Thanksgiving 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

We send our love and send warmest wishes to all.

For Thanksgiving dinner Keith and I were lucky and got the day off last minute. We had to work the Wednesday before and the Friday after, but It was nice to have the one day off to spend time with family. We wish we could have spent time with all our family, but this crazy world seems to keep us all pretty darn busy.

Rocky Steps

The last thing we were able to go see in Philadelphia was Rocky! It was on Missy's must see list.

The front of the Art Museum

Rocky!!

Aimee and Missy in front of Rocky

Missy and me... gettin friendly with Rocky. He's a lot bigger in person than in the movies!

;)

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Just outside the center of town is Washington Square where you will find the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

"I never in my whole life was affected with so much melancholy." -John Adams

"Beneath this stone rests a soldier of Washington's army who died to give you liberty."

"Freedom is a light for which many men have died in darkness"; "The independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint councils and joint efforts of common dangers, suffering and success [Washington Farewell Address, Sept. 17, 1796]"; and "In unmarked graves within this square lie thousands of unknown soldiers of Washington's Army who died of wounds and sickness during the Revolutionary War."

By 1778, Washington Square would be the last barracks for the thousands of soldiers who died in Philadelphia. Though not much fighting occurred in Philadelphia during the War, plenty of dying did. Those wounded in nearby battles, or those sick with disease would be brought to Philadelphia.
An eternal flame flickers in front of a wall bearing a replica of Jean Antoine Houdon's famous bronze sculpture of George Washington. Washington's eyes gaze eternally upon nearby Independence Hall.

There are no words to describe the feeling in this mass burial ground. The size of a city block, this burial ground held over 2,000 soldiers. With the soldiers are buried prisoners of war from when the Brittish controlled Philadelphia. Then in 1793 when Yellow Fever claimed the lives 5,000 of Philadelphia's 50,000 residents, they were brought here. This one city block continued to collect the dead until 1825.

Old Town Philadelphia

Our second day in Pensylvania we went to Old Town Philadelphia to see the historical sites.

The Liberty Bell

Independence Hall
aka City Hall. The U.S. Supreme Court met here from 1791 - 1800
This building is also where the Declaration of Independence was written and signed.

Photo hanging in Independence Hall of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

In this room our Founding Fathers drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence.

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Miss Aimee Brewer had a nurses conference in Pensylvania the last week in October. She invited Missy and me to join her, we were able to go out there for a few days and had a great time! Our hotel was across the street from Vally Forge National Park. It was AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL!

Above are replicas of George Washington's Chief Guards cabins. They are located behind Washington's Headquarters.
Another replica of a soldiers cabin in Valley Forge.

I just loved this tree! It is sooo Beautiful!

NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARCH

"Naked and starvng as they are, we cannot enough admire incomperable patience and fidelity of the soldiery"

Washington at Valley Forge; February 16,1778

General Washington's Headquarters

There is so much to see there. Missy and I spent a good part of two days there and still didn't see everything.

Finished Bathroom

We got our bathroom as finished as it's going to be for a while. Here are some pics. We still need the glass surround for the shower, but that will have to wait until tax season... hopefully we get a return. It was quite the project! So glad it's done. And a special thanks to Mich and Ryan for all their help! We couldn't have done it without you!

Above is a picture of the hall leading to our bedroom. That picture is covering the circuit breaker boxes... Keith's great idea!
Standing next to the shower

Looking out the window, needs a window covering still. And that bookcase was put there temporarily until I can make something custom.... so it's pretty much permanent.

And, the shower! tile not only to the ceiling but on the ceiling. in this photo, the grout still needs to be washed.