No one really thinks too well after so much turkey. David couldn't help but try again and again until he landed it...everyone was out there to cheer him on (and make "owww" noises just watching those crash landings).
Mr. Hunter was there (Aaron's grandpa on his mom's side). Ben came up from Augusta, Ga, and cousin Brian was very complimentary on the brownie trifle I made (Thanks Brian!).
The women got their chance to chat.
This is the square from the Smith family quilt (see explanation below) that Mike and Peggy Fernandez made for their family. On the back, I was able to write my name as being added to the family in December 2004. It was special! Thank you, Aunt Pat, for including me!
There is unconditional love in the air...
This is the Smith Family Quilt that was brought to lunch last week. In 1994, this quilt was given to Nanny Smith as a gift. All of her family made their own squares to be included. The Fernandez family is involved because one of Nanny's daughters Vivian married David Fernandez (Peepaw). The quilt is a beautiful example of such a godly family.
What happened to my husband? Is he a little too bit into the rhythm of the music?
This is what everyone was waiting for. We had more dessert than we had food at this party!
There was also live music. Each brought their own musical instruments, including Aunt Jo, who grabbed a grill top and a wooden spoon to add to the joyous sounds. Peepaw is getting down with his maracas.
Uncle David and David on the bongos, a cousin from Maryland on the guitar, Uncle Tom on the ???, Mike Fernandez on the flute, Aaron also on percussion, Peepaw still hanging on to those maracas, and Victoria is on the keyboard. What a great group.
Peepaw at his finest. We can't wait to get into that turkey! I could go for round #6 after seeing this picture and remembering how good it was.
Family bonding. From left to right: Maria and David (Uncle Tom's), Chelsea (Uncle Corey's), and Brooke (Mike's).
This is the gorgeous house in Durham that we took over. Thanks to Uncle Rick for such great hospitality!

...at Granny's house (my dad's mom in Lucama)! She is an excellent hostess. Her chewies (dessert) were exactly was I was hoping for.
The talk of the party! My cousin Lucas and his wife Victoria will have a new baby girl (Hannah) some time around December 17th. Congratulations!
Jena and her sister Megan (my cousins). Jena is in her first year at State.
Not even a road block would have kept us from Granny's. Aaron got out and moved it so we could get by. He is a responsible guy, I promise.
I was glad to see Aunt Vickie there.

Boston Market! I had been craving it, so Emily agreed to meet me there. I could have spent several days just eating at the restaurants I've been missing...Olive Garden, Carrabas, that Italian one just up from NC State, Bojangles on Western Blvd.

It was great to catch up with Emily. It's good to have friends that know you so well that you can just start back where you left off last time. She is very encouraging. She and her husband Travis just had their 1st wedding anniversary in November. They live in Fuquay-Varina, NC.

Grandma Carolyn re-used our wedding favors (pine needle wreaths) to make these fall napkin rings. She is so creative!
Her table decorations are always beautiful.
Dinner and dessert were delicious! Joey and Sierra were excited to show us pictures of their new house (closing next week!)...and we are happy for them.
This is when Elvis paid tribute to mom and dad.

Would you ever have imagined this?
Entertainment by Elvis, aka Granddaddy

On Friday night after our rendevous in Pinehurst, we stopped by Cary, NC to say hello to our Korean friends Acella and Wansoo. Acella and I have been good friends for about 3 years (she is still a [doctorate] student at State) and we both got married within 6 months of each other. She is expecting a baby girl in April! It was a great 45 minutes to catch up and encourage one another.
She is showing a little bit!

On Saturday night after an extravagant dinner by Grandma (of course), we went out on the town for a double date with my parents. We were stunned by the glamour of North Hills mall on Six Forks...things change so fast! Now there is a very nice outdoor shopping area...complete with a Nestle TollHouse cookie shop. We caught a movie- Walk the Line- and enjoyed relaxing before making the 9 hour trip back to GA on Sunday. The Christmas decorations were fun to see.

We took some serious pictures...











































...and then got a little wild!



Whose idea was this? Of course... Nancy Jeffries.
Auntie Nancy.















































































We were sure that Acella thought we were nuts! Those crazy Americans.

Last year's Thanksgiving was a blur since we were wrapped up in the wedding plans. Here are some reminders of what we were doing this time last year...

This picture was taken outside of Uncle Rick's house right before I was going to leave Aaron to go to Wilson

Grandma works hard to feed her youngin's and grandyoungin's. Aaron is very appreciative!

Looks like both of these men just woke up. Last year we had breakfast at Grandma's (I think to accommodate the Fernandez lunch).

Since Lee County lost last weekend, this past Friday night we could enjoy other activities. Aaron went hunting in the afternoon and came home late evening. We went to a Chinese restaurant and then the famous Albany, Ga date- to Wal-Mart. We looked for Christmas decorations but weren't sold on anything. We came home and watched The Family Man...a clean, good-humored flick. Saturday we slept in for the first time in a long time. After cleaning the house, we moved a new desk into our "office" room of the house. The one we had before was make-shift. Aaron got this one from work because no one had been using it and they planned to throw it away. It's a great desk! It'll hopefully help us to be more organized. We still have some work to do- window dressings, bookshelf, etc, but this picture will give you a better idea of what it's like.
Then...oh, and then...we went on a very nice date. Aaron asked me to wear my black dress and he wore a shirt and tie. We went to a new restaurant- RiverHouse. It was classy and romantic. After dinner we went downtown to get Tiramasu for dessert. It was quite a surprise for me and we enjoyed each other's company.
On Sunday we praised the Lord with other believers and then had lunch with new friends, Eric and Jennifer. They are laid-back and also transports to the area, so we get along well. They have two sweet kids. Sunday afternoon was consumed with Aaron's 21- miler. Even though he was exhausted, he still agreed to go back to church with me. First Baptist had a Thanksgiving service with other churches in the community. We went to Subway afterwards with Michael and Rebecca McNeal, where we swapped engagement stories. It was a wonderful weekend!

We've had an amazing weekend but you can see that it is way past my bedtime for a school night, so I promise to make some posts tomorrow night. Sorry!
Good night.

The question was asked... If you put a pumpkin in water, does it sink or float? (see Oct. 31 post)

It floats!