Let's see how I can do with a New Year's resolution. Since I'm pretty hard on myself when I fail at anything, I hate to make my resolution TOO difficult, so I think I'll make a goal to blog once each week in 2016 with a resolution to actually accomplish one each month! (Don't be surprised if the majority of the blogs are done on the 30th or 31st of the month though!)
So... my holidays were wonderful! They began in October when I made my annual visit to my Optometrist in Colorado, Dr. Sloan (aka my son Brandon). Due to my work schedule, I hadn't made it to meet my grandson, Emerson yet, and couldn't make it to his blessing the week before, so I went for Halloween!
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| Batman (Gray), His sidekick Robin (Emerson), Superman (Bennett) & Spiderman (Krew) |
Thanksgiving looked like I was going to be alone in Texas as Sam & Cam had made plans to go to Colorado for their annual visit to Dr. Sloan in November and I was supposed to work. My boss gave me approval to work remotely though, so I packed a suitcase, left work early and jumped in the minivan with Sam & Cam for the 12 hour drive back to Colorado for the second time in three weeks!
Bran's family holiday photo.
The visit was great, the cousins all had fun together and Diedre learned how to make the Thanksgiving turkey. The trip home slightly traumatic with bad weather through the mountains, but we made it home safely and able to report back to work Monday morning!
I put up a sparsely decorated Christmas tree on my balcony since my apartment is a bit small to add a tree and decided to only add ornaments that were significant to me for some reason:
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| One of my favorites on the tree from MY childhood! |
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| Thumper was always my favorite character in Bambi. He's always hung front, center near the top on my tree! |
I had to add a memory from my first apartment with MY first Christmas tree!
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| Sylvester was the first ornament I ever bought... He was joined by Ziggy and Shrinky Dinks! |
Then came the addition of baby ornaments as my children joined the family:
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| Each of these were gifts from "Grandma & Grandpa" O'Riley for Meg (on the right in '79) & for the twins (in 1984) |
Then came all the fabulous homemade ornaments that children made in school.
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| Kindergarten ornaments! |
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| Photo Ornaments Sami always made sure hers was front & center! Our dog Corky in the sleigh was always near the bottom, so he could see it! |
Then came the real talent for making ornaments through cross-stitch...
Or because Randy thought homemade ornaments was a good idea...
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| Two that survived the years and the moves! |
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| The boys' high school trip to Disneyland provided me a set of Sleeping Beauty ornaments; my favorite Disney animated movie... |
Samantha made sure I'd remember our family Christmas at Bear Lake:
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| Photo ornaments of each family! |
And I made sure each family would remember our family Christmas in Memphis:
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| Every family got an Elvis' "Blue Christmas" ornament to remember the traditions decorating our family tree! |
And now, even grandchildren add to the magic of the tree...
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| A popsicle stick Christmas tree from Abigail... |
Bart's Elvis impersonation of Blue Christmas. Not the best...
While it was sad to not share Christmas with Meg & Brooks and their families, thanks to the wonderful world of technology, we were able to Skype and talk with everyone to share a part of the day with them; a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas and the importance of the blessing that we call family. It seems that Santa was good to all; young and old... As the "old" one, I know I am very pleased with each of my gifts...
Family time together ended with Andi's 13th birthday on the 26th! It brought her her own FaceBook account and a family outing to Main Event for bowling followed by ice cream at Grandma's house. Fortunately we were all safe from the tornadoes that were swirling around the area while we were having fun, with some pretty impressive scores (thanks to bumpers!).
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| The upper right corner shows the Sloan Family Youth Bowling Team!!! |
One to be treasured forever in our minds and in our hearts.
While I know everyone isn't as blessed as I am to have the love and support of children, spouses, grandchildren, friends, extended family and work associates, I wish a joyous, blessed New Year to all who may read this. May 2016 give you all that you need in your life to feel as blessed and happy as I am through all that God and his son, Jesus Christ, have to offer each and every one of us. (Use the link at the bottom to view a video to remind you to "not look back.")
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