Project 365, Week 51

This was a full and festive week! 

December 15

When Sarah threw out the idea of getting Nana to the city for the Christmas spectacular, I thought she was out of her mind. But then I wondered, what if we could actually pull it off? We invited the girls in the family and booked tickets for what ended up being a very chilly Monday in New York City.

Some took the train in, and I drove my car so I could drop Nana and her wheelchair right at the door. We had a lovely brunch, walked across the street to see The Tree and then headed down the street to Radio City Music to see the Christmas Spectacular. As a bonus, it was the Rockettes' 100th anniversary. 

The trip went as smoothly as it could have and we made sweet memories.

December 16

After getting home from New York City at 8PM the night before, I turned around and left for Westchester at 5AM for a different kind of day. With four months since my last one, it was time for another nerve block injection. There is so much work to cancer, even in the "off" time.

Amy (This girl!! She just keeps. showing. up!) and I got some good time together and I'm grateful for an option that manages my pain. 

We were between rush hours, so we treated ourselves to some time at Wegmans. :)

We had a little family celebration which included pizza and cheesecake. Aiden passed a CLEP test....three college credit in a 1.5 hour test. What a deal! Proud of this kid for making his own path.

December 17

Every morning I send a little girl off to a 45-minute ride to school in a van with a male stranger. She comes home in the afternoon the same way. Such a minor blip in the long string of hard stuff. 

December 18

The girls and I went clothes shopping for C and Dakota. Afterwards, I got to see Avery and Jack's condo all cozy and decorated for Christmas. Sarah met us there and I got to do dinner with these beautiful girls. What a wonder to watch these ladies grow and discover who God made them to be. 

December 19

I picked up Dakota and these two ended up playing really well together. Dakota had the creative ideas and C was the voice of reason. 

Time for the youth group Christmas party! 

Back at home, I got to do bedtime stories and prayers with two sweet little kids. What an honor!

December 20

A surprise overnight storm turned our driveway into a sheet of ice, providing hours of sledding fun! 

I started to make cookies for the next day, but Aiden offered to take it over. He had plenty of interest from the peanut gallery.

December 21

Morning snuggles before the flurry to get to church and then Christmas!!

Sarah and Tony hosted and we think this was the 20th year of our tradition of Christmas the weekend before Christmas. Tony and Sarah live out the importance of family in their daily lives and Tony expressed his gratitude for what we have and challenged the next generation to take up the heavy lifting of family traditions and relationships. 

Sarah put so much thought and care into food and decorations for us to enjoy, everyone brought food and Funcle Nathan planned the games. People were so generous to include our "extras" in the gifts. Our family has always been so generous about pulling our foster kids in...it helps to feel supported and its a great example to the kids of what community can look like.