Dinner with the boys

Jared, Jason, Matthew, and Ryan (four of our friends who share an apartment) invited us to their apartment for dinner. Matthew cooked pork, brunswick stew, and grilled corn. He also made some homemade bbq sauce (and bought some Sticky Fingers Tennessee Whiskey sauce). Margaret made baked beans and potato salad. We had a great time together with the boys. Here are some pictures.

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Bonfire at the Miller's house

We went to our friends', the Miller's, house last night with the Henry's for a bonfire. We cooked our food in aluminum foil on the fire. After dinner, we roasted marshmallowes and made smores. (Or, to use it as a verb, we smored.)

There is a picture of Jeremy without his braces in this album!

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Camping with the church

Last weekend we went camping with the church. Here are some pictures:

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20th Anniversary

Today is our 20th wedding anniversary! Unfortunately, we're spending it apart because Margaret is helping take care of her dad in Alabama while he's recovering from bypass surgery. This afternoon, our friend Denise surprised me with a fruit basket that she made. (I think Margaret had something to do with this.) And, yes, I said that Denise made this - she did not buy it. I think it looks and tastes great!

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Photo Tag

I've been tagged at James at "idle musings of a bookseller" in a post called "Photo tag". Since I don't post photos on my blog "The Assembling of the Church", I thought I would respond to the tag here.

Here are the rules:

• Go to the 4th folder in your computer where you store your pictures.
• Pick the 4th picture in that folder.
• Explain the picture.
• Tag 4 people to do the same.

This is my friend Josh. In this picture from December 2008, he is getting ready to sing Christmas carols in a government assisted housing development. There are a few things you should know about Josh: 1) He has three brothers. 2) He's a great artist. He's drawn pictures for me and several other people. 3) He loves and serves people more than many adults. Many times he'll do things for people without being asked.

So, that's my photo. Now... who should I tag... I tag Miranda, Maël, Lew, and Meagan. (If I didn't tag you, but you want to do this, then consider yourself tagged.)

WaFoCoCo with David Rogers

David Rogers, our friend from Memphis, is in town taking classes at the seminary. He came over to our house tonight for dinner. Yes, Margaret is out of town, and yes, I (Alan) cooked. We had hamburger steaks with onions, broccoli, and sweet potatoes.

After dinner, and after talking for a while, we decided to go to Wake Forest Coffee Company. Jeremy and Miranda went with us, along with our friend and neighbor Torrence. When we got there, there was a jazz trio playing and the place was packed, but we were able to find a table in the back. One of my Greek students (Daniel) was our barista.

We had a great evening. I hope you enjoy these pictures:

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Family Pictures

Last November, our friend Melissa (from tesorophotography) took pictures of our family. We think the pictures turned out great! Thank you, Melissa! If you are in the Raleigh area, you should definitely get Melissa to do your family photos!

Here are some of the pictures:

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Dinner with Friends - 12/19/2008

On our trip from Youngsville, NC to Alexander City, AL (about a 12-hour trip including stops), we stopped in Braselton, GA to have dinner with some good friends: Lew and Kati, and Brandon and Heather and their girls.

We've known Lew and Kati for a few years. I (Alan) worked with Lew until they moved to Georgia about 9 months ago. I met Brandon and Heather through blogging. We met them in person for the first time last April.

It was good to spend some time (but not enough time) with these friends. Here are some pictures:

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Wake Forest Christmas Parade

Last Saturday, we were in the Wake Forest, NC Christmas Parade on the Franklin County Humane Society float. Jeremy wore a dog costume and did a great job waving to the crowd. The kids really loved him. Jeremy, Margaret, and I rode in the back of the truck that pulled the float. Miranda rode on the float with some other people and several real dogs. Here are some pictures:

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Also, I wore a very interesting Christmas hat. I had alot of fun with it. For some reason, Margaret, Jeremy, and Miranda all wanted me to upload this video:

Caroling with the Disseaus

Tonight we went Christmas caroling with the Disseaus around their neighborhood. Here are some pictures:

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Caroling with Friends

Since last Summer, our family and some friends have been spending time getting to know the residents who live in a government assisted housing development in our area. Earlier tonight, we went Christmas caroling in that neighborhood. Besides being too warm (almost 70!) to carol, we had a great time. I think the neighbors enjoyed the singing too! Here are some pictures:

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Raking Leaves With Friends For Friends

Today, after our weekly church meeting, we went to a local government assisted housing project with some friends to rake leaves for the neighbors who live there. Many of the residents are elderly, have health problems, or are single moms. So, we decided to help them by raking their leaves. Here are some pictures of the work and fun! (Unfortunately, our camera battery died while we were raking leaves at the first two housing units and before all of our friends arrived. We actually raked leaves at six housing units.)

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Friends and Family on Saturdays

On Saturday mornings, our family and some friends have been spending time in a government assisted housing development. Cathy, a friend of ours, lives in that neighborhood, and she began to introduce us to some of her neighbors. Back in the summer, we would stop by a local produce stand and pick up some vegetables and fruit for the neighbors. But, now that the produce stand is closed, we simple spend time with the people in the neighborhood. Here are some pictures from this morning.

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Appalachian Trail Hiking/Camping Pictures

Jeremy and I went on a hiking/camping trip from Thursday, October 9, until Saturday, October 11, on part of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania with our friends Jim and Jason. Here are some of the pictures from our trip. I'll try to post more about the trip later.

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Beach trip with the church

Sunday, August 24, we went to Wrightsville Beach, NC with the church. We spent all day soaking up the sun, playing volleyball, playing in the ocean, building sand castles, boogie boarding, skim boarding, burying our friends in the sand, and hanging out under the pier. Here are a few things we learned:

1) 6 hours is too long to stay at the beach... until next time. :)
2) We are too old for volleyball... unless someone challenges us again.
3) Sand makes a nice condiment for chicken salad.
4) Six people can quickly go through 20 bottles of water and 24 sodas at the beach.
5) Skim boards look like fun... but hurt.
6) Three applications of SPF 30 sunscreen vs. the sun... the sun wins every time.
7) People gather around when a group of people on the beach play volleyball or start singing.

I hope you enjoy these pictures.

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Lord's Supper and Mrs. Jenny's Cross

Today, we ate the Lord's Supper together. It may sound strange to some people, but we actually eat an entire meal as the Lord's Supper. I mean, it is called a "supper", right? Anyway, here are some pictures from our meal.

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Also, Mrs. Jenny gave us a painting of a cross last week. Here is a picture of the painting. Mrs. Jenny is a resident of a local nursing home that has adopted our family. If you want to know more about Mrs. Jenny, I (Alan) wrote about her on my blog a couple of times: see "I think we've been adopted" and "She said, 'I'm very close'" on my blog.

More TKD 1st degree black belt testing - sparring

Here is another video from 1st degree black belt testing in Tae Kwon Do from last Thursday, July 31, 2008. There are two parts to this video. The first parts show Jeremy's friend Zach sparring. Then, Jeremy spars. Each of them spars one, two, then three opponents at a time.

Our friends Geth and Katie

A couple of days ago, when I was downloading pictures from Miranda's camera, I found some pictures of our dinner with our friends Geth and Katie. We've gotten to know Geth and Katie over the last few months. We knew them before they got married, and spent some time with them. Unfortunately, we were out of town and missed their wedding. But, after they returned from their honeymoon, they invited us to their house for dinner - even though we missed the wedding. We had a great time with them, and look forward to getting to know them even more!

(By the way, this is the third post in three days on this blog! Wooot!)

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Miranda's 11th Birthday

Today is Miranda's 11th birthday! She had a spend the night birthday party last night with three friends. Here are some pictures from her party. By the way, the awesome cookie cake was baked by our friend Laura at Creatively Designed Cakes! Thank you Laura!

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Caroling with the Disseaus

Last Sunday, December 16, we went caroling with other friends in the neighborhood of our good friends Maël and Cindy. It was very cold, but we all had a great time. And, the taco soup that they had prepared for us helped to warm us up after caroling. Maël and Cindy were able to deliver gifts to most of their neighbors as we sang Christmas carols. They were also able to meet several new neighbors.

Please pray for Maël and Cindy. We heard that Cindy's grandmother passed away early this morning.

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