Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
Once again I feel conflicted about sending out Christmas cards.
I love getting them! I love sending them.
But the price adds up.
So, once again I have resorted to simply blogging for our Christmas greetings.
Our Year in Review
January
Jay and I blissfully rang in the New Year on the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy, Jay's second earned Diversification Trip with Edward Jones. What a blessing to get away without the kids -- something I had NEVER done before for more than a night or two! It was my first trip to Europe and I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. I can easily see why EJ financial advisors return to Rome 5, 6, 7, or even 8 times!
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| Enjoying a glass of wine on the Spanish Steps at midnight in Rome. We didn't, however, smash our hotel glasses on the sidewalk, as the locals do. |
February
In February we rang in the Year of the Sheep/Goat/Ram (Great Horned Animal is what it's called in Shaanxi) for Chinese New Year. It is always great fun to dress up our girl in her qipao and head to the lion dance and then celebrate at home with homemade Chinese food! Later that month, we did our 1 and only large home improvement project and removed carpet from our living and dining room and had laminate floors installed. The boys and I enjoyed the filthy dirty demo and they helped me lug out all the nasty carpet. Home Depot did the install. The floors turned out gorgeous!
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| Chinese lanterns decorate our home every CNY. |
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| Welcome Year of the Sheep! |
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| New floors! |
March
One of my best friends in the whole world, back from junior high school came to Texas for a visit in March. It was great fun taking our friends on the boat on the Riverwalk and then driving up to one of my favorite places on earth -- The Exotic Zoo in Johnson City. They missed the Bluebonnets by only about a week or two.
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| There is great beauty of a Texas hill country ranch. |
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| My favorite animal on the ranch. |
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| The bluebonnets are always stunning! |
April
The kids were enjoying their tennis lessons in downtown San Antonio. Super E turned 8 years old and had his first party with homeschool friends at a store that sells used Legos. That very night, unbeknownst to our friends, we also had our first showings on our San Antonio home.
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| Super C. Gosh, he's all legs! |
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| Super E |
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| Super E on his 8th birthday. He's all about Minecraft, Legos, Pokemon and his dogs. |
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| Lego heads at the store. |
May
We announced on May 1st that we were moving from San Antonio to Minneapolis to be closer to family and to distance ourselves from allergies that could not be relieved in Texas. Just 4 days after listing our home for sale, we received 3 offers! We made a quick trip to Minnesota and made an offer on a home on Mother's Day. The entire road of real estate was rocky and stressful beyond belief. Later that month we completed our 3rd year of homeschool before our big move. Super C finished 6th grade, Super E finished 2nd grade. Late that month, Jay and our puppy Reese left Texas for good and headed up to Minnesota to begin work on his new book of business. The kids and I and 2 dogs stayed in Texas to pack up the house and wait for closing. On May 28, we celebrated Quiet Tiger's 3 year Gotcha Day.
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| Our Texas home for sale. |
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| Our Minnesota home. |
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| Last family picture in Texas the morning Jay left. |
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| Jay and Reese are off to Minnesota. |
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| Celebrating 3 years home! |
June
We filled early June with packing, goodbye parties and trips to the dentist for teeth cleanings before the big move north. Quiet Tiger learned to swim freely, on her own, with no lifejacket or floatation devices just days before we left in the pool in our backyard. Our closing was continually botched and delayed and delayed and delayed again. The kids and I left Texas while still owning the home due to too many delays. We drove to 1300 miles to Minnesota through Texas tropical storms and went directly to Jay's Summer Regional event for work. The Minnesota staff worked closely with the Texas staff to make sure Jay earned his 2 awards for work done that year. With much drama and stress and tears, we closed on our Minnesota home just 2 days later than we expected. We connected with family and friends we hadn't seen in years. We made our first trips to the cabin in Hayward, Wisconsin to visit Jay's mom.
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| Took advantage of all the swimming we could before we moved. |
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| The moving truck arrived a day early but we were ready. |
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| Jay with his Eagle Award and Ted Jones Entrepreneurial Achievement Award |
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| Gathering with some cousins in Minnesota! Hadn't seen them in years and years. |
July
We celebrated Independence Day at the cabin, one of our favorite places to celebrate. July brought visits from my mom and stepdad from Chicago. We celebrated Quiet Tiger turning 5 years old! The joys of homeownership began and we had to replace a washing machine. We began to get to know our new town. Our weekend trips to the lake became quite regular, heading up there once every other weekend and taking friends with us when we could.
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| On the dock at Grandma's. |
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| The boat may be as old as I am, but she's still running. Love tubing on Lake Windigo. |
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| Quiet Tiger turned 5 years old! She's all about coloring and playing dress-up. Her favorite color is yellow and she no longer calls it "lello." |
August
In August, the boys were enjoying softball with local homeschool students. It was a great program that we wish could have lasted longer. Home updating began as I painted Quiet Tiger's bedroom. Another trip to the cabin in Hayward was extra fun as we celebrated Jay's Godparent's 50th wedding anniversary with family and friends. After 10 long years, I reconnected with my dad when he stopped through for an evening on his way to Duluth to see his brother. He met Super E and Quiet Tiger for the first time in person. It was a quick visit but very enjoyable. Despite Minnesota schools starting after Labor Day, we began year 4 of homeschool in mid-August. Super C began 7th grade, Super E began 3rd grade and Quiet Tiger began Kindergarten. It was a full plate for this homeschooling mom! Jay and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary with a nice meal at home and a date night out to the movies.
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| Super E's team. |
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| Super C's team. |
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| My dad with my kids. |
With school in full swing, life became busy yet routine. I managed to get the boys' room painted. We celebrated Super C's 12th birthday with friends when both of our husbands happened to be out of town on business. Surprisingly, Jay received an offer for an office closer to home, rather than having his own office in Maple Grove as originally planned. At the end of the month he began working in an office in Zimmerman and the move has been great! His office is 10 miles from home and he has a great Branch Office Administrator in the office with him. Jay also joined the Zimmerman Chamber of Commerce and is very active with the group. The boys' softball season ended late that month and we were sorry to see it end, especially with the unseasonably warm fall weather we had.
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| Super C turned 12! He's all about Minecraft, Pokemon, Legos, and Nerf Guns. He loves the roller coasters at Valley Fair. |
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| Jay's new office in Zimmerman, MN! |
October
Happy to be back in the Midwest, we spent our first October weekend at the Cranberry Festival in Stone Lake, Wisconsin, near the cabin. We went back again to see peak fall colors. Mother Nature did not disappoint and this family thoroughly enjoyed the fall colors, having missed seasons in Texas for 3 years prior. Super E and Quiet Tiger joined Awana clubs at the church in Zimmerman that we had been trying since moving offices up to that town. Super C joined 2 junior high youth ministries, 1 in Zimmerman and 1 in Maple Grove with friends where we first went to church. We were very saddened by the Cubs losing in the playoffs in the middle of October. Perhaps the Cubs-themed birthday cake I made for Jay's 43rd birthday on October 21st was a jinx. Things became even more sad after that as Jay's dad's heath began to fail rapidly. We made it to Chicago in time to see him and say goodbye and spent the weekend with my family and Jay's. It was a stressful weekend but one we would never regret. We knew without a doubt that moving back to the Midwest was the right decision and the opportunity had come in the nick of time! We came home to Minneapolis and casually celebrated my 41st birthday, still with heavy hearts. Just a week after our visit, Lynn Collins, Jay's dad, passed away on October 30. Lynn wouldn't have wanted us to be too upset, so we proceeded with Halloween plans at home.
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| A beautiful cranberry marsh in northern Wisconsin. |
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| Jay turns 43. |
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| Super C as dracula. I wonder how much longer he'll want to trick-or-treat. |
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| Super E as an astronaut. |
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| And Miss Quiet Tiger went as SuperGirl. |
Early November was quiet as we began to plan a memorial for Lynn. The unfortunate, first-world, problems of homeownership reared a rather ugly head when we learned our furnace needed to be replaced and we fought with the home warranty company that refused to do anything reasonable with it. We set up our Christmas decorations the weekend before Thanksgiving, something I never would have even enjoyed in years prior. It is something we will surely do again. We traveled back to Chicago for Thanksgiving, spending the holiday with my mom. That Saturday we gathered with the Collins family out in Rockford, Illinois for a very casual memorial for Lynn. About 40 people came out to celebrate his life. It was casual and quaint and not flashy or formal, just the way Lynn wanted it.
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| Jay and his brother Chris at a very informal gathering to spread their dad's ashes. |
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| Spreading ashes on the farm, at Lynn's request. Cousin Bruce also brought his dad's (Lynn's brother) ashes, so the brothers are together on the farm. |
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| IL and MN cousins at the memorial. |
December
December brought us our first measurable snowfall -- about 3 inches and it was beautiful and enjoyed by all. But warm temps have kept us off the pond for any ice skating as of yet. We had our furnace (and a/c) fully replaced, which hurt the pocketbook for sure, but God provided. I helped Jay and his Administrator plan their office Holiday Open House which seemed to be very appreciated by those in attendance. The kids and I wrapped up our first semester of the school year. Oh, and Super C passed me up in height, so that happened too. We'll be staying home in Minneapolis for Christmas and welcome any visitors who might want to stop by.
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| Our first snow! |
God's blessings always prevail even in times of stress and grief.
No matter where life finds you today, I hope and pray that you know His peace this holiday season
as we celebrate Christ's birth.
as we celebrate Christ's birth.
Merry Christmas!
With Love,
Jay, Brooke,
Super C, Super E, Quiet Tiger
and the three Woofs
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| Seeing Santa at the tree lighting in Zimmerman, MN. |
