while, we thought it would be nice to sing some hymns together.  Thursday, we headed to Cumberland Gap and had great time exploring there.  Friday was an entire day at Dollywood!  Saturday, we went to a Holiday Inn, swam for hours, spent the night there, and then woke up to swim some more.  :)

Comment:
Yes, Dollywood is certainly a fun place.  We went to one of the shows...Dollywood's Christmas on Ice, preformed by skaters from Ice Theatre of New York City.  The kids were amazed.  The Christmas lights were outstanding!  That is one of my favorite things also, Meradeth.  :)
I never thought about you not knowing Kevin played the piano, hahaha.  We had a good time w/Barbara.  I'm thankful to live near her again.
The meal at Ruth's Chris was exceptional.  THE best!  I remember getting you a gift card there, Kristin;  it definitely didn't cover much of your meal, did it?  Hahaha!  Thank you for saying we looked nice.  You all are so sweet!  (Candace)

Yes, Grandaddy, I am tired. And you're right about driving back and forth, back and forth.  So I told Mama and Daddy, when are we gonna stop!?  We made four trips to Dollywood and Ms Barbara.  (Travis)

Fall

Afternoon

Early morning...the distant mountain looks fiery red

Back view

Our mountain

The peach colored leaves are my favorite.

Evening

Barrel of fun

Honey's winter coat.  Pretty folige in the background.

Recently got a plow for the tractor

Finished product

 

For some reason, which I am trying to figure out, the blog is not allowing me to write comments on posts.  So, I'm going to add my comment below:

The fall colors were in full spectrum this year which makes picture taking exciting.
Daddy, that barrel provided an entire day of entertainment for the kids.  Like Kevin and I say, it doesn't take alot of money to make a kid happy.

And yes, Katie, I would like to see creative pictures of palm trees.  :)  ---cmh

Cades Cove, TN

Iowa and Tennessee

While Kevin, Allyson, and Kaleb were in Iowa visiting Grandma and playing w/cousins, Travis and I held down the fort here at home.  We went to the zoo, Chuck E Cheese's, played w/puppies at Puppy Zone, visited w/Ms Barbara, a fun HEDGE meeting at church, and a full fantastic day at Dollywood.