Christmas '23 Highlights

 Happiness -for a grandma- is a full table, family gathered together. 

Brisket isn't our traditional meat but it was a good idea.

Wyatt's first Christmas. This one doesn't have a single tooth yet but he sure loves meat!

When Grammy loves to travel, how can she resist buying a travel set for her granddaughter's doll?!

"It's a tootcase!" (We may or may not have asked him multiple times what it is just to hear him say it)

"It's just what I wanted!" he says. Score for Auntie Ana!

When you have a pilot for an uncle, of course you get a plane for Christmas

We are something of Lego geeks around here. Now I have a Swiss chalet to add to my collection.

The day's activities included Lego building...

going for a walk because it was so mild outdoors... 

(and to burn a few calories if we're being honest here)

playing games... 

learning the rules from a Kindergartener is the BEST! 😁

and doing a Christmas craft...

It all adds up to a good day. We are so blessed. Happy birthday, Jesus! 

And now -after a low key week in between- we wish you a happy new year & peaceful 2024.

Seasonal Celebrations

 We packed this past weekend full of activities & celebrations. 

Friday evening was our granddaughter Avery's first school Christmas program. Somehow the Kindergarten class always manages to steal the show, and this year was no exception. We are especially proud of Avery because 2 months ago she confided in me that she had devised a plan of practicing for the program to fool her teacher, with secret intentions of refusing to participate the night of. However, her stage presence showed up and she performed flawlessly in front of the packed auditorium.       

Wyatt was recently diagnosed with esotropia [lazy eye] in both eyes, so he's sporting his new specs these days. He is too cute in baby glasses! If this is successful, he can avoid surgery.

Early the next morning, we traveled "over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house". For Christmas with my family. Avery was going to go with us, so I was disappointed when she chose a pajama party at her church over Christmas with Grammy.  

We were in charge this year. All the planning paid off in good food...

gift giving...

slideshows from us international travelers this past year... 

(we traveled to Europe, India and Greece in a single afternoon without any jet lag.) 

but we ran out of time to play the games I had prepared. Bummer. 

Sunday was my dad's 80th birthday, which was the whole reason for celebrating Christmas a week early. After church, then gathered together for a lunch of soup & salad at my parents' house again. It was the perfect menu for the day after a big Christmas feast. Of course, one can't try just one kind of soup; all 3 were delicious.   

Then my SILs & I set up a charcuterie spread for dad's birthday party. 

Surprise! 

We invited mom & dad's siblings for the celebration. This is my dad with his 2 brothers.  

A gift from his brothers & sisters. 

Not many 80 yr olds get to have their mother at their birthday party!! Grandma turned 100 this fall and is still doing well enough to come out for the occasion.

Most of the guests we invited came and it was fun catching up with aunts & uncles. (We also did a card shower, so he is getting lots of cards right now.) 

I'd say the party was a great success! The enormous amount of work I put in it was worth it. Right after we came home from Europe, I was super busy with pulling off Jeremy's party, then anniversary and Thanksgiving, then planning Christmas & this party. Now it feels like I can sit back and coast for the rest of the year! 😊

November Happenings

Besides the things mentioned in the previous posts, these are some things we did in November...

Richard & I celebrated our 32nd anniversary. We went to Mongolian Grill for lunch; his first experience there, although his food was taken into the kitchen to be grilled because of his shellfish allergy. 

The AirBnB we stayed at had its own private movie theater. 

We went to a friends' cafe for some amazing food...

...and lattes.

The AirBnB was at a winery/brewery. We were not interested in the adult beverages, but they also make their own root beer and orange pop on site. I got a root beer just to try it. They put it in the can while we waited, and wrote "rut beer" on the can with a marker. 😊 I don't know what kind of rut they used, but it was delicious. 

We spent Thanksgiving Day at Richard's sister's house with most of his family.

We had some really good food.

We almost always have a puzzle in progress all fall and winter long. Richard did 95% of this one by himself because I haven't had time to work on it.  I'm very happy with my new puzzle board. 

Our granddaughter can now read quote "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" to her younger brothers. 

Shortly after Thanksgiving, I always do a gingerbread house of some variety -from a kit- with my grandchildren. 

How much of the candy makes its way into little mouths instead of onto the house is Grammy's secret.

This year's was just a miniature chocolate house. 

We also did a Christmas craft the same day. They loved it! 

Earning His Wings

Get one's wings 1. : to officially become a pilot : to receive the license that allows one to fly an airplane.  2. : to gain experience in something. - Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary

 Before we went to Europe, we set the date for a party -Nov. 11- to celebrate Jeremy's 30th birthday and getting his pilot's license. Although his checkride, scheduled for October, got cancelled we still went ahead with the party because we had family coming from out of state for the occasion. 

This license has been a long time in coming. It's been his dream for years to fly. With a couple false starts and some delays along the way (looking at you, COVID!), it's taken several years to actually get to this point. 

As soon as we got home from Switzerland, it was time to get down to business on planning the party. Buying decorations, planning the menu, putting together a slide show... Originally we were planning to host it at our house, but we got a whopping 98% response from invited guests and had to move it to the church fellowship hall to accommodate everyone who wanted to help celebrate his success. 

While we ladies were busy setting up that Saturday morning, Jeremy flew over the church. I was distracted with decorating and almost forgot he was coming -till I got a text "we're over you now". We all rushed outside to wave while they circled overhead.

My youngest brother & his daughter were Jeremy's 1st passengers. 

The cake wasn't exactly the way I ordered it... what part of "prominent plane, small golf course" did the decorator not understand? Somehow "small plane, not a jet" got lost in translation as well. Oh well, it tasted good so that's what counts. 

In-flight food. We served burgers because that is what he likes. Richard was scrambling at the grill to keep up. Next time we know to start earlier.  

Complimentary beverages

Baggage Drop Off

We had right around 150 RSVPs and they all showed up. 

He didn't care about gifts, but people were generous anyway.  

I haven't spent much time thinking about the fact that I have a 30 yr old. Say what?! Wasn't it me that was 30 about 5 years ago? Let's just ignore the 30 part and focus on the pilot part. I always believed he could do it. This is the life I was begging God for in the dark days of his disability. If you are going through your own dark season, hang tightly to that tiny glimmer of hope for the future. Jeremiah 29:11 might be overused, but that doesn't make it less true- "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

 

The sky, quite literally, is the limit now. Congratulations, Jeremy!