So December started with Alabama playing Georgia in the SEC Championship game on the 1st. We did not make the trip to Atlanta. We settled for watching this one on TV at home. It was a really good, hard-fought, close game, and Bama came away with the win. We play Notre Dame in the BCS Championship game in Miami on January 7 and hopefully we'll win our 15th National Championship. What a great way to start the month and what a great birthday present! I celebrated another birthday on the 2nd you see. No big party this year. Instead, the kids and I headed over to NRCA and sold some Christmas trees. It's the school's biggest fund raiser and the weekends were really the only time I could help out, so I got to spend the day with the kids. It was a beautiful day to be outside and we sold quite a few trees. The kids gave me beautiful birthday card when we got home complete with hugs and kisses. Doesn't get much better than that.
On the 3rd, Hunter and the NRCA Chargers basketball team played Pickens Academy at home. The JV and the Varsity boys won their games but the girls came up short. All 3 teams played well though. And all 3 teams played again on the 6th against Tuscaloosa Home Educators. The JV lost but Hunter played a heck of a game. He even blocked a shot! The girls also picked up their first win of the season. And the varsity boys won as well.
I took the day off of work on the 7th to do some much needed Christmas shopping before heading to Centerville to watch the NRCA basketball teams play again. Unfortunately the flu hit our school pretty hard and the games were cancelled due to so many of the players being sick. Since neither one of my kids had the flu (thank goodness), we headed to Pelham on the 8th to watch the Alabama hockey team, the Frozen Tide, play Georgia. There was a huge crowd for the game and The Frozen Tide won 7-2. The kids got autographs from the players after the game as always and we all had great time. Can't wait to go to another game in January.
We spent the 9th back at NRCA working on the Christmas Tree sale. The weather wasn't quite as nice this time and unfortunately we didn't sell any trees at all that day. But I still had fun spending the day with my 2 favorite people.
The NRCA students had their Christmas program on the 13th. "The Christmas County Spelling Bee" was a huge success. There was a big crowd there watching those kids sing songs and put on the play they had worked so hard on. Katelyn was in the choir and all of the Jr Cheerleaders had a little part they did during one of the scenes. Those kids always do a great job on the Christmas programs and this year was no different. It was fun seeing the smiles on their faces when everyone clapped. I love those kids.
On the 14th, tragedy struck our nation when 26 people, mostly children, were gunned down in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. It was just so shocking to hear that little children, first graders, had their lives cut so tragically short for no real reason. That news story laid heavy on my heart as it did many. I still cannot quite comprehend it. And I still feel for those parents who lost their babies that day. I cannot imagine their pain and I hope I never have to endure such a thing. I hope no one else has to either.
Byron celebrated a big birthday on the 16th. He turned 40. I asked him how he managed to get so much older than me. LOL. No big celebration for him either. Just the awesome card, kisses and hugs. We both think that's more than enough.
The 19th was my last day of work for the year! YAY!!! It was also Hunter's last day of semester exams. The freshmen went ice skating after their last exam on that day. I would have loved to have gone with them but I had to get my last day of work in. Since Hunter had basketball practice the afternoons of the 20th and the 21st, we went to Dipping Dots to celebrate the end of the semester after practice ended on the 21st. And if the world really was going to end that night, we wanted to have one last treat before it did. Hunter wound up spending the night with one of his friends that night too. As you can tell, we were terribly concerned about the end of the Mayan calendar.
On the 22nd, after I picked Hunter up from his friend's house, we loaded up and headed to Scottsboro to spend Christmas with my family. We had a family dinner that night and enjoyed talking with relatives we don't get to see very often. It was strange having dinner at a restaurant on the 22nd instead of going to Aunt Elizabeth's house on Christmas Eve. That was only the 2nd time in my life I did not spend Christmas Eve at the Holder Christmas Party. The first time was 1996 when my mom was in the hospital. I have gone every other year of my life. The kids missed going too. They have both spent every Christmas Eve of their lives at that party. All good things must come to an end though. I guess we'll have to start some new Christmas Eve traditions now. Rebecca and I took Katelyn, Breanna and Lexi to County Park to feed the ducks on Christmas Eve. That was funny! We laughed and threw bread at those ducks and geese for a while. I taught the kids how to do an amazingly good duck call with their hands so we also got to listen to that for a while too. HAHA! We wound up sitting around that night having a few cocktails and playing dice with some more family and friends until the kids finally went to sleep. There was a lot of singing and talking and laughing that night. And then.....Santa came!! We woke up on Christmas morning at the incredibly early time of 4:11 am (at least that's what time the kids said it was - I didn't verify) to find a ton of presents under the tree. All I know is those 4 kids must have been VERY good this year because they got pretty much everything they asked for. Hunter got a PS Vita complete with 2 games, 4 XBox games, a Big Al pillow pet, a new Alabama wallet, some new clothes and a few other small things. Katelyn got a Kindle Fire, a Barbie beach house, a Ken and Barbie doll, a new baby doll, a Big Al pillow pet, a stuffed Big Al, some jewelry, some new clothes and a few other small things. Pretty good haul wouldn't you say? After a nap for most of us, we spent the day playing with all of the new toys and just being lazy.
We headed home on the 26th. I had a fantastic dinner date with my favorite son on the 27th at our favorite Japanese restaurant, Hokkaido. And I had a fantastic shopping trip with my favorite daughter on the 28th at Midtown Village and University Mall. I try to spend a lot of time with both of my kids but it's not often I get to spend time with them one-on-one, so I thoroughly enjoy times like these.
I ended my year by watching the Moon Pie drop in Mobile, AL on TV with Hunter and Katelyn. Not exactly how I would have spent New Year's Eve in my younger days, but I wouldn't want it any other way.
I managed to keep this blog pretty well updated in 2012 and I hope to do the same in 2013. Normally I would recap the year in this post but since I did monthly updates, there's no need. You can just read the past entries if you're so inclined. I will reflect on 2012 just a bit though - bare with me here. This past year has been a bit of a roller coaster. It started out rough and there were bumpy patches along the way. I lost a lot this year, more than I care to talk about now, but I learned a lot too. I learned more about who I am and who I'm not. I learned to cherish every moment and to be kinder than necessary. And I learned to not take those you love for granted. I cried a lot in 2012 but I laughed a lot too. Here's hoping for more laughter than tears in 2013. Out with the old and in with the new. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
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