Where was I?

Oh yes, ignoring things I ought to do and comparing them to my list of need to do and want to do. They all lost!
This why I do not succeed at writing a journal. I either can't keep it up or get so bogged down with everything else I need to do, that it is relegated to the bottom of the "list". And I fail to understand how anyone would find this interesting in the first place. However, it is as close as I am going to get to a newsletter OR a journal so I continue to add to it.
I didn't find out until after my mom died, that she used to keep journals/diaries. If she continued to keep them after we were around I haven't found them. I did find earlier ones and dream of one day transcribing them so that my kids and grand kids can read them one day. Of course, it's only a dream. It will never happen because I can't manage to even update a my blog or Miles' blog on a regular basis. So, what's new you ask? Nah, you don't ask because if you KNOW me, you know that it is one of my biggest faults.
As for the goings on of our family: On a daily basis, life coasts along and day in and day out our lives seems to be the same. On the other hand...there's always something unexpected to shake things up a bit. Isn't that pretty much how your lives go?

This Thanksgiving, for the first time in my life, I did not have a thanksgiving dinner to host or attend. It was odd, but okay. We were asked to go up to St. Louis for Grace's birthday and baptism so we did. Jotty couldn't get off work so just Jim and I went. We rented a car and were fortunate to spend a few days with Royal and his family. The baptism was lovely with all her grandparents there (plus a few extras) and Grace was radiant with all the attention.
Royal took us to the area that Jim is from and he showed us the houses they lived in, the school he attended etc. He was surprised at some of the things that hadn't changed in all the years he'd been gone. Another day, Elizabeth and the kids took Jim and I to the St. Louis arch. Elizabeth graciously bought us tickets and convinced me to go up in the arch with dad (something I swore I would never do after listening to his stories for 20 years). I loved it! The view was everything he said it was albeit the arch swaying tremendously in the wind. When we were at the top I asked the worker there if it often moved so much. Wide-eyed, he replied that he had NEVER felt it sway so much! Earlier, Elizabeth, the kids and I walked around the free history museum under the arch while Jim walked all the way back to the car to deposit his belt. Seems that there is security you have to pass through and Jim realized he had on his belt with the buckle that is a knife. A very sharp knife, sheathed in the belt... NOT something that passes through security these days.
All in all, we had a delightful time visiting with Royal and Elizabeth and our "St. Louis grandchildren". It was so nice to connect with them and play with them. Little Mae charmed "Ponka", having wrapped grandma Jan around her fingers earlier in the year. And "Little Jim" just loved playing and getting to know Ponka better. We arrived back home on Thanksgiving day. Grace and Sienna were such big helpers the whole time and loved having their pictures taken.

Then on Saturday, Michelle and Mila arrived from California for a visit. Jason had gone to Japan to do more training in ninjitsu so Michelle decided to come see us. We are so glad they did! We had a great time and it was so good to see them again and let Mila get re-acquainted with us. Unfortunately, both Jim and I had to go back to work so we didn't get to spend as much time with them as we would have liked. Mila is a cutie with an inordinate amount of dramatic flair. She loves to sing and dance in particular. I like to tell people that Jason is now an RN and a Ninja.

The next few weeks brought the Christmas holidays and we were able to get visits in with most of the kids and their families. Ian and Jessica came from Mississippi for a short visit with Ava and Riddick, their two huge Great Danes. Big, but sweet and gentle. Then they went up to Birmingham to see her folks. Jessica recently graduated and is now working as a counselor. Ian is unemployed now, his last job drying up as the oil spill got cleaned up. It was so good to see them as they had been very busy the past few months.
Anna and her family arrived the day after Ian and Jessica. They didn't get to stay too many days either as Toby couldn't take much time off of work. The kids had grown so much since the last time we'd seen them. That's when the house inevitably became very busy and noisy...because all the other cousins wanted to come over to see and play with Anna's kids. We had a lot of kids playing here and enjoying each other's company...and Jim sleeping through most of it. Don't know how he does it. It was unseasonably cold the whole time so there wasn't the option of playing outside as they had done in Christmases past. Of course we also saw the local families: JaNae's family, Jacob's crew, and Kira's bunch. It was a very enjoyable Christmas!!

January continued to be freezing as we got back to the grind. Then we got word that Jim's brother David had passed away unexpectedly. We left immediately for Texas, this time with Jotty in tow. We stayed with Jim's dad and his wife Mary. No matter how unfortunate it is to lose a loved one, it does offer the opportunity to reconnect with others you haven't seen in awhile. Not only did we also see Jim's sister Donna and her husband Carl, Jim was able to see a niece and nephew he hadn't seen since they were small, and we got to finally meet Mary's children and their children. It was such a treat to meet more family, and get to know Mary so much better. She is such a lovely, lively, and sweet woman. No wonder dad married her! The funeral for David was at the National Cemetery there in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. It was held in an outdoor pavilion and it was cold and windy that day! I was ever so sorry that I hadn't grabbed a hat to take. Jotty had one, but of course had to remove it for the service. He'd gotten a haircut right before we left on the trip so his head was mighty cold.
So things are now, kind of, back to normal. I have JaNae and Jeremy's kids each day after school and we sometimes even get homework done! The weather is finally starting to warm up enough that the kids can play outside again and I see little green sprouts here and there in the lawn and garden. Soon, it will be time to give a little attention to the garden and break out the lawnmower.
Jotty is completing his mission application and really only needs to get his wisdom teeth removed so he can submit it. He is anxious to finish it all but the appointment with the oral surgeon can't be moved up.
Until next post....