Thursday, January 26, 2017

Christmas in the Smokies

We had so much going on in December. The month absolutely flew by. Here's just a snippet of our Christmas in the Smokies.

As soon as we got settled into our new place, Jennifer and Chad brought us a Christmas tree. They even did their research and bought us the exact same ornaments we had on our tree at home. I was so touched by that! I cried. I tended to do that a lot in the beginning when complete strangers were helping us. 😁

For two days, Papa John's set up a truck in the community center parking lot in Pigeon Forge and handed out free personal pan pizzas to everyone. We decided we had to go since we eat there so often! Afterwards we had a surprise for Easton. 

His baseball team bought him all new gear and his coach was even able to replace his trophy. He called to ask about it and it was the last one of that style because they were discontinued. Not a coincidence! Then one of the player's moms had a surprise for us! They own the Smoky Mountain Opry, so they gave us tickets! We didn't care that it was 8:00 on a school night. The kids needed a break from the craziness!



This dress is in the bathroom!

The show was fabulous and Easton was asked to help out on stage. He did great and even spoke when talked to! I know, a miracle! 😂



Like many of the shows here, a portion of the show was dedicated to remembering Christ's birth. I love that about this area!


A few days later we got a package from  the Papenbrock family. They sent us stockings and a special tree topper.


Austin was a catcher in high school and never wore his hat. It was in perfect condition. That meant so much to Brett, after losing all of his high school memories.


Here's Easton with his new baseball gear.


The boys participated in their first Christmas program at church. Easton is clear to the right.


Talan is on the back left. He looks thrilled. 😂

The children's hospital sent all of the kids in Easton's class a stuffed dog. Easton's is named Chance. He held tight to that dog for the first two weeks. It really helped him, I think. 


One night we were invited to a dinner at Trish's for all of the families and firemen affected by the fire. We played games and had so much fun. The kids had a blast wrapping me up like a present. 😁


Another night we put together a gingerbread house that the school had given us.



It fell apart almost immediately, which was a good chance for the kids to sample it. They gave it a thumbs up. 😊


The kids were also invited to Shop with a Cop. They had so much fun and were very sensible in their choices. I had forgotten how much I dislike riding school buses. Especially for 75 minutes one way! 😂



The last day of school before Christmas break came quickly. The Christmas program was in the morning and then they got to leave after that. We had no idea they would be leaving with us after the program! We thought they were kidding when they said they were allowed to! 


Talan's class:

Easton's class:


Janae swing dancing. She was good!

7th and 8th grade:


After the program I had to get a picture. They loved this. Not really. 😂


On Christmas Eve, we surprised the kids with a trip to Bryson City to ride the Polar Express. We had bought tickets ages ago, and this was the only Christmas present to the kids that didn't burn up. Sometimes technology is a good thing. 😊







Christmas morning at Hemlock was not how we expected to spend our first Christmas in Tennessee, but it was one we will always remember. We were overwhelmed by all of the presents from the school, community and many of you. If you sent us something, THANK YOU! You helped to make Christmas special for our kids when we were not in a position to do so. 




The Eidemillers invited us to go see Moana on Christmas afternoon. Those of you who know me well, know that I hate going to the movies. The seats recline though so it wasn't too bad! I only dozed off once, I think. That's a new record! 😂


We felt so blessed this Christmas season. God has been doing amazing things in our lives! Never in a million years did we think we would move down here, only to lose everything we owned just a few months later. But we have let God guide us every step of the way and it really hasn't been that bad! This is why you need Jesus in your life!!! Without trusting in Him, who knows where we would be. But WITH Him, we are happier than ever. 😊

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