Yes, we did survive ringing in the new year and are still up and around - just haven't been near a computer much lately!
The truth is that we are just coming out of what felt like a couple of major parenthesis in life that I'm now realizing that we are half way through January already!
First interruption - well, you already know about that one! On New Years Eve our day was a little preoccupied with welcoming the little miss who was introduced in the last post, and then celebrating Nathan's birthday - which also happens to fall on the momentous last day of the year.
On January first, final preparations took place for our second major life interruption. Granted, it is nothing new or unusual for us to travel to a conference, but to travel so immediately on the heels of the holidays and the sweet little new arrival, and to travel to a climate so vastly different than ours is right now, well it certainly felt like a major parenthesis.
On January second, the group of nine of us hurried through the cold and snow to pile into our van and drive down to San Antonio, Texas. Within 24 hours we found ourselves driving through 83 degree Oklahoma - and as repairing the AC in our van is not a high priority in the middle of winter around here, we did not have AC...
We left Dad and Mom at home, but all us "kids" went, along with some other coworkers/friends. We spent the next week+ in Texas most of the time working for Josh's company, which had been hired to do all the AV work for the
San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival and
Filmmakers Academy.
A group of us did take a day to walk around San Antonio, enjoying the sites and visiting the Alamo. It was a perfect day for touring a town - sunny, warm, but with a pleasant breeze... it just did NOT feel like it was January. It truly felt like we were on some other planet, or had accomplished some sort of time travel.
We left immediately after the closing ceremonies on Saturday night, and around 4:00am on Monday (1/12/09) we stepped out of our van into a couple feet of snow on our driveway. Parenthesis over. It's January again! Today it was 20 degrees below zero when I first looked at the thermometer this morning - it's warmed up a few degrees by now, but it's still somewhat brisk out. :-) Frankly, as much as the weather in TX was beautiful,
this is January and I love it!
We did come home from the trip with about 1500 pictures - but they are all on Elizabeth B's camera and she's sorting through them now. Joseph is still in TX with our camera, so no pictures for now! We had a wonderful time, but arrived home thoroughly exhausted.
Joseph flies home this afternoon (providing there are no weather issues to delay him) and tonight we'll all be back together again!
Abbey and Isabella are both doing well and I have finally gotten to see my newest niece with her eyes open (something that I didn't get to witness before leaving town).
"Parenthesis Over" also means that there is bread to bake, laundry to take care of, and it's time to move forward with work on Liberty Day, our church's Couples Retreat, and... life goes on!
