Christmas in MO

This year was our turn to head back to Missouri for Christmas with the Cook family. But first, here are the decorations at our house (put up on Thanksgiving weekend):

We were able to set up a video chat with my parents and Grandma to exchange gifts before we left town, so that was fun, too. All those presents!

We drove down to Springfield on the 21st and stayed through the 28th. Happily, all of Mark's siblings have arranged their holiday schedules so that they're also in Springfield the years we are, so we got to see everyone--12 of us all together, plus 2 dogs (oh, and a family friend who was there for just one night at the beginning of our stay). The best part of these visits for me is spending time together, whatever we're doing, but here are some of the highlights.*

On Sunday, we all went to Silver Dollar City, a theme park about an hour south of Mom & Dad's place. There are rides and special Christmas entertainment, but what they're known for (and what impressed me most) are the lights: 6.5 million of them! It was neat to see the park at this time of year, but it sure was busy. Mark and I only rode one ride (a roller coaster we went to as soon as we got there), but we did see both shows (A Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life).

waiting to see A Christmas Carol

waiting in line for the Powder Keg roller coaster

On Christmas Eve, we decorated sugar cookies as a family, and Dad grilled burgers, brats, and hot dogs for dinner. After, we sang Christmas carols and got Grandpa on the video chat to read us the Christmas story from Luke 2. Then we opened gifts from the siblings.

On Christmas morning, we had the usual frenzy of gift opening followed by stockings and breakfast. Later, Aunt Sue and Gran joined us for Christmas lunch.

On Thursday, only half of us were still in town, and Mom took me and Jill to the Wonders of Wildlife display and aquarium at the Bass Pro Shop. After, we met the guys for lunch at Lambert's Cafe. It's a local restaurant famous for southern cooking and throwing fresh hot rolls to the customers (instead of bringing a bread basket to the table).

We got to pet these rays! It was so cool!

My fried chicken was delicious!

Throughout the week, we played games, sat and talked, went to the movies, and enjoyed relaxing together.

Mom with Glowworm (and the glowworm ornament she gave him).

Making some kettle corn.

Jeremy, Cody, and Mark.

Cody and Molly.

The impressive cookie selection!

Playing the Nintendo Switch in the basement.

Cody watching TV with Mom.

We gave Damon and Jill a ride to the airport on our way out of town, and made it home to BG around 8:30--tired, but having made good time on an uneventful drive. On the downside, we both came down with a cold, but we're able to lay low for a couple days and recover. I'll probably go in to the office for a couple half days this week, but otherwise, I can ease back into things, (classes don't start for us till the 28th). Things will get a bit busier as we prepare to leave town again in a couple weeks for our Disney trip (I can hardly believe that's really happening!!!).

It's been a lovely Christmas season, and, as always, I'm overwhelmed by the generosity of both families. I'm also so thankful to be part of two families full of such wonderful people that I truly enjoy being around.

*Special thanks to Damon for sharing photos (including Heidi's)!

Thanksgiving, etc.

Speaking of the semester flying by, here we are nearly at the end of 2018! It seems I ought to get caught up before the year is over.

So--Thanksgiving! Mark and I enjoyed another lovely visit with his family in Michigan. If I'm counting right, this was our 8th Thanksgiving there, and I always look forward to it. This year we were joined by the cousins and their kids, so for our big meal on Thanksgiving, we had 24 total, including 13 kids under 10! Aunt Debbe Jo and Uncle Mike rented their church kitchen and a meeting room, so we took all the food over there and had a good space to eat plus plenty of room for the kids to run around and play inside. It was fun to see how excited the cousins were to see each other and hang out.

Mark and I enjoyed some extra time catching up with Mike and Sarah and their kids, who were also staying with Aunt Debbe Jo and Uncle Mike (since they live a few hours north near her family). It had been 4 years since we'd seen them for Thanksgiving because they had a newborn two years ago and didn't make the trip down.

Even with all the grandkids around, Aunt Debbe Jo and I managed to find time to make our Christmas wreaths (on Friday morning, while Mike, Sarah, and family went out for a photo shoot with Erin).

It's a quick visit, but I always come home feeling so blessed by the hospitality and good company, and refreshed before taking on the rest of the semester.

After Thanksgiving, we had two more weeks of classes, plus finals week, then the loose ends of grading and admin projects. In the end, I had some trouble winding down; it had been such a demanding semester, with so many unexpected challenges and changes. On the other hand, I absolutely loved both of my classes--ESOL 5050 (for international teaching assistants) and ESOL 1000 (an undergrad writing class). The students were fantastic, and I enjoyed reworking the 1000 curriculum (though it was also very time consuming!). I was able to make some progress on a few big admin projects during finals week and the week after, and I was also very thankful to be heading out of town so I felt like I could really step away from work and take a serious break.

I'm glad to have the longer time between semesters (due to the new 3-week winter session in January), so there is time to get organized for placement testing and finish planning for my spring class in the coming weeks. Spring should be good--I'll have a reduced workload (in exchange for the extra class I took on in the fall), so I'm imagining all sorts of ways to spend my time when I'm not working evenings and weekends again (hooray!). Up next: a Christmas post.

Fall Update

Time flies...my last post was a summer done list; this week we had our first snow (about an inch!). Although it's only mid-November, it feels like January out there--burr! I thought I'd better get an update posted before the whole semester goes by.

Fall has been a bit of a whirlwind, with Mark teaching marching band again and working lots of evenings and weekends, and with me teaching an extra class (though I should say, I have fantastic students, and the two classes have definitely been highlights of my fall). It's been a demanding few weeks with my admin work, with more challenges ahead. We've got a new semester calendar that's a week shorter, so in our classes, we all are feeling an extra time crunch. We lost our fall break, so Veteran's Day is the first day off since Labor Day; here's hoping we all get the energy we need to finish out the semester.

Anyway, here is some news, more or less in chronological order:

promoting ESOL at the International Programs & Partnerships
Resource Fair during International Student Orientation

my former student and CCCC group leader joined me

Mark and I walked down to the Black Swamp Arts Festival, one of BG's biggest events. It was a very rainy weekend, but we planned ahead, so we only got a few sprinkles while we were out.

artist booths on Main Street

my giant plate of fried veggies

the main stage while we ate

I went with some friends to the annual International Festival at the mosque in Perrysburg, which I really enjoy. The food is so delicious, and I always learn something new on the tour. For several of the people I was with, it was their first time to the festival, so it was fun to see them experience everything.

cheese pie, Egyptian macaroni with beef,
fresh made bread with veggies

friends playing cricket

a mosaic of the mosque

tour guide explaining the Islamic school

tour guide in the prayer area

The General Studies Writing Program celebrated National Day on Writing with a table at the Student Union. I happened to stop by just before Frieda!

Frieda at the National Day on Writing

My friend Lucinda is back from her 2 years teaching in China, and when she had me over the other day, we tried this tea...which was in a brick form...which neither of us knew what to do with. It was really solidly packed! After googling it, we learned you're supposed to use a tool called a tea needle to chip/flake off layers horizontally. Lucinda managed with a paring knife, but it wasn't easy! Most effortful cup of tea I've ever had, also very strong. 

Chinese tea brick

October was a bit of a tough month; I had one nasty cold followed by another, so I was under the weather for just over three weeks. Meanwhile, we had a major car issue with the Rav4 (the engine!), and after much deliberation, we decided to replace it instead of repairing. It was very stressful, but in the end, we did find a lovely 2015 Honda Accord, and so far we love it. We definitely weren't ready to part with the Rav4, and I'm still a bit sad about that. But I'm so thankful we found something we were confident about, especially since we did all the research, test driving, paperwork, etc. in a week, (while driving a rental), and also during a really demanding time of year for both of us at work.

Our Honda Accord

A little bit of local news: there's a new tea house in town. I haven't tried it, but I did take a peek the other day during the Winter Farmer's Market. Looks cute, right? Perhaps next time someone visits, we can go!

One of the rooms at Tea Thyme

Finally, I always enjoy the fall colors around here, which came a bit late after a very warm September/early October. I'm glad I caught a few photos before the unseasonably cold weather moved in...many of the leaves have fallen already, and, as I mentioned, we've already had a little snow.

on the corner across from our apartment complex

the big tree outside my 3rd floor office window
(picture taken from outside on the sidewalk)

After finishing marching season with 1s at the state competition (that's the highest score), Mark's next adventure is heading to PASIC next week in Indianapolis. After that, we're looking forward to Thanksgiving with family in Michigan again. And after that, I've got just two more weeks of classes, plus finals.