Sifting Through Stories

Where to begin?  Maybe Happy New Year?

My, how the seasons change. I used to think of January as the quiet time when I could catch up on everything.  Not so anymore.  Nowadays, there are many things demanding our consideration.  A couple of weeks ago, we were sitting at Bethany's high school in a parent meeting, getting ready to register her for her sophomore year.  There were speakers from two colleges talking about how to frame the registration process around what might be advantageous for the future.  I turned to Lee and said, "You know, one year from right now, we will be registering a junior and a senior."

It's getting real here, folks.

I've been going through virtual boxes of photos, sifting through the past year.  It's been wonderful. And overwhelming. Now both my family's life and my business are documented in photos that tell stories, and I am certainly taking them faster than I can tell them.  I'm so grateful for the stories I've been privileged to tell for others over the past year.  A few of them still need to be told.

But to clear my head, I can't help looping back to revisit a few of the stories of our own that never made it to press over the past year.  It's hard to savor one sweet moment when the next one just follows right on its heels.  So join me if you wish for a little walk down memory lane.  Or, just whisper a prayer for this mom who is hanging on for a ride that is gaining speed a little too quickly for comfort, and come back next time when I'm caught up.  Here we go!

Bethany swam on the middle school swim team last winter,

which was really fun for her swimmer mom.

She did great!  It was a one season only deal, but she is working at the pool now,

teaching swimming lessons--so we're still getting that familiar whiff of chlorine every so often.

Ben's school choir sang the national anthem at a Twins game in August.  

They did a beautiful job--pretty cool experience!

Ben is really getting good at chess now that he is on the chess team at school.  

He is beating his dad regularly.

Bethany started high school, and joined the marching band color guard.

They were amazing, and she kind of blew us away 

with the way she caught on to all that twirling and tossing, while being expressive all at the same time.

Their trip to regional competition in St. Louis was a definite highlight.

Ben is still loving football.

He will also join me at the zoo almost anytime I invite him along.

Thankfully, some things don't change.

The tigers are still his favorite.

I did have flowers and hummingbirds.  They never get old.

These two characters hung out with me several times while Bethany was busy with band.

They are really too cute for words.

Though if I were to come up with words, goofy would certainly be one of them.

There were a few, blessed times, when there was nothing on our agenda,

and we all just went and played.

These are the times I treasure more than any other.

And finally (yes, it's always a long wait!),
we got to go visit the grandparents for Christmas!

It was an especially long wait to meet this new little great-nephew!

It's a shame they're not enjoying him.

And this little guy is STILL Bethany's shadow when we're there.  Can't believe he's FIVE now!

Grandma and Grandpa ordered up some Florida sunshine for Christmas

We took advantage!

There.  That brings us to where we are now.
Well not RIGHT now.  We are in the middle of a blizzard right now.
But I feel better now that we've told much of the rest of the story of  our 2015!

I just remembered...

…that I have a blog.

I always leave it pretty much alone when I go away, 

but this time I came back and kind of forgot to come back to blogging.
So that was relaxing.
We went to see family for two+ weeks at Christmas.
I am blogging about all of it right here in this post.  So hang on.

At my brother's in Charlotte, our new niece gave us an amazing cello concert,
while our nephew (her husband) played Trivia Crack with us.
Multitasking entertainment.  So good.







My brother Dave took us on a tour of the office where he and Mary work.
It's been quite a year for them at SIM.
This ebola outbreak has been close to home for them. Too close.
Heartbreaking. And then the next minute heartwarming.
They have been through the whole spectrum many times.



So it was a pleasure to meet the people they work with,
most of whom have left pieces of their hearts in other parts of the world.



We went on a fun outing and played a few games…



…before it was time to head down to our Georgia family.





And there we stayed for Christmas.



Lee's mom, Mona as we call her, was working her usual magic in the kitchen,
when the granddaughters started taking notes.
She is amazing.
I should have taken notes too, but I had a blast taking pictures instead.





I sure hope Bethany got all that.



Love.





We celebrated Jesus's birthday with cake.





The big kids played with the little kid's new toys.
Of course.
And everyone just enjoyed being together.

















After that we left for the tropics

and Grandma and Grandpa
(aka my dad and Jeannie)
in Florida.

Grandma took us on a fun river cruise.





Our gift from them was a fun adventure nearby.



We had to pull together a little extra courage for this one!









It was a blast!

We had a few more days to play in Georgia before we had to head back north.

 

 

 

These two--how is it they can go a year between visits and pick up right where they left off?

Bethany got her hair cut by our talented niece.

And then, it was New Year's Eve.

Some people watched Toy Story 3.

Some people watched Georgia Tech trounce Mississippi State in the Orange Bowl.

There might have been angels singing.  I'm not certain.

They wrapped it up with about two minutes left to watch the ball drop.

Just like that, 2015 blew right in.

I hope it's been happy for you so far!