Skip to main content

We did it!

We made it through the fall semester, the holidays, the flu, and the year! There were definitely moments where I wasn't sure we could handle one more challenge. The obstacles of ordinary life can sometimes feel extraordinary. I don't have any magical solutions for myself or the kids, except to take things one day at a time, one challenge at a time. And I'm pleased to say we were successful! 

I love the everyday moments now where all four of them are home. 

Lorelei had a rough start to her first semester, and just when she started to find her groove, she got sick! She spent most of November battling pink eye and an upper respiratory infection. I was so proud of how she gracefully handled getting herself to the doctor at school. She even got two parking tickets cleared after being given them by mistake. She has done a great job "adulting." 

Poor thing! Her eye swelled up so much!

She's enjoyed spending time with me at Wernli. The kids love her and can't wait for the days she's there. 




This was the moment she got home for the semester. She was exhausted but happy to have survived finals, and even thrived! She got great grades.  

Jonas had a successful semester. He is spending a lot of his time devoted to his Texas 4000 group. Between training, school, and social events, he stayed very busy. He always humored me and sent photos regularly. 



He supported his friends, and he supported me by running the Girls on the Run 5k with me. 


He got a cool job this semester at the Paleontology lab at UT. He's working with fossils and, well, really large sets of bones!
As soon as the semester was over, he took off on one of his adventures. He headed to Puerto Rico to visit and stay with a professor and his 11-year-old son, Jacob, whom he met in Belize. He is becoming our world traveler. 

As I have said before, I am proud of this kiddo...he is literally going places!

Savannah has been up to her own travel adventures, although not international. She headed to San Francisco this November for the Neuroscience conference. 



She has worked her tail off this semester in graduate school. She is loving it too. I'm so proud of all her hard work.

She had another wedding of a middle school friend. It's crazy that her friends are starting to get married! 

The rivalry game for these two BFFs was fun! Hook 'Em! 
Bailey had a successful fall semester, too. I get lots of time with him at the gym and on hikes. 

We celebrated a few holidays.

Thanksgiving...



Christmas Eve...with the flu for Lorelei and me!



Christmas Morning and day...





And so many other moments of fun, friends, and family...



















I'm a pretty lucky lady...surrounded by a lot of love, trying to savor each little success, each hardship, each challenge, and realize that these moments and memories, whether good or bad, make for one extraordinary life. 

Cheers to 2025! Looking forward to whatever 2026 throws my way. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ziplining!

Helotes Hill Country Zipline ...did you even know this place existed?  I know I have driven past the sign on Bandera Road, but honestly never paid much attention.  Because really, how awesome of a place can it be just two miles from my house?  I realize my house is on a hill and I know there are several large hills in our area, but I didn't realize what was literally in my own back yard. A sweet boy from Savannah's 8th grade Science class has been persistently pestering her to go ziplining with him.  She tried to say no a dozen times, in a dozen different ways.  She finally agreed last minute when she asked if she could bring someone.  After a few tries of different friends, she settled on her daddy!  He's an adventure junky, and honestly in the last 10 years, hasn't had a whole lot of adventure.  Lorelei and I went along to take pictures and watch.  It looked exhilarating and breathtaking, but with my fear of heights, I said a polite, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nothing can bring you peace...

  ...but yourself.  I read the most amazing quote last night in a book I've been reading by Lori Gottlieb, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.  "Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart."  I wrote the following paragraph two weeks ago, before ever reading the quote above.  In 2026, my 53rd year, I'm focusing on peace. I want to find my peace, protect my peace, cultivate my peace. This year's word of the year has strong ties to last year's word, relax. Relax is more of a temporary state of being or an activity that reduces stress. I did an okay job of being more relaxed last year, but I still found myself feeling anxious and worried about the little and big things, more than I liked. Peace, on the other hand, is more of a state of being. I hope to embrace peace in my heart and mind. Peace can be deep, stable, and persistent. That even if th...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Spring" into Summer

I've officially been on summer vacation for a week now, even though technically, according to the calendar, it's still spring. It's the earliest I've ever gotten out of school as a teacher. Can't decide if I like it or not! The kids have been done with their semester since the beginning of May, although Savannah's graduate program never really ends, so she's still knee-deep in classes, exams, and labs. We are inching our way into summer, more than "springing" into it. The usual "mayhem" of Maycember seemed more "peace"ful this year (see what I did there?), although we did squeeze a lot into April and May. March wrapped up with my second Spring Break with Jonas and Lorelei. Lorelei met with a specialist in Houston, so we had a mini trip just the two of us.  When we got home, Jonas was able to get a ride back to spend some time at home. We had a fun day in San Antonio doing some of our favorite things.  Nowhere Bookshop... Train r...
Post a Comment
Read more