Surgery--- A glimpse of the Journey

Thanks so much to all who helped us and continue to help us as we recover from my Spinal Fusion surgery that I underwent June 30th. So many, many people came to our rescue and there are just too many to count or mention or picture. (I don't even have very good pictures of my parents from this summer.... they were busy snapping all the shots for me) Thank you so much!.
I am recovering well and continue to gain strength and stamina. The surgery seems to have been a success, my back is more stable. I am able to lift and hold the girls now. I have been struggling with getting sick a lot and really low energy. All in all, I am doing really amazing considering how intense this surgery was.
In order to get the best results from the surgery it is important that I continue to do a lot of physical therapy. This has been a challenge, but I am continuing to give it my best. (Having the tred-mill in the shed has made this possibe-- Praise the Lord!)

Happy Hartshorne Christmas

Coloring with Auntie Cara.

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 CJ watching the game with Grandpa George (Phil's dad)

 Cara and Phil rooting for their school!

 Cecily and Rosemary went into Goodwill with Daddy and picked out this present for me. Cecily was beside herself to give me the surprise breakable doll in the plastic bag. 

 The girls and I gave Daddy Ninja Turtle Yahtzee! 

 Our present to each other was attending a marriage retreat in January. 

 Darren had mom to buy for this Christmas... He broke the spending limit and decided to go ahead and spoil his mom. What a sweet son! 

Uncle D. Testing out his present for the girls. A working camera just for them. 

Nanny made Rosemary her own Cinderella dress just like her big sister's.

 Rory and Dad sporting their new sweat shirt!

 Rosemary enjoys some Hot chocolate with Grandma Becky (Phil's mom).
We always have so much fun with her!

 Discovering Great Grandma's real violin.

 Rosemary working out her strategy for the game Desert Rat. 

He's here!

While driving to Bible Study one rainy Monday.... what to our wandering eyes should appear---
"It's Santa! It's Santa! He's here! He's here!"
Her excitement it rose to a deafening clatter!
The dogs in the neighborhood were wondering what was the matter!
"We'll pull over so we can see St. Nick!
But we're late to Bible study and it's raining"-- so Dad said it had to be quick!
His sleigh was dripping from all of the rain.
It was so nice of him to come, even though it was probably a pain.
The girls climbed on up and said their hellos.
He passed out the candy canes before they did go.

"What would you like for Christmas?" came the usual question.
We leaned in close to hear what she would mention.

"My Uncle Adam gave me these boots, but I would like Cinderella shoes from you!"
And thanks to Santa Ebay that's what she got too!

December Sprouts

Zoo Lights!

 Glorious!

We had a wonderful evening out at Zoo Lights! It was a beautiful cold clear night!

We enjoyed the lights, animals and best of all time with friends!

 Our little family!

 All bundled up!

 The Group

 Hacker Family!

The Deans!

We love Home Flock

 At our church small group Bible Studies are referred to as 'Home Flocks.' Every so often we just have to post something about how much we love having weekly Bible Study with this group of amazing people. Here we are at our Home Flock Christmas Party!

Big Christmas Family Party 2010!

 Another awesome highlight of Christmas was getting to meet/see Rory's Aunt Kathy and her daughter Mackenna. We enjoyed such a fun family Christmas with them. We got to spend some great time visiting and the girls really enjoyed playing together. 

 Genesis and Craig made a delectable dinner for us all! Check out their coordinating aprons, and note that adorable baby bump (that's my coming niece or nephew right there!)

 G showing off her jewelry made by Cecily and I.

Journey to Bethlehem

 We made another journey to Bethlehem this year. Discovery Baptist of Gig Harbor does a very believable living Nativity each year. It is so believable that Cecily is pretty sure that Bethlehem is in Gig Harbor somewhere. She asks to go visit through out the year. The sights, sounds and smells are all very true to the past. It really is a wonderful time traveling experience. Another fun part is all the friends from our church who help out.... we find them as we go. We met up with Pauline basket weaving and Jayne and Jessica who were shopping for goods.

 After our tour we came in and warmed up with cookies and hot chocolate. We also had a fun time with some of our favorite friends. A new aspect to the tour this year was an art gallery. There were some very powerful pieces. We all really enjoyed it!