Good Bye Savannah, Hello Florida!!

Notice the flag out straight? Is was SERIOUSLY windy the day we visited to fort...cold and windy as the powerful front was moving through.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Savannah, the wonderful sights, shops, our camp ground (Red Gate RV Park), historic places and the FOOD!! We did manage to work in one more historic site after Christmas, Fort Pulaski near Tybee Island. This was a really cool fort that was important in the Civil War. It was a Confederate stronghold, designed to be unbreachable (kinda like the Titanic was unsinkable) with two sets of huge moats, massive man-made hills to be climbed as enemies approached, and MAJOR fire power with hundreds of huge cannons. Well, after a successful tactical plan Union forces, the fort did fall into Union hands in 1863 and helped to overtake the entire port of Savannah and further strengthen the North's hold on the South.

As all good things must come to an end, so must our time in Savannah. However, we get to head to the next good thing...Florida!! First stop, St. Augustine then Orlando, then Everglades National Park, then the Florida Keys. We anticipate being in this state for the entire month of January. We will keep everyone posted on our upcoming destinations and adventures. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and we pray for blessings for all of our family and friends as we approach a new year. Big hugs from the Lion Pride!!

The man-made hills that would hold off the enemy as they tried to approach on foot.

 

The outermost moat. There was another moat closer in to the fort.

 

Inside the fort. You can see some of the many cannons scattered throughout the fort...especially upstairs overlooking the massive brick wall.

Interior brick walls of the fort.

 

Posing by one of the many cannons.

 

The "hoist" used to move and place cannons.

 

 

A "parrot cannon" on the second level of the fort.

 

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Merry Christmas!!

Happy Birthday Jesus was celebrated by the Lionbarger family in Savannah, Georgia. We have so very much to be thankful for, but none more important than the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ!! Praise God from whom all blessings flow and Lionbarger blessings are certainly overflowing!! We love and miss all of our family and friends and we look forward to seeing all of you next year :-)

Lila had lots of fun things arrive for Christmas...wallet, purse, clothes, movie, Beanie Ballz, and an iPod...she is all smiles!!

Luke snagged some ping pong paddles, clothes, movie, paper airplane folding book and a DS game...and his favorite Dallas Cowboys cap!!

Paige made-out like a bandit with all things fashion...clothes, shoes, mustache belt, ear cuffs, purse, plus movie, gift cards and Just Dance 4 for the wii.

Madeline got great things as well...these snazzy, multi-purpose personalized blankets (all kids got them, she is just modeling it best) plus clothes, movie, books, purses, head bands, ear rings, Nook cover and cash!!

Fun things for John...Logo hat, clothes, ax for the camper, cologne and a watch.

I am so blessed...I received wonderful things for my kitchen (new cutting board and antique teapot set), several pieces of lovely jewelry and some napkins to match my snowflake dishes back home! It was a special Christmas!!

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Happy Birthday to Me!!

Paula Deen's restaurant on the corner...three stories high. We sat on the third floor.

Thursday was my 40th birthday and we celebrated in style...lunch at the Lady and Sons restaurant in downtown Savannah!! We had originally planned on having dinner there, but a severe thunderstorm warning for the late afternoon modified our plans slightly, so we went to lunch instead :-). The food was every bit as good as we had hoped for...fried chicken, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, collard greens, black-eyed peas (only Grammy ate those, but she said they were the best she had ever eaten), macaroni and cheese, crab cakes and my personal favorite of the day, hoecakes!! Everything was southern-style scrumptious!! I couldn't have asked for a better birthday! It really was a dream come true for me :-). Now we make preparations to celebrate the real reason for the season...Jesus's birthday!!

 

Paige's piled-high plate of Paula Deen's famous fried chicken...all of the rumors are true....it IS the best fried chicken EVER!!

 

My complementary gooey cake complete with candle and singing!

 

My double chocolate birthday cake that we all very much enjoyed in the comfort and safety of camper. We actually were still so full from lunch, that all we had was cake and a glass of milk for dinner...absolutely perfect if you ask me!!

 

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Touring Savannah with Grammy!!

We have had a WONDERFUL time touring Savannah as a family of seven...Grammy included :-). Over the last couple of days, we have done a couple of tours of the downtown area and parts of town where Paula Deen has made history over the last few years. It is such a delightful, old-fashioned town and we have had a special, memory-making time here in Savannah. I'm so thankful for my mama coming to visit...it has been so fun having her with us...a wonderful time of refreshment for me!!

One of the MANY beautiful, antique buildings in Savannah.

 

The park where Forrest Gump sat as he shared his box of chocolates and told his life story!!

 

Love these colonial-style brick buildings!!

 

The magnificent St. John the Baptist Cathedral in downtown Savannah...absolutely gorgeous!!

The inside of the cathedral!

 

The fountain in Forsyth Park

 

Totally love these paths, lined with Spanish moss draped live oak trees!!

The Whitefield chapel on the Bethesda Boy's Home that was founded by the Englishman George Whitefield. It was originally an orphanage and now it is a school and home for boys.

 

A cute bridge leading to the chapel.

 

The home of Paula Deen where it all began...her "Bag Lady" lunch delivery service and then ultimately her "Lady and Sons" restaurant then eventually her own cooking show and southern-cooking empire!!

 

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Happy 13th Birthday Paige!!

Sunday was our precious Paigey's 13th birthday and we celebrated in Paige style...full of fun, splashes of color, mouthfuls of sushi and lots of laughter...it was a great day!! Grammy came into Savannah to join us for the week of birthday celebrations and we have certainly enjoyed having her with us!! We started out the birthday with church and "second" breakfast (as all good hobbits do!) of bagels (one of Paige's favorite things!). Then we were off to see the Hobbit, with two buckets full of popcorn (Paige's absolute favorite thing!!). We topped the day off with a hole-in-the-wall sushi place for dinner (where she could use her favorite chop sticks that she received from her karate Sensei back home), cake and presents. We are so blessed to have Paige in our family and are so grateful that the Lord has allowed us to be her mommy and daddy. She is such a generous, kind, joyful young lady and she fills our family with such fun and laughter. She has never met a stranger and can make anyone feel welcome, even if she only met them a few seconds ago! She lives life full-throttle and isn't afraid of anything! She is a special gift in so many ways and we love her so very much!! Welcome to teenage-hood my precious Paige!!

Paige's new colorful outfit for Grammy....totally crazy color, fashionable outfit that she ABSOLUTELY loves!!

 

Loved the Hobbit!!

 

At the sushi restaurant having cake and presents. Her birthday cake of choice is an angel food cake with maraschino cherry bits.

 

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Last Day of School

Well, we are doing our last day of school today for this semester. It is hard to believe that our first semester of school on the road is coming to completion. I have to say, we have done really well...we have begun geometry, algebra, decimals and multiplication (from oldest to youngest), we have learned a TON of American history and even some world history (the Holocaust from the perspective of Corrie ten Boom), and even some great science stuff about different climates, Eco systems, plants, animals and insects of all different kinds. Each child has read some great books...Pilgrim's Progress, Idles of the King and The Once and Future King (about King Arthur and his knights) for Madeline, Freedom Train (the life of Harriet Tubman) for Paige, Lord Fontleroy and George Washington Carver for Luke and Felicity and Samantha (American Girl books) for Lila. Plus everyone is keeping up with both their drawing journals and their writing journal...these have been particularly fun to see!! So now we are ready to celebrate some birthdays and some much needed time with family and Jesus' birthday :-). Happy Hobbit Friday to you all!!

 

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Learning About South Carolina

We certainly were not familiar with the unique ecology of the South Carolina shoreline, so we spent some time learning about the beaches, maritime forest, ocean life and salt marshes of this part of the country. I was in awe of the maritime forest...I had never seen anything like it before in my life!! Pine trees, live oak, magnolia trees, palm trees and saw palmettos all in the same forest, living next to salt water...absolutely amazing and beautiful!! Plus, every time we went out to the water, either on the beach, a pier or to go fishing, we had the pleasure of watching dolphins come in to feed and play...that was one of the highlights of our SC experience. I tried hard to get pictures of them, but they were just too fast!! We very much enjoyed our time in South Carolina and this morning we headed south to Savannah, Ga. We will be here for about two weeks and have many things to look forward to here...celebrating two family birthdays, a visit from Grammy, dinner at the Lady and Sons restaurant AND Christmas...it's gonna be a great time in Savannah!! Hope everyone is well and looking forward to celebrating our Savior's birth. Blessings to you dear family and friends!!

 

Sunset on the salt marsh, after our ranger talk.

 

 

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Sunday Lunch On the Beach

The beach all to ourselves!!

St Helena, SC was sooooo good to us and we had such a wonderful time while we were there. We spent several days on the beach and one of those times was after church on Sunday afternoon. We got home, changed into beach wear, packed cheese, sausage, crackers and chocolate chip cookies and spent the afternoon on this quiet, beautiful SC beach. Sorry for the delay in blog entries...this isolated beach was also isolated from the modern convinces of technology... It was perfect!!

 

Yummy picnic!!

 

Playing with each other and the seagulls!

 

Burying her feet in the sand :-)

 

Looking at shells together.

 

How Miss Madeline likes to spend her time on the beach!!

 

How Lila likes to spend her time on the beach!!

 

How Luke likes to spend his time on the beach!!

 

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