Story Behind the Ornament #1

This is a brass ornament representing George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. The year that we visited Mount Vernon it was very hot and you didn't want to stay any place very long since nothing was air conditioned. It was so hot that the guides were not encouraging anyone to linger very long on the tours. I know that I passed up getting an ornament that day due to it being so hot and not wanting to stand in a line to purchase it. I had always wished that I had gotten one as I try to get something to represent trips to special places to hang on our Christmas tree as a memory. Well, some years later when Nathan became a US-2 missionary in the Washington DC area, I told him that if he ever went near Mount Vernon that I would like him to get me that brass ornament that I had passed up (or at least one similar). (Southern Baptists assign people interested in becoming career missionaries to different posts around the country and the world for two-year periods of time. This lets them see if they are "really" interested in becoming a missionary full time. In the United States they are called US-2ers and on the foreign field they are called Journeymen.) One Saturday morning Woody and I were getting ready to go to Melany and Wade's and I just happened to go up to Nathan's room for something before we left and I got a VERY big surprise. Nathan jumped out from behind his bed and about scared me to death (Can you imagine my reaction?)! He had made a surprise trip home and had snuck into the house during the night. He couldn't sleep in his bed as it was a water bed and the heat was turned off since he wasn't at home to use the bed. He had slept on the floor between his bed and his dresser. I was so glad that I had gone into his room at that time or we would have left without knowing that he was there and would have missed part of his visit! As it was he got up and got ready and went to see Melany and family with us. He gave me this ornament on that surprise trip. So this ornament has a double memory: first of our trip when the four of us stopped to tour Mount Vernon and second as a memory of Nathan's surprise trip home to see us. One of the funny things about Nathan's visit that time was that he prayed that we wouldn't notice his car parked in front before he surprised us. I did notice the car...a very distinctive Ford Mustang...but my thoughts were when I saw it that the neighbors across the street had someone visiting who had a car almost identical to Nathan's. And, went about my business never dreaming that it was Nathan's...so I guess Nathan's prayer was answered as he surprised us before we realized that it was really his car! Well, that is just one of many stories behind the ornaments on our tree.

Woody went to the library this morning. I slept in for a change...I think catching up on some much needed sleep. I was sleeping so soundly that I didn't hear the workers tearing down Nathan and Kathy's back porch. Hail damaged the roof of their porch and the work was started today to replace it. I managed to get started on wrapping gifts...still a lot to go...but each one done makes the job a bit smaller! I will be so glad when I can see the top of our guest bed once again. Right now it has wrapped gifts from AZ on it and also lots of unwrapped gifts along with wrapping paper and gift bags, etc. 'Tis the season!

This afternoon we had all the neighbor grandchildren filter in and out at one time or another. Some played dolls in the tea party area of our upstairs hall, some read, some helped me cook, etc. I am in the process of making a birthday cake. I will go down and make the frosting and then frost it after I finish the blog. You'll find out tomorrow about this monumental birthday for someone in our family!