Hunting Island - Day One

Our friends once again, as a gift to us, volunteered to look after Phillip for two days. So we took them up on it and headed out a few days later. We've always wanted to visit the State Park on Hunting Island and this was our last chance. We were not disappointed! As you'll see from the pictures, we camped, (which was as wonderful as the romantic dreams I had of camping -- so very good), Curt did some fishing, and we took two long walks on the beach. The park was so beautiful - the pictures just do not do justice.

Our long walk the first afternoon we were there.

Remnants of a wooded area which looked really beautiful.

Campfire dinner - never tasted so good!

The Palmetto.

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. "
Psalm 19:1

A Few of My Favorite Things...

wearing Mommy's shoes,

brushing my teeth,

having books read to me,

playing with the cats,

pushing my car around,

being a fireman,

and of course soaking up our 30 something degree weather!!

Do I have a tan yet?

And the winners are...

Pretty Much Everybody...

Abby & Tim - Muffy
Jonathan - Pip, Hatchette
Matt - Humpty (sorry, Phillip's not sure about naming his pets after his meals...)
Mom - Henriette (what would happen if this name was rejected???!!!)

Go down to the pics of the chicks to see what name applied to what bird.

Winners can come to receive their prize. Anytime.

Phillip John presiding.

Three More Chicks to Name!!!

Curt bought three more chicks a couple days ago to keep our two company.

An Amerocana, (Henriette)

a Barred Rock, (Humpty)

and a White Rock for something different. (Muffy)

It's taken them some time to get used to each other. However now they all get along quite well - although we have noticed that our first two still stick together.

Phillip's New Chicks

The long cook in the oven...
Phillip can't wait, although he had no idea what he was waiting for.

Sunday evening the first chick pipped.

By Monday morning the second chick pipped. Worried that these chicks might not make it we took it upon ourselves to help them out a little. We chipped away the shell around the air cell. Very shortly thereafter our first chick emerged. Since it was a success we did the same to the other one and happily got the same result.

The first chick "hatching" (how will Phillip ever eat eggs again?!).

The second one taking a much needed rest.

This was the second and last of twelve eggs to hatch. (9 infertile, 1 died before hatching)

(On the left we have Hatchette, on the right, Pip)

Aren't they cute? The black one is a bantum, which is why it is quite a bit smaller.

HELP!!! Phillip is taking suggestions for the names of his chicks. Winner is entitled to a hug and kiss from Phillip (some restrictions may apply).

Happy Birthday Dear Husband!

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow... I Love You!

We give thanks every day that our Heavenly Father gave you to us. First, as a husband to me and now as a father to Phillip. We love you! ~ Jen & Phillip

Ruth Comes to Visit Us!

Ground-Breaking for the New Seminary Building, February 17 - on a damp, cold winter day (cold for SC), just before Ruth got here. This would be Ruth's worksite for the next week, grinding back the mortar between the bricks on the face of the building, and cleaning bricks that had been torn off the front of the building, which would be used to make the window openings smaller.

We took Ruth out for an afternoon to experience the downtown area of our beautiful city, Greenville. At the end of our walk downtown, we came to Reedy River Park.

What the writer was thinking of with the song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow..." (actually, it was some of Ruth's hair in front of the lens)

At the top of Reedy River Falls

Erosion can be pretty

Early daffodils

The day before Ruth left, we went to J. Verne Smith Park (on John A. Robinson Lake) for a picnic. We didn't realize the park closed at 6PM, but the kind rangers left it open a little bit longer. We had a good bbq and a wonderful time.

Phillip is ready to chauffeur Ruth back to Canada...

Visit Ruth's Blog to see her side of the story.

Our visit to Biltmore Estate.

Our chance to visit the Biltmore House (finally!) came by way of the Seminary on January 26. They had a good group rate that we got in on. It was just for the afternoon which only gave us enough time to quickly see the house. It sure was worth every penny though!

For those of you who like a little history:

Biltmore House took six years and 1,000 men to build; it opened its doors on Christmas Eve in 1895. With a 390-foot façade, the House has more than 11 million bricks, 250 rooms, 65 fireplaces, 43 bathrooms, 34 bedrooms, and three kitchens, all of which are contained in over four acres of floor space. The massive stone spiral staircase rises four floors and has 102 steps. Through its center hangs an iron chandelier weighing 1,700 pounds and containing 72 electric light bulbs.

At its completion, Biltomore House was one of the most innovative and technologically advanced homes in the world. Imagine indoor hot and cold running water, elevators, indoor heating, a fire alarm system, refrigeration, electric lightbulbs, and 10 Bell telephones - all unheard-of luxuries at the turn of the century.

Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina

January 23-24
When our dear friends offered to babysit Phillip for two days, we
spontaneously decided to head toward the mountains for a two-
day trip on the Parkway. We started out on the Parkway at
Roaring Gap/Cherry Lane, heading west toward Asheville.




The Parkway runs along the top of a continuous ridge, often making for
beautiful scenery on both sides of the road. Here is the beautiful scenery of my wife with a marvellous vista behind.










We stayed in a great hotel/resort at Blowing Rock, in the VIP suite due to terrific off-season discount rates.

For supper, we went out quite late to a nice little restaurant in downtown Blowing Rock.
The next day was also wonderful, except that we came across this sign much too often... Unfortunately, most of the parkway was closed the next day due to ice and snow patches. Nevertheless, the trip was scenic, as we still drove on many mountain rodes all the way to Asheville.