Skip to main content

Halfway


As in, we are halfway through Tony being in Korea, away from us. He took two weeks and one long flight to spend Christmas with us. We awoke at 3:30 yesterday morning to get him to the airport. He kissed each of the kids good-bye and we ventured out in the 5 degree pre-dawn chill. Immediately I noticed that the grass and trees were sparkling like I have never encountered before. It was a wonderland of glittering ice everywhere the headlights shone.

Christmas was lovely and crazy and cozy, which is how it should be. We then settled into days of playing new games and enjoying our time with Tony. Jack's birthday is in a few days and he requested that we go to a railroad museum and antique shopping with his dad as an early gift. My parents joined us for lunch and antiquing, skipping the museum. The museum is on the ETSU campus, and we chose to explore Jonesborough for the antique hunting.

I have lots of organizing and cleaning to do, which I let slide during Tony's visit, though today is another of those gray, dreary, excessively cold days which has sapped my energy and motivation for all things domestic.

I do have a chicken roasting in the oven for dinner, the first meat in the house in almost two weeks. Tony has continued on his vegan adventure, losing almost 30 pounds on the way! I have been channeling my creativity into making meals that will both please the kids and meet his dietary restrictions. I found a great cookbook at the library, "The Oh She Glows Cookbook" by Angela Liddon. Everything we have tried thus far has been delicious! My goal is to have more vegan meals than not each week, slowly acclimating the kids to a new way of eating.

Lastly, I bought Lightroom 6 software for the computer and tried it out for the first time today. I still am trying to understand it, but it may be the only option for the time being. My Ipad died right before Christmas. I am waiting on a new battery to be shipped to see if that will save my Ipad. If that does not work, I am taking it as a message from God that I was spending entirely too much time with that device (which I already knew). The Lightroom apps for the computer require more than our computer has, so the software option is all I have at this time. Wish me luck!




Christmas morning. The cat seems less than enthused to be part of the photo.
 
I had bought only one "power popper". Tony informed me that this would never do. A second one was purchased for battles.
 


The battle begins.



This face. I see it all the time. There is much silliness in this boy of mine.


 

Look closely. You can see his face in the top lens.

G scale model train set

Watching the trains


There was a scavenger hunt for the kids, so he needed a bird's eye view!

Someone is not a fan of model trains.
In historic Jonesborough Tennessee

in the antique store
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Door Table

Once there was a store in Georgia. It is no more, but how I wish it was. I likened going in there to treasure hunting. One never knew what was going to be in there, and you had to dig through and wade through all the "other people's treasures" to find your own. I once found a set of blue and white teacups and saucers from England. I found lace handkerchiefs, a rocking chair, and an end table. But by far the best find was my kitchen table. I had stopped by one day while the kids were taking horseback lessons and the then little ones were asleep. The store was not open, but I went up to the window to see if anything new was there. And it was there. The table. And six chairs too! We were in need of a bigger table with Jack on the way. My mom had offered to give us her old one, which I was going to accept if I didn't find something I liked better. I didn't want anyone else to even see the table because I knew it was supposed to be ours, but one can never tell abo...
9 comments
Read more

Walking a New Path

 Well now. It has been quite a while, hasn't it?  I have kept silent about my struggles for the past four years, mainly because I was in the midst of something that I never imagined could happen to our family. And it wasn't just my story. It still is not.  A friend once told me I am an external processor, and I suppose she is right. I find that saying things out loud help me find the answer, if there is one. There was no good answer, as it turns out. And so, I am sad to say, that I am now divorced. A single mother, navigating a life I never imagined.  But there are some things that haven't changed. My faith, for one. I know that God is with me on this journey and that He is way smarter and wiser than I could ever be. He has held me close as I wept and grieved the end of my marriage. He held my hand as I packed up what would fit in a moving truck and drove our belongings to a new home. He has led me to new jobs and I can only trust that all will be well if only I cont...
4 comments
Read more

Fog and faith

 I stepped out into the coolness of the November morning to start the car and defog the windows, preparing to take Jack to school. Daylight had yet to appear. As we drove the many miles, the sky lightened, and we could see the mist hanging out just above the grass. We usually listen to a story together on our drive, adding commentary, exchanging a knowing glance or a shocked expression as the twists and turns unfold. I relish this time with Jack. I know that all too soon he will be preparing to leave the nest, like his sisters before him.  On the drive back, I pull my rosary from my purse and pray. By this time, the sun is just about to appear, making the sky a beautiful orange-pink on the horizon. I am pondering much as I pray, for the path I am on is once again rocky and uncertain. Such is life, whether we have faith or not. Faith makes it bearable. For the most part, the road home is a straight shot and I can see the ribbon of road laid out before me, narrowing in the dista...
3 comments
Read more