We went to a meeting last weekend to start to organize volunteers at the church. One of the opportunities presented was a missions trip to Ecuador. The Oldest wants to go, and would probably prefer to go without a parent. I am the more lenient parent. The Husband is still uncomfortable with him crossing the street by himself. But even I am not letting him go to Ecuador without a parent. Luckily, you have to be a rising 9th grader to go.
I talked with the leader of the Ecuador trip and we decided to "train" him to be ready to go in a few years. The Oldest and the Ecuador leader are organizing a missions trip to downtown Greenville. They met about it last night. The trip to Ecuador is a medical missions trip, so they are going to mimic that here. They are going to sponsor a dental health training class for the students at the Third Street School. I'm much more comfortable with him going on this missions trip.

It's time to get ready to do the taxes. Gathering the information is not so bad, except for one part... the inventory. We have to take inventory of the jewelry. Counting all those earrings and beads is just not fun. The rest of the information is not so bad, just collect the statements as they come in.

The Husband met with someone last night to do wedding jewelry. We need to advertise more that he can make custom wedding jewelry, but advertising at wedding shows is too expensive. They charge a lot for the booths.

I've given both boys a goal for the rest of the school year. The Youngest needs to remember things he hears, reads, or does. I read something to him and ask him a question and his answer is always "I don't know. I can't remember." The Oldest's goal is similar. His is to remember the details. I give him and assignment and tell him to skip this part or to write in cursive or something like that. He just does the assignment. He wants to buy a tape recorder to tape me and prove I didn't say what I said. It could never be him!

In Cincinnati we had a lot of wedding preparations. The Boys needed to get fitted for their tuxedos. I got my nails done with The Mom and The Sisters. We had to put table favors together. There was a hospitality room that we had to stock with drinks and snacks. We had the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. Then, hair, makeup and the wedding.

The church was a Catholic Church. It is beautiful with stain glass everywhere. The ceremony was about an hour and 15 minutes. That is something I haven't been able to get used to. The weddings I have been to in NC (except for my own) have all been maybe 15 minutes. It almost doesn't seem worth the trouble of getting all dressed up. I thought it was a beautiful ceremony in a beautiful setting. The Oldest read the first reading. I was very proud of him. He did a great job. He and I got compliments all night. The Youngest would not do anything like that. He handed out the noise makers and New Year's Eve hats at the reception.

The reception also lasted a long time (it seems receptions in NC last maybe 2 hours at the longest). It was a full dinner, dancing, and ringing in the New Year. We had a great time. At the rehearsal and the reception, I was nominated to make the toasts from our side of the family. The Youngest Sister and I talked a few times and worried about what to say and who would say it. I finally got an inspiration while I was still in bed that morning. I think it turned out all right.

So The Middle Sister is married and now on her honeymoon. I'm very proud of the woman she has become. May God bless her, her husband, and their marriage.

ECU lost. They were up the first half, then fell apart for the second half.

So, to continue with our travels. We left from the museum and headed to Gatlinburg. Along the way we saw a small truck flip over. It veered off the side of the road and there was a 8 to 10 foot drop off that side. Both passengers walked away. It was very scary. The Youngest cried some, until with tears in his eyes he said "Punch buggy yellow" and we laughed at him.

We got to Gatlinburg, checked into the hotel and went out to dinner. When we got back to the hotel, the kids wanted to go swimming, so I took them. It was an outdoor pool and hot tub. They both swam in both pools, quickly in the regular pool. The next day we went into Gatlinburg and saw the aquarium and the Guinness Book of Records museum. Both gave us a discount with our home school card. Otherwise, we may not have gone to either. The aquarium was nice. The Guinness museum was a bit cheesy, but The Oldest loved it. They had a display of the oldest living man. He was alive when both Lincoln and Kennedy were killed. I found that interesting. Then we went shopping. Dinner was bbq, then back to the hotel. The next day, we went to The Great Smoky Mountain National Park and hiked to a water fall. It was a paved trail, but it was still raining when we got there and we didn't want to get too muddy. The Husband kept pointing out all the plants, lichen, and mushrooms we saw. I pointed out all the stunning views of the mountains. It was good to have both views. God makes beautiful, interesting things both big and small. Then we went to the art trail. It is an eight mile loop that has over 100 local made art and craft stores. Things from jewelry and leather to paintings and sculptures. Many were closed because it was Sunday, but by the time we were done, we had seen enough. Dinner was bbq again, then we went to The Comedy Barn for a show. It started slow, but parts were very funny. The next day was time to head to Cincinnati for the wedding preparations. But on the way we stopped at the Smoky Mountain Knife Works which they claim is the biggest knife store in the world. I would have never thought we could spend three hours there and not see it all. They had all kinds of knives, swords, pocket knives and kitchen knives. The Husband and The Boys are talking about a trip next Thanksgiving so they can do all their Christmas Shopping there.

I have to stop again. Tomorrow... Cincinnati.

Almost a month since I've blogged! I guess that's December. Even though we stop school for the month, we still have things to do. 4-H project records, achievement records, community service project record and officer recommendations are all due by December 31. Then there's Christmas to get ready for. Again, even though we had Christmas with my family at Thanksgiving, there was still plenty left to be done. Then, there was a wedding to get ready for. The Middle Sister is married!! She had a beautiful ceremony on New Year's Eve. More about that later.

We have not been home for what seems like a long time. It started before Christmas. We went on the 23rd to see the Nutcracker with 4-H. It was just the second act, but it was free. We had a good time. Christmas Eve was spent with the in-laws. We had lunch together and then opened presents. A trip to Great-Grandma's house isn't finished without a walk to the field to see the cows.

We had Christmas morning at home with presents and breakfast. It was nice, but a little rushed. We usually don't go anywhere Christmas day and we like it that way. This year we went to my Mom's house. It was her first Christmas without my Dad, and no one wanted her to be alone. My other sisters both had other obligations, so we went. I wouldn't have had it any other way. We probably won't make it a yearly tradition. It was a nice evening with her. Quiet since we had all ready had the major Christmas party. We went with her to The Mint Museum of Craft and Design the day after Christmas to see an exhibit on art-jewelry. It was very interesting.

I'll have to finish our Christmas-New Year's travels later. ECU is in the Liberty Bowl starting in about ten minutes.