March Madness - It Was Fun Til it Wasn't

We have a long history with March Madness, having both grown up as college basketball fans and having gotten married on the day that Arkansas first advanced to the final four!

So we decided to attend a game in person as sort of a bucket-list thing.  We went to Indianapolis to watch Tennessee's opening game!  It was great!

The next game - well, let's just say we wish we would have come back to Knoxville early.  We did have good seats, though!

I was glad Arkansas was still in the tournament, and that we got to enjoy them beating Gonzaga and making it to the Elite Eight again!

Happy 2nd!

So happy that it worked out for Rebecca to be in town for our grandson's 2nd birthday.  We had a fun little party with just grandparents and great-grandparents. The day began with playing in the snow.

Notice the redneck snowboots!

Next up, making some pie for his Pi-day birthday.  I must say, I have never been very good at decorating cakes, but pie seems a little easier. And pretty much tastier, in my opinion.

Next up came the gifts!  When you're two, expectations are always exceeded!

Ramsey Cascades

Hike to Ramsey Cascades. 8 miles, 2224’ elevation gain. I got this confused with another hike on All Trails, so I thought it was just a 600 ft elevation gain. The trail just kept going up, and I was getting pretty concerned that maybe I couldn't handle some of those hikes that I had planned in Yosemite and Zion in a few months. Then I got back to the car and checked the All Trails info again. Whew!

We saw quite a bit of snow and ice!

Ann and Jim Get Married!

This was a special event for the family.  We are all so happy that Ann and Jim found each other!   I was "in the moment" instead of taking photos, but I wanted to post these photos for posterity.   

Of course, a family wedding meant that Rebecca and the grandkids were in town!  I loved having time with both of them, but only one ended up featured in all the photos. 

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!)

Who Wore it Better?

Here are some photos of my granddaughter in an outfit that has been worn by every female in our family since the birth of my older sister Ann more than 65 years ago.  

Her mom, in this same outfit on the day she came home from the hospital in 1993.  I did not have a fancy camera and was apparently not very good at taking newborn photos.

And here is me back in 1961.  My Dad did have a good camera and knew what he was doing. 

The sweater, cap, and booties were made by my grandmother, Ethel Mills.  They are still in excellent shape.  The dress was a birthday gift from my grandmother's Sunday School class and has finally started to show its age, so I bought a new little white dress to continue the tradition.  

Make a Joyful Noise

Something new we did this year - we joined the choir!  Choir was such a big part of my life in junior high (school choir, church choir, and Accents), high school (A Cappella and church choir), and college (New Creations), but I haven’t been in a choir since 1984.  Terry briefly sang in a choir when he lived in Jacksonville, Florida over 30 years ago.  

We decided to try choir again, and it has been such a blessing to both of us.  It just keeps us singing a praise in our heart all through the week, and then we get to worship twice on Sunday morning!  We also loved singing Christmas music.  It was a special blessing when Terry’s parents joined us when we sang as a back-up choir for Keith and Kristyn Getty.  

And who would have thought it, but we met a lot of waterskiers in the choir!

She’s Here!

 After being in town two weeks early in order to not miss the birth, my granddaughter arrived while I was parking the car!  Rebecca went into labor on Thanksgiving Eve after a trip to the midwife that day.  Her labor was only about four hours, and apparently we waited a bit too long to head to the hospital.  She was on the maternity floor just 3 minutes before the birth!  

Joseph called me as I was entering the hospital, but I could not find a working elevator in time to get there!  I walked in the room, and the baby was already in Rebecca’s arms.  I did get to cut the cord and help take photos.

Her t-shirt definitely tells the truth

Babysitting while the parents and new baby are at the hospital.  Here we’re watching the Macy’s parade.

Rocking with Pop.  Our grandson can say “Pop” perfectly but still struggles with “Gran.” For now, I am “Dan”.  

Meeting little sister

The new baby “watches football” with me

Pop and his granddaughter