All things come to an end, no matter how fabulous it's been

In 12 hours, I'll be double checking attendance and getting started on what will be a very busy day.  When the first work day of the month is also a Monday AND it follows a break, it's always quite a day.

I'm ready for it though.  This break was a perfect combination of exactly what I needed.  We had the right amount of quiet/down time and the right amount of all-in family time.  Three weeks from today, I'll be sitting here, hopefully with my MIL here again, and we'll be looking at two full weeks off.

I don't take any of this past week for granted.  None of us are guaranteed anything, including tomorrow.  I'm so grateful that we had the family time that we had.  I don't know how many more years my kids will want to help with the Christmas trees.  I don't know how many more holidays my MIL has left.  I do know that regardless of what happens today, tomorrow, next week, or next month, my family had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving break, and I'm more full of gratitude than I can even put into words.

And I'm happy to head back to work.  Can't get a paycheck if I'm not there!  I'm also very grateful that I have a job I enjoy so very much!

This day will be one of my most favorite memories

This day is definitely going to be one of those days that remains a favorite memory forever.  I got to sleep really late, which is always a great start to the day.  I had some quiet time until the Ohio State game, and the Buckeyes finally broke the four game losing streak against that team up north.  It was a great game.  Catherine arrived home during the game after spending a couple of days with her boyfriend's family.  Not long after the game, Thomas and Lyndi arrived.  Thursday after they left our meal, Thomas had reached out and said that Lyndi wanted to help us put up the trees.  I was not about to turn down help!  And by doing it this evening, it meant that we were all going to be here to do it together.  Even without Thomas's ornaments, we did a pretty good job of filling both of the trees.  While we were decorating the trees, the predicted snow began to fall.  It was beautiful.

As if that wasn't enough, our evening continued.  Thomas and Lyndi decided it would be best to stay over because of the snow.  Our family decided to watch Christmas Vacation, but first we made a sweet family memorial toast.  Andrew's aunt in Vermont, whom we all adored, passed away in July.  Her drink of choice, somewhat comically, was Fireball.  For her funeral, they had small Fireball printed with her name on it, and Andrew's cousin sent us one (Andrew and his mom went to visit her in June, so they didn't return for the funeral).  Andrew poured us each a bit and we toasted to Aunt Mary Ann.  We even took a picture and sent it to Andrew's cousins.

I'm so grateful all of the kids are under our roof again.  Andrew is meeting his mom's neighbor for her return tomorrow.  My plan is to do lots and lots of laundry tomorrow, to enjoy the house that is fairly much put together, and to get ready for a what I hope will be a beautiful and lovely December to lead the Christmas season!  And I also plan to enjoy the memories we made over this break!

Happy Thanksgiving 2025

I'm so grateful for every day, but this day feels especially full.  Just as I had hoped, the kids all stayed here last night and we watched our favorite Thanksgiving episodes of Friends.  My mother-in-law laughed so hard even though she had seen them all before.  It was such a gift to go to sleep with everyone sleeping under this roof, and to get to all wake up again together this morning.  Incredible blessings.

Andrew and his mom are working on the meal, and we'll be eating around Noon so Thomas and his wife can get to her family.  My mom won't be coming down so I might run up to see her and my grandmother, and tomorrow the decorating starts after a day of food, family, and football today!

This is one of my favorite days

 Today will be one of my favorite days.  First of all, we had that extra hour of sleep last night.  That is always spectacular.  Secondly, other than altar prep this morning at church and a meeting after, we had nothing on our calendar for today.  It was chilly and overcast, and that made for a fabulous day of being home and cozy.  Andrew made a huge crockpot of chili for dinner.  The house is fairly picked up and other than the fact that I have to work tomorrow, it was nearly an ideal day.

Yesterday was busy as I made my weekly trip to my mom's house and then we were invited to the state parking to visit with some people we knew who were camping there.  It was really a lovely evening.  The weather was nice, the food was delicious, and the company was very pleasant. 

Friday was a really lovely way to end the month of October.  Andrew attended the first home playoff football game in decades (possibly ever) and it was a victory!  He's really enjoyed the season.  I was all set to be home and pass out a few pieces of candy...very few.  However,  Thomas and Lyndi wanted to come down.  When I realized there wouldn't be much trick-or-treating happening, I asked if they still wanted to come.  They said they would come down and watch Hallmark Christmas movies with me.  I wasn't overly enthused, but it ended up being a wonderful evening.  In fact, they slept over because we just kept watching!  I'm so grateful they still want to hang out with us.  I'm definitely starting this month of gratitude with a lot of gratefulness!

It's almost that time...

This coming week school begins.  Catherine, Andrew, and I all have students on Wednesday.  I'm ready...or as ready as I'm going to be.  I allowed myself to leave early yesterday afternoon, knowing it was the last Friday that I would be able to do so.  While I am very grateful for the summer, and for the flexibility and more laid back schedule, I'm also grateful for the full time schedule of the school year that allows me to have a "full-time" paycheck.

Last week I made sure that the kids all took time to visit my grandmother.  We were there about 45 minutes, and she really enjoyed having us all there.  I'm not going to lie, it is really, really hard for me to visit my grandmother.  For so many years, she was such an amazing force in lives and that person we visit now just isn't her.  I struggle with that.  Regardless, after our visit we drove into town and had dinner at a pizza place, where two of my cousins (and a husband) and two of their kids joined us.  We had a blast and we agreed it is something we should do more often!  I'm so glad we made those things happen.

Today I made another visit north to help my sister work at mom's house.  That is another post, but it was definitely a very long day.  I'm grateful for a quiet evening right now, especially since we had dinner plans with Thomas and Lyndi last evening.  Tomorrow is church and then dinner with more friends.  August is never my favorite month, but it is the beginning of college football season so I can't be sad about that!  And of course it will be the holidays before we know it! 😁

It was the best vacation ever

There is no doubt in my mind...this is the best vacation I've ever taken.  While I hope that I have many fabulous vacations as I continue to grow older, this one might not be topped.  Having Thomas and Catherine and their "others" join us was such a gift, and of course my mother-in-law was with us as well.  The house had amazing views of the sound, and there was a view from literally every window.  Our bedroom had a private covered deck, which of course had a view!  I sat there Saturday afternoon, our last day there, and there was a nice breeze, the sun was out, there was some activity in the cul-de-sac, and I just soaked it all in.  I was so grateful for the week we'd just had and for the afternoon we were having.

We had some really good meals, especially the Friday evening meal.  We ate at this huge restaurant that had water views from just about every table.  We had drinks, meals, and even desserts.  Our afternoons were generally spent at the house just hanging out, and I even got to read TWO books!  Because we eat early, our evenings were spent at the house hanging out some more.  Early in the week, especially, we would all sit out on the back deck and enjoy the water.  The full moon was absolutely gorgeous as it lit up the sound.  I loved the fact that the kids wanted to be out there with us.  We laughed so much on this trip.  Thursday night was designed game night, and we laughed even more.  Friday we finally got to show Andrew's mom the movie The Princess Bride.  She had never seen it before, and we laughed some more.  I was so, so grateful for how much time the kids wanted to spend with us.  I loved how the kids not only humored me with family picture after picture, but they wanted to make sure we all shared them so everyone had access.  It wasn't all perfect of course, as there were seven people with seven personalities, but honestly, it doesn't get much better.  I truly don't have the words for how wonderful it was and how grateful I am!

Ready for vacay

In about 17 hours (hopefully), we will be out the door for vacation.  It's a 13ish hour drive to our place at the Outer Banks, and I'm so excited.  My MIL is here, and the kids are all coming with us as well.  I'm calling this the last "big vacay".  I truly hope that we get to take other vacations as time goes along, but this is the last one I'm paying for almost everything.  I'm so, so grateful for this opportunity and the memories we are going to make!

I love Memorial Day weekend

Memorial Day weekend has always been one of my favorites.  It is the unofficial kick off of the summer, and many years (at least since moving here) we are done with school.  I loved the years we did the cemetery trip with my mom's family, and when Dad had his cottage we tried to spend a day there as well.  As a child, Dad would often take us to my grandparent's place in Michigan.  There were lots of friends gatherings over the years as well, and of course it is often a weekend filled with graduation festivities.  And of course, we get an extra day to the weekend, too!  This was so incredibly needed as the month of May was beyond crazy at work. 

This weekend had some grad parties with very dear friends, it had quiet time with just Andrew and myself, I tried to shop (unsuccessfully), and we had a lovely day with the kiddos.  There has been a tremendous amount of stress and drama involving the kids, and it was so much fun to hang out today for a meal and then a family game of croquet.  I laughed, and I especially loved hearing my daughter-in-law laugh out loud.  In two weeks we will be on vacation with all of us, and I think it is going to be an incredibly special week where we make lots of memories.

We have a lot of fun plans for this summer, and I plan to soak it all up! 

A great weekend for getting in the holiday spirit

This weekend has been wonderful.  It's been a fabulous way to get into the holiday spirit.  I only work three days this week, and I'm ready to get them over with and enjoy 18 days off.  I'll have things to do and some payroll to run, but it'll be greate to have some down time.

It started Friday.  Andrew and I decided to meet at a local restaurant that always has really festive holiday cocktails.  We decided to go ahead and have some dinner as well.  We came home and watched an "okay" Christmas movie.  I was in bed early and happy to sleep.

Yesterday I woke up early and couldn't sleep.  Andrew had to work at a basketball game during the day.  Once Andrew arrived home, we made the trip north and our first stop was to see my grandmother.  We took her a swag for her door, and it was lovely to visit with her for a bit.  Then we had an absolutely wonderful family Christmas at my cousin Mindy's house.  There were about 27 of us there all together, and that included two-year-old Reid, who was just adorable.  Thomas and his girlfriend brought her niece, and it was a blast to have her as well.  It was such a fun evening.

Today we had lunch and met some friends half way at one of our favorite restaurants.  We hadn't seen them since March.  It's a chilly and very wet day, but now that we are home the Steelers game is on and it's a lovely evening.

I'm so very grateful for this weekend.  It's really helped to get me into the spirit of the holidays!

Making memories

Here we are, at the day before Thanksgiving, and I am looking at my nicely decorated Christmas tree.  I have ALWAYS refused to decorate before Thanksgiving, but since we ate on Sunday, and especially since Thanksgiving is so late this year, bring it on!

It actually happened in an unplanned way.  I was working on getting the trees up for planned decorating this evening.  Thomas texted as he was off work early and they were actually in the area in early afternoon.  I was happy to accept extra help in getting the trees put together and with lights, and Andrew was happy to have some help with the outside lights.  Everyone worked all afternoon, and after a quick break of pizza for dinner, the trees were all decorated by 7:30 last evening.  Thomas's fiance specifically mentioned how much she had enjoyed helping and sharing in this tradition.  The tree is full of so very many memories.  Andrew became a bit emotional as there are so many ornaments for our sweet pup.  She was included every year.   Thomas wanted to take some of his favorite ornaments with him.  It was fine, but I insisted on taking pictures! We laughed, but those memories are important to me as well.  In fact, apparently he was complaining to his fiance (let's call her Lynn, going forward) that the tree at their apartment only had "generic" ornaments on it.  I'm grateful these traditions and memories mean as much to them as they do to me.

The last one for a very long time

I didn't sleep well at all Sunday night.  However, the weather turned very fall-like beginning yesterday, and the weather for sleeping last night could not have been more perfect.  It was chilly but not cold, and I was exhausted and looking forward to a great night of sleeping.

As I crawled into bed, I couldn't help but think to myself how happy I was to have all four of us sleeping at home under my roof.  Neither of the kids had to work today and it all just felt so peaceful.  And suddenly it dawned on my, how very, very few of those nights are left.  In fact, tonight might very well be the last one.  Although Thomas will still be here tomorrow, Catherine will be heading back to her apartment in the evening.  I can't deny that that I am looking forward to some very quiet evenings in the future with just Andrew and myself, but I also can't deny that I have loved, absolutely loved, all the evenings our little family has shared.  We have made great memories together, and I'm so thankful.  I know there are still so many fun times ahead, but I also know that things are changing, and things will be different.

Sunday evening we had a lovely dinner together as a family, and Thomas brought along his girlfriend.  We ate at the lodge out at the state park and then we took some pictures in front of the lake.  I knew someone else there, and they kindly helped us out with the pictures.  We even went for ice cream after, and we had fun sharing the evening with our adult kiddos.

I'm so grateful for these days!

It was a fun weekend to begin this summer

I'll be honest, this weekend felt longer than the 78ish hours that we had, and I'm so grateful.  Friday morning was a staff breakfast.  It was more fun than I thought it would be.  I worked for a bit over three hours, then I came home to begin my weekend.  Andrew and I attended a grad party in town, then drove up to attend the graduation of our best friends' youngest daughter.  I wouldn't have missed that for the world.  After graduation, we were all meeting together, when she took one look at us and began to cry.  Our connection is strong, and we've been through a lot.  We all went out to dinner, and then Saturday evening was the grad party.  It is always wonderful to spend time with our friends who are family.

Catherine was also here this weekend.  There are always tough moments with her as she attempts to navigate adulting, but overall this weekend it was really nice to have her around.  Our day yesterday was a wonderful family day.  We ordered some dinner in and then we played our new favorite family game.  Oh my goodness, the laughter...so much laughter!

Today both kids were off work, which isn't always going to be the case.  We decided to take advantage of the kids being around and went to visit my grandmother.  She was beyond delighted to have us all there.  My grandmother no longer gets out of bed and has been clear that she wants nothing to keep her alive longer than necessary.  Dinner this evening was with Thomas and his girlfriend, while I worked on school things.

Overall, it was really a lovely way to begin our summer.  I'm ready to enjoy the next eleven weeks!

Leap Day 2024

I have to admit, I've never been a fan of an extra day in February.  I don't really love the month of February, and I see no need to add an extra day.  I totally get that it is necessary from a science standpoint, but it's just not what I love.

We had a lovely family evening though.  Honestly, there has been lots of craziness in our lives...more than I can really describe.  But our evenings are bringing such joy.  Catherine stays here Sunday-Friday.  I can't even explain how much we are enjoying it.  It's helping Catherine to manage things much better with her health and responsibilities.  

We are in a phase where I have no idea what comes next...pretty much every day.  And for that very reason, I'm so grateful for the lovely evenings we have right now!

RIP Matthew Perry

I was at a Halloween party Saturday evening when I heard about the passing of Matthew Perry.  I was so sad to hear it.  Matthew Perry and Friends have been such a huge part of my adult life.  I remember it was on the evening of my 21st birthday while I was waiting on a friend to get ready to go out.  It wasn't until the following summer in reruns though, when I really started to follow it, and then it became my favorite show, and pretty much still is.  My roommate Steph and I were completely addicted to it during our co-habitation years.  Oh my goodness, the laughs we shared over the years. 

I remember watching the very final episode in 2004.  I cried so hard the first time I saw the last episode.  It truly was like losing my own friends.

I loved watching reruns over the years, and the show has been there for us when we were sick.  I loved when our kids were old enough to enjoy and appreciate the show.  Our family shared lots of laughs together.  The Thanksgiving episodes have become an annual family tradition, and I'm so grateful how the show brought us together and helped us to create awesome memories.  It makes me so sad that Matthew Perry is gone so young.

A fabulous afternoon of family fun and memories made

Our family had a really wonderful afternoon.  Last spring, I had won tickets to a Reds game in an auction.  It wasn't until the middle of the summer I remembered that I needed to redeem them and pick a game.  I decided a Sunday afternoon would be the best because I wouldn't miss any college football that way.  I didn't realize at the time that the Steelers are playing this evening so that is perfect as well.

I also didn't really think about it at the time, but it was the last home game of the season.  It's so hard to believe, after losing 100 games last year, that the Reds are still playing meaningful games in late September!  With both kids taking class and not working right now we were pretty sure they'd be available to go with us, and they were.  It was so wonderful to have a few hours to spend together.

On Friday, I realized that with it being the last home game, there is a very good chance it would be the final home game of Joey Votto.  He came up in 2007, and my kids don't remember the Reds without Votto.  As he came up to bat the first time, the fans gave him a standing ovation and timeout was called so that he could acknowledge the fans.  It lasted a good amount of time, and fans were chanting his name.  It was a bit emotional, and the manager mentioned later that the team has some emotions as well.  Unfortunately, he struck out.  In his fourth and final at-bat of the game, he got a hit, and was pulled for a pinch runner.  That allowed the fans to stand and chant again, and he gave a "curtain call" by coming back out of the dugout.  Catherine doesn't love sports, but she knows about Joey Votto.  And Thomas definitely calls Votto his favorite player and was feeling a little sad about it.  Baseball is a game that transcends generations.  It's a game where our earliest memories of the game are often memories made with our parents and grandparents, and that is why I'm so grateful we were able to share this today as a family.

There are other things from this weekend I want to write about, but those will be another post.  I wanted to make sure I always remember our special afternoon!

It's always nice to have an extra day in the weekend

I am never sad when our weekends have an extra day.  It was very, very much needed, and gratefully, rather uneventful.  I'm also happy knowing that when I go to work tomorrow, it will already be Tuesday!

We had gorgeous weather last week, especially at the end of the week.  Thursday morning was almost chilly, and it was absolutely delightful.  Andrew had to work athletic events Wednesday and Thursday evenings, and then he had football stats Friday evening.  Thomas's girlfriend was home for the weekend, so they hung out here for a bit.  I only worked 1/2 day and then worked at church, so it was nice to have a fairly quiet evening.

By Saturday, the temp was trending up again.  Andrew and I attended a truly lovely wedding of a friend of ours from church.  It was a beautiful setting, but unfortunately it was all outdoors.  By the time we ate, it was all I could handle.  We were supposed to go to another gathering, but we just couldn't drag ourselves out again.  We had missed the OSU and the Notre Dame games, but there was still good college football on for our Saturday evening.

Yesterday was even warmer, but it we didn't have any major plans.  After church, we made a quick trip to the grocery.  Catherine arrived last afternoon, and shortly after Andrew and I took our sweet pup to have her picture taken.  It was a fundraiser for the local humane society.  When Thomas got off work, we made Mexican food for dinner, and then we played our family's new favorite trivia game.  We have so much fun!  There is tons of laughter and it is a fabulous way to spend a family evening.

Today has been a day to do laundry, yard work, and clean the house.  Everyone chipped in, and it's lovely to start the week with a clean house and being well rested.  Catherine even decided to stay here until Wednesday, which is always a treat.  Today is the last day of temps in the 90's in ten day forecast, and that is delightful as well.  I'm feeling ready for the week!

The last week of our summer

School begins with students in five day for both Andrew and myself.  Summer flew by, but so does the school year.  I have to say though, August already feels like it has been a forever month.  I think back to two weeks ago, and it seems impossible for me to believe it was only two weeks ago.

My mother-in-law was here for the past week.  It was lovely having her visit.  Catherine was here for five days at the same time, which meant lots of family time.  We had some dinners out, some fun TV, had dinner with my mom and sister, and just enjoyed hanging out.  Of course, Andrew and I also had plenty of meetings and school events to handle, but we really enjoyed having her here.

There have been some crazy things happening, and I'll write about them soon.  Today though, as we stare at the end of our summer, I'm just going to be grateful that we had time together and had the fun that we did!

Don't want to forget about last weekend

I certainly had intended to write about last weekend before we hit this weekend, but it is what it is.  I loved having a long weekend, and it was exactly what I wanted it to be.  We got so much done on Friday   I'm determined, more than I can even explain, to make our house as it works best.  We got a lot of things pitched and donated, and simply just put away in our garage and made some headway in our sunroom.  Saturday, Thomas had to work all day.  Andrew and I set out early in the morning to visit our former town to shop for some a new cabinet for our kitchen.  While they didn't really carry any of that, we did decide to purchase a recliner and a new loveseat.  We then headed south to visit another store, and also grabbed a quick lunch.  By the time we got home, it was time to go get Catherine from her apartment.  I've been offering to make the trips to get her, and she appreciates not spending her gas or putting the wear and tear on her vehicle.  Honestly, I appreciate the opportunity to chat just with her.  We made frozen pizzas for dinner, and just hung out.

Sunday was the best!  We went to church and Thomas even brought his girlfriend.  We then headed to one of our family's favorite restaurants.  Love those pub fries!  Thomas and Catherine spent some time doing some shopping.  That evening, we played a trivia game I found, and we all laugh so hard when we play.  We love it!  It's one of my favorite ways to spend an evening with my family.  When we got up Monday, Andrew made the kids a decent breakfast.  Thomas went off to work and I took Catherine back to her apartment.  Catherine had some drama that afternoon that made Monday challenging, but overall it was such a wonderful weekend.  I'm so grateful we had fun and made memories!

It was the best

There are many things I want to write about, but I want to make sure I write first about last evening.  I don't ever want to forget our evening together as a family.

I had asked Catherine in the middle of the week if she wanted to come and stay over last night.  She responded that it sounded like fun and she wasn't working this weekend so she'd be here.  Three of us had a grad party to attend in the afternoon, so we agreed a later afternoon arrival would work.

The last several times she has come, everyone has just sat around looking at their own devices, so I'll be honest, I didn't have very high expectations for the evening.  I couldn't have been more wrong though.  We decided to go out to eat, but first stopped at our local nursery to purchase some flowers.  Dinner was at a pizza place, and we had lovely conversations.

For Mother's Day, I had asked that I receive a small badminton set.  I love that game, and even at my age I still wanted to play.  I know that I need to keep myself moving, or one day I won't be able to!  Andrew took the dog on a walk and Thomas put everything together for me.  Thomas and I hit some practices swings, and we laughed and had a blast.  When Andrew got home, he and Catherine came out to join us, and I couldn't believe how much we all laughed and enjoyed ourselves.

We weren't done yet though!  As it got dark and we came indoors, we all wanted to know what our next activity would be.  It was so sweet how much the kids were enjoying it just as the adults were!  We decided to play a trivia game that is based on generational questions.  It was so fun to realize what our kids pay attention to, and they truly enjoyed the game just as we did.  We had soooo much fun.

Because I'm still fighting gunk and goop, it was nearly bedtime for me by the time we were finished playing the game.  We had an absolute blast, and the best part was that the kids did as well.  We'll be leaving for vacation in three weeks, and I know that we are all looking forward to it.  I love hanging out with my kids as adults!

A fabulous end to this week off

This week has been wonderful.  I am so grateful I had this week and that it went as it did.  Monday was spectacular.  I never left the house.  Tuesday was similar, but I did go to Andrew's baseball scrimmage that evening.  We grabbed Mexican out afterward.  Wednesday I went to the office to get some things done and also worked at church for a bit.  Andrew's game for that evening was cancelled, and it was so nice to be able to hang out together for the evening.  Thursday, I had to take my grandmother to an appointment, and then I did some shopping in my hometown.  Friday I ran a few errands and also did some more shopping.  I picked Thomas up from work, and he was off almost two hours early.  It was awesome to be home so early that evening.  Andrew had no practice or anything, and he had dinner waiting for us (re-heating pork I had made the night before).  We enjoyed having Thomas around and watching basketball.

The weekend was the perfect ending to the break.  We made a trip east yesterday in order to visit friends.  It is always a wonderful evening spent with them.  Catherine had arrived home while we were gone, and it was lovely to be able to spend some time with both of our kids before we went to bed.  I also loved knowing that the kids had spent the evening together.  Today we gathered with my mother, sister, and dear family friend to celebrate the friend's 50th birthday.  We grew up together, and his parents are both gone.  He never married and his brother and family live in South Carolina.  It was important to me that he be celebrated.  We had such fun together.  Andrew took Thomas back to school, and Catherine is spending the night with us again.  This weekend has made my heart so very full.

Andrew told me this morning that he was sorry I had spent so much time alone during my break.  It was exactly what I needed though.  This week, Andrew has his break, and we've been invited to spend time visiting family at Norris Lake.  I am very much looking forward to this.  I told Andrew I feel a little badly for imposing on his break, but we know we will enjoy this.

My cup runneth over, and I'm very grateful!