Here we are again…honestly, Christmas seems to come faster every year! I’m having a hard time getting in the spirit and getting my letter together. These past few weeks have been pretty hard emotionally. As most of you probably know, I lost my Daddy right before Thanksgiving. The holidays get harder the older I get. It was just five short years ago that I lost my brother right before New Year’s. Thankfully, I have my two boys to keep me on track and focused on the many blessings from above. I’m also so very thankful for the support, love and prayers of friends and family. I know it sounds so cliché, but I can’t stress enough to cherish every minute with your loved ones, you really never know when you’ll see them last.
2010 has flown by! Matthew, now 8, is maturing and getting so tall (if only he would gain some weight). We finally caved in and let him grow his hair into his own little personal style (a little influence from Justin Bieber). Matthew is still acing school but admits it is a lot harder this year (not exactly loving multiplication and cursive writing). Nevertheless, doing great and I couldn’t be prouder of him! His artwork was put on display in the Knoxville Museum of Art in October. He was one of five 3rd graders picked! Also, he just won first place for a safety poster contest out of his whole school (3rd-5th graders). He's very artistic! After trying his hand at several sports, Matthew has come to the realization that baseball is his favorite and what he wants to excel at. However, he is begging us to let him try tackle football this year. Are you kidding me?? Mommy is not so sure about that one…why can’t he just stick to flag football? Guess you’ll have to find out the verdict on that one next year. Matthew’s greatest memory this year was when he asked Jesus in his heart in March during Sunday School. Mark had the honor of baptizing him on Easter Sunday. What a great feeling, knowing that your son will be with you in eternity! God is so good and gracious to us all!
This is Michael’s last year at home with me. We decided to hold him back since he is a late September birthday. He was pretty upset about that since most of his friends started Kindergarten. I convinced him that I could home school him and he could have the best of both worlds. To our surprise, (and truly, little effort from me), he is already reading Level 1 books and absolutely loves any schoolwork I give him. Michael also loves baseball and football (but then again, he has always loved to follow in big brother’s footsteps). He became obsessed with raccoons this year after we found one in a tree in our backyard in June. We saw it several times. Ever since, Michael has collected raccoon stuff. He has driven us all crazy with the raccoon craze! And now he thinks he is going to ask Santa for, not one, but three REAL raccoons. Boy, is he going to be mad at Santa! He is still quite the comedian of the family and keeps us rolling in laughter. The funniest story of the year happened just recently at breakfast. Michael just out of the blue blurted out that he was going to ask Santa for a baby sister. WHOA! What did you say? Boy, was I shocked! This is the kid that when we were trying to have another baby a couple of years ago, said if we did, he would punch it in the face because HE was Mommy’s baby! What a change, huh. Needless to say, he and I had a little talk about that and how Mommy was a bit too old now. Haha! Honestly, if I were younger, I would love to have a houseful of kids.
Mark is doing great. He became a grandpa in February! His daughter in Alabama had a baby girl named Charlie. We've only gotten to see her twice this year but are already counting down the days until their next visit. Well, Mark never did buy a jeep after selling his Porsche, but he did buy a new camper last Spring. Wow, what sacrifice, huh! It was a great investment…we certainly have a ton of FUN camping memories this year. Nothing like a little quality family time in the Smokies. Not to mention all the nice amenities. I love being outdoors but when it comes to sleeping amongst the critters…no! no! not for me! Besides, I’m just too old for all that tent stuff…I’ve worked my way up to a camper over the years. LOL ! Mark worked diligently on getting a driveway poured for the camper and building a retaining wall. He’s one in a million and his love and devotion to the boys and me is a gift everyday.
Not working this year has actually been a blessing and I certainly cherish this precious time with Michael now, and will in the years to come, as well. I know I say it every year, but I am truly thankful that I’m able to stay home and raise my boys while they’re young. At the end of summer, we booked a Disney World trip for the week before Christmas. After Daddy’s death, I just didn’t see how I could even find the energy to pack for it. But it has actually been a blessing to keep me busy and occupied. Otherwise, I am sure the grief would overwhelm me and I would just drown in self-pity. God always knows our needs and never fails to meet them. Check back later for our Disney pictures. I promise to do a better job of keeping my blog updated this year.
I pray that you all have a blessed holiday season and remember…enjoy every second with your loved ones…make some beautiful memories.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Much, much love and blessings to all…
~Debi
NOTE:
- Be sure and click on "older posts" to scroll through all the pictures. I posted some of our 2010 memories by month just as I did last year in reverse chronological order by month.
- If you don't want to hear the music, you can press the mute bottom on the Playlist player at the bottom of the page or just mute your computer's speakers
- Also, you can click on any picture to see it larger. Just click the back button to return to the blog.
ENJOY!
