It's looking like Christmas.

 The ice skaters are zooming so fast they're downright blurred.

 The downtown lights are festively lovely at night. 

Families are invited to be photographed here in front of the Community Hall, Robert Mills architecture.

 Christmas party: the impromptu ladies' hand bell choir performs in the famous Fellowship Hall venue. 

Sounded pretty good, if I do say so myself.
Carnegie Hall is the expected next stop.

 Singing Christmas songs that some knew, and some didn't.
Apparently two knew this one.

And the highlight of the evening, *drum roll* the Memory Book presented to my Secret Sister!
She loved it, even if Ann is not spelled with an "e" in her name.

Things I’m Thankful For

Unexpected photo delights given me for my memory books
Elections won’t be for ever.
My citizenship is in Heaven.
My town having lower gas prices than the official national low
No howling from my dogs in the neighborhood cacophony after a siren
Cheesecake burritos
Cool nights after the heat of summer
That only one of my two dogs would sell her granny for a treat  :-)
All my hiking buddies
New friends on online forum, and keeping my cool with critics
The achingly beautiful Mennonite a cappella song, “Home”
Muizenberg’s weekend flea market
The now-apt song, “What Though Wars May Come”
Sandals that last in comfort through four miles
South African prison flashback of sitting in a school, hearing my dad preach
Scrapbooking family memories
 Behind the walls, a dorm door being fixed in answer to prayer
A happy story of a stranger rescue in the news
My pastor and his wife both receiving God’s healing
The Duggars and their nineteen kids
A clean house
A gorgeous green elm tree in the midst of orange, red, and yellow trees
A new friend
East Indian cuisine
My one remaining uncle
God not allowing Sandy to ravage South Carolina
Armchair world traveling--no expenses
Beautiful orange, red, and green ornamental pear trees
A friend’s release after ten years
My niece’s engagement to a godly man
God’s love for all of us
Jesus’ substitutionary death so that I don’t have to go to Hell
International festivals with delicious ethnic foods

                            Joy, Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving Gathering 2012

 Ah, the FOOD. 

Wonder if anybody'd notice if I lightened the table's load a wee bit early?

Tom reads some Scripture after siblings had spoken of their thankfulness, 

especially for their mother.

 Stephen and his family.

 Jim and Lydia's family, plus Hunter.

 Grinning for the camera with Tom and Aunt Katherine.

 Becky and her sweet mom.

 

Lydia, Bill, and their family, plus one soon-to-be family.

Ahh, the real food--DESSERT!

"Only God could make a tree."

Bible Memory Association reunion 2012

 

Suppertime at BMW in Lawrencville, Georgia.

Steve Haynes, Amy Smith, and two of her daughters, Jill and Jana 

 Sitting room in guest house where we stayed.

 One of the guest bedrooms

 Jackson Hinton, quoting his alphabet verses so admirably

while his adoring grandparents watch. His mom and grandmom also quoted many verses for us.

 

Group picture at the end of the reunion 

"What am I bid for this South African elephant?" 

I gave the history of his missing ivory: 

he lost it in a fight over a girl elephant.

The Creation Museum, Petersburg, KY

Grace on one of  the swinging bridges in the Botanical Gardens. Tip--don't go when there's a group of rowdy teenagers on the bridge.

Evangel, after she figured out why my camera kept telling me to go in the direction of the arrow. Oh, the Panorama mode.

The zebroids in the Petting Zoo. 

Not too sociable if you don't have feed to give them. 

If you do, it's scoop and turn away, ungrateful wretches.

The bookstore on the inside of the museum. Hopefully the winged monster hovering over the door doesn't spot me as I slink under him.

Skeleton bookworm (that's what can happen when you're so engrossed in reading that you forget to eat!), ignoring the ape, who is NO KIN to him. Couldn't figure how to turn this picture.

Our group scattered among the scary beasties. There were quite a few Mennonites there that day.

Dining on the porch of Noah's Cafe and catching up on news of the family. A Kenyan family Paul talked to were excited to learn that he is the chalk art evangelist they watch on Family Television in their country. What are the chances...?

Archaeology supports the Bible, although listening to evolutionists like the Leakeys, you'd never guess it.

There, now tell me where your teeth hurt, and...OUCH, GIMME MY FINGERS BACK!!

 

An extinct critter in the Garden of Eden. Eating fruit, I presume. 

"Oh, Adam, you're the only man for me...."

 

The choice that changed mankind forever.

 

Isaiah, Moses, and the Psalmist make a cameo appearance.

Even Methuselah took out time from his busy schedule to drop in. Do heed the prohibition on the fruit. Remember Eve, above.

My favorite section of the museum, Noah's Ark.

They are building a full-sized model in Hebron, KY, 

as part of a theme park. 

Storage rooms. And maybe the game room, who knows?

The family/dining room.

A fossilized clutch of segnosaur dinosaur eggs. Omelet, anyone?

Earth's time of confusion: the Tower of Babel.

The Lone Ranger rides again, astride her trusty steed, Gomer.

Lovely blooms in the garden. Not Eden.

A shot of the front sign as we leave. The dark sky is what was left of a heavy downpour (with hail) and nearby tornado. I had finally tired of waiting for the downpour to end, and took off my sandals, dashing for the car. Of course by the time I drove the car out of the parking lot to pick up Grace, the rain had ended and instead, people were pouring out of the museum and into the parking lot. The hotel was two states away, but only a little over 16 miles. However,  due to a tractor trailer wreck on I-275, we sat in the car for at least two and a quarter hours before a couple of trucks moved sufficiently for us to sneak out and hit Exit 16. But the wait wasn't that bad--the temperature had dropped from the 90's to the 70's; we had books; and there were peaches left over from what we brought up from SC.

We had already passed an accident shortly before this, that had a pickup hanging over the concrete barriers. We were very thankful to the Lord for the storm which kept us out of harm's way.

You know you're in the South when you see a water tower with the word "y'all" on it!

  

First stop on our Kentucky trip

 Our friend's mountain house.

 Oops, no--got the wrong house. THIS is the right one, on top of the mountain.

 Looking out the front door at the garden.

 Supper on the deck with breezes blowing, and a gorgeous view of range after range of mountains.

 My main men in North Carolina: Cody and Aussie. 

Cody was inherited, and not a grateful ward, scouting the mountains on his own for the first few weeks. Aussie got a last-minute stay of execution at the local animal shelter. Together they form the citizen's watch for the neighborhood. there was a huge rattler (I think it was, spotted nearby recently.)

Looking out from the back porch. 

Hummingbirds come frequently to sip at the glass, as well as other lovely species of feathered visitors.