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I love Christmas. Most of Christmas Eve was spent lazing around watching TV and wrapping last minute gifts. We left for church early for carol singing before each service. On Christmas morning we woke early to find Santa had filled our stockings to overflowing and left several gifts under the tree. After everything was unwrapped and played with it was nearly time for dinner. Julie again served up Turkey with all the trimmings.

In November 2006 the family gathered, from all corners of the world, to celebrate Celia's 70th Birthday. We rented two cottages at Hopton Hall in Derbyshire and spent a wonderful weekend eating, drinking, walking, and playing charades. Members of the Short's, Swift's, Druitt's, Whitfeld's, and Hughes D'Aeth's, some whose paths hadn't crossed in over thirty years, came together to honor Celia and a great time was had by all. We toasted all those family members who were absent, especially Dad, well into the night. We must do it again real soon.

On a beautiful Sunday evening in late October, Paul and I went to watch the Carolina Panthers take on the Dallas Cowboys at Bank of America stadium. This was Paul's first professional football game and he was treated to front row seats and field passes prior to the game. He was on crutches due to breaking his foot during a football game at school recess. The game started off well with the Panthers taking a 14-0 lead in the first quarter but things went south in the fourth with the Cowboys being the eventual winners by over 20 points.

This summer Kelly got to spend two weeks touring England with Grandma. She flew direct from Charlotte to Gatwick and was met at the airport by Mum. They drove back to Southport where they spent the next few days touring the sights in Liverpool including the Beatles Experience and Liverpool Cathedral. They left Southport and stopped in Stratford-on-Avon to see Shakespeare's birth place before traveling on to spend a few days with Christopher and Carole. While there they visited Stonehenge before leaving for London. The next few days were spent with John, Cathy and Edward in St. Albans. They spent two days in the City of London and visited all the sites including the Tower of London, St. Pauls Cathedral, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. They rode the London Eye and went on a backstage tour of Westminster Abbey.

On Sunday June 25th, 2006, 3 days after after dropping Kelly off at the airport for her trip to England, Julie, Sarah, Paul and I left Waxhaw for Jacksonville, Florida. We were due to sail on Monday at 4:00PM but we decided to get to the port early and spend the night in a local hotel. This was Sarah and Paul's first cruise and the excitment level was high all morning. We boarded the ship, Carnival's Celebration, at around 1:00PM on Monday and immediately made ourselves at home in the cabin. It had two lower berths and two upper that folded down from the wall. We spent most of the next week eating, swimming and lazing in the sun in between watching the World Cup games live. Our ports of call were Key West and Nassau, Bahamas. After disembarking the ship on Saturday we stopped on the way home to Waxhaw to watch England lose to Portugal, in the World Cup, on penalties.

Check out the pics from our new church building! We have been meeting at Butler High School but in aprox one month our new building will be ready for occupancy. The main sanctuary seats 500 with another 250 in the balcony. We can't wait to have a stage to decorate and a place we can call home that we don't have to set-up and tear-down each Sunday.

These are the pictures Nick and Pauline sent of their beautiful new home in Ainsdale. The house is decorated with the previous occupants furniture as these were taken prior to them moving in. I hope they don't mind me posting them? From what I understand they have already started some pretty major renovations. A complete rewire? I am certain they will have the house and garden looking beautiful before long. I look forward to seeing it in November.

On Saturday April 8th, 2006 we left our cell-phones, laptops and e-mail behind to embark on an old-fashioned family vacation in the East Tennessee mountains. We rented a beautiful log cabin high in the Great Smokey Mountains, just outside of Pigeon Forge TN. Named "Hawks View", the cabin was not exactly rustic. It contained a big-screen TV, pool table and hot-tub as well as spectacular views from the large windows. We ate most meals at local restaurants, spent hours browsing the shops in Gatlinburg during the day, and in the evening we watched movies and played lots of card and board games. It was a very enjoyable, relaxing time.

We love Christmas. Most of Christmas Eve was spent lazing around watching TV and wrapping last minute gifts. We left for church early for carol singing before each service. On Christmas morning we woke early to find Santa had filled our stockings to overflowing and left several gifts under the tree. After everything was unwrapped and played with it was time for dinner. Julie again served up Turkey with all the trimmings.

As Thanksgiving is not a holiday celebrated in England, we mixed it up a little this year and did "Christmas in November with Grandma!" We exchanged gifts in the morning while the turkey cooked in the oven. We enjoyed all the usual trimmings of both Christmas and Thanksgiving. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potato, corn, fresh rolls, cranberry sauce and gravy filled our plates. We also enjoyed a bottle of Chardonnay purchased at the Biltmore the previous week. After everyone had eaten into submission we adjourned to the living room for cards and TV.

In November of 2005, during her visit to Charlotte, Mom and I went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. It was a beautiful, sunny day but cold with a biting wind. We did the self-guided tour of the Vanderbilt mansion which was fascinating. Some of the highlights were the banquet room with 3 fireplaces and huge pipe-organ and the indoor swimming pool in the basement. We ate lunch on the estate in the Stable Inn and in the afternoon toured the winery and tasted some of the wines bottled there.

On October 16th, 2005, Paul and I went to watch the UAW-GM Quality 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC. The noise was deafening and the smell of gas and oil was overpowering, but we had a great time. The race lasted until nearly midnight but neither one of us was tired. Jimmy Johnson, Paul's favorite driver, was the eventual winner.