Good Evening & Merry Christmas,

Well this year is coming to a close much faster than I thought it should. When I got back from shrimping, I had to get serious about getting ready for camping. Yeah, camping at Calhoun Falls what an awesome Thanksgiving. We started this last year and think this is going to be a family tradition. I was told about it and the description was correct, the whole campground smells like grandma’s kitchen. We will fix a traditional Thanksgiving meal in a very nontraditional fashion. I cook the turkey in an oil less turkey fryer and smoked the hams.

Thanksgiving Turkey 2011

Claire and Meleeda will fire up the crock pots to cook dressing, macaroni and cheese, green beans, taters, bread and gravy. They also mixed stuff and baked stuff for all kind of deserts.

The Dinner Spread

I will have to say after all of that all you need is a chair, fire and some good ole belly rubbing and a nap.

The Nap

Of course the night also started of how bad the Clemson Tigers were gonna whoop up on those Carolina Gamecocks. We launched my pontoon earlier in the day and I had some real issues just trying to find the campsite, from the water the campsites don’t look the same. I also found out that the lake will get shallow on you real quick and will even stop a moving pontoon, quickly, twice. Friday we just relaxed, went boat riding when Daddy and Deda arrived and of course ate a little more. Saturday came and Meleeda and Anthony packed up and headed out because Anthony did not want to be away from home and cry when those Gamecocks got whooped. I even made friend with folks across the way and up from us who were all confused because they kept talking about the chickens. I told them I had plenty of Kleenexes to wipe their tears when those Tigers roared. Saturday evening came and we had our TV going outside and inside so everybody could hear those Tigers. Claire had fixed some good ole dip and other wholesome foods to keep us through the game. Well as you know if you fix crow right it ain’t that bad and we had all day Sunday to get that pie down. Well we were going to pack up and ease home Sunday afternoon. I then discovered that I left the hitch for Claire’s truck so she could pull the boat home, I tried to use mine on her truck but it had too much drop, so off to Possum Kingdom I came with the boat and then back to the campground to get the camper. We had an awesome time and got back home safe and sound.

December has brought great adventures with it, Abigail and I drove to Lumberton NC on December 3 so I could speak at Rita and Jerry Batten’s Church. Rita is Shawn Bissell, my donor, sister. We arrived in time to go out to eat with Jerry, Rita and Seth, Shawn’s nephew. We went to a shoot til you win kind of supper and I finally won, boy was I full. Abigail and I stayed at the Country Inn and Suites and really enjoyed our evening and breakfast there. We headed to the church and I felt I should get a bottle of water because I get such a dry mouth while talking. I pulled in a gas station and when we returned to the truck it would crank and then cut off. I let it roll out of the way and called for someone to pick us up, Abigail then said Daddy there is the church, it was two building down from us, so we walked to the church. God was at church when we arrived and he moved. I got to meet and make many new friends, I met David which was Shawn’s best friend who drove about 3 hours to come meet me and her my testimony. I also get the best church mechanics in the church to come over and give their diagnoses on my truck, it was not good. They came up with a collective diagnoses, it was the fuel pump. Seth made some phone calls and found a mechanic with a shop that would come in and work on my truck on Sunday. Seth rounded up the fuel pump. We had an extended dinner with Jerry and Rita and the Hunts, I got to hear the story first hand from James Hunt as he told me about being shot, whoshotprincipalhunt.blogspot.com/. We talked for a long time I think the restaurant wanted to charge rent for the table. God bless us as Christians because we got to share God’s love and sing his praises at the table that day. It was then we went to Jerry and Rita’s to rest while the repairs on our truck were under way. Jerry had to go to check on his mother’s so Rita, Abigail and I just talked and got to learn more about each other. The repairs were completed around 6 PM and we were soon on our way to Possum Kingdom and we arrived home around 11 PM.

On the way home Daddy call and told me that Dot Madden, my aunt and Daddy’s sister had been attacked by a dog and was in the hospital. She had nearly 5 hours of surgery and was placed in intensive care. She then had to be put on a ventilator to assist in her breathing and later in the week she was released from the hospital. She has a long way to go so please keep her in your prayers.

On December 11 I got to speak at Cedar Shoals Baptist Church for the evening service for our Donor Sabbath and we also had a great time. On December 13 I woke up sick, hurting all over, the doctor started me on a Z pack and by Friday I had to go for a chest x-ray. Waiting on the doctor’s official report but it seems I had a touch of pneumonia again in that left lung. We had our Christmas musical on the evening of December 18 and everyone done an outstanding job. If you have kept up with us in the past you know Claire hate to shop so Abigail & I do the Christmas shopping when she get’s out for Christmas break. I had to get better because Christmas had not been bought. God has blessed us and out we went this morning and we have all week to finish, we look forward to our Christmas shopping trip every year.

We here in Possum Kingdom hope you have a great and very Merry Christmas, Good Night.

God Bless You,
Pel

If you meet me and forget me you lose nothing…………
If you meet my God and forget Him you lose everything…….