From our house to yours this Christmas 2013, May the music
of Christmas fill the air!
. We have enjoyed hosting our friends at our
annual Sing and Eat ;the cantata at New
Hope was performed; we have enjoyed The Promise
at Live Oak First Baptist; several Christmas gatherings are now behind us. Now we sit back, relax, and let Christmas
happen.
We have been gifted with
another good year together. We greeted
2013 on
a post Christmas cruise with Rob and Traci enjoying swimming the Caribbean and touringSt. Thomas , Puerto Rico, and
Grand Turk we
thoroughly enjoyed being pampered by the staff of the Ziederdam, spending long
afternoons in the sunshine, and participating in every trivia contest that came
along. After coming home it was easier
to get through the doldrums and cold days of January and February!
After the Easter cantata and spring share day atNew Hope ,
we headed to East
Tennessee to enjoy time with friends and family, watching the wild turkeys and deer, enjoying
the good mountain music, and relishing springtime... We have gained many new friends through our
“church away from home” Shady Grove. The
redbuds and dogwoods were especially beautiful this year and we enjoyed time
with cousins in Rogersville, Kingsport , Knoxville and Oar Ridge
while we were “in the hollar.”
After celebrating Leila Kate’s fourth birthday, We came home in May to warm weather, gardening, lawn mowing, and pool time. In late May we returned toGreenville to celebrate Ava Grace’s seventh
birthday at one of her (and her Uncle Rob’s) favorte places, Chucky Cheese.
a post Christmas cruise with Rob and Traci enjoying swimming the Caribbean and touring
After the Easter cantata and spring share day at
After celebrating Leila Kate’s fourth birthday, We came home in May to warm weather, gardening, lawn mowing, and pool time. In late May we returned to
In June we did crafts for VBS at New Hope .
We had an excellent Bible
School with a really good
turnout. We made lots of fun things with
the kids and enjoyed our time spent with them.
The day after VBS was over, we flew out of Valdosta
to our annual roadtrip
which was through the state ofUtah . We flew into Las Vegas ,
rented a car, drove over to Glen Canyon Dam and entered Southern
Utah . By the time we walked
back into our back door at home, we had traveled 7200 miles seeing seven national
parks, a slew of state parks, Mormon monuments, mountains, the great salt lake,
alfalfa fields, lavender fields, buttes, hoo doos, arches, Klep also got to do research on genealogy at
the library in Salt Lake City. We also
slipped up into the edge of Idaho .
We came home after a stop inGreenville in early
November to get ready for
Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving was full of fun, laughter, sharing, food and all the joy that surrounds the day. Although it was too cold to sit outside on the porch after dinner, everyone did get out for a resounding round of limbo using some of our giant bamboo.
which was through the state of
We came home to summer in all of its
glory. July slipped into August when we
made a quick trip to Greenville and East Tennessee , returning home to finish out August and most
of September. The Rock Hill School
was having a reunion the 21st of September, so we packed up and
headed back to the hills for an extended fall stay. The highlight of our trip was when Kevin and
Reagan brought the girls to East Tennessee for
the first time. It was a delight to see
them run up and down the hills and climb into the loft of the old Klepper
barn. Fortunately the ghost of the
headless man did not make an appearance while they were there. We also enjoyed catching up with all our Tennessee kin and friends including a cousin get together
at Fall Creek Falls
State Park with some of
my Hendrick cousins. Sadly, we bid goodbye
to our dear cousin Beth.
We came home after a stop in
Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving was full of fun, laughter, sharing, food and all the joy that surrounds the day. Although it was too cold to sit outside on the porch after dinner, everyone did get out for a resounding round of limbo using some of our giant bamboo.
After all the cars exited the driveway the day
after Thanksgiving, we switched gears and headed full
steam into party preparation for our “Christmas Sing and Eat.” Now the end of the year is right around the corner and we can reflect on life.
Funny, we never really thought we would be this old in years, but we find that the age really doesn’t mean a whole lot. It just means that we have a whole lot more memories, experiences, and friends than we did a half century ago when we were just becoming adults. It also means that we’ve seen a whole lot of good and a whole lot of bad. We’ve experienced a whole lot of joy and a whole lot of sadness. But, all in all, we find ourselves incredibly blessed in all of it. The older we get, the more wisdom we find in the tenets of the Bible. The older we get, the more we understand how absolutely glorious these lives we are given to
live are. We pray rich blessings of joy and fulfillment on all of you. After all, isn’t Christmas about the greatest gift of all? The ultimate gift of Love wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
steam into party preparation for our “Christmas Sing and Eat.” Now the end of the year is right around the corner and we can reflect on life.
Funny, we never really thought we would be this old in years, but we find that the age really doesn’t mean a whole lot. It just means that we have a whole lot more memories, experiences, and friends than we did a half century ago when we were just becoming adults. It also means that we’ve seen a whole lot of good and a whole lot of bad. We’ve experienced a whole lot of joy and a whole lot of sadness. But, all in all, we find ourselves incredibly blessed in all of it. The older we get, the more wisdom we find in the tenets of the Bible. The older we get, the more we understand how absolutely glorious these lives we are given to
live are. We pray rich blessings of joy and fulfillment on all of you. After all, isn’t Christmas about the greatest gift of all? The ultimate gift of Love wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
Love
to you all!