Merry Christmas One and All

Hope you all are having a good Christmas.  We were happy to hear that Tom got home on Tuesday.  He has been deployed since October so we were very happy that he was going to be home just in time for Christmas and happy that he is back on US soil.  Tom and Maddy are spending the holidays in Wichita this year.  So we are missing having them with us but are happy that they are together.

Chris got home last week.  I wanted to get him a suit for Christmas so we went shopping last weekend.  Got more than I bargained for due to the sales but hoping that he will be a well dressed young man for graduation and interviews coming up.

We have had a tradition the last few years of going to a movie on Christmas Day but I am on call so didn't want to get called out of the theater.  So we did it a bit earlier this year.  And Chris was really chomping at the bit to see Star Wars anyway so we went Sunday morning to see the movie.  It was really good and worth seeing.  Pretty amazing the numbers of folks that are going to see it already.

It has been a quiet Christmas here on the home front.  We did go to Christmas Eve service.  But as luck would have it, I got a ticket just as we got to church and Bill had to bring me home so I could take care of it.  Luckily it was a quick fix and I was able to drive back to church and enjoy the second half of the service.

Christmas Day was equally quiet.  We didn't have any gifts to open.  We are big into getting our own presents vs. getting them from each other.  And having bought Chris' gifts before Christmas with him in tow, there wasn't anything for him to open.  Bill went for a walk but with being on call, I couldn't really go anywhere that I could be away from home for long so I watched Hallmark Christmas movies most of the day.  And we Skyped with Tom and Maddy for a bit as well.  I worked on cooking Christmas dinner throughout the day.  We had prime rib, sweet potatoes, roasted vegetables, cranberries and chocolate pecan pie.  Very yummy dinner and enough leftovers to enjoy tonight again.

So just enjoying some downtime.  Hoping your Christmas was everything you wanted it to be.

Christmas Past--Just Because

I did this for a scrapbooking challenge today.  I really don't remember this Christmas since I was only 15 months old.  But I like the picture of me with my sister, mom and dad on my sister's first Christmas.

Army-Navy Weekend

Chuck wanted to come for a visit the weekend of the Army-Navy game and the CAA Christmas Party.  We didn't feel like going out to Beaverton to watch the game with the alumni societies and didn't feel like dragging him to a CAA Christmas Party so we decided to do our own this year.  We have enjoyed hosting Super Bowl parties at our house the last few years so why not host an Army-Navy game party with our friends.  Much more fun than going to Big Al's.

So we invited a few friends.  I was glad Cindy and Jonathan came as they have a West Point connection with Bill.  Jonathan was Bill's fencing team sponsor and Cindy was his teenage daughter who liked hanging out with the fencers and wanted them to teach her how to do it.  I got to pull out some of Bill's things to decorate a little bit.  And we had a great time watching the game.  It was really close but unfortunately Army lost for the 14th year in a row.  Maybe next year???  We always say it and keep hoping that it will happen eventually.

After the game, we took Jeff, Julie and Chuck to Tommy O's for our CAA Christmas alternative party and had a wonderful meal there as always.

Jim West heard about a 5K fun walk/run on Sunday and he wanted the Blues Brothers to make an appearance.  So Bill and Jim went in their costumes and Chuck and I went along to support the cause as well.

It was great having Chuck here as always.

Military Wedding Anniversary

Today marks twenty nine years since Bill and I had our military wedding.  Just one memory from that day to share through this photo.

During the saber arch, it is customary for a saber bearer to tap the bride on the backside as she passes.  In this case, Rob knew that I knew of the tradition and decided to surprise me by hitting me harder than with just a tap.  It actually hurt a little when he did it.  Even through all those petticoats I was wearing and I turned around to tell him so.

This is the reenactment so that the photographer could take a picture from behind.  I was cringing waiting for it to come again.  But he was gentler the second time around.

Photo taken from a holiday party that we were at a few days ago.  

Happy Anniversary Bill!  Love you lots!

Hello December

It is that time of the year.  Time for all the holiday hustle and bustle.  I got the tree up on Thanksgiving Day.  Love seeing a beautiful lit tree in my living room every day.  God bless you all and wishing you a wonderful holiday season.

Breathtaking Beauty

Just a few recent photos of a flying trip we took.  We truly live in a beautiful state and it is always get to see it from the air.