Year in Review

I know, it's not quite Christmas yet, but I don't know how often I'll get a chance to use the computer. With Brendan out of school and Bill learning about day-trading, I probably won't get a blog in edgewise next week.

I've been looking back through my day planner to remind myself of all the wonderful things we've experienced in the past year. Here are a few:

January began with Brendan breaking his wrist when he fell off of his skateboard. He had a distal radial reduction with a pin for good measure. He thought the camo cast was cool for about a week, and then couldn't wait to get it off! We are now strong believers in full-body gear. Brendan sweats when he skates from all the pads. Also in January, Bill's dad had a heart valve replaced with one bypass since they were already in there. Besides a headcold, I'm happy to announce that, at this moment, we are all healthy. Thank you, Lord.

Our newest niece was born February 9 - Hannah Beth! I was so honored. She's gorgeous.

Brendan turned twelve in March. He calls himself a twelve-teen, not a tween. I feel really old!

In April, Bill kindly let me leave him on his birthday to be part of a surprise 40th birthday party for a dear friend in Florida. I've never done anything like that before. It was a great girl's weekend.

I did a lot of substitute teaching throughout the spring term. In May, I worked at least three days a week. I think this could me my second career.

We spent nine weeks of the summer in Manchester, England. Bill worked a contract job while Brendan and I explored the city. It was a great way to see another part of England and visit our friends in Collingtree almost exactly a year since we left. We miss them. That was an idyllic time and place. The summer in Manchester was cool, overcast and wet.

We got back just in time for Brendan to register and start school. It took him a while to adjust to a new school, but he now has wonderful friends and enjoys his classes, even those I think must be totally boring!

In September, we took a quick cruise to the Bahamas for some fun in the sun. We snorkeled with stingrays and rode jet skis. It was a great getaway.

October was pretty quiet. I finished the dummy book for "A Pumpkin Named Jack" and sent it to a prospective publisher. I have to wait four months for a response. I officially joined the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators as Illustrator Coordinator for our area. I'm looking forward to the conference.

I stopped taking notes in November and December, but I remember them to be good times with family and friends. It's nice to be nearby for the holidays. I love this time of year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Take a moment to reflect on where you've been and where you plan to go in the future. God bless you.

Let it Snow!

You won't believe this. If I hadn't been here, I wouldn't. Yesterday we had a record high of 83 degrees. Then as the afternoon rolled by, a front moved through, it was sleeting by bedtime, and Bill woke us later so we could see the snow! Of course it was too warm to stick to the ground, but there was still snow on the cars and rooftops when we left for school in the morning. Now it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! I love it.

BTW - Brendan didn't make the basketball team. He's not too upset as only one of his friends who tried out made it. I had mixed feeling about the whole thing anyway. But now, I've lost my early morning quiet time to write. I'll have to be more diligent to get it done throughout the day.

I've just finished my family's holiday cookbook, and I'm reworking my novel, Dillon and Blue.

I hope the weather where you are is as wonderful.

I'm Back

After an extended, month-long break from writing or illustrating of any kind, I find myself with some uninterrupted time to pick it up again. Brendan is trying out for Basketball this week. He has to be at school at 6:45 AM! If he makes the team, he'll have to get there at 6:30 every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I'm determined to make good use of the quiet time. By the end of Basketball season, I should have cranked out a novel, at least. The hardest part is getting out of bed. Once I'm up, I'm up. So let's get started with a quick blog entry.

Happy Thanksgiving - a little late! By now the leftovers should be just about gone. Mom made a 17 lb. turkey for the five of us to eat, because Bill wanted lots of leftover bird for sandwiches. True to his word, it's almost gone. I froze the rest of the stuffing and gravy for later. We had a great time baking and cooking in Bandera. The scenery in the hill country was particularly pretty this year, but of course I didn't take pictures. The weather was weird -warm with low clouds and HUMID! We came back in from our morning walks damp. I hardly had to take a shower.

Since it was just Thanksgiving, Id like to give thanks for a few things. In this economic climate, it may be tough to be thankful. But we are such a blessed nation. We have freedoms other countries can only dream of. We have the freedom to participate in an election process where each vote counts. We have the freedom to worship as we wish without fear of persecution. We are relatively free from fear that when we lay down at night, we will wake up in the morning in a safe place. I am personally thankful for a warm bed, food to eat, friends near and far, a wonderful extended family who all are well at this moment in time, and an amazing son, who continues to surprise me. Allow me to brag for just a moment.

Whether he makes the Basketball team or not, Brendan is distinguishing himself in other areas. His watercolor painting of a stingray was submitted to the Reflections contest, a fine arts competition with music, poetry, drama, etc... and was selected to go the next round of judging. We have the honor of going to the awards ceremony. Also, because of his perfect score on the English portion of the TAKS test, he has been invited to participate in Duke University's TIPS program of excelerated learning opportunities. In order to place him appropriately in the program, he will be taking the SAT this Saturday! He constantly goes above and beyond what is expected in assigned projects. And even though he says he doesn't want a "nerd" award, I think he would do well in the science fair with his tornado simulator. As you can see, I'm very proud. Okay I'm done.

This year, I am collecting the "must have" recipes from all Moehring family members to put into a cookbook. Brendan's favorite dish is Mom's cranberry sauce, and I still didn't have the recipe. In the book, I'm putting photos of holidays past. We spent a good portion of a morning looking through Mom's albums looking for family photos. The one you see above is of me at my new kitchen set. It's a great trip down memory lane, and brings up lots of great stories - fodder for my writing... which I need to get to now.

Hope this hasn't been too disjointed. I had lots of thoughts running around in my head.

Merry Christmas! May God unclutter your mind and put peace in your heart.