Christmas in Little Rock

This year we traveled over to Little Rock for Christmas. We haven't done this in a while and I'm not sure how many more Christmases we'll be able to go to "grandma's" house, so off we went.

Like most families our time was spent being together and telling stories. We went out to eat catfish which is an Arkansas delicacy on Saturday. Then we did "Christmas" with my nephew and his wife and kiddo since they had to head home early and wouldn't be with us on Christmas day.

On Sunday we got up and went to church, which was fun. Then we spent the afternoon shopping for last minute stuff at the mall. That night several of us went back to church for their Christmas Eve service. It was nice.

On Christmas day I got up early, made the coffee and biscuits and gravy and cinnamon rolls. Once everyone else was roused and ready we dove into our pile of presents. It was so much fun to watch everybody open their stuff and to see the looks of surprise. I actually teared up on one of my gifts which was pretty unusual! Normally the tears are reserved for Diane and my mother - who did tear up right on cue! The best part of the morning was the end - which is how we do it. Everybody opens their presents, then Papa surprises everyone with the "biggies". This year the biggies were envelopes with a Christmas card and a check for all of us. Needless to say, that made Christmas rock!

After the opening and the cleaning up we all showered and changed and headed off for a Christmas day "cruise" on the Arkansas river on the Arkansas Queen. This is an old paddle wheel boat that has had a make over and has been converted into a passenger boat. You can click here for pics and info about the boat. If you're ever in Little Rock I highly recommend taking the boat trip. It was awesome! The cruise included an amazing buffet dinner, live entertainment, our own waitress, awesome views and even a dance floor which my nephew and niece used! The coolest thing about the whole cruise was that the weather was nasty - rainy, windy, cloudy and overcast, but the boat sailed anyway and the atmosphere inside was lighthearted and enjoyable. It was a great way to spend Christmas day afternoon!

After the cruise we drove by the Clinton library. Click here to find out more about this place and to see pics of the very interesting building. It is supposed to be a bridge to the future. I'll be the first to tell you that I'm not particularly fond of Mr. Clinton, but I think I'd like to go back and go through the library.

The rest of the day was spent playing games and surfing the Internet and watching football. At one point we had at least three laptops logged onto the Internet all in the same room. I got on You Tube and showed my sister some of my favorite videos. The best one of all times is Evolution of Dance. Another really funny one is the OK GO new video. Anyway, we had a good time laughing and just hanging out.

The trip home was uneventful if not pleasant. The best part was picking up Teddy and Carmel from the Vet. They were so excited to see us they peed. I think that was probably a good thing.

I didn't get to talk with the leadership of the Little Rock church like I had hoped, but I did get a picture of where they are. Please continue to pray for this church as they have some big decisions ahead of them. The minister has some health issues too, so pray for him as well. I may be able to go back and work with them after the first of the year. There are some exciting possibilities. We'll see.

For now, I continue to prepare for fully engaging in Real Estate January 2nd. I am also preparing to speak at a Winter Blast event in Illinois over the second weekend of January. Should be a couple of hundred kids there. I'll also be speaking to the adult volunteers in the host church about ministry development, so I'm really excited about this upcoming weekend.

We haven't decided where we're going to church Sunday yet. We may pop into the church where I served. We'll see.

I hope you're Christmas was wonderful!

B