The last day of 2023

Here we are at the last day of the year.  It's been a dramatic week, although everyone is alright.  I keep telling myself, everyone is all right.   There have been some poor choices, and there has been some drama not at all brought on by the kids.  Additionally, there is a young man the same age as Catherine who is in failing health, and my prayers go to his family.  I know his sister well, and I just can't imagine.  And it makes me feel guilty about the sadness and anxiety I am feeling about my own healthy children.  My mom also continues to have health problems, and the dynamics of dealing with the family are challenging.  It was also challenging to have my mother-in-law here the entire time, although I do adore her.  The hard part was her having an opinion on all of the drama around her.  I am hoping that some medications will help me to get my head together and feel better as we head into the new year.

We are heading to our friends' house for the evening.  Catherine is joining us, I'm not sure what Thomas's plans are.  Knowing he will be out driving at Midnight definitely adds to my anxiety at the moment.  I've been doing a lovely puzzle to help distract and to calm me.  I am very grateful there are still two more days until back to work!

Christmas 2023

Christmas definitely had ups and downs this year.  The good news is that I'm convinced we can still enjoy some time together.  My favorite part was yesterday morning, and opening our gifts together as a family.  My kids gave very thoughtful gifts this year, and that was very sweet.

I still have a week off of work, although there is plenty to be done before I go back next Wednesday.  Looking forward to some quiet time and of course, New Year's Day!

It's about time to celebrate

Here we are at Christmas Eve eve.  It's been a much busier week than I had anticipated.  I'm grateful Catherine is here though.  I'm trying very much to feel peace, but it just feels like some things have been really tough lately.  The temperatures certainly aren't helping to feel like the holidays either.  Temps near the 60's aren't very Christmas-like!

We made it up to see my grandmother today.  She was delighted to see the kids.  It's hard to visit with her though, as she doesn't always understand what is happening around her, and conversation can be tough.  Still we are so grateful to have her around.  I would love to try to get over to see her again on Monday, but I can't promise anything.

Here we go...Merry Christmas!

Snow bursts

I am off for my first "official" day of break.  After all, the weekends are always the weekends! Thomas and Andrew are both working.  We've been having a bunch of snow squalls this afternoon.  They really are lovely to see, and I feel better knowing that Thomas is NOT out on deliveries and should be able to get home okay when he is off work in a couple of hours.  It also helps that the college students are gone and the traffic isn't awful. 

I haven't written much this month as I've been pretty emotional about things.  I'm hoping as we all gather for a few days that the peace and spirit of the season fill my heart!

Fifteen years of blogging

I began this blog fifteen years ago.  I still remember that Monday afternoon when I decided to give it a try.  So much in life has changed in those fifteen years.  I'm so grateful for all of the memories recorded here, especially here at the holidays.  I miss having little kids, but I'm grateful for the life we have today.  When I started, there were a lot of blogs I followed that had I enjoyed reading.  Most of those are no longer active.  I get it.  Like I said, life changes.

I can't even begin to imagine what the next fifteen years will bring, but I'm sure there will be many blessings!

So proud of Thomas

As I said, there were many good things that happened in November, and Thomas, especially, had good news!  He had taken his first CDL test in October but hadn't passed, which was expected.  He then took it again in early November, and was devastated when he didn't pass it then either.  While there is no limit on how many times it can be taken, it does cost $175 each time it happens.  He had really buckled down and had studied hard before taking it the third time.  I was really concerned because it was a miserably wet day.  I had checked the location app about 30 minutes after he began the test, and saw that he was still engaged so I took that as a good sign.  We were all incredibly thrilled and relieved when he let us know he was officially a CDL driver!

It was also interesting to learn why he had failed the two previous attempts.  He understood the second one as he knew he had done things out of order, but he had asked the tester about the first one.  The response he received was the same as a rumor he had heard.  The answer?  They automatically fail everyone the first time because they want to know it is being taken seriously.  While I understand the tremendous responsibility of being a CDL driver, at the cost of each test that seems a little underhanded!  Regardless, having him completed with the process was another gratitude at Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving visit

For the third consecutive year, my mother-in-law came for an extended Thanksgiving visit.  I really do love having her here.  She and Andrew arrived home late on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but we were still able to watch a couple of episodes of our favorite TV show.  I'm very grateful that Andrew and his mom take on the task of the big feast!  Clearly not my thing!  They worked on a lot of things Wednesday, and then that evening was our annual Friends tradition.  Thomas's girlfriend joined us as well.  We were able to watch five episodes and enjoy the laughter.

On Thanksgiving Day, we enjoyed the parade while finishing preparations.  My mom and our family friend came down for the meal and were here for several hours.  Thomas spent a bit of time with his girlfriend's family in the evening, and then we got the decorations down and ready for the weekend!

We started decorating on Friday, although Thomas was working.  We finally got the trees up later that evening, and the kids hung their ornaments as they do every year.  It's my favorite tradition.  We actually got most of the decorating finished Saturday, although we did take time to watch the annual OSU/*ichigan game.  Remember when I mentioned it was the third consecutive year my mother-in-law was here?  It's also the third consecutive year the Buckeyes have lost.  Her invitation may be in jeopardy next year! :)

On Sunday, Andrew and his mom watched the Steelers game and I began working on our budget and other things that needed catching up. We were able to continue watching our favorite show.  

Our next week was much crazier than originally anticipated.  My best friend from high school lost her dad on Thanksgiving morning.  Even though it was a nearly four-hour drive (each way), there was no way I was not going to be there to pay my respects.  I was able to see her entire family and a few of her family friends I had met over the years.  It was 456 total miles of driving that day and I didn't get home until 9:30 that evening.  Andrew had to work at a basketball game Tuesday evening and wasn't home until 10:00.  I then had to work at my church job on Wednesday, and Andrew had parent conferences on Thursday.  Friday we had planned for the entire family to go see some Christmas lights.  It was a cold, wet evening, and I really had no desire to leave the house again once I got home.  Catherine decided to go back to her apartment, and Thomas wanted to spend the evening with his girlfriend and her dad's family.  I felt badly because we didn't get to really do anything holiday-like, but my mother-in-law agreed ordering some food in and staying in sounded lovely.  We were able to watch several more episodes of our favorite show.  WE had also enjoyed one Hallmark Christmas movie each day.  

It was a lovely visit, and I'm so glad she'll be back in a couple of weeks!  Hopefully the next visit will be a little less chaotic!

MIA from the blog

As you might guess from the silence of November, it was a bit crazy around here.  November definitely had ups, and I can't wait to write about them.  There were also some really rough downs, and many of those I won't be sharing.  The month was busy, it was hard, it was emotional, it was fabulous, and, yeah, it was all of that.

My wonderful mother-in-law was here until yesterday.  She kept telling us she so enjoyed being here, but I can't imagine how she enjoys all of the chaos.  She says it's just so quiet at her place, and there are days that just sounds divine.  Andrew took his mom back yesterday and is going to the Steelers game today, so he won't be back until tomorrow.  Thomas is off today but just left to spend the day with his girlfriend, and while Catherine is staying here this week because of her classes/externship, she is working a twelve-hour shift today.  I have the next six plus hours to enjoy some of the quiet, and I plan to do exactly that!  And I'll be back here (hopefully sooner rather than later) to write about some of the fun happenings!