Grab Bag (White Elephant) Exchange

We are planning to do a grab bag/white elephant gift exchange on 1/1/2012 at the Gerber's.
Participation is optional.

Bring something wrapped or in a bag that is

• $5 of less


• or something from around your house


• or a re-gift

This is just for fun, so don't stress out about it.

Hello everyone! Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! I know I am very, very late. Sooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(
If you still have time to get me a gift, some suggestions are:

1. The cans or air that spray dust off your computer
2. giftcard to groupon
3. giftcard to a restaurant

Thanks :) See everyone soon

Merry Christmas

Hi, merry christmas everybody! I am so excited to see everybody woooo! If you want to get me someting you could give me

*Gift Card to fast food

*Hoodie without a zipper

*Surprises

See everyone at christmas!

No gum please :-)

Hi everyone. Hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas. Can't wait to see everyone.

Sorry this post is so late.

If you are still looking for ideas for me ...

The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson. You can find it at https://store.rabbitroom.com/product/the-monster-in-the-hollows plus other places I assume.

The book "the rest of the story" by paul harvey. This may be difficult to find.

iTune or Amazon gift cards are also great.

Thanks.

Dear Santa.....

Hey Everybody! I hope you are all having a great pre christmas :)

Dear Santa,

I don't care what you get me I will love anything, but if you need suggestions here they are....

1. Lots of Gum, I always had gum at home, but ever since I went away to college I never have any and I miss it
2. Gift card, Some places i like to eat at are panera bread, chipoltle, tiajuana flats, but i REALLY like Pei Wei ;)
3. I like to read, a suggestion would be: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld or any book you have read or heard about that you think I would like. I pretty much like any type of book.

See everyone soon, miss you guys!!

My Christmas Wish List

Christmas and the wedding are just around the
corner. I am so looking forward to seeing everyone, celebrating Christmas and
enjoying a wonderful wedding. Our family seems to be growing fast and we are
truly blessed by our new members (as well as the old). Wonder what the family
will look like in 5 or ten years?

Reading all the posts below makes me wish for some creativity. So I will put
that on the top of my list.

If you need some additional suggestions they are as follows:
Christian Fiction (books or audio)-Faye will be able to give you some
suggestions.
I can always use a new coffee mug.
I could use a good devotional.
I enjoy gift cards.
Surprises are always nice.

Christmas-Many things to do, many things to see, and many people to enjoy.
Christmas-One Savior, One Lord and One King

Some music to read the blog by:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad7KU9bCTAM

Dear Santa, From Amy (no really... its Amy this time)

Greetings :)

I cant remember my log in, so I can't post under my actual name, but fear not- this is Amy, not Andy pretending to be Amy (he says no one will believe me... but its true)

I really don't need anything- you all are doing and contributing so much to our big day, it seems silly to ask for anything more.. but in the spirit of Secret Santa... here goes....

1. Fridge Magnets. We need some cute ones to put up all of our lovely Christmas cards :)

2. PJs. I could always use a snuggly pair of pajamas, especially since my husband to be apparently has some aversion to using the heater in his apartment (ps troxel girls.. he has been getting much use out of his onesie as of late... or so I hear)

3. Some sort of cute bag that I can take with me on our honeymoon. We are doing a cruise, so it would be nice to have something I can throw all my stuff into to take off the boat for our excursions.

I am so excited to see you all in just a few short weeks.... I hope you have an amazing Christmas, we will miss you!

-Amy

I've been good, but I can't last - Hurry Christmas, hurry fast!

We are so excited to see all of you in just a few weeks! I always have a hard time with Christmas lists, but I recently heard something that I thought was clever, so I'll try to apply it. Each year, this lady asks her kids for a list that contains:

Something they want,

Something they need,

Something to wear,

and something to read.

So here goes:

Want - Taste of Heaven Cookbook http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/store.html

Need - (Need being very loosely interpreted - I am quite blessed, but I could never call these a want) - cute but modest work-out clothes for a hesitant gym goer.

Wear - cute flats in fun colors - size 6/ or I could always use cute scarves/sweaters usually small

Read -Behold the Lamb of God by Russ Ramsey http://www.amazon.com/Behold-Lamb-God-Advent-Narrative/dp/0982621469/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323743695&sr=1-1#_

I am always up for a surprise as well - preferably ones that can fit on a plane.

And for a little Christmas fun:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wY0F31G-i9Y

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope that in the midst of the craziness of the holidays and wedding prep (which I'm assuming everyone is involved in nowadays!) that you are taking time to be still! If whoever has my name has not already rushed out to buy more teeth, or an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle, below are some ideas (following Tara's list outline):

Something I want: Some music to bet my booty to. Our World Redeemed by Flame or Real Talk by Lecrae

Something I need: Nothing comes to mind (aside from the aforementioned Air Rifle)

Something to wear: Hmmm... Scarf?

Something to read: Some good classics...the kind of books people talk about and reference, but don't really read anymore. (Maybe Lewis's Space Trilogy?)

As Tara mentioned, carry-on size surprises are also great! Look forward to seeing you all in a few short weeks!

David

Happy Christmas!

Hello everyone! We're very excited to see you all soon! Sorry we won't be there to celebrate with you, but we'll try to at least get our secret santa gifts there on time. :)

Speaking of secret Santa, I'm not positive, but I think Amy wants lots of Dolphins and Marlins memorabilia. She really loves that stuff. She's a men's medium in shirts and her hat size is 7 1/8th, if you need her size.

I'm always up for surprises, but if you need some ideas:

I think I'm finally ready to accept the "Miami Marlins," so a shirt or a fitted hat with the new logo would be cool. I'm still not big on the all orange, so probably something black or gray. Coincidentally, I'm the same shirt and hat size as Amy, so see above.

I-tunes or Barnes & Noble gift cards. I'm much too cheap to spend my own money on books or music.

Anything Dolphins, Marlins, or Illini...maybe even Miami Heat...now that they're good, I can jump on that bandwagon.

Gift cards to movies or restaurants so I can take out my pretty lady...who just chimed in that she likes P.F. Changs :)

Looking forward to seeing everyone in a couple of weeks!

Hey everybody, hope we all keep Christ at the center of our Christmas! Now, dear secreat santa, this is what I want for Christmas (lol- what a turnaround from giving to getting in 10 seceonds or less)- anything is fine, but if your into specifics- Caribou decaf blend k-cups, Timothy's decaffeinated rainforest espresso k-cups, cash for renewal of tennis memebership would be great, surprieses, oh yea and world peace.

Love you all and look forward to family time,

Sid

Wonder if Tyler or Faye would like that???

Thought I should be the first to post this year, since it says somewhere the first shall be last…or is that the other way around?
Anyway, I’m very excited about another Secret Santa with the Gerber family.
I really don’t need anything, and I love surprises, but if you are looking for ideas I have a few suggestions:
One of my favorite singers, Andrea Bocelli has a new CD “Concerto, One Night in Central Park”
Also someone recommended the devotional Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence
And it goes without saying, I love chocolate, flowers, candles, gift cards…I am a typical woman after all.

Tyler, I am going to try your trick this year and put out chocolate milk for Santa and cookies that say “I <3 Santa”. Can’t wait to see what amazing things he brings me!!!

Love you all and can’t wait to see your posts.

Christmas Time

Hi Everyone,

It's getting to be that time of the year!

Just wanted to make sure we can all still post to this blog.

Please let me know if you are having trouble.

Hope all is well.

-Mike

Woo hoo only one more day until we are in North Carolina :)

Dance Party

Just looking for the address to get directions to the house when I stumbled over this:

o Deck/Patio
(2) : Two full 40 Ft outdoor decks with views of mountains and ski slopes, both
decks come with outdoor stereo speakers, you can have a dance party!

Bring your dancing shoes!

David and Fred

Now that looks more like it!

Games!

so...i am in full packing mode and wondering what games everyone wants or is bringing. i figure we dont need three copies of apples to apples or any game for that matter! counting the hours!

One More Matter of Upmost Importance

David thinks he is best friends with Fred already, so we better stop by for at least one visit!

Mountain Bikes

I am up for montain bikes, but would enjoy about anything. Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Preview

Just wanted to give everyone a preview of next week

Call to Worship

We will be on the mountain for 2 Sundays and will likely have a time of family worship.

So I'm looking for a couple of volunteers each Sunday -

• to teach a devotional or lesson


• to lead in singing - now that we have some musicians in the family :-)

Thanks - and God bless.

mountain biking!

WE ALL definitely want to do mountain biking IF all of the bikes have brakes. We were thinking it would be fun if we could get everyone off the ski slopes and set up EXTREME mountain biking DEADLY SCARY TRAILS OF DOOM!!! We are going to get SO EXTREME!!!

Beech Mountain Adventures 2011

To help us plan our week, we thought we’d jog your memory with some things we’ve done in the past. If there’s something you’d really like to do – whether on the list or not - please let us know soon so we can plan some of the week before we all arrive.

Hiking/swimming -
Rock-hopping on creeks along the Blue Ridge Parkway
Trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway to Ship Rock – aww, but too early for blueberries
Hike to Slide Rock, waterfalls, and swimming hole with rope swing
Elk Falls – where Andy took the 85ft plunge
Linville Falls – beautiful falls, easy & hard trails, a little touristy
Grandfather mountain hiking, with mile high bridge with otters and bears, oh my!
Boone Fork picnic area with creek and make-your-own boat races

Shopping -
Mast General Store and Candy Barrel
Blowing Rock main street shopping
Outlet stores

Things To Do -
Golf
Tennis
Mini-golf ala putt putt
Horseback trail riding
Mild white-water rafting
Gem mining
Grandfather pond Trout fishing - but you have to eat what you catch
Pontoon boat on Watauga Lake near DAM!!!

Special Things To Do
Cheese factory – hope you have a good time Sue (and Faye)
StickBoy Bakery in Boone (for FatBoy Sid)

Beech Mountain Memory Joggers

Vacation 'stache

Attention everyone:

I will be growing a glorious vacation mustache and I invite you all to join me. As a Hohulin male, my mustache may not be the best or the biggest, but I will wear it proudly all the same, and I hope you will all join me in this.

My beautiful fiance has already shared her disgust with this and I believe she will be offering Tyler money to shave off my vacation mustache while I am sleeping, but I will not let this deter me! Great men with great ideas have always faced opposition and oppresion, but in the words of the famous mariner John Paul Jones "Never give up! Never surrender!" and in the words of the great leader Winston Churchill "Speak softly, and grow a big mustache!"

More memoirs

Memoir #4- Andy jumping off the 100 foot? water fall and what a relief when he came back up after entering the water

Memoir #5- Sliding on the stairs and landing on my padded backside after coming out of the Mast General candy store with candy and young child in hand

Memoir #6- Farm House Inn

Memoir #7- tennis at Beach Mountain

Memoir #8- minature golf a la "name that shot" where we took turns specifying how you had to stoke the putter; at one time, I think we were all on the ground shooting pool, maybe even grandma G?

That's all folks. May God bless all as we are all probably busier than ever preparing for "the event".

Pictures and a Great Idea

I have a great idea. How about visiting the the #1 tourist spot in the area. The amazing Cheese Factory. It is just a "short" rode trip and they even give samples.










Slide rock would be a great place to revisit.

New Lookout Needed

Duties-Slightly Disgusting
Hours-Minimal
Pay-The use of a reliable Lookout as needed
Work Environmanet-Friendly reliable staff, office is beautifully adorned

Let me know if you are interested

"Don't Look" - an addendum to Sid's Memoirs

Memoir #3 - while climbing Grandfather Mountain, his wife simply asked him to look out for her backside & freezing up

Sid's memoirs

Memoir #1- climbing up Grandfather Mountain ladders with baby in backpack & freezing up

Memoir #2- loosing 2 daughters on Grandfather Mountain trail for a few hours & freezing up

Preference- hiking on Grandfather Mountain ?
- making more green fried tomatoes

Need more time to think. Thanks a lot Faye for picking out the house and taking the initiative on everything to make this happen.

Title

Awwww! Look at that photo, its so cute! And also, I saw the house we are going to stay at, it seemed real nice. You did a good job Faye wooo! I can't wait to go and to see everyone!

I am so excited for Beach Mountain!!! I can't wait! Um, I would like to do some hiking and maybe some slide rock if everyones up for it. There's nothing in particular I don't want to do, I'm up for anything :) P.S. cute picture hohulins

Beech Mountain 2011

Welcome to the Beech Mountain!

We are really looking forward to some great time together.

Anyone have a favorite memory or photos from our last 9 trips to Beech Mountain they’d like to post?

We’d like to get some idea of what people would like to do or not do. This will help us plan ahead so we spend more time vacationing and less time trying to figure it out while we’re there. So please post your preferences.

We can check into the house at 3pm on Saturday. It’s a great house – check it out at http://www.vrbo.com/148129

http://www.beechmtn.com/
http://www.beechmountainchamber.com/index.htm

Carnival Greetings...

King and Queen Zulu of Mardi Gras (alright, the Toastmasters Mardi Gras Banquet) send you their greetings! We can't wait to see you all in North Carolina! Whoo-hoo!