HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR OLDEST GRANDCHILD

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY, ELIJAH!!!

And so in the beginning ----we weren't there. Because you came a little early (not according to your mom however), we were in Macedonia when you were born. But we saw you the first time when you weren't much bigger than this:

Here is your first birthday:

And when you were in Macedonia for a visit:

And again a second time in Macedonia:

This is one of my favorite birthday pictures of you. It was taken at Olive Garden (your favorite restaurant at the time).

And now look at you:

Okay, So you helped Mom make Anna's birthday cake --- will she help make yours???

Now you are growing up a BIT too fast!!! What? A driver's license already???

We hope this birthday is extra special for you. We are very proud of you -- you have a BIG heart!! Hope you like the gift that we got you. We will talk a little later on today after you get home from school.

Love, Baba and Peepaw

Mom's Birthday (A Little Late)

Since we were a little occupied on Mom's Birthday (April 15th) I didn't get a chance to post this. But now I have pictures that Terry (Arville's brother) sent of her first BD celebration. I think she had a few more between Easter Sunday - when these pictures were taken - and her actual birthday on the 15th.

I told her THAT was definitely the way to celebrate a birthday!



Annie Ruth Earl with the birthday cake that Terry made for her.




And the flowers that we sent her for her birthday. Actually the order was wrong - so these are the free ones -- they are sending her a "Yellow Rosebush" which was the correct order.
Great job - ProFlowers!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM

We love you,
Arville and Shelia

A Photo Shoot for Friends

The Havens Family left Macedonia today for a short stay in the States.

Last week, they asked if I would make pictures of their family (including the new addition - Gracie) before they left.

Here are pictures of a day in the park.

Daddy and Gideon

Mommy and Gracie

In Her Easter Bonnet

Then here are some collages that I did for Janette. She is going to make cards out of them to send to family.

Mommy and Gracie

Shelia

Our Trip to Pompeii, Italy

Prior to the Peace Conference that we attended in Rome, we went with Bob & Janice Newell to the city of Pompeii. I have included pictures of the city, as well as, the ancient ruins at the base of Mount Vesuvius.

It was a beautiful, sunny day -- one of the few that we had while we were in Italy in February. We were so glad to be able to take some good pictures. We had a wonderful guide who added so much information to our walk through ancient Pompeii.

We arrived at the train station on Sunday afternoon, and then we visited the ruins on Monday. So it is possible to see Pompeii in less than a day.

Mount Vesuvius - seen from downtown Pompeii.

Here is our hotel - Hotel Amleto - right in the center of town - just off the main square.

The downtown area:

They were having a "flea market" on the square when we arrived. No! I didn't buy anything - just took pictures. HA!

We did stop at a sidewalk cafe and have a great cappucinno. I can't say that it tasted any different than the cappucinnos we get here in Macedonia --- it just costs a lot more.

This was a beautiful sidewalk all the way around the square.

So on Monday, we headed for the runis.

Excavation of Pompeei

The following photos are from inside the walls of the ancient city. It is amazing how much is preserved because no one was actually buried in the lava -- it was the ashes that fell on the city that killed people. So the ashes acted as a barrier, preserving the ruins.

Even the paintings on the walls are intact. Our guide kept referring to this color of red as "Pompeii Red".

Columns in one of the courtyards.

More columns in the open spaces of the town center.

Another courtyard. I liked the colors in this one.

The local pub.

These are burial sites.

The streets of Pomeii.

This was the local bakery - and pizza ovens - or so our guide told us. I don't know -- Did they eat pizza ??? He seemed to think that if they were Italian -- they ate pizza. HA!

The arena of Pompeii. They were working on this part of the ruins so we were not able to go inside. I was disappointed, but we walked ALL the way around to the other side -- no easy chore-- so that I could at least get a picture.

Mount Vesuvius from inside the ruins.

We kept seeing these unusual trees that looked like umbrellas. Janice and I asked our guide what they were called - and he said, "In English, we call them Umbrella Trees"!!!

Bob & Janice Newell and Arville & I -- February 2009

Pompeii, Italy