The happiest time of the year

We LOVED Christmas with our families!  Oh, how we loved the holidays.  Bennett, Tiffany, Sam, Elise, and Parker Bennett (SUCH a great middle name!) arrived the last day of the kids' school semester, so it was the perfect way to begin the holidays.  SUCH well-adjusted, happy, loving kids, and what is up with Parker Bennett never crying?  Where does one even GET one of those kinds of infants?  (Not that my kids weren't perfect, of course, because they were.  So maybe it's genetic?)  GREAT conversations (we could stay up until the wee early morning hours of the night talking with B&T), great play times - Michael was in lego-heaven with Sam as a playmate, while Elise and Elizabeth disappeared to play secret games in E's room.  I love anyone who loves Fisher Price (thank you, Elise, and later, Kate).  We were sad when they left four days later, but we knew we'd see them on Christmas, so we held our tears in check.

  Steven's family came over in two waves on Saturday the 22nd.  Lots of food, gifts, memories, desserts.  No girlfriends this time, just the family members.  I really love it that Matthew is a student at GC and we have plenty of people to talk about!  Cozy and sweet.  Plus the guys got to catch up with some crucial (really?) football games.

Christmas Day was at Mom's.  SO familiar to be in that house on Christmas with the decorations and the gifts and the huge meal and fancy desserts and the Boggle victories.  Nick could not be more likeable.  I cannot imagine anyone NOT liking him.  Ever.  And he fixed a photo of mine within minutes, and I am all about efficiency, so I greatly admired him for that as well.  The long walk with just the girls was superb, even if we did run into Jim Tom.

Then glamorous Mary, yes-I'll-fix-your-computer-yet-again-without-complaining Mark, and their precious children Aaron and Kate visited us for several days.  It snowed, and according to Aaron, nothing has ever tasted so good!  Kate bravely sled down one of the hills behind our house by herself, and Aaron went down the huge hill on the golf course slope by himself.  The beloved Sprague-Rose family graciously drove to Lexington to watch two of Michael's basketball games - he never has anyone cheering him on besides his adoring parents, so I am sure he will remember that day for a long, long time.  It was good for EJM to be at the games as well, so others realize Michael's not an only child.  She definitely got a lot of texting and game-playing with Aaron done while seated in the stands.

I could write about all the specific events and experiences and activities, but I'll let the photos speak for themselves.  I was struck by the genuine joy and unadulterated laughter I kept feeling and witnessing during the holidays. And I will never foget how loving Sam, Elise, Kate, and Aaron were to Zoe and Niki.  Zoe and Niki are surely missing them so very much each day, wondering when their happy, playful, laughing buddies will come back and pet, feed, tickle, and entertain them again.

 There is nothing like family. 

Smarty pants Michael (and E)

Michael Bennett McKenzie was inducted into Junior Beta Club last month.  We were so proud.

  And let's focus on E's dead chicken mummy project one last time.  I was shocked to learn no other student completed the 150 bonus points project.  I guess the other students' noses aren't as tolerant as ours are.  Gotta love that hardy Sprague stock.

Other events

I was asked to be the women's basketball team's first honorary coach of the season.  I loved it!  The team was down by 15 in the first half, so I stepped right in, gave a few ideas (I had many ideas because I am married to Steven, who always has suggestions for how players can improve, trust me), and guess what?!  The team won in the last few minutes of the game.  Next time I'll charge a consulting fee.  I assume you didn't really believe me that I gave suggestions, and you should not have, but the rest is true - Steven always has excellent suggestions and the team did come back from 15 down to win. 

Our family was asked to light the Hope candle during GC's Hanging of the Green ceremony this year.  It's a long-standing tradition, involving musical organizations singing carols and leading the audience of about 800 in song.  There is a sermon.  There are four Bible passages, which are read by a staff member, the president, and two faculty, who each light the corresponding candle.  Elizabeth and Michael read the passage related to hope - they did such a beautiful job.  I was so proud of them (as always).  Several students later remarked how they could not believe their poise and lack of nervousness.  Because the Chapel is completely dark except for the stage, I don't think they realized just how many people were present.  The event definitely got us thinking about the upcoming holiday season.

Elizabeth

 As the semester ends, E&M (well, just E - how lucky M is to still be in elementary school, or so insists E) have lots of school projects and I am in the middle of finals.  One extra credit project E is working on involves mummifying a chicken over a 5-week period.  It's been spectacular fun to drain the rotting chicken and fill it up with salt each week after weighing it.  Elizabeth puts a chip clip on her nose each week, so only I must suffer the decaying dead chicken aroma.   

On a more pleasant note, E and I continued our yearly tradition of going to the Lexington Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.  I love it, she loves it, and we are beginning to remember ballerinas from one year to the next, which roles they played, and how long they've been with the troupe.  If we could watch the Sugar Plum Fairy's dance each day, we would.  Less so the Chinese dance; we don't like those pointy fingers.

Michael

Michael's class recently had a pioneer-themed choir concert.  The kids were supposed to dress up as settlers, pilgrims, farmers, etc.  Because there were no pioneers who dressed in Nike shirts and sweatpants, the pickings were slim for Michael's costume.  It was fortunate he was in the back, where few noticed his dressy blue shirt that we convinced him was appropriate for a farmer.  He did a wonderful job singing and refraining from giggling.  Whew! 

Last weekend Michael competed in a basketball tournament in Somerset.  They were undefeated (4-0) until the championship game, during which they lost to a team they had soundly defeated the night before.  I don’t think the team minded too much, though, because they got large trophies for coming in second.  Michael and I had a grand time spending the night at the hotel and completing major shopping in between games (yes, Michael had a grand time shopping - mostly because his teammates came along). 

Thanksgiving

 We had our first Thanksgiving meal with Mom on the real Thanksgiving Day.  We ate at the golf course's restaurant.  That evening we played games and ate some more and waited for Mom to wake up from her nap.  She spent the night and checked out our new Kroger the next morning.  She left right around the time we left for our second Thanksgiving celebration.

Meal II was at the Huffs, where we had a huuuuge meal.  The best part was we only had to bring apple pies!  Angie is quite the chef.  There were a couple of new faces around the buffet table this year - both Austin and Matthew's girlfriends joined us, although Matthew and his girlfriend mostly slept on the couch because they are such dedicated GC students and had been up so late the night before studying (or so they told us; Steven thinks the fact they did Black Friday shopping is actually the primary cause).  As always, Zoe and Niki were welcome in Shelbyville - you will correctly guess which relative they liked most if you look at the photos.  Angie, Elizabeth, and Michael took them on walks, and they always love chasing the Huffs' two dogs around their large yard (well, Zoe does; Niki oscillates between excitement and fear; the dogs are two to three times her size). 

Road trip!

 All of us went on a road trip this weekend.  Zoe and Niki spent two nights in Shelbyville with Rosemary, so the rest of us could go to Wise, Virginia, to visit Steven's alma mater (UVa-Wise).  Wise is a three hour drive from Georgetown, and that's the furthest we have traveled since my neck surgery more than three years ago.  Robbie Blevins (best man at our wedding, Steven's roommate throughout college) and his wife and younger daughter (of two) hung out with us all day Saturday. 

We went to the football game between UVa-Wise and #1 in the nation GC (I was forced to sit in the UVa-Wise bleachers, but you know me, always sacrificing for my husband's happiness). 

Steven, Robbie, and Cindy (who also played basketball at UVa-Wise) later gave us a tour of campus.  The campus is absolutely beautiful.  I guess that's what a campus looks like when it's well financed.  :)  The buildings, the layout, the designs - so beautiful.  There is a new athletic complex (see photo - and look really hard to see Michael near the entrance, risking his life walking on the thin wall) that seats about 6000.  Michael intends to attend college there.  Or MSU. What happened to him going to GC and taking my classes, eating lunch with me in the caf?

We ate dinner together in Wise, then the four of us drove an hour back toward Georgetown before stopping in Hazard for the night.  We had our pigfest, which was awesome.  This is when we buy whatever we want from a grocery story and eat however much of it we want.  The one rule is you aren't allowed to eat so much that you get sick.  Getting stuffed and lethargic are permissible.

The next morning, we headed back and Steven met his mom to get our little puppies back. 

It was a fun, funny weekend, and every one of us had a splendid time.  We will have to do it again before another 10 years pass.