First of all, I found this story I had written up in 2008 about our early family Christmas. Enjoy!
Christmas Surprise!

Kelley asked me to consider spending money for gifts in a way that supported the Asheville community, so I waited until I got there to do my Christmas shopping. I focused on local businesses and things that were made there, all or partially. I got to see a lot of areas around Asheville, but didn’t always have the opportunity to take photos as I was driving. In some cases, there were literally mountains of debris, a mixture of trees, stumps, buildings, cars. It was hard to take in. They focused on restoring power and internet and water, reopening roads and bridges, and trying to return life to normal. But it’s clear it will take years to remove all the debris and rebuild.

We spent Christmas eve at Kelley and Casey’s house with Vicki, Casey’s mom. Logan, Casey’s cousin and Vicki’s nephew, was playing music at a local venue, so we spent the evening there. Then on Christmas Day Vicki had an open house gathering for friends and family. It was a great way to see all the folks in one place! Including Chris (Casey’s brother) and Megan and their two little kids. My apologies for taking so few photos of all the people! Once they started arriving, we were all so busy!! It was a wonderful day!