BLACKOUT!!!

We had a little excitement happen tonight at our house. OK - here's the background info... When we moved here, some friends of ours sold us a washer/dryer to use in our apt. When we moved them in, we discovered that the washer was missing a water hose, and the dryer had a 3 prong plug...and we have a 4 prong outlet. So - our washer/dryer have been sitting here for a couple of months unusable b/c of our financial situation at the time. With Chris' new job and refinancing the truck, we FINALLY went out and bought the parts to make these appliances usable to us! Today I bought the screws and nuts to finish wiring the plug for the dryer. When Chris got home, he got it all together (not without much fanagling on his part). He plugged it in and pushed the start button and BAM! IMMEDIATELY everything went black! NOTHING IN OUR APT. HAD POWER...no lights, no stove, no appliances, nothing! So Chris flips all the breakers in the circuit panel... still no power! He ended up calling the emergency maintenance number. Come to find out... Chris hadn't wired it right and it sucked up so much juice that we had to flip the main breaker OUTSIDE by our meter! Thankfully, it was a quick fix, and Chris didn't get hurt nor did a fire break out from the spark it caused. Chris then called an electrician friend of ours and found out that on FOUR PRONG PLUGS, the WHITE wire is neutral. Chris did a little switching, and after all that excitement, we were able to finish the laundry without leaving our apartment!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Heather & Chris - Christmas Eve (I tried a something a little different with my hair... I "flipped" it out instead of curling it under.)
Our old TV - Chris bought it 9 years ago for $99. This picture is for comparison's sake!

Our new TV - Chris' parents gave us some money towards this gift, and we pitched in the rest.The quilt that my parents gave us for Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I had to post these pictures today... since our e-mail doesn't like to send huge size pictures, this is the easiest way for everyone to get the pics. So - these are the major gifts that we got this year. Chris and I will be doing Christmas a little late this year with all of the financial things going on. We are very thankful for our families, and wish that we could have been with them this Christmas. We love you all very much and miss you. Oh, yes, we also had a wonderful verbal Christmas present from Chris' brother, Burt, and his wife, Julie... they are expecting their first baby on July 31st. We are SOOOOOO excited for them!!! :-)

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

IN THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING...

Last night, I worked a night shift for a 1 year old boy who is on a ventilator. I have very little to do while at work at his house during the night shift, since he normally sleeps from 8pm to about 6:30am... unless you wake him up doing suctioning, breathing treatments, changing his diaper, etc. Knowing that this is usually the case, and knowing that I had to do something to keep me awake, I made the rest of my Christmas cards. Here are the two that I made last night (12 of each):

Simple tree

Candy Cane card

I just HAD to use all of the little candy canes that my grandma sent me. I just think they add such a sweet little unexpected touch to the card.

Well, after being up all night, I need to head to bed and get some sleep... although I really don't feel very tired right now. This used to happen to me all the time when I worked night shifts regularly. I would be SO tired just before getting off work (sometimes even struggling to stay awake on the 10 minute drive home), then when I got home, I would catch my "second wind." It would usually take about an hour to wind down before I could actually go to sleep. ANYWAY, Good night! :-)

KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS

Holly Berries and Skating Hedgehog

Snowflakes and Skating Hedgehog

Here are a couple of cards that I made the other day to send out for Christmas. I just love this hedgehog set... it is so cute. Not very spiritual, though, but I always make sure that I put Merry CHRISTmas in the inside. I was VERY convicted last night during the message about not keeping Christ in my Christian CHRISTmas! The preacher's 4 points in his "Room for Jesus" message were:

ACKNOWLEDGE HIM IN YOUR HEAD:

Keep Christ and the REASON for CHRISTmas in the forefront of your mind during the Christmas season, decorate with manger scenes and things that point people to CHRIST

ADORE HIM IN YOUR HEART:

Love Christ enough to sing about Him, tell others about Him, & spend time reading the Christmas story

ADVERTISE HIM WITH YOUR LIPS:

Again, tell others why we celebrate CHRISTmas - share the GOOD NEWS of the GOSPEL with others, say MERRY CHRISTMAS~ not Happy Holidays or Season's Greetings

and ACCEPT HIM AS SAVIOR (if you haven't already done so.):

Accept the fact that Jesus ~the son of God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords~ came to be born in a stable (like a tomb), in a manger (like a grave) and wrapped in swaddling clothes (like graveclothes) in order to live 33&1/2 perfect sinless years on this earth just so that He could be the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty of death for your sin and mine. Jesus was born to die. Three days after he died, he arose from the grave and now lives in Heaven. He paid the penalty for our sins, and now is offering you the gift of eternal life through his shed blood on the cross. The price has already been paid for that gift... won't you receive His gift today?

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MOM&DAD!

Mom & Dad Chromy - Labor Day weekend 2006

HAPPY 36TH ANNIVERSARY, MOM & DAD!

May God bless you with many more years together to serve HIM! Thanks for the example of faithfulness in a Christian marriage. We love you and miss you!

CHRISTMAS CANTATA

Heather & Chris - dressed up for the Christmas Cantata

Sunday, December 17th, was our church's Christmas Cantata. Chris and I joined choir a few weeks ago, but the way it works in our church, we have to attend choir practice 3 times before we can sing in church. Chris sang for the first time last week, but I was sick with a cold, so I couldn't sing. This Sunday morning was the first time I was able to sing. We used the cantata written by Ron&Shelley Hamilton: Goodwill to Men. I was thrilled to have 2 ladies from my work attend, bringing 3 more adults and about 10 children from their church. It was a great service.

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY, NATHAN!

Nathan - June 2005

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY, NATHAN!!! We hope you have a wonderful day, and may God bless you with many more years as you seek to serve Him. We love you and miss you!

HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY, RACHAEL!

Rachael & Aksana - February 2006

HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY, RACHAEL!!! We hope you had a wonderful day! May God bless you with many more years to serve Him! We love you and miss you!

YAAHHHOOOO!!

Chris made his first car sale today! Yaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhooooooooooo!!!!!! Praise the Lord for His provision. I know that His name is Jehovah-Jireh... God Provides, but many times (especially lately) I find myself stressing out over our job and money situations. Chris and I were just talking about this last night, and I told him that I am having a really hard time handling the stress. He told me, "Psalm 55:22 says 'Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.' Heather, leave that stress with the Lord. HE is the one responsible for our bills. We are to do our part, but ultimately, the responsibility is HIS!" That sure takes a weight off my shoulders, especially since I am looking at almost 3 weeks without work if something doesn't come up. Now, I love staying home, and I have plenty to do when at home, but I know that we need the money, too. SO - I'm learning to lean on Jesus, but in my independent self, it's awfully hard to let Him do what He so willingly WANTS to do for me. I'm so stupid sometimes!! Anyway, I did get some work yesterday and today, and will be working for a few hours tomorrow as well. Every little bit counts! Praise the Lord!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, TIM & CRISTINA!

Tim & Cristina May 2006
HAPPY 9TH ANNIVERSARY, TIM & CRISTINA! May God bless you with many more years together. We love you and miss you!

MORE CHRISTMAS CARDS

I made these cards at stamping party. Brenda (the demonstrator) had all of the materials cut and ready, we just had to put them together to make the cards. Since we were able to make 2 of each (except for the slide card), I tried to make one like the sample, then one with my own personality to it. The hedgehog card I made by myself at home, but had to add it b/c of the wire candy canes my grandma sent to me. I thought they were so cute! I apologize for the pictures, though... I can't really do anything super straight, including taking pictures, apparently! You get the idea, though. :-)

just thinking...

Today I didn't have to go to work (again... for the 6th time in the past 2&1/2 weeks!) I'm thankful in a way, because I enjoy being home, however, we do need the money. That's the problem with working with special needs kids that are immunosupressed... when they get sick, they don't go to school, and I don't work! Anyway, in spite of how it sounds, I'm really NOT complaining, since I am trying to kick a massive head cold, as well. I was really sick on Saturday and Sunday, and am now feeling much better, praise the Lord. I am still fighting with the sinus congestion and headaches, though, so it's still hanging on. ANYWAY, the point of this post was not to complain about being sick, but to state how happy I am to have a wonderful husband, and how thankful I am for him. Since I didn't have to work today, I picked up a school visit near the dealership where Chris works. The visit took about 15 minutes, and I did about 5 seconds of work ($20 for 5 seconds of work... not bad!) :-p It was conveniently timed during lunch time, so after making the visit, I headed to the dealership to spend some time with Chris while he ate lunch. After Chris finished eating and telling me all about these vehicles, he wanted to show me the new 4 door Jeep Wrangler. We were walking down the hallway holding hands, when one of Chris' co-workers called out something about "no holding hands during company time." Chris turned me around, walked me to the door of Dennis' office, and kissed me on the lips. Just as he did that, another salesman walked around the corner and said something about work romance, and added that there was a Holiday Inn across the street. Chris said, "We don't have kids, so I can just go home... it's a lot cheaper!" The other guy laughed and said it was better that way anyway. SO - Chris showed me a bunch of Jeeps in the showroom, then we walked outside to see a Dodge Charger they have on the lot (I want a Charger SO BAD... they have 4 doors and they look SOOOO COOL!) and look at a Chrysler 300. Chrysler 300's are very nice, too, and you get more for your money than buying a Charger, but the Chargers just look way more cool. ANYWAY, we walked in holding hands and Dennis (the guy that made the first comment) asked how long we've been married. Chris told him 6&1/2 years. Dennis said, "Y'all walk around like newlyweds... holding hands after being married over 6 years?? Don't let my wife see that!" Another guy piped up, "Yeah, don't let my girlfriend see that!"
So - why do I tell you that? Just to say that I am so thankful for a Godly Christian husband that loves me, is proud to call me his wife, doesn't care who knows it, and is proud to show it! I love him so much, and in spite of our differences, weaknesses, shortcomings, and quirks, we have a great marriage. I am so thankful for that. I am also thankful for a husband who LOVES to spend time with me, and wants me close to him. It means a lot to me, and I know a lot of people aren't blessed with husbands like mine! CHRIS - I love you and am so thankful for you! God blessed me beyond my comprehension when HE brought you into my life!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!

Dad Chromy - February 2006
Dad - the pool shark! Labor Day weekend 2006
Nice smiley face p.j. pants! :-) February 2006

HAPPY 58TH BIRTHDAY, DAD!! I talked to my dad today, and he said that he learned that he's not 58 years old... he's 39.95 + shipping! I just want to say I love you, Dad! Thanks for all the sacrifices you've made for us over the years, as well as putting up with me, even through the rough times... there were a few! :-) I hope you have a GREAT day, and that God blesses you with many more years to impact the lives of those around you as you seek to serve HIM! Happy Birthday!

CHRIS' WORK CHRISTMAS PARTY

Tonight, we attended Chris' new company, Cross Chrysler/Jeep, Christmas party. The party was held at the Galt House, which is a very ritzy hotel located just off the Ohio River. It is very different going from the Christian world to the secular world... especially when it comes to Christmas parties. We were greeted outside the door to the Fountain Room by the owner, Joe Cross. He was wearing a reindeer antler headband, which looked really funny considering the fact that his head is shaved! The good thing is that since we don't drink, we got $10 cash. We really only went for the dinner. When we walked in, there was a strings quartet playing background music. That was really classy, and they sounded great. As we were finishing a delicious dinner, the "One Night With You" live band started playing a bunch of oldies. After 2 or 3 songs, they had an Elvis impersonator come out. I got kissed by Elvis! Yikes! When we finished dinner, we left, as most of the people were hanging out drinking and dancing... not exactly on our to-do list! It was nice to get to meet the people that Chris will be working with, and several of the salesmen told me that they are glad Chris is "on board" and that they will take care of him. I am excited to see how God will use Chris in this job to impact people and to make the money to pay our bills!

CHRISTMAS LETTER 2006

Dear Family & Friends, Christmas 2006
Merry Christmas! I cannot believe that another year has passed already! When I think about all of the changes that have happened in our lives over the past 6 months, it is no wonder time seems to have flown by so quickly. We can look back over this year and be thankful that God is faithful. This year has been one of great times and not-so-great times for us. It has been a year of triumph, testing, trials, tears (and lots of them), and learning to trust God, even when we don’t understand.
From January to July 3rd, Chris was the full-time youth pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Temple in Hagerstown, MD. We absolutely LOVED our ministry and the people there, and God was blessing incredibly. In the 16 months that Chris was youth pastor, the youth group grew from about 10 teens on Wednesday nights to over 30 coming regularly. The teen church on Sunday mornings grew from 5 bus teens to around 17 teens per week. In February, I started teaching the 7th & 8th grade girls’ Sunday school class, and had it grow from 2 girls to 7 girls in 4 months. It was such a blessing to see the numbers grow as we were able to reach new teenagers with the gospel.
Through those months, we kept busy mostly with church and church-related activities. Jan. was a month that we had a little breather after the busyness of the Christmas season. My brother, Nathan, came to visit us on the 7th. We were glad to be able to visit with him. He called us the next weekend to tell us that he was now engaged (01/14) to Caroline LaChance, who he had been officially dating for almost a year. On the 24th, we attended a basketball game at Loyola University near Baltimore. One of our friends, Rich Gainer, is the voice of the Loyola Greyhounds and he also works for ESPN radio. He invited us to the game. While we were there, we had the privilege of meeting Anthony Weaver, who was the starting defensive end for the Baltimore Ravens (since signed with the Houston Texans).
In Feb., we had a Super Bowl Party, then a surprise activity, the adult Valentine Banquet (Chris preached the message at the banquet) and a church staff retreat all within the 1st 15 days! Then, over President's Day weekend, I was able to join my parents and take a trip up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to see the newest addition to the Chromy family… Aksana Grace Chromy was born to Greg and Rachael on February 1st. We spent the long weekend visiting with Heidi and her family as well. We all descended on Greg and Rachael for the weekend! It was a little chaotic, but it was great to get to spend time with my family.
March was a very busy month for us. A man in our church donated the money to pay for the construction of the youth room, and we held our first service in the new youth room on March 1st. The following Fri., we held an all-nighter with our teens and 2 other churches (a total of 96 teens!) We had a great time, and were thrilled to have the first teen saved in the new youth room that Fri. night! Then, on the 17th, we took the Jr. high teens out for pizza and bowling. The following Sun., we hosted the Youth After Church activity at our house. We had 37 people in our house at one time! It was quite exciting! That week, Chris attended a pastor’s conference with our pastor in Hammond, IN. This was the first time that Chris left while I stayed home. I didn’t really care for that much (if you have to go somewhere by yourself, it’s a lot better being the one going away!)
April 1st marked our 1 year anniversary at EBT. We celebrated by taking a trip to Philadelphia to watch the Boston Red Sox play the Philadelphia Phillies. We took one of our youth staff and one of our teens with us for the game. The next weekend, Chris and I went to Camden Yards to watch the Red Sox play the Baltimore Orioles. (Of course, you know that Chris is a Red Sox fan-addict!) :-) Two weeks later, we took our pastor and his family to RFK Stadium to watch the Washington Nationals play the Atlanta Braves. Pastor and his family, especially his wife, are HUGE Braves fans. The funny thing about all of the baseball games that we attended in April is that they all had some kind of rain delay. I think maybe Chris and I were jinxing the games! April 22nd, we held a youth activity called the Fantabulous Race. Chris got the idea from the TV show The Amazing Race. We had a blast with that activity (it was raining at first in the morning for that, too!) The last weekend in April, I attended the Sword of the Lord Ladies’ Jubilee in Murfreesboro, TN, with the ladies from our church. It was a good time of fellowship and learning.
The 2nd week of May, Chris took a short trip to Pensacola, FL, for his sister, Tiffany’s college graduation from Pensacola Christian College. Because of my 2 trips already this spring, we couldn’t afford for me to go along. I was pretty bummed about that. Then, on May 20th, we held a paintball/craft activity (the boys and a few girls go paintballing, and the other girls do crafts with me). The guys LOVE playing paintball, and have great stories to tell when they get back, with bruises and welts to illustrate. Why they love it so much is beyond me!! The following week, we had revival services with evangelists Jerry & Scott Sivnksty. On Thurs. of that week, we held the Extreme Cola Wars (Mountain Dew vs. Vault), which is basically a couple of camp-style games, free pizza and pop, then the teens all join the adults for the revival/evangelistic service. We were thrilled to have several teens get saved that night. The 28th was Graduation Sunday, when we honor our high school and college grads in the morning, and our 6th grade graduates moving up to the youth group on Sunday night. We had a special activity on June 3rd for the new 7th graders. The boys went to an Orioles game, the girls went to the Baltimore Aquarium.
In June, we held our Vacation Bible School, with a special program for the teens during that time called “War on the West Side.� Chris used modern day military gear from one of our friends who fought in Iraq as a marine to parallel the armor of God found in Ephesians 6:10-18. Chris did a great job of running the program and preaching. We broke attendance records with 76 teens on Thursday evening, and had 26 teens saved over the course of the week, and several baptized the following Sunday. It was awesome to see that God still works in the lives of people, teens especially.
We finished up June with an activity to watch the Frederick Keys baseball game, and then had our annual cookout/ fireworks activity, ending up at the Antitam battlefield to watch the fireworks.
On July 3rd, Chris resigned very unexpectedly from his position as youth pastor at EBT. This was a major shock to me, as I had no idea that anything was happening. There had been some issues going on for about 6 months from which he had protected me, but it was at this point that Chris and our pastor decided that it was best for everyone if Chris resigned. This was a major trial for us. On July 5th, Chris announced his resignation to our church family. We had a chance to say goodbye to our friends that evening, but from there we attended a different church down in West Virginia. Pastor was gracious enough to continue Chris’ salary through the end of the summer, so we continued to live in MD until Sept. 8th. I continued working, and Chris worked on construction in our house to get it ready for sale. I was so proud of him; he built a second bathroom in our house from scratch all by himself! I mean, plumbing, electrical, all the fixtures… everything! He did a great job! I also worked on landscaping the front of the house, and put in a beautiful flower garden in place of what Chris calls “old-people� bushes (you know-the shaped evergreen bushes). No offense intended! :-) Chris was able to work the last week of Aug. and the first week of Sept. for a man from our church there, and was able to get enough money to pay for the move.
In Aug., we went on vacation to Idaho for a week. Chris’ parents own mountain top property near Kellogg, Idaho. They have been inviting us to join them for vacation up there for a couple of years, and we had never had the opportunity before to go with them. It was an awesome vacation, and we had a great time with Chris’ parents and three youngest siblings. The 3rd week in Aug., we took a week long trip to Greenville, SC. While there, we were able to attend the ordination service for our friend, Jeremy Frazor. Labor Day weekend, we spent Sun. visiting my parents at their house before we moved.
Sept. 8th found us moving to Kentuckiana. Because of the emotional upheaval of Chris’ resignation, we decided (on advice of our pastor and several other Godly friends) to take a year off from full-time ministry. Our pastor told us that he experienced something very similar in his early years of ministry, and taking a year off was the best thing he ever did. So, we looked for a church where we could join, attend, and be faithful as laypeople in the church. We decided to move to the Louisville, KY, area to attend Shawnee Baptist Church, where Bro. Lonnie Mattingly is the pastor. We just joined the choir there, and Chris is doing some substitute bus driving for the church bus routes.
I was able to take a trip the last week of Sept. to Colorado to visit 2 of my girl friends from college. I had a great time visiting them, and even got to walk within 50 feet of an elk herd in Estes Park. While there, I had a “makeover� done… while with my friend, Deb, I got my hair cut… very short for me! Then, while spending time with my friend, Mary, she did the make-up part. Mary sells Mary Kay products, and was generous enough to give me enough products to wear makeup for a long time! What a blessing that was! (I never really wore makeup much before now.) Then when I got home, I found that Chris was growing a “makeover� of his own… I got my hair cut, and he grew a goatee! I still don’t like the feel of it, but I think it looks nice! Then, just a couple of days after I got home from CO, my grandparents stopped by on their way to FL for a cruise. They had supper with us and spent the night, then headed off early the next morning. Though the time was short, we enjoyed their visit.
The agency that I worked for in MD has an office in Louisville, and so my job transferred. However, I didn’t get full-time work until the last week in Oct. Chris had to find a secular job for the first time in his life, which was very difficult for him. He ended up working with a company that does “back end banking.� Basically, they sell credit card machines to businesses. He worked there until the last week of Nov. Due to some employees stealing thousands of dollars from the business in various ways, Chris had not received a paycheck for over a month. With this move being so financially straining already, we had piles of overdue bills that we couldn’t pay, and Chris wasn’t getting the money he was working for. So, when we returned from our Thanksgiving trip, he decided to look for a different job. The following Mon. he had a job interview, and then was hired that Fri. to work as a car salesman for Cross Chrysler/Jeep. This company actually paid him a substantial amount for 3 days training, and then spent all of this past week training him as well. It seems like a good company, and we pray that this job works out better than the last one.
We were blessed last week to have Chris get hired for this new job, and the Lord provided a way for us to pay our overdue bills. Chris’ truck has been paid off for a while now, and he had quite a bit of equity in it. We were planning to sell it and buy something else in order to pay off bills. However, his new manager bought the truck from Chris, then sold it right back to him to allow us to have cash in hand. Thank the Lord for his timing! With that money, we were able to pay ALL of our overdue bills and still have money in the bank for groceries! So, now we have a truck twice owned, but we don’t have overdue bills hanging over our heads!
The other major event of this year was our Thanksgiving trip to Pensacola, FL. Chris’ family has not been all together for the holidays in 10 years, so last Christmas, we started planning a surprise family reunion for Chris’ mom for Thanksgiving. Since Chris has 1 brother and his family that live near Pensacola, and 3 siblings in college there, we figured that we could all meet there. Chris’ mom thought that she was going to FL to surprise her 3 youngest kids for their last Thanksgiving at college, but when she arrived, the joke was on her! She was shocked to find that 7 out of the 8 kids were there. We were able to spend Wed. – Fri. with Chris’ family. We also had a custom-made mother’s ring designed for Chris’ mom, and gave it to her at the Thanksgiving meal. Of course, she was totally surprised, and I doubt that there was a dry eye at the table (except the grandkids.) One of Chris’ nephews, Tron, said, “Mommy’s crying and shaking because she’s so happy.� It was a blessing to see the joy on Chris’ mom’s face to have almost all of the family there. Chris and I were also happy to be able to spend a little bit of time with my brother, Nathan, and his fiancée, while we were there, along with getting a little time with a couple of friends before Chris’ family arrived.
So – what’s planned for the coming year? First of all, we are praying that our house in MD will sell very quickly in this new year! As for events… well, Chris’ sister, Kim, and her husband, David, are expecting their first baby – a girl – the beginning of Feb. We have a Chromy family get-together planned for April in Jacksonville, FL. Chris’ brother, Jon, and sister, Julianne, graduate from PCC in May and another brother, Tim, graduates from University of South Alabama that week as well. My brother, Nathan, and Caroline get married June 30th in Michigan. So, Lord willing, we will be able to get to all of these events.
Just one more little note: Chris and I now have our own personal website. It is usually pretty up-to-date with pictures and updates of what is going on in our lives. I’m about a week behind right now, but you can find pictures from Thanksgiving, etc. on there. Check out Mitchell Mania at www.mitchells2000.blogspot.com . Enjoy!
As we celebrate Christmas, we wish to remind you of the real reason for Christmas. Jesus Christ was born on this earth, died for the sins of the world, including yours and mine, was buried and raised again on the third day that we might have eternal life in Heaven. However, in order to have the gift of eternal life in Heaven, you must accept God’s gift of His only begotten Son. You must confess that you are a sinner, believe that Jesus Christ died and took the payment for your sins, and place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and make you righteous before God through the blood of Jesus Christ. You cannot earn your way to Heaven; you cannot buy your way to Heaven; you can never be good enough for Heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior. Have you done that? If you haven’t, you are missing the greatest Christmas gift of all.
We wish you all the very merriest of Christmases, and a safe and happy holiday season. We look forward to hearing from you and catching up on the news of the year. Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all the best this holiday season,
Serving Christ,

Chris and Heather Beth Mitchell Ps. 91:1, Lam. 3:22-23

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY, CAROLINE!

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY, CAROLINE!!!!
I just received these pics of my little brother, Nathan, and his fiancee, Caroline. Since I haven't seen my family much this year, I haven't posted many pictures. However, I am trying to collect pictures from all of them in order to make a personalized calendar. When I get the pictures, I will post them so you all can see MY family, too! Anyway, back to Nathan & Caroline... they got engaged January 14th of this year, and are counting down the days until their wedding: June 30, 2007. They are both in college at Pensacola Christian College in Pensacola, FL. Caroline, I hope you had an excellent day!

HAPPY 27TH BIRTHDAY, JOSIE!

Today is my dear friend Josie's 27th birthday. I just wanted to take a moment to say that I am so thankful for her friendship. She has been such an encouragement and blessing to me in so many ways that I don't even know where to start. Josie and her husband, Kevin, were Chris and my closest friends in Maryland. We spent almost every weekend together, and it was very rare that you saw one couple without the other. I think our friendship came very close to co-dependency!! :-) Just kidding. Seriously, though, I am so thankful for the friendship that has developed between us in the 18 months that we lived in Maryland. Happy Birthday, Josie! We love you guys and miss you very much! Can't wait til the time that we can actually spend time with you again!!

Happy Anniversary, Pete & Amy

Happy Anniversary, Pete & Amy! We pray that God gives you many more wonderful years together as husband and wife. We also pray that God gives you great wisdom as you raise your family - Michael now and Chad, when he arrives! - to serve Him. You are great friends, and we miss you so much! Enjoy your day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JODI!

happy birthday, Jodi! I have known Jodi over 12 years now! Wow, that makes me feel old! I haven't seen here in a few years, since she is now teaching in Alaska. I have a lot of memories of stuff that Jodi and I did together... I'll never forget the year at Camp Joy! :-) Spud... hope you have a great day! Happy Birthday!!

OUR FIRST SNOWFALL OF THE YEAR

yep - this is it... our first snowfall (if you can call it that) of the year. This was it, too... just a dusting. The sun came out about 10am, and though it was cold, I think the wind blew all the snow away. It sure didn't stay very long.

MILITARY MEMORIES - PEARL HARBOR

65 years ago today was the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and I was just thinking about our military men and women. I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all of our troops for the freedom that you have given me. I greatly appreciate the sacrifices you make on a daily basis to serve our country, and though the media won't show it, there are countless Americans who support you. Thank you to the veterans of wars that I know: my dad in Vietnam, and Pete McMillin in Iraq. I also want to thank 2 of my brothers-in-law that spent time in the military: Tyson in the Marines, and David in the Air Force. There are many others, I know, but those are the ones that I can think of right now. Thank God for the country that we are able to be citizens of...God has blessed us so much. And thank you to the many men and women who fight so that we can retain the freedoms that were bought with the blood of many men and women before us. Remember: FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!

CHRIS' NEW COAT

This is a picture of Chris' new coat that his brother, Jon, bought him for Christmas. Jon gave it to Chris while we were in FL for Thanksgiving. Here is a picture of Chris wearing his new coat over a suit for the first time. Now that he has a new job as a car salesmen, he will wear it almost daily. He was very thankful for the nice warm wool coat to wear with dress clothes. Thanks so much, Jonathan! What a great gift! :-)

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS 2006

yep - it's that time of the year again... CHRISTMAS IS COMING! I love Christmas time. I love the fact that people are more open to the gospel now than at any other time of the year. I love to be able to get together with family and spend time with friends and loved ones. I love getting Christmas cards and letters catching up on friends that you don't get to talk to often enough. I love decorating for Christmas, too. This year was a little bit hard for me, though. With just having returned from a big trip to FL for Thanksgiving, and the financial strain that we've been struggling with, to be honest, I was a little depressed. We will be staying here for the holidays, and as far as I know, will not be seeing any friends or family over Christmas. However, yesterday, Chris found out that he has a new job, and we sold our truck and bought it back, providing us with enough cash in hand to pay ALL of our overdue bills! Praise the Lord! Learning that news brought back the Christmas spirit, and I finally decorated! Enjoy the pictures of my decorated apartment!

HARMONY SS CLASS CHRISTMAS PARTY

Tonight was our Sunday School class party, hosted by our friends, Micah&Faith Jenkins. They have a beautiful home, and Faith has done an excellent job on interior decorating. The first time I went over there, I came home and told Chris that their house looks like it should be on HGTV (Home and Garden Television, for those who don't know!) Anyway, we had a great time getting to know some of the other couples in our class. Of course, there was good food (and a fondue fountain), good fellowship, and good fun. We enjoyed a Chinese Auction/Dirty Santa/Whatever you call it gift exchange, then split up to play table games for the rest of the evening. We had alot of fun, and it was nice to get to know some more people a little bit better. I feel like we're finally getting settled in a little bit here, though I still feel like I left my heart in Maryland.

STAN MITCHELL FAMILY PICTURE FROM THANKSGIVING

Back row: Chris Mitchell, David Fox, Kathy & Stan Mitchell, Jon Mitchell, Tim Mitchell

Middle Row: Heather Mitchell, Kim Fox, Tiffany Mitchell, Julianne Mitchell, Sandy Rhodes, Cristina Mitchell

Front Row: Kailey Mitchell, Nathan Mitchell, Kimberly Mitchell, Tron Rhodes, Tynan Rhodes

Not present for picture: Burt & Julie Mitchell, Tyson Rhodes

Happy Birthday, Julie

HAPPY 29TH BIRTHDAY, JULIE!! We love you and miss you, and hope you have a great day!

THANKSGIVING TRIP TO PENSACOLA - SATURDAY

Saturday morning, we all got up and got ready to leave. We took a few pictures of Sandy and the boys, then said goodbye to them. Chris and I took Julianne back to campus, then met our friends Rob & Emily Hazewinkel for breakfast at Granny Cantrell's Restaurant. After spending some time with them, we headed back to PCC's campus to say goodbye to Jonathan, and my brother, Nathan, and his fiancee, Caroline. From there, we headed home to Indiana. We had a great time with family, and miss them very much.

Dr. Pepper 23 & Cocoa the bear

It's hard to see on this picture, but this is Cocoa the bear. She has a cup of cocoa on her paw. My dining room has a "coffee" theme, but I don't drink coffee, only hot chocolate. I saw this bear at Cracker Barrel back in April, and loved it. I thought it would be a great addition to my decor, but didn't have the money to get it. While we were at Cracker Barrel, I saw it again, and showed it to Sandy (who also has a coffee theme in her kitchen/dining room). When Sandy, Chris and Tron came back from shopping, Sandy had bought me this bear. THANK YOU, Sandy!

While we were at the mall on Friday, Uncle Chris bought Tron a Dr. Pepper. Tron went to open it, and it exploded. Tron loves "Dr. Pepper 23", as do I! The reason he calls it "Dr. Pepper 23" is because of the new add campaign that says that 23 flavors make up Dr. Pepper. They also have a "23" on the label now. Tron showed me... "See, Aunt Heather, it has a 2 and a 3 and that makes twenty-three. So it is Dr. Pepper 23." ANYWAY... it was a mess. Then, when Chris, Sandy, and Tron went shopping while Tynan & I took a nap, they bought some Dr. Pepper 23 to drink later that evening. By the time we got home that night, we didn't end up drinking any. Sandy said that Chris and I could take it with us on Saturday for the trip home. Saturday, when we were loading the vehicles, Chris walked out with the full 6-pack of 20 oz. Dr. Pepper bottles. Tron turned to Sandy and said, "Mom, Uncle Chris is taking all the Dr. Pepper 23's!!" Since he was so distraught over this, we left one with him to take on his trip. On our way home, almost every one of our Dr. Pepper 23's exploded (or almost exploded) in the car. I'm not sure what that was all about!

THANKSGIVING TRIP TO PENSACOLA - FRIDAY AFTERNOON

After we said goodbye to everybody, Chris, Sandy, Tiffany & I were trying to decide what to do. Tiffany didn't have to go to work for a while, so we had some time "to kill." First we headed to the mall to the Florida/Bama store (since Tyson, Sandy's husband, loves Florida State, she was looking for Christmas presents for him). After leaving the mall (unsuccessful at finding a gift there), Tiffany took us on a "wild goose chase" to find Bayview Park, which is located on the bay side of Pensacola. (DUH!) We finally got there, and had a good time playing. Tron hiked up his pants to "highwater" level to walk in the sand, and the boys enjoyed playing on the playgrounds. Then we headed down to the water and the dock. Tron&Tynan love to go fishing and play in the water (typical boys.) Uncle Chris let Tynan down from the edge of the dock to put his feet in the water a few times. Then they went and played along the water's edge, "fishing" with sticks and a small piece of fishing line they found, then resorting to just throwing handfuls of sand into the water. After succeeding in getting dirty with sand and wet, we took Tiffany back to campus for work, and then went back to the hotel for Tynan and Aunt Heather's nap time.

THANKSGIVING TRIP TO PENSACOLA - FRIDAY

HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY TO KIM!!!
Friday morning, we all got up and met at Cracker Barrel for brunch before Mom&Dad Mitchell & Kim&David left on their long trip home to Las Vegas. Jonathan & Julianne weren't able to come because of classes and work responsibilities. The kids enjoyed "playing" checkers while we waited. Mom, Sandy, and I browsed the Cracker Barrel Country Store. Sandy found Tyson's Christmas gift from her, and Chris found Tyson's Christmas present from him. Tiffany was watching Tynan in the store, and Tynan found a dancing Christmas tree that mesmerized him! When we finally all sat down to eat (at 2 tables b/c there wasn't a table big enough for all 15 of us! At the small table that we were sitting at, Tynan discovered that there was a hole in the table (why it was there, I don't know) big enough to drop the pegs to the triangle game through. When Sandy and I noticed what he was doing, I slid my hand underneath the table, and pushed the pegs back up through the hole after he dropped them in. He thought that was pretty funny. He then put his finger in the hole to keep the pegs from coming up, while he tried to push another peg through. Smart kid! We went from pegs to crayons, then Tynan figured out that he could stick his finger up through the hole from UNDERNEATH the table. Uncle Chris then started grabbing his finger... all in all, it was a pretty fun and funny game that passed the time quickly until we got our food! After we finished eating, we said goodbye to Tim&Cristina and their family, as we would not be seeing them again before we left. Back at the hotel, we said goodbye to Mom, Dad, Kim&David as they headed out for the long ride home.

THANKSGIVING DINNER & MOM'S BIG SURPRISE

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!! Thanksgiving Dinner was served in the fellowship hall of Tim & Cristina's church (their house isn't big enough for all those people!) Their pastor was very gracious in offering it to us to use. We all headed over to the church after the game, and finished fixing dinner. When dinner was served, we called Chris' brother & sister-in-law that couldn't make it, and had them say what they were thankful for. Then each of the adults took turns saying things that they were thankful for... mostly for their mom and what she means to them, and how thankful they are for her sweet example of a Godly woman. The last person in line was Sandy, the oldest girl, who is the one that came up with the idea of giving Mom her mother's ring. The ring was custom made by a friend of Chris' dad who makes jewelry for Tiffany's in New York. Anyway, Sandy said what she was thankful for, and then presented her mom with the ring. Mom was incredibly surprised, and of course, there were a lot of happy tears shed. We then ate our meal, and had so much food left over that we were able to make take-home plates for a few college students that didn't get a good Thanksgiving meal (including my brother and his fiancee.) It was awesome to be a part of this incredible gift to Chris' mom. I am so thankful for my great in-laws, as well as my own family. God has been incredibly good to us!

THANKSGIVING TRIP TO PENSACOLA - THURSDAY

Thursday morning we all got ready and headed over to the campus of Pensacola Christian College for their "Turkey Bowl." This is the championship soccer game between the intermural collegians. Chris' brother, Jon's collegian was playing in the game. The teams always make a big entrance. This year they were complete with a helicopter landing on the field... TWICE, along with police escorts and limosines... a hummer limo and a VERY long van limo. Then during half time, they had a parachute troop land on the field. It was pretty cool, and best of all, Jon's team won 5-0. I was also able to see my brother, Nathan, and his fiancee, Caroline, for a little bit. From there, we headed to Tim & Cristina's church for dinner.

THANKSGIVING TRIP TO PENSACOLA - WEDNESDAY

Wednesday, we took our time getting up and ready. Chris&I shared a hotel room with Chris' sister, Sandy, and her boys, Tron&Tynan. Chris' sister, Kim& her husband, David, had the room next door, which they shared with Chris' brother, Jon, when he chose to stay off campus a couple of nights. Everyone congregated in our room to enjoy the free entertainment of a 5 year old and 2 year old... pillowfights, jumping from bed to bed, etc. Who needs TV when you have kids?!?! :-) Anyway, Wednesday mid-morning, we headed over to Chris' brother, Tim's house. Tim&Cristina live in a small town on the outskirts of Pensacola with their 3 kids... Kimberly(5 1/2 yrs old), Kailey (3 yrs old) and Nathan (2 yrs old). The ladies helped Cristina with making pies for a little bit, then Chris, Kim, David and I all had to go to campus for haircuts. We then met at LongHorn Steakhouse for dinner (all 17 of us). We had a good day just spending time with family!