It’s been a year of ups and downs for us (seems true for every person, every year, no?). We started off with a wonderful visit from Tom’s youngest sister and her family. They were here for a conference and we were happy they took the time to come hang out with us in the afternoons! Seeing their two youngsters always makes me smile. I enjoyed lunch with a highschool friend who was also here for a conference with her family. Nice to catch up after MANY years.
Over the Mardi Gras “holiday” (only in New Orleans!) we again headed to Big Bend National Park. This time my parents joined us for the train trip and hiking. Later in the year than 2010 was, so it was quite a bit warmer but not yet hot. We enjoyed 3 strenuous days of hiking, super dinners at the lodge, and a relaxing ride back home.
We all enjoyed a visit from our second au pair and her daughter this spring. Aina lived with us for over 2 years in Holland and is currently living in Ireland. Her daughter is 2 and we enjoyed showing them around the area and how crazy the life of a suburban “mom” can be in the US.
Spent Easter in Houston with Tom’s family, also celebrating his dad’s 75th birthday in style. Tom and I returned 2 weeks later to attend a friend’s wedding for a pretty quick day-trip. It was a traditional Indian wedding and what a wonderful experience for us!
Maggie spent a week in Los Angeles at the beginning of the summer with Tom’s sister and her family and had a GREAT time. She then worked as a CIT at the JCC summer camp and loved it. I enjoyed seeing her at work while I was there exercising in the morning!
Abby participated in a theater camp and performed in “Peter Pan”. She’s participating in the same program’s Christmas Play (“A Christmas Cinderella”) this coming weekend. She then took the opportunity to head to North Carolina and spend a week alone with my parents. Maggie and I joined and the three of us spent another week there.
We closed out the summer sadly with the passing of Tom’s dad. While his death wasn’t unexpected, it is a felt loss. Tom and his siblings had all been in Houston and the rest of the family gathered for the funeral and to be together.
Back to school was quickly upon us. Maggie is now half-way through her freshman year, her second at the high school. Abby is in the sixth grade. Maggie continues to participate in Cross Country (the team was state champs this fall!) and Abby is keeping up with her violin, adding on participation in an ensemble group as well.
We returned to Houston again for Thanksgiving with the Webbs. Ray’s absence was definitely felt, but it was a true blessing to be together again. We’re home this year for Christmas. Maggie is taking driver’s ed the weeks after the holiday and Abby will take babysitter’s training on 2 January. Babies are growing up!
May you find God’s blessing every day of this coming year.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Let's Talk Turkey
As in we just celebrated Thanksgiving, so let's catch up! We had a fun holiday. We headed toward Texas on Wednesday (Maggie had school Tuesday, so that was the earliest for us to go) and met up with almost all of Tom's family. We all missed Ray, but were thankful of the blessing to be together for the holiday. Wednesday night we (20 of us!) headed to a local restaurant for some dinner which was quite yummy. Back to the house to break into all the dessert. I managed to make a cherry pie (from scratch - including the crust!) and the surprising hit of pumpkin brownies. I'd seen the recipe and thought it looked good to me, but was really surprised at how much everyone seemed to like them (even Abby who tends to be a bit picky!). Pumpkin, buttermilk, and chocolate/pecan/bourbon rounded out the choices. What's not to like?
Thursday morning dawned and we gathered again at Kay's house for all the various preparations. Dinner was served most promptly at noon and we certainly feasted -- smoked turkey, salad, fruit salad, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and my personal favorite -- the butternut squash soup my sister-in-law made. We waddled into the living room to watch football and be entertained by the youngest members of the family (ages 2 and almost-4). Later in the afternoon we had our annual gift exchange. Always fun to see what people are interested in! Kay made the older girls all cute bags and once again has little ones to make nightgowns/pajamas for. She's amazing with her seamstress ability!
Friday Tom dropped the girls and I off at the mall to meet the other females. Not as crowded as any of us had anticipated. We managed to get a lot of shopping done and gathered for lunch and then divided into two groups for movies. Half enjoyed "Tower Heist" and the rest of us enjoyed "The Muppets" (I'm a muppet girl myself!). Everyone gathered back at the house for some left-over dinner and farewells for those of us leaving Saturday.
Our trip back Saturday was a bit more crowded on the freeway than Wednesday's had been, particularly once we got back in Louisiana. Always nice to be home.
This week is Maggie's busy one -- Friday is her winter formal and Saturday night is a friend's quince anos party. Tom and I will join in with the other parents for dinner Friday which will be nice -- many of them I haven't met yet. Next week starts Abby's crazy schedule. She's going to be in a play the weekend starting 16 December with the same group she did Peter Pan with this summer. Practices are every weekday from 3:30 - 6:30 and the one Saturday from 9:00 - 4:00. In recognition that most of these kids are involved with other activities, we were asked for any conflicts up front, so Abby will be able to attend her violin and ensemble practices as necessary. Tom's winding down the year as well and will have the last couple weeks off. Meanwhile I've begun physical therapy for my hip. The xray showed nothing wrong with the bones, so it's some sort of soft tissue damage/inflammation. Our insurance company deemed and MRI at this point not warranted (until several weeks of PT with no effect), so this is the road I'm on for now. Keep praying for a fix!
In any event, have a wonderful fall/onset of winter. The days are definitely shorter and it's already getting dark here at 5pm.
Thursday morning dawned and we gathered again at Kay's house for all the various preparations. Dinner was served most promptly at noon and we certainly feasted -- smoked turkey, salad, fruit salad, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and my personal favorite -- the butternut squash soup my sister-in-law made. We waddled into the living room to watch football and be entertained by the youngest members of the family (ages 2 and almost-4). Later in the afternoon we had our annual gift exchange. Always fun to see what people are interested in! Kay made the older girls all cute bags and once again has little ones to make nightgowns/pajamas for. She's amazing with her seamstress ability!
Friday Tom dropped the girls and I off at the mall to meet the other females. Not as crowded as any of us had anticipated. We managed to get a lot of shopping done and gathered for lunch and then divided into two groups for movies. Half enjoyed "Tower Heist" and the rest of us enjoyed "The Muppets" (I'm a muppet girl myself!). Everyone gathered back at the house for some left-over dinner and farewells for those of us leaving Saturday.
Our trip back Saturday was a bit more crowded on the freeway than Wednesday's had been, particularly once we got back in Louisiana. Always nice to be home.
This week is Maggie's busy one -- Friday is her winter formal and Saturday night is a friend's quince anos party. Tom and I will join in with the other parents for dinner Friday which will be nice -- many of them I haven't met yet. Next week starts Abby's crazy schedule. She's going to be in a play the weekend starting 16 December with the same group she did Peter Pan with this summer. Practices are every weekday from 3:30 - 6:30 and the one Saturday from 9:00 - 4:00. In recognition that most of these kids are involved with other activities, we were asked for any conflicts up front, so Abby will be able to attend her violin and ensemble practices as necessary. Tom's winding down the year as well and will have the last couple weeks off. Meanwhile I've begun physical therapy for my hip. The xray showed nothing wrong with the bones, so it's some sort of soft tissue damage/inflammation. Our insurance company deemed and MRI at this point not warranted (until several weeks of PT with no effect), so this is the road I'm on for now. Keep praying for a fix!
In any event, have a wonderful fall/onset of winter. The days are definitely shorter and it's already getting dark here at 5pm.
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