Happy Thanksgiving

We were blessed to have Buck, Jim and Margie join us for our Thanksgiving feast. Here we are just before we dug in! We had plenty of turkey, dressing, squash, sweet potato, macaroni and cheese, green beans, rolls and gravy. Of course, we finished it off with some good pecan pie(made by Daniel) and pumpkin pie(made by Timothy).

Now, it's time for "naps".

Bridge to Nowhere!

 
Thursday, as I was traveling in the upstate, I noticed an old bridge that had been abandoned. I've traveled this way before and never noticed it. Apparently, in some year past, the road had been rerouted and now this old bridge sits only yards from the new road in ruins.

It always stirs me to see structures that are no longer in use and probably could tells some stories if only they could talk. I had to stop and snap a few photos. Notice, there's a couple of trees growing near the mid-span of the bridge.
(Click on the photo to get a bigger view)

Brothers and Sisters

It certainly was a pleasant surprise to get a call from Nevadia telling me that she, Dorn (Peter) and Penny would like to stop by on their way back from a mountain trip. It's been a long time since the three Freeman Clan have had a chance to set down and visit. I only wish it could have been longer. Dorn is looking good after he gave us a scare last year. It makes me realize the importance of having family. I only wish they were a little closer. I miss them all.

Nevadia and I talk about family reunions every time we get together and how we really need to plan one, but that's as far as it gets. It's a little hard to face, but our family is getting older and we need to take this time that God has given us and plant some memories for our children and grand children. We need to plan time together!

Daniel Looses a Tooth!

Daniel finally looses a tooth! I was beginning to think that he was going to have his baby teeth until he started driving. However, this week on vacation, Daniel extracted one while at the hotel. He's got four(4) more loose, so we may have to get him some false teeth so that he can eat. Of course, he says he will gladly eat ice cream each meal!

We're having a great time on vacation and it's nice to be off work for a week. We've been able to visit some friends and family while we've been away and it's always nice to do that.

I'll post more about the vacation later.

Visit from the Sisters

It sure was nice to have my two sisters visit and help us celebrate the 4th of July. I miss seeing my family and it's always a blessing to have them visit. Timothy and Daniel were so excited with the anticipation of their arrival and had a great time visiting with their aunts. We hated to let them go. We've committed not to let it be so long before our next visit.

I'll write more later...

Daniel's Big Day

Daniel turned 9 on May 1 and I believe he had a big day. He had some friends come over during the day to play and of course, there was cake and ice cream. But, I believe the biggest part of the day was at the end when Daniel and Timothy went down to the lake and Daniel caught a 3 lb. cat fish, pictured above.

A Visit at the Webb's

Here is a picture taken on the back porch of the Webb's home.

A Dreary Saturday

It's been a dreary Saturday this April 5, 2008. Nothing much to do, but sit around the house. The boys did get up early this morning and go out in the woods to explore. I spent most of my morning trying to prepare my Sunday School lesson for tomorrow. It's hard doing it on a bright day outside, but I believe it was harder today even with it overcast and gloomy. All I really wanted to do is stay in bed. Oh well!

The boys and I did get to spend some time together this afternoon playing at Frankies and then going to Sportsman's Warehouse, no doubt, the boy's favorite store. The picture was taken after supper when we walked down to the lake. I snapped a few there at the gazebo. The lake is really full and ready for summer.

The Yellow Belt

He did it! Daniel got his Yellow Belt in Karate today. He is so proud.

I believe he was a little worried, but the teachers are pretty good about not letting you test until you are ready.

We of course had to celebrate by going to IHOP and having Pancakes and Syrup!!

The Freeman Men

We took a trip to Virginia in November. We drove up the state following the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was surpised that the boys actually enjoyed the drive on the parkway, but that probably had a lot to do with us stopping frequently and letting them climb and run through the wilderness. Here's a shot of one of those stops where the boys found some boulders that they had to sit on. Lorrie snapped a few shots while we were exploring. You can view some more photos if you click on "The Virginia Trip" under links.

2006 Lightning Soccer

This was Daniel's second season of Soccer. Here he is posing with his coaches on the awards ceremony. Daniel was given the Diligence Award.. The ceremony was at the Carolina Wings restaurant in Irmo.

Gone Fishin!

Timothy, Daniel and I have found a new past time... You guessed it, we've been fishing. A couple of months ago, we bought a canoe to spend some time on the water and we've taken up fishing in it as well...

Timothy wants to go just about every evening, if we would let him, but Daniel's patience is not yet fully developed. If we don't catch a boat load in the first few minutes, he's ready to ride his bike or something else.

It gets so hot here that we dont' spend to much time out there, but we've grown to enjoy the late evenings and early mornings. So, if you call and don't get an answer, we're gone fishing!

Another view...

 

Easter 2006

This will be a good Easter to remember. Daniel was baptized at New Heights Baptist Church. Daniel prayed to receive Christ when he was 5 but we weren't sure he understood the significance of what he did. When the pastor mentioned that we would have a baptismal service on Easter, Daniel asked if he could be baptized. We let him talk to the Pastor who said that Daniel knew what he was asking for and agreed to baptize him.

A Visit from the Family

It sure was good to have Juanita, Nevadia and Jacob join us for the weekend. We had a good time visiting and catching up on the latest family news. It made me realize how much I miss seeing my family. We again talked about getting together for a family renunion. Oh, how I wish we would.

Soccer Time

Daniel had his first practice today and he was so excited. As you can tell by the picture, he also got his uniform (or costume as he calls it).

The Boys!

Here's a current picture of the boys... I took these pictures thinking I would try to create an elaborate Valentine's card for Lorrie from the boys. However, I never got it completed. So, we just printed off a small one from the computer. The shots above were taken for the project that never got completed..

Oh well, I couldn't get Timothy to smile much anyway...

Mr. Fashion!

Yes, just when I thought it was impossible to instill some sort of fashion into my two sons, Daniel steps forward and proves me wrong. Here he is, adorned with the latest styles....

As I sat at the computer trying to do some serious work, my youngest comes to me dressed as you see him about to go outside to play. But wait.... you may wonder what type of play would require such an attire. It seems that not only does Daniel have a touch of style, but he has a mind for safety. He instructed me that him and Timothy were shooting the "soft" air gun out back and that he was wearing this lovely attire to provide protection when shooting the gun.

Well... if you aren't familiar with a soft-air gun, it's a low powered instrument that shoots a plastic pellet. The gun is certainly not lethal and while the pellet does come out with some velocity, Daniel's coverings were probably a little "over kill" for target practice with plastic pellets. But, none the less, I was proud that he took such a cautious position. That was of course, until I found out the reason Daniel had dressed so cautiously.

It seems that Daniel wasn't shooting at targets..... Daniel was the target. Yes.... his big brother had talked him into standing in for a little practice!

p.s... The soft-air gun has been put in a safe place out of the reach of the boys!

The Big "40"

She made it... Lorrie celebrated her 40th birthday with friends and family @ the Lizard's Thicket in Irmo.

About 35 folks all total joined us to wish Lorrie a happy Birthday. We had a great time and I believe Lorrie was surprised. It was a lot of fun!

December Trip

It seems to come and go all too quickly!

We're back from our Annual December Trip to the Tennessee mountains and I wish I could have stayed another week. It's nice to get away and enjoy the company of my family without having to worry about the day to day issues.

I believe we all had a great time. We stayed at our home away from home, the Music Road Hotel in Pigeon Forge where the pictures above were made. It was mostly a time of relaxing, shopping, swimming and eating. The temperature was cold, but not too cold.

Timothy spent most of his time shopping for "Cowboy" boots and hat. Daniel added to his boots by purchasing a ten-gallon hat. Be sure to catch the picture above. You most likely will get a Christmas Card with the boys and their western attire.

We didn't spend as much time in Gatlinburg as we normally do, but we did get a chance to walk around and the boys enjoyed the standard "chocolate-caramel apple" treat. We did skip the foot long corn dogs and fudge this time, but we made up for it on all the other goodies.

We always have a good time in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg and wish all of our family could join us.

Maybe next year!