Here’s our Friday Update, written by my wife!
————————–
It’s that time again… time for our Friday Update! This week
I’m finally back on track and am posting on the right day…er….
night (ha!).
I’m finally back on track and am posting on the right day…er….
night (ha!).
Since we got home Monday night we’ve been catching up on work,
unpacking, organizing, and putting away Christmas decorations…not
very exciting. So instead of updating you on that I wanted to give you
a recap of our trip home… all 3,000 miles of it! ENJOY!
unpacking, organizing, and putting away Christmas decorations…not
very exciting. So instead of updating you on that I wanted to give you
a recap of our trip home… all 3,000 miles of it! ENJOY!
The picture above is a snapshot of our ‘roadtrip route’… all
7 states and 3,000 miles of it. I think it looks a bit like the Little
Dipper, which gave me a giggle. Boy was this trip…um… EXCITING to
say the least. (though not exactly what we had planned…)
7 states and 3,000 miles of it. I think it looks a bit like the Little
Dipper, which gave me a giggle. Boy was this trip…um… EXCITING to
say the least. (though not exactly what we had planned…)
A – Port Huron, MI
– It all started out at our home in Michigan. We packed our bags and
left around 11am on December 18. The weather was great – no snow or
ice, just clear skies. Christmas gifts were wrapped and packed,
Christmas music was on the iPod, and we were on our way HOME for
Christmas… or so we thought. We were supposed to arrive around 11pm…
– It all started out at our home in Michigan. We packed our bags and
left around 11am on December 18. The weather was great – no snow or
ice, just clear skies. Christmas gifts were wrapped and packed,
Christmas music was on the iPod, and we were on our way HOME for
Christmas… or so we thought. We were supposed to arrive around 11pm…
B – London, KY –
…but it started snowing. Fitting; we were singing “Let it Snow, Let
it Snow, Let it Snow”, and boy DID IT! Big, wet flakes were pouring
from the sky. By the time we made it to London, KY for gas, we found
out the ROADS to home were CLOSED! We would not be going home tonight.
We got out a map and the GPS and began to re-route to…
…but it started snowing. Fitting; we were singing “Let it Snow, Let
it Snow, Let it Snow”, and boy DID IT! Big, wet flakes were pouring
from the sky. By the time we made it to London, KY for gas, we found
out the ROADS to home were CLOSED! We would not be going home tonight.
We got out a map and the GPS and began to re-route to…
C – Nashville, TN
– which was about 3.5 hours away. I got out my phone and started
texting friends in an effort to find a last minute place to stay. Lucky
for us, Tyler Ward, my friend from college, responded with an open
house! We got to see him and meet his beautiful wife Analee, his
awesome parents, and 2 of their dear friends….CHRISTMAS BONUS! It was
an unexpected blessing along the way.
– which was about 3.5 hours away. I got out my phone and started
texting friends in an effort to find a last minute place to stay. Lucky
for us, Tyler Ward, my friend from college, responded with an open
house! We got to see him and meet his beautiful wife Analee, his
awesome parents, and 2 of their dear friends….CHRISTMAS BONUS! It was
an unexpected blessing along the way.
The next morning we got up to drive the last 4 hours of our (much longer than expected) trip home and finally arrived in…
D – Oxford, AL –
Home, sweet, home! But no time to relax! We walked right into our
Bennett Family Christmas party preparations! We had a blast seeing my
Dad’s side of the family, and meeting my new baby cousin Michael!
Home, sweet, home! But no time to relax! We walked right into our
Bennett Family Christmas party preparations! We had a blast seeing my
Dad’s side of the family, and meeting my new baby cousin Michael!
The rest of the trip to my hometown was jam-packed. I sang for the
morning and night service at church, visited as many friends and family
members as we could, celebrated Christmas Eve with our immediate
family, Christmas Day with my Mom’s side of the family, and Christmas
Night with our godparents & ‘Aunt’ Angie. We were SPOILED with good
food and lots of presents! And of course there was also the day trip
to…
morning and night service at church, visited as many friends and family
members as we could, celebrated Christmas Eve with our immediate
family, Christmas Day with my Mom’s side of the family, and Christmas
Night with our godparents & ‘Aunt’ Angie. We were SPOILED with good
food and lots of presents! And of course there was also the day trip
to…
E – Birmingham, AL
– to see some of my girlfriends!!! (Rusty was such a trooper!) We had
lunch with Courtney Pearce and braved The Summit for some last minute
Christmas gifts for Rusty. Later we met Lisha Li for coffee at
Starbucks. That was followed with an unofficial Miss Alabama Pageant
Christmas Party! It was so good to see some of the sweet MAP girls,
especially my precious friend Katie Boyd! We had a great time
exchanging scarves and girl-talking. Then it was time for a late dinner
with Josh & Shelly Daniels at my favorite place… CHICK-FIL-A!
What a great day full of time with good friends 🙂
– to see some of my girlfriends!!! (Rusty was such a trooper!) We had
lunch with Courtney Pearce and braved The Summit for some last minute
Christmas gifts for Rusty. Later we met Lisha Li for coffee at
Starbucks. That was followed with an unofficial Miss Alabama Pageant
Christmas Party! It was so good to see some of the sweet MAP girls,
especially my precious friend Katie Boyd! We had a great time
exchanging scarves and girl-talking. Then it was time for a late dinner
with Josh & Shelly Daniels at my favorite place… CHICK-FIL-A!
What a great day full of time with good friends 🙂
F – Monticello, AR
– It wasn’t long before it was time to drive to Rusty’s hometown. We
left the morning after Christmas and arrived safe and sound that night
in time for dinner. We had a great time with his parents and sweet
MeMaw, and were spoiled with even more good food and gifts! We visited
Rusty’s Uncle Charles who is 92 and still sharp as a tack! We also made
sure to eat lots of Ray’s Burgers, and I spent one day shopping with my
wonderful mother-in-law in…
– It wasn’t long before it was time to drive to Rusty’s hometown. We
left the morning after Christmas and arrived safe and sound that night
in time for dinner. We had a great time with his parents and sweet
MeMaw, and were spoiled with even more good food and gifts! We visited
Rusty’s Uncle Charles who is 92 and still sharp as a tack! We also made
sure to eat lots of Ray’s Burgers, and I spent one day shopping with my
wonderful mother-in-law in…
G – Little Rock, AR
– which is also the next stop on our trip. Well, actually we went from
Little Rock to Cabot, AR (but it’s close). We spent New Year’s Eve and
New Year’s Day in Cabot with our dear friends Josh & Kristy
Fleming, and their beautiful little girl Carly. All too soon though it
was time to leave for…
– which is also the next stop on our trip. Well, actually we went from
Little Rock to Cabot, AR (but it’s close). We spent New Year’s Eve and
New Year’s Day in Cabot with our dear friends Josh & Kristy
Fleming, and their beautiful little girl Carly. All too soon though it
was time to leave for…
H – Memphis, TN –
where my dear friend BJ Agnew SURPRISED us with tickets to the Liberty
Bowl! We almost froze to death, but Rusty LOVED seeing Arkansas play
(especially since I cheered for his team that day!) We made it through
Eddie Money’s half time performance but were too cold to stay longer. I
was very thankful for the police officer who offered to give us a ride
back to our car! (Yes, we started off 2010 in the back of a police car-
HA!)
where my dear friend BJ Agnew SURPRISED us with tickets to the Liberty
Bowl! We almost froze to death, but Rusty LOVED seeing Arkansas play
(especially since I cheered for his team that day!) We made it through
Eddie Money’s half time performance but were too cold to stay longer. I
was very thankful for the police officer who offered to give us a ride
back to our car! (Yes, we started off 2010 in the back of a police car-
HA!)
The rest of our time in Memphis was spent visiting Rusty’s sister
Tracy and hanging out with BJ and her friends. It was great to see them
all, and we were sure to eat some delicious Memphis BBQ on our way out
of town! Just 8 more hours of driving and we were in…
Tracy and hanging out with BJ and her friends. It was great to see them
all, and we were sure to eat some delicious Memphis BBQ on our way out
of town! Just 8 more hours of driving and we were in…
I – Cincinnati, OH
– where we crashed with Brad & Faye Wendel, the awesome parents of
Andi Wendel. We love that whole family, and it was great to see them
again! We were so thankful for another free place to stay before our
final drive home too….
– where we crashed with Brad & Faye Wendel, the awesome parents of
Andi Wendel. We love that whole family, and it was great to see them
again! We were so thankful for another free place to stay before our
final drive home too….
Port Huron, Michigan! WHEW!!! Ohmygoodness what a TRIP! If you made it through that long description, congratulations 😉 To all of you who pray for us, THANK YOU for your prayers for safe travel and good health! (they were definitely felt!)
To all of you we saw this trip, it was WONDERFUL to spend time with
you! To those we missed – we are SO sorry… there just weren’t enough
hours in the day! We definitely hope to see you next time!
To all of you we saw this trip, it was WONDERFUL to spend time with
you! To those we missed – we are SO sorry… there just weren’t enough
hours in the day! We definitely hope to see you next time!
Enjoy a few more pictures below of our Christmas Roadtrip! 🙂
My little brother’s new puppy! (Isn’t she cute?)
My family: (l-r) baby brother Jaron, BO (Brent’s German Shepard), Mom, Dad
Melissa (Brent’s fiancee), little brother Brent, Rusty, me
(yes, Rusty and I are in our pajamas 😉
Rusty and me with my Granddaddy on Christmas Day
My Aunt Tammy & me with my Granddaddy’s Christmas Monkey – HA!
Visiting with Anthony & Carrie Friday (friends of mine from college) and their beautiful little girl!
How funny is Ansleigh’s face? She looks TERRIFIED!
New Year’s Eve morning with the Jacksons!
Rusty and his MeMaw
Rusty and his Uncle Charles who is 92 years old.
We had a great time visiting with him – he’s still sharp as a tack!
He shared with us about his time in WWII and some family history!
Me and my sweet friend Courtney at our lunch date! 🙂
Some of my beautiful friends from the Miss Alabama pageant
after our ‘scarf swap’ party (no, we didn’t wear those scarfs with those outfits – ha!)
The best part of this pic is, (if you could see the bottom half) we ALL have our feet in ‘pageant pose!’
A Christmas visit with Josh & Shelley Daniels – love them!
Rusty with his sister Tracy in Memphis 🙂
Me with my sweet friend BJ who surprised us with tickets to the Liberty Bowl!
Here we are in our Arkansas colors supporting Rusty (even though we are both AUBURN alums!)
Rusty and I FREEEEEZING at the Liberty Bowl!
(my face was under my scarf for most of the game)
