Hello, Old Friend

On the 31st of January, in 2019, I am re-committing myself to blogging again.

I know, I know… I have said it before, and I will probably have to reaffirm again. But it is a start. A beautiful start to what is quickly shaping up to be a pretty good year.

I continue to heal from the surgery back in October. Yes, I am still healing. But it IS happening and that makes my heart happy. I’ve even made strides to get a little healthier by incorporating exercise back into my life. As for food, well, I have jumped on this culinary band wagon and have been attempting to cook my way through Julia Child’s famous cook book: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Vol. 1 AND 2.)

I have a few more goals in mind for this year. I hope to take a photography class in the Spring that my husband purchased for my Christmas gift. It will be with the Atlanta School of Photography. FINALLY, people. I’ve been saying I wanted to do this for years. I’m also hoping to write again.

So here I am.

I also plan to reconnect with the people I love the most. Including old friends, as well as making sure I invest time and energy into growing the relationships that are newer. I even find myself attending church each Sunday, albeit not a Catholic Church. Tim & I decided to invest in our little town of Plains and we began attending a church just a few blocks from our home. It is a Methodist Church and the pastor is really good. I miss a lot of the elements of the Catholic Church, but unfortunately in South Georgia, the pickings for a church that fits my needs is not very strong. I cannot formally join the Methodist Church, because I do not want to part with the Catholic Church. However, my husband is a Methodist and it is simply having him transfer his membership. Good enough for me. It will serve my needs, for now.

Life has been moving along quite calmly – Tim and I have been coming up with house projects, as well as travel options for the year. The financial strain from building a house is easing up a bit and we are ready to move to the next phase.

The holidays were spectacular. I tried to attend every single event that I could. Here is a quick look at my year-end from November & December.

We had a delicious and delightful Thanksgiving at my Mom & Dad’s house in Haddock.

Spent some time visiting with Tim’s childhood friends. Apparently, it was such a momentous occasion that it made the local paper. 😉

We spent a lot of quality time together. He did a great job taking care of me post-op.

We spent a lot of time with our kids and grand.

Isn’t she growing up so fast? And so, so, so beautiful. This is my grand-daughter – Cotton.

This was my third year as the official light flipper during the Plains Christmas Tree Lighting. First time that it had rained. And.. um.. I was afraid I would electrocute myself. 😉

We had a very successful Christmas Open House at the Americus Visitor Center.

Tim came to support his sister & I as she judged the Americus Christmas Parade and I was the emcee.

As a family, I introduced Advent into our home and all of the traditions that come with it.

I reconnected with old & new friends in Macon.

I even celebrated Hanukkah!

We set up a cookie making night with the girls. They did a fantastic job!

I got the wonderful opportunity to serve as an Ambassador for the Andersonville National Cemetery.

One of the most moving moments during the Wreaths Across America.

I had my coworkers come out to my house for a little Christmas party!

We celebrated Christmas in Plains with President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalyn.

 

We threw our very first Christmas party in our new home.

 

Got to enjoy a fantastic Christmas party with my work.

AND – I got to emcee it!!!

Our tree went up. I did it by myself because Tim was super-duper sick!

And finally, I have been Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

And we are only on day 31 of the new year.

So much good is in store and I can’t wait to experience it all!

Here’s to 2019! I hope you embrace each day as a gift!