Christmas 2007
Now that we’ve been officially in Tennessee for over a year now, I guess we’re more or less official. This will be the first time in around 10 years, that we won’t be filing any Georgia state income taxes (a good thing). But it’s also sad because we’ve not been able to see folks back in Georgia as much as we would have liked. It’s been a busy year that seems to have flown by and I seem to vividly remember sitting here at the computer at what seems like only a couple of months ago (at the most) to write last year’s letter.
One of the “features” of living in a two-story house is having stairs. And one of the disadvantages of having hardwood floors is that when you fall down those stairs, you’re apt to break something. In Becky’s case, it was two bones in her left foot (one of which apparently will never completely heal). We got several things out of the experience: the wonderful world of our local emergency room, Becky got to remember once again why she hates crutches so much, then the joy of trying to relearn how to walk after finally shedding the boot/air-cast. Somehow, the benefits of a handicap tag for the car, just don’t make up for what’s she’s gone through with that whole ordeal.
Besides half a day at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital ER for Grayson’s stomach virus (one of those severe cases), we also had the fun of Grayson’s surgery to remove his adenoids and put in his second set of tubes in his ears (since he was having so many ear infections and was starting to have some noticeable hearing loss). Quote from Grayson just after surgery (as he was dealing with the nausea from the anesthesia), “I really, really hate this!”
Certainly, the hardest thing to deal with this year has been the loss of our grandmothers. Becky’s grandmother Robertson passed away this summer and my grandmother Wilcox just a few days ago. I can’t begin to express how much each of them have meant to us and the incredible amount of influence they each had in helping shape us. Our comfort is in the wonderful memories we have, and especially in the hope of Christ and how we’ll someday we’ll see them both again. So as we celebrate Christmas this year, it’s a good reminder that because Jesus was born, that not only do we have this wonderful holiday season and time with family, but it’s also the very reason we have hope.
We’ve had plenty of highlights this year. In the spring, Grayson played T-Ball and then in the fall he played coach pitch baseball. I was the head coach for both seasons and while I didn’t get a lot of thanks, I did enjoy it. It was really encouraging to see how much Grayson improved over the year from having never played to being a pretty tough little shortstop that a couple of the other teams’ coaches noticed. Right now, though, Grayson is loving basketball again this year and I get a break from the coaching stress.
We all enjoyed a week at Dauphin Island in June. The dolphins were especially friendly this year and we loved getting to see them up close, but they did manage to tear up a few of Dee’s shrimp nets along the way. Becky and Grayson stayed in Florida for two more weeks visiting my mom and dad in Gainesville along with the Baker and Turner families. Next they headed back to Dauphin Island for a week with some of our neighbor friends Shannon, Haiden and Ian Fox. This week was a highlight for Becky as she and Shannon and the boys had a blast riding the waves, feeding the seagulls, fishing, racing hermit crabs, playing in the pool and splurging on great seafood and shaved ice! And while they
had fun, I worked on projects back at home. In particular, the evil aggregate driveway I mentioned last year needed its annual sealant (what a racket!). We were all reunited in time for record-breaking temperatures in TN. In the month of August we had over 2 weeks of 100+ degrees days and were really beginning to wonder why no one had warned us about summers in Nashville. Our backyard finally succumbed to the heat and now looks somewhat like Arizona.
Grayson finished Kindergarten this past year and is midway through 1st grade. So far he’s doing pretty well, but definitely doesn’t like it as much as Kindergarten because as he puts it, “school is too long and there aren’t any toys in the room.” But he’s still as social as ever, so when he does get in trouble it’s because he’s goofing off with his friends. We’re very thankful though that he’s got a great teacher again this year and a new school nurse who’s doing a super job with his daily diabetes related stuff.
It’s been a very busy year at work for me. On the fun side, I’ve been able to work on some neat projects, attended a cool conference in Dallas (with my friend Brandon) , and deepened relationships with friends at work. I finally feel like I’m making a more significant contribution. But at the same time, the more I’ve done, the more challenges and frustrations I’ve faced. This year looks like it might be more of the same.
I was really happy this year, when my mom, then my dad, then both of them managed to come for visits this year… culminating in that last visit where they both got to see Grayson play his first baseball game under the lights. Becky’s parents came for Thanksgiving and we had a great time – it was especially cool since our nephew Nicholas was able to come too – a real highlight for Grayson as he temporarily gets a big brother who really treats him a whole lot better than any big brother probably would.
While we’ve had several great visits from folks throughout the year, it’s also been a lot about expanding our friendships here locally. We’ve joined a new small group that seems finally like what we’ve been searching for since we moved. It’s mostly folks we met early on, plus, two more couples that we’ve instantly felt close with. Our group rocks, and meeting together is definitely a highlight of our week. Really, our neighbors have been so great (except for maybe a certain dog or two) and without them, I don’t know how we could have made it through some of these harder times.
Speaking of families with whom we’re close, we’ll be hanging out with friends, Jeff, Dayna and their four kids at Disney World this week coming up. In what is probably a futile attempt to avoid the busy crowds, we’re pulling Grayson out of school for a week and heading down there to see my parents and then visit with Mickey for four days. We’ve got the Dramamine ready (after Grayson’s tummy troubles last year) and this time, a direct flight in and out of Jacksonville. We will be sure to give you an update on our “Magical Gathering” at Disney next year!
Merry Christmas!
Steven, Becky and Grayson