February

The beginning of the month started with a house full of friends and food for a Super Bowl party

Bridgette's shoes were so rank, we didn't even bother to bring them to our own trash bin after shopping for a new pair!

A weekend full of basketball games . . . Rooke shooting a free throw for his team after a technical foul. 

Basketball buddies on Team Sharks

Uncle Steve passed on tickets to us, so Bridgette and I got to see the UMD ladies play!

Uncle Steve and Aunt Vallerie took the kids to explore a modern art museum in Baltimore - I have no idea what's happening in this photo, but they all had a great time!

I love the surprise photos I find on my phone

Ryan and I had a lovely breakfast date in between Valentine's Day and my birthday.  It was also a good time for us to be together and talk through some medical things I was going through.  The bandage and yellow bruising from the procedure seen in the photo below matched nicely with the restaurant decor!  A routine dermatologist appointment in late January resulted in a biopsy on a mole I've had for years, which confirmed a couple weeks later that I had stage one melanoma cancer.  I was turned over to a surgeon, who did another invasive biopsy, and we spent a week waiting to find out if the cancer was contained in my cheek.

Meanwhile, fun family and friends helped make my birthday a very special day!  My dear neighbor, Chesed, spontaneously took me, and all our girls, shopping for a new birthday top!

Jessie sent a gift card for a favorite dinner meal, and we had a lovely evening together as a family

A thoughtful birthday gift from a friend, reminding me of truth while we waited for the results of the second biopsy

The results finally came back and confirmed that the cancer hadn't spread!  So the third step was to have a Mohs procedure done, in which the surgeon hoped to remove all the skin containing cancer cells.  A week later, the doctors confirmed that all the cancer had been removed - hallelujah!  More follow-up procedures coming in March . . . And the size of the bandages keeps growing!  

These little guys love playing basketball with Rooke

Another school day . . . 

Brigette made sure we had some special activities for our 100th day of school this year

Truly a dream come true: my kids playing a piano duet!

Following doctor's orders to keep my bandages dry: Ryan lovingly played salon and thoroughly washed my hair =)

Rooke's basketball team played in two leagues this year.  One of the leagues held all the games at a school down the road from a Cracker Barrel.  After his last game in that league, I surprised Rooke with a breakfast-for-dinner date.

Ryan was asked to fill the pulpit at a church in a neighboring town.  We were grateful to hear him preach, and glad to join the kind people at Landover Hills Baptist Church for one Sunday.

Kicking off 2020

Though we didn't stay up to ring in the New Year, we did enjoy a fun evening with friends and fondue as we praise God for 2019 and looked forward to 2020

We have a family quote book that only comes out, to be read, on New Year's Day.  There are a handful of quotes that make all five of us laugh heartily every year!

Happy Anniversary to us - 17 years!

Happy Anniversary red wine chocolate cake for us

Somehow the three of us have fallen into a tradition of celebrating birthdays together, and I LOVE it!

Having a sixth grade boy is so much fun!  Rooke was happy to try on the snow gear as we prepared for a day of snow tubing.

Our first time snow tubing - such a blast!!  Thank you, Nana, for that special Christmas gift!

Happy Birthday to Rooke!!  TWELVE?!

Scrambled eggs deluxe, fruit salad, orange juice, and cronuts (a croissant/doughnut) for this guy's birthday breakfast

My birthday gift to him was documenting his growth with lots of selfies!

It took us a while to figure out how to make our 12-year-old son's birthday dreams come true, but in the end Ryan knew best: pizza, video games, and lots of friends.  Too bad these party photos aren't scratch-n-sniff.  The odor of having 12 middle school boys around (many of them having just finished playing a basketball game) was very, uh, special.  We planned to have pizza, drinks, and cookies for everyone, but Rooke thought we also needed some "party snacks".  So I gave him $20 and let him pick out the extra food.  In case you're wondering how much junk food you can buy with $20, Rooke brought home: cans of Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew, a bottle of Fanta, cheese puffs, Doritos, and two kinds of ice cream.  PARTYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!    

He's twelve!

Bridgette loves playing basketball, and really doesn't love losing.  Here she is scoring points for her team with some free throws!

The kids and Ryan headed downtown on the Metro on a very cold day

I met up with them at the Portrait Gallery.  The kids and I love checking out the Presidential portrait gallery.

Oklahoma bison unite

Though our regular community group fellowship has changed over the years, we still love getting together with the families we were first connected with when we moved to Cheverly.  The kids have grown - and there are more of them!   

Bridgette likes to read.  In one of her books, she found instructions on crafting a harmonica and made one for herself.  Clever girl!

Learning about Ancient Greece: the girls worked on paper mache grecian urns

They turned out great!

We love it when Kaye K and Big Daddy include us in their travel plans!!  Ticket to Ride was the game of choice on this particular visit.

A fun field trip to the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum.  Followed by turkish food for lunch that left us wanting to return to the best doner spot near Mom and Dad's house in London.