Tara arrived just in time to join us for the Nutcracker performances of The Woodlands Ballet Theatre. Isabelle and Olivia were thrilled to make multiple costume changes and dance throughout the production.
When all of the events leading up to Christmas Day were behind us, we spent an entire day baking and making treats to share with neighbors and friends. We opted for a Christmas Eve walk to enjoy the sights and sounds at Market Street, then enjoyed an early dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Christmas morning we went to see if Santa had left any gifts for Belle and Livi, and enjoyed yummy pigs-in-a-blanket and cinnamon rolls with the Cosbys. It was a rare treat for all of us to go to the movie together, and we absolutely loved "Little Women." Then it was back to our house where the celebration continued with holiday nachos and fun, fun, fun opening family gifts. One especially thoughtful gift was bee earrings from Max that were handmade by one of his friends. We were able to facetime and talk to our loved ones in Ohio and Montana, and although they are far away we could share opening gifts with them too. We are greatly blessed and it was truly a wonderful Christmas Day.
We kept the week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day pretty low-key, sleeping in, running together every morning, watching movies and holiday TV, puzzling, shopping some after-Christmas sales, and enjoying a slower pace after the hectic weeks leading up to Christmas Day. We celebrated Lee's 73rd birthday with an ice cream cake out on the patio around the fire, and made plans for our own New Year's Eve party. Then, as luck would have it, while having paracentesis Lee's blood sugar spiked to 489 and he had to go to the ER. New Year's Eve in the ER is a little crazy busy, and we were worried that we were going to see the end of 2019 in triage, but after a couple bags of IV fluids and some insulin, he was finally released and we got home about 11:40 p.m. The kids had kept the party going for us and we were all able to toast to the start of a new decade together -- Happy 2020!! We officially closed out our holiday season with a traditional ham dinner on New Year's Day.
The year 2019 has been a pretty rough ride for Lee, battling the ongoing progression of liver disease, but there were so many wonderful times shared with family and friends that blessed our lives. I'm going to follow the advice of one of my favorite Viking characters, Ragnar Lothbrok, "Don't waste your time looking back, you're not going that way," and have faith that there are better days ahead in the new year. HAPPY 2020!!!!
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