Angels Among Us

Angel on top of a Christmas tree at Mi Tierra in San Antonio

Here I am, a week into jetlag and I finally, just last night, got my first full night's sleep. Oh well, I put some of those sleepless night to good use and started a blog entry. So, I'll finish it now. Besides, I KNOW you guys are all anxious to know how the second half of our Christmas homeleave went....

Sam and I spent one day at the Houston Museum of Natural Science with some dear friends. (Judie and crew) Here I am, pictured with two of my favorite little girls in the whole world, Adrielle and Deborah. We're standing in front of some prehistoric creature. A mastadon, I guess. (Did I spell that right, girls?) The boys were busy hiding from the camera.

There were more fun outings with friends and family. (Sherry C., I need your picture of us at La Mad's. My eyes were closed in mine!) I remembered my camera only some of the time. Darn it all!

Christmas Eve was wonderful. We went to the 6:00 service at First Pres Sugar Land and, of course, I cried when we sang 'Oh, Holy Night!" with the candles. Afterwards we rushed home for the traditional meal of tamales and deli sandwiches. What was for desert? Jesus Birthday Cake, of course! Instead of watching 'A Christmas Story', the movie we watch EVERY year, we watched the football game du jour. That's okay...I'll get used to it.

Christmas Day was wonderful, too. I like not having to get up too early now that the boys are all grown up....or are they? After our again traditional breakfast of SOS, gifts were opened and enjoyed. I got a new lens for my camera, so watch out! I gave Keith a goat....you will HAVE to ask him about that! We had yet another traditional food for Christmas dinner....beer can chicken. OK, so it was a tradition this year. (What's the deal with all these traditions anyway???) The best part of the day was being together with my guys and Mom, Don and my sweet friend Pines. Why the heck I don't have a picture of that, I will never know.

It was the day after Christmas and off we went on our, yes, traditional trip to San Antonio for Christmas with the rest of the family. Friday we met my sister Deb, my brother Mark and all of their precious ones for lunch at Mi Tierra, a fairly famous Mexican restaurant downtown. Yum and yum....not to mention the festive atmosphere. A little shopping in the market next door and our day was complete.

The next day we made the short trek to New Braunfels for the gathering of the Shrull clan. It was so good to be with everyone at Keith's sister's house. A blessing, for sure.

Our last week in Sugar Land was spent shopping, packing, playing and welcoming in, quietly, I might add, 2009. There was lots of football watching going on. Afterall, that was the reason we didn't leave until Jan. 2....and I quote, "There are too many good football games on to leave on the 1st!" Hang the jetlag at school and work. I didn't argue. Keith and Sam were the ones that had to get up and go the morning after we arrived! It was hard to leave but, rest assured, I left something behind to keep an eye on the house...and the big boys. She was worth that $19.86 I spent at the Mexican Market in San Antonio!

P.S. Did I mention that my sister Deb and sister-in-law Sandy have angels exactly like this one? We call them the Sister Angels.

Home Sweet Home

Baby Jesus (and His pony?) in the Manger at my SL church

Okay....all the chicks, and the rooster, are in the nest. And the hen is blogging! It doesn't get any better! Two weeks down, two to go on our holiday homeleave. It has been wonderful so far and I am giddy thinking about how much fun is yet to come. Corny, but true! I have managed to decorate the tree and do some shopping. Notice the wrappped gifts under the branches! Earliest ever, I think. I do still have lots of wrapping left to do...but it's a start. (I should really consider my friend Sherry's suggestion and wrap everything in pillowcases!) I am spending my time doing much more important things, like hanging with the guys and having coffee with friends. (usually hazlenut or gingerbread latte, or something of that sort) Oh yeah, and did I mention eating out? Have had most wonderful lunches and dinners with some of those nearest and dearest to my heart. Parties? Did I say parties? Youth group party, grown up parties....even parties where the grown up ladies all wore matching Christmas ball earrings! (mine were purple!) Now, that is grown up! Christmas would not be Christmas without celebrating our Christmas baby's birthday. Saturday was Sam's 15th (soon to be on the roads!) and we spent the afternoon at the Toyota Center watching a double header basketball extravaganza. Texas played Michigan State and the Aggies played LSU. I will not mention the scores here. Anyway, we got all of our teams covered in one sporting event! Then there was the birthday dinner at Goode Company Barbeque....only in a Texas BBQ restaurant could you get a shot like this! (By the way, I am sure by now you have noticed Will's "Holiday Mustache". Just a vacation thing, he reassures me! Whatever...it's only hair, whether it's on a lip or on the head!) I cried at church last week. It was so beautiful...the music, the place and, most of all, the people. Makes me remember, no matter where you are, freedom to worship is a precious gift. One that I will not soon take for granted again. And, when I get back here to SL for good, will you guys help me remember I said that?? I am looking forward to the weeks ahead....I WILL keep you posted!

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The Sultans of Volleyball!

Last Wednesday Sam took off for Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, with his JV volleyball team, the American School of Doha Dragons. They were on their way to the end of season EMAC (Eastern Mediterranean Activities Conference) tournament. My friend Kristie and I were on the flight as well. No way we were going to miss our boys playing volleyball or miss the chance to visit Muscat! Play began on Thursday and the boys BAM! won their first two games handily. Keith arrived at the tourney on Friday morning, just in time to see the third game wrapped up by, again, our "boys on fire". The next game on Friday was not in our favor, but the boys were undaunted....and seeded second, I might add.

Championship Game Day....Saturday. The boys put a tick in the win column with their first game, which also happened to land them in the finals. And what a final it was. Neck and neck to the very end. The first score did not go in our favor. The next two did, however...26-24 and 16-14. Our team was #1!!! All the excitment was not so good for my blood pressure, or my watch crystal, which I broke by clapping too hard! Nonetheless, we came out the victors and pretty much have not come off of Cloud Nine yet! (BTW~kudos to the best cheer squad ever...Kristie, Keith, Lynne, Omran, Jerrell, Brenda and Rick!)

As an aside, the city of Muscat is beautiful. We did manage to do a little sightseeing one afternoon (thanks to Omran). The volleyball teams (boys and girls JV) got to do some sightseeing of their own before leaving for Doha on Sunday.

What a blast we had! Memories to last a lifetime. And....GO DRAGONS!

Sultan's Palace...any room for a few DRAGONS in there???

Our Sweet Rocky

Many of you know our sweet Rocky dog. He has been a part of our family for 10 years.....straight from the Humane Society to Rosebay Court. We were so sad that we were not able to bring him along when we moved to Doha. Boxers are on the banned dog list here! We kept saying, "If they only knew him, they would love him!" My dear sister and family adopted Rocky...he moved to San Antonio for a few months. Then, when Will graduated and moved back into our Sugar Land house, Rocky moved back home. Of course, we have been with him every homeleave. Best situation possible, given the circumstances.

Recently, very recently, Rocky fell quite ill. He began losing weight and was having trouble breathing. Since Will was out of town this past weekend, Mom and Don took Rocky to the vet and the news was not good. Our sweet dog would not recover from his illness and he was suffering. A tearful decision was made over the phone to let Rocky go in peace. We will return to Sugar Land for the Christmas holidays to a house without our Rocky dog.

I am smiling as I write this. Rocky was such a good boy and so much fun. The unresolved dental issues, the front door and back gate greetings, chasing the flashlight, walks around the lake that always involved duck chasing, family Christmas photos, sitting and laying down for treats, not to mention catching them in the air...just a few of the good memories.

We will miss Rocky more than we can say. We are so grateful for the fun and love he brought into our lives. Thanks for listening...or guess I should I say reading.


Love,
Kim, Keith, Will, Jake and Sam