2015 Gone Like a Flash.....

To say that 2015 has flown by is an understatement. The year brought several unexpected situations, some good and some not so good but overall we can only be thankful for all that took place. December started out very busy. The first event was Christopher's Christmas program at his preschool. We baked our traditional Santa faces to take to the cookie party following the music presentation. Chris was very happy and excited to take part in his last preschool program.

A few nights later the girls school had their Christmas presentation as well and it was so fun to see all the fancy dresses and happy kids performing. It was not easy getting pictures of them but we did the best we could.

 

The following weekend the three C's came to our house to decorate our tree as they have done for several years now.

 

 

Our hearts were broken when on December 10th Uncle Larry (Papa Norm's youngest brother) died suddenly. He was truly the light of the family, deeply loved by his wife and three children as well as his siblings and his many nieces and nephews. He had a way of showing unconditional love to everyone he met. He was usually the organizer of extended family get togethers often at his Lake Almanor home. He will be deeply missed. His memorial service was a wonderful tribute of how many lives he touched in his community in addition to the impact he had on our family. He loved the three C's and often would tell us of his conversations with them. He was Papa Norm's biggest cheerleader as well as such a help to us in so many ways at both our old house and the one we have just moved to.

 

 

 

He always took the kids out in his big boat and here is a picture of Chris with him several summers ago.

 

 

 

Claire and I on the way to his service in the car. It was such a treat to have Claire ride with us going to the service and Chloe ride with us coming home. It certainly helped distract from the sad day it was.

 

 

 

This is Chris and Larry's oldest grandson, Chase.

 



 



In mid December we celebrated Paula's birthday. Mike cooked a yummy dinner and we had a quick celebration before Paula went to work that evening. Happy Birthday dear Paula!

 





We hosted Christmas Eve in our home this year. The mood was somber but it was good for the family to spend time together. Paula and Suzie did so much to help me prepare. Paula and Claire assisted in setting up and figuring out the logistics of tables, chairs, and making room for everyone. Suzie baked as she does so beautifully. Couldn't have done it without them.

 

Here are some random shots taken early as the guests began to arrive....

Sweet little cousin Emma...

 

Jen making the traditional clam chowder for those who don't like the traditional oyster stew that the family has had on Christmas Eve for as many years as I have been in the family....

 

Brandon thoroughly enjoying himself.....

 

A rare shot of Mike.....

 

Our festive path to the front door.....

Christmas morning we went to the three C's home to watch them open presents. What a treat to see them enjoy their gifts and express their appreciation. They all have such good manners. We are so proud of them.

 

Our most treasured gift from Christopher.....

The following day we had a short visit from Claire, Chloe, and Chris which was the highlight of our 51st anniversary day!

 

New Year's Eve was party time for the three C's and Papa and Grandma. Chloe requested "Anything from the sea....lobster, crab, or shrimp". We ended up with shrimp appetizers that we had before pizza and other snack type foods. They also enjoyed hot apple cider and couldn't get enough. We spent the part of the evening playing Star Wars Monopoly and Claire managed the rule book and was pretty much in charge of the game. We were amazed at her efficiency in finding the correct responses in the rule book when there were questions. Such fun!

 

 

Although I don't have any photos, Norm and I did a short cruise trip with Papa Norm's sister and brother-in-law to celebrate Dode's 70th birthday. It had been planned last summer and it was difficult to make the decision to go after the family had lost Larry. It turned out however to be a good time together with part of the family and forced us to enjoy some relaxing time before the memorial service. I know it was all part of the plan...and God certainly knew what we needed. 

We closed the year with sad hearts but also with great thankfulness for the many blessings bestowed upon us in 2015. Norm had some rough spots with physical issues but God is good and we got through them and came out better on the other side. We love our new home and know that it is where we belong at this point in our lives. We are looking forward to 2016 and what is in store for our family. We are thrilled to be closer to our Grandchildren and to have family nearby. Happy New Year to you!

Playing Catch-Up On the Blog

I can hardly believe it has been two months since I have updated our blog. The time has been taken up by countless activities including a move for Papa Norm and I, as well as a quick trip to our beloved Kauai timeshare. I will try and do a catch up with a few comments and photos of the highlights.

The track season ended with great improvement from both Claire and Chloe. Claire ended up in first place the last two or three meets. Chloe moved up in her placement as well. We are so proud of how hard the girls worked and we enjoyed very much seeing Mike as one of the coaches of their team. Christopher was the assistant coach and got to help Mike with the practices by blowing the whistle when needed.

 

 

I continue to enjoy my time in the 2nd grade classroom. Below are Claire and Chloe hard at work. They both received awards last week for excellence in academic achievement. We were not at the awards presentation but later when I asked Claire if she was excited when she received her award, she answered, "I wasn't really sure what those fancy words meant until Mommy and Daddy explained it to me." We are still laughing about that response.

 

 

One of the highlights of the past months included a Grandparents Day for the 2nd grade class. In one of my last posts I mentioned that the girls had interviewed us and the class subsequently did a study on the time period that covered their grandparents childhood. It was great to hear some of the comments and information the students passed along. At the conclusion of that study unit they hosted a brunch for Grandparents and they entertained us beautifully by singing a number of songs. Each student had also made a self portrait of what they believe they will look like in their old age.

Another highlight was a visit to a local pumpkin patch. The three C's had so much fun and the light rain that came, off and on, didn't put a damper on their enjoyment at all.

 

 

Along with the fun things we did, we also were able to move from our home of 38 years to a lovely but way smaller home near the three C's. We live about 10 minutes from them which is so much better than the hour drive it was previously. It has been a tremendous amount of work but in the end will be well worth the effort. What a blessing to have everything on one level at this point in our lives.

 

 



Just three days after moving (planned a year ago...who knew we would move in the same week?) we left for a few days on Kauai. Only part of our family was able to go, Jon, Suzie, and Lisa, but we had a wonderful relaxing time. Some dear, long time friends, Gary and Patty, also went along and shared our condo and since they hadn't been to that island previously we had a great time showing them around.

Life is good and we continue to take each day and hopefully live it fully. The move has slowed us down a bit and we seem to both "feel it in our bones" but we are not complaining. We shared a great Thanksgiving with most of the family but somehow I didn't get any photos taken.

My last photo on this post shows the beauty of the trees in our new town. These trees happen to be at the three C's home and I couldn't resist taking this photo.

Looking forward to the celebration of Christmas!