Christmas Early and Asheville

This past weekend was full and great! We spent time with my (Melissa's) family celebrating Christmas which happened to be white thanks to about 4 inches of snow on Friday and Saturday. It was such a wonderful celebration to the point that my abs and face hurt from laughing so much. We had a wonderful time with my mother and brothers as we ate great food and opened very thoughtful presents. Meredith really loves spending time with family and especially LOVED her new kitchen that she received. Once Meredith went to bed, my brothers, John and I had a very hilarious time playing Super Mario Brothers on Wii. I am not a huge fan of video games but between the game allowing us to all four play simultaneously (really brings out your ability to work as a team) and the hilarious remarks by my brother, Greg, it was a night of laughs and fun! Thanks Mom, Kenny, Michael and Greg for making it a great holiday thus far for us! :)

As for the celebration of John and my 5th anniversary, we were able to get away on Sunday night to Asheville (which received about 14 inches of snow). John made reservations at the Princess Anne Hotel which is an approximately 30-room Historic Bed and Breakfast. It was beautiful and special with accomodations that spoiled us. On Sunday evening, John made reservations at a trendy restaurant in Biltmore Village called "The Corner Kitchen" which was really yummy. We then had tickets to the Candelight Tour at Biltmore Estate where we were able to tour the "largest house in America" with the accompaniment of carolers, dramatic readers, harp players, and dancers. It was romantic, magical, and definitely something that pushed us a little further into the Christmas spirit. Today, on our way home, we stopped and watched Avatar--now, I resisted the idea of watching the movie, however, I really wanted to watch a movie (we don't get out to watch movies very often). Just my luck, the only movie playing at the time we arrived was Avatar. John really wanted to see the movie so we watched the movie. I want you all to know that the number of times I turned to John and said, "this is a really great movie and I am so glad we are watching it" was countless. I highly recommend it to both the girls that love a love story and the men that love a good war/epic movie! By the way, thank you so much to Ben and Elaine for caring for our angel baby and allowing us to go out of town. We are so thankful to have family close and willing to spend time with our sweet girl allowing us to recharge as a couple and giving Meredith invaluable memories with her grandparents.


We are glad to be home and have a few days to relax before the holidays sweep us away again later this week. I will say that upon my return we received many sweet cards from friends and family including a sweet note from my Great Aunt Marilyn. Aunt Marilyn, your words were kind and your prayers are sincerely appreciated! We love you! Pictures to be posted soon of Christmas with my family!