Looking Back

In no particular order, this sort sums up the last year or so. Lots of blessings, lots of busyness, and lots of fun. :)

1- In case I have not mentioned it a thousand times, we welcomed 4 grandchildren in to our family (in addition to the 4 that were already here!). Just wow!


That's kind of blurry, but you get the idea. 
Can you tell my husband does not take the pictures in the family? 

2- Paul took his first classes out of the home as a high schooler and he did amazingly well. With scores of over 90% on most of his work, he really stepped up to the plate. Paul has several learning struggles and he struggled right through them!

3- James was in his first ever play with a few small rolls in a children's production of Willy Wonka and LOVED it! I have my sister to thank for helping me through this obligation as item #1 on this list was taking up a bit of time.


That's James second from the left as one of his characters, Mr. Salt. 

4- James loved his first production so much that he went for broke and signed up for Aladdin where... he was given the roll of Genie. Another thank you to my sister. Just too much fun!


That's my Genie!

5- Our youngest daughter, Erin, got engaged!


6- Our youngest daughter, Erin, got married! Again, WOW!


Those are my handsome boys on the wedding day! 

7- Starting last August, we were responsible for nurturing and caring for our youngest (at that time) grandchild 4 days a week. Now that is an education. And a privilege to feel like we have a little to do with why he is such a happy healthy toddler today!



8- We took a vacation! A real live vacation! It was quite a stretch for us- as the day approached to leave, we had done very little no planning other than knowing our destinations (did you see #1 - we were just a bit too preoccupied to plan anything). We were so fortunate to have a visitor center volunteer on route 66 actually map out our week for us and steer us toward the "must dos" and the "don't dos". It was pure magic!



9- Paul played a high school sport this year! For reals. He tried out for volleyball and was placed on his school's varsity team. Saying that he loved it doesn't come close to covering how much he enjoyed himself.


Paul is the one with just the TKA on his sweatshirt (second in from right).

10- We registered Paul at a local private school independent study program where he met once a week with a teacher to turn in his work and progress reports (this allows Paul to participate in things like sports). It was a huge undertaking but he/we did it!

11- I managed to get ALL of the paperwork (loads of it) completed for Paul to enroll in the school and participate in said sport. Another WOW!  And another thankful moment to the people who helped me navigate these new waters.

12- James was in a third play (as part of a summer camp). This time he was Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka. I got to stay with him every day and help out- I really cannot express what a wonderful week it was.


13. We got a weekend away! That is "we" as in Frank and I. Heavenly!


Old people take terrible selfies (at least we do ;)), but I love seeing pictures of us together. Too often we forget to do that. 

14. We (actually our daughter) began a new tradition of having once a month family dinners. I had always thought we would have some sort of Sunday dinners when my children were adults, yet in the craziness of life we realized that we actually were not getting together as a family almost at all. We take turns hosting and we celebrate any birthdays that are in that given month.


Just one of the silly moments at dinner. 

I could go on and on - baby showers, wedding showers, wedding set up, vision therapy, baptisms, home projects, decluttering, holidays, birthdays, driving (lots and lots of driving- that could be a 'nother whole post!), flag football, soccer, civil war reenactment...

Not every corner had a blessing around it. There were some tough times too, but, in reflection, this last year has been pretty amazing and I am thankful for all that did happen and am letting to of the rest. 

A few more just because pictures- 



We are watching a live animal show (I think they are a little concerned). 


Beautiful Elena, our youngest grandchild. 



Andres loves Uncle James. 


Uncle Paul is exhausted. :)

Blessings to you in this new 2014-2015 school year! 



Comments

  1. PattySeptember 2, 2014 at 5:06 AM

    Holy smokes!!! What a year indeed! So much excitement.

    You need to do a post on Paul's program. I'm not sure if that works in our school district, but I'd be interested in finding out more.

    ReplyDelete
  2. PhyllisSeptember 4, 2014 at 9:01 AM

    Oh, this is wonderful. I love the photos.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownSeptember 5, 2014 at 12:33 PM

    I'd say you accomplished a lot! Growing a family is fun...and exhausting! So cute! You are blessed with wonderful grandbabies! (At 42, I CAN wait for grandkids! LOL) WTG James and Paul! You know - I think we saw the same production of Willy Wonka locally here...It was fun!

    ReplyDelete

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