A Texas Thanksgiving Recap

This year we had Thanksgiving with our daughter's in-laws in The Colony, north of Dallas.

Our daughter usually hosts this special day but her house was in a bit of an upheaval due to renovations, so Sandra and Charles were happy to take over.

It was a fun day with family as I think the following pictures will attest.

 Big Sis and Bro-in-law giving career advice to the December UT grad.

Chuck & Christy 

 Ava Grace and cousin Preston entertaining themselves

 The whole bunch

 Daughter's girls having fun for the camera

 Our little bunch

 Our gracious hosts

 Daddea, Bibby, Grandma & Grandpa

 A rare contemplative moment for this girl and her buddy Brad.

 Preston and Max

 No Words!

Our Dallas Grands minus one

Needless to say, we are some very grateful grandparents.

God's Word admonishes us to give thanks in all things and I thank Him for you today.

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.  Numbers 6:24-26 

May the Lord continually bless you with heaven’s blessings as well as with human joys. Psalm 128:5 TLB

A Blogging Hodgepodge

This has been a very busy month.  In fact, the busy started back in October, but it's been a good busy.  Dick and I got a few Christmas decorations from the attic last weekend and bedecked our home with a very minimalistic approach.  As we don't spend Christmas at home, we do only what is necessary and no more.  It sure cuts down on the seasonal stress so many are experiencing.

Now, when you have a chance come join Joyce and the other bloggers for

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1.  What's something blogging has taught you about yourself?

That my life isn't nearly as interesting to other people as it is to me.  See #6
That I am consistently inconsistent

2.  Leftovers...are you in the 'reheat and eat' camp or the 'put them in the fridge until they spoil and then toss them' camp? What's your favorite thing to have leftover? What can you not abide as a leftover?

We are definitely in the 'reheat and eat' camp.  When I cook, I usually prepare enough to pull out again.  I am not about preparing a meal every day from scratch any more.  Been there done that!

Favorite thing to warm up is soup.

Cannot abide leftover green salad, but who does that anyway. 

3. 'Me time'...your thoughts?

A MUST!  When we both retired at the same time, we knew that Dick needs be out of the house and around people as much as I need the opposite.  So, he continued his real estate business and I am so perfectly content doing my thing at home all by myself.  He is coming home earlier these days, but that is perfectly fine with me.  In fact, I've decided we can co-exist quite happily.

4. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?

I don't have a lot of that, but it either involves needs with hospitality at church or someone seeking skin care advise.  I happen to be doing that today.

5. If your childhood had a smell what would it be? Tell us why.

It would be a woodsy smell.  A couple weeks ago my middle sister and I took a ride to where we lived during the early years of our childhood.  As we drove around we remembered building a "Dodge City" among huge tree trunks that had fallen during a hurricane.  We pointed out sections of the woods where we had played and constructed houses out of pine straw.  We laughed as we recalled a day when we ambushed a neighborhood boy to threaten him to stay out of "our woods." It was at that point we saw a shotgun in his hand.  NOTE:  This was in the mid 50's in rural Louisiana when carrying a gun was almost as common as sneaking your dad's cigarettes!  Anyway, we quickly decided we could share the woods from then on.  We also fondly remembered squirrel and armadillo hunting with our dad.  So yes, a woodsy smell would suit me just fine.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I am in the midst of blogging about our recent trip to visit family in northern Indiana.  (Links HERE and HERE)  Again, I am reminded that there are only a very few people who even care what I do, much less take time to read about it.  This is one of the frustrating things about blogging.  If  my blogging were to rely on comments or visits I probably wouldn't do it, but I find that the remembering and recording is important to me.  So, in the end, why do I keep blogging?  It is for me and that will be enough.  For now.

Rugby, Soccer and Family #2

We had one more soccer game before Savannah officially ended her freshman year as a starter and finisher of the 2017 Trine Women's Soccer team.

On Monday, Oct. 30, we traveled up to Holland, Michigan.  Holland is near Lake Michigan and is the home of Hope College.  The famous De Voss family of Amway fame and among the wealthiest families in Michigan are huge supporters of this school. The name Betsy Ve Voss may also ring a bell.

The trip up was the most colorful I have ever seen as we don't really get fall foliage like this in Louisiana.  So enjoy the scenery with me.

Being so near the Lake, there are a lot of rivers and waterways along this northwestern route.

It was getting quite cloudy at this point and I loved the sun shining on the distant tree line.

The cloudy skies were amazing and we could tell the temps were dropping.

Savannah called and warned us that it was sleeting and snow was expected.  Again, I thought about those poor girls and their bare legs.

When we arrived in the neat little town of Holland, we were all feeling the need for something hot to drink.

If you ever have an opportunity to visit the small towns along Lake Michigan, do so.  They are so quaint and fun to visit.

Needless to say, this outdoor sitting area around a blazing fire caught my attention and even though it was beginning to sleet, I had to get closer.

Because of the freezing, rainy, sleeting weather, not to mention gale-force winds, I left the camera in the vehicle in order to hold on to my blanket and slicker suit while sitting in the cold bleachers.  So no pictures to show of this game.

This was the only phone snap I got of these brave girls.  By the way, our team lost, but our girl contained the #2 shooter in the region to a big fat 0.  Way to go Savannah.

If you missed the first one go HERE - All About Rugby, Soccer and Family #1

We will be back to Rugby in Cincinnati next time.

All About Rugby, Soccer and Family #1

Several weeks ago, Hubby and I decided that there was just too much going on with our Indiana family that we didn't want to miss.  And basically, that was all it took to throw some things in the car and let the family know we were coming.

This photo and however many more it takes will give you a brief over view of that trip.

If you have been following my blog for very long, then you know to expect lots and lots of pictures of grandchildren.  So, here we go.

We arrived in Granger, Indiana on Thursday, October 26 in time to attend our grandson's Rugby game against Notre Dame on Friday.  Now, the ND campus is in South Bend, IN, less than 10 miles from where our son and family live.  Grandson is a 5th year senior at the Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI.  You will recall that he played football there for four years.

Now, he is playing Rugby!  Actually, he prefers this to football and is really quite good.  We really don't understand what goes on in this game, but is it very exciting to watch.  Brutal, violent, and never dull.

Confession!  It was so bitter cold and the wind was blowing so fiercely that I didn't even take my camera.  I knew my fingers would want to be in gloves buried deep within my coat pockets.  I borrowed the two pictures below from the WMURugby Facebook page.

Any one even remotely familiar with Notre Dame knows about the Golden Dome seen in the distance.  And from the flags, you can tell that the wind was whipping.

The boys were lined up for the national anthem.  And then the fun began.  Jackson scored at least one Try (touchdown) and was so exciting to watch.  We won in the final seconds of the game which had us all on our feet, but ready to escape to warmer environs.

The next day, Saturday, we left early for Trine University in Angola, IN to watch our granddaughter play in her final home soccer game of her freshman year.

The campus is lovely and the soccer field is so well kept, nestled beneath the beautiful fall foliage. 

Trine is a DII private liberal arts college with high academic standards and requirements for entry and gives no athletic scholarships.  However, about 85% of the student body play some sport.  So Savannah fits right in and couldn't be happier.

It was a bitter cold day in Eastern Indiana and we were all bundled up and couldn't believe these girls had to be out in shorts.  But, that's the nature of the sport in this part of the country.

Nevertheless, we went prepared.

That's our girl, #6

She is a diva off the field but on it, she's a force to be reckoned with.

And isn't she a beauty!

The Fall colors were in abundance and I loved this scene outside the restaurant on a hill we enjoyed warming up in after the game.

I love this picture because it says so much about the beautiful relationship these three siblings share.  Jackson loves his little sisters and they absolutely adore him.

And this is our Indiana family.

I will take you north into beautiful Michigan next time.
This is the link:  Rugby, Soccer and Family #2