Happenings

I'm not going to lie to you.  Re-entry from our vacation was...well, a bit of a shock.  However, now that I am settled and things are back to normal (if there is such a thing around here),  I am plowing along, day by day, busy with our usual activities and with some unusual ones as well.  It follows, then, that this will be a rambling post about this and that since so many things are happening in our family these days.

The kids are doing all kinds of things to keep themselves busy.  Joey just got his letterman's jacket and we are so proud of him!  This totally biased mom thinks he looks great, especially when pictured with his beaming dad sporting his own now-ancient jacket. Two generations of football, more to come I hope.  I particularly like Joey's choice for the back of his jacket:  "Saint Michael the Archangel, Defend us in Battle".  He is rarely home as he goes to school at 6:15 for off-season football conditioning and stays until 5:30 for track practice.  He is a sprinter as you may recall and is trying hurdles for the first time--I hear he's good and can't wait for his first meet.

In stark contrast, Lindsey, too, has realized her life's dream, as she finally has the hammock she has been wanting for some time.  Jay and I brought it back from Costa Rica for her in her very favorite color.  She is spending lots of time there reading and listening to music despite the still-wintery weather.  She cantors often for school masses and I love to hear her sweet voice.  She constantly amuses me with her lovable quirkiness.

Sam just returned from his first "Snow Camping" adventure with his Boy Scout troop.  Here he is with all his gear, ready for his two mile hike in fresh powder at midnight.  Not surprisingly, when asked how it was, his reply was, "Cold."  Even so, he had a great time at the Klondike Derby shooting snow cannons (what the heck is a snow cannon anyway?!) and competing with other troops in all sorts of snowy events.  He, unlike Joey, decided to continue on from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts and is really enjoying all the activities his very busy troop provides for him to do. He is also playing basketball for the first time for Sacred Heart and loves it.  Not being a basketball family, we are not sure where this came from, but we are happy for him!

Julia continues with her gymnastics and is a pleasure to watch.  She will be competing new routines in some upcoming meets and I am looking forward to seeing how she has grown in her sport since the fall.  Bella has begun taking gym classes too and is catching on quickly.  I hope it isn't the end of her cheer career as she is such a great little cheerleader.  However, gymnastics stole Julia from cheer and it may snatch Bella away as well.  Bella will be turning six on Friday.

Toothless, Tiger Scout Tony is VERY BUSY playing Minecraft.  This is a building game and I am absolutely stunned at the complicated and creative worlds he has created.  Of course, I am thinking he is a budding architect and am happy to have at least one career decided upon for my children.  Six more to go...

Natalie is my constant companion and a continual joy.  I am treasuring this last year and a half of having her at home.  I will be lost when she goes to school.  (But maybe I'll get over it somehow.)

As for me, I fell off a ladder last week and banged my head pretty hard on the corner of a table on my way down.  Luckily, I had a brain scan scheduled a few days later anyway, and the bump was on the opposite side of my Omaya, so we were able to see pretty quickly that all was well.  Nonetheless, it hurt quite a bit and slowed me down considerably for a few days.  I will be avoiding ladders from now on.

About that brain scan:  Remarkably, I remain stable.  Still have two metastatic spots, still not growing, shrinking or changing.  Though I would prefer "clear" I am pretty happy with "stable".  Chalk up another two months for me, hurray!  God is good.

Finally, Jay and I are excited to be doing something totally out of the ordinary for us.  We are going to the Costume Designer Guild Awards in Beverly Hills on Tuesday.  My friend from high school, now a successful business owner, runs this show (among many other things) every year and she sent us tickets out of the blue for fun.  I have a gown to wear (great sale at Macy's!) and Jay has his tux all ready to go.  We are like little kids playing dress up...and maybe we'll even see some movie stars!  Fun, fun fun.

This is starting to feel like the Christmas letter I never wrote...so I'll close with that.  Rest assured that, though much time passes between posts at times, that I am well.  Thanks for reading.