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  Most of those are no longer active.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! 

Thanksgiving 2023

Happy Thanksgiving!  It's been a very nice day.  My mom and her friend, Deb, came down for lunch.  Andrew and his mom arrived Tuesday evening, and Catherine and Thomas are here as well.  Andrew and his mom prepared quite a feast.  Earlier this month, I was lamenting only having seven people here for our meal, but some craziness ensued, and I'm very grateful it was the seven of us around the table.  I don't mean to be vague, but I'm not sure I want to really write about that.

Both my school and Andrew's school had the entire week off work.  Last evening, we watched five Thanksgiving episodes of Friends.  To be honest, I think that is probably my favorite Thanksgiving tradition we have.  We laugh and laugh about those shows.

In sad news, I learned that my friend Stephanie lost her father this morning.  I saw him last summer when her daughter graduated from high school.  My love and prayers go to her family.

Hopefully, tomorrow is the beginning of the decorating! 

My dad has been gone ten years

It seems so hard to believe, but my dad has been gone ten years.  It seems unfathomable to me that an entire decade has passed.  There are so many days when I find myself wishing I could ask him how to do something, how to fix something, or get his opinion on something.  There are so many times when something will happen and he's the first person I want to share it with.  Even ten years later, those things happen.  It's so unreal that it's been ten years.

I know it's been a few weeks since I've written.  Life has been both crazy and dramatic lately.  It's all going to work out though.  I'll recap when I can.  I'm so looking forward to Thanksgiving week, some down time, some family time, some good food, and decorating for Christmas!