Pre-Christmas update

Life continues to be rich and full in the Miser Family Household.  The advent calendar (which doubles as a x-mas-preparation To Do list) has gotten its usual December work out.  Even when we're not all together as a family, we do things "together" via advent calendar.   For example, we've been taking Christmas photos and sharing them, with a variety of locations but a remarkable consistency of silly hats and adorable dogs.  

My semester has ended, and I'm now in the throes of grading exams and more exams and some more exams; my guy has been driving our sons around while my sons do their best to drive him crazy.  And when driving and grading isn't happening, we find time to be a married couple.

Me & my guy cuddling on the couch . . . 

I don't have a picture of J-son, although I got to see him briefly.  He was in town seeing a lawyer; that's kind of a story in itself, but it's not my story, so I'll just say we're hoping things work out okay next week, and in the future, for him!

N-son twisted his back (ouch), but with help of a physical therapist and a bit of rest, he's getting stronger.  He's becoming an awesome Instant Pot chef, having made us a couple of one-pot Spaghetti dinners.  

N-son decking the halls with balls of jolly,
fa la la la dog

Prewash is learning to walk up the stairs . . . backwards.  And she loves coming to my office hours to comfort nervous students, who appreciate getting a bit of a dog fix during a stressful time.

Prewash is ready to open presents!

L-daughter is always one to get in on the dog therapy act, and we're all crossing fingers that her therapy dog program at the VA hospital she works at will get to keep going!

My step-daughter has her dogs serving as photo stunt doubles,
so she and her husband can rest instead of posing for the camera themselves.

I-daughter is loving her spinning machine, and actually won a prize in a craft competition.  Whoop!  She took me to a Motown review show, and I got to impress her by knowing the words to pretty much all the songs.  And the woman behind me, gesturing at her wheelchair, thanked me for dancing in my seat to the music, because we should all dance while we can.  True dat!

I-daughter and a friend with warm (reindeer) hats
at Tuba Christmas downtown

K-daughter, D-son, and A-child went on a honeymoon cruise to some warm place, and then went to a Disney place, but they're now back in town and I'm looking forward to seeing them all again!

K-daughter, D-son, and A-child cuddle up for the holidays,
which in their case include honeymoon cruises

And a couple of us got to go to our local theater production of Peter Pan with a friend of mine who became a friend of ours. Peter Pan is a show I can be a bit nervous about, because it can veer into sexist/racist realms really easily, but I have to say I was really impressed with this version.  Lots of fun!

Pirate hats on scurvy dogs
(Taking a friend to an awesome production of Peter Pan)

And just randomly, I include a photo from a previous year of my husband doing a Christmas Yoga balance pose.  Because my daughters sent it to me when I asked for pictures.  And I love watching my husband do yoga!



And that's the news from our family, which continues to be wealthy in our adventures.  May you and yours be similarly prosperous!