Looking Back

Let's look back at the year in pictures.  I got this idea from Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story.  Susanne is a very encouraging woman to me.  She is a "blogging buddy" and I would love to meet her in person some day!  She did a nice meme today with photos from her blog over the past year.  I am going to do the same thing and if you'd like to join in, just leave me a comment and I'll come visit your page as well!

January 2011
First Significant Snowfall of the School Year
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JANUARY:  our first significant snowfall of the school year occurred in the middle of January last winter.  Here is a photo I took that morning.....all of us had "snow days" including my husband because his workplace had no power!  Snowdays are fun when all the housework is caught up and reading and baking can be accomplished.  I think maybe this is how my part of New York State is gonna be again THIS winter. As of today we still have NO SNOW on the ground.  At all.  It's rather freaky.  And most unusual.  But...I'm not complaining...... The month also brought us the news that our oldest would be graduating from high school with honors, and our youngest daughter started dancing "en pointe"....a dream for her come true!

the A.J.Gordon Memorial Chapel
at Gordon College, Boston MA
Feb 2011

FEBRUARY:  the most exciting thing for us in mid-winter was the Accepted Students Day at the college where our oldest daughter is now a freshman Graphics Design major.  She was accepted early in her senior year (autumn 2010) and offered a $12,000. academic scholarship.  We had so much fun exploring the campus, seeing where she would be living, meeting professors and staff, and hearing the president (who retired in July) speak to all of us during a wonderful breakfast.  The day was marvelous....it truly is a phenomenal Christian liberal arts college.

signs of spring
March 16, 2011
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MARCH:  this month showed us an early spring and we started making plans for Courtney's high school graduation party.  I ordered many party items online to save money and Dave started working in the backyard fixing things, removing a piece of the old swing set, generally sprucing things up for a backyard party!  The girls and I also spent a day with my sister Joy.  We visited an art gallery, had lunch at a fave spot in Saratoga Spring, walked all over the Glens Falls area, and followed it up with ice cream and coffee back at her house near Lake George.  March brought lots of family time and preparations!

c. faithe MTPics
april 2011

APRIL:  this month brought a new discipline to my life.  I had finished reading One Thousand Gifts by the author of the A Holy Experience blog and decided to begin posts under the label "Treasures from God" to write my own thankfulness items.  This has been one of my favorite things to do in the evenings......reflecting back and finding the "Eucharisteo" in each day, each moment.  April also brought oral surgery to my oldest daughter (wisdom teeth removal...soooo glad that ordeal is over!), and it brought us clapping for our youngest daughter who had a role in the 6th grade musical "101 Dalmations".  She had to make a tough decision of stepping down from the church's drama ministry for children (she had been in 8 different musicals and danced ballet solos in 4 of them!) to be in the school musical.  We were very proud of her for praying about her decision and for her hard work being in the school show.

Courtney, Shauna, Caroline
Senior Prom
Albany, NY at "the Egg"
photo taken by Colleen S c. 5/11

MAY:  this month brought a bittersweet moment:  our oldest daughter going off to the S_______High School Senior Prom held at "the Egg convention center" in downtown Albany.  Courtney and her friends decided they weren't going with dates..they were just meeting some guys at the prom and they had a blast!  They were home earlier than the Junior prom and it wasn't as big of a deal as the year before but......it was an exciting month buying a gown (at a great sale price!) and enjoying the end of the school year events.  May also brought the news that Claire would be graduating from elementary school with all A's for all 6 years and that she scored a high score on the state violin competition she attended through the school.  May also brought some easy hiking for me along with getting the kayaks into the water.  One of my very fave things to do......

Courtney on Graduation Morning
25 June
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Claire on Graduation Morning
23 June
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JUNE:  this month brought TWO graduations!  Our 2nd child (and youngest!) daughter, Claire Rebekah, graduated on the High Honor Roll from elementary school/6th grade.  She also received numerous music awards for violin, chorus and being selected for "All-District Orchestra and Chorus".  She also received a library award for being a school library volunteer.  We were very proud of her!  AND....just 2 days later, amidst the chaos of discovering a squirrel in our house and several torn screens from the darn rodent, our oldest daughter, Courtney Elisabeth, graduated with an Advanced Regents Diploma with Honors and a Liberal Arts diploma with High Honors from the high school.  Graduation was held at the sports arena at University of Albany because the class was a little over 480 students and our auditorium is not large enough to hold everyone involved!  We were very proud of Courtney.....it was a bittersweet month for sure!!

Courtney getting ready to speak and cut the cake
Graduation Party
July 2011

JULY:  well, this month brought celebrations for sure!  Courtney turned 18 just 2 days after her big backyard graduation party.  We had about 178 people here under the tent, scattered across the deck and throughout the yard...some of the teen boys even ended up in the street playing frisbee!  It was so much fun...all of our closest friends and acquaintances plus family on both sides came to the party.....we heard back from every single family we invited (except for one!) and only about 8 families invited couldn't make it due to already-planned vacations.  It was such a blessing to see everyone gathered.....friends, neighbors, church body, relatives.  So special of a day.  And....July also brought a day hike for me, extra ballet lessons for Claire and celebrating Dave's birthday with a special lunch out and mini golf. It was actually a busy month and we stayed home the entire month other than a couple of day trips to the beach.

Shells gathered from the beach behind the beach house
by Claire
August 2011

AUGUST:  this was another bittersweet month for us, jammed packed with family activity.  Dave worked most of the beginning of the month but he took off a week when we had to bring Courtney to college and attend Orientation.  The middle of the summer found us in 2 fave lakes doing some kayaking(Claire, me and Dave) and reading on the beach (Courtney), going mini golfing which is a fave summer activity for all of us.  Courtney spent alot of time going out with friends for "last goodbyes".  We moved her into her dorm mid-August and followed that 3 days by going to the beach house for 5 days of utter bliss: sand, shells, swimming, sun, kayaking, resting, reading, relaxing, eating great food, seeing my niece who was on break from her university in Scotland, hanging out for a couple of days with Dave's oldest sister Karen......all fun things.  Claire and I made it to my side of the family's get-together at my sister Hope's house.  Courtney and Dave attended a grad party.  We had LOTS of grad parties in the months of July and August!  I also fit in a mountain climb with my good friend Carla.  The month just flew by!

resting the legs after a 2 mile hike in a local ravine-preserve
photo taken by David GT c. 9/11

SEPTEMBER:  September was the new year.......back to school and I found my self in a new classroom much to my chagrin.  Good ole budgets cuts. But things worked out well.......I ended up accepting a full time position on the 1st/2nd grade Special Class Integrated team.  Claire started school at our junior high and discovered Russian Club, Select Chorus and added another ballet class to her busy schedule.  Dave started writing science fiction hoping to be published.  We fit in a nice Sunday hike in a local preserve that we had just discovered very close to our house!  

Reunited!
Claire and Courtney in Gloucester MA
October 11, 2011
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OCTOBER:  we went out for Parents Weekend/Homecoming at Gordon College during Columbus Day weekend.  We picked up Courtney from her dorm after eating a wonderful breakfast in Gloucester right by the water and then headed back that way to explore the castle in town!  What fun we had!!  We spent the whole day with her, dining out for lunch and dinner and going out for a late night ice cream snack. The weather was just glorious!  Sunday morning we attended a special chapel service where we got to hear a little bit from the new president of the college.  The rest of October found Claire, Dave and I kayaking on a local lake with some dear friends, Wade and Kathy.  We also did some biking in the autumn air...it was a very mild autumn...just beautiful for walking, biking, etc.  I started some Xmas shopping early.  And my friend Carla and I did another hike!  It was just beautiful!  October is one of my very fave months.  We also had a freak snow storm that dropped 3 inches of white stuff on the last weekend of the month but it melted by the next day.

early morning sunrise
Thanksgiving 2011
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NOVEMBER:  this month positively flew by!  I did more Xmas shopping, cleaning, organizing, and by month's end we drove to the beach house to do Thanksgiving with my husband's side of the family. When we arrived, we discovered that we had the beach house to ourselves! Just the 4 of us!  All of Dave's family, minus his oldest sister who couldn't get away from CA, and her daughter who is in college in Scotland, gathered at his youngest sister's house in Rhode Island for Thanksgiving dinner.  Most of us served in a soup kitchen first and then drove down to Rhode Island.  We were thankful that Paula only lives about 45 minutes from the beach house and that the weather was just perfect!  Courtney got a ride to and from the college from our niece Beth who goes to college in Maine and has to pass right by Gordon!  Everything worked out well and the time spent with all our nieces and nephews was just awesome. We were really thankful that even though Hanna couldn't be with us for Thanksgiving, that we did get to spend 5 days with her in August.  Family time is so important!

a xmas corner of our living room!
December 2011

DECEMBER:  and of course.....this month.....we traveled out to MA on the 16th to do Xmas with Dave's parents and pick up Courtney to bring her home for a month.  Before that, we celebrated my birthday by going out for a yummy breakfast and then finishing up some shopping.  Claire was in 3 Christmas concerts for orchestra, select chorus and chorus.  She also sang at an event in downtown Albany and at a local nursing home to bring Xmas cheer to the elderly there.  Christmas Eve and Day were special with just the 4 of us and this past week we spent some time with my sister Joy and her son Luke.  We also spent time with my parents, doing xmas with them and my sister Hope and her husband Donny. The only sister I haven't been able to visit is my youngest one Jill and her hubby Mike and their 2 girls (Emma, Mady). Claire and I have plans to go up there to visit them during winter break.






  It's the last day of 2011 and I am blessed that we enjoy good health, a secure home, good jobs, a great church, many friends and family.  God is good! We continue to look for the treasures He brings us....each and every day and we wish you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!