Yes, it's a Spurs post....

Evidently, my daughters are not fans of my posts concerning my Spurs, but this one is a must!!

For years, the Spurs have been looked down on by those lowly LA Lakers, but last night, they were finally given the respect they deserved! The guys came out gunning, and even thought Timmy and my man, Manu, did little point-wise, the Spurs put them in their place. This was our first big test of the season, some said, and was a measuring stick of how the team really was doing. Well, it was a pleasure to watch them shoot at will and deny the purple and black. I guess our new guys just saw it as another team, and were not intimidated by Koby; did you SEE George put his finger in Koby's face!?!?

So, I'm a happy Spurs fan today; hoping for many more games like that one to come!! :)

The Day After Christmas

This weekend, we celebrated Christmas in Houston with Andy's family and our own. Everyone was present, with the exception of our niece, and so it was quite a crowd three little ones - a new generation - added plenty of joy to the season, as did having Mom and Dad still amongst us.
Christmas Eve found us enjoying a quiet day, capped off by a beautiful church service where Dana worships. Even little Bladen sang; his words known only to him, but his little voice joining in with fervor. They were captivated by the images on the large screen above them, and the candles lit during Silent Night mystified their little minds.

Santa came bright and early. We enjoyed delicious Gingerbread cake and Sausage Balls while we opened gifts. Too quickly, it was over. Later, we joined the rest of the LaMores for a wonderful dinner, games, and a giftcard exchange.
After worship the next morning, we enjoyed breakfast together, and then we headed home. Christmas was over, again.

So, we're home now, watching gift movies and finding places for Christmas treasures. The Seasonal music cds are stored away for another year, and soon the tree and stockings will be put away. Tomorrow, Andy returns to work. Life goes on.

I hope you all had a great holiday; I have had one to remember for a long time. Loved ones happy, well, and safe. The best gift of all.

Now, to the New Year!!

Joy Renewed

I have always enjoyed Christmas, as have most people. The sneaking around, the lists, the choosing of wrapping paper, and the overall optimistic attitude of the folks around me.

All the years I taught, I loved the excitement of the children in the school. They were sometimes harder to keep a handle on, but children anticipating Christmas is contagious, and I often felt like one of them. This has been a different year; being retired I was not on a school campus to "catch" their fever.

However, I do have two little elves who are making this holiday season even more precious than ever. The presence of Liz and Bladen around the tree and opening their stockings and gifts will add a new level of joy to my life in a couple of days. I always look forward to seeing Dana, Erin, and Gregg open theirs, and this year is no different - I always sneak in a gift they weren't anticipating to liven things up!

So, to you and yours, Merry Christmas, and a Happy Holidays to all. I'll be thinking of you!!

Thoughts in the night

This weekend, we learned of the passing of one of our church family. He'd been battling cancer for a while, but kept on going - good days and bad, he fought on. We'd seen him at church on Wednesday night, and he was laughing and talking to folks as usual. Some men saw him at the jail working with the ministry there on Friday night. No clue of what was coming...

On Saturday, he began feeling bad, and it worsened until his family decided to take him to San Antonio to the hospital. He died in the car on the way.

Alive - working, worshipping, loving the family, fighting the cancer.
Dead - so sudden, so "unexpected", so final.

Although we knew it would happen eventually, we were taken aback by it's arrival; people around me were shell-shocked and saddened. Someone actually said, "He wasn't supposed to die; he was going to beat it."

So, on Thursday, we will gather in the auditorium where we always saw him to honor his life and support his family.

Alive. Dead. Too soon....

One quiet, blissful hour

Saturday was Bladen's first birthday party. We arrived at the Johnson home about 9:30 to find the place jumping - Gregg's family had arrived , and cleaning and preparing was going on all over the place.

About an hour later, Gregg went to put "B" down for his morning nap, but he wouldn't settle down. With Erin gone and Gregg in the shower, this Nana decided to take matters into her own hand. What followed was the most magnificent hour I've had in a long, long time.

When I entered his room, Bladen was glad to see me. I lifted him out of his crib, and headed to the rocking chair. It's been a while since I rocked a baby to sleep, and I took advantage of the timing. We settled in, and in just a short while, this little birthday boy was sound asleep in my arms. The room was dark, and cool, and he felt like warm butter in my arms. He rested soundly as I sang to him, and we spent the whole time doing just that. I considered briefly trying to lay him in his crib, but decided to just stay there and smell his sweet hair and listen to his sweet baby sounds.

Eventually, both Gregg and Erin came in to check on us, and after a while, he stirred. While he was awake, he was not eager to get down, and waited patiently with me until his mom came in to dress him for the party. Our private time was over, and we rejoined the crowd to celebrate his first year of life.

When the girls were babies, I found this poem which I recalled that day. I don't know it all right now, but I do remember this part: "Hide away cobwebs, dust go to sleep; I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep."