Tori's Birthday Weekend

I traveled to Houston on Valentine's Day to celebrate the Sweet Sixteen birthday of my "forever Valentine" Tori. I know grandmother's tend to brag about their "grands", but this girl is SO special. Not only is she beautiful and talented - you should hear her sing! She is also a sweet, funny girl who has such a wonderful way with her younger brother Wyatt. Wyatt is great and does great - he is an Asperger's child. When he doesn't understand social convention or gets anxious - his big Sis can break it down for him so he get's it - and sometimes she has to help us get right in talking to him. So, she is just a wonderful person, as well as being a treasured granddaughter.

We started with cake at home - Little Mermaid is still her favorite. Then we headed out to a Japanese place for dinner - and the usual food throwing over the grill show. It was a lot of fun. Tori caught every piece of food thrown at her in her mouth. Her mom, Kate got one, the rest of us "zero"!!



Tori's favorite cousin - and my other favorite granddaughter Mathilda came over from Austin with her mom Jennifer for the big celebration. The group here is Christian - Tori's big brother, Tilda and Jenn, the Birthday Girl Tori, Mom (my daughter Kate), Dad (Mike) and little brother Wyatt.



On Monday the kiddo's all had a holiday from school for President's Day, so we thought and thought about what we could do together for fun. Tori came up with the great idea that her brother and cousin would love the Children's Museum. Of course, at 16 she is far too mature for such a place. So, after taking the scenic route to get there, we finally found it about 12:45pm on Monday. It was PACKED with other people looking for a fun thing to do on a holiday! Nevertheless, we took it on and the grown-ups followed the kids to explore science, technology, real life (Kidtropolis) and many other wonderful and fun hands-on areas. I think Tilda and Wyatt enjoyed the outdoor water area best. They have a very big "river" where you can add dams or other things and see how that affects traffic ont he river.


Inside there was a huge area about telephone technology and a great "Telephone Man", dubbed by Tilda as the Telephone Monster.





Tori's getting a car for her birthday - which hasn't arrived yet. This isn't it, but made for a fun picture anyway.





Tilda and Wyatt donned lab coats to enter the particle physics area. Maybe we have a future pair of geniuses in our midst. Wyatt pondered the mysteries of science for us! If you watch "The Big Bang Theory" - think Sheldon Cooper, PhD - that is Wyatt in 10 years.








We are pretty sure everyone had a good time - this is a picture of Wyatt and Tilda on the ride home.

Thank you, Tori for being a wonderful granddaughter, sister, cousin and THE PERFECT SWEET SIXTEEN.

Plan B is Better

OK - full-time RV living in a cold climate is not for me. Had I headed south, I probably could have done it - I didn't mine the cozy space, and the dog, two cats and I were doing ok, except for one tiny thing. Enter - the worst winter in a decade in NE Oklahoma!

Exhibit A: Record setting snowfall on Christmas Eve.


Thank goodness I had already moved into this cute house with my son and his family two days earlier. Since the picture was taken we have barely had a day above freezing, so the snow has not melted off too much. The main streets are clear, but some of the neighborhood streets are still a mess. We had a little dusting of snow last night - but not much to worry about. Over the past 10 days what melted during the day refroze at night to become rock-hard ice - such fun for walking on!!

Exhibit B: Having fun on Christmas day taking a walk in a "Winter Wonderland" with my granddaughter, Mathilda. This was by far the "whitest" Christmas we have ever had together.



Several days after Christmas were spent in getting the last of all our belongings out of the Jenks house and into the Tulsa house. All that is behind us now and we started the new year with a new house and a new attitude!! Closed on the Jenks house on 12/30, so I no longer have that to worry about. Thank you, God - you worked it all out all for my good, just like you always do.

On New Year's Eve, the kiddos and I decided to go over to Rhema Bible College in Broken Arrow and check out their Christmas lights display - they really do go all out each year with the whole campus in a beautiful display. This year, they had added an entire section synchronized to Christmas carols and other music - and it was fascinating to see the various sections lighting and turning off in time with the music - I just love that stuff. There was still a lot of snow and ice on the ground and after about 20 minutes we were all ready to get back in the car with the heat - 24 degrees feel very cold in short order when you are out in it!



Sorry, the pictures don't do justice to the beauty of the Rhema Lights - if you are ever in the Tulsa area around December you should check it out for yourself!

Mathilda had to return to Texas yesterday, and that is always tough - she is just such a joy to be with and she is growing up so fast. She and Michael were my very wonderful helpers during the move - thank you, Kiddos - I couldn't have done it without your help and love.

So - tomorrow is the first week of a new year and a new decade. Stay tuned - I want this to be a wonderful year. I want to give more of myself to others, be less selfish and less of a couch potato. I want to be kinder, gentler and more at peace. Through the Grace of God through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I will be more than a conqueror!!

One final note - How about those Gators - what a win in the Sugar Bowl - and what a great last game for our wonderful seniors, and especially Tim Tebow. God Bless Tim and Coach Meyer and the whole Gator Nation in 2010!! Go Gators!!