December
Several culinary milestones were met. I cooked my first-ever Christmas Day dinner. Yes, I realize that I've been married for eons, but we've never, ever been home all day on Christmas Day, so it was my first. The best thing was we got to share it with our great friends, the Clements! I also managed to prepare my first prime rib roast for Christmas Eve, (I'll be doing that again as soon as it's on sale.) and made perhaps the second worst dish of my married life--since the spinach lasagna fiasco of 1985. Yeah, it was bad! It's the dish that shall not be named. Birthday month for Andrew. We repaired the Camry for him for his birthday. I think he got the best end of that deal!
November
Daniel and Bethany were married on Saturday, Nov. 19, just a mere 14 weeks after he proposed to her in Seattle, Washington, on a hot air balloon ride and a critical 8 weeks after returning home from the extended stay in Seattle. Their day was gorgeous and suited them uniquely. I think I was kept sane in November by the commitment to log into facebook with a daily status update of what I was thankful for. That was a great exercise for me. Sometimes, it was petty. Sometimes significant. Always thankful.
October-September
September and October can best be characterized as a blur of wedding planning, teaching, and dealing with random breakouts of hives along with my normal life of being a wife and mom. I don't remember much else about these hectic days except that Daniel and Andrew came home from Seattle. Bethany moved back from Seattle. Andrew moved out of our home to live with the Woerners and spread his wings a bit. Susanna started on her journey of becoming the only child at home. Music directing/conducting for Annie was a highlight of September! Oh, and with no pomp or circumstance, Daniel's diploma from MTSU arrived in the mail. Woot! I am the mom of a college graduate.
August
August was filled with final rehearsals for Annie. I've determined that I am just a good enough actor to play the conductor in Annie. I think I strained a muscle in my hand practicing conducting, and I've never spent so much time trying to master just a few bars of music. Michael is a patient, but picky teacher. His criticisms and tips made me much better at my job. Additionally, I added two new schools to my teaching rotation. It was a lot and maybe too much too soon especially with the upcoming wedding, but I didn't know about that when I took the jobs. Daniel and Bethany got engaged! The boys moved to Seattle for a short time--I miss them!
July and June
We vacationed in Virginia with Michael's family--mom, dad, sister, her husband, her three kids and their spouse and grandson, along with my kids, and Aunt Edith. It was wonderfully relaxing. Hope we get to do that again in a couple of years. Daniel finished up his coursework for school in Chester just in the nick of time. July is birthday month for Daniel. Susanna became a licensed driver. Daniel, Andrew and Susanna went to Mexico on a missions trip. We all volunteered at Wherry Housing over the summer.
May
Andrew graduated from high school, but didn't really want a party or celebration. Looking back that was probably a mistake. He's planning to take a year off before going to college. Hope it's no longer than that. Birthday month for Michael. Two high school graduates, one to go. There is a light at the end of my homeschooling journey.
April
I played the part of M'Lynn in Lamplighter's Theatre Company's production of Steel Magnolias. The cast was delightful and the role was quite cathartic for me. It's a role I'd always wanted to play, so I guess I can mark that off my imaginary bucket list. April 15 marked the first anniversary of my mom's death. We tried to get my dad to visit us during that time, but
he wanted to stay home. Mistake. Maybe next year.
January-February-March
We all readjusted to having Daniel back in the house after his semester in England. Scholl and work and life moves at a face pace for the Fraziers. Bethany returned from her trip to India, then decided to move to Seattle for a season. At the end of January, following Michael's lead, I started using MyFitnessPal and began my journey toward reshaping my body. Led a class on Wednesday nights of intercessory prayer for the nations. Wow! Just wow on how that can change and rock your world.
So in the Rear View 2011 was a lot about loss and gain. Fewer children live in my home, but I gained daughter perfectly matched to my son. I lost control of situations and gained renewed faith again and again. I've lost students, but gained graduates. I gained experience and lost inhibitions. I lost pounds (40-ish so far) and gained mobility and energy.
Here's to reflection and review. Here's to favored days to come and new mercy and grace each day!
