Another year gone by. And another Christmas to celebrate. We rejoice at this time as we reflect again on the birth of Jesus and on His saving work on our behalf. We send our wishes to you that you will have a blessed Christmas.
2024
A brief summary
Winter
Toward the beginning of January, we tried something new. Instead of going on a cruise, we recreated all the things we enjoy about going on a cruise. The main things we enjoy (and why we find a cruise so relaxing) are not having to clean or do laundry or do any daily chores including cooking and making the bed. So we cleaned and did laundry before we started our "stay cruise." We ordered precooked meals from a gourmet food supplier. And we stocked up on some dvd's of movies we wanted to see.
We even did a few "excursions." We went to Pampa for pizza, we drove out to Lake Meredith, and we drove out to Adobe Walls battle ground. Mostly we just totally relaxed. After five days, I was ready to get back into our regular routine. We were sooo rested. We would be doing it again in January 2025, except we are going on an actual cruise later in the year.
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| Looking out across the street |
In early March we had wildfires surrounding the town. We could see and smell the smoke during the day and see the glow of fires at night. Our town is very proactive to keep the town safe from fires. Although we were surrounded by fires, we were the town displaced people were told to evacuate to. And the fires came right up to the edge of town but did not burn anything here.
Spring
After Easter, Zachary and his family came through here twice on their way to Arizona to see family and then again own their way home. They spent several days in total visiting. While they were here, Carla came over for a day, and Nathan and his family came up from Plainview for a day. All of the grandkids were together for the first time. That made it extra special!
In May we went to Plainview to help Nathan, Kimmie, and Ben assemble a new play set for Ben. They had all of the pieces organized in such a way that it took only about four hours to put it together.
In June we got a new pickup truck. It is even a bit bigger than the truck we had. And, like the other truck, it is very comfortable and has plenty of engine to haul around the RV's. It made two trips to North Carolina and a trip over to New Mexico between June and the beginning of November.
Summer
In July we went to North Carolina to visit Zachary, Jenna, Alex, and David. While we were there, we went to Pigeon Forge to a bird place. There were lots of various types of birds to be seen. We were allowed to hold and feed some of the birds. That was fun!
On the way back from Pigeon Forge we drove through the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. That was a first for us. So beautiful!
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| Kimmie, Ben, Nathan, and Carla in Taos |
In September we took the big RV over to Angel Fire in New Mexico. Nathan, Kimmie, and Ben joined us for that trip. We drove over on a Monday and drove home the following Friday. While we were there we spent time in Red River, Taos, and Great Sand Dunes National Park. We had good weather but we were a little early for the best autumn color. Carla met us in Taos for lunch.
Ben had some firsts on that trip. He slept in a bed other than his own, he had a couple of restaurant meals, and he got to climb a big sand dune. This was also his first trip outside of Texas. He did great with all of these "new" experiences.
Autumn
At the end of October and on into early November, we were in North Carolina for a few days. With the storm damage from hurricane Helene, we were not sure this trip would happen. That section of I-40 that washed away is part of our route. However, by the time we headed east, there were a couple of alternate routes available.
The leaves were a bit past prime, but still amazing. While we were there, we went up to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to the Ripley Aquarium. That's a very fine aquarium. We enjoyed it very much. Getting there meant going through The Great Smokey Mountain National park because I-40 was closed. But that drive through the National Park is so gorgeous. The extra few minutes it takes is well worth the effort.
Alex is on a gymnastics team. While we were there, her team had a "mock meet" to get the girls ready for their first meet in January. We went to the "mock meet" and enjoyed it thoroughly.
Halloween also happened while we were there. Waynesville puts on a great downtown event. We went to that. the kids dressed up and got lots of candy. One of the churches even handed out plastic cups full of candy to us adults.
Nathan and Kimmie and Ben came in November for an early Thanksgiving celebration. On Thanksgiving Steven and I ate leftovers we had frozen from when Nathan and his family were here.
We are looking forward to Christmas. We will see Nathan, Kimmie, and Ben sometime between Christmas and New Years Day. We took all of the gifts for the North Carolina crew when we made our trip there in the fall.
I am composing this blog on Thanksgiving Day, and it strikes me that we have had a good year. We never take that for granted anymore. But we are thankful when that is how things go.
