Closing out 2016

The time has come to say good bye to 2016.  It was full of joy and sadness, and we look forward to what 2017 brings to our family and friends.  Hopefully just joy, of course.


Elizabeth and I made our annual trek to The Nutcracker ballet.  I treasure that time with her.  The dancers were good, of course, but Elizabeth was the most lovely person I saw that day.



Michael continues to impress with basketball.  His freshman team has lost only once, his JV team only twice this season.  Michael easily holds his own competing against JV teams comprised of sophomores and juniors.  He has much to be proud of.


A couple of months ago, Angie said she didn't want to host any get togethers during the winter holidays because it would be too painful without David.  About a month ago, she had a change of heart and said she wanted to have Christmas at her house.  She prepared a huge meal (I have been informed by my children that I need to make the chicken casserole dish she prepared "at least twice a week."), we hung out the whole day as a family, and even had time to complete a 500 piece puzzle.  It was a beautiful day, and I admire Angie's unrelenting strength so very much.

Steven decided the dogs needed to dress up for the Christmas gathering at Angie's.  I can't believe we have turned into "those people", ones who buy clothing for their pets.  I make myself feel better by believing it is only because they need to be warm during the sub-freezing evening walks.

After at least a 16-year hiatus, Michael revived our Christmas village!  It really adds festive cheer upstairs.  And seeing it makes me realize it's been so worth it, having Steven lug all the pieces around to the five houses we have lived in since originally buying most of them.

We spent Christmas Day as a family of four.  Well, we spent the afternoon together.  At 1:00 p.m., I finally woke up Michael so we could open gifts.  He was well rested after his 15 hours of sleep.  Maybe it's genetic, as Elizabeth slept 16 hours the day before.  They must have some mighty comfortable mattresses.  We have three trees each year, and my favorite by 100% is the one decorated with the children's photos through the years and the glass hummingbirds.  Sometimes I just stand in front of it for long stretches of time and reminisce about their childhood and about my Dad.

The day after Christmas, Terry and Linda brought us all to Cattleman's, the steakhouse that just opened in Georgetown.  Afterward, everyone came to our house for dessert and gifts.

Steven and the children have another week before returning to work and school.  My sabbatical begins then as well.  I hope 2017 is the best year for all of us.  Sending you much love.

The past 4 months

It's been a while since our last post.  We've been grieving the loss of David, who died unexpectedly on August 04th.  Sometimes we intentionally think of him and reflect on times we have had with him.  More often, though, something will happen that will trigger a memory and the pain is jarring.  Our hearts are broken for Angie, Matthew, and Austin in particular.  We have become closer to them all since his death.  A shame that's what it took to be more involved with one another's lives.  But we are thankful, nonetheless.  The last photo we have of him is from our January holiday get together earlier this year.  He was always smiling.  We miss him.

On August 02nd we flew to NC.  We toured Duke and stopped by my mentor Rick Hoyle's office on campus (he was attending a conference out of state).  That evening we eagerly arrived at Blockade Runner and promptly embraced the sun and the beach.  It began pouring the next day, as we made plans to leave.

School began.  Jobs continued.  We got to go to Toyota Day at Kings Island.  Elizabeth invited her friend-since-age-3, Emily.  Michael invited former teammate Gabe.

Elizabeth had an in-depth biology project that involved collecting 50 different species of leaves and labeling them.  Rosemary and Angie brought her to Frankfort's Salado Wildlife Preservation where they have an impressive range of already-labeled trees.  Perfect!  Elizabeth meticulously created her project notebook and earned 275 of 250 points for her extra efforts.

The four of us attended a fairness event downtown.  We are working to pass a sexual orientation non-discrimination law in Georgetown.  We knew several of the speakers and support them all.

We celebrated Steven's birthday in Frankfort.  Soon after, we grieved the presidential election results.  We still do.  To try to cope, we continue to boycott much of the political news.  Still not sure what happened.

On the other hand, Steven and I were ridiculously proud when Elizabeth co-presented two presentations during GC's sexual assault awareness and prevention symposium.  Steven attended.  I continue to hear words of praise from colleagues even now, two and a half weeks later.  Those who didn't recognize her assumed she was a poised psychology major.  Shocked to discover she's a 16 year old junior.  She is so confident and such a gifted speaker.  Again, so proud!

Mary and I attended the Lilly conference on Miami University's Oxford, Ohio campus.  We had much interest in our poster during our presentation session.  Our topic related to teaching strategies that effectively reduce students' hindsight bias in the classroom.  Our poster won Best Poster of all the posters at the entire conference!  We managed to drop by LBJ's as well.

Elizabeth passed her driving test so she can now drive alone!  The next morning she dropped off and picked up Michael from practice, because Steven and I were both at work.  Michael's first game of the season is Tuesday.  Last week was a scrimmage.  I worked concessions and spotted a rat under the sink.  The other volunteers ran away screaming.  I continued selling candy and drinks.

We spent Thanksgiving Day with the Huffs.  Rosemary hosted for the first time.  She began with a heart felt prayer about David. It was our first holiday without him.  We managed to laugh and be thankful as the meal progressed.  Matthew's girlfriend Kristin was at their home, preparing a full meal for her family that evening.  Austin's girlfriend Ally was with us, although she and Austin left to attend Ally's family's dinner meal.  We stayed long enough to complete a 500 piece puzzle and get exercise competing on the wii.

The next day Mom visited us for a couple of hours.  Here Elizabeth is opening one of the gifts Mom brought, a lego piano.  We won’t see Mom during the Christmas holidays because she’ll be spending a couple of weeks in Nevada and California with Mary and Bennett’s families.  Lucky!


We are heading into the home stretch regarding the semester (for me) and nine weeks (for E&M).  Steven has been relaxing at times this holiday weekend with his three buddies.  Most of the time, though, he is completing his list of things to do that I create.  And continue to add to.  Christmas letters are addressed and ready to go, our holiday decorations are complete, and our mums finally lost their luster and are ready for pick up.

We hope all is well with you.

Why July was awesome

July was awesome because...

...my kids are awesome.  Elizabeth and Michael happily, cheerfully, willingly posed for a picture together.  I am so proud to be their mom.

...Michael attended basketball camp.  The mom who picked him up texted "I thought we might need to rent a U-Haul to bring home all of Michael's awards."  At the end of the four-day camp, he received the Best Shooter, Free Throw Champ, and Hot Shot Champ awards.  The only award he didn't win went to a senior (Michael is a freshman.)  Incredible.  We were particularly impressed because he was an overnight camper, rooming with his friend Josh, and they got very little sleep!

...Angie and Rosemary visited, partly because they wanted to be passengers in Elizabeth's car.  Elizabeth was more than willing to oblige.  There is no errand too long or too far away for her to drive you.  Always the happy chauffeur!

...my husband is the most remarkable source of support a person could have.
And I continue to receive good health news.  Mary's recent visited coincided with a surgical follow up.  She was impressed with Dr. Folksy.  The rest of her visit was spent laughing, walking (in 90 degree weather each day), and laughing some more.  It never fails that even when we play Boggle, burn fajitas, or discuss Lane Center researchers, hysterical laughter is involved.
 
...Michael had a fabulous time with his friend Gabe completing the underground ropes and other challenges  featured at Louisville's MEGA Quest Caves and Caverns.  Although this his first time there,  Gabe's mom texted me this picture, which she captioned "wow, he's a pro!!!"

...Elizabeth continues to discover who she is, what she likes, what she believes in, what she thinks is worth fighting for (she still feels the Berne).  I am always astounded how she seems so comfortable in her own skin, astounded in part because that took me decades to figure out for myself.  I took this photo of her without her knowledge; I love it because it personifies her personality: carefree, happy, and  put together.  Also, the photo reminded me of previous Benetton ads!  She is especially excited about her AP English class this fall.

...Tiffany, Sam, Elise, and Parker visited!  The pouring rain did not dampen our time together - Nerf bullets, barking dogs, red raspberry yogurt, wii Mario Kart, and a Hercules 300 piece jigsaw puzzle completed by all our smart kids in Herculean time!  It is always soo wonderful when the cousins are together and to catch up with Tiffany!!! We can hardly wait to be with them at the beach in 1.5 weeks!!!
...the Democratic National Convention ROCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We're with her!  (Well, Elizabeth almost is; the rest of us have been right beside her for years.)

Michael

Michael graduated from 8th grade.  He has always been diligent and conscientious with his studies, which showed as he was one of a handful of students recognized for attaining a 4.0 across all three years of middle school.  Now both our children are in high school!

The week after graduation, Michael celebrated his birthday.  He is 15, 6 feet tall, and sports  a size 14 shoe.  He plays for the 9th grade Scott County High School team, which practices and competes during the summer.  They were attending team camp the week of Michael's birthday, but he came home in between games on his birthday to briefly celebrate.

Michael's team continues the powerhouse tradition of Scott County high school basketball by winning a recent tournament.  Michael's select team placed 2nd in a recent tournament.  If you ever want to watch Michael score and score and score, I have 8349346 videos you can watch.  You will be in awe!










Michael went to Florida as a graduation gift.  The gift was mostly from his friend Daniel, who invited him to spend a week with his family in Panama City.  They played basketball at 2 a.m., did some swimming, digging (reminiscent of Stuart Seely Sprague and Cave Run Lake), and eating out.  They remained in close contact with all their female friends through their phones, by turning their backs on the beautiful blue ocean while on a boat!

Michael came back 8 days later, tan, relaxed, and rested.  We missed him but were so excited for him as this is the furthest he has traveled without us.  He had several funny stories to tell, and I bet he really loved not having to turn in his phone to his parents every night.

Michael makes us laugh with his humor, appreciative of his work ethic with his school work, shake our heads in wonder as we watch him continue to improve as a basketball player.  We are always proud.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth entertained all of us during her spring piano recital.  She plays the piano beautifully, with such feeling.  We have gotten so much joy from listening to her practice and perform.  For a while, Elizabeth would mention that when she played the assigned songs on her teacher's piano, they sounded nothing like the exact same songs played at our home, that it was as if she were playing two different songs.  Not a subtle hint, Elizabeth, but yes, we did get our piano tuned! And we admit, the songs sound significantly better.

What Elizabeth finds beautiful and for which she has great feeling is driving!  She has been an amazing chauffeur the past six weeks.  I stay in the car and tell her exactly what to do.  And she does it: Every parent's dream, a teenager who listens!  She happily goes to the bank, to the library, to random stores, to Dollar Tree (my favorite!), to my office, and here you see her at the RedBox machine (where she received unsolicited help from a random man; fear not, unbeknownst to him, I was carefully watching).

When Elizabeth is not driving, she is hanging out with her friends ... through social media.

She and I learned how to darken her hair a little bit, nothing blatant.  I was shocked she trusted me enough to help her with it but quickly realized it was only because it was a wash-out rinse, so I couldn't really permanently mess it up.

Elizabeth took the ACT as a sophomore to determine her math placement for fall.  She stunned us with her high scores - not that we didn't think she would do well, but yikes!  We wanted her to know how much we appreciate how hard she works and how much effort she puts into her academics.  We could have told her that or taken her out to dinner at her favorite restaurant.  But instead, decided to buy her a car.  It's a 2009 Honda Civic with her most important car requirement - wait for it - an aux cord plug-in.  Huh?  Yes, you read that correctly.  She and Steven spent last weekend cleaning it, then Steven waxed it.  It is such a cool-looking car.  If you haven't already, watch the video below, during which Elizabeth opens her Chinese food bag, discovers a car key, and realizes that meant we bought her a car.  It was hiding in the garage.  Today when she drove me to the library, she warned me not to spill even one drop of my drink!

I have so sincerely appreciated spending so much time with Elizabeth this summer as I recover from surgery.  She is so loving and generous and uplifting and interesting.