Merry Christmas!

It's the Christmas season and we've been doing all sorts of things.  Working, shopping, sharing life, and having fun! More and more we keep people updated on Facebook, so check us out there. 

Merry Christmas!

Big van totaled

Sue and the boys and Jason had set out to go see some family and friends in Texas and then come and pick me up in OKC, but near Tuscaloosa they had an accident that totaled the big van.  Stephen was driving and as they were getting near a construction zone he slammed into the back of a pick-up truck at high speed.  Susan has some pain from the seat belt and jarring stop, Kevin had to be taken in an ambulance to the hospital due to a gash in his forehead, but Stephen and Jason are fine. 

Thank you to everyone that prayed for us as we went through this event! Susan and Stephen are recovering, and I'm sure Kevin will heal fine.  Please continue to pray for them as we work through all the post-accident issues. 

Happy birthday, Kevin!

Our youngest turns 14 years old today! He is doing well in 8th grade, having fun in band, and growing like crazy.  He and his brother love to work out, and he enjoys singing in the youth band at church.  Go, Kevin! 

Good visit with Mom Emery

Sue had a good visit with her mother this weekend.  Mom's move to the full-care part of the retirement community was a good one, and she seems to be doing will in the environment.  I'm glad Cathleen was able to go down and be with Sue as she does this - it helps so much! 

Happy birthday, Dad!

 

My dad celebrates another birthday today- woohoo!  After all the chemotherapy, the radiation, and now some experimental stuff they're using to knock the rest of the lung cancer out he's doing great.  He and my mother went to church this morning and to help celebrate their friends gave them the flowers from the front of the church after the service.  I wish I could be down there to help celebrate but will enjoy celebrating from home.   Love ya, Pop! 

Boys back in school

Our "year round" school schedule is great except for now.  Sending the boys to school the first week of August is always so hard because it's still summer and we still have things we'd like to do, but it will be nice when we have those weeks off during the school year.  Stephen is a Junior and Kevin is in 8th grade, and both of them have a heavy load of classes.  Stephen opted to take 3 AP classes so had to drop out of band, which will be different this year.  Kevin isn't doing anything extra yet so we are encouraging him to join the drama club.  Should be an interesting year!

Great trip to visit Paula in Spain!

We had a wonderful time visiting Paula and her family in Spain!  They let us stay with them, which saved us lots of money and allowed to stay in Spain longer than we had originally planned. 

Carmelo and Ariceli were wonderful hosts, allowing us the full run of their village house.  We enjoyed the spanish meals they provided, which always seemed to include tomatoes, cheese, bread, seafood of some sort, and a delicious dessert.  The seafood was amazing, and we ate squid, octopus, shellfish, langostinos, shrimp, tuna, and other stuff.  Carmelo grills a delicious steak, and even cooked mine well-done even though he like other chefs thinks that takes all the flavor out :-)  Lunch was usually around 2pm, and dinner never started before 9pm and usually ran until around midnight. 

They borrowed Carmelo's brother's minivan to pick us up from the airport and carry us around, then took us from Madrid to visit Segovia, Burgos, Santona, and other places around the country. We had a great weekend with Ariceli's family in Santona, and really enjoyed seeing the fort there, the boat tour, the fantastic lunch at the Hotel Olimpo, and swimming at the beach there.  The sand was very different, not quite mud but a lot closer to mud than sand, and the water was cold and refreshing.  We really enjoyed talking with Ariceli's parents Sena and Jose and meeting Paula's 97 year old great grandmother while we were in Santona. 

Paula was a wonderful guide in Madrid, and then we rode a bullet train to Barcelona and stayed in the Gothic quarter.  We were able to visit a couple of cathedrals there, include La Sagrada Familia, a modern cathedral that's been under construction since the 1880s and will not be finished until 2026 or so.  (I especially enjoyed seeing La Sagrada Familia because of I have listened to the Alan Parsons Project's album "Gaudi" for years and always wondered what the big deal was!).  We visited Plaza Espanya and sat on the beach on the Mediterranean Sea there in Barcelona, too.  It was an amazing experience! 

We got to hang out in Guadalix de la sierra and see Paula work with her horse, something we heard about a lot while she was with us, so it was good to have that time with her.  We enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere of the village, and napped, walked, swam, and spent time with Paula there.  We especially enjoyed spending time with the abeulos - they make a delicious gazpacho (cold soup) and fantastic eggplant casserole!

On our last day in Spain Carmelo and Ariceli had a big family dinner with his brother and family, his parents, and others.  They made paella, a delicious dish of rich and seafood that beats anything like it we've had in the United States. 

Our holiday is over, and we are getting back into the routine of home, work, preparing for the new school year, church, and all the other things that we fill our lives with.  Paula was wonderful when she was with us, and was gracious when we invaded her regular life.    I am very grateful for all that Carmelo and Ariceli did for us and how God has blessed us with a wonderful family in Spain!

Happy birthday, Jacob!

Our oldest turns 23 today! He's doing very well, managing a Jimmy John's in Atlanta. He just moved into an apartment near Piedmont Park and is doing well.  Happy birthday, son!

Happy birthday, Stephen!

Our third child turned 16 today, which means exciting times ahead! He's doing well in school as he recovers from the soccer season. Good job, Stephen!

Dad's radiation treatments finished

 It's been a grueling 6 or 7 weeks but he made it through the targeted radiation treatments that have hopefully helped to finish off the lung cancer he's been dealing with.  He waits a few weeks and then will go in for another PET scan to see if anything "lights up" where the tumor was.  Please continue to pray for his strength to get better and better and for his good spirits to continue!

Happy birthday, Sue!

Today Sue celebrates another birthday!  It's a big one, but I'm not at liberty to say which one it is :-) 

Be sure and let her know how special she is if you get a chance! 

Happy New Year!

We had a great year, and 2015 looks like it will be even better!  Lots of things happening with us: Jacob is doing great managing a Jimmy John's in Atlanta, Megan has big plans for the fall, Stephen is doing well in 10th grade, and Kevin is doing great in 7th grade.  Sue's career is going great as she continues to interpret for the deaf and hard of hearing in several settings around metro Atlanta, and I continue my career with FAA as I near the time of retirement from one career and seek another one. 

We are truly blessed and thankful, and hope you are doing great, too!  Look for more on Facebook and other social media channels, and I will continue to post here as long as they let me.  We'd love to hear from you!