Monday, December 29, 2008

Happy Christmas


I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. The girls and I went to my mother's in College Station for a brief visit before Christmas. We enjoyed some great visiting, delicious food, and the girls loved their presents from Grandmother:  CD's for Rebecca, a sweater for Katherine and books for Abigail.  We did a little bit of shopping, a lot of talking, and the girls and I organized Grandmother's recipe files.  It was rainy and cold so we spent some time in front of the nice warm fire.  After hearing some horror stories of "Christmas with the Family," I was grateful to escaped unharmed from this particular malady.  

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Where in the World Have We Been?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I ACTUALLY UPLOADED THIS PICTURE AFTER SAYING I WOULD GIVE IT ONE MORE TRY. YEA! MAYBE I'LL GET BRAVE ENOUGH TOMORROW TO TRY AND UPLOAD TWO PICTURES. (ANYWAY, THIS IS ME WITH MY NEW SHORTER HAIR.)

Well, you already know that I can't seem to upload pictures to Blogger anymore, so I thought I would at least catch up all 3 of my readers with what's been happening in Fort Worth. Last weekend was the children's choir concert, "Christmas Time is Here." To see the full story and pictures, go to Barb's Wire.  It was a wonderful concert, and such a blessing to see the kids lead in worship.  

The girls all had final exams last week. Abigail finished on Tuesday, while Rebecca and Katherine completed their tests on Friday.  Of course, our evenings have been filled with basketball.  We did get one night off last week, and it was such a treat to stay at home.  

On Friday, Dec. 19 Abigail and I decorated and served at the Senior Adult Christmas Party at church. It's begun to be something of an annual tradition for us to decorate the tables, play music during the lunch, and serve meals. I tell the senior adults every year if they get tired of us, just let us know. They are always very gracious and seem to welcome our presence.

On Saturday morning I got my hair cut. It wasn't that long, but I just was tired of how it looked. So, I told Rann to go "considerably shorter" and he did!  It's so much easier to fix, and I love the quick drying time.  I would upload a picture, but well...my computer guy still hasn't fixed the problem. Maybe I'll give it a shot just for kicks.

On Saturday afternoon Kathy Nance and I took a group of kids to the Wedgewood Nursing Home Christmas Party. We sang a few carols, passed out cookies and punch, and handed out gifts. Such a sad place, really. I hope the kids brought a little brightness to their day.  Katherine handed out a gift to a lady who said she was 98 years old. Her gift was a peach, flannel nightgown and robe. She was really talking Katherine's ears off, so I stopped by and commented on how pretty the nightgown was, and how she would look lovely in it. "Well, that's just the problem honey," she said. "No one important will see me in it!"  Too funny.    

This morning our adult choir sang four songs in the morning service, about 3 more than we usually do. Of course, they were all Christmas and really beautiful anthems. They were extremely difficult to play and I have been practicing them at home for some time. Towards the end of the second service, my hands started quivering slightly. I think they were probably just saying, "Enough!"  Thankfully, I made it through, but will be enjoying a brief rest from playing that type of music for awhile. I'm not sure how much longer I will be the church accompanist, but will allow the Lord to direct that.

Lastly, we attempted to take pictures tonight for Christmas cards. What a mess! No one wants to cooperate, and here it is December 21. With weeks of sickness we've just not had a time when everyone was well enough to take a group shot. And, we still didn't get it. So, don't be offended if you don't get a card from the Holmes this year. I probably won't send any. 

So, for this week I hope to turn my attention to rest and some quality time with family. Hope your holidays are blessed. 

Friday, December 12, 2008

We Need a Little Christmas....Right This Very Minute

Talk about your "Bah Humbug!"  It's very hard to remain "jovial" (Rebecca's most recent favorite vocabulary word) when you are sick. The worst of it hit me on Monday morning, and today, Friday, I am finally starting to pull out of it. I seriously think I have gone through 3 boxes of Puffs Plus in three days. Seriously, you know you are blowing your nose quite frequently when even Puffs Plus tissues hurt your nose. 

Some part of me wonders if it isn't just a little coincidental that I fall prey to sickness just before my busiest weekend of the month -- the children's choir Christmas concert. Could it be that I'm worried? stressed?  FREAKED OUT???  Well, yeah, I guess it could be those things and my body says, "Enough! Go to the couch and lie down.  You have no choice."  

I am feeling better and hope to survive tomorrow's dress rehearsal and Sunday's concert. My girls have finals this week and hopefully we can spend some time relaxing soon. And, enjoying a little more Christmas spirit. 

Hey, things are looking up already. I managed to upload this one little picture of Abigail's new Christmas ornament. Only one, but hey...tomorrow it could be two.  

Sunday, December 7, 2008

It's Sickening I Tell You

1. Still not able to upload photos.
2. Rebecca sick again.
3. Jeff currently in relapse of previous sickness.
4. I'm feeling a little achy and, considering the week ahead of me, that's not good news.
5. No Christmas pics taken because someone is always sick.

And, now you're updated with the Holmes family. Are you feeling a little sick yet?

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Uploading............NOT!

I've been trying to post several things for a few weeks now and something, somewhere is not cooperating. I'm not computer savvy enough to know what it is, so....no posts.  I did speak to my I.T. guy today, so I hope he will carve out a few minutes soon to look into the problem.  Until then, I'm enjoying following your blogs, so keep 'em coming.