2011

As 2011 dwindles down to mere hours, I thought I would take a minute and look back over the year that was. I'm going try to just hit the high spots.

Grandad had yet another cardiac ablation last January. It has taken all year, but the good news is that finally, after so many procedures I've just about lost count, his heart has healed. He's feeling tons better. Now we just have to work on his stamina and endurance. Our kids got us new bicycles for Christmas, so we'll start with those and move on to walking.

Grandad assembling the new wagon while OLP strikes a pose. He would not have been able to do this a year ago.

In April we welcomed the newest member of our growing family, June Frances. Named after two of her great grandmothers, she came into the world on Monday, April 11, while I ate lunch. Seriously, I left the labor unit and went downstairs to get a sandwich for me and for Travis. While I was gone, Katy delivered her without the benefit of an epidural. It seems the doctor "missed" when he injected the medication.

Katy with June Frances ... Her Highness ... Kid Destructo ... can't really settle on the nickname

In June our daughter-in-law, Marie, received the sacrament of confirmation. We spent the weekend in Houston to witness to this beautiful ceremony. It was held in a beautiful new church in the Diocese of Houston where the ministers dressed in traditional Philippine vestments. We were delighted to see Marie finish this step in her faith formation.

Nick & Marie at her confirmation

At the end of June, we traveled to North Carolina for the wedding of my niece, Andrea in Charlotte. We went a couple of days early and visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. I had long wanted to visit the Biltmore Estate and it did not disappoint. I was amazed at its size and grandeur. The gardens were spectacular! Well worth the trip.

Andrea & Louis

Grandad and I have made a concerted effort to enjoy living in Corpus Christi. We saw the 4th of July fireworks over Corpus Christi Bay, we attended the annual free performance of Handel's Messiah, Katy, Travis and I walked across the Harbor Bridge, we've attended several local theater performances, and we took Our Little Princess to the Texas State Aquarium. Corpus Christi really is a great place to live so we've decided to embrace living here.

Our Little Princess at the Texas State Aquarium

Late summer was a time for reunions. In August we gathered with members of the Morgan Avenue Baptist Church Youth Group from the 1970s. It was great to reconnect with old friends ... so much better than a high school reunion. In September we gathered with the Skelton Family for our second annual reunion. Getting to know these cousins has really been a blessing. It's kind of funny how alike we are even though we haven't seen each other for years.

Around the first of October I launched my Etsy shop. It's been more successful than I expected. I've sold all but one of the dresses I started with and I have an order for quite a few more. Stock is very low right now, but I expect to have more dresses for sale soon.

I've been working hard to de-clutter and reorganize my house. It's a much bigger job than I expected, but we had a fairly successful garage sale earlier this month and hope to have another one in the next couple of months. We also packed up quite of few boxes of "stuff" that our kids left here when they moved out and delivered them to their houses. I reclaimed both of their closets and am in the process of organizing my sewing and crafts utilizing the newly reclaimed space.

We have been blessed with good health for our children and grandchildren. It's been a tough year for some of our dear friends. We have two friends who have children who have serious illness. My good friend Sandy's 6-year-old grandson Liam is now in hospice care. And my friend and neighbor Deanna's 16-year-old grandson Jack has had relapse of Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He's already beat it once and is now fighting it for the second time. Both of these families are on our hearts and minds daily.

Christmas was wonderful and we're ending the year with Grams and Pop-Pop's Rockin' Toddler New Year's Eve. It's the first year and will hopefully become a family tradition. We're keeping the kids this weekend while their parents enjoy a weekend without kids, culminating in New Year's Eve celebrations. We've had a lot of fun so far. The weather has been perfect. We've toured the neighborhood in the new wagon we got the girls for Christmas. Today we went to the park for playtime. And we finished up tonight with a trip over the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge. Our Little Princess has named it "the rainbow bridge." We'll take them to church and breakfast tomorrow morning. Sometime tomorrow afternoon, we'll meet Katy and Travis in Three Rivers and make the exchange.

New Year's Eve with Our Little Princess and Her Highness

I mentioned "the rainbow bridge" above. It is Our Little Princess' favorite Christmas thing in Corpus Christi. It was lit with a partnership between the Texas Department of Transportation, the City of Corpus Christi, the Port of Corpus Christi Authority and American Bank. It is spectacular. Every night Our Little Princess asks Grandad if we can drive across the rainbow bridge. I took a few photos with my cell phone. They don't do it justice, but you'll get the idea.The entire show takes about 15 minutes to watch.

Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge - Our Little Princess' Rainbow Bridge

It's about 11:10 p.m. and both girls are finally sleeping, almost time to pop the cork on the bubbly and toast the new year. There are fireworks going off very nearby even though there is a burn ban in almost every county in Texas. Burn ban or not, if they wake up our babies I'm going out to kick some serious butt.

Here's wishing you a Happy New Year, a safe and fun celebration tonight, and a prosperous, healthy, and happy 2012.

Ten Moments from Christmas 2011

Christmas 2011 was wonderful. Grams and Grandad like nothing better than having our house full of children and grandchildren. We had a wonderful weekend together. They were all here before dinner on Friday. Katy and Travis came in early Friday afternoon and stayed until Monday morning. Nick and Marie got here in time for dinner on Friday evening and had to be at the airport before noon on Christmas Day for a flight to El Paso to visit her family.

As I think about it, I realize that I will remember this Christmas in moments.

Moment Number One
Since we knew that Nick and Marie had to leave early Christmas Day, we decided to serve brunch instead of our traditional roast beef lunch. We always stay at my mother-in-law's house late on Christmas Eve playing cards and celebrating. So we prepped everything for brunch early. That included frying up two pounds of bacon so all we would need to do on Christmas morning is warm it up. I would just pop it in the oven with the baked french toast and it would be warmed at the same time.

Now, we knew there was a risk involved in cooking the bacon ahead of time. You see, our kids LOVE bacon. There has never, never, never been any leftover bacon in our house. NEVER! If we fried ten pounds of it, they would eat ten pounds of it and ask if there was more. So we waited until they went to the movies on Christmas Eve and fried it. Then we hid it in the refrigerator in an opaque Tupperware container. We only had to keep it hidden less than 24 hours. We thought we would be safe.

After we came home on Christmas Eve, I was sitting at the dining room table checking my email when the kids got hungry. In their words, they wanted "real food," not any of the sweets that were everywhere. They went to the refrigerator searching. I had made a big pot of stew on Friday and the leftovers were right in the front of the refrigerator. I thought they would take it out, warm it up, and snack away. Instead they decided to see what else was in there. They started moving things around and looking in containers and they knocked the bacon container out of the refrigerator. Katy caught it in mid-air before it hit the floor. She opened it and they both looked inside. Then came one of those moments in life where I would have given anything to have had my camera in my hand. As they peeked inside, the looks on their faces resembled the rapture of angels at the nativity. They both looked as though they actually heard angels singing alleluias. They turned as one and looked at me beseechingly. I informed them that it was for Christmas brunch. They both reached in and said "only one piece." I didn't have the heart to refuse them. Oh how I wish there had been a camera handy.

Moment Number Two
We were getting dressed for the six o'clock mass on Christmas Eve. The family royalty (Our Little Princess and Her Highness) were last. When we put Our Little Princess' dress on, the front seam unraveled. We took her to church in a red dress held together with safety pins and ribbon. She still looked gorgeous, if I do say so myself. I made both dresses.

Our Little Princess & Her Highness under Me-Maw's tree

Moment Number Three
This led to moment number three. We arrived at church in the rain and cold to discover that there was no power. The candles were lit and people in the pews were holding cell phone flashlights. We squeezed into the family pew and realized that we had lost one of Her Highness' beautiful new red velvet shoes. No chance of finding it in the dark. Then, just as the nativity play was about to start, the lights came on. Divine intervention? I think so. Every Christmas Eve, the children of our very small parish present "Las Posadas," a reenactment of Mary and Joseph going from house-to-house searching for a room. Liberty, our eight-year-old niece, was an angel this year. Again, I didn't have my camera. This one is from my sister-in-law's cell phone. That's Libby on the right.

Libby is the angel on the right

Moment Number 4
On December 17, our nephew Chase, graduated with a fine arts degree from North Texas State University. Katy and Travis had expressed interest in buying one of the paintings that were part of his senior show. When we were opening gifts on Christmas Eve, everyone was very surprised when he gave them one as a gift. Katy was actually moved to tears. His paintings are beautiful and valuable. It was quite a gift and they will treasure it always.

Travis with painting from Chase

Moment Number 5
Watching the young men in the family open their gifts in their annual weapon's exchange. That's right, they exchange weapons. After all, this is Texas ... they hunt, they fish, they kill things ... Merry Christmas!

The Annual Weapons Exchange - Clockwise from left Casey & Chase, Dustin & Nick, Nick and McKenzie

Moment Number 6
Watching Our Little Princess opening presents and checking out her stocking. This is the first year she's really old enough to understand opening presents and we had as much fun watching her as she did opening gifts.

Our Little Princess

Moment Number 7
Playing cards with family and having my nephew Casey ask me if I'm one of those "tree hugging, save the world, liberals." To which I replied with a smile "Why yes! Yes I am!"

Chase & Casey

Moment Number 8
Seeing how comfortably Nick and Marie handle the baby girls. It shows me that they will be wonderful parents to their own children.

Marie & Nick both with Her Highness

Moment Number 9
Looking up as we waited to start opening gifts at my Mother-In-Law's on Christmas Eve and realizing that both mother and daughter were having a bottle.

Katy & Her Highness both enjoy a bottle

Moment Number 10
Having the entire family together for Christmas ... truly priceless and the best gift of all! Not only did we have our entire family at home, my Mother-In-Law had her entire family right down to the great-grandchildren ... every single family member was there on Christmas Eve. It was a rare treasure.

Travis, Katy holding Our Little Princess, Grams holding Her Highness, Grandad, Nick & Marie

 Grandad's family.

Clockwise from left  -- Danny, Patrick (Grandad), Ruth, Gary, Janelle, Laurie

Unfortunately it was raining and cold outside and there was no place we could get a group picture of everyone together. Maybe next time.

So that's how our Christmas was. Not big and not spectacular, but full of excellent moments. It's the small moments that make life grand and this holiday was made up of many moments. And all these moments made up a wonderful holiday.

Coming Home for Christmas

Grams and Grandad have had a busy week. For the first time in a few years, we'll get to have both kids home at the same time for Christmas. They both always come home at some time around Christmas, but they also take turns with their in-laws, so they don't always get here at the same time.

Katy and Travis are coming from San Antonio and should arrive somewhat early in the day, probably in time for lunch. Although you know how it is when traveling with toddlers. Even the two hour drive from San Antonio to Corpus Christi can turn eventful and require several stops. But sometimes you get lucky and they nap all the way here.

Nick and Marie will be a little later. It's about a four and half hour drive from the north side of Houston to our home. And with Christmas traffic in Houston, just getting across town can take an extra hour some days. And I don't expect them to leave early. Marie didn't get to Houston until sometime after midnight.

If there was a prize for longest trip to visit your in-laws for Christmas, Marie would definitely be in the running this year. Last summer Exxon-Mobil reassigned her to an offshore rig in the North Sea. She is stationed out of Stavanger, Norway. She was scheduled to be helicoptered off of the platform early Wednesday morning where she would then spend the night in Stavanger and fly home Thursday morning. The weather in the North Sea did not cooperate and the helicopters could not fly on Wednesday. But they were able to get her off the platform early Thursday morning. And the folks at the Exxon travel office were able to re-arrange her flights to get her home in time for Christmas. She flew from Stavanger to Chicago to Houston. That's approximately 5,000 miles of air travel in a 24 hour period. That much air travel is daunting any time, but during this busy travel week it is sure to be challenging. I was up late finishing my gift wrapping when I saw her post on Facebook that she had made it to Houston sometime around 12:30 this morning. I was so relieved. I know that Nick's Christmas would not be complete until she made it home. Plus, it will be good to have everyone home together.

After this year, we will begin a rotating schedule where we should have all the kids every other year for Christmas. They will spend the other years with their in-laws. If it actually works out that way, I'm thinking we may take a cruise or other trip in the years they don't come home. Grandad is decidedly not on board with this yet and probably won't be as long as his mother is living. Time will tell.

While I'm on the subject of Christmas, let me climb up on this soapbox. I'm dismayed at the number of businesses that are open very late on Christmas Eve and even open on Christmas Day. It bothered me when I saw businesses opening on Thanksgiving Day and I steadfastly did not go shopping that afternoon. The fact that some will be open on Christmas Day bothers me even more.

When stores and shops open on holidays, that means their employees have to work. I saw an ad that announced that Toys R Us will be open 24 hours on Christmas Eve. Really people? Midnight on Christmas Eve? If you're shopping then, somebody will be working then.

I also noticed signs at all our local Starbucks announcing that they will be open on Christmas Day. Now you know how I love my Starbucks, but I'd definitely be willing to do without a trip to my favorite coffee shop so their employees could have the day with their families. Come on people, it's one day and everyone deserves Christmas Day off.

It's December 23rd and the kids are on their way. I'm off to the kitchen to put on a pot of stew. I'll keep it simmering so everyone can eat whenever they arrive. Then I'm baking three kinds of peanut butter cookie cups ... one with Reese's Cup centers and chocolate frosting ... one with Snickers centers ... and one with salted caramel filling. If they turn out good, I'll post the recipes.

Tonight we're going out for Japanese food and to look at Christmas lights. The packages are all wrapped, the house is clean, the oven is warming, the kids are on their way home ... all is right with the world.

Safe travels to all who are traveling today. I hope you all get home safely for Christmas.

A Day At The Zoo

Last weekend, Grams and Grandad joined Our Little Princess and Her Highness, along with their parents, for a day at the San Antonio Zoo. We started early, before it got too hot and only stayed until early afternoon. Our Little Princess enjoyed showing Grandad all the animals.

I especially like the butterfly pavilion. The butterflies are so colorful and delicate and sometimes if you stand very still, a butterfly will land right in the palm of your hand. We tried, but didn't have any luck this time.

There are so many interactive exhibits and things to do. Our Little Princess fed the birds, went fishing, played in a babbling brook, got a close up look at a snake, played with other kids, and climbed on the lion sculpture.

It may be fall on the calendar, but in South Texas it's still the season of blooms. The beautiful flora was everywhere around the zoo.

Her Highness was along for the ride and she really seemed to enjoy it. We hardly heard a peep out of her. She seems to love being outdoors in the fresh air. The children's area even had a frog waterbed where she could roll around and stretch out for a while. Of course, her big sister had to get in on that fun too.

And no outing is complete without a little snack, so we stopped for popsicle and to cool off a little bit before finishing up.

I highly recommend spending a day with your grandchildren at your local zoo. There is little to compare to a wild family adventure at the zoo.

Skelton Family Connections

Gail, Dotsie, Rita, Rodney, Kay Charlie, Vicki (Grams), & Bylinda

Grams and Grandad attended the second annual Skelton Family Reunion last weekend. The descendents of Charlie and Dotsie Skelton met at the Dogwood Trails Camp and Retreat Center in Larue, Texas for a day of family fellowship.

Our branch of the Skelton Family is not big. Our Grandparents had five children, three boys and two girls. Neither of the girls had children. The three boys had a total of 13 children. One is deceased. That leaves only 12 surviving cousins. Eight of us were there for the reunion. 

We were all pretty close growing up. We all lived in or near Texarkana, Texas and we all spent lots of time at Granny's house, often together. One summer almost all of us lived in Granny's tiny little house. That closeness ended when we moved to Corpus Christi, which was about 500 miles away. About the same time, Uncle Buster's family also moved to Plano. After that, we hardly saw each other at all.

I was ten years old when we made that move. The older cousins  were able to stay in touch over the years, but there wasn't much connection among the younger cousins, so we just lost each other. There were a few individual visits over the years when one of them would visit my parents. And, Grandad and I visited Aunt Suzy once. Other than that, we only saw each other at funerals.

Early last year we organized our first reunion. Last year was sort of just getting to know each other again. This year was even more fun. We shared memories of Granny and Aunt Nava. As well as family stories of things we recall from our childhoods. After lunch, we gathered round the piano and sang old hymns as Nancy played the piano. Many of us were moved to tears when we sang the song that Rita sang a capella at her brother Tommy's funeral and wondered at the strength that must have taken.

It was a beautiful day and we were able to spend part of the day outside. A few of us pitched washers while the rest of us sat and talked.

I realized that, although many of us are virtual strangers after all these many years, we have a real connection. We have a shared history that transcends all the years we've been apart. I believe we are growing closer, even after just two years. Not only do we have a shared history. We have a shared responsibility. Together, we are the keepers of our family destiny. We owe it to those who came before us to maintain our Skelton family ties.

In the two years we've gathered, we have not been very successful in getting our children together. I realize that they are not even acquainted with each other. Most of them have never even met. I realize that traveling halfway across Texas to spend time with people you don't even know is asking a lot, but I'm hopeful that, as the years go by, they too will get to know each other and join in the preserving the Skelton family connection.

"In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future." – Alex Haley

Attitude Adjustment

Grandad and I arrived home from Houston late on Saturday evening. I've been meaning to write a blog post for several days, but I seem to have a bad case of the blahs.

Generally speaking, I'm not a person who gets depressed or down. But, I've just got to tell you, the last three years has kicked my butt. And, in particular, this last trip to Houston for Grandad's second cardiac ablation just about got the best of me.

Don't get me wrong. The second ablation which Grandad had last week went well. The doctors are very optimistic. They really think they may have solved the problem of continuing A-fib and flutter. We're all hopeful. But Grandad is having a much harder recovery than he did last time. He has a lot of chest pain, shortness of breath, and very little stamina. Right now we're in a wait and see mode while his heart heals.

It kind of feels like my life has become a bad country song. You know ... my mother got sick ... my husband got sick ... my mother died ... my husband got sick again ... he didn't get better ... and so on and so forth.  All I need is a pick-up truck and a guitar to complete the scenario.

I'm ready to cry uncle ... throw in the proverbial towel ... whatever. I'm done. It's time for a break. I'm exhausted and worn out. If I thought it would do any good I would open the window and shout "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more" like Howard Beale in Network. But other than letting off a little steam, I don't think that would accomplish anything.

Photo from Photobucket

I think I've spent the past three years so focused on Grandad's health and all the other stuff that I've had to deal with that focusing on "stuff" has become habitual. It's time to develop some new habits. I need to stop focusing so much on what I can not control and focus instead on what I can control. One of the things I can control (hopefully) is my attitude. So I've decided to take a more positive approach. 

I've joined a group of my Facebook friends in finding 2,011 Gratitudes in 2011. Each one of us is consciously looking for things to be grateful for every day. And each one of us is posting our own list of 2,011 things that we're grateful for. I'm think it will make me more aware that I have many things to be grateful for. And I'm hoping that it will give me an attitude of gratitude and a brighter outlook on life.

These are NOT Resolutions!

Grams doesn't make New Year's resolutions. Never have! Never will! But my friend Lisa over at Grandma's Briefs published a list of things she will not do in 2011. I like the idea so much that I'm following suit. Thanks for the inspiration Lisa. 

1. I will not become a neat freak. Anyone who knows me will realize that there really is very little NO danger of this. I will admit to being a little OCD in some areas of my life. Yes, my spice cabinet is arranged in alphabetical order, but that's organized, not neat. Come on over, I'll show you baseboards and ceiling fans that haven't been dusted in years ever.
2. I will not be miserable or wallow in self pity. I choose to be happy! Sometimes life sucks, but I reserve the right to be happy anyway. I have smiled and laughed my way through a great many hard times. Some days I get by with just putting one foot in front of the other and doing what has to be done, but I choose to be happy ... and I truly believe that happiness is a choice.
3. I will not abandon hope. Specifically I will keep hoping that eventually we will find a doctor or a procedure that will make Grandad well again. Chronic atrial fibrillation is one of the things that sucks. Some days hope is all that keeps me going. (Here's Grandad's health story.)
4. I will not give up Starbucks no matter how much my kids make fun of me. I like the coffee, I like the atmosphere and I need the caffeine. Hey, I gave up sugar and fat, I'm not giving up my coffee. They'll have to pry the cup out of my cold dead hands. Did I mention that I like the coffee?
5. I will not stop looking for the good in people or the good in any given situation. To do so would be to compromise who I am. I try as long as I can to find the good ... but I'm not stupid and I'm no Pollyanna. Eventually I learn that there are some people who are just not good ... and, unfortunately, I'm related to some of them.
6. I will not correct grammar on Facebook. No matter how many times someone uses your when they should use you're; how often they confuse their, there, and they're; or how many times they say orientated when they should say oriented, I will not turn into the grammar police. Not too often anyway.
7. I will not give up my reading. I love to read, probably more than anything else I do. Reading provides an escape. It takes me places that I'll never go in real life and introduces me to people from all over the world and from other times. It improves my vocabulary and relaxes me. It's better than Calgon for taking me away!
8. I will not run a marathon, half-marathon, or even a 5K. In fact, I won't run anywhere. Just thinking about running makes my knees hurt. I will, however, commit to riding my bicycle and walking more in 2011. Since Grandad's a-fib returned, I tend to just sit in the living room with him. That's not really working for me. I will may get my rear-end moving in 2011. After all these are not resolutions!
9. I will not take up playing Wii or X-Box nor any other expensive and time-stealing video games. But I'm not giving up blogging, Facebook nor solitaire. Let's not get crazy!

There are many other things that I will probably not be doing in 2011, but these are the highlights.


Happy New Year!

How about you ... what are you NOT going to do in 2011?