A Fun Visit

My older sister and I planned a visit between Christmas and New Year's.  It sort of took the sting out of not being able to spend the holidays with all of our kids.  Then it almost didn't happen when Terry and I were exposed to Covid on Christmas Eve!  But we watched for symptoms (there were none, likely thanks to a recent booster!) and tested negative, so the visit was ON!  

We had fun just visiting, playing cards, and even putting together a Lego set - which was great fun!  We would have loved having this kind of Lego as a kid, so what's to stop us from enjoying it now?

But a great surprise was that Ann brought me a quilt she had made me for my 60th birthday.  Since my birthday was a few months back, I was not expecting anything, much less this very thoughtful gift.  It is a "Book Nerd" quilt, which is just perfect for me!

Happy Holidays 2021

Now that not only Christmas but New Year's Day and Epiphany have come and gone, it is apparent that I am not going to get a Christmas letter sent this year.  I toyed with the idea of a Valentine's Day letter, but I decided to just make do with a blog post for posterity. I plan to do better next year!

Our headline event of 2021 was the birth of our grand-daughter on November 25th.  At her parent's request, I will not share her name on the internet, but I can tell you that she "was born for such a time as this."  

Terry has continued to work flipping houses, and in December bought a Sprinter Van to renovate and rent as well.  I am a little behind on updating his website, but you can see his work at h2hrenovations.com.  

I have continued to do dyslexia therapy with students, switched to all private practice in May, and was certified in October.  I am now a CALT - a process that took two years.  I see students individually at our home and currently am "full."  

We didn't take any big trips this year - either vacation trips or mission trips - and had to make do with some local hikes and a brief trip to S. Holston Lake.   

Our kids are all doing great.  Rebecca and Joseph are still in Richmond, though Joseph is currently mobilized with the national guard in Washington, DC.  Rebecca stays busy with a toddler and a baby.

Nathan is working as a nurse in the trauma ICU at UT Hospital.  He is the only one still living in Knoxville, and we enjoy getting to hang out with him fairly often.  

Caleb and Meredith are currently living in Tampa where Meredith is doing travel nursing and Caleb is working remotely on his accounting degree (from the University of Arkansas - WPS!).  They are loving it, and I have lost track of how many times they have been to Disney World.  

Noah is still at Lee University about 80 miles from here.  He is currently a senior but has added another year to his plan so that he can add deaf studies and studio art minors.  We enjoyed getting to see him play the male lead in "Sense and Sensibility" this fall.  This play was originally schedule for March of 2020 but was rescheduled twice!  When not at school, Noah works in customer service at Best Buy in Chattanooga.  

All of the kids (except Noah, who couldn't get off work) joined us in Richmond for Thanksgiving.  

In contrast, Noah was the only one with us on Christmas Day.  We spent it playing games, watching movies and building Lego, but it wasn't quite the same with just the three of us.  

So that's our 2021 in a nutshell.  You can scroll through my blog to read a little more (and see WAY more photos of our grandson and granddaughter!)