Hannah and Abbie Tripp
At the end of October 2006, the children and I went to visit Leah's family in NC. Daniel was out of town for two weeks on a business trip, so we took advantage of his absence to squeeze it some sister time. Although having eight children, six and under in one house for a couple of days doesn't really qualify as quality time together, it is a lot of fun! We always enjoy visiting and spending time with them!
When we came home, we invited Hannah and Abbie to come and spend a couple of days with us. Luke's birthday was the next week, and we wanted them to be there!
On Thursday, we took them to our "Truth for Youth" night at the church. We enjoyed them being a part of this fun evening (the picture to the right is of Hannah during craft time.) Since they are used to being at their church and interacting with other children, they fit right in and participated in all of the activities.
On Friday, after we finished school and all of the daily things, the children spent several hours dressing up, having a tea party and dancing around the house like a bunch of monkeys. 
I think they pulled out every costume that we own and played every children's CD that they could find! I'm glad that it doesn't take much to entertain children - some upbeat music and a few costumes kept them busy for hours!
Then on Saturday, we went to a park in Liberty not far from our house. It's just a small park, but has enough to keep the children's imaginations' busy. It was a beautiful fall day and we had a blast!Hannah and Abbie showed us what little dare devils there are - they didn't even flinch when it was time to climb the rock wall and the ladders to get up to the big slides. It was all in a days play for them!
Well, now it is Sunday, the best day of the week. The children were very excited about going to Sunday School together. We managed to have everyone up, fed and ready to go on time. Although I am not used to fixing Hannah and Abbie's curly hair (both of our girls have very straight hair), I told them to tell me how Leah did it and I would give it my best. They are beautiful little girls and they behaved like miniature angels during the services. 
This is Hannah. She is six years old now (as of December 31st) and in the first grade. Leah home schools her, and she is very smart. Hannah takes pride in her work and takes time to make sure it is done correctly and neatly. (In contrast to McKaylah who tries to get through school as quickly as possible most of the time - I am usually trying to get her to slow down.) Hannah also is a big helper at home since she is the oldest of Leah's children. Hannah likes to stay busy, so our girls really enjoyed playing with her - it was a big treat for us!
And this is Abbie. Abbie just turned four years old January 6th and is very grown up for her age. She spends most of her time underneath Leah's feet trying to be just like her. Whenever Abbie was here, she stayed in her own little happy world, pretending that she was a little mommy helping take care of things. She is a very caring and sweet little girl - we loved having her!
Monday, it was time to have a party - Luke's 5th birthday! It was fun having them here since they have always been in a different state during our celebrations! I had to put in this picture of Abbie wearing a funny face. Both of the girls were so excited during the party, barely containing their enthusiasm with each new present!
We had a fantastic visit with the girls. It was different having them around without Daniel and Leah there - I hope that we get to spend more days like these with them in the future!
We love you Hannah and Abbie!!!
It was easy to buy Luke a birthday present this year because he kept me posted on the things that he wanted. A pair of Crocs ("like Dad's" he would say), a CD player, costumes, and the Lego Star Wars game for our Gamecube were at the top of it. If anyone asked, I passed on his list; he received a lot of great gifts! I hope Luke always remembers how blessed he is to spend this day with people who love him. The gifts are the icing on the cake!
The guest at Luke's party were: Papa (Bo Patterson), Nana (Evelyn Patterson), Peepaw (John Speer), Meemaw (Shirley Speer) Granny (Brian's grandmother -Clessie Evans), Uncle Brad, Uncle David & Aunt Becky, Uncle Jonathan & Aunt Heather, Uncle Jospeph & Elizabeth (his girlfriend), McKaylah, Emmaline, Seth, Hannah and Abbie Tripp! 
