My Christmas did not really begin until New Years eve when Jason, Kendra, Kinsen, Jaybin, Stephanie and Daniel, Steve and I (along with Steve's Mom, Dad) gathered in the Great Smokey Mountains. Steve and I rented a 4 bedroom/bath log home for a week on the top of a mountain overlooking a gorgeous valley. We opened gifts, played games, and more games....the kids taught us "Poker", knowing that their parents do not play any gambling games...so they disguised it by calling it "Rekop" (which is Poker backwards). We actually enjoyed the game... Hummmm. We all went into Pigeon Forge to a place that is called "Magic Quest". We had so much fun - it took us 2 days to complete our quest. The children had magic wands and had to solve puzzles, fight dragons, talk to gnomes... I had never seen anything like this before. It was incredible. We had so much fun
The kids all left today (about noon) and Steve and I are sitting here in the great big log cabin, with the fireplace lit, holding hands, talking about the wonderful week we had with our kids.
Sara and Chris left for Africa the day we arrived in Tennessee. She is having quite the cultural shock. For those of you who wish to follow their medical missionary trip, her blogsite is http://www.grantworley.com/ and then she has published her pictures (and there are even some of her kissing a giraffe) at http://www.masonworley.com/ We missed the Worley family terribly - but they are so happy. Sara said that Chris is loving it so far...he always wondered if he was called to be a missionary doctor...this will be very interesting to see if they also go to the mission field. I know that our youngest daughter and her husband want to go into missions. They are currently paying off Daniel's seminary schooling and then I figure they will go. It would be terribly funny if both of our daughters went on the mission field as I always told the Lord he could do anything with my children but send them overseas!
