Anna Grows

Christmas Morning  The holiday season is winding down and it is time to say goodbye to 2022.  We spent a quiet Christmas at home, which is becoming our regular tradition since the pandemic.  Anna sang in the choir for Christmas Eve mass.  We had our traditional Christmas Eve seafood dinner (for those of you who are wondering, we had cod wrapped in prosciutto with a lemon butter sauce - delicious along with shrimp cocktail).  There was no snow, but the weather was frigid - one of the coldest Christmas Eves on record.  Here were some of the holiday happenings from Virginia: Anna is enjoying two weeks off for holiday break and has spent lots of time hanging out with friends, reading, crocheting, and watching movies. We enjoyed Christmas morning with lots of gifts.  As always, we are reminded that Grandma and Grandpa are the real Santa Claus.  Anna got lots of makeup items and her traditional lego set, which she immediately put together.  Everyone got new books to read, which is truly a fa

Grandma & Mary Lou The Madison High School holiday choir concert was held on December 17.  There was some question about whether the concert would be held thanks to a potential ice storm and subsequent school day.  Fortunately, it was a false alarm that school (and the concert) went on as planned.  Mrs. Latimer joined us for the evening show.  Anna is part of the Madison Select Singers, an all- female choir.  Here are some of the selections from their group (with apologies for the amateur video): I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus Jingle Bells There are a total of 4 choirs and all combined for the grand finale of  Auld Lang Syne  via (electric) candlelight.  It was a great concert! The other major event of the week was Theresa's quick trip to Ohio for her Dad's surgery.  He had an overnight hospital stay and is fortunately doing well.  While he was recovering, Theresa also had the opportunity to kick off the holiday baking Grandpa Assisting with Pinwheels season with her mom. 

 The 2022 holiday season is here, with all of its festivities....and germs.  Our goal for the holidays is to make it through without anyone getting sick with them many viruses going around (COVID, the flu, RSV, pneumonia).  This is an ambitious goal, especially given that Theresa just came off a week of holiday parties at work and is about to travel and Anna's friends are getting sick.  We are bringing back the masks!  The hospitals are nearing capacity in the greater DC area, especially for young children.   We made some changes to the holiday traditions this year to mix things up (or just save some work because let's face it, the year has been tough).  You won't be seeing holiday cards this year (we see most of you on social media anyway).  We changed up our tree and went with a red, white, and silver theme with WAY less ornaments (this may be the fastest decorating ever).  Theresa has pledged to scale back the baking, but with two weeks left, we will see how that goes.