I'm back in Brenham after a wonderful 4 day vacation with the family in the thriving metropolis of Bryan/College Station. Much of the vacation was spent relaxing and doing all the Lombardi family traditions that take place over the Christmas weekend. Going to the movies, last minute gifts, Christmas Eve service, wrapping presents, cooking and baking, sleeping in; two new additions this year were going to the nursing home to visit mom and dad's friends and laundry.
Christmas morning we all piled in Mom and Dad's bed [something that has never stopped since we were little, but i have to admit..it was kinda good Tony wasn't there cause I dont think we all wouldve fit!], then we made our way to the living room to read the Christmas story [we read Luke], next comes presents. After presents, we had lunch and then headed to Grandma's in Sealy. Grandma's was fun..we ended up staying a lot longer than expected and we had a lot of laughs with my Grandpa and aunts...one of the nicer Christmass' in a long time.
Monday I ran some errands with mom in the morning and then we met up with dad to pick out furniture. PTL we've decided on a couch and ottoman & the fabrics & pillows! Hopefully in the next week or so they will order it so they will have it by the big 2-5 anniversary. After furniture shopping, I chilled on the couch watching tv & reading, while mom and dad went TV shopping...i had no desire to participate!
Being at home for so long was such a blessing and it always makes me sad I have to come back here, I almost dread it. I'm always looking for a reason to go back to CS, ways to rearrange my schedule for more time at home.
I'm looking forward to this weekend..another fun weekend filled with fellowship & friends in Austin!
grace & peace,
lish
well..the Bethlehem Stroll has come and gone & my children's choir managed some pretty cute performances despite having half of them catch the nasty stomach bug going around..so 1/3 of my choir was missing or late tonight..but who says more is better? less is definitely more manageable! they were precious in the little shepherd costumes & singing Away in a Manger; it was great fun playing with them too..but i think i'm a little too easy on them sometimes, but I do remember how tough it is being a kid, and sometimes, you just can't keep your hands to yourself.
PTL-Im going home for Christmas! thats right, my first (and probably only) Sunday off! 4 complete days spent in College Station not even having to think about Mission Brenham..I can't wait..it is a much needed break and will hopefully provide some time to get my motivation going for the spring...my last leg-the home stretch! The Lord is faithful to answer my prayer..[thanks for all the prayers family!]
The time with my brother was good. We had some quality time together as siblings last friday night..we went and saw Narnia..I think it was maybe the first time the 3 of us saw a movie together...i enjoyed it tons. last night the fam came to Btown for the Stroll and to celebrate a mini Christmas with Tony...it was Lombardi Family History...breaking the deep rooted tradition of not opening any presents (except ones mailed) until Christmas morning. We had good laughs, yummy treats, & took many pictures. He will be missed; hopefully i'll be able to see him before he leaves again in May.
my favorite roomie Tracy came to see me tonight & was a huge blessing: helping out with the kids during the stroll. you see, tracy has an amazing gift..she works wonderfully with kids..they love her (and i do too!). it was great seeing her and hanging out with her for the time she was here in brenham...and i'm super glad she's in CS so i can hopefully see her more this spring!
thats all for now.
merry Christmas
grace & peace,
lish
so, its pretty lonely here in B-town most of the time..but I've got the best pet in the world: Alexander the Red Beta. He's good company, well behaved & doesn't make messes :)
the real world continues on here, getting ready for Christmas & really wanting the month long break that comes with being in school, but i've fallen into a routine thats nice, keeps me occupied.
making more progress about going overseas...I know the Lord's hand is on the situation and He's been faithful to provide me confirmation, but its still utterly scary and exciting all at the same time. Lots of unanswered questions and concerns that I need to surrender to him, but who knows maybe in 6 months i will actually be in Spain?? we'll see :o)
If I've learned anything from being in Brenham, its that the Lord doesn't forget or forsake-His plans are specific, His timing is perfect; a hard situation is supposed to bring forth stronger faith, more dependence. In a world thats so full of violence, hate, and bitterness my life has to stand out, especially when I want to throw in the towel.
I get to see Tony this weekend...the last time I saw him was in March. He's changed a lot from what i hear from the family..not for the better unfortunately, but I pray and hope for his spiritual light blub to go off. Its a pretty jam packed weekend with William, Ashley & Micah coming in for PJ Party 2005 at Eric's (WHOOP!), family portraits, doing fun familal things & then back to Brenham for church, Bethlehem Stroll practice and performances Monday & Tuesday AND the family is coming Monday to celebrate Christmas with Tony since he'll still be in town until Tuesday.
the Christmas party was fun...pictures around the tree, opening presents & dinner and desserts. in the "sitting down" group pic from left to right its april, jane, me & marissa. April and Jane go to blinn & Marissa is the BSM director at Blinn.
so i just had the most amazing night...marissa, my one close friend in Brenham, who lives 2 apts down from me, invited me to share in their Roommate Christmas. I was very honored and it turned out to be wonderful...they even got me presents! We took many pictures, had a lot of laughs, ate some delicious spaghetti & scrumptous holiday treats. I like having fun neighbors..pictures will be posted shortly..(ie-tomorra after lunch when i get the usb stick)
just thought i'd share-its been a long time since i've had a genuine fun time in Brenham :)
happy holidays,
lish
the reality of death is so apparent around the holidays, not to be depressing or glum, but its true. The past couple of days I've been thinking a lot about my grandmas. My Grandma Thorne(Dad's mom) who lived in Florida passed away on Valentine's Day and my great-grandma "Kirk Grandma" passed away in June. Grieving is an interesting thing. I really havent figured it out; I know that i miss them..especially the small things that are so apparent during Christmas: Grandma Thorne's package of Christmas goodies. About 2 weeks before Christmas we'd get a UPS package in the mailed-we didnt even have to open it to know it was from Grandma because of the aromas coming from the box-snickerdoodles for Dad, chocolate covered peanuts for Mom and rice crispy treats for us kids-and this year, there will be no box from Florida. [My dad's getting his cookies though...i'm putting them in the mail tomorra :)]
the other day I was talking with Mom about Grandma Thorne, her birthday would've been the 2nd of December, and she said i think the most important thing about death..and its probably been said before & pretty obvious when it comes to grieving, but she said "dont ever act like it didnt happen". So as sort of a reminder and memory of Grandma Thorne, I set up her old Christmas tree with her ornaments & a navity scene she had..its good for me because i think i'm a whole lot like her & it makes being alone in Btown during the holiday season special.
grace & peace,
lish
well, the past couple of weeks have gone by in a whirlwind; they were jam packed with adventures including a couple random drives into my favorite town of College Station, a holiday party in Houston with Mr. Micah J. Meads, where I was able to get all fancied up for the night, and a Saturday road trip to Waco to see the comical duo of Libby Leatherman and William Meier. Fun times were had all around. Laughter is good for the soul :)
Work has been pretty slow the past couple of days, i've kinda saved my work this week to do now so the end of my week wouldnt be incredibly boring cause Marcus was out of the office Monday & Tuesday. Still leading worship..yeah i know.."a couple more weeks" has turned into all semester...surprise surprise.
The children's choir is coming along quite nicely. We've decided to sing the first 2 verses of Away in a Manger and the the first verse of Silent Night, acapella; I'm really nervous but im sure in the end it will be a hit..nothing like the production Central's children's choir did Sunday :)!
Tony is in Texas...he'll be in College Station the 16th-20th, so we'll be celebrating Christmas then with him. I get to hang out with my wonderful mom and fantastic sister tonight-we're going to Katy Mills Mall to do some Christmas shopping. And then I'll be back in College Station Friday until Saturday afternoon to get some laundry done and pick up a bunch of Christmas decorations & receipes from mi casa.
I'm glad the cold weather is finally here..i got to wear my black pea coat last night as i ran an errand to Walmart last night! bundling up in a scarf, coat, mittens & a hat is a favorite of mine during the winter; not to mention the fun Christmas socks I wear throughout the month of December! i heard on the radio the possiblity of snow tonight..i'm not getting my hopes up.
Be looking for a new addtion/change to the blog page..at the request of Marcela, who I found regularly checks out my blog!
grace & peace,
lish