Our Christmas Story

We had permission from President and Sister Clayton to travel to Conner and Samantha's open house in Leesburg. We left after church on Sunday and drove to Virginia. The rain was pouring down all day Sunday and Monday until we got to the Virginia border.We stopped Sunday night in Huntersville, North Carolina and then drove the rest of the way to Leesburg on Monday. The reception at the Handcock's home was very nice.

Tuesday morning at 7:00 we picked up Wayne, Joy and Zach and headed back to Atlanta for a short visit with us. It is a long drive and the traffic wasn't too bad coming back except for a 14 minute delay for a accident in Atlanta. It took 11 hours but we still had the traditional manger scene (we read Luke and sang the carols as well).  We also had our traditional soup supper, and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Bean soup was easier to fix quickly, but back to potato soup next year.

Christmas morning we opened a few gifts and ate lots of junk.

Thursday we went downtown and visited the Aquarium, World of Coke, and the Human Rights Museum. There was a lot to see.

There was a sea lion performance and later in the morning a dolphin show. They were both good.

Then it was off to the Word of Coke. I felt quite at home there. They have every flavor of Coke from around the world and you can taste any or all of them.

The Centennial Park is quite pretty and there was a lot to see in just a few blocks. Zach was determined to try "The Waffle House", (they are everywhere), so that was our choice for lunch.

We also visited the Center for Civil and Human Rights.

The Peach Bowl was going to be played on Saturday at the stadium the Atlanta Falcons play in so the area was very busy and crowded.

We sang at the "Golden Crest" on Friday morning with the missionaries It was about the only missionary work we accomplished until Sunday. We then went down town one more time (things were getting even more crowded) to see the College Football Hall of Fame.

Max and Julie arrived late on Friday night (long traffic delay in Chattanooga, Tennessee). Saturday morning Max and Julie and the kids arrived at our apartment and we had a good visit with them and the Taylor's. That afternoon it was movie time at the AMC Theater. I was up at 4:00 in the morning to take the Taylor's to the airport and Max and family visited down town.They got back late Sunday afternoon for some UNO card playing, dinner, and cookie decorating.

The boys were not as enthused about the activities.

Sunday was busy for us. I took the missionaries to church after taking Gramma there first. She needed to be there early to play the organ at the Spanish Branch. She also played the organ for our Sacrament meeting, and they even came and got her to play for Primary. Sister Strickland spoke in church. It was her last Sunday in the mission field, and she did a really good job. We will lose her on Wednesday along with Elder Augir who is being transferred. Both of those missionaries have been here since we came to Jonesboro. Monday morning I had to get up early and take the Elders to get their car. The Hammond girls spent the night with us. Max and Julie and the rest of the family made it away by 10:00 and they were on their way to Smokey Mountain National Park.

It was nice to have some family here for Christmas, but now everyone is gone and it's back to the routine and focusing on why we are here. We will have a busy week with two missionary transfers. We do miss you all. Sorry we couldn't make it to the Hall party, but it looks like all that were there had a good time. We thank all our family and friends for beautiful cards, gifts, and phone calls.  I can understand why the Lord provides a little distance between home, family, and the mission field.  We are happy we had the week to spend precious time with part of our children and grandchildren. With a new year coming we all can make some good resolutions and look forward to many wonderful adventures and experiences. We love you and hope the Lord will continue to bless you. Be good y'all and do what is right. Grandpa and Gramma Hammond. (Hope you grand-children are reading the blog, so you don't think your grand-parents have faded into the sunset!)  We love you!