My Sister Graduated from Nursing School!

And I am so proud of her!! I know nursing school was super challenging... Many times she felt overwhelmed and wanted to quit... But she pressed through and not only graduated, but graduated with a 4.0!!!! Wow Mary!!!!! She has her Master of Science as a Clinical Nurse Leader from the University of Maryland. She'll take her boards at the end of January and then begin her first nursing job in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville - right next to the hospital where Rob works!! It's exactly where she wanted to work, and in the exact unit she wanted to work in. Soooo happy for her! And grateful for God's favor.

We began the festivities at McCormick & Schmick's at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. Delicious food, beautiful surroundings, fantastic company!

Chip and Kathy (Rob's parents)

Peter, Rob's younger brother, and Jane, who is married to Rob's older brother Steve (who couldn't be there)
After dinner, we went on over to the Baltimore campus of the University of Maryland, where the Pinning Ceremony took place. Lots of happy grads and proud family members and friends. :)

Rob has been a constant source of encouragement for Mary. Mary said that she couldn't have made it through without him.

Proud big sis

Christmas Tree

Just put up our Christmas tree this past weekend! Fake Christmas trees might be easier and, in the long run, less of an expense... But cutting down a tree has its own magic that makes it worth it for us! Besides, it's a Case family tradition. :) Here we are at Snickers Gap Christmas Tree Farm outside Round Hill, VA.
Here's the one we decided on. Phil cut it down. And yes, it's HUGE!! We didn't realize how big it was until we got it home...



Like I said. Huge. It barely fits! But it sure is beautiful, and it has a wonderful scent too.
Some of my favorite ornaments...

This one Nancy gave me years and years ago.
One of many in a snowman set the Cases have had for years.
Just got this one this year.
Also one of a set of many. These houses are Thomas Kincade-esque.
Hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season... 11 days until Christmas!

Jeff's Birthday

Christmas Party

Here we are before we left for Jeff's company Christmas Party on Saturday night. It was a lavish affair at a hotel in Chantilly, VA ~ dinner, dancing, a casino, lots of Wii game rooms, karaoke (I sang 4 songs... so fun!). We hardly knew anyone, because Jeff's company, General Dynamics, is humongous and he works in one small division. But that was okay ~ it was a lovely evening out, with free dinner at that.

Snow!!

We woke up on Saturday morning to a blanket of white, and the snow still coming down! So pretty. I jumped and exclaimed with joy like a six-year-old. :)

This is the view out our front window.And this is out the back.

Allie pouncing away... Wonder what's going on in that head of hers. :)

Kenya

Mom and Dad have gone off to Kenya for three weeks! This is a ministry trip, of course. Mary and I took them to the airport last Wednesday. We've had two emails from them since they've arrived in Kenya, and things are going very well. I'm so proud of Mom for taking the dive! As many of you know, Dad's been to Kenya (and India and China) several times already, but this is Mom's first trip to a third world country. She's always been trepidatious of heading so far from home, and to a place without the comforts and conveniences of the American lifestyle, but she put all that aside this time to join Dad in his ministry to believers in Kenya. Good for you, Mom!

Here we are at the airport..... Off they go!

Christmas Decorating! ...and Nancy's Visit :)

We decorated for Christmas this past weekend, which was so much fun... I love pulling out the Christmas decorations!! We won't put the tree up for another couple weeks yet.

And Nancy, Ellie, and Bernadette came for a visit on Saturday! They were down visiting Christie and her family for a few days, and they're not too far from us, so they came up here for an afternoon visit. They got to see my new home, and I got to see Ellie's cuteness! She's such a little Nancy!
Ellie was a little scared of me, I guess... We tried to get her to smile for this shot, but I'm honestly not sure how much of this is a smile and how much is crying!
She liked the wicker rocker. :)
There's the happy Ellie!