christmas through the years

For as long as we've been around there has been Christmas. Each year brings different memories and joy. Here are some photos from Christmas Way Past and some others that are more recent. Be sure to check back for photos from 2008!

driver of the year

As we begun last week, I will now continue the 2008 Year End Awards. This week we award Driver of the Year. As with Couple of the Year, there are several criteria that must be met in order to be eligible for the big prize.

The winner must:

1) Drive a go-cart without fear or regard for safety

2) Not yet have a driver's license

3) Have a parent who also drives a race car

4) Be "sugar-free"

5) Have a race track in his front yard

After careful consideration the winner is...

Owen Berry!

Congratulations, Owen! The prize is, yet again, an all-expense paid (by your Mom & Dad) trip to Cleveland for Christmas!! It promises to be a great time with Santa, presents, cookies, and ham.

As proof of Owen's eligibility, here are some photos of him in action.

christmas decorations

All of my Christmas decorations are up now! I'm really excited to have everyone come to spend Christmas in Cleveland, which made decorating more fun this year. This is my second, and final, attempt at making wreaths. I like this one, but feel like I've reached the pinnacle of my talent. We'll see what comes next! :o)

The Mantle & Stockings

The Tree

The Wreath

blast from the past

Check out this great photo I found of Drew and some of his friends. I was going through some boxes in our basement and I found one labeled "Drew's Stuff." It must have come with him through all of our moves from his childhood home. Inside were some classics -- school awards, old photos, and a very special calendar.

Tucked near the top of the box was a Bucknell calendar from 2001. I was wondering why he would save it and started to flip through. Well, once I got to May all became clear. Who is the featured photo in May 2001? Drew and several of his freshman classmates, of course! You might recognize Meagan Willits and Chris Hainge as well. I decided to post it here for everyone to enjoy. The quality isn't so great because of it being a scan of a calendar photo, but you get the idea.





Oh and in case you were wondering, yes, Drew does still own and wear those Birks regularly. Apparently they just get better with age, not unlike my husband.

too much

These babies are just too much for me. Check out these hilarious photos that Raegan posted the other day.

Alden, the teeth brushing businessman

Mercer "Crazy Hair" Wilkinson

couple of the year

As the year comes to an end it is time to make some conclusions about those people and events which have impacted us the most. I have decided to start with my "Couple of the Year." To win this prestigious award, these people, as a couple, must meet the following criteria:

1) Have made at least 1 trip to Cleveland

2) Gave me a reason to buy a new dress and Drew a reason to wear a suit

3) Provided Drew and I with 1 month worth of apples

4) Traveled abroad

5) Attended 4+ weddings, including their own

6) Have a nephew named Owen

After scouring the record books (this blog) and narrowing down the eligible winners to 50, I drew a name from a hat and the big winners are...

Erin & Ryan!!

I'm so happy for them. The big award is a 5 day Christmas vacation in Cleveland. You only need to provide a bed, bedding, towels, and food. It should be great!

Here's a little photo montage of the winners. My favorite couple of the year.

We love you!!

giving thanks

This Thanksgiving was spent 432 miles away in New Jersey. Drew and I had the chance to spend 4 days with his family. It was so nice to see all of them, especially the newest members of our family! Alden & Mercer are now 14 months old. We just saw them in August and it's amazing how much they are changing.

We discovered that they both love wearing hats.

I think the high point of baby hilarity was when they tried on their new snowsuits and boots that Grandma and Grandpa Wilkinson bought them for Christmas. For someone who is just learning to walk, Alden did a great job running in his snow boots. Between the hat, onesie, boots, and flopping PJs he looked like some kind of superhero zipping around. We're on the watch for superpowers.

Mercer was very proud of his new mittens!

Drew and I spent Thanksgiving Day with some of his extended family as well. It was wonderful to see many of his grandparents, aunts and uncles.

The holidays are fun, but between all of the cooking, visiting, and baby activities I need a vacation.

a miracle in our midst

For those of you who don't know the story, our little nephew, Mercer, suffered a stroke in utero and was born with severe brain damage. After his birth he experienced periods of apnea and seizures, which led to his being transported to a NICU. The doctors did several MRIs and, after seeing the damage that his brain sustained, gave the opinion that Mercer would likely have Cerebral Palsy as well as other developmental problems. His doctors thought that he would probably never walk and would certainly have trouble with his speech and basic motor skills.

Of course, we were all devastated and grieved with Jared and Raegan over this bleak future that had been laid out for their son. After we heard the news, we did the only thing that we could do and started praying. God is faithful and heard our prayers for this little boy.

The news kept getting worse for awhile, but then it started looking up.

Every time the doctors saw Mercer he looked a little better. Before long he was able to go off of the anti-seizure medication. Praise God!

After that he was able to eat at the same rate as his twin brother, Alden. Yea!

There were a team of therapists who came to work with him. They were constantly surprised and impressed with how well he was doing. Throughout all of these months we kept praying for God's healing in him -- we saw it happening!

Before we knew it he was sitting up, then crawling, and now walking!

Who ever thought that a toddler getting into everything would cause such joy?

Just last week, Mercer had his 1 year appointment with his Neurologist at Boston Children's Hospital. The doctor was blown away by how well Mercer is doing! He doesn't see any signs of CP and thinks that Mercer will lead a normal life.

Mercer is a miracle and his health is a testament to God's faithful grace and love for us.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Praise Him all creatures here below.

Praise Him above you heavenly hosts.

Praise Father, Son, & Holy Ghost.

Amen.

Wilkinson Family Photo

Here is a great photo of the Wilkinson family from our trip to Maine in August. I finally got a copy of it the other day! Drew and I will be heading out to New Jersey to spend Thanksgiving with them all this year. I can't believe Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away already!

On a completely different note: last week (October) it was freezing cold, snowing, and sleeting.

This week (November) it is going to be in the upper 60s, near 70º with lots of sun.


Does something seem wrong with this?

I'm not one to complain about warm weather, but this is strange.

Going Home

Drew and I traveled back to Bucknell for our college homecoming this weekend. Here is what greeted us after 5 hours of driving.

Lovely fall day in a college town, right? Um, yeah maybe if you went to college in Siberia.

Constant rain put a bit of a damper on our visit. The main positive result from the horrible weather was that we didn't actually witness the demolition loss the football team experienced against Colgate.

Summation so far: after traveling 280 miles we were welcomed by driving rain for our 1 day on campus and I owe my boss, who graduated from Colgate, $5.

Ok, on to the good news. I had a wonderful visit with my friend Meghann! She and Scott (of TuNow fame) came to Lewisburg from Massachusetts to enjoy the lovely weather and our company. We had a good laugh remembering all of our adventures in Organic Chemistry and in the Humanities Res College.

Terrence -- if you're out there -- come back to us, we miss you.
Same to you, Dr. Gwaltney.

Oh, and if I haven't told you about TuNow, I need to -- ask immediately and prepare to laugh.

See Scott laugh -- he was remembering TuNow, I'm sure of it.

Because of the rain we weren't able to get many good photos around campus, but Drew did get a couple inside the fieldhouse.

Why does the bison on the Bucknell logo look so mad? If anyone has a right to look angry about hanging in the fieldhouse it's my friend below.

Being foolish optimistic Bucknellians, Drew and I hoped that we would be able to get an early start on Sunday, be greeted by the sun and get our photos then.

Here is what greeted us on Sunday morning:

That's right -- the thickest fog found outside of movie sets and Celine Dion concerts. Awesome.

We can take a hint and decided to high tail it out of town.

Fortunately, we had plans that would salvage our weekend. We met up with Jenn, Chris, and Owen for breakfast in Williamsport! It was great to see them, if only for a meal.

All in all, it was great to go home.

Alden & Mercer's 1st Birthday!

Our nephews, Alden & Mercer, turned 1 year old on September 26th! Drew and I weren't able to be there for the big day, but Raegan sent us some great photos. They are both so cute and have started walking now. It's hard to believe that they have been in our family for a whole year already. We're so happy to be a part of their lives and to have them in ours!

Erin's Visit!

Erin came for a visit this weekend as a stop on her Columbus Day weekend tour of the midwest. We had a wonderful time hanging out for the past few days. It was so nice to have a friend to go shopping with! Drew and I introduced Erin to the Honey Hut ice cream shop for the last Pumpkin ice cream of the season --- it was delicious! I'm glad that it will only be a few weeks until she can come back and bring Ryan with her.





Erin, Drew, and I watched "The Office" together on Friday night -- we think it's funny. :o)

New Couch

Last weekend we bought a new couch for in our basement. We need some more seating for the Christmas crowd and this seemed like the perfect solution. One good thing about the economic craziness is that lots of things are on super-sale, including this couch. Drew and I have been wanting another couch for the basement so we can invite a crowd over -- now we can! If you want to visit, come on over, we'll be here with games and snacks.

Erin gave her "2 Thumbs Up" approval, so it has to be good.

She also helped me find some cute pillows for on it that would help it look better next to the green couch. After a day of shopping we found the perfect ones at Crate & Barrel. Thanks Erin!

Emily Makes Spaghetti Sauce

This Sunday I decided to undertake a big project --- a double batch of homemade spaghetti sauce. This sauce + meatballs + sausage is Drew's favorite from his growing up years. It is delicious, but takes quite a few ingredients and a lot of time to prepare. Hopefully doing a big batch like this will last us awhile in the freezer. Come over to try some!