WHAT IN THE WORLD?
HOW IS THIS YEAR OVER?
Honestly, time just goes by faster and faster the older I get, and I distinctly remember my 8th Grade Science teacher, or maybe it was my English teacher, and it could have been 7th grade so let’s say vaguely remember a teacher in middle school telling our class that this phenomenon of time speeding up the older you get would happen. And I remember thinking no way, summer is never coming, this class will never end, does that boy like me?
I’m here to tell you THAT TEACHER WAS RIGHT.
GEESH.
Anywho, as always, before I begin, let me say how thankful I am for all of you faithful blog readers of mine. I love writing down all my random stories and thoughts and problems and triumphs and knowing that someone reads along every week is just crazy to me. THANK YOU. FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY BIG OLE HEART, THANK YOU.
January
I’m here to tell you that January was just January.
I didn’t even head back to school until mid January because of our three week Winter Break (I KNOW!) so I literally had lots of down time.
I worked on a bunch of different TpT products, caught up on all of my shows, read books, hibernated, had lunch with friends, etc etc etc.
It was fantastic!
Speaking of books, these are my top two and I highly recommend them!
Read Arthur Truluv first and then Night of Miracles! Elizabeth Berg is one of my all time favorite authors and I didn’t want either of these books to end.
February
After looking back at February, this was the stand-out. Steve and I went to the Pantages theater in Los Angeles with my parents to see Aladdin. It was so much fun! The trip to and from LA took FOREVER, but spending the day with my parents is always a good time. We had a super yummy dinner afterward and it was a day well spent.
I love any time I get to spend with my parents and I never want to take it for granted.
LOVE THEM.
March
My mom and I snuck off to Texas for a long weekend! We had the BEST time!! We laughed and laughed! We walked around downtown McKinney, TX and ate lunch, and we also went to a pie place that only sold pie! We went to The Star in Frisco (Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters) for dinner and ice cream, and then we spent a day at Magnolia in Waco.
I’m telling you – FUN FUN FUN! And that girl in the hat in the above picture is not a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. Nope. That’s my beautiful 16 year old niece. 🙂 THAT GIRL loves spending time with her Dinee (grandma) and her mom and aunt. I just love that about her.
THEN . . .
Steve competed in his first (of three) Olympic triathlons in San Diego on Coronado Island. I was so so so proud of him!! I knew nothing about any of it and was so pleasantly surprised by the Triathlon community! Everyone was so nice and so supportive. The whole weekend was a feeling of celebration. Really inspiring!
April
At the ripe ole age of 73, my dad finally RETIRED! We had a big party for him, Kerry flew out, and it was such a special weekend. Now both of my parents are retired, and they have found their rhythm together at home.
Once again, lots of family time! I’m seeing a theme here . . .
May
Oh look! It’s my family! 🙂
My niece, Ashley, graduated from Sonoma State! We all traveled up there for a long weekend and enjoyed time with her, time at a winery, a late night out by a fireplace in the hotel, and the graduation ceremony.
We are so so so proud of her! She is now working down here in So Cal doing exactly what she went to school to do! She is a software engineer (I think) and does something with apps. Ha! I don’t know. I promise I listen, but it’s so far out of my realm, I really don’t understand it.
June
We went to Florida for a family reunion with Steve’s family. Here we are after a long long long walk! I loved this little area that we stumbled upon in Seaside. We spent a week with Steve’s mom, stepdad, aunt, uncle, three brothers, their wives, his sister and her husband, and all of the kids! There were a BUNCH of us in three houses and we had such a great time. I loved Seagrove, Seaside, and Watercolor and all of the little towns nearby. We had lots of beach time, pool time, and lots of dinners, but our favorite times were hanging out by the pool long into the night just talking and catching up with everyone. It was better than we ever hoped it would be!
July
Kerry and the kids came out for a couple of weeks and we had more family time! We went to the beach, the movies, shopping, swimming, had a BBQ, etc etc etc. You can read more in detail about it {HERE} if you feel the need for a refresh. It was FAMILY FUN! 🙂
August
My nephew, Jake, graduated from Marine Boot Camp and he is now stationed in Hawaii for the next two years. We are obviously SO PROUD OF HIM!
Our first week of school was delayed by one week due to the Holy Jim Fire. I had so much anxiety about the upcoming school year. I poured my heart out to all of you, as I tend to do, and I was overwhelmed by all of your love and prayers. It was such a strange start to our new school year, but now that we are in the swing of things, it feels like it never even happened. Isn’t that always the way?
The Holy Jim Fire was devastating for our little area, but it was nothing compared to the Camp Fire up north. Please continue to pray for all of those affected.
September
A bunch of us went to see Gerry Brooks!!! If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it. We laughed and laughed! It was so inspiring and definitely a pick-me-up. It really got a lot of us thinking about school climate and culture. I wrote a post about it {HERE}.
October
I snuck off to Texas again to see my niece and nephews in all of their activities! I watched Madison dance at halftime during the football game, I watched my older nephew play basketball, and then I watched my youngest nephew play football in the pouring rain. It was FANTASTIC!
Kerry and I love any time we can get together!
November
Steve and I went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for Thanksgiving and it was PURE HEAVEN.
We met nice people, we slept a lot, we ate, we walked, we napped, we read, we floated, we drank coffee by the ocean every day . . . it was just perfect!
Little Miss Murphie turned six years old on November 27th! I can’t even believe she is six! She hasn’t slowed down a bit. She is a good walking buddy, too, but mostly, Murphie and I play soccer in the backyard. It is her absolute favorite thing to do. I have to set a timer or she won’t quit. Once she hears the timer go off, she’ll go inside for a rest.
Murphie is just the BEST dog. I can’t imagine her not being by my side. She follows me everywhere and talks to me a lot, too. I’m not kidding. She is super vocal. 🙂
December
December was busy with all things school! Parent gifts, volunteer gifts, crafts, parties, hot chocolate reward parties, etc. It crawled by and flew by at the exact same time! If it wasn’t for my teammates, I probably wouldn’t have made it. 🙂
And that pretty much sums up 2018.
Looking back, it’s filled with Steve, Murphie, family, travel, yummy food, wine, and a lot of walking.
Of course, it’s not all smiles, and easy-going, and everything is puppy dog tails and unicorns. I still have terrible eye floaters that have not gone away. My mom was hospitalized for almost a week and had to have a pacemaker implanted. My older sister broke her wrist and had to have surgery (she now has two plates!).
Several of my past students and current students are dealing with things in their lives they should not have to worry about. Several of my friends have lost loved ones. I have three friends whose family members suffered strokes this year. A retired teacher of ours is facing triple negative breast cancer. A former student of ours (he is only 12 and his siblings still attend our school) is fighting osteosarcoma.
And that’s just my little life.
But I praise the Lord daily for His goodness, His grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness.
If I can pray for you, please let me know! I would love to!
Have and a safe and happy new year!