I went on sharing about how I love projects, about how I usually stay up until one, two, three o'clock in the morning working on whatever project I've got my hands on (just because I love it that much) and about how I'm becoming notorious for doing some kind of crazy (and by crazy I mean COOL) project around the house the night before I leave for a big trip when I should be packing or sleeping. I mean, it was great. So where is all this wealth of inside info on Janelle? Gone. That's right, GONE! Ugh. And by ugh I mean GGGGRRRRRRRR. You know how when you spend time and emotion and energy into writing or telling someone something and then when you go to do it again it just doesn't have as much in it? I tried (and did) write said blog three times. THREE! I was already compromising by writing a blog and putting up my pictures without the final product ... after writing it three times, find it missing in cyber world three times, and growling three times... I quit. Defeated, I turned off the computer, walked out of the office, and refused to even open my dear sweet blog for days. It was rough, but as you can see, we've made it through. Well, I guess we'll see... if you're actually reading this!
Wow, now that I've got that all out, where do I start? Illinois.
I drove up to Murphysboro, Illinois with my parents the weekend before Christmas and loved the eight days with extended family. It was incredible to rest, sleep in, play lots of games, eat all meals family-style, and many other great adventures. There were many family highlights and adventures like singing at the Christmas Eve service with my mom and aunt - this was a HUGE cliff jump for me. The only other time I sang in public, with a microphone, and knowing others could actually hear me, was at my grandfather's funeral. After the Christmas Eve service we all piled in the van to drive around looking at lights and then went back to open our stocking-stuffers. We opened them one at a time, youngest-to-oldest, and had to answer a question (usually from grandma, she has some of the best questions) before opening. The questions stopped after a few rounds otherwise we would've been up until five or six in the morning still unwrapping! We didn't go to bed until three as it was. The questions were really fun while they lasted. I loved learning more and more about my new family and laughing with funny stories.
We sang happy birthday to Jesus.
The youth at the church my uncle pastors were doing a progressive dinner one night. Our house was one of their stops. My uncle, being Indian, makes some of the best Indian food, so we served up some delicious Indian appetizers while Rhonni, Hannah, and I modeled some authentic Indian Saris.
One day was termed "salon day." Rhonni cut and colored grandma's hair. Grandma colored Aunt Nicol's hair after Rhonni and I cut it. And Rhonni and grandma added a few highlights in my hair with some leftover color. Oh family girl time, it was great.
The day after Christmas was warmer than the 9-24 degrees than it had been earlier in the week, so grandma and I threw on our hiking shoes and hit the road. We explored and hiked around a natural bridge and some trails that were nearby. We also visited Knob Hill where there stands an enormous cross made up of a steel structure and hundreds of white metal panels. Built as a monument of peace, the cross at the summit of Bald Knob Hill can be seen over an area of 7,500 square miles when it is illuminated at night. The valley below and surrounding can be viewed from atop this hill. Built of white porcelain steel panels, it stands 111 feet tall and is 22 feet square at the base. It's arms extend 63 feet horizontally.
The 27th was my birthday. I couldn't have had a better day to celebrate turning 28. Well, having my best friend and husband (not that he exists as my husband yet) along with me would have been great, but it was fantastic nonetheless. When I came out of my room in the morning there were banners hung, balloons all blown up and being tossed at me, party blowers, and my precious family all shouting and wishing me a happy birthday while putting a princess headdress on me. We had pancakes for breakfast in the shapes of snowflakes and snowmen - complete with crunchy peanut butter :) and then piled the girls in the car for a day outdoors. We went to THE coolest park I've been to. A huge castle complete with hidden doors and secret passageways. It was so cool that if I lived there I'd totally have my 28th birthday party there. From there we went to another park where I got to explore through trees, swing on swings, and label a gorgeous tree "my birthday tree." We continued on the road to then find some beautiful cliffs to walk along and other incredible hiking trails to lead us in and around caves, cliffs, streams, and vines. It was just when loaded back into the car around dark that God allowed the rain clouds to burst. How gracious of Him to hold them back for us to enjoy a whole day of outdoor adventure and great fun.
The night concluded with one of my favorite meals, turkey pot pie, a delicious cake Rhonni made, and playing one of my new card games, Morff. What a glorious way to spend the day I turned 28.
Grandma and Grandpa Orr spend part of the winter here with us to get out of the freezing snow-covered mountains of Montana. They had stayed at Aunt Nicol's for a few months and carpooled back down to Florida with us. To help break up the driving, and allow the guys to watch the Cowboys football game, we stopped for the night in Chattanooga, TN. While there grandma, Rhonni and I went up Lookout Mountain and hiked around the trails while watching the sunset. It. Was. Beautiful. and so much fun. We are such outdoor girls and its such a rich blessing for me to enjoy these adventures with them.
It was a glorious trip indeed.
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