Bleeker's Bath:

Bleeker hates baths. Well, I should say that he hates them if they last more than 1 minute. Anyway, Nicole got a few pictures of him in the tub yesterday. He is crazy - and we LOVE him!!

We have many things planned over the next little while - so stay tuned for more. Can I say that I am still shocked at how many people view our blog!

Have a great weekend - or what is left of it!

Brad

Mexican with Martha & Lindsey:

Last night we had our friends Martha & Lindsey over for dinner. We had been planning this for the last six months and finally did it!! We met Lindsey and Martha at our first Friday night dinner party at Church. They are such great people and we are so happy to have them in our lives. We had them over for Mexican food which is something that they don' do well in the UK. We made chicken enchiladas, homemade guac, Mexican rice, refried beans with chilies, and chips and salsa. They loved it!!! We were so happy because we had to change all of the recipes. We forgot that in the UK you could not find black beans, cream of chicken soup, or chopped green chilies. Anyway, we had a great time and they loved Bleeker. They have requested that we bring him to their place next on Electric Avenue!! (That is right, the street that the song "We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue!")

Brad

Bleeker Blackmon:

For those of who don't know, our dog Bleeker made it to the UK safely from Atlanta last week. I meant to do a blog about this earlier, but time got away. We are so happy to have Bleeker back with us in our home as it just did not feel the same without him. We are so thankful to mom and dad for taking GREAT CARE of him over the last six months. They became very attached to him over that time and it was hard for them to see him go. For those who were worried about him, he is fine and adjusting to his new home. It amazes me that our dog has been to more states and countries than most people and he seems to adjust everywhere he goes. This picture captured Bleeker in his favorite spot. He loves looking out the glass door onto the square below. Nicole and I love him dearly and thank everyone for their prayers for his safe travel to the UK.

Brad

New Year's Week in Cleveland, Tennessee:

The last week of our United State's Christmas tour was at mom and dad's house in Cleveland!! We were so excited to see mom and dad, the grandparents, and Bleekie!! We had the best time and loved every minute of it. We did not want to get back on the flight to London and thought about staying and leaving everything we had in the UK, but the only thing that helped was knowing that Bleeker was coming back home with us after 6 months of separation. Mom and dad had been so great taking care of him and had fallen in love with him. We felt so bad taking him from them, but they wanted him to come with us as well - we just all love him so much!! Mom and dad were so great in Cleveland - they always go above and beyond. They had a huge New Year's Eve meal for us and then we opened Christmas presents, went shopping (our favorite past time!), went to the new Starbucks in Cleveland (that's right - Starbucks in Cleveland), hung out with the grandparents which we adore, and ate at the Bald Headed Bistro (our favorite place to eat). We also got to see a few people while in town like Sarah Hershman and Kara Laughlin while at Beckys (These are the sisters of Anna and Jeff our dear friends in NYC that we miss greatly), and Sarah Cantrell while coming out of the BHB. Cleveland is not the place where we see tons of people as most people we knew there have moved away from college so it was so nice to see these three. It was an amazing week and made me want to be closer to home in the future.

Brad

Stop-over in Ceasar's Head South Carolina:

On our way from Goldsboro, North Carolina to Cleveland, Tennessee, we stopped over to visit Elizabeth and her mom and dad at their mountain house in Ceasar's Head, S.C. - just across the stateline from Brevard, N.C. It was so great seeing Elizabeth as we miss her greatly!! It is odd not being around someone that we love so dearly. We used to see her nearly every weekend in New York City, but now we are on opposite positions on the globe - she chose the warmer climate of Los Angeles and we chose London - what we were thinking? Anyway - thanks Elizabeth, Mr. Charlie and Mrs. Nancy for the great food, a great night's sleep, and that AMAZING company!!

Brad and Nicole

A Few More Family Pictures from North Carolina:

We could not post all of the photos from North Carolina on the last entry. So here are more photos from North Carolina. These Photos are from Aunt Sherri & Uncle Buster, the Daniels men, and the Daniels girl cousins, and of Ben and me.

Brad

Christmas in Goldsboro, NC:
Well, we just arrived back in the UK from 2 weeks holiday in the States...1 week with my family in NC and one week in TN with Brad's. What a great time we had! So great, coming back was difficult. But we wanted to post a few pics from the great time while there. We flew in on the 23rd and boy were we tired...it took us almost 24 hours to get to my dad's house! On Christmas Eve, we had a great night complete with the turkey dinner and opening presents with my dad and Joyce, my brother Brian and Shannon and their adorable 4 kids (Lindsey, Ben, Seth and Lindsey) AND my mom's twin sister, Aunt Brenda and Uncle Bob. They drove up from St. Mary's, GA to be with all of us. It was such a great time and we ate so much food!
Christmas Day, we had a break from the traditional and spent it with my sister-in-law's side of the family. We had a full-on Italian buffet, no turkey to be found and it was nice! No, no one there was Italian, but we pretended for the day. Then we played a game of Dirty Santa which is always funny - everyone brings a gift, good or bad, numbers are drawn, you pick a gift, and you can take any gift from anyone who has gone before you and they have to take yours! It's quite fun! On Monday night, we were able to see my entire side of the family on my dad's side which was great. I'm one of the only cousins with no kids, but no pressure here!
The rest of the week, we just spent time with my family and played with the kids. We managed to see my friends Jay and Cristie as well and catch up with them and Brad's Aunt Sherrie and Uncle Buster. So, it was definitely a fun-filled time, well spent with my family that we dearly miss! Then we packed up our bags, headed to the rental car lot, and drove to TN! Next stop, Brevard, NC to spend the night with our friend Elizabeth in her family's mountain home.