Hobbiton

 As a "Happy 35th Anniversary to Us!" present, we finally made a long-anticipated trip to New Zealand.  It is fitting that our first visit was to Hobbiton.  It was seeing the scenery in Lord of the Rings that actually inspired us to make our trip.

Hobbiton did not disappoint!  The day was gorgeous (we arrived at the beginning of autumn there), and seeing the set of the movie(s) was just so fun!  There is so much attention to detail!  We especially enjoyed hearing lots of "behind the scenes info" and seeing the inside of two hobbit holes that were just completed a few months ago.  

Bag End

Party Field

Sam and Rosy's home

Hobbit Dollhouse

Enjoying my drink at the Green Dragon

 

Grandchild #4

They say that the third time's a charm.  I missed seeing Rebecca's first child being born because of Covid, and I missed the second one being born because I was parking the car and she came too fast.  This time, Rebecca was induced because of intrauterine growth restriction, and I was actually in the room - though not looking because Rebecca DELIVERED HIM HERSELF before Joseph, or the nurses or I figured out it was happening.  

Rebecca and Joseph did not find out the gender ahead of time, but she felt all along it was a boy, and she was right!  I'm not sharing the name to respect the privacy of the parents, but I will say that I hope he is a man after God's own heart.  

After the delivery, I went home to take care of the other kids and had fun bringing them to meet their new brother the next day.

Their first trip to Sonic for slushies on the way home

The rest of these photos are just some of my favorites taken over the next week as we all enjoyed the new little one!  

2024 Summary

Here is the one and only photo made of the entire family for all of 2024! We had a glorious lake day this summer!  We forgot to make a family photo during the holidays.  Having too much fun, I guess.  

The biggest event of 2024 for us was the birth of our third grandchild in early September - Caleb and Meredith's first.  He is healthy and super cute.  If you see me in person, I have plenty of photos to prove it!  This photo also features a 4th grandchild in the womb!  Rebecca and Joseph's 3rd child is due in early February of 2025.  

2024 started off with a bang as we flew to Greece and worked in a refugee camp on Lesvos for a few weeks.  Working in a refugee camp really stretches us, but I can't say enough good things about working with EuroRelief.  You can read more about our time at camp here.  

Our other trip in 2024 was a camping/hiking trip on the East Coast.  We attempted to summit Katahdin (the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail) but didn't make it due to rain and a late start.  We already have plans to try again before we get too old!  We took some other awesome hikes in Acadia before coming back via Shenandoah National Park.   

During the summer we celebrated a wedding (our niece, Hannah), some birthdays, and a national championship in baseball, and also just enjoyed hanging at the pool and lake and spending time with friends and family.  Terry worked getting several properties ready to rent and sell, and I helped lots of students with their reading! 

All the kids are doing well.  Rebecca and Joseph are still in Richmond but hope to move back to the Knoxville area in 2025!  Nathan is still working in the trauma ICU at UT.  He took an epic trip to Machu Picchu in the spring.  Caleb and Meredith are doing great being new parents!  Caleb took a new job as a tax accountant with Covenant Health.  Noah relocated to Chattanooga and is working full time at Whole Foods and doing some part-time theater work.  

This year we will celebrate 35 years of marriage!  I am having fun planning our epic camping trip to New Zealand to celebrate!  We also have some exciting things coming up that I hope to share more about in 2025! 

Best books:  Wow, 2024 was a bad reading year.  I started so many books that I didn't even finish, and I don't think I read a single fiction book that I could whole-heartedly recommend.  Two good non-fiction books I read were “God of the Garden” by Andrew Peterson (a Christmas gift from Nathan) and  Suzanne Stelling’s “The Woodbine Chronicles” - about her adventure loving her Knoxville neighborhood.  I also enjoyed several audiobooks - listening to lots of celebrity biographies for some reason.  My favorite was "Forever Young" by Hayley Mills.    

But  . . . I started reading the Psalms very intentionally this year.  I read through it completely every month from May to December.  I felt surrounded by the steadfast love of the Lord every time I picked it up (Psalm 32:10).  I plan to stay in the Psalms for my devotional time for the foreseeable future!

Best movie:  this may be the first year that I remember where we didn’t see a single movie at the theater!  

Best moment:  Birth of our new grandson in September

Best food:  restaurant - chicken pasta in Athens; homecooked - almost anything made by Caleb

Best sporting event:  College World Series where Tennessee won!

Best decision:  NOT to attend the College Football Playoff game at Ohio State

Best celestial event:  solar eclipse in April

Best date:  Hiking the Precipice Trail and e-biking the carriage roads in Acadia National Park

Some of the best things that happened are more personal and/or not for the internet.  I will thank the Lord privately for those.  Some heartbreaks happened, too, and I'm thankful I can take those to God as well.  Being in Psalms so much has reiterated to me that I can share all my thoughts and emotions with a God who cares and understands.  

Holidays 2024

I think I will mostly let the photos speak for themselves this year.  Had a great time making cookies and dog treats with the grandkids, reading, building Lego, playing games - EATING, etc.  Not pictured in any of these photos is our new grandson!  His parents want to keep him off the internet which I totally understand.  Just know that for every photo you see here, there are at least two other photos featuring HIM.  And Caleb and Meredith were here for Christmas!  I just didn't have any photos with them and NOT the baby!

Also not featured is one of my favorite things about the holidays - the music!  Terry and I are both enjoy singing in the choir at church - especially at our Christmas concert in early December.  It really sets the stage for the holidays.  I also enjoy the holidays lunches with friends.  Next year I'll try to get some photos of those so that I can look back with joy when I'm old and gray (or should I say older and grayer?).

 

Heading Back Home

We headed back home over about 5 days via lower Maine, Connecticut, New York, Baltimore, Harper's Ferry, and finally Shenandoah.  Here are interesting sites along the way:

This was one of many political signs we saw, but we thought this one was particularly eye-catching. 

An appropriate license plate

Camden, Maine

We saw lots of Halloween displays, but this was one of the most elaborate!

A line for lobster rolls that we decided NOT to join

Ate some clam chowder in Mystic Seaport, where Terry ate on several business trips

Getting back on the interstate at Mystic, we were rear-ending on the entrance ramp. Turned out to be a much bigger deal than we originally thought. 

The next day we took a turn around Central Park.  Traffic was not bad. 

We stopped for an hour or so in Baltimore Harbor.  It was very pretty/ 

We took a hike above Harper's Ferry.  The leaves were not quite perfect yet, but it was still pretty.  

We met up with Ann and David at Shenandoah. 

The guys hiked Old Rag Mountain - the "most badass hike in Virginia."  

Ann and I just went on a drive along the parkway.  The high was in the 30s, and I was just tired of being cold. I'd love to return in better weather.