I haven't blogged in awhile with the holidays to keep me busy! We had a nice Christmas. I am starting to realize that things will probably change in a few years and we may not have the blessing of being all together. So I'm thankful for having my family to celebrate with this year. I finally got my IPod!!! I'm having fun putting music on it and downloading podcasts. Jim's mother bought us some beautiful crystal sherry glasses from Ireland and sent several bottles of wine from the Chateau Grand Traverse (http://www.cgtwines.com/vineyard.php). So I'm feelin' pretty hip and fancy! This year marked our 20th anniversary. We finally figured out what we wanted to do, but it was just too late! We wound up in Lincoln at a holiday jazz show and stayed overnight in a fantasy suite hotel. Not as great as that trip to Chicago (which we are going to do next year), but it was still memorable and fun.
This season was also marked with unbelief and sadness as a teenager shot and killed eight people at the Westroads Mall before turning the gun on himself. This is a mall 15 minutes from my home. A mall where I shop. These people were from my community. Even though I didn't know anyone that was personally affected, it deeply affected me. It was just so senseless and destructive and painful, and the media kept dragging us through it all daily. The store recently reopened, the snowflake memorials that people posted were collected and preserved, and things are starting to feel normal again-but they will never be the same.
Noah made it home for the holidays, a few days later than planned. Four ice storms moved through the area making travel very dangerous. Finals were cancelled for a few days, the university lost power several times, and damage to the town was heavy. A couple of days after his arrival, his car broke down. The water pump froze up and in doing so ruined his belt. Again, much to be thankful for....that he wasn't traveling when it happened, that he was very close to our auto repair shop and didn't require a tow, that the pump and the belt were still under warranty which cut our bill in half. Noah finished his first semester of college with all A's and one B (chemistry lab-he was so mad!!). When he got home, he went back to the grocery store where he used to work and asked if they needed any help over Christmas break. They were so short handed and gladly welcomed him back. He has been working 35-40 hour weeks. He was down to his last $13.90 so he was glad too! Nate has been really slacking in school lately and falling behind. We tried some things to get him caught up before the Christmas break, but I haven't had the courage to look at his grades online. He has been using all of his old tactics again-as if I didn't have enough stress already this time of year. He says he is ready to take driver's ed, he wants to run track in the spring, and he wants to get a job at a restaurant that is going to open up soon. All very positive things, but if he's slacking in school now adding more is only going to make it worse. He is looking forward to a snowboarding trip to Colorado with the youth group in a few weeks. Our dog is holding her ground for now with the cancer. We had some unusual things going on with her last night, and I started thinking to myself... this is it. Jim's reaction showed me that I am going to be the one making the decision to put her down. She has been caught several times during the day sleeping on the loveseat (a big no no). She doesn't even make an attempt to get down and the boys feel sorry for her and let her stay! Jim and I were sick over the holidays-someone in our family had to be or it just wouldn't be Christmas! Hopefully I've disinfected enough to protect the boys from the nasty little bug. I've continued to practice my knitting skills and am making another scarf. I signed up for a weight loss class that starts next week at church. I want to (and need to) lose weight, but it really teaches so much about good nutrition and I want to learn that even more. I need to make some big changes this year to regain my good health. I am also signing up for a class to become a grief counselor for children. I want to volunteer with an awesome organization called Teddy Bear Hollow (http://www.tedebearhollow.org/), but I need the training first.
Until next time......
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