Annual State of the Family Dinner.....

Wherein we go to a more expensive restaurant than is our norm and we order fancy drinks and maybe some alcohol for the adults. The girls had virgin margaritas, a step up from Shirley Temples, I had a G&T and Derek 1 1/2 beers. He gets a little
silly on that and they accuse him of being drunk because they so seldom see us drink. We have a lovely meal in lovely Christmasy
surroundings and we tell them how proud we are of them.

To Isabel we gave congrats on how well she is doing in High School and what a lovely young lady she is and how kind and sweet,
and totally her own person. Kudos also for trying running this year and for being on the swim team. A fine person and a super Christian who lives her faith as well as practicing it. Also for taking on a paying job, babysitting, and saving her money towards her future. Still loves her writing and we look forward to seeing where that takes her. She is a Mommy's girl for sure and I love it.

To Grace we gave congrats for continuing to effortlessly bring home the good grades and is also a rare athlete, as evidenced by her hard work and strong work ethic. She not only became a full black belt in karate a 12 years of age but received a coveted "silk" black belt as the most outstanding student in her dojo. Apparently her gift is rare.............just telling what we were told!! She has many fine friends and loves her music and her facebook. Her love of drawing continues and can't wait to see where she goes with that. A sweet and wonderful person and lots of fun. She and her Dad are best friends and she and I are entering that stormy Mother/daughter stretch which I am confident we will weather. Please God. She is our sensitive and dear Grace.

Our baby Bethie, we gave congrats for doing really well in school and for working very hard. She is our little bouncing Beth jumping into anything and everything. This year it was dance and a slew of sports........basketball and soccer and even some golf. She tried drama and has the lead in the school play as the "director" of the concert. We are looking forward to seeing that and her Christmas hip hop dance recital. She love the girlie stuff........makeup, clothes and hanging out with friends. About ready to hit the Mall. Crazy for music. Still my affectionate one who still wants to sit with me on my lap and will give me kisses and hugs. She has her cheeky side and pretty much knows how to ignore us when we get on her case.

There is so much more I could say about my girls but I can't write enough about how much we love them and how grateful we are for them. What a gift we were given.

We usually ask them for feedback on how we are doing as parents. I get accused of being crabby sometimes and Derek got accused of mortifying them by wearing running shorts that were too short to school, and neither of us is ever allowed to sing in public.........ever. But I think all is well and we are doing good.

It was a wonderful evening.
Forgot the camera..............bad Mummy.