Christmas in Indiana

This year we celebrated Christmas in Indianapolis with Terry's brothers & family. It was an easy 9 hour drive (since we stopped half way in St. Louis at the Hampton Inn due to our late start - I took too long to pack). We stayed at Lowell & Sherry's house since their 6 bedroom house has room for everyone. Even Terry's dad, Paul, and Sherry's mom, Oma, joined us this year. On Christmas Eve after some last minute shopping with Terry's brother Doug, I joined the women for the candlelight service at E91 Street Church which was definitely a highlight! Then we had a delicious dinner of beef stew, followed by the annual reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" before the kids each opened one gift. After the kids were all snug in their beds with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads, I noticed that it was snowing out the window, covering everything with a fresh blanket of white. How perfect!

On Christmas day we spent the morning opening stockings and presents. Then Doug picked up his kids from Chicago and Sherry's brother Ron (Taylor University's football coach) and his family joined us for a wonderful Christmas feast! The rest of our visit in Indy was a blur of doing puzzles, playing Trivial Pursuit, painting an annual Christmas village house, eating, going to see the 3rd Narnia movie (don't recommend this one), taking pictures with my new digital SLR camera, and visiting with old Patton junior high classmate Mark Pishon and his kids who lives in the area and stopped by for lunch.

Time goes by too fast. Here I am back at home wishing I had another week of relaxing days spent with family. Thankfully the boys are out of school this week and Terry and I have flexible schedules with our jobs so we'll have some more vacation time as we count down the last few days of the year. The rest of the week will be busy with more celebrating: Terry's turning 53 on the 30th, New Year's Eve (a casino night party at our house with friends) and bowl games on New Year's Day. Then Terry and I promised ourselves we'd tackle a closet cleanup project this week and I'd like to redecorate our "office" into a music room so I can hang the new Haines Brothers' poster that Doug made Terry for Christmas. I also promised the boys I'd take them to Snow Creek for snowboarding and skiing on Jan 3rd before they head back to school. I guess I'll wait till they all go back to school before I take down the Christmas decorations.

Where does the time go?

Sneak Preview

Here is a sneak preview of our 2010 Christmas Card!

Southern Comfort & Respect

I was reminded today at Gramp's funeral how much I appreciate the traditions of small southern towns. I was awestruck by the respect of strangers who still pull off the road and stop while a funeral procession passes. It was so great to see the presence of the Marines who honored my grandfather's military service by playing taps, folding the flag, executing that famous slow motion salute, and then presenting the flag and Bible to the family.

After the funeral, Ocmulgee Baptist Church paid their respects to their oldest member by preparing a delicious meal for this large family which included Southern comfort foods such as sweet tea, fried chicken, butter beans, deviled eggs and lots of pie: custard, apple, pecan, and sweet potato pie.

Then the family headed to Aunt Ann's farm for a relaxing day just being with family: aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. Since broadband cable & wi-fi are non-existant out here in the country, we headed outside and enjoyed this warm fall day (72 degrees). While some of us gathered pecans under the huge trees behind the house, others went out back with guns and clay pigeons for skeet shooting. Then there was the jaunt to the creek to see who could skip their rock farther than the rest. Heading back to the house I saw the model A parked in front waiting for Uncle Bob to take us on rides in it tomorrow. As the sun set behind the golden brown trees of fall, I saw a truck full of cousins with legs dangling from the tailgate riding around looking at the cows with happy smiles and laughter filling the air.

Oh, yes, and I discovered something new today. My Aunt Ann's first name is Billie! That doesn't sound so funny until you realize that before she married Bob and became an Edwards, she was know as Billie Twilley. Considering that her mom's name was Willie Grey and her father's name was Haddox LeRoy, I shouldn't have been surprised. Southerners certainly have a great sense of humor!

It was a good day here in the South.

Links to funeral videos:

1. Taps

2. Folding the Flag

Goodbye, Gramps. We love you!

Today, November 24, 2010, we bury my beloved grandfather, Haddox LeRoy "Gramps" Twilley (1915-2010). At age 95, he lived a long life and now I believe he is reunited with his son, my dad, and wife (Willie Grey). He had outlived his body which had become frail and this man who loved to tell stories could not longer bend your ear for hours on end. So, with his new body he will now be free to live eternity the way he would have wanted.

As we celebrate his life today, I am sure we will recall many memories of our favorite moments with him. Some of my favorite childhood memories with him have to be spending Christmases at his house, hanging out with my cousins on his farm, picking blackberries on his property, playing in his barn while he and Dad baled hay, and eating the best watermelon this side of the Mason Dixon line(he raised a field of the biggest!). And no one has tasted a better steak (he raised his own Black Angus cows) in the South than one grilled by Roy Twilley ("But don't dare ruin the flavor of a really good steak with sauce," he would say! I also won't forget those chocolate covered graham crackers always waiting for us on the top of the white cabinet by the side door (only strangers ever came through the front door). It was Gramps who taught me that it is never the wrong time of day for a good cup of coffee - his pot was always on.

After Dad, aka LeRoy Gayle Twilley (Gramp's oldest son) died too young at 59, and the family trips to Selma waned, I was fortunate to live in nearby Montgomery for 11 years when Terry was at Huntingdon College. During most of those years Gramps lived in assisted living but thanks to nearby Aunt Ann (Dad's sister) and Uncle Bob, we made many trips "home" to their farm and saw Gramps at the annual square dances and other family gatherings. My boys got a chance to see the cows that Gramps loved, ride in his favorite truck, and fish in his private stocked pond. And everyone in that part of the country knows that a ride in Bob's Model T and the bag of pecans gathered from the trees on his farm made the trips even more memorable and special.

I will share more Gramps stories later. But for now I'll just say that I will miss this man, the patriarch of our family. A simple well respected man who loved and respected the Lord, his country and his family with passion and pride. He faced many obstacles in life with quiet courage. He was not boastful nor critical. He seldom spoke without thoughtful consideration and was not afraid to speak his mind. He was practical and generous. I am so proud to have called him my grandfather and so thankful - on this day before Thanksgiving - for his life.

Godspeed, Gramps.

University of Alabama Revisited

On our 2-day journey back to Alabama for my grandfather's funeral, we stopped at my old stomping place in Tuscaloosa - University of Alabama. It was fun showing my boys, especially my little Bama fan Caleb, Bryant Denny Stadium and my old college dorms. I tried to point out the library and other points of interest but since the Iron Bowl is on Friday, the whole football thing overshadowed any educational interests they may have had. Here is a picture of Caleb & me in front of the stadium on this beautiful fall day at U of A. The Tide is sill rolling!

Way to Go Caleb!

Just wanted to brag on my youngest son for a minute. Today at school, Caleb received a "Virtue of Giving" award from the principal. Apparently they think he is a role model for behaviors they'd like to see in kids - being kind to others... etc. I'd say, for the most part, they got it right. He really is a good kid. I'm so happy that Terry came to see him receive the award. He had to move around some meetings, but it really did make a difference to Caleb. I'm so proud of them both!

The Grass is Still Green!

Today I saw grass for the first time in my backyard since Christmas! There is was, peeking out from the snow on the one side of the back yard that was not buried under drifts of snow. And do you know, it was still green! How do you figure that? It's been below freezing... even below zero...for weeks now, and I have green grass under the snow. How cool is that!

LookNam is 18 Today!

Our exchange student, LookNam, turned 18 today. Well actually she turned 18 yesterday, because she was born in Thailand where it was January 4th yesterday since they are 12 hours ahead of us. So, yesterday (Sunday), we threw a party in her honor and invited her friends. Most were international students and other exchange students she has meet at school, church and through ASF. Amazingly we had 16 teenagers here to celebrate, despite getting hit with a fierce snowstorm overnight. Our friend, Dim, a Thai woman we met in Marshalls while shopping one day, came over to help us cook a Thai feast. I can't begin to tell you the names of the food (except for the Rotel dip and chips for the picky Americans among us) but it was a big hit among the Thai kids especially. They were fighting over the leftovers! I think the Laabe was their favorite. I liked the shrimp Pad Thai....and the strange looking but yummy dessert with the tapioca and coconut milk.

The best part of the day was watching these kids just having fun hanging out. They put on some music, got out the wooden spoons (microphones), crazy glasses, and danced around being goofy. Hin captured it on video and posted it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKvztY5Kvyw. I guess not all high schoolers are too cool to have simple fun!

Today my husband turned 52. Where does the time go? Surely it is not possible that I am only 9 months younger. It’s all a state of mind, right.

How did we celebrate this anniversary of his birth in Korea so many years ago? Well, I awoke this morning to the sound of our dog throwing up on my pillow (he was having another seizure). So, I spent the better part of the morning washing all our bed linens. And even though Terry was recovering from a migraine he had the day before, he joined Josh and I in a game of scrabble while we watched even more snow fall. Afterward since I couldn’t talk anyone into building a snowman with me (what is wrong with kids today!), I gave up and ran to WalMart for some last minute birthday cards. After a quick round of wrapping, we gathered and watched Terry open presents. Then just our family of 5 went to celebrate at Shogun’s Japanese steakhouse - his favorite restaurant. To top off the evening, we had homemade chocolate cake with maple icing that is a required element to making Terry’s birthday’s perfect. Terry likes an understated, private, simple no-fuss birthday and it must include chocolate cake with maple icing and a trip to Shogun. It was indeed a quiet, restful day. No rushing, no chores, no work, no school.

So there it is. Simple. Sweet. Perfect.

Terry is my calm, my rudder, my true north. He is my helpmate, and as well stated in the movie “Julie & Julia”... the butter for my bread and the breath that I breathe. I hope we celebrate at least 52 more birthdays together!

Year in Review

As we near the end of the year, as well as the 1st decade of the 2000’s, I thought it would be a good time to look back on the highlights of events and trends that shaped this time period - “for posterity sake” - as my dad would often say.

2009 will be the year most remembered for: The election of the 1st US African American president, the year Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, comedian Al Franken joined the Senate, Alaska’s Palin resigned, the stock market crashed, TARP bailout bill saved our banks , “Cash for Clunkers,” plane crash on the Hudson, Swine Flu, Octomom, Jon & Kate + 8 - Jon, the balloon boy hoax, and the sudden death of the King of Pop - Michael Jackson. We also said goodbye to Walter Cronkite, Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, Patrick Swayze, Jet Travolta, Bea Arthur, and Ted Kennedy. In sports, the Steelers won the Super Bowl, the Yankees won the World Series, Penguins won the Stanley Cup, Lakers won NBA, Jimmy Johnson took NASCAR, University of Alabama’s Mark Ingram beat Gator Tim Tebow for the Heisman trophy, swimmer Michael Phelps was busted for pot, and who could forget golfer Tiger Woods’ sex scandal. In entertainment, the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” won the Oscar, “Twilight Saga: New Moon” made vampires romantic, Chris Allen beat Adam Lambirt in 2009‘s American Idol competition, Russell Ferguson was America’s favorite dancer, British singer Susan Boyle became a household name, Kanye interrupted Taylor Swift, Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna, Letterman was blackmailed, and Miss California was dethroned.

Looking back on the first decade of 2000, we also remember events like: The Y2K bug failed to materialize, terrorism hit home with 911, tsunami killed 230,000 in South Asia, the Concorde crashed, financial crisis collapse of the dot coms, ballots were recounted and hanging chads became a political nightmare, Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals in swimming, a bodybuilder and actor became governor of California, a female became Speaker of the House, the Catholics welcomed Pope Benedict, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf coast, Facebook & Twitter changed the face of social networking, YouTube was created, Wii became popular, Janet Jackson introduced the phrase “wardrobe malfunction,” and Apple introduced the ipod and the iphone.

Here’s a link to a couple year in videos that capture these events pretty well. Enjoy!

Yahoo’s 2009 Year in Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMKcSJ87jCM

Decade in Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c24kzS-UX3k

Christmas in Kansas City

As I sit here in the very early hours of the morning, listening to the sounds of Christmas music by Mercy Me on TV and the snow plow outside in the cul-de-sac, in the soft glow of Christmas tree lights and a warm fireplace, I felt compelled to stay up even later to blog about our Christmas here at home in Kansas before I forgot the details that made it so special.

We decided last year after years of too much holiday travel between relatives homes, to let Santa come to our house in 2009 for a change. I think the kids were overdue and it eliminated all the rush & stress of packing, traveling, unpacking, transporting gifts, etc.. in a month where schedules are already jammed with too many activities and festivities.

We started December with a bang - all 3 kids and myself were busy rehearsing and performing in Christmas at Resurrection - 8 performances in 7 days. But we took out one night just before it began to attend the Raytown Baptist Church’s Heartland of America Christmas Pageant and that was indeed a treat. Since I’m usually in our annual church production, it’s nice to sit back and watch another church’s show for the pure joy of it. Theirs was indeed amazing. It began with Christmas and took us right through to Christ’s resurrection. Fast forward a week to COR’s opening night Christmas at Resurrection (CAR) performance and our opening night brunch after the show here in our house. I had so much fun preparing for it and, of course, had way too much food but had a great time opening our home to those who dedicated so much time to planning CAR all year! Thank you to my sweet friends Kelsey and Tracey who helped me set up and loaned me serving pieces!

After CAR, we busied ourselves with Christmas decorations, shopping, several more holiday parties, holiday cards, driving around looking at holiday lights, getting lost at Longview lake (again), baking goodies, eating goodies, visiting Crown Center’s gingerbread village, Union Station’s Holiday Train display, shopping at the Plaza with its famous lights, writing letters to Santa, seeing “Little House on the Prairie” at the Coterie and more shopping.

Then, school took a break, the shopping was done, the food prepared, activities ceased for a few days and we gathered, just our family, for a quiet celebration of Jesus’ birth. Since we were pelted by an ice storm and Josh had strep, we opted out of attending the Christmas Eve candlelight service and watched it right here in our home - online. We brought the Mac to the living room coffee table and all sat around watching the service via the internet’s live streaming broadcast. We even lit candles with the congregation at the end. Then we Skyped Terry’s relatives in Indiana for the annual reading of “Twas a Night Before Christmas” followed by the Christmas story from Luke in the Bible. Pappy (Terry’s dad) closed in prayer. It was fun being able to join the two families together for this rich tradition. Afterwards, everyone opened one gift. Then Caleb helped me put cookies & milk out for Santa, carrots for the reindeer. Then everyone was tucked snug in their beds while the blizzard winds blew in 8 inches of snow overnight. We woke to a beautiful White Christmas! Santa had come. Presents were opened. Wrapping paper was everywhere. Caleb got his Gators helmet & Tebow jersey. Josh got his flip video. LookNam got her macbook case. Terry got his Garmin and Moshi. I got my kitchen speakers for my iphone. Even Maverick got a new bone. Thanks to help from Hen House, we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner followed by an evening of Christmas movies and just plain relaxing. Looking back, I’m glad we were home this year - especially since Josh got sick with 103 fever on Christmas Eve. Maverick was happy to share it with us too. But, I did miss being with all the aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, and sisters. Sadly, however, as we get older, there are fewer of the older members of our family still with us. We lost Grandma Vi this year. Only Pappy remains as our last parent. It is up to our generation to carry on the traditions of Christmas. I write them here in detail so they will be captured and preserved in the blog book I hope to publish one day. Traditions are indeed rich and so much a joyous part of holiday celebrations.

Today, while Terry & Josh saw Avatar at the theater, I did venture out for a few post-Christmas sales but the snow began to fall again and chased me home early. At one point I was sitting in my car at an intersection listening to Mercy Me’s new song “I Heard the Bells” as I watched a homeless man begging for money on the corner. Normally I would have been irritated by this potential scam, however, today I reached into my wallet and handed him a $5 bill that I found in my wallet (everyone knows I don’t usually carry any cash). I could still hear the lyrics of the song...”Peace on Earth.” It was the right thing to do.

Thanks to the kindness of a stranger, my car (decorated like a reindeer with antlers & red nose) got a push and I (in my Santa hat) was able to navigate my way out of the Target parking lot and arrived safely home. Now we have 4 more inches of snow... measuring over a foot outside. It’s perfect. No one has to rush off to work or school for a week, so we can stay home, relax, and re-connect as a family.

In my next post I’ll write about the highlights of 2009 as we close in on New Year’s Eve and the end of the decade. But for now...it’s time for me to snuggle up in my cozy bed with my favorite dog at my feet...

What a wonderfully blessed time is Christmas. Thanks be to God for sending his son Jesus whom we celebrate in this season of giving.

A Colorado Thanksgiving

On this special day of the year called Thanksgiving we pause to reflect upon all that we are thankful for. So, this year I am particularly thankful that we could spend this holiday with my sister, Lisa, and her family (and their Thai exchange student) in Dillon, Colorado at a friend’s condo. Colorado’s scenery is breathtaking and we got to show our Thai daughters snow for the first time among the majesty of the Rocky Mountains. How cool is that! Among the highlights were: tubing in Keystone, snowboarding in Breckenridge, a delicious dinner at Spencer’s at Beaver Run, shopping the after-Thanksgiving sales in Dillon, and all nine of us watching “Blind Side” together at a local theater (best movie I’ve seen in years).

Since my husband, Terry, is a direct descendent of Governor William Bradford, one of the pilgrims who settled at Plymouth all those years ago, I think it’s also important to reflect upon our rich heritage. How times have changed. How blessed we are as a nation and a family. We couldn’t have gotten to this place without the sacrifices of those who came before us... with a little help from our friends. What a blessing!

A Colorful and Busy Fall

It’s been a particularly colorful fall this year. So enjoy these colorful photos of pumpkin patches, Halloween costume parties, and more. The field trip pictured was Caleb’s 2nd grade class to the Louisburg Pumpkin Patch. On Halloween eve we went to Deanna Rose’s Night of the Living Farm with the Websters & Alexanders. Then Kelsey and I went to the Hildebrand’s costume party and won 2nd place as Salt & Pepper (the original Spice Girls)! On Halloween we hosted game night at our house after Trick or Treating and the Huber’s won (of course)! I love watching the seasons change and the fun activities unique to each one!

LookNam and Her Busy Social Life!

Since LookNam joined us, I pushed her into lots of activities so that she could have lots of experiences and meet new friends. Here are just a few more things she’s done so far: BVNW Homecoming with Win (another AFS student that goes to Bishop Miege), modeled her Thailand dress in a Blue Valley Schools cultural program, BVNW football games; dinner at Sullivans & BVN Homecoming with Peter Tassani and 26 other friends from YoungLife, attends YoungLife weekly on Monday nights, RezLife on Wednesday nights, Christmas at Resurrection rehearsals on Sunday afternoons; the Edge of Hell Haunted House & dance party; movies and hanging out at Sonic with friends from school, Royals baseball game night with AFS, Elly Reiger ASF weekend retreat; JDFR Walk for the Cure (diabetes); and more. I think we don’t have to worry about her feeling homesick. She is already juggling a pretty busy social calendar!

Renaissance Festival

We celebrated Labor Day this year at the Renaissance Festival with 7 exchange students from Thailand! Two were celebrating birthdays and so Looknam and I baked cupcakes to share with these AFS students for this impromptu birthday celebration.

It is always fun to turn back the clock 500 years, journey to Canterbury England and share in the merriment associated with the medieval days of pirates, princesses, and wenches. The boys loved the sword battles and jousting. And who doesn’t love a good turkey leg lunch and a funnel cake. But this year it was especially fun to see how foreign students reacted to the “Old English” of the many “actors” in the park. The weather was perfect this year and it was a delightful day all the way around!

Pool Closing Party

Today our neighborhood held their annual pool closing party. The highlight was the arrival of the shaved ice truck! Even though the weather was too cool for most party goers to jump in the pool, it’s never to cold for shaved ice! It was a big hit. My personal favorite flavor was the vanilla. I wonder where we can find this truck after the pool is long closed???

Caleb's 1st Touchdown!

In the Huskies first tackle football pre-season game of 2009, Caleb scored his first and the the team’s only touchdown! Number 15 can be seen running it past the goal line right here on our website by clicking on the video tab or clicking here! Ok, so we lost the game, but hey - we were so excited by Caleb’s big touchdown that it didn’t even matter. The very next Saturday, Caleb again scored two more touchdowns in their first season game. Even though one was called back due to illegal blocking, the Huskies scored their first big win with a couple more touchdowns from his teammates! Can you tell we are really proud of our 2nd grade full back and lineman?

Want to see Caleb's touchdown on YouTube? Click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfHNUCG6kYI

Welcome Looknam!

Sunday afternoon we picked up the newest member of our family: Surangkana Tornsatitkul (Looknam)- an AFS exchange student from Thailand. She is 17 and will be staying with us for the next 10 months. We had lots of fun converting our office into a 5th bedroom filled with pink things for our new daughter. She is so sweet and we know it will be a fun year sharing our country with Looknam as we also learn more about Thailand!

Back to School 2009

Backpacks packed & ready...off they went... back to school! Dad drove Josh and Mom drove Caleb to their respective schools. This marks Josh’s last year in middle school. Caleb climbed up to 2nd grade this year and has a new teacher - Ms. Sornson. Except for the lightning that struck Josh’s school and took out a bunch of pcs.... it was an uneventful day. No tears. No meltdowns. No calls from school saying, “I forgot so & so...” No one threw up. No calls from the principal. The boys arrived home on their buses with smiles, happy about their first day back (probably because neither had homework). I enjoyed the quiet inside the house and the sound of rain, but it was a bit lonely and quite different from the unscheduled lazy days of summer. All too soon activities will be in full swing, so days like today are a treasure and far too few.

Montgomery Friends Reunited

We had the pleasure of hosting dinner to catch up with old friends Darin Lightfoot and the Webster family. Darin was in town for the Worship Arts conference being hosted by our church. Five years ago we were all living in Montgomery, Alabama, and involved with the contemporary worship service at Frazer UMC - praise band, sound, drama... but we all moved to Kansas and Tennessee (Darin). It was great to spend time reconnecting with old friends and getting to know the new kid on the block: Will Webster (born July 1st) - being held by Darin in the photo. Old friends sitting around enjoying sopapilla cheese cake & ice cream - now that’s what I call a great way to spend an evening!