Winter Training

After the new year, Lyla has gotten back to soccer a bit.  Her team takes it pretty light in the off-season.  They get quite a bit of down time, and we also strongly support giving kids a break from their sport to play something different (lots play basketball in the winter) or just play for fun and take a mental break.  Shortly after the new year, they started back with one indoor training a week for just an hour and playing futsal matches against other Loudoun Soccer teams once a week on Saturdays.

This past Sunday they played in the state futsal tournament.  It was at an indoor facility not too far away, and they did a great job against some tough competition in their first two games and advanced to the final.  The final was an exciting and hard-fought battle.  They went down in goals first, then they battled back and tied up the game, sending it into overtime.  Still tied after overtime, the game was decided in penalty kicks.   Our team lost in PKs, but everyone was very proud of them for playing tough, showing great sportsmanship in their championship game loss, and keeping it about having fun in the process.  That’s what it’s all about anyway!

  

16th Anniversary

(Sorry if the formatting looks kind of weird.  I'm having trouble with my blog publisher again.)
Friday was Mark and I’s 16th anniversary. I taught my morning class and Mark worked for the morning, then we met up just after noon to leave for a hike to Buzzards Rock.  Lately, we’ve been hiking different sections of the Appalachian Trail, and we’ve enjoyed each of the hikes we’ve been on.  This time we decided to try a hike on the Virginia/West Virginia border called Keys Gap/Buzzards Rock.  It was recommended as a good hike in the winter because when there are leaves on the trees the views are obstructed. We had a relatively mild day and hiked about 4 miles to the top of Buzzards Rock then made the hike back to the car.  

On our way home, we stopped by the Old 690 Brewery to try one of their local beers and sit out by the fire, then we eventually made it home for showers and then out do dinner. It was a great day and a wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary.  Hiking is something we both enjoy, but it’s also a great metaphor for marriage.  There are the obvious connections between marriage and hiking like the highs and lows, mountain top times and valley times, challenges, joys, etc, but even more than that, both hiking and marriage bring together different people with different personalities and approaches and assumes they’ll stick together through a journey.

The reasons why people get into marriage and hiking are often very different.  In hiking, for example, one type of person may be concerned with how fast one gets to the summit, or the amount of steps or intestity minutes their activity tracker measures. Another type of person may not even own an activity tracker or wear a watch but would haul around a big camera up and down the mountain just for the hope of seeing something cool to take a picture of.  Not that I'm speaking of any couple in particular here! 

Marriage and hiking also assume that there is a common goal in mind.  There’s a summit to reach or a goal to arrive at, there’s a certain amount of preparation necessary, and it helps to have some sort of map or advice from others who have made the journey before you.  Sometimes the path seems exhilerating and fun, and sometimes the path seems rocky and difficult.  Sometimes the view of where you’re headed is limited - there’s too much that’s obscured and the path ahead is just what you see in front of you, yet sometimes you break out of the obscurity and see a gorgeous view of what may be ahead.  The view is clear, and Lord willing, you see what could be in your future.  

Ultimately, both are a journey that you set out on with someone you don’t mind spending some time with.  There will be times with bubbling conversation, and there will be times of just quiet walking along and sharing the company.  Either way, you have to commit not only to making it to your destination, but sometimes you have to commit to tracking back to where you started. Sometimes you're side by side and sometimes you give a little space to your partner to figure out his/her own way.  The more you think about it, the more you could keep going with the comparisons, and everyone’s journey and approach isn’t the same, but maybe committment and giving grace in differences is the way to get the most out of them both.  Lord willing there will be more years of hikes and marriage ahead for us!

Maryland Heights Hike

This past Monday on Martin Luther King, Jr. day, Mark and the girls had off school and work, so after I finished teaching in the morning, we packed up and headed to the Harpers Ferry area to do the Maryland Heights hike.  It was a cold day, but the ascent of the hike was pretty strenuous, so we warmed up very quickly!

  

   

Hiking in the winter might seem kind of bleak, but it acutally offers opprotunities to see views that might otherwise be obscured by all the leaves on trees.  It’s a nice time to check out locations like Maryland Heights where the bare trees provide a nice view of the landscape below (pictures aren’t doing much justice though).

What made this hiking location unique was that it was actually a Union Army campground for three years during the Civil War.  From the “Heights” they could shoot a cannon 200 miles and their position was strategic for defense of the troops camped out there and attack of the enemy below.

  

As always, Cayenne loved being with us on the hike.  It doesn’t matter if it’s freezing, she’s just happy to be with the family and be along. 

Even though there was some complaining from the girls about the tough ascent up the mountain, they were impressed enough once we got to the top and saw the view and the rock walls that the soldiers used to prop the cannons up on that they admitted they were “so happy” they toughed out the climb to make it to the top.

On the way back down they collected some pretty cool icicles that were hanging from the rocks, and obviously couldn’t take them home in the car, but they were cool while they lasted! Nina and I particularly got a good laugh out of this picture.  Holding the icicle up to her eyes made for quite an interesting look!

We really enjoyed the hike and the chance to get out and enjoy nature and some family time on a day off.  

 

Catching Up

I don’t think my camera made it out of it’s bag much since we got home from NYC.  It came out briefly on Christmas morning, but to be honest, I didn’t give it much effort.  :)  I normally like to be downstairs waiting when the kids come down on Christmas morning, but I think this year I was the last one down the steps!  Our trip to NYC was so so much fun, but since we got home late Friday evening, Mark and I wrapped presents after the kids went to bed on Friday, then Saturday was major prep day, a.k.a cleaning our house, Costco and Wegmans runs (yes, the day before Christmas Eve - crazy!), last minute baking and cookie decorating, and then Sunday we hosted the traditional Christmas Eve gathering with our whole family, my aunt and uncle, and our cousins.  However, by the time everyone arrived, all that was needed to be done had been done, and we were able to enjoy the evening together.  There is always tons of wonderful food, plenty of wine and laughs, and it’s been a tradition for as long as I can remember. It’s an evening I look forward to every year. 

Christmas morning started at our house with the girls (furry girl included) excited to open stockings and presents. Cayenne is actually the first one who gets to open a present.  She LOVES to open presents.  In fact, Lyla had wrapped a present for Nina and put it under the tree a couple weeks before Christmas, and Cayenne grabbed it from under the tree and started trying to open it before we caught her!

  

The girls had a great time opening their gifts at our house, then we packed up and headed out to Mouse and Pops’ house for more celebrating.

 

   

My mom prepares a wonderful brunch every Christmas morning, and now that the kids are older, we wait for presents until after we take our time to enjoy brunch.  

 

After presents, the girls had a Christmas skit that they had practiced a few time leading up to Christmas.  My parents had hosted them one afternoon/evening at their house to come up with the skit, then they got together another time before we left for NYC to polish it up.  It was very cute - memorized lines and costumes, but unfortunately my camera was acting up a bit and I missed the chance to capture some of the cute parts of the skit.  I managed to get a shot at the end when Maggie and Cayenne actually had a part in it.

We celebrate Jesus’s birthday with singing “Happy Birthday” and a cake. The tradition came from our grandfather who would get a cake from the bakery every Christmas with “Happy Birthday Jesus” written on it.  We would sing the song and all have cake because he said we did that for everyone else’s birthdays, so we should do it for Jesus’s birthday as well. This year Jesus got a German Chocolate Cake! :)

After Christmas, we spent some time with friends, had a fun “throw back” dinner with the fam. of a few of my mom’s classic meals from the past, celebrated New Years with a low key game night in the neighborhood, and basically tried to stay warm because it was freezing out!!

  

  

After a long winter break, the girls got back to school only to have school for two days then cancelations for three days because of the weather, but finally this week it seems like things are getting back into their routine a bit. I felt like the winter break was a good mix of busy and relaxed. The first week was busy for sure.  We had such a great time in NYC and getting home just in time to prepare for Christmas Eve and Christmas was a great decision because the week after Christmas was so miserably cold.  We were able to take that time to hang with some people, hang at home, and enjoy some down time.  It was a good way to finish 2017. 

 

I’m thankful for the way the Lord has blessed our lives in many ways, for health of our family, for happiness in time together, and peace in our relationship with Jesus.  Wishing all a wonderful 2018, and to Emme, I’ll be more faithful with my blog posts now!  :)