Holiday Season

The colors of the changing leaves are a sign that the holiday season we love so much is being ushered in.

The cool, crisp air…

The tastes of cider, cinnamon, pumpkin pie, and peppermint hot chocolate…

Snuggling up in flannel pajamas…

Baking with friends and family…

Christmas music…

Vanilla and gingerbread candles…

The scent of Christmas trees (or room sprays that reproduce the smell at home)…

…all simple pleasures that we savor.

Now, I'm the type of person that loves Christmas so much that I begin listening to my holiday music in early November. (Yes, the tunes have already been playing in my car and home.) I like to decorate before Thanksgiving, but if I must, I’ll wait until the day after. I love the warmth of a cozy home, great friends, and a toasty cup of cocoa. I love celebrating my Savior's birth. I love that complete strangers tend to be just a little bit nicer to one another at this time of year. I find that you'll see strangers smiling, sharing, giving, and just plain expressing kindness. As in all things, you find what you're looking for.

And I see God's fingerprints all around.

I love the holidays!

Autumn Blessings

We were lucky enough to take a much needed vacation during fall foliage season in New England. We took in a few baseball games, visited many museums, stopped off at the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory, and even got up, close, and personal with an apple cider press.


We tried to settle on a few highlights from our trip, but there were too many to count. So, instead, let me give you a run down of the sights and sounds:

Day 1: Virginia--Arlington National Cemetary, Christ Church in Alexandria, and Mount Vernon-home of our nation's 1st president



Day 2: DC--monuments, archives, and museums galore!



Day 3: Baltimore--Orioles Park @ Camden Yards, Crab Cakes, Ace of Cakes (Charm City Cakes drive-by), and Fort McHenry (I'll never hear our national anthem the same way again!)



Day 4: Philadelphia--Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Graff House (where the Dec. of Independence was written), Reading Terminal Market, Rocky Steps, Boat House Row, Philly Cheesesteaks and a Phillies game (they clinched the div. at that game--such a fun atmosphere)




Day 5: Drive to Boston--Mystic Seaport, Providence, R.I., Plymouth Rock



Day 6: Boston--Freedom Trail, Clam Chowder, and a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park




Day 7: Lexington, Concord, Cambridge (hello, Harvard!), & Salem (they really take the witch trials to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL...)



Day 8: Drive to Maine with stop-offs at Kennebunkport and the L.L. Bean Flagship store




Day 9: Acadia National Park and an authentic lobster dinner--yum!



Day 10: Drive through New Hampshire to Vermont (Oh. My. Goodness. BEAUTIFUL! Our pictures really don't do it justice.)



Day 11: Vermont--Route 100, Ben & Jerry's, Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Red Leaves, Gold Leaves, Orange Leaves, Green Leaves...




Day 12: Cooperstown--National Baseball Hall of Fame



Day 13: Drive to Gettysburg with a stop at "The Office"



Day 14: Gettysburg battlefield, museum & cyclorama



Then, back to California. Whew! Tobie was happy to have us back home. And we were happy to be home with her.