Resting in Texas (Christmas 2019)

We spent the last 10 days of 2019 in Texas staying with Chris's parents.  Our goals for the trip were: Spend time with family/get the cousins together as much as possible and I added on: read and rest. And for the most part, it was one of the most relaxing weeks of my life -- definitely of my year.

Read and Rest:
I went for a walk nearly every day (I missed two), walking a total of 28 miles! I haven't had that much time for a regular walk since this summer. During my walks I listened to a couple of new-to-me podcasts:

      * Cook Smarts - https://www.cooksmarts.com/articles/category/podcast/ (learning to meal plan a little smarter and get my kids to eat better too).

      * Annie F. Downs - https://www.anniefdowns.com/podcast/ (she's just so fun to listen to and has some great interviews about the enneagram)

Not only did I get some time alone to walk and listen to podcasts. I had quite a bit of time to read. I hadn't intended to read so much as I know it doesn't take much for a book to pull me away from the real people right in front of me, but I enjoy it so much I couldn't help it. I did try to avoid grabbing the book at inappropriate times... here's what I read:
 - Autopsy of a Boring Wife by Marie-Renee Lavoie
 - The Silence Between Us Alison Gervais
 - Dare to Lead by Brené Brown (only finished half so far)
 - The Alice Network by Kate Quinn (just started on the flight home)


Illness:
The only part of our time in Texas that wasn't relaxing/near perfect was Stephen getting sick. On Christmas Eve we took him to an urgent care where we discovered he had Strep Throat. He was pretty miserable for several days before starting to move around like his normal, active self. He and I skipped the Christmas Eve family gathering and went to bed early. Not much will slow Stephen down so when he wasn't moving from my lap for hours at a time I could see how sick he felt. I felt bad for him being sick over Christmas but glad we had the help and time to just sit together and rest. (I read a lot while he napped on me.) And with the help of medication, he was able to participate in lots of cousin time and play (just not as actively as he normally would have).

Family time: 
Mom took Chris and I with the boys to the River Walk in San Antonio to see the lights. We haven't done this with the boys yet and I was hoping they would love it. We hadn't seen many Christmas lights this year. They liked the lights, but I don't think they liked the walk along the river. They might also have been a bit weirded out because we never do anything after dark. 

I can be sure of two things when I visit Chris's family -- we will play games and we will drink wine (or beer if you prefer). And we did both several times during our visit. It was so nice outside they even played games outside while the kids played in the backyard! Somehow when we try to organize game nights with friends the kids always make it impossible, but with this family the kids hang out and watch or run off to play as they please. It's not really a hindrance. I love that my boys are growing up around this and becoming interested in playing too! (It helps too that there's usually an adult not playing so they can watch the kids.)

William is much more into sports this year than past visits. And he had us all playing football or baseball several times. We took full advantage of the backyard!

And yes, we spent a lot of time with family. Chris's sister, Shannon was home from China too -- we loved spending so much time with her. She's so great with our boys too - reading, playing games, going on walks and playing outside. Somehow she has energy for it all! And Chris's brother Brad lives 45 minutes away from his parent's place and drove his family over nearly every day to see us. Their boys are the same ages as ours and they have two younger girls. It was a full house but so much fun! I love seeing how they play together. I know it will look different when they are older and not as close; but for now, they have a lot of similar interests and play easily.

We also spent one afternoon with Chris's high school friends. We try to get together with them every time we are in town. I love watching these guys get together. They are so tightly bonded. And their wives and kids are wonderful too and I love spending time with this group of people.

We ended the week with fireworks. This tradition still scares me a little, but the men are very safe with the boys. William and Stephen LOVE fireworks and want to be as involved as we allow. 

It was a great time with family -- a family I am so grateful to be a part of.

We spent the last 10 days of 2019 in Texas staying with Chris's parents.  Our goals for the trip were: Spend time with family/get the cousins together as much as possible and I added on: read and rest. And for the most part, it was one of the most relaxing weeks of my life -- definitely of my year.

Read and Rest:
I went for a walk nearly every day (I missed two), walking a total of 28 miles! I haven't had that much time for a regular walk since this summer. During my walks I listened to a couple of new-to-me podcasts:

      * Cook Smarts - https://www.cooksmarts.com/articles/category/podcast/ (learning to meal plan a little smarter and get my kids to eat better too).

      * Annie F. Downs - https://www.anniefdowns.com/podcast/ (she's just so fun to listen to and has some great interviews about the enneagram)

Not only did I get some time alone to walk and listen to podcasts. I had quite a bit of time to read. I hadn't intended to read so much as I know it doesn't take much for a book to pull me away from the real people right in front of me, but I enjoy it so much I couldn't help it. I did try to avoid grabbing the book at inappropriate times... here's what I read:
 - Autopsy of a Boring Wife by Marie-Renee Lavoie
 - The Silence Between Us Alison Gervais
 - Dare to Lead by Brené Brown (only finished half so far)
 - The Alice Network by Kate Quinn (just started on the flight home)


Illness:
The only part of our time in Texas that wasn't relaxing/near perfect was Stephen getting sick. On Christmas Eve we took him to an urgent care where we discovered he had Strep Throat. He was pretty miserable for several days before starting to move around like his normal, active self. He and I skipped the Christmas Eve family gathering and went to bed early. Not much will slow Stephen down so when he wasn't moving from my lap for hours at a time I could see how sick he felt. I felt bad for him being sick over Christmas but glad we had the help and time to just sit together and rest. (I read a lot while he napped on me.) And with the help of medication, he was able to participate in lots of cousin time and play (just not as actively as he normally would have).

Family time: 
Mom took Chris and I with the boys to the River Walk in San Antonio to see the lights. We haven't done this with the boys yet and I was hoping they would love it. We hadn't seen many Christmas lights this year. They liked the lights, but I don't think they liked the walk along the river. They might also have been a bit weirded out because we never do anything after dark. 

I can be sure of two things when I visit Chris's family -- we will play games and we will drink wine (or beer if you prefer). And we did both several times during our visit. It was so nice outside they even played games outside while the kids played in the backyard! Somehow when we try to organize game nights with friends the kids always make it impossible, but with this family the kids hang out and watch or run off to play as they please. It's not really a hindrance. I love that my boys are growing up around this and becoming interested in playing too! (It helps too that there's usually an adult not playing so they can watch the kids.)

William is much more into sports this year than past visits. And he had us all playing football or baseball several times. We took full advantage of the backyard!

And yes, we spent a lot of time with family. Chris's sister, Shannon was home from China too -- we loved spending so much time with her. She's so great with our boys too - reading, playing games, going on walks and playing outside. Somehow she has energy for it all! And Chris's brother Brad lives 45 minutes away from his parent's place and drove his family over nearly every day to see us. Their boys are the same ages as ours and they have two younger girls. It was a full house but so much fun! I love seeing how they play together. I know it will look different when they are older and not as close; but for now, they have a lot of similar interests and play easily.

We also spent one afternoon with Chris's high school friends. We try to get together with them every time we are in town. I love watching these guys get together. They are so tightly bonded. And their wives and kids are wonderful too and I love spending time with this group of people.

We ended the week with fireworks. This tradition still scares me a little, but the men are very safe with the boys. William and Stephen LOVE fireworks and want to be as involved as we allow. 

It was a great time with family -- a family I am so grateful to be a part of.

2019 In Review

This is one of my favorite traditions. Reflecting on the past year and sharing the highs and lows with those who may not have lived close enough to know about them. Especially now that my blog isn't updated as frequently as I would like.

This year feels like one of fullness and relief. After years of praying, applying and waiting for a new housing situation to work out we are now celebrating and rejoicing in thankfulness for our home of 10 months.

2019 started out with hope. We had been approved for a bank loan and qualified for a second load through a city program for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo in the Western Addition district. There was a lot to do to prepare for the move while at the same time guarding our hearts from major heartache if this were to fall through as so many other potential homes had. We cleaned out our storage unit, got rid of all of our baby stuff and anything else we hadn't used in years. All in hope that this move would happen.

And then in February we made the move! I remember that day very vividly. I brought William to school knowing that when a friend dropped him off at "home" it would be a space he had never seen before. We hired movers and they did it all in a day. Chris handled the clean up and last minute things we'd left behind. It was surreal to see our apartment of nearly 9 years empty again. It looked so big!

In March, we got the news that William got into our first choice elementary school - a Spanish Immersion program. We were so relieved and excited. He finished out his year of Transitional Kindergarten in June and started Kindergarten in August. He is doing well. For the first few weeks he would say "I didn't learn anything, it's in Spanish." But by the end of the second month he seemed to be picking it up quite well and he had some really great friends! Now, after 82 days of school (they keep track), he seems to really like it. And we all love his teacher.

In April, we had our first experience with stitches. William had a run in with a door and cut his forehead deep enough to need 6 stitches. I was so thankful Chris was with us and took control of the situation. We made our way to the urgent care and they cared for him so well. Seriously, amazed by the care and attention these two women gave him. They skipped their lunch hour to see him right away and let him watch PJ Masks while they stitched him up. The worst part was they finished before the episode was over! I can't say I handled this event well, but I did learn a few things. I had no idea that this would be my training for when Stephen had a collision with a railing in June and also cut his head. William, now understanding that the word "wound" was more serious that "owie" alerted me to the injury by screaming "Stephen has a wound!" Sure enough, there was blood everywhere. Back to the urgent care we went, but he didn't need stitches. Just glue and an order not to get it wet for a week. We were all much more prepared this time around, but it still isn't something I want to repeat.

In July, we spent two weeks in Minnesota. It was my favorite time of summer -- fair season. As we did when we were kids, we made it to every fair we could get to . . . for a total of three. We went to parades, rode rides, ate corn dogs, played kiddy games, saw animals. and went to a bull ride.

We spent as much time as we could with my siblings and their kids which included a few nights at a hotel with a pool. The pool provided so much entertainment for us all. I loved being with them -- would have loved more time together. It's never enough. We ended our trip with a afternoon at the water park and dinner at the buffet with my parents. The kids (and I) had a blast!

In mid-August our "Fall" schedule took affect. School started for William, and Stephen and I started swim classes on Wednesdays, attending a child observation class at the city college on Thursdays, and a playdate swap with another family on Fridays. Then my mother's group (MOPS) started in September and we were in regular a routine. I'm coordinating MOPS again this year with a team of lovely women. We have such a great group and it continues to be a blessing to me and our community.

In November, Chris flew to Texas for a few days to attend his cousin's wedding and spend time with family. The next week he started a new job as a software engineer for Granular. He had been quietly looking for a new job since May. He loved working for Rhumbix for just nearly 2 1/2 years but it was time for a new experience. The new job started out a bit rough and with the Thanksgiving break and a few days off for sickness, he was feeling a little down about it. But now he seems to have found a groove.

And for Thanksgiving break we took a road trip to Provo, Utah to visit with my sister and her family. The pass through Tahoe was a wreck with snow so we drove the long way around the mountain making a 12-hour drive a 16-hour drive split up in two days each way. Traffic on the way home was so heavy that we spend an additional 3 hours in the car than we hoped to. The boys handled it as we expected -- voicing how we all felt every 15 minutes. Even though our time with the Hunt family was shortened by a day we still had a fabulous time and the boys loved playing in the snow. Now Stephen keeps asking "When will it snow in San Francisco?"

My sister, El, had a baby on December 1 and I'm trying not to think about how old he will be when I get to meet him face to face. They are doing well! The rest of December basically flew by. We ended the year with a trip to Texas and spent 10 days with the Babiak family. Will try to write about that soon. And now, I can't believe we're at the year's end.

There are a few other things that need to be mentioned. As is true with most of life, in the midst of the "good" we experience the "hard" and "sad" and down right "awful" moments too. When we were in Minnesota over the summer, we lost my Uncle Jerry. So while I wrote above about all the fun we had, we also had the hard and sad experiences too. So many emotional conversations were had and hugs were given. And time together treasured. I was thankful to be home with family during that time.

And in August, a dear friend of mine passed away. So while we were adjusting to our new routines I was in a heavy mourning season and trying to be supportive of my friend's family in any way I could. The hard moments live along side the everyday . . . making those everyday days so very hard to get through.

I'm carrying hope into the New Year knowing that each year will have hard days and good days. Our new home has given me a lightness which contrasts the darkness I had in previous years. That lightness feels so good - unhindered, freeing. With the burden of finding housing behind us I am hoping that our prayers and focus can be put on those around us and on our children as they grow.

May you have a blessed New Year - with renewed hopes and dreams; may your burdens be light.

This is one of my favorite traditions. Reflecting on the past year and sharing the highs and lows with those who may not have lived close enough to know about them. Especially now that my blog isn't updated as frequently as I would like.

This year feels like one of fullness and relief. After years of praying, applying and waiting for a new housing situation to work out we are now celebrating and rejoicing in thankfulness for our home of 10 months.

2019 started out with hope. We had been approved for a bank loan and qualified for a second load through a city program for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo in the Western Addition district. There was a lot to do to prepare for the move while at the same time guarding our hearts from major heartache if this were to fall through as so many other potential homes had. We cleaned out our storage unit, got rid of all of our baby stuff and anything else we hadn't used in years. All in hope that this move would happen.

And then in February we made the move! I remember that day very vividly. I brought William to school knowing that when a friend dropped him off at "home" it would be a space he had never seen before. We hired movers and they did it all in a day. Chris handled the clean up and last minute things we'd left behind. It was surreal to see our apartment of nearly 9 years empty again. It looked so big!

In March, we got the news that William got into our first choice elementary school - a Spanish Immersion program. We were so relieved and excited. He finished out his year of Transitional Kindergarten in June and started Kindergarten in August. He is doing well. For the first few weeks he would say "I didn't learn anything, it's in Spanish." But by the end of the second month he seemed to be picking it up quite well and he had some really great friends! Now, after 82 days of school (they keep track), he seems to really like it. And we all love his teacher.

In April, we had our first experience with stitches. William had a run in with a door and cut his forehead deep enough to need 6 stitches. I was so thankful Chris was with us and took control of the situation. We made our way to the urgent care and they cared for him so well. Seriously, amazed by the care and attention these two women gave him. They skipped their lunch hour to see him right away and let him watch PJ Masks while they stitched him up. The worst part was they finished before the episode was over! I can't say I handled this event well, but I did learn a few things. I had no idea that this would be my training for when Stephen had a collision with a railing in June and also cut his head. William, now understanding that the word "wound" was more serious that "owie" alerted me to the injury by screaming "Stephen has a wound!" Sure enough, there was blood everywhere. Back to the urgent care we went, but he didn't need stitches. Just glue and an order not to get it wet for a week. We were all much more prepared this time around, but it still isn't something I want to repeat.

In July, we spent two weeks in Minnesota. It was my favorite time of summer -- fair season. As we did when we were kids, we made it to every fair we could get to . . . for a total of three. We went to parades, rode rides, ate corn dogs, played kiddy games, saw animals. and went to a bull ride.

We spent as much time as we could with my siblings and their kids which included a few nights at a hotel with a pool. The pool provided so much entertainment for us all. I loved being with them -- would have loved more time together. It's never enough. We ended our trip with a afternoon at the water park and dinner at the buffet with my parents. The kids (and I) had a blast!

In mid-August our "Fall" schedule took affect. School started for William, and Stephen and I started swim classes on Wednesdays, attending a child observation class at the city college on Thursdays, and a playdate swap with another family on Fridays. Then my mother's group (MOPS) started in September and we were in regular a routine. I'm coordinating MOPS again this year with a team of lovely women. We have such a great group and it continues to be a blessing to me and our community.

In November, Chris flew to Texas for a few days to attend his cousin's wedding and spend time with family. The next week he started a new job as a software engineer for Granular. He had been quietly looking for a new job since May. He loved working for Rhumbix for just nearly 2 1/2 years but it was time for a new experience. The new job started out a bit rough and with the Thanksgiving break and a few days off for sickness, he was feeling a little down about it. But now he seems to have found a groove.

And for Thanksgiving break we took a road trip to Provo, Utah to visit with my sister and her family. The pass through Tahoe was a wreck with snow so we drove the long way around the mountain making a 12-hour drive a 16-hour drive split up in two days each way. Traffic on the way home was so heavy that we spend an additional 3 hours in the car than we hoped to. The boys handled it as we expected -- voicing how we all felt every 15 minutes. Even though our time with the Hunt family was shortened by a day we still had a fabulous time and the boys loved playing in the snow. Now Stephen keeps asking "When will it snow in San Francisco?"

My sister, El, had a baby on December 1 and I'm trying not to think about how old he will be when I get to meet him face to face. They are doing well! The rest of December basically flew by. We ended the year with a trip to Texas and spent 10 days with the Babiak family. Will try to write about that soon. And now, I can't believe we're at the year's end.

There are a few other things that need to be mentioned. As is true with most of life, in the midst of the "good" we experience the "hard" and "sad" and down right "awful" moments too. When we were in Minnesota over the summer, we lost my Uncle Jerry. So while I wrote above about all the fun we had, we also had the hard and sad experiences too. So many emotional conversations were had and hugs were given. And time together treasured. I was thankful to be home with family during that time.

And in August, a dear friend of mine passed away. So while we were adjusting to our new routines I was in a heavy mourning season and trying to be supportive of my friend's family in any way I could. The hard moments live along side the everyday . . . making those everyday days so very hard to get through.

I'm carrying hope into the New Year knowing that each year will have hard days and good days. Our new home has given me a lightness which contrasts the darkness I had in previous years. That lightness feels so good - unhindered, freeing. With the burden of finding housing behind us I am hoping that our prayers and focus can be put on those around us and on our children as they grow.

May you have a blessed New Year - with renewed hopes and dreams; may your burdens be light.

Merry Christmas from the Babiaks

Merry Christmas to you!! I hope you are enjoying this season of joy, peace and hope with those you love. We are currently in Texas with Chris's family and enjoying the literal peace and quiet of the country.

December marks 10 months of living in our new condo. And we still love it. It was really fun to decorate and figure out what Christmas looks like in our new space. We still don't have anything on the walls so we had a lot of options! The boys continued in the tradition of going with Dad to pick out our tree. This will most likely be the last year we have Chris's pickup to make the trip easy, so it was a bittersweet outing. We are hoping to sell the truck next month. 

The boys were very excited to unwrap all the ornaments and find their favorites. They weren't at interested in actually putting them on the tree by the time I was ready for them. We had the tree up, the stockings on the wall, garland on the china hutch and a wreath on the door. The final touch was our advent calendar; or rather string of envelopes. We decided to put them above the stair railing. So every time we go up or down our stairs we are reminded of the anticipation of Christmas Day and the stories we've read as we wait.

Once again we are doing the Truth in the Tinsel advent activities. Each morning William opens the envelope for the day and finds the clue (star, shepherd, sheep, Mary, Joseph, etc.) and each day we read a portion of scripture and complete a craft that associates to the story. We did really well until Day 17. Then evenings got taken by other activities and we fell behind. (Trying not to let it get to me.)

I had every intention of doing something festive each week in December. Going ice skating, visiting the gingerbread house, seeing Christmas lights, drinking hot chocolate, etc. But this month was busy with just every day stuff; and Thanksgiving being at the very end of November I felt like was missing a few days to get ready for it all. I was thankful for the Christmas tree and advent crafts to remind me of the season. 

Last week was a bit more festive. On Sunday the kids sang during the church service and Stephen was a little wise man in the nativity scene. They did a great job and were just the cutest kids. You can watch them here (start at minute 16).

William had a Winter Festival Performance at his school on Thursday night. His school doesn't have an auditorium so they had a stage set up outside. Thankfully it wasn't raining! Each class performed a few songs and some even danced. William's class sang Feliz Navidad and Estrellita Donde Estras (Twinkle, Twinkle little Star). He did very well -- and had been singing it non-stop at home all month!

So, while the month feels like it has been too busy to do all the things we wanted to do, it still had plenty of Christmas spirit and focus on Jesus. Chris and I also managed to fit in a date night and I had a few evenings with friends. Those were great bonuses!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you!! I hope you are enjoying this season of joy, peace and hope with those you love. We are currently in Texas with Chris's family and enjoying the literal peace and quiet of the country.

December marks 10 months of living in our new condo. And we still love it. It was really fun to decorate and figure out what Christmas looks like in our new space. We still don't have anything on the walls so we had a lot of options! The boys continued in the tradition of going with Dad to pick out our tree. This will most likely be the last year we have Chris's pickup to make the trip easy, so it was a bittersweet outing. We are hoping to sell the truck next month. 

The boys were very excited to unwrap all the ornaments and find their favorites. They weren't at interested in actually putting them on the tree by the time I was ready for them. We had the tree up, the stockings on the wall, garland on the china hutch and a wreath on the door. The final touch was our advent calendar; or rather string of envelopes. We decided to put them above the stair railing. So every time we go up or down our stairs we are reminded of the anticipation of Christmas Day and the stories we've read as we wait.

Once again we are doing the Truth in the Tinsel advent activities. Each morning William opens the envelope for the day and finds the clue (star, shepherd, sheep, Mary, Joseph, etc.) and each day we read a portion of scripture and complete a craft that associates to the story. We did really well until Day 17. Then evenings got taken by other activities and we fell behind. (Trying not to let it get to me.)

I had every intention of doing something festive each week in December. Going ice skating, visiting the gingerbread house, seeing Christmas lights, drinking hot chocolate, etc. But this month was busy with just every day stuff; and Thanksgiving being at the very end of November I felt like was missing a few days to get ready for it all. I was thankful for the Christmas tree and advent crafts to remind me of the season. 

Last week was a bit more festive. On Sunday the kids sang during the church service and Stephen was a little wise man in the nativity scene. They did a great job and were just the cutest kids. You can watch them here (start at minute 16).

William had a Winter Festival Performance at his school on Thursday night. His school doesn't have an auditorium so they had a stage set up outside. Thankfully it wasn't raining! Each class performed a few songs and some even danced. William's class sang Feliz Navidad and Estrellita Donde Estras (Twinkle, Twinkle little Star). He did very well -- and had been singing it non-stop at home all month!

So, while the month feels like it has been too busy to do all the things we wanted to do, it still had plenty of Christmas spirit and focus on Jesus. Chris and I also managed to fit in a date night and I had a few evenings with friends. Those were great bonuses!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!