Even though it broke our family rule to not travel for consecutive Christmases, we thought we should go, since they often spend Christmas in Germany (our sister-in-law, Susann, is from the Black Forest region of Germany) and we didn't know when we'd have another opportunity.
So, on Dec. 21st, we loaded up two cars (we don't all fit in one anymore, since our big van was totaled) and drove to Georgia. We made the drive in one long day. Highlights: being able to split up kids who weren't traveling well together!, Abby driving through a city for the first time(Memphis, memorable), Becky driving in city traffic for the first time (Birmingham), culture shock in Alabama (gas station).
Once in Georgia, we settled into a very nice double-wide mobile home which serves as a second home to our family -- their original home and acreage is about 2 miles down the road, and that was the base for meals and fun. With that many people (8 of us, 11 Georgia Halls, plus Grandma and Grandpa), we spent a lot of time in kitchen, preparing meals and cleaning up. But there was also time for a lot of visiting and games inside as well as riding motorized vehicles and the horse outside, not to mention serious Bocce ball competitions after presents were opened.
We enjoyed getting to visit Dave and Susann's church in Perry, which is a mission congregation just a few years old, as well as taking a quick trip to see their original home in Perry, which we had visited 13 years before (Zeke was very little). Funny how different we remember things many years later! I remember the pecan tree groves, though when we were there years ago, the trees were green and bearing. It was funny to see cotton fields that were not harvested yet - In December. It was cold, but not as cold as Missouri, and we were able to spend a lot of time outside, since it only rained briefly on Christmas Eve.
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