I had surgery in October to remove some scar tissue from a previous surgery five years ago. It went well be I got what my husband liked to call a "two week medical vacation". Hopefully, this won't become an every five year thing.
Soon after my medical vacation was over we ended up in the ER with Ashley with a possible appendicitis. After a couple of weeks of gross tests by the GI doctor, we found that she has an intolerance to some foods, ulcers in her stomach and GERD. Poor thing has a three month diet of nothing acidic so her stomach can heal....and yes chocolate is very acidic.
We've had a couple of band and choir concerts, including John's first band concert at the Christmas one. It is always so fun to get to watch them play and sing.
We spent Thanksgiving at my sister's house this year with her family and my parents. We figured it had been 9 years since we had all been together at Thanksgiving. That one was at my house when we lived in Iowa and my youngest and her oldest were both newborns. When two families are in ministry and one family is in the Air Force that is what happens...we had a great time this year.
We didn't have our Christmas open house this year because, well, it just didn't happen. We did have a fun month celebrating our Savior's birth though. It included many evenings out with friends, fun and games with our kids, a night of progressive dinner with the youth kids and another trip to my sister's to celebrate with my family.
Celebrating Christmas with our kids was so fun this year. I think they all got their most wanted gifts..except no iPhones or smartphones generally, but I don't think they really thought they were going to get those. Nathan has joined his brother in the Lego craze and the girls are definitely showing their age by enjoying everything that teenage girls do....clothes, make up, music, decor for their rooms, shoes,etc. We've played lots and lots of board games and hit the movie theater a couple of times. We haven't seen The Hobbit yet and that will get done before we return to our regular schedule.
We have had a really sweet time celebrating Christmas with Joe's family after Christmas. It has been three years since we've all been together. It is somewhat bittersweet because in the back of our minds we all know why Joe's sister and our brother-in-law and their three girls are in the states. It has been fun to get to know some dear friends of theirs from China who are visiting as well. The language barrier is definitely there, but non-verbal communication speaks loudly sometimes. Please continue to pray for our brother-in-law James as he battles lung cancer. He had a scan this week. Many of the tumors were gone or had shrunk Praise God. But there was one in his lymph node that had grown a little. They meet with the oncologist next week to determine the next steps.
And with that I will say goodbye 2014 and see you next year!
