It was a CRAZY winter in Florida!!!

 The weather was this winter was great!  We had some lovely experiences!  We enjoyed several visits from friends and family! But it was not a typical winter in Florida for us, at all!

 We arrived in Florida 2 days after John got out of the hospital!  It had not been a heart attack and we thought he just needed to rest up and renewed energy would follow! That didn't happen!  Visits with doctors while we were home for Christmas revealed that fluid had accumulated in his right lung which would need to be drained. Once again back in Florida, after that procedure, , we thought he would start feeling better pretty quickly!Again that didn't happen! Over the next 2 months tests were run, x-rays were taken again and again, medications were adjusted and adjusted!! It felt like a long time before we saw improvement and life started to feel more normal!  But very grateful as we prepare to return to Greenville that John is finally feeling much more like himself!!!!

  Our first task upon arrival was to purchase a refrigerator to replace the old "dead" one and with that went the decision to replace all of the kitchen appliances.  What a job!! We also bought a new king mattress for our room and replaced the 20+ year old HVAC system!  Ouch what an expensive winter!

Winter Park Christmas in the Park Concert with Tom was absolutely magical, possibly the best we have ever seen and we have seen many!!

Birthday dinner with John at The Tavern in Celebration. Even though it might have seemed like just another evening out, I loved spending time with him, enjoying a wonderful meal outside on the patio on a perfect weather evening in Florida and all seemed right with the world!

FSC Christmas Concert as a surprise for John for Christmas!!!!  I actually surprised him and he actually loved this Christmas gift.....both are actually very challenging!! 

  FSC faculty recital with Stacey McColley and John McColley!! It was so much fun seeing the McColleys again after so many years and the recital was fabulous!! Who knew that clarinet and harp were so magical together!

Worship at First Pres. Winter Haven for John Reiter's last Sunday!!!  So many years have passed and so much has changed!!! It was great to see the Reiters again!

Linda and Ken Beckham came for a quick visit, just overnight, but I just loved spending time with them!  Almost like visiting family!

Ruth and Gary Swetnam @ Florida Southern to see Somethings Rotten!!!! We really had no idea what to expect but the play was fabulous and I loved sharing it with two lovely friends!!  I highly recommend it!

Krista was in Florida for a work/vacation trip and swung by to spend some time with us!  She had never seen our Florida house before and it was fun introducing her to not only Solivita but retirement life!  Plus it is always special to spend one on one time with your adult children!

Riva invited us to enjoy time at her Cape Canaveral condo and see a launch so we took her up on that generous invitation!!  Although there were several canceled launches, we were able to see one launch which was really interesting!!  Definitely worth the trip!  And we enjoyed some fabulous food while we were there!!! Thanks, Riva!

Jenna, Jack, Sam and Merrick came to Florida for Spring break and stopped by for a quick visit with us!! What a treat!!  We made the most of our time including an airboat ride and time at the pool in our neighborhood in Solivita.  I do love these people and it was fun to spend time with them before we head home!!

 

 So much of our time in Florida this winter was punctuated by Carol's continued falls,  Denis' slow recovery and Darryl's decline!  We have known each of these friends since our first winter here in 2012. We all know that life is going to catch up with us at some point and that illness and injury can be part of that journey but it is so painful to watch that happen no matter what the time or circumstance.  And so we watch, do what we can to help and pray!!

 I don't have a lot to show for my time here this year but pottery and house portraits have been a fun distraction!!  Our little Florida house was my first house portrait subject and I am pretty pleased with the finished product!

 

Christmas in Greenville 2022

                                                                  My FAVORITE people!!!!!

 

 

A new twist on a family reunion!!

 One probably doesn't think of costumes when you think about a family reunion........but this year our gathering took place on Halloween weekend so we decided to go with that theme.  Everyone was asked to dress like another family member!!  And everyone did!  It was lots of fun to see and experience the interpretations of each other!  Enough said.....enjoy the photos!!

Time with the girls!!!

 What a treat it was to go with Elissa, Celia and Lily (Krista was there for just a bit) on a get away weekend to New Bern, NC!! It is a cute little town, lots of interesting shops and wonderful seafood!

Of course it is always fun to spend time with my girls!!

Then we did get another quick get away camping trip with Celia and Lily!!!We camped in the Durham area so that we could make the most of our time with them.  First stop was the Duke Lemur Center at Duke University!   Very interesting little critters!  Then on to try to escape from a Bull City Escape Room and John and I failed miserably!  Celia and Lily knew it "was NOT their fault" but I for one had fun trying to solve a puzzle with these two smarties!!

                         I brought watercolor supplies with me and they tried their skills at a painting!!

I think the highlight of the trip was a day at Wet and Wild in Greensboro!  Not many pictures to prove it but we had the most wonderful time, perfect weather especially for August, no crowds, almost no lines for the rides so they could repeat their favorites over and over again!  Sometimes you just get lucky!!!

 

 And we definitely got "lucky" when God blessed us with these two very special young ladies!!!!  Very grateful to have a get away with you this year!!!

Time with the boys

 In July we got to take Jack and Sam camping at Jellystone Park Campground and Resort at Golden Valley in the North Carolina mountains.  As one might imagine the wibit was a huge hit, the favorite thing to do while we were there!!  Hours and hours on the lake!!

                                                    Sam really does like just hanging around!!

                                                Campfires and smores and smores and smores!!

                                And whenever there is free time we pull out the lacrosse sticks!

                                    I think this will be my favorite Jack and Sam picture of all time!!

                                 Packing up, our time is done here and we prepare to return to technology!!!!!!!!

                                                            Love, love, love these boys!!!!

April birthdays

 

I love being able to check in with Krista and Elissa in April when we return from Florida and celebrate a few birthdays but this year was especially fun!  

 Krista requested stained glass and I had so much fun making it!  Abstract is so much more fun than I realized and I just love the colors that she chose!!  So beautiful in her front window!

Elissa turned 45 and although I had created books for her sisters at 40 this just seemed like the right time to surprise her with her book.  I loved putting together this keepsake book with 100+ photos and letters written by all of the important people in her life.  She was clearly surprised and I hope it holds memories of all that is good in life now and for years to come!!

Love you two!!!